Enhance my knowledge of information and research in the Human Services field, particularly in the field of Horticulture Therapy.  Attend three essential workshops offered by the American Horticultural Therapy Association.  Visit several Universities and medical facilities throughout the United States and Canada which teach students and instructors in this field.  This sabbatical will allow me to learn about the best practices now available in this area.

I will be completing my doctoral dissertation on the problem of religious pluralism. Many people believe that each religion is true in its own way and that there are "many roads to God", but it is not easy to understand or defend these claims since different religions make inconsistent claims about the nature of God and reality and have conflicting conceptions of piety. My analysis will focus on a defense of pluralism which uses the work of Immanuel Kant to explain how differing religious concepts and experiences might represent one underlying divine reality.

Professional updating in cross-cultural education through immersion in a second language and culture (at the Alliance Française, Paris) in order to discover effective strategies for improving student communication across linguistic barriers.  Goal is to enhance my own pedagogy toward ESL and IESL students through observation of instruction directed toward ISL students, consultation with international faculty, and expanded study of the International Phonetic Alphabet. 

The research project that is the subject of my sabbatical is to examine efforts that have been made at the college level to incorporate greater civic education and civic engagement into the college curriculum.  I will be working with the Institute for Intercollegiate Studies, the Civic Education Project and the Civic Education and Engagement Committee of the American Political Science Association.

I plan to interview a Swiss octogenarian about the socio-economic changes in her Alpine valley . She will be speaking a local French dialect. For personal enrichment, I look forward to visiting le Mont Saint-Michel and to viewing the Tapestry of Bayeux in northern France.  Finally, I hope to work with the English staff at the Gymnase Français in Bienne, Switzerland, to set up an e-mail exchange between their English language classes and our French language classes.

Acquire grant writing skills through a 6 week long series of online classes in order to be able to bring back our tutoring program which was cut but constitutes the foundation of our language program and an essential support to student success. I also hope those skills will become operational in upcoming times of self-reliance due to lack of state funding for higher education.

Deepen understanding of the gap between women's traditional role in the kitchen and their underrepresentation in the chef's kitchen through research and interviews with professional chefs, wine makers, and food writers.