Cluster hiring intends to foster cross-disciplinary connections

Geneseo officially undertook a cluster hiring initiative in fall 2014. Since they were hired, faculty members in the two existing clusters—Latin American studies and statistics—have collaborated on a number of interdisciplinary projects, many of which will begin in earnest this year. While Geneseo already offers 22 interdisciplinary minors and several faculty members are interdisciplinary themselves, faculty clusters represent a relatively new trend in higher education. Professors of history, political science, anthropology and Spanish comprise the Latin American studies cluster. The statistics cluster includes professors of mathematics, psychology and sociology.

“There was a sense that we might be able to demonstrate the uniqueness of the college … by doing a cluster hiring where four different departments do a search for Latin Americanists—each department framing the search around its own needs but also with the expectation that these new hires would work together once they were on campus,” professor and chair of the history department Joseph Cope said. “It connects, I think, to the institutional vision to build more interdisciplinary [learning] into the overall college curriculum.”

Assistant professor of Spanish Kyle Matthews is one of those hires. “We talk about Latin America as though it’s one place … but it’s such a variable place that no one optic is going to tell you everything about all of it,” he said. “You need to approach all these different places differently, but from a variety of angles.”

According to Matthews, the members of the Latin American studies cluster have collaborated on a documentary film showing and guest speakers in the past. The members will be bringing several more interdisciplinary Latin American experts to campus to speak during the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters.

“I’m very excited to see that get kicked off,” Matthews said. “These speakers will be talking about border crossings from Mexico … historical fiction in general and questions that a lot of people normally ask themselves in a number of different disciplines.”

“The hope was that [cluster hiring] would make Geneseo a more attractive place to work and allow us to recruit stronger candidates as well as allow for interdisciplinary work among students and faculty members,” professor and chair of mathematics Christopher Leary said. “We had needs in statistics, so it was a very good fit for us.”

Assistant professor of statistics Yusuf Kenan Bilgiç is part of the statistics cluster. According to Bilgiç, the members of the cluster have met for the past year and are planning several cross-disciplinary projects. These include collaborative faculty research, workshops for faculty and students on topics in statistics and a potential Wiki page containing statistics resources for people from different academic backgrounds.

A multivariate statistics course for mathematics, sociology and psychology majors is also planned for spring 2016 and will be co-taught by all three members of the cluster. “The goal with this course is that we will study advanced tools, come up with concrete data analysis projects and have a chance to disseminate our results,” Bilgiç said. “It’s cross-listed ‘experimental,’ but once the test passes successfully, I’m hoping to make it a course for the whole campus.”

Overall, Bilgiç expressed positive feelings regarding the impact of the statistics cluster. “I’ve had a chance to get to know what statistical tools are more important in psychology and sociology. So now I’m using this knowledge in my teaching,” he said. “Some of my students are from social science backgrounds, so they want to hear more connections in order to grasp the topics that are challenging.”

Leary expressed that he is not so sure, however, that the cluster has really impacted the college yet. “I think the [mathematics] department has benefited because we got a hire out of it,” he said. “The actual cross-fertilization is really just starting to show its benefits at the department level as opposed to the individual level.”

Still, Leary expressed hope for the future of clusters and cross-disciplinary work at Geneseo. “To ignore the possibilities of interdisciplinary work would be to really shoot yourself in the foot as far as attracting an interesting and vibrant student body, as well as an interesting and vibrant faculty,” he said.

Meanwhile, Matthews is focused on the global impact of interdisciplinary education. “It’s no longer sufficient for people to sort of lock themselves within their discipline and pretend that that’s going to be sufficient to impact the world in the kind of way that people are expecting higher education to impact the world,” he said.

Bilgiç echoed Matthews’ sentiment. “Historically, scientists did not study a single topic; they studied many topics,” he said. “If you want to stop a crisis in the world, you have to combine many disciplines to solve the problem."

Battles begins presidency, collaborative learning initiative

Though Denise Battles officially assumed the role of president of Geneseo on July 1, the week of Aug. 30 represented a new beginning with most students returning to campus. Since becoming president of the college, Battles has announced her approach to immersing herself in the college, instituting her Deep Learning program and planning the first 100 days of her presidency. “We just had our convocations for faculty and staff and for students within the past week, so I’m making sure that I don’t identify new initiatives absent that conversation and consultation,” Battles said. “I want to make sure I get to know the people, the programs, the place and our position really very well before I get into that mode.”

