College of Continuing and Professional Studies

Dr. Richard R. Bohannon, visiting assistant professor of organizational leadership, and Corrine Williams, a graduate student in the Tift College of Education, were co-presenters at the “Caring for Creation: Ethical Responses to Climate Change” conference, Feb 27-28, on Mercer’s Atlanta Campus. The conference was co-sponsored by Mercer University’s Quality Enhancement Plan Team and the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bohannon and Williams presented “Greening the Campus/Lifestyle Changes” at two breakout sessions of the conference.

James E. Black, assistant professor of journalism and media studies, received the 2008 Roberta Kevelson Scholarship Award from the Semiotic Society of America for his paper, titled “Just Spectacles: The need to adjust the spectacle of live news coverage to better fulfill the needs of the public sphere,” which he presented at the Semiotic Society of America in Houston, Texas, in October. Black, who is working on his Ph.D., also won the Georgia State University Journalism History Society certificate for Excellence in Graduate Research for a paper, titled “Spinning Checkers: How the American News Weeklies Covered Richard Nixon’s ‘Checkers Speech.’” This paper was also selected for presentation at the American Journalism History Association 2009 Southeast Symposium in Panama City, Fla., Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Black also gave a presentation, titled “In Defense of Vespertilio-homo: Finding the Truth in the 1835 Moon Hoax,” at the Symposium on 19^th Century Press, The Civil War and Free Expression in Chattanooga, Tenn., in November.

Dr. Craig Byron, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Qian Wang, assistant professor of anatomy in the School of Medicine, participated in research led by anthropologist Dr. David Strait of the University at Albany - State University of New York, which concluded that an early human relative likely ingested large nuts and seeds that may have been “foods of last resort.” The research is published the February 2009 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, titled “The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Australopithecus africanus.” The research has led to novel insights into how feeding and dietary adaptations may have shaped the evolution of the earliest humans. The team tested long-standing, influential hypotheses suggesting that the unusual facial skeletons of certain early humans contained anatomical features that structurally buttressed the face against forces applied to the premolar teeth (also known as bicuspids) when either biting on small, hard objects or when processing large volumes of food using many teeth at once.  The team found that Australopithecus africanus, a human relative that lived in Africa over two million years ago, had a facial skeleton that was well designed to withstand premolar bites, but that a small object or high volume diet was unlikely to explain the evolution of facial anatomy in this species.  Instead, the team suggests that Australopithecus africanus might have used their enlarged premolars and structurally reinforced face to crack open and ingest large hard nuts and seeds that may have been critical resources upon which these humans relied during times of resource scarcity, or when their preferred foods were unavailable.  The team utilized advanced experimental, comparative and imaging techniques along with finite element analysis, an engineering method used to examine how objects of complex geometry respond to loads. The research was made possible through grants from the National Science Foundation and the European Union.

Dr. Jamie H. Cockfield, professor of history and Willis Borders Glover Professor, had his book, With Snow On Their Books which is published by St. Martin’s Press, excerpted in the World War I journal Over the Top.

Craig Coleman, associate professor of art, curated an exhibition of contemporary art for the Museum of Arts and Sciences titled “MERGE VISUAL.” The show was on exhibit from Sept. 12 – Nov. 2. Coleman was also included in an art exhibition, titled “Altered Landscapes: An Immersive Environment,” in the Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. The show featured five different four-channel video installations by five artists. The show was on exhibit from Nov. 4-28.

Dr. David Davis, assistant professor of English, had a review essay, titled “Regional Criticism in the Era of Globalization,” published the Winter 2008 issue of MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 54, Number 4, pp. 844-852.

Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies and director of Mercer Commons, spoke to the Faculty/Staff Christian Fellowship on Jan. 27 about his Mercer on Mission trip to Senegal in summer of 2008. Dunaway was also the invited speaker at Campus Crusade for Christ’s Student Conference in Atlanta during Christmas Break. Dr. Dunaway received a Community Service Award from Mount Moriah Baptist Church for his work over the past five years with the Building the Beloved Community Symposium and other projects in the field of racial reconciliation.

