College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Jamie Cockfield, professor of history, published a review of William Fuller Jr.’s “The Foe Within” in the January issue of The American Historical Review.
Dr. Gordon Johnston, associate professor of English, collaborated with photographer Maryann Bates in the mixed-media multiple-artist exhibit, “Pairings: Poems and Photographs,” which is on display through March at Laity Lodge in Kerrville, Texas. Johnston’s poems “Angels in Old Graveyards” and “Eighty-Seven Angels,” and Bates’ photographs of stone angels from Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon were chosen by curator Ginger Geyer for inclusion in the show. Johnston’s interview with poet Pattiann Rogers, a former Ferrol A. Sams Jr. Writer-in-Residence at Mercer, entitled “Breaking Old Forms: A Conversation,” is under contract at The Georgia Review and will appear in the next issue.
Dr. Ajaz Karim, assistant professor of earth and environmental science, and senior Chi Vuong, attended the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 10–14. The meeting brought together more than 15,000 earth and space scientists. Vuong presented the results of a year long, bi-weekly, water chemistry monitoring work on the Altamaha River near Jesup. The study was entitled “Solute Export and Carbon Dioxide Trends of the Altamaha River Basin.” Khusboo Patel, who graduated in December with a degree in chemistry and is now at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was among the three co-authors.
Dr. Paul Lewis, associate professor of Christianity, has published a chapter in Mercer Press’s new book, “Twentieth-Century Shapers of Baptist Social Ethics,” entitled, “Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918): Pioneer of Baptist Social Ethics.”
Dr. Frank Macke, professor of communication and theatre arts, was invited to serve as a founding member of the new Society for North American Phenomenology, which will have its inaugural meeting at Florida Atlanta University in the spring of 2008. His article,
“Sexuality and Parrhesia in the Phenomenology of Psychological Development: The Flesh of Human Communicative Embodiment and the Game of Intimacy,” was selected as the lead article for the Winter 2007 issue of The Journal of Phenomenological Psychology (Vol. 38, No. 2, 2007, pp. 157–180).
Scot J. Mann, assistant professor and theatre director, recently traveled to India to work as sword master for the major Hindi film feature “Drona,” starring Abisheck Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, and Priyanka Chopra. Mann choreographed swordplay and served as a stunt double for the principal actors. The film is set for release in Asia in the summer of 2008. Mann also traveled to Chicago to teach stage combat at the Society of American Fight Director’s Regional Workshop, instructing disciplines of Movement, Kali, Bullwhip, and Case of Rapiers.
Dr. Matthew Oberrieder, assistant professor of philosophy, participated in a conference on “Liberty, Responsibility, and Civil Institutions in Giambattista Vico’s ‘New Science,’” in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4-7. He also participated in a conference on “Liberty and Stoicism,” in Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 15-18. He led his class of Great Books students in an on-campus rhapsode recital of passages from Homer’s epics in the original Homeric Greek in dactylic hexameter on Dec. 4. Oberrieder presented a paper entitled “On Socrates’ Royal Tale in Plato’s ‘Alcibiades I’” at the Eastern Division Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, in Baltimore, Md., Dec. 28. Oberrieder presented a paper entitled “‘Eros,’ Democracy, and Tyranny in Thucydides” at the Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, La., Jan. 11.
Dr. Matthew Oberrieder, assistant professor of philosophy, and Dr. Will Jordan, assistant professor of political science, co-organized a political philosophy panel for the Georgia Political Science Association annual meeting in Savannah, Nov. 16. Oberrieder supervised two Mercer philosophy majors, Abigail Roach and Samuel Sholander, in writing their papers for presentation at the conference, and he composed comments on the paper of a third Mercer student, John Pascarella, a double major in philosophy and political science.
Oberrieder and Jordan also co-organized an on-campus conference on “Politics, Philosophy, and Contemporary Culture,” that occurred Nov. 28. The conference consisted of three sessions: a panel of four Mercer students, Nicole Moore, John Pascarella, Abigail Roach and Samuel Sholander, each of whom presented a paper on Plato’s “Republic” and the issue of individualism; a panel of three faculty, including two guest-faculty and Dr. Charlotte Thomas, chair of the philosophy department, each presenting a paper addressing the link between political philosophy and literature for liberal education; and a keynote address on “Pop Culture at the End of the World: America’s Apocalyptic Angst” by Eduardo Velasquez, a political philosopher from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
Dr. Anya Silver, associate professor of English, had a poem, “Ash Wednesday,” published in Christianity & Literature.
Dr. Anna Weaver, associate professor and chair of foreign languages, was honored with the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques at the residence of Philippe Ardanax, the Consul General of France, in Atlanta, Dec. 6.
