Dr. J. Thompson Biggers, assistant professor of communication; Mary Lou Beall, Douglas Regional Academic Center coordinator and adjunct  faculty member in the Department of Liberal Studies; and Larry Boon, adjunct faculty member in the Department of Liberal Studies, edited a special edition of Public Speaking:  An Audience Centered Approach by Steven A. Beebe, Susan J. Beebe.  The special edition is designed to meet the needs of adult learners. 

Dr. Brenda Callahan, assistant professor of community counseling, and Dr. Diane Clark, held the first Leadership Retreat for the student leadership teams from the Master of Science in Counseling program in Blue Ridge, July 18-20.  The four officers of Mercer’s Student Affiliate Organization and four officers from the Mu Upsilon Alpha chapter of Chi Sigma Iota counseling honor society joined faculty advisers Dr. Callahan (Student Affiliate Organization) and Dr. Clark (Chi Sigma Iota) for two days of team building, leadership training and activity planning for the upcoming academic year.  The retreat will become an annual event in the mountains of North Georgia, during which students and faculty members learn with and from each other in order to form a community of learners in the Mercer counseling program.

At the Licensed Professional Counselors Association annual conference held in Stone Mountain, May 8-11, Dr. Clark and Dr. Callahan, along with Master of Science in Counseling students Carrie Gibson and Erin Roberts presented a pre-convention institute, titled “Supervising the Grieving Counselor.”  Counseling student Linda Heaviside presented a pre-convention institute, titled “Worlds Apart:  Facilitating Communication and Understanding in Cross-cultural Couples.”

Dr. Clark and Dr. Callahan assisted counseling student presenters Cody Sanders (also a student in McAfee School of Theology), who presented “Stress Caused by Patients’ Death and Professional Resiliency,” and Lewis Bozard, who presented “INFP and LSD:  Personality type in Addiction Treatment.”

Dr. Brenda Callahan, assistant professor of community counseling, has been appointed to serve on the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Board of Georgia, which is affiliated with the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium.  The ADACB-GA oversees the education and certification process of addictions professionals in this state.

Dr. Margaret Eskew, liberal studies, has been selected as a Mercer Commons Fellow for 2008-2010. 

Dr. David Lane, associate professor, and Dr. Donna Lane, adjunct instructor, presented “Restored Christianity:  Helping Clients Wounded by the Christian Church,” at the Licensed Professional Counselors Association annual conference held in Stone Mountain, May 8-11.

Dr. Feng Liu, assistant professor of information systems, presented a paper title as “Interactive molecule construction with GPU acceleration” at an annual international conference ED-Media, World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, of Association for Advanced Computing in Education. The conference was held in Vienna, Austria, June 30-July 4. The conference draws many of the world’s leading experts on the field of information and communications technologies

and provides an international perspective, as well as cross-cultural viewpoints from a range of experts and practitioners in the field. The paper was published in the conference proceeding and will be collected in the AACE Digital Library.

College of Liberal Arts

Dr. David P. Aiello, assistant professor of biology, presented as an invited speaker at the 2008 Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting held on the University of Toronto campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 22-27.  He gave a talk titled, “Grant writing as a teaching tool in the undergraduate genetics laboratory.”

Dr. Aiello and Julia Pendexter, an undergraduate in the Department of Biology and participant in the Summer 2008 Biomedical Scholars Training Initiative, presented their research at the 2008 Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting.  Their research poster was titled, “The use of EMS mutagenesis to identify suppressors of the altered calcium homeostasis phenotypes associated with a phosphoglucomutase mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” Included as authors on the poster with Pendexter were six current or recently graduated students: Jonathan S. Wood, Rizza B. Ibanez, Laura J. Bower, Laurie D. Hughes, Logan D. Smith and Ryan P. Stuart.  Student travel funds were provided by the provost, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the Department of Biology.

