College of Continuing and Professional Studies
Dr. Brenda Callahan, assistant professor of counseling, served as coordinator of the Sept. 19-20 Substance Abuse Counselor Training for the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Dr. Anne Rasche, adjunct instructor, led the training.
Dr. Diane Clark, assistant professor of community counseling, served as coordinator of the site visit of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission Board of Examiners for the new School Counseling program.
Dr. Lynn Clemons, interim administrative chair for the Department of Counseling and Human Sciences, served as coordinator of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leadership training, Module 2: “Communications and Conflict Resolution,” on Aug. 11-14. Dr. Clemons led the Project Discussion session; Dr. Art Williams, associate professor of counseling and human sciences, led the Communication Dynamics session; Dr. Richard Bohannon, visiting assistant professor of organization leadership, led the Conflict Resolution session, and Betsy Johnson, director of Career Services-Atlanta, led the Organizational Communications session.
Dr. Zipangani Vokhiwa, assistant professor of science, had a paper published in the African Journal of Agricultural Research titled, “Participatory variety selection and characterization of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) elite accessions from Malawian gene pool using farmer and breeder knowledge,” Vol. 3(4). pp 273-283, April 2008. The article is a result of research carried out during a Participatory Plant Breeding as part of an Agrobiodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge Project in Malawi, which was funded through a grant by the Canadian Development Agency to the government of Malawi between 1997 and 1999, when Dr. Vokhiwa was deputy director of environmental affairs in Malawi.
College of Liberal Arts
James Eric Black, assistant professor of journalism, will present a paper titled “Just Spectacles: Why Live News is bad for you” Oct. 17 in Houston at the 33rd annual meeting of the Semiotic Society of America.
Dr. Greg Domin, associate professor of political science, was invited to serve as a faculty leader, through The Washington Center, at the Republican National Convention. The Washington Center is a nonprofit organization founded in 1975 that sends students from across the country to both the Democrat and Republican national conventions, to presidential inaugurals, and places students in internships in the Washington, D.C., area.
Dr. Tom Glennon, director of the Program in Leadership and Service and the Servant Scholars, and Dr. Leona Kanter, professor of sociology, attended the East-West Center’s Asian Studies Development Program Faculty Workshop on “Continuity, Conflict and Change in Indian Cultures and Societies” at its regional center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan., Sept. 18-20.
Scot J. Mann, associate professor of communication and theatre, served as guest lecturer in theatrical movement at the University of West Georgia in September. He is presently directing, sound designing and choreographing Mercer Theatre’s production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” opening Sept. 30.
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Dr. Leisa L. Marshall, clinical associate professor, co-authored a paper with Rachna Shah titled “Hypertension and Anemia Related to Renal Insufficiency” in Assisted Living Consult 2008.
Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, assistant professor, co-authored a paper with D. Wang, H. Chen, et. al. published in Blook, titled “Regulatory Polymorphism in vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) affects gene expression and warfarin dose requirement” 2008; 112 (4):1013-21.
Dr. Nader H. Moniri, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, received a grant of $15,000 from the Diabetes Action Research Foundation for: “The role of omega-3 fatty acids in regulation of GPR120 expression.”
Dr. Chad M. VanDenBerg, clinical associate professor, received a $61,812 grant for
“Cognitive Effects of Oral Oxybutynin and Oxybutynin Chloride Topical Gel in Healthy Older Volunteers” from Watson Laboratories Inc.
Dr. JoEllen Dattilo, professor and associate dean for the undergraduate program, Dr. Julie Jones, instructor, and Daphnee Stewart, instructor, presented their research on Sept. 20 at the National League for Nursing Education Summit in San Antonio, Texas. The research project was entitled “When the going gets tough: Baccalaureate nursing students’ experience with reenrollment.”
Dr. Susan Sweat Gunby, dean, authored a chapter titled, “Legal Issues in Teaching Nursing,” in the book Mastering the Teaching Role: A Guide for Nurse Educators (2008), edited by B. Penn. Additionally, Dean Gunby continues to serve on the Editorial Review Board for the International Journal for Human Caring.
David G. Garber Jr., assistant professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, co-edited the “Faith Facing Trauma” issue of Review and Expositor. In addition to editing the articles and co-authoring the introduction, Dr. Garber contributed an essay titled “Facing Traumatizing Texts: Reading Nahum’s Nationalistic Rage.”
Dr. Robert D. McGinty, chief mechanical engineer, coauthored a paper titled, “Effects of Constraints on Lattice Re-orientation and Strain in Polycrystal Plasticity Simulations.” It was published in the Journal of Computational Materials Science. The paper investigates the influences of free and periodic boundary conditions on material response in simulations of large scale yielding and deformation of OFHC copper. Dr. McGinty, and coauthors received the superior paper award from The Tire Society for the paper, “Analytical Solution for the Stresses Arising in +/- Angle Ply Belts of Radial Tires.” They presented at the 26th Annual Conference of the Tire Society in Akron, Ohio. The paper has also been accepted for publication in the Journal of Tire Science and Technology.