Now that classes are in session, Battles has spearheaded an initiative she calls “Deep Learning;” a program comprised of two separate efforts to engage in a dialogue about Geneseo.

One aspect of Deep Learning is Listening Tours, which involve direct engagement with questions about Geneseo’s strengths and weaknesses.

“We all know the campus best from our own perspectives and so I’m hoping by having student voice, faculty voice and staff voice there that we can learn from each other,” Battles said. “It’s for my learning but not just for me alone. I’m hoping it’s a communal learning activity that we can undertake collectively.”

The first Listening Tour took place on Tuesday Sept. 8 in Doty Hall. The 14 professors, administrators, staff members and students in attendance discussed issues ranging from student-to-faculty ratio and faculty advisement to air conditioning in campus buildings. Geneseo’s role and reputation as a liberal arts institution was also a prominent topic.

Assistant director and manager for Systems and Networking for Computer Information Technology Kirk Anne was vocal during the meeting regarding Geneseo’s as a liberal arts institution. “We’re at that pivotal curve,” he said. “But are we at a plateau or at the top of a mountain? I think now we’re going to have to make some decisions.”

Similarly, professor of English Graham Drake commented on the perceived role of liberal arts at Geneseo and beyond. “The media has this idea of college as a utilitarian thing. I’m deeply frustrated by this trend,” Drake said. “Geneseo has an opportunity to make its case to the world that the liberal arts and sciences are flexible.”

Battles previously expressed a preference for public liberal arts schools. Battles explained that, “Geneseo looks different from the other places I’ve been to because it’s in a different setting, because it’s in a different system, but also because it’s a public liberal arts college … and that’s always been a model that has appealed to me.”

Part of the challenge of a state liberal arts education is limited funding. “When [tax] revenues are funneled back to public higher education, we really owe it to ourselves and to the whole of the state to be very thrifty, thoughtful stewards of that investment,” Battles said. This means emphasizing efficiency—and at times, cutting departments or allowing student-to-faculty ratios to rise.

Four “Locating the College,” or schola brevis, short course sessions will take place throughout September. These courses will offer specific information about faculty experts on relevant topics, including integrated learning at Geneseo and the college’s financial stability. Each of these 90-minute sessions will include a question and answer period.

According to Student Association President senior Andrew Hayes, Battles is invested in the success of SA and students in general. “She asked us about our goals and I feel like Student Association’s goals kind of align with everything the students want to accomplish,” he said. “She wants to be a part of Geneseo and I think she just realizes how the students are Geneseo ... as are the faculty and staff.”

Senior Sarah Dukler echoed Hayes’ positive sentiments. According to Dukler, Battles plans to attend at least one SA meeting so that “she can utilize [the SA Executive Board] as a tool for communication between the administration and the student body.” Dukler is the SA director of Student Programming as well as the chair of Geneseo Campus Activities Board.

“In President Battles’ faculty convocation, she was talking about looking back in order to inform the future,” Dukler said. “I think it will be really exciting to see how she’s going to build on it.”

Some students have had trouble connecting with Battles, however. Junior Thomas McCarthy attempted to meet with her on the state of LGBTQ+ affairs on campus but could not make an appointment. McCarthy is the president of Pride Alliance and a student ambassador.

“I think there’s a lot of potential for this president to be more proactive with some of the stuff that maybe Interim President Long was less interested in pursuing because she had a shorter tenure,” he said. “I’m really disheartened and I find it really disingenuous when I can’t make a meeting with the president of the college.”

Battles emphasized that her ideal vision for the future of Geneseo, however, is one that involves active engagement from all members of the Geneseo community.

“When we look down the road … what is our vision? Because it’s not going to be Denise Battles’ vision,” she said. “I will articulate it, but it’s got to be a vision that arises out of the collective, out of our community … and so I’m really looking forward to that conversation.”