Dr. Leona Kanter, professor and chair of sociology, Dr. Eric Spears, director of international education, and Dr. Beth Stewart, professor of art, organized the “Understanding China” Faculty Development Workshop, held on Feb. 6-7 in Macon. Topics and speakers included the following Mercer University faculty: “Chinese Medicine: Pre and Post-Mao,” presented by Dr. Fan Chen, professor of community medicine in the Mercer School of Medicine; “China’s Economic Transition: Progress in the Face of Crisis?” presented by Dr. Penelope Prime, director of the China Research Center and professor of economics in Stetson School of Business and Economics; “Highlights of Chinese Art from Pre-history to the Present,” presented by Dr. Beth Stewart, professor of art. They were joined by Dr. David Jones, director of the Atlanta Center for the Development of Asian Studies and professor of philosophy at Kennesaw State University and Emory University.

Darlene Murphy, administrative secretary in the departments of Communication Studies and Theatre and Journalism and Media Studies, was one of five artists participating in the Black History Month Art Exhibit at Robins Air Force Base, Feb. 25-26.  Murphy has also been chosen as curator for the P.H. Polk Exhibition to be held at the Douglass Theatre in March.
 

Dr. Deneen Senasi, assistant professor of English, was an invited participant at a round table discussion for the “Shakespearean Triangles Conference” at the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies at the University of Alabama. Dr. Senasi also presented a paper, titled “A Speaking Likeness: Dialogues of Silence and Speech in the Experience of Early Modern Women,” on a panel organized by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women at the annual Modern Language Association Convention in San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 27.

Dr. Anya Silver, associate professor of English, has published the following poems: “When my Father Told me Stories,” Witness (2009): 189; “The Name of God;” “The Burned Butterfly,” Image (Winter 2008-2009): 100-101.

Dr. Beth Stewart, professor of art, presented “Highlights of Chinese Art from Prehistory to the Present” at the Faculty Workshop on China at Mercer University, Feb. 7.

Dr. Carolyn Yackel, associate professor of mathematics, co-organized an American Mathematical Society Special Session on Mathematics and Mathematics Education in Fiber Arts and an associated art exhibit at the January joint meeting of the national mathematics societies in Washington, D.C. As a part of this special session, she also gave a talk, titled “Temari Math and Geometry on the Sphere.”

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor, and several graduate students/collaborators co-published “Iontophoretic Delivery of Penbutolol” in the Journal Drug Delivery. They also published “Transdermal Delivery of Therapeutic Antibodies” in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Dr. Susan W. Miller, associate dean, was appointed to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Assessment and Accreditation Advisory Group.

Dr. Martin J. D’Souza, professor, co-authored four articles in Journal of Microencapsulation: “Evaluation of albumin microsphere as oral delivery system for Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccines,” March 2009; 26(2): 166-179; “Formulation and evaluation of albumin microspheres and its enteric coating using a spray-dryer,” December 2008; 25(8): 577-583; “Treatment of adjuvant arthritis using microencapsulated antisense NF-κB oligonucleotides,” 2008, 1-12, iFirst, and “Formulation and characterization of catalase in albumin microspheres,” 2008, 1-9, iFirst. 

Dr. James Grady Strom, associate professor, and Dr. Martin J. D’Souza, co-authored “Oral delivery of low molecular weight heparin microspheres prepared using biodegradable polymer matrix system” in Journal of Microecapsulation, October 2008. 

Georgia Baptist College of Nursing

Dr. Susan S. Gunby, dean and professor, presented an all-day seminar on “Legal Challenges in Nursing Education” at the Western Kentucky University School of

Nursing in Bowling Green, Ky., Jan. 23.

Lana Chase, assistant professor, and Ann Keeley, assistant professor, presented a session at the GANE conference at St. Simon’s Island on Feb. 20. Their topic will be partnering with the National Alliance for Mental Illness in the education of students in a BSN program.  Dr. Sue Bulfin, assistant professor, and Dr. Pattie Troyan, associate professor, also participated in a poster session at the conference.