Dr. Michael Oliver, principal mechanical engineer, published three magazine articles, two for Fastener World and one for Fastener Technology International. They are titled “Torque Wrench Use,” “Strength of Materials,” and “Choosing a Simulation Technique.”
School of Engineering
Dr. Helen Grady, professor of technical communication; Julie Strecker, coordinator of study abroad from the Office of International Programs, were invited to make presentations in October to the Department of Management and Engineering and the Technical Communications program at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. It is anticipated that this trip will be the first step in establishing a study abroad/student exchange program between Karlsruhe and Mercer
Dr. Richard Kunz, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Christina Yarborough and Emily Childress, 2008 Master of Science in Engineering graduates, will present a paper, “Shape Recovery and Mechanical Properties of Shape Memory Composites,” at the 2008 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, in Boston, Mass., Oct. 31 - Nov. 6.
Dr. Scott Schultz, associate professor of industrial engineering, who teamed with Col. Dominick Eanniello, was selected as 2008 Honorary Commander of the 116th Air Wing at Robins Air Force Base. The 116th is also known as JSTARS.
School of Medicine
Dr. Lee Bowen, director of counseling services, recently attended a meeting of the National Ethics Committee of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy at the national headquarters in Alexandria, Va. The ethics committee is charged with the task of reviewing, investigating and adjudicating ethical complaints and violations of the professional members of the association. In addition, this committee reviews and makes recommendations for the revision of the Code of Ethics of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Dr. Bowen currently serves as chair of the Ethics Committee.
Dr. Susan D. Cline, assistant professor of biochemistry; Dr. Michael D. Brown, former associate professor of genetics; Dr. Vladimir I. Mayorov, research scientist; and Angela J. Lowrey, research assistant in the Division of Basic Medical Sciences, have published, in collaboration with clinical researchers, Dr. Valerie Biousse and Dr. Nancy J. Newman at the Emory Eye Center, Emory University School of Medicine, a BMC Biochemistry research article titled “Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation in Autosomal Dominant Optic Atrophy.” Dr. Cline also presented an invited seminar on July 1 in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University titled “Reactive Aldehyde DNA Damage in Mitochondrial Mutagenesis and Disease Pathophysiology.”
Dr. Kerry L. Coburn, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and Dr. Ali Saffet Gonul, published a paper with several colleagues from Turkey. Other co-authors are: Eker, C.; Ovali, G.Y.; Ozan, E.; Eker, O.D.; and Kitis. The paper is titled, “No pituitary gland volume change in drug-free depressed patients.” Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 32: 1628-1632.
Dr. Monty Cole, associate professor of music, and Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music, presented a clinic for the Rutland High School Band in Macon on Sept. 8.
Dr. John H. Dickson, dean, recently completed a one-week conducting tour in Great Britain as the guest of the Association of British Choral Directors. Dr. Dickson served as guest conductor for a number of British choirs including the Lancaster Singers, the Amabile Choir, the Taplow Youth Choir of Great Britain and others. His travels took him to areas in the Lake District, Manchester, London and Guilford. A visiting fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, Dr. Dickson continues to enjoy a warm and personal relationship with many conducting colleagues and choirs in the United Kingdom while maintaining ongoing relationships with Wolfson and St. John’s College in Cambridge and the Association of British Choral Directors.
Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music, and Dr. Marcus Reddick, assistant professor of music, presented a clinic for the First Presbyterian Day School Band in Macon Aug. 25.
Dr. Hill also performed on trumpet as a member of the Colony IV Brass Quintet as part of the Vineville United Methodist Church’s Music and the Arts concert series Sept. 21.
Amy Schwartz Moretti, associate professor and director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, served as the coordinator for the Robert McDuffie & Friends Labor Day Festival for Strings. The event, held Aug. 28-Sept. 1, welcomed 16 outstanding high school junior and senior string students from nine states to Mercer. Held in the Townsend School of Music, the festival included performances, master classes, chamber music coaching, and lessons with McDuffie Center faculty members Andres Diaz, David Halen, Paul Murphy, Christopher Rex, and Sabina Thatcher, distinguished artists of the McDuffie Center; Moretti and Robert McDuffie, Distinguished University Professor of Music and founder of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings.
Robert G. Gardner, senior researcher in Baptist history, Tarver Library, wrote an article titled “Duncan O’Bryant: Pioneer Baptist Missionary to the Western Cherokees,” which was published in volume 43 (Spring 2008) of Baptist History and Heritage, the journal of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, Atlanta.
Jack L. Sammons, Griffin B. Bell Professor of Law, wrote an article titled, “Religious Speech in Civic Argument,” which will be published in a symposium edition of the Seattle Law School Law Review in December 2008.