Dr. Carolyn Yackel, and Dr. Jeff Denny, associate professors of mathematics, published the paper “Partial Fractions in Calculus, Number Theory, and Algebra” in the November 2007 issue of the College Mathematics Journal.
Walter F. George School of Law
Dr. Michael Dean, assistant dean, and visiting assistant professor at Tift College of Education, presented “Key Factors in Alumni Major Giving” at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education conference in Chicago, Ill., Dec. 11. The presentation included findings from a national study on voluntary financial contributions to Carnegie classified Doctoral Research Universities. Dean investigated the most influential socio-demographic, alumni involvement, and student experience factors on alumni major giving and constructed a profile of institutional advancement leaders.
David Ritchie, associate professor, has been elected program chair for the Law and Humanities section of the Association of American Law Schools. He will plan the section program for the 2009 annual meeting to be held in San Diego, Calif.
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Dr. Michael W. Jann, professor, was appointed to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Research Awards Committee for 2008.
Dr. Leisa L. Marshall, clinical associate professor, was appointed to the Program and Services Committee of the Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter for 2007-2008.
Dr. Susan W. Miller, associate dean and professor, published “Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in the Geriatric Patient,” Chapter 23 in the fourth edition of “Clinical Pharmacokinetics” textbook, J.E. Murphy, editor.
School of Medicine
Dr. Janet F. Piskurich, associate professor of immunology and associate professor of internal medicine, attended the American Association of Medical College’s Mid-Career Women Faculty Seminar in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 15-18.
Dr. Melton Strozier, professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, was appointed to the editorial board of the journal Academic Psychiatry for 2008-2010. The journal is for psychiatric educators in medical schools and residency programs. Its subscribers include members of the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry, the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, and the Association of Directors of Medical Student Training in Psychiatry.
School of Engineering
Dr. Scott Schultz, assistant professor of industrial engineering, had his article “A Glass Float Line Simulation: Modeling Methodology and Applications,” reviewed and published in the November issue of the Spanish language e-journal, “Revista Virtual, Virtual Pro, Ingenieria en Procesos,” or, roughly translated, “Virtual Pro, Industrial Process Engineering.”
James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
Dr. Alan Culpepper, dean, was presented with a Festschrift at the annual meeting of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion meeting in San Diego, Calif. The Festschrift, which contains articles written by former students, will be published as the spring 2008 edition of the journal Perspectives in Religious Studies. His commentary on the Gospel of Mark, “Mark,” was published in November by Smyth & Helwys Bible commentaries. Culpepper presented a paper entitled “John 21:24-25-The ‘Johannine Sphragis’” at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Diego, Calif., November.
Tift College of Education
Dr. Peter Ross, professor, published “Systematic Application of Social Skills for Building an Enduring Classroom Management Program: Evolution of ‘BOSS’” in the January 2008 issue of Review of Higher Education and Self-Learning.
Dr. Jacquelyn Culpepper, assistant professor in graduate education, has been a member of a yearlong statewide reading consortium researching literacy teacher preparation in Georgia. On Dec. 1, at the National Reading Conference held in Austin, Texas, Culpepper participated in a symposium and panel session that presented the group’s work to date. Her contribution was on the topic of “How Teachers in Georgia are Prepared to Address Reading in Content Area Classrooms at the Secondary Level.” Culpepper presented the keynote speech and led a workshop for the entire faculty of Livsey Elementary in Atlanta on Oct. 12. The workshop was on “Creating Young Writers Using the Six Writing Traits to Enrich Writing in the Classrooms.”
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
Dr. Freida Fuller, professor, serves as a consultant to the Research College of Nursing in Kansas City, Mo., for the reaccredidation of the College by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
College of Continuing and Professional Studies
Marna Burns, assistant professor of human sciences, and Dr. Kyra Osmus, professor of human sciences, served as site coordinators for the annual conference of the National Organization for Human Services held in Atlanta, Oct. 31-Nov. 3. The theme of the conference was “A Time to Every Human Services Purpose: Social Equilibrium and Social Change.” Keynote speakers included Dr. Harold McPheeters, founder of the contemporary human services movement, and Elisabeth Omilami, daughter of Hosea Williams and Executive Director of Hosea Feed the Hungry, the largest African American led human services organization in the Southeast.
Dr. Diane Clark, assistant professor of counseling and human sciences, published “Response to the Parallel Process in Substance Abuse Counselor Supervision” in “Critical Incidents in Clinical Supervision: Addictions, Community, and School Counseling Supervision,” a 2007 publication of the American Counseling Association.
Dr. Nancy J. Gup, visiting assistant professor of human sciences, was interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her statements regarding workplace violence were quoted throughout the Dec. 16 article entitled “Keep Anger in Check: Company Workplace Violence.” Gup has also been invited to present on Feb. 18 to the Douglasville Rotary Club about “Violence and Mental Illness in the Workplace.”
