Like the students they lead, Eastern faculty are active scholars and creative thinkers. Several of them authored books in the past year, with topics ranging from theoretical concepts to fictional stories.

Cara Bergstrom-Lynch, professor of sociology, released “Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals Becoming Parents or Remaining Childfree: Confronting Social Inequalities.” The book investigates the public battles being waged in the United States over the rights of LGB people to form legally and culturally recognized families.

Anne Dawson, professor of art history, edited and co-authored “Rare Light: J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882-1919.” The book is a collection of essays exploring the life and career of American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir, who painted some of his finest canvases while living in Windham, CT.

Fatma Pakdil, professor of business administration, co-authored “Performance Leadership,” which argues that employee performance evaluations are ineffective and, conversely, promotes the idea of “leading employee performance.”

Lauren Rosenberg, professor of English, wrote “The Desire for Literacy: Writing in the Lives of Adult Learners.” The book explains how marginalized adult learners are able to theorize about their position in society, question dominant ideas and challenge traditional literacy narratives in American culture.

Allison Speicher, professor of English, authored “Schooling Readers: Reading Common Schools in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction.” The book investigates the intersection of education and literature and focuses on the “common school narrative,” a genre of fiction set in a 19th century one-room school.

Christopher Torockio, professor of English, released his newest novel “The Soul Hunters.” It is a story about three brothers who are cleaning out their recently deceased father’s home and mourning their loss.

Emiliano Villanueva, professor of business administration, co-authored “La Economía del Vino en España y el Mundo” (“The Economy of Wine in Spain and the World”). The book won the International