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Ursinus Research, Scholarship & Inquiry

Ursinus College faculty are on the cutting-edge of new and innovative research.
Our scholars apply their expertise to a range of contemporary topics while viewing them through a unique lens.

Because we are a liberal arts institution, we have license to break the boundaries of conventional scholarship in ways that maximize its impact.

Meet our researchers.

  • <section class="large-cta" style="background-image: url('/live/image/gid/182/width/1440/height/730/43802_20230213_Ursinus_Margo_Reed-32_2.rev.1680717718.jpg')"><div class="large-cta__overlay"><h3 class="large-cta__headline">Taking Root</h3><div class="large-cta__caption">A Liberal Arts Approach to Environmental Sustainability<br/><br/><a class="btn-link" href="/live/news/7449-taking-root">Feature Story</a></div></div></section>
  • <section class="large-cta" style="background-image: url('/live/image/gid/182/width/1440/height/730/43764_journalism.rev.1680639875.png')"><div class="large-cta__overlay"><h3 class="large-cta__headline">Leading the Conversation</h3><div class="large-cta__caption"><p> Journalism Across the Political Divide</p><p><a class="btn-link" href="/ursi/leading-the-conversation-journalism-across-the-political-divide/index.php">Feature Story</a></p></div></div></section>
  • <section class="large-cta" style="background-image: url('/live/image/gid/182/width/1440/height/730/43770_Ursinus_presents_BASIL_at_Exp_Bio_2022_2.rev.1680702823.jpg')"><div class="large-cta__overlay"><h3 class="large-cta__headline">Finding the Cure</h3><div class="large-cta__caption">Shepherding Classroom-based Research Experience in Colleges and High Schools<br/><br/><a class="btn-link" href="/ursi/finding-the-cure/index.php">Feature Story</a></div></div></section>

 

Research Frontiers

Social Experiment or Wise Investment?

 

The Big Picture on Embryonic Development

 

Health Self-Efficacy and Race: The Hidden Barriers

 

Social Movements: A Theory and History

 

A Pioneer of Drag Performance and Representation

 

The Pleasure of Your Good Fortune

 

The Data Behind Wildlife Protection

 

An Analytical Toolkit for Music Theory

 

Field Notes Graphic

Field Notes

Ursinus faculty are not only leading classroom innovations on campus, but the take part in research endeavors all over the world. This is just a sampling of what they’ve been up to.

See where we are Going

The Burning Questions

Burning Question graphic

In Bold Defense: What Role Should Colleges Play in Supporting Faculty’s Public Discourse?
By Johanna Mellis
Assistant Professor of History 
The Answer

What are we really censoring when we talk about banning books?
By Diane Skorina
Librarian of the College
The Answer

Is a populist conservatism confronting colleges?
By Jonathan Marks
Professor of Politics
The Answer


Headlines & Abstracts


  • Columbia Journalism Review Logo Assistant Professor in Journalism Doron Taussig and Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies Tony Nadler discussed journalism and conservative politics in a widely researched article.

  • The Guardian Assistant Professor of History Johanna Mellis, co-host of a widely listened to The End of Sport Podcast, penned an opinion piece on racism in college sports.

  • npr png logo Professor of Theater Domenic Scudera lent his expertise to a broadcast about drag performance and trans reputation on Broadway for the NPR program “The Takeaway.”

  • KYW Newsradio Scott Deacle, an associate professor of business and economics, regularly contributes to a podcast about global economic issues.


  • The New Yorker logo
    Talia Argondezzi, director of Ursinus’s writing and speaking program, penned a humor column titled, “The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul.”

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    Chronicle of Higher Education Logo Professor of Politics Jonathan Marks, author of A Conservative Case for Liberal Education, wrote about conservative activism on college campuses.

  • USA Today Alice Leppert, an associate professor of media and communication studies and an expert in TV, film, and celebrity, led her expertise to an article about cyberbullying directed at celebrities.


  • Philadelphia Inquirer png logo Ursinus’s commitment to wellness engrained into its campus culture, along with its historic signing of the international Okanagan Charter, was covered in a story that included quotes from President Robyn Hannigan and Vice President for Health and Wellness Laura Moliken.

  • The New York Times png logo The research of Professor of Psychology Cathy Chambliss on freudenfreude (and how to cultivate it) was featured in an article about the joy we derive from the success of others.

Óscar Iván Useche, Modern Languages

Book: Founders of the Future: The Science and Industry of Spanish Modernization (Bucknell University Press).

Doron Taussig, Journalism

Book: What We Mean by the American Dream: Stories We Tell About Meritocracy (ILR Press)

Sarah Kaufman, Art

In Devil’s Pool, she presents a collection of color photographs that reveal people of all ages, demographics, and body types intersecting with nature at a swimming hole in Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia.

Johannes Karreth, Politics and IR

Incentivizing Peace: How International Organizations Can Help Prevent Civil Wars in Member Countries was listed as a featured book for the United Nations Library’s research guide on peace at Geneva. 

Catherine van de Ruit, HEP

Published article in Global Agenda for Social Justice 2: “The problem of insecure community health workers in the Global South” 

Revolutions in Liberal Education

By Paul Stern, Professor of Politics
In June 2023, Ursinus College is hosting, for the first time, a Colloquium on Liberal Education. Funded by a Teagle Cornerstone Grant, the colloquium brings together some of higher education’s foremost thinkers to discuss a reinvigoration of liberal education in the face of the numerous challenges, theoretical and practical, it currently confronts. This piece lays the groundwork for the discussion that will guide the colloquium.

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