Students from Lander College of Arts and Sciences Produce Three Academic Journals

New York, N.Y. – Are you interested in learning about the limits of presidential power in times of war? Or about why smart companies so often seem to make poor decisions? How about whether alcoholism is passed down genetically?

Students from the Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush (LAS) researched, wrote and produced scholarly articles on these and several other topics in three journals published during the 2011-2012 academic year on accounting and business, science and political science.

“At the Lander College in Flatbush, great emphasis is placed on developing research and analytical skills, competencies which are essential for the future success of our students,” said Robert Goldschmidt, the dean of students at LAS and Touro’s Vice President for Planning and Assessment. “These scholarly journals will enhance students’ learning experiences and will burnish their records in applying to graduate and professional schools.”

The Political Science Journal covers a variety of topics, from the presidency of Barack Obama, accountability with respect to torture and the government’s ability to withhold “state secrets” even when it is being sued. Alan Mond, deputy chair of political science at LAS, served as the faculty advisor and wrote the introduction.

Comprised of eight student articles as well as two from members of the faculty, the Touro Accounting and Business Journal was published in May, 2012. It includes student pieces on the role of the Federal Reserve in the 2008 recession, the downfall of MF Global Holdings and the Eurozone crisis. The faculty articles were on the topic of limited liability in the Bible as well as the January Effect, a general increase in stock prices during the first month of the year. Barry Bressler, the dean of undergraduate business at LAS, was the faculty adviser.

In creating the journal, “students demonstrated that they were able to extrapolate principles of business from textbooks and classroom learning into analysis of the world of Business and its ramifications,” said Dean Bressler.

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts & Sciences is now in its sixth year and two issues are produced annually, one during the fall semester, one in the spring. This year’s volume contained 17 scholarly articles by pre-med, pre-pharmacy pre-dental and other science students. They included an article on treatment options for Parkinson ’s disease, the search for vaccines to cure addiction and whether alcoholism is genetically based. Dr. Robert S. Bressler, the chair of the Biology Department, served as faculty advisor. Aliza Grossman, the editor-in-chief, is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program in computational biology and molecular biophysics at Rutgers University.

As in previous years, students have also conducted research projects with Dr. Milton Schiffenbauer, professor of biology, on the medicinal effects of both pomegranate juice and white tea. In recent years Dr. Schiffenbauer has presented his research at conferences hosted by the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego and New Orleans.

Academic journals in the fields of psychology and speech language pathology are also planned for the coming academic year, according to Dean Goldschmidt.

The Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush, with separate divisions for men and women, is located at Avenue J and East 16th Street in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. The school offers more than 20 majors and pre-professional options, including honors programs in biology, health sciences, psychology and political science. More than 1,000 students are enrolled each semester at the campus. Encompassing more than 90,000 square feet, the campus was inaugurated in the spring of 1995. In September 1997, the New York State Education Department officially designated this site as The Flatbush Branch Campus of Touro College.