McAfee School of Theology

Dr. Alan Culpepper, dean, delivered an address, titled “The Challenge of Theological Education in the 21st Century,” at the inauguration of President Joshua Cho at the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary on Jan. 19. Dr. Culpeper also delivered a lecture on Jan. 20, titled “The Quest for the Church in the Gospel of John.”

School of Engineering

Dr. Richard O. Mines Jr., director of Graduate Programs in Engineering and professor of environmental engineering, along with Dr. Laura W. Lackey, chair and associate professor of environmental engineering, published their first text, titled “Introduction to Environmental Engineering,”  a freshmen/sophomore level textbook. It is published by Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.

School of Medicine

Jane Bridges, associate director of the medical library on the Savannah Campus, has been elected to serve as the southern chapter representative to the Chapter Council of the Medical Library Association.

Dr. Ali Saffet Gonul, clinical associate professor, and Dr. Kerry L. Coburn, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, co-authored an article, titled “Cerebral blood flow, metabolic, receptor, and transporter changes in Bipolar Disorder: the role of PET and SPECT studies,” that was accepted for publication in the journal International Review of Psychiatry.

Jan LaBeause, director of the Medical Library and Peyton T. Anderson Learning Resources Center, has been elected to represent the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association on its nominating committee.

Dr. Edward C. Lauterbach, founding director emeritus of the Mercer University Center for Translational Studies in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Neurodegenerative Disease, and professor of psychiatry and medicine (neurology), presented a lecture, titled “Psychopharmacological Neuroprotection In Neurodegenerative Disease,” at the 20th Annual Meeting of the American Neuropsychiatric Association in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 19-22. Dr. Kerry Coburn, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, and Dr. Samuel Shillcutt, professor of psychiatry, also contributed to this presentation.

Dr. Mike U. Smith, professor of internal medicine, was recently elected to the rank of Fellow with the Advancing Science Serving Society.  Dr. Smith was cited for distinguished research and leadership in teaching and learning genetics, problem solving, evolution and the nature of science and for service in HIV prevention.

Dr. Qian Wang, assistant professor of anatomy, and Dr. Craig Byron, assistant professor of biology in the College of Liberal Arts, participated in research led by anthropologist Dr. David Strait of the University at Albany - State University of New York, which concluded that an early human relative likely ingested large nuts and seeds that may have been “foods of last resort.” The research is published the February 2009 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, titled “The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Australopithecus africanus.” The research has led to novel insights into how feeding and dietary adaptations may have shaped the evolution of the earliest humans. The team tested long-standing, influential hypotheses suggesting that the unusual facial skeletons of certain early humans contained anatomical features that structurally buttressed the face against forces applied to the premolar teeth (also known as bicuspids) when either biting on small, hard objects or when processing large volumes of food using many teeth at once.  The team found that Australopithecus africanus, a human relative that lived in Africa over two million years ago, had a facial skeleton that was well designed to withstand premolar bites, but that a small object or high volume diet was unlikely to explain the evolution of facial anatomy in this species.  Instead, the team suggests that Australopithecus africanus might have used their enlarged premolars and structurally reinforced face to crack open and ingest large hard nuts and seeds that may have been critical resources upon which these humans relied during times of resource scarcity, or when their preferred foods were unavailable.  The team utilized advanced experimental, comparative and imaging techniques along with finite element analysis, an engineering method used to examine how objects of complex geometry respond to loads. The research was made possible through grants from the National Science Foundation and the European Union.

Dr. Wang, along with collaborators from South Africa and Australia, published a paper, “A re-examination of a human femur found at the Blind River Site, East London, South Africa: its age, morphology, and breakage pattern,” in the journal Anthropological Review.

Stetson School of Business and Economics

Dr. Vijaya Subrahmanyam, professor, had a paper, titled "Short and long run performance of IPOs in post-apartheid South Africa," accepted for publication in the Journal of African Business. Subrahmanyam was a panelist recently on "Surviving Tough Economic Downturns," sponsored by the Georgia Summit of African American Business Organizations.

Staff and Administration

Carole Burrowbridge, disability support services coordinator, attended the Association on Higher Education and Disability Management Institute on “Physical Access on Campus” in Atlanta on Feb. 5-6.  The institute included presentations from the U.S. Department of Justice and architects specializing in campus accessibility for people with disabilities.

