Timothy Noone
Professor, School of Philosophy
Ph.D., University of Toronto

What does it take to be a medieval manuscript detective? Timothy Noone uses Latin, paleography and philosophy to scrutinize ancient texts, some written more than 100 years before the printing press, to prepare critical editions of philosopher-theologian John Duns Scotus' works for publication. Noone's current project is the Reportatio Parisiensis examinata, transcriptions of lectures the philosopher gave in Paris between 1302 and 1307. Funded by a $125,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Noone searches for error clusters, repetitions and other clues that identify the most authentic texts. Reportatio Parisiensis examinata is the first volume in the second series of Noone's Duns Scotus project. There were five books in the first series, the Opera philosophica.

David Jobes
Professor of Psychology,
School of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., American University

There are people alive now because of someone they never met , whose name they do not know. That someone is suicidologist David Jobes. Thanks to his innovative Suicide Status Form, which has open-ended questions that allow patients to more thoroughly describe their feelings, and to the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality method he developed for quickly identifying potential suicide victims and engaging them in their own care, Jobes is helping other mental health professionals better assess and treat suicidal patients. Jobes is now developing clinical trials for a new psychotherapy treatment for suicide prevention among college students.

Grayson Wagstaff
Associate Professor,
Benjamin T. Rome School of Music
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

"Musicologists at CUA have a long tradition of studying the intersection of religious beliefs, music and liturgy," says musicologist Grayson Wagstaff, who studies the original manuscripts of 16th-century Spanish requiems to understand the traditions of post-Moorish Spain. He focuses on composer Cristóbal de Morales (1500-1553), one of the first Spanish composers to gain international recognition. Morales wrote requiems for elaborate commemorative rituals called exequias , which honored the deaths of noblemen. Wagstaff believes these rituals may have been used as pedagogical and propaganda tools to unify Spain with its New World colonies during the tumultuous decades after Jews and Muslims were expelled from Spain in 1492. His research has illuminated several traditions of early Catholic music in Mexico.

Shavaun Wall
Professor of Education,
School of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., Columbia University

Shavaun Wall knows that a head start is a good start. As principal investigator of one of 15 national research teams studying Early Head Start, the federal program for at-risk children from birth to age 3, Wall and her team of CUA researchers interviewed families at the United Cerebral Palsy Early Head Start in Alexandria, Va. The national evaluation found that 3-year-olds in the program performed better on tests of cognitive and language development than children in a control group. Wall has also investigated the kindergarten readiness of Head Start kids. "There's incredible value for these children in early intervention," Wall says. CUA received a total of $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for this work.

Patrick Tuite
Assistant Professor of Drama,
School of Arts and Sciences
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

"I see myself as a bridge builder," says theater historian Patrick Tuite. One of those bridges is from past to present: Tuite's research into the public pageants and theater of 17th-century Ireland and his familiarity with the political street theater of Northern Ireland's marching season help shed light on the troubles that still plague that country. Because Tuite, a Roman Catholic, has spent lots of time with the Apprentice Boys of Derry, a contemporary Protestant marching group, he's also building bridges between factions. "I'm hoping I can support a new way to commemorate the past in Northern Ireland," he says.