The Everhart Museum and Geisinger Community Medical Center (GCMC) are using modern technology to bring life to a centuries-old Peruvian mummy that has been taken out of storage to be briefly featured in the exhibition Preserved: Traditions of the Andes.

Dr. G. E Hill, a prominent dentist from the Scranton area, donated the mummy to the Everhart Museum in 1923. Based on archival records, Dr. Hill received the mummy from his father following a stint in Peru. Other than that, very little is known about the mummy although it has been identified as belonging to the Paracas culture one of the oldest cultures of South America dating back to 800 – 100 B.C. The mummy was last on view in the 1990s.

Museum neighbor GCMC offered to use its technology to help answer some of those unknowns. Because the fragile mummy is in the fetal position and enclosed in a sealed glass case, Geisinger experts could not use CT scan technology. However, the X-ray method worked. Here are findings from Dana R. Jackson, M.D., diagnostic and forensic radiologist at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital:

• The estimated age of the mummy is late teens, and while the pelvis wasn’t visible, the interorbital distance and shape of the orbits suggest the biological sex is male.
• He is about 5 feet tall, which fits with the Peruvian stature at the time.
• He didn’t have any broken bones, but abnormal calcifications in the spine indicate a metabolic disorder.
• His toes are missing, which could have resulted from excessive handling of the body post mummification. Alternatively, they may have been amputated due to infection or frostbite.
• He is wrapped in layers of fabric, with an impression of the textile on his knee.

“This was certainly the first mummy I’ve ever encountered. I think we made some interesting observations and contributed to answering some of the museum’s questions,” said Dr. Scott A. Sauerwine, medical director for Geisinger Radiology.

“Evaluation of the mummy was akin to investigating a detective mystery. Dr. Sauerwine and I both enjoyed evaluating the mummified remains,” said Dr. Jackson. “Sharing and discussing our findings with each other, I believe yielded a comprehensive, respectful and significant evaluation of the decedent.”

Preserved: Traditions of the Andes will be on display March 9 through April 7 and open to the public on weekends. Traditions of ancient Andean cultures will be explored through photography, textiles, ceramics, tools and burial practices. Photography is not allowed.

“We have some new research and information, and so we thought it would be a good time to showcase the mummy and some of the other South American artifacts from our collection,” Everhart Museum Curator Francesca Saldan said.

Through the study of the mummy and the objects on view, the exhibition will also focus on the topic of preservation and the science behind it as well as addressing issues that face indigenous Andean communities today. Visitors will be encouraged to participate and consider how our society may be presented one day in futuristic times.

“Mummies have long been fascinating,” said Executive Director Aurore Giguet. “Peruvian mummification traditions started seven thousand years ago, that’s much earlier than in Egypt, and lasted until the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.”

For information on hours of operation and admission, visit https://everhart-museum.org/exhibitions-2/

In December 2018, the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Board of Directors elected new officers. Susan Shoemaker was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors, Mary Sewatsky, MD, Vice-Chair, Fr. Herbert Keller, Secretary and Suzanne M. Fletcher, Treasurer.  In addition to the new officers, the Board of Directors appointed Michael Greenberg, MD and Soumit Basu, MD, Ph.D.  to the Board of Directors.

Michael Greenberg, MD, is a physician on the radiation oncology team at Geisinger. Dr. Greenberg attended Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed his residency from Harvard Medical School Joint Center for Radiation Medicine. He also completed a fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is board certified in Radiation Oncology. Dr. Greenberg sees patients at The Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger Community Medical Center Cancer Center.

Soumit Basu, MD, Ph.D. has recently joined Geisinger as Northeast Regional Director of hematology/oncology and Allogeneic Blood & Marrow Transplantation Director for the Geisinger Center for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.  In his role as Regional Director, Dr. Basu will oversee the cancer programs at Geisinger Community Medical Center (GCMC) in Scranton and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center (GWV) in Wilkes-Barre.  Board certified in internal medicine and hematology, he is trained in blood/bone marrow transplantation and the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cancers, focusing on leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers as well as non-cancerous blood disorders and blood stem cell disorders. Dr. Basu earned his medical degree from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), New Brunswick, New Jersey. He then completed an internship and internal medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, followed by a three-year Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the University of Washington’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle. Additionally, Dr. Basu holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and a Doctoral Degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from RWJMS and Rutgers University. Dr. Basu sees patients at The Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger Community Medical Center Cancer Center.