Spotlight On: Blaise Tangney

Freshman Blaise Tangney may be fairly new to Geneseo, but he has already had a greater impact on the local arts scene than many students may achieve in their four years on campus. Armed with a raspy folk voice and bluegrass-inspired guitar riffs, the singer-songwriter has been playing at open-mic shows all semester and has no intention of slowing down. Tangney grew up in Rockville Centre, New York, where, according to him, “[There] wasn’t really a huge music scene.” He ended up drawing much of his influence not from the surrounding community, but from his own brothers who both played in bands while he was growing up. “They’re a huge inspiration and a huge influence on my work,” Tangney said.

His 24-year-old brother Simon Tangney still has a band now: Wilbur, a Philadelphia-based folk outfit that just finished up an East Coast tour. The younger Blaise Tangney even got a chance to see the band play in Rochester before its tour was over.

Although his brothers influenced both the style and content of his music, songwriting is a solo process for Tangney—often a challenging one. “In order to capture an emotion, especially one of appreciation or love, you almost have to get lucky with the lyrics,” he said. “It’s so hard to do it correctly and not come across as cheesy or forced.”

Tangney said that he often does end up writing about emotional things, including both family and romantic relationships. “Relationships are a funny thing,” he said. “Songwriting is similar in that it’s something you have to worry about and something you have to work at every single day.”

Music isn’t the only thing he writes, however. Tangney is an English and political science double major. As far as a potential career path goes, he noted, “There’s international politics, where it’s almost imperative for people to have a grasp on the creative mindset in dealing with those sorts of problems.” But he is far from sure of what he wants to do yet—which certainly comes as no surprise for a first-semester freshman. For now, he is just enjoying his classes.

Tangney is surprisingly academic for someone so involved in music. “To be completely honest, I came here to do my work,” he said. “I didn’t come here to play a bunch of shows. But even though it means having to stay up a little later on weeknights now, I’m happier this way. And everything keeps making me want to work harder and play more.”

It’s not that Tangney has never considered playing music for a living. He is concerned with making a living—and who could blame him? Things didn’t pan out with the record companies as far as his oldest brother Jack Tangney was concerned. Simon Tangney may have a gig with a real band, but he also has jobs at two Chinese food restaurants to pay the bills.

“I’m going to write music forever. That’s not [a] question,” Blaise said. “And if it starts seeming like something I could do, sure, but … pipe dreams, you know? What I write isn’t what’s being sold today.”

Although Tangney has a distinct folk rock style and has always identified as a solo artist, befriending Geneseo musicians has made him reconsider his habit of working alone. “When you come to college, you just meet so many new people and so many new influences in sound,” he said. “And now I’m starting all over again.”

Walk the Moon rocks CU Ballroom in high-energy fall concert

The fall concert tradition returned to Geneseo after a long hiatus with pop-rock band Walk the Moon on Sunday Nov. 16. The concert was sponsored by Activities Commission and took place in the MacVittie College Union Ballroom. It also featured special guest Annasun, an acoustic rock duo from Fredonia, New York, who opened the show. The indie duo’s acoustic folk harmonies set a surprisingly low-key tone for the start of the night, considering the high-energy act that was to follow. Although the band started its set with stomping and clapping, it rarely moved out of the realm of folk rock—though it did occasionally venture into blues territory.

Annasun’s lead vocalist was clearly talented with a melodic, sometimes soulful voice. The stripped-down alt-rock band sounded great overall, especially for a small-time local act, but its sound was not the ideal choice for getting the audience pumped for a pop show.

“It was cool having Annasun open for us,” Walk the Moon lead vocalist Nicholas Petricca said. “It would be kind of like us opening for The Police … except that we’re nowhere near as good as The Police.”

After a short gap between acts, Walk the Moon bounded onstage to “Tightrope,” the catchy, radio-friendly second single off the group’s first official album Walk the Moon. The audience instantly caught the pop musicians’ infectious, happy-go-lucky vibe and quickly started dancing and singing along.

Other highlights included “Shiver Shiver,” a romantic dance-pop song, and “Lisa Baby,” a solid rock song with fun, trippy synths. The band also played its aptly-titled summer anthem “Anna Sun,” arguably the band’s biggest hit. Fun was the operative word for every song Walk the Moon played––the entire show was like a party.

