Compiled by Avery Treend, university news and communications intern 

Scott Kenworthy, associate professor of comparative religion, recently published Understanding World Christianity: Russia with Russian co-author Alexander S. Agadjanian. The book examines Christianity in a Russian context with a focus on six intersections: historical, denominational, sociopolitical, geographical, biographical and theological. It’s been recognized by leading scholars as “essential reading for non-specialists and specialists alike that fills a major gap in the literature of World Christianity.” 

The University of Buffalo has awarded Philip Smith, assistant professor of kinesiology, nutrition, and health, its George W. Thorn Award, which is given to alumni under 40 who have made outstanding contributions to their career fields or academic areas. Smith’s current research focuses on health inequities resulting from tobacco use and the health risks of vaping and youth vaping. He has played a lead role in developing  innovative public health strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic that have been implemented at Miami University and replicated by peers and other organizations. 

The Society for the Study of Social Problems awarded Kristen Budd, an associate professor of sociology and gerontology, the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Division’s inaugural Scholarly Achievement Award for her contributions in teaching and research. Budd’s research has focused on three major areas: the characteristics of sexual assault, public perceptions of policies that address sexual violence and social/legal responses to sexual violence. Additionally, Budd has served on several committees and is a founding member of the Sex Offense Policy Research group. 

Robbie Ritchie (Miami ‘19), master’s degree student in computer science with advisor Khodakhast Bibak, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering, was recently recognized by CEC for publishing two works during the pandemic: “SQUAREMIX: A Faster Pseudorandom Number Generator for Dynamic-Multithreading Platforms,” was published as a poster in the Data Compression Conference in 2020 and “Everlasting security of quantum key distribution with 1K-DWCDM and quadratic hash” was  published in Quantum Information and Computation. 

The association for Institutional Research recently published "Creating Institutional Diversity Dashboards: Where do IR Offices Start?" written by Mollie Miller, associate director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, and Inger Bergom. The article highlights the role institutional research staff has to play, as well as the efforts made for Miami's dashboard. 

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