Award-winning educator, speaker, writer and grassroots activist Robyn Ochs will lead the interactive event “Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality” on Tuesday, March 26 at Wilkes University. Ochs will speak at 6 p.m. in the McHale Athletic Center in the University Center on Main, 169 S. Main St., in Wilkes-Barre. The event is sponsored by Wilkes University’s Council on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (CODIE). It is free and open to the public.

The program will explore the question of how we assign labels to our complicated experiences of sexuality. Using an interactive format, attendees will explore the landscape of sexuality. The session will explore a number of questions, including: Where do we fall on various sexuality continua? How do we label? How old were we when we came to our identities and to our sexualities? How asexual/sexual are we? How well do our friends/family members understand us? The program will expand your perspective and change the way you think about labels.

Ochs is the editor of Bi Women Quarterly and two anthologies: the 42-country collection Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World and RECOGNIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men. An advocate for the rights of people of all orientations and genders to live safely, openly and with full access and opportunity, her work focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of complex identities, and mobilizing people to be powerful allies to one another within and across identities and social movements.

Her writings have been published in numerous bi, women’s studies, multicultural, and LGBTQ+ anthologies, and she has taught courses on LGBTQ+ history & politics in the United States and Canada, the politics of sexual orientation, & the experiences of those who transgress the binary categories of gay|straight, masculine|feminine, black|white &/or male|female.

Ochs was recently named by Teen Vogue as one of “9 Bisexual Women Who Are Making History.” A former Harvard University administrator, Ochs served for 12 years on the board of directors of MassEquality, Massachusetts’ statewide equality organization, and for three years on the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently Campus Pride’s Voice & Action Award, the Bisexual Resource Center’s Community Leadership Award, PFLAG’s Brenda Howard Award, the National LGBT Task Force’s Susan J. Hyde Activism Award and the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus’s Lifetime Achievement Award. At the 2009 Creating Change Conference, the National LGBTQ Task Force awarded Ochs the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for Longevity in the Movement.

For more stories about Wilkes University and its students, faculty and staff, please visit News@Wilkes.

The College of Health Sciences and Education at Misericordia University is holding its fifth annual Health Sciences Interprofessional Middle School Career Camp from July 22-26 for students entering the sixth through eighth grades. The daily camp is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Students who have an interest in the health and medical sciences fields can come to Misericordia University and experience life on a college campus, and speak to students and faculty in their fields of interest. The camp provides firsthand experience in exploring innovative technologies that also enable students to gain a better understanding of specialty fields in health care. Students will be able to practice clinical skills on a SimBaby and SimMan in simulation laboratories; master basic human anatomy, neurology and physiology with the Anatomage virtual dissection table; use their knowledge to help develop treatment plans from actual therapy case studies, and use specialized equipment in each area of practice.

Misericordia University features medical imaging, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, sonography, speech-language pathology, and other health and medical sciences-related career fields. Students will gain a better understanding of the many health and medical sciences career fields, but more importantly, they will gain an understanding of the fields of study and learn about different career paths available to them as they begin to chart their own futures.

The five-day, activities-based Health Sciences Interprofessional Middle School Career Camp at Misericordia University is under the direction of Jennifer Dessoye, O.T.D., O.T.R./L., assistant professor of occupational therapy. It costs $225, and is limited to 30 students. To register for the camp, please log on to http://www.misericordia.edu/camps and click on the health sciences middle school career camp and fill out the registration form, or contact Dr. Dessoye at jdessoye2@misericordia.edu or 570-674-6494.

Kerimcan Ozan, M.S., M.A., Ph.D., assistant professor of marketing at Marywood University, was recently notified that his paper, “Offerings as Digitalized Interactive Platforms: A Conceptual Framework and Implications,” has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award. Endowed through the generous support of Shelby D. Hunt and others, this annual award recognizes the article published in the Journal of Marketing (JM) that make the most significant contributions to marketing theory in a given calendar year.

As noted in a correspondence from Christine Moorman, T. Austin Finch, Sr. professor of business administration at Duke University, at the Fuqua School of Business, to Dr. Ozcan, “Your paper was one of a small group of papers that received the highest number of votes from JM’s Editorial Review Board, Associate Editors, and the Advisory Board. We had a record number of votes submitted this year and you should be proud that this esteemed group of scholars selected your paper for this honor.”

The process for selecting the winning paper will proceed through a three-step process that includes: a statement of support of each paper’s nomination; a review by a three-member committee; and final selection by the award committee. All Journal of Marketing Awards are presented annually at the Summer American Marketing Association Conference, which will take place in Chicago, Ill., in August 2019.

For additional information about Marywood University’s School of Business and Global Innovation, please visit, www.marywood.edu/business, or call (570) 348-6274.

