Dr. Heather Bowman Cutway, assistant professor of biology, was featured in the June ‘Green’ issue of Macon Magazine.  This comes after her participation in the Hay House Annual Secret Garden Tour.  Her garden highlighted the use of native and edible species in the landscape in addition to environmental features like rain barrels, wildlife habitat and the use organic gardening techniques. (http://www.maconmagazine.com/features.cfm?content=Feature7)

In April, Dr. Cutway attended the Georgia Botanical Society’s Annual Spring Pilgrimage in Rome and presented a talk to the public about composting as part of Mercer’s Earth Week.

Scot J. Mann, assistant professor and theatre director, served as fight director and movement consultant for the Georgia Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Titus Andronicus,” and Georgia Tech’s production of “Deathtrap.” In June, The Georgia Shakespeare Festival honored Mann with the title of associate artist. Mann has been associated with the company for 13 years. He also served as a public speaking consultant for the Faces of Homelessness Speaker’s Bureau, sponsored by AmeriCorps Vista and the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Dr. Randall Peters, professor and chair of the Department of Physics, recently published several pieces, including “Tutorial on Gravitational Pendulum Theory Applied to Seismic Sensing of Translation and Rotation,” in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; May 2009; v. 99; no. 2B; p. 1050-1063; DOI: 10.1785/0120080163;  “Pendulum Sensor using an Optical Mouse” arXiv:0904.3070v1 [physics.gen-ph] 20 Apr 2009; and, “Nanoposition Sensors With Superior Linear Response To Position And Unlimited Travel Ranges,” with co-author Sheng Chiang (John) Lee, in the Review Of Scientific Instruments 80, Issue 4, p. 045109 (2009). Mercer has also submitted a patent application for Dr. Peters and Lee, titled “Capacitive Sensors For Nano-Positioning And Methods Of Using The Same.” 

Dr. Charlotte Thomas, professor of philosophy, directed a Liberty Fund Colloquium, titled “Autonomy and Entanglement in the Odyssey of Homer,” in Hermosa Beach, Calif., May 21-24. 

Dr. Kyra Osmus, program coordinator of the human services degree program, has been elected treasurer of Tau Upsilon Alpha, the national human services honorary. Mercer’s Eta chapter is a charter chapter of Tau Upsilon Alpha, which is sponsored by the National Organization for Human Services. Dr. Marna Burns, human services faculty advisor at the Douglas Regional Academic Center, serves as counselor for the Eta chapter.

Dr. Cedric Baker, adjunct assistant professor, participated in the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements course, titled “Dietary Supplement Research Practicum 2009.”  The Practicum was held on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., June 1-5.  The Office of Dietary Supplements offers this annual intensive course to provide essential knowledge of dietary supplements to academic faculty and their doctoral or post-doctoral students with a serious interest in this subject. Experts from NIH, academic institutions, and federal regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, served as speakers.

Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, has been appointed as an associate editor for the journal Therapeutic Delivery. 

Dr. Justine S. Gortney, clinical assistant professor, Dr. Alexandria Fagan, a 2008 graduate, and Dr. Julie C. Kissack  co-authored “Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome secondary to quetiapine” in  Annals of  Pharmacotherpy  2009; 43: 785-791.

Dr. Lisa M. Lundquist, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Justine S. Gortney, clinical assistant professor, published “Implementation of an oral examination in a therapeutics course” in Let’s Think About It, 2009; 12(1):2-3. Dr. Lundquist was selected to participate in the Academic Leadership Fellow Program of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, clinical assistant professor, co-authored “Genomics and the efficacy of aspirin in the treatment of cerebrovascular disease,” in Current Treatment Options Cardiovascular Medicine; 2009;11:191-200.

Dr. Chalet Tan, assistant professor, co-authored “A direct cell quenching method for cell-culture based metabolomics,” published in Metabolomics, 5: 199-208, 2009.

Dr. Chad M. VanDenBerg, clinical associate professor, was awarded a $439,572 grant for “Effect of LY2062430, an anti-amyloid beta monoclonal antibody, on the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease as compared with placebo” from Eli Lilly.

Dr. Dare Domico, professor, presented a paper on “Cerebral Malaria” at the 10th Quadrennial Congress of The World Federation of Neuroscience Nurses.  The meeting was held at York University, Toronto, Canada, May 23-27.

Fran Kamp, professor, and John Summerville, professor, gave two poster presentations at the International Nursing Simulation / Learning Resource Centers Conference in St. Louis, Mo., June 10-13. The presentations were: “Using Simulation Experiences to Promote Safe Entry,” and “Using a Pre-Scenario Worksheet to Increase Faculty Participation in the Development of Human Patient Simulator Simulations.” Summerville and Kamp also entered the Second Annual Homegrown Simulator Contest and placed in the top five. As one of the top five entries, they will be featured in the INACSL’s journal, Simulation in Nursing. 