Dr. Mary Ann Drake, professor, and Dr. Douglas Thompson, assistant professor, led a group of undergraduate honors students to Oxford for the second summer session. After spending one week on campus for comparative purposes, they moved their courses to the city of Oxford, spending time in the ancient city and exploring museums and historic places. The group also visited Canterbury, London and Windsor, while taking in a Shakespeare play.

Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies and director of Mercer Commons,  directed the Sixth Annual Commons Summer Faculty Workshop on Faith and Learning from July 7-11. Twelve faculty members from four of Mercer’s colleges and schools participated.

Dr. Dunaway’s article, “Michel Tournier: Christian Writer?” which first appeared in Christianity and Literature, 49:3 (Spring 2000), 357-370, was reprinted by Gale Research in its reference series entitled Contemporary Literary Criticism (vol. 249, March 2008).

Dr. Dunaway and Randall Harshbarger, professor, lead the Mercer on Mission trip to Senegal. The group of 12 students studied Senegalese and West African Literature with him during their 23-day stay in country.

Dr. Paul Lewis, associate professor in the Roberts Department of Christianity, delivered the paper, “Teaching to Form Character: Toward a Polanyian Account of Practical Reasoning,” at the Reconsidering Polanyi Conference in Budapest, Hungary, June 26-28.  The conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of the publication of Budapest-born Michael Polanyi’s groundbreaking Gifford Lectures, “Personal Knowledge.”  Participants came from Australia, China, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Dr. Frank J. Macke, professor and chair of the Communication Studies and Theatre Department, presented the paper “Embodiment, Attachment, and the Phenomenology of

Communicative Experience” to the 2008 International Human Science Research

Conference, “Imagination in the Human Sciences” held on the campus of Ramapo

College of New Jersey, June 11-14.  Dr. Macke earned a special invitation to serve as a founding member of the new scholarly society, The Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists. He attended the inaugural meeting at Florida Atlantic University from June 19-22. At the meeting, he presented the paper,  “Phenomenology and Family Systems Theory.”

Dr. Macke also wrote a chapter, “Intrapersonal Communicology: Reflection, Reflexivity, and Relational Consciousness in Embodied Subjectivity,” which will be published during this academic year in Communicology: The New Science of Embodied Discourse, edited by Isaac Catt and Deborah Eicher-Catt, (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press).

Scot J. Mann, assistant professor of communication and theatre, began the summer choreographing violence for the Georgia Shakespeare Festival’s production of “As You Like It.” From there, Mann traveled to Chicago to serve as assistant fight director to Fight Master Charles Coyle for Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony Award recipient Tracy Lett’s play, “Superior Donuts,” his follow up production to “August: Osage County.” After teaching Movement and Stage Combat for a high school drama workshop at Georgia Tech, Mann traveled back to Chicago where he taught the first Theatrical Firearms Safety Certificate workshop through the Society of American Fight Directors, hosted by DePaul University. Mann co-developed the curriculum for this course over the last five years with various members of the university community and professional film and theatre industries. In August, Mann traveled to London to serve as a Master Instructor for the British National Stage Combat Workshop, hosted by the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat. Over the course of the intensive two-week curriculum, he taught Sword and Shield, Movement and Stage and Film Acting to advanced students from England, Scotland, Germany, Spain, Israel, Poland, Austria and the United States. Mann also served as an official evaluator for the Teacher’s Training Workshop through the BASSC. Successful completion of this course is required for entrance into the Stunt Registry of British Actor’s Equity, and the title of Certified Teacher with the British Academy.

Dr. Lydia Masanet, associate professor of foreign languages wrote “La narrativa de Lucía Etxebarría: desvelando el estado actual de la mujer española” for The Coastal Review, Georgia Southern University, Issue 2, June 2008.

Dr. Yosálida C. Rivero-Zaritzky, assistant professor of Spanish, and Dr. José Pino, assistant professor, completed a successful Spanish study abroad program in Costa Rica from May 14-June 14.

Beth Ellen Stewart, professor of art, published a review article in July, “Jenifer Neils, ed., The Parthenon from Antiquity to the Present,” in Southeastern College Art Conference Review, vol. XV., no.l 2, 2007.

