Duquesne professors named to ‘40 under 40’

Courtesy of Temple Lovelace and Jacob Rooksby
Lovelace and Rooksby were listed on the Pittsburgh Magazine’s ‘40 Under 40’ list
Courtesy of Temple Lovelace and Jacob Rooksby
Lovelace and Rooksby were listed on the Pittsburgh Magazine’s ‘40 Under 40’ list

Harikrishnan Rajkumar | Staff Writer

09/21/17

Students who pick up Pittsburgh Magazine’s annual 40 Under 40 issue may see two familiar faces. Two Duquesne professors, Temple Lovelace and Jacob Rooksby, were honored with the award.

Temple Lovelace is an associate professor in the School of Education and is teaching courses like social justice, math education and advanced behavior in education.

She received her doctorate in Special Education/Applied Behavioral Analysis from Ohio State University in 2008. Lovelace is a member of various national organizations such as the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association and the International Association of Behavioral Analysis.

Along with that she has received numerous grants and has been published in eight journals. Lovelace is working currently on topics related to “Impacts Of Students Voice in Educational Reform” and “Impacts Of Culturally Responsive Students on Behavior.”

She was quite surprised to find herself on the magazine’s list.

“I am totally honored to get my name on this list and shocked, too,” she said.

Lovelace got into the field of teaching thanks to her family’s background in the practice.

“My family has a lot of teachers and my grandmother is my main inspiration on choosing this path,” she said.

One of her recent focuses in teaching has been on the increase of Internet-based learning and e-education.

“I think that e-education or online classes are great for this society and will help people from all backgrounds and people from different countries to meet each other who cannot be there in person,” Lovelace said.

The other honoree from Duquesne was Jacob Rooksby. Rooksby is the associate dean of administration and an associate professor of law in the university’s School Of Law. He got his Juris Doctorate from the University Of Virginia in 2007 and finished his PhD there in 2012.

Rooksby teaches courses such as Social Media and the Law, Law and Higher Education and Technology Innovation Law. He is also the author of a book called “The Branding Of The American Mind” and the co-author of the yet-to-be released six edition of “The Law in Higher Education” textbook.

He is also extensively involved in the community. Rooksby is a board member of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, a board member of the Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association, winner of the 2014 Dr. John and Liz Murray Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship and a Pennsylvania State Bar member. He has also written many articles for magazines and journals on the impact of intellectual properties and branding.

He was pleased to see that he had been named by Pittsburgh Magazine as a 40 Under 40 member.

“I am happy to see my name on the list,” Rooksby said.

He felt that his family experiences helped prepare him for a career in law.

“My ambition was to become a lawyer right from my childhood and my professors had a great impact on me and moulded me of what I am today,” he said.

Rooksby used to practice law for a few years before he realized that he wanted to get into the educational field and teach other people.

Several of the article he’s written are on branding. He believes that brands play an important role in American life.

“People today are after brands rather than quality, they don’t see whether they are getting a product of good quality or not, the consumers only see the brand,” Rooksby said.

He also addressed social media and law, which he says “are making a great impact on the judiciary and the courts.”

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