Dr. Tanya Sudia-Robinson, professor, was selected by the March of Dimes National Office to co-author “Perinatal and Neonatal Ethical Issues.”  This publication will be used for professional workshops and continuing education sessions. Dr. Sudia-Robinson also wrote a book chapter, titled “Ethical Issues,” for the fourth edition of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses’ book, titled Core Curriculum for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, edited by M. Terese Verklan and Marlene Walden, published by Elsevier Saunders.

Dr. Ryan Clark, director of admissions, earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary on May 16.  His thesis was titled “The Global Christian Era: The Impact of Cultural Changes on the Admissions Process at McAfee School of Theology.” Dr. Clark received his Master of Divinity degree from McAfee School of Theology in 2002 and his B.S. from Arkansas Tech University in 1999.

Dr. Richard O. Mines Jr., director of graduate engineering programs and professor of environmental engineering, published “Bench-Scale Ozonation of Raw Industrial and Municipal Wastewater” in the Proceedings of the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress held in Kansas City, Mo., May 17-21. Co-authors of the paper were Dr. Laura W. Lackey, chair of environmental engineering, and Cary M. Oglesby, EGR ’08. Dr. Mines and Oglesby did a poster presentation of the paper as well.

Dr. Scott Schultz, associate professor of industrial engineering, presented two papers at the Institute of Industrial Engineering Annual Conference and Expo in Miami, Fla. on May 31.  The first paper and presentation was titled “Using Meta-Heuristics to Schedule Radar Warning Receivers” with Dr. Paul MacNeil in software engineering, F.M. Barron, with MERC, and Eric Mullenax, an engineering master’s student. The second paper and presentation was titled “Dinner and a Golf Outing: Solving the real ‘Social Golfer Problem.’”

Dr. M. Daniel Bennett Jr., assistant professor, has been awarded a two-year fellowship award from the Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Corrections Clinical Research Training Program. Only four fellowships are awarded each year. The fellowship is designed to promote research in the areas of mental health, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse with incarcerated populations.

Dr. Kerry L. Coburn, professor, had a paper, titled “Cerebral blood flow, metabolic, receptor, and transporter changes in Bipolar Disorder: the role of PET and SPECT studies,”  accepted for publication in the International Review of Psychiatry. Co-authors include Gonul, A.S., and Kula, M. Dr. Coburn and School of Medicine colleagues, Dr. Samuel D. Shillcutt and Dr. Edward C. Lauterbach, had two additional papers accepted for publication in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. The first is titled “Psychopharmacological neuroprotection in neurodegenerative disease: Assessing the preclinical data,” with co-authors Victoroff, J., Doonan, S.M. and Mendez, M.F. The other paper is “Psychopharmacological neuroprotection in neurodegenerative disease: Heuristic clinical applications,” with co-authors Mendez, M.F., and Victoroff, J.

Carolann Curry, circulation assistant at the Medical Library, graduated from Valdosta State University on May 9 with a Master of Library and Information Science degree.

Dr. Patrizia Riccardi, associate professor of psychiatry, made two presentations in May, “Sex differences in off-medication schizophrenic subjects” at the Society of Biological Psychiatry meeting in Vancouver, Canada, and “Sex differences in unmedicated schizophrenic subjects using PET and [F-18] fallypride,” in Spain. 

Dr. Michael J. Russell, assistant professor of physiology, and Prayash Patel, third-year medical student, presented results from their Summer Scholar experience at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting in New Orleans, La., April 18-22. Their poster was titled “Dose-dependence of hydrogen sulfide on vascular endothelial function following ischemia-reperfusion in perfused rat lung.”

Dr. Peter C. Brown, senior vice provost and professor of philosophy and interdisciplinary studies, and Alex Morrison, CLA ’07, have co-authored an article, titled “Redevelopment: A Case Study at Mercer University,” published in the Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly (Summer 2009, vol. 29, no. 4). The article appears in a special issue of the Quarterly that focuses on undergraduate research that informs public policy. Dr. Brown and Morrison analyze the character of the student research that led to the formation of the College Hill Corridor Commission in Macon.

Chris Fuller, director of Baptist Collegiate Ministries, served as the commencement speaker at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind. on May 3. Fuller gave the address and accepted an honorary doctor in memory of his father, Millard Fuller. Millard Fuller was the founder of Habitat for Humanity and passed away earlier this year. In addition, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed resolutions in honor of Millard Fuller on June 9.

Kim Meredith, assistant director of Career Services-Atlanta, earned the National Certified Counselor credential on April 24. The credential was developed by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) in 1982 to provide the counseling profession with a master’s level, professional counselor credential representing the national standards set by NBCC and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). NBCC and CACREP work together to support and require excellent educational standards for professional counselors.

Dr. Mary Alice Morgan, director of women’s and gender studies and senior vice-provost for service-learning, and junior Hannah Vann, president of the Sex Trafficking Opposition Project, presented “Sex Trafficking and Rescuing Victims of Abuse” at the Global Studies Association annual meeting on “Globalization and the Struggle for Peace and Human Rights,” May 8-10, in Boca Raton, Fla.