Tift College of Education

Dr. Peter Ross, associate professor, wrote an article, titled “Differential Response to Task Concentration with Competing Stimuli Between Normal and ADHD Children,” which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Higher Education and Self-Learning [Volume 2, issue 1].

Townsend School of Music

Dr. Douglas Hill, professor and director of instrumental ensembles and undergraduate studies, participated in the Sixth Annual International Conductors Workshop, Jan. 15-19, as one of the faculty members and performers in the Chamber Orchestra. Fourteen students from Taiwan, Korea, Canada and the United States enrolled in the workshop. On Feb. 23, Dr. Hill presented a band rehearsal clinic at Burke County High School. Hill will also present band clinics for the Warner Robins High School Concert Band, and Houston County High School Symphonic Band, March 4-5.

Dr. John E. Simons, associate professor of choral and sacred music, director of the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Sacred Music Studies and director of graduate studies, presented a workshop, titled “Building Beautiful Choral Tone with Children,” at the annual convention of the Georgia Music Educators Association in Savannah on Jan. 29.  Assisting with the workshop were the Mercer University Children’s Choir, Dr. Marcus Reddick and Dr. Richard Kosowski. Dr. Simons and the Mercer Children’s Choir have been invited to return next January to present a follow up workshop. Dr. Simons also lead the Georgia All-State Youth Choir Festival over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The choir performed at Vineville Baptist Church in Macon and Peachtree Baptist Church in Atlanta. On Feb. 18, Dr. Simons conducted the Floyd County Honor Choir in Rome. Dr. Simons also worked with J. Thomas McAfee to complete the manuscript copy of the Celebrating Grace Hymnal. 

University Libraries

Judith D. Brook, associate dean, attended the American Library Association’s Midwinter Conference in Denver, Colo., Jan. 23-28. The following week, Brook was a member of a SACS visiting team on a Substantive Change visit at a university in Louisville, Ky., for three days.

Elizabeth D. Hammond, associate professor and dean, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of LYRASIS. She has been serving on the Board of SOLINET, a regional library cooperative that has recently announced a merger with another network, PALINET, to form the new company, LYRASIS. Hammond also attended the American Library Association Midwinter conference in Denver, Colo., Jan. 21-25. She is a member of the executive committee planning the Association of College and Research Libraries National Conference to be held in March in Seattle, Wash.

Louise L. Lowe, assistant professor and public services librarian at Swilley Library, and Roylee Cummings, acquisitions and Web page designer at Swilley Library, wrote an article, titled “Small spaces, small budget, big results: Creating a user centered learning space on a budget” in Georgia Library Quarterly, Spring 2009.

Walter F. School of Law

David Hricik, professor, recently had a book chapter, titled “Combining Prosecution with Other Forms of Representation,” published in BNA books. The chapter is published in the book Drafting Patents for Litigation and Licensing. His article, “Infinite Combinations – The Many Forms of Conflicts of Interest in Patent Litigation,” appeared at 26 Del. Lawyer 14 (2009).

Harold Lewis Jr., professor, recently submitted a paper to the Federal Rules Decisions publication that was selected the best paper in the Southeast Association of American Law Schools’ “call for papers” program.

Linda Jellum, assistant professor, submitted a paper that was accepted to be published in the UCLA Law Review. The article is titled “Which is to be Master: the Legislature or the Judiciary? When Statutory Directives Violate Separation of Powers.”

Michael Sabbath, professor and Southeastern Bankruptcy Law Institute/W. Homer Drake Jr. Endowed Chair in Bankruptcy Law, presented a paper, titled “Student Loans in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13,” at the 15th Annual Mid-South Conference on Bankruptcy Law in Tunica, Miss., on Feb. 6.

Jack L. Sammons, Griffin B. Bell professor of Law, presented a paper, titled “Rhetoric’s Making Strange” at the Legal Writing Institute’s Law and Rhetoric Workshop in San Diego, Calif., in January. His article, “A Lawyer’s Moral Obligation to Write Well,” was published in the February edition of The Complete Lawyer.