Walk the Moon got its name from the song “Walking on the Moon” by The Police.

The band played several songs off its forthcoming second LP Talking is Hard, which is set to drop on Dec. 2. This included the ultra-catchy single “Shut Up and Dance” as well as several unreleased tracks. The most promising of these was “Down in the Dumps,” which turned out to be anything but a downer. The song is more hardcore than much of the band’s typically light pop fare, but it was just as danceable and hooky as anything else they’ve released.

The band was clearly very excited to be on campus. Petricca repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Geneseo for inviting them back—Walk the Moon played on the MacVittie College Union patio a few years back. Petricca also told a hilarious story about his first––and only––Inn Between Tavern experience, which allegedly involved a territorial sorority girl dumping her drink on him and screaming, “Get off my bleachers!”

The frontman also doubled as a motivational speaker. The things he said about releasing negative energy into the sky––and more–– were a little corny at times, but he definitely kept a positive vibe going, exactly what students need at the end of the semester.

The concert was sold out, but since only around 700 tickets were made available and because it was held in the Ballroom—where the capacity is much smaller than that of Kuhl Gymnasium—it didn’t feel particularly large. Holding the concert in the Ballroom also gave it a certain cheesy atmosphere.

Overall, the concert was a great way to let off some end-of-semester steam and enjoy some solid indie pop songs. No doubt, few who were leaving the Ballroom after the show would object to inviting Walk the Moon back to Geneseo for a third time—and that says a lot.

Harpist enchants with psychedelic sounds

Rochester-based singer-songwriter and harpist Mikaela Davis played a show in the Kinetic Gallery on Friday Nov. 7. Sophomore Ella Mosco also performed, singing and playing the ukulele. Activities Commission’s Valley Entertainment and Arts & Exhibits hosted the concert along with Geneseo Late Knight in the Kinetic Gallery. Mosco opened the show with a series of acoustic covers. The set included several well-known pop songs, which she encouraged audience members to sing along to. Mosco dressed in all black for the show, resembling a sort of goth Florence Welch—if the “machine” were her voice rather than an actual band. Her voice embodies dreamy, coffee shop-pop perfectly and Mosco used it to her advantage.

Highlights of Mosco’s set included a stripped-down, sweetened-up version of “Cut Your Bangs” by indie punk band Radiator Hospital and a melodic, lingering take on The Zutons’ “Valerie” which was famously covered by Amy Winehouse. There was always a hint of sadness in her voice—even when she took us back to 1999 with her take on Destiny’s Child hit “Say My Name”––but it was a beautiful sadness, one to look forward to at campus events in the future.

Davis began her set soon after Mosco’s ended. She was instantly at home in front of the crowd with her unwieldy-looking––albeit elegant––instrument. Davis is an experienced musician, having studied the harp for 15 years and studied musical performance at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Her sound is retro and psychedelic, but also highly musical despite the myriad of electronic effects used. She experimented with phasers and delay to create a fuzzy lo-fi sound, but her voice was clear and angelic––even when the words themselves weren’t.

One of the high points of Davis’ set was “River,” an original off her eponymous 2012 debut. Her expert use of strings as well as synthesizers created a layered sound; her drawn-out vocals only added to the sense of the melody itself having a flow or a current to it. It was impressive to watch her fingers move quickly along with her effortless and languid vocals. Even the slow songs in her set were saturated with feelings of sweetness, and these complemented the melancholy of Mosco’s sound well.

“It was definitely an honor to get asked to play,” Mosco said. “I was so happy that so many people took time out of their schedules to come tonight.”

Davis added how struck she was by the respectful and attentive audience. How could they not be, especially with all the unique sounds the two produced?

“I got my sound because I grew up playing classical harp,” Davis said. “But I’ve always been really interested in pop music and psychedelic music. I was always jealous of my friends who had guitars and did all these really cool effects. And then I thought, ‘hey, why not?’”

By experimenting with electronic looping and guitar pedals, Davis takes a classical instrument into the 21st century.

A self-proclaimed fan of the harpist, Mosco admitted she was in awe of Davis’ performance. “It was so incredible,” she said. “I was kind of in a trance watching her.”