Dr. Gail W. Johnson, assistant dean, and Dr. Thomas E. Kail, dean, delivered a presentation entitled “Eliminating Barriers to Persistence and Retention Among Adult Learners” at the annual conference and meeting of the Association for Continuing Higher Education. The presentation was based on more than a decade of research and work with adult undergraduate students. The conference was hosted by Virginia Tech and was held in Roanoke, Va., Oct. 28-30.
Dr. Hani Khoury, associate professor of mathematics and chair of the mathematics and science department, has been approved as a Volunteer Grand Awards judge for the 2008 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, May 11-17. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world’s largest pre-college celebration of scientific excellence. Students’ projects encompass a wide range of issues and disciplines, often addressing issues that have stumped scientists for years. In 2007, more than 20 percent of the young scientists competing at Intel ISEF either had or had applied for a patent for their work. Intel ISEF finalists come from a field of more than 65,000 students who participated in more than 500 regional Intel ISEF-affiliated science fairs around the world. This year nearly 1,500 students from more than 40 nations will compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship.
Dr. Karen Lacey, assistant professor of English, presented “Critical Thinking in a Cross-Disciplinary Setting” for the College of Continuing and Professional Studies’ December Dialogue on Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Billy Slaton, associate professor of counseling and human sciences, and Dr. Lynn Tankersley, assistant professor of criminal justice, delivered a presentation on professionalism and education to criminal justice students at Gwinnett Technical School and College on Nov. 23.
Dr. Billy Slaton, associate professor of counseling and human sciences, met with representatives of the Fulton County Police Academy. Major Susan Miller, director of the Fulton County Police Academy, is a graduate of the CCPS Organization Leadership program and the Public Safety Leadership Institute. Many other Mercer graduates were in attendance, notably Chief James McCarty, Chief of Police of Fairburn, a graduate of the Douglas County Regional Academic Center criminal justice program.
Townsend School of Music
Dr. Monty Cole, associate professor of saxophone and clarinet and director of jazz studies, performed with Barry Manilow in Atlanta’s Phillips Arena, playing clarinet, bass clarinet, bari sax and flute. He also performed on the Oprah Winfrey Show in November as part of an orchestra that backed up pop star Josh Groban.
Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music, performed in an instrumental ensemble for a “Hanging of the Greens” service at Riverside United Methodist Church, Macon, Dec. 2. He served as trumpet performer in a chamber orchestra at First Baptist Church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Macon, Dec. 9. Hill gave recruitment performances and master classes at Eagle’s Landing, McIntosh and Starr’s Mill High Schools, along with Dr. Monty Cole, associate professor of saxophone and clarinet and director of jazz studies; Maestro Adrian Gnam, distinguished artist-in-residence; Mike Pekarek, adjunct professor of music; Charles Anderson and Mike Andrew, adjunct lecturers; Dr. Marcus Reddick, assistant professor of music, and graduate student Ken Trimmons, Dec. 17. Hill also served as trumpet performer in the Colony IV Brass at First Presbyterian Church, Macon, Dec. 23.
Amy Schwartz Moretti, director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, Caroline Paul King violin chair and associate professor, performed in recital with the Georgian Chamber Players at Spivey Hall in Morrow, Jan. 6. Moretti joined Elmar Oliveira, international concert violinist and Reid Harris, Atlanta Symphony principal viola, for a performance of the Dvorak Terzetto.
Division of Libraries
Judith Brook, associate professor, director of the Monroe F. Swilley Jr. Library and associate dean of University Libraries, published “Are We Becoming an Aliterate Society? The Demand for Recreation Reading Among Undergraduates at Two Universities,” in College and University Libraries, 14 (3), 27-43.
Beth Hammond, dean of University Libraries, attended the midwinter meeting of the American Library Association in Philadelphia, Jan. 11-14. She participated in the Seattle National Conference Coordinating Committee meeting for planning the March 2009 Association of College and Research Libraries Conference. Hammond is co-chair of the PreConferences Subcommittee.
Staff and Administration
Corporal Vince Broccolo, police officer, was the recipient of the 2007 Top Gun award. He has won the award several times since joining Mercer Police in 2000.
Kathy Daley, associate director of housing and residence life, attended the Association of College and University Housing Officers International mid-year meeting at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Jan. 10-13. She is serving a 3-year term as chair for the Corporate Relations Committee and a 3-year term as chair of the Exhibits Committee.
Jessica Merriman, residence life coordinator, and 13 resident assistants attended the Georgia Resident Assistant Saturday Seminar at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Jan. 26.
Bryan Sheffield, police officer, was named 2007 Officer of the Year by his peers. He is a 2005 Mercer graduate and was hired by Mercer Police upon completion of the Georgia P.O.S.T. requirements.