Jody Blanke, professor of computer information systems and law, was an invited participant at the Second Annual Privacy Law Scholars Conference in Berkeley, Calif., June 4-5.  The conference was jointly hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology and the George Washington Law School Intellectual Property Law Program, and assembles a wide array of privacy law scholars and practitioners from around the world to participate in roundtable discussions of working papers and cutting-edge issues in privacy law.

Dr. Kimberly Freeman, assistant professor of management, had her peer-reviewed research, written with Suresh Gopalan and Jessica Bailey of Winston-Salem State University, published in a paper, titled “Achieving Global Growth through Acquisition: Tata’s Takeover of Corus,” in the Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics, Vol 1 (April 2009), 1-17.

Dr. Sherah Carr, assistant professor, made a presentation at the May 2009 International Reading Association Conference in Minneapolis. The presentation was titled “Engaging Struggling Readers and Writers Through Technology and the Arts.”

Dr. William Lacefield, associate professor of mathematics education, presented “Unknotting Number and Operations for Young Learners: Meaningful Tasks in the Primary Grades” at the annual conference of the United Kingdom Association of Teachers of Mathematics, held in April at Swansea University in Swansea, Wales.

Dr. Dana H. Lilly, professor of early childhood education, made a presentation, titled “Enhancing Home-School Literacy Connections with Digital Tools and Technology,” at the International Reading Association’s 54th Annual Convention in Minneapolis, Minn., May 7.

Dr. Wynnetta Scott-Simmons, assistant professor, Dr. Margie Sweatman, assistant professor, and Dr. Janna Cavan, adjunct professor, all wrote chapters in the book Personal, Passionate, Participatory: Inquiry into Social Justice in Education, edited by M.F. He and J. Phillion, (Greenwich, Conn., Information Age Publishing 2008).  The book is part of a series sponsored by American Education Research Association’s Qualitative Research Special Interest Group and International Studies Special Interest Group. The book was awarded the Most Outstanding Book Award by AERA’s Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies Special Interest Group. Dr. Sweatman’s chapter is titled “African-American Students with Reading Disabilities: A Critical Race Inquiry.” Dr. Cavan’s chapter is titled “Language, Culture, and Identity: Immigrant Female Students in U.S.” Dr. Scott-Simmons chapter is titled “Self, Others and Jump Rope Communities: An Oral History of the Triumphs of African-American Women.” Because of the book’s award, the Mercer professors were asked to present a session at the Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies Business meeting, titled “The Im/Possible Ethos of Curriculum Work, Liberating Academic Writing: The Narrative and Life in Schools.”

Dr. Karen Weller Swanson, associate professor, presented “Reading Strategies for the College Classroom” at the Teaching Professor Conference in Washington, D.C., June 5-7, with several co-presenters from George Mason University.

Dr. John Dickson, dean and professor of conducting, served as guest conductor and adjudicator for the International Male Choral Competition in Cornwall. The event took place in Truro Cathedral. More than 50 male and boy choirs came from Europe and Asia including choirs from Russia, Poland, Sweden, Wales, Ireland and England. Dr. Dickson taught master classes for the conductors and served on a six-member international panel of judges for the competition, which was held April 29 through May 4.

Amy Schwartz Moretti, associate professor and director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, served as concertmaster of CityMusic Cleveland with James Gaffigan, music director, performing the music of Schubert and Mozart for six concerts in northeastern Ohio at a variety of neighborhood venues from May 5-10. Moretti was featured soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Corvallis Oregon State University Symphony at the LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis, Ore., May 19. At the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival she performed in nine different concerts from May 21- June 13, which included collaborations with Distinguished University Professor Robert McDuffie, as well as Christopher Rex, Elizabeth Pridgen, James Dunham, Andres Diaz and Roberto Diaz. The McDuffie Center Showcase Concert featured Mercer students Conrad Thomas, Damian Nelson, Lavena Johanson, Elaine Shin, Marie Christine Lopez and Joelle Arnold.

Susan Broome, associate director for technical services, Linda Chen, library systems coordinator, and Theresa Rhodes, associate director for public services, made two presentations at the annual meeting of the Innovative Users Group in Anaheim, Calif., May 18 and 20. The presentation was titled “Collaborative Efforts in Setting Up an Approval Plan for University Press Books.”

Laura M. Botts, assistant professor and head of special collections at Jack Tarver Library, attended the 2009 meeting of the Association of Librarians and Archivists at Baptist Institutions at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville, Tenn., June 3. Botts co-presented a session, titled “Get Raves, Not Rants: Creating a User-Centered Archives.” Botts also represented the Georgia Baptist History Depository at the annual meeting of the Baptist History and Heritage Society in Huntsville, Ala., June 4-6.