VIA Public Media’s production division VIA Studios Global (VSG) will present the panel discussion “The Digital Age of Filmmaking 2.0” at the 2019 Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival on Sunday, March 24at 2:30 p.m. at the PNC Auditorium in the Loyola Science Center at the University of Scranton.

Geared towards aspiring and seasoned filmmakers alike, the panel will feature the award-winning team discussing the process of making documentaries for broadcast, digital and even IMAX movie production / distribution. The team will share never before seen footage, insights and a hosted question and answer session with those in attendance.

Panelists include:

• Tom Curra, VSG CEO & Executive Producer
• Ben Payavis II, VSG COO & Producer
• Chris Zellers, Creative Director, VSG Digital
• Greg Matkosky, VSG Director
• Kris Hendrickson, VSG Producer/Director
• John Mikulak, VSG Producer/Director
• Jim Donnelly, VSG Producer/Director

The discussion will be broken into two parts with Neil Prisco, VSG Creative Director of Marketing and Branding serving as moderator.

Details and free reservations are available at nepafilmfestival.com

About the Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival:

Established in 2016 by the Waverly Community House, The Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival is supported by the F. Lammot Belin Arts Foundation and its mission to “build community through the arts.” Dedicated to nurturing emerging and independent filmmakers from Northeast Pennsylvania and around the world, the three-day festival correspondingly promotes cultural awareness and appreciation of film as an art form by exposing local audiences to unique and original cinema. For more information or to purchase tickets for events scheduled March 22 through 24, 2019, visit nepafilmfestival.com. Also follow Northeastern Pennsylvania Film Festival on Facebook and Instagram.

VIA Public Media Mission Statement:

VIA Public Media is a catalyst, convener and educator, using media, partnerships, ideas and programs to advance the best attributes of an enlightened society.

Marywood University will present its 7^th Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Events on Thursday, April 4, and Friday, April 5, 2019. The two-day events are sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Work Association and the Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Committee. The events are free and open to the public and volunteers are welcome for the Annual Poster Day Event.

The film, I am Jane Doe, directed by Mary Mazzio, will be shown on Thursday, April 4, 2019, from 4-6 p.m., in the Swartz Center for Spiritual Life, Room B. Following the film screening, representatives from Marywood University, Penn State University, and the Women’s Resource Center will hold a Question and Answer session.

I am Jane Doe is an intense documentary, narrated and co-produced by Academy Award-nominee Jessica Chastain, follows real cases of American girls enslaved in the child sex trade through ads in newspaper’s online classified section.

On Friday, April, 5, 2019, Marywood and community members will meet at the Learning Commons, Room 331-337, at Noon for Marywood’s Annual Poster Day Event. This is a community outreach event aimed at providing education and awareness. The event will begin with a brief training session, which will provide insight on how to talk about human trafficking, how to recognize it, and what to do if you believe trafficking is occurring. Volunteers will be divided into groups and will distribute informational posters within the community at local businesses, hotels, bus stations, and airports.

For additional information about the events, or to join the Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Committee, please contact Sunny Sinha, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Social Work at Marywood University, at Sinha.sunny@marywood.edu

Marywood University’s Phi Beta Lambda (PBL – Postsecondary Business Leaders) in partnership with the Alumni Office, will present its 6^th annual Speed Networking event with local professionals and alumni on Thursday, April 4, 2019, from 5:30-9:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Liguori Center on the University’s campus. Dinner, basket raffles, and invaluable networking will be available.

Future Business Leaders of America/PBL is a nonprofit education association with a quarter million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. FBLA/PBL is also the largest business career student organization in the world. The philanthropic cause of Marywood’s chapter of the Phi Betha Lambda National organization is Habitat for Humanity.

For additional information about Marywood University’s Speed Networking Event, please email Marywoodpbl@gmail.com.

Decades after the French revolution, political and social turmoil set the scene for Victor Hugo’s epic saga, Les Miserables. The blockbuster new 6-part dramatization begins April 14 on MASTERPIECE on PBS.

VIA Public Media invites the public to a free special preview of Les MiserablesSunday, April 7 at 3 p.m. at VIA Public Media studios in Pittston to see the first episode before its broadcast premiere.

The free sneak preview will also include a panel discussion with special guests setting the historical and literary context of the program. Panelists include Jonathan Kuiken, Ph.D., assistant professor of global cultures, Wilkes University, Erin Sadlack, Ph.D., associate professor of English, Marywood University and Alexander Vari, Ph.D., associate professor of history, Marywood University.

The presentation will be followed by refreshments and prize giveaways.

Details and free reservations are available at wvia.org.