Dr. Charlotte Thomas, wrote an essay, “Building a Bridge from Both Sides: A Response to Norms of Liberty,” which was published in Reading Rasmussen and Den Uyl: Critical Essays on Norms of Liberty, (New York: Lexington Books, 2008). Dr. Thomas also led a group of 17 students and three faculty on a study abroad program to Athens, Greece, June 28-July 18.

Dr. Richard F. Wilson, chair of the Roberts Department of Christianity, participated in the deliberations of the Ethics Commission of the Baptist World Alliance in Prague, the Czech Republic, July 21-25. He has been a member of the commission since 2001.

Dr. Bryan J. Whitfield, assistant professor of Christianity, gave an invited lecture, “Marking Time: A Brief Introduction to the Calendar and Its Religious Roots,” on April 28 as part of the series, “Great Minds at Reynolds Plantation,” in Greensboro, Ga. He participated in the conference, “The Marks of Christian Spirituality,” sponsored by the Iona Community in Iona, Scotland, June 20-27.

Dr. John C. Wright, professor of psychology, presented a paper titled “A Comparison of Owner-Reported Kitten and Puppy Behavioral Problems and Traits Following Shelter Adoption” at the annual Animal Behavior Society meeting held in Snowbird, Utah, Aug. 18.   He was also an invited speaker for the Career Workshop in Animal Behavior. 

Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-director of the Center for Drug Delivery Research, has been appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Pharmaceutical Development and Technology.  He and his Ph.D. student, Sameer G. Late, published a research paper on “Thermal and non-thermal methods to evaluate compatibility of granisetron hydrochloride with tablet excipients,” in the journal Pharmazie. Dr. Banga also co-authored a paper in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has been published in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

Dr. Vanthida Huang, assistant professor, and L. Valentine received a grant for $4,400 for a Solvay Pharmaceuticals Summer Research Program 2008 titled “Evaluation of the trends and effects of vancomycin MIC increase against clinical MRSA isolates at a private hospital.”

Dr. Lisa M. Lundquist, clinical assistant professor, received a grant in the amount of $4,900 for “Formulary development and periodic update” for Georgia Division of Public Health Cancer State Aid Program, funded 2008-2009.

Dr. Lundquist also was awarded the “Outstanding Committee Chair of the Year” by Georgia Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists. 

Dr. Diane Matesic, associate professor, and Tatyana Sidorova co-authored “Protective Effect of the Natural Product, Chaetoglobosin K, on Lindane- and Dieldrin-Induced Changes in Astroglia: Identification of Activated Signaling Pathways,” published in Pharmaceutical Research, 2008, Vol. 25: 1297-1308.

Dr. Susan W. Miller, professor, Dr. Laurel E. Ashworth, professor, Nadja V. Button, clinical assistant professor/clinical coordinator, Dr. Gregory V. Stajich and Dr. Kristi M. Quairoli presented their poster entitled “Clinical Skills Practicum: A Model for Preparing Pharmacists To Assume Expanded Roles in the Management of Public Health Problems” at the 2008 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy /Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, assistant professor, received the “Member of the Month” for August 2008 from American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Dr. Nader H. Moniri, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences and graduate student Rebecca L. Neal received $6,000 for “Pharmacological Characterization of desensitization mechanisms of the pro-insulinotropic fatty acid receptor GPR120” from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in August.

Dr. Moniri co-authored “Androgens transduce the G alpha-S-mediated activation of protein kinase A in prostate cells” in Cancer Research, May 2008.

Dr. Moniri presented “beta2-adrenergic receptor mediated generation of reactive oxygen species is a component required for signal transduction, desensitization, and homodimerization” at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics - Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego, Calif., April 6.

Dr. Gina J. Ryan, clinical assistant professor, received a grant from Merck & Co. in the amount of $5,094 for “New Update for HIV and Medication Therapy Management: Maximizing Reimbursement.”

Dr. Chalet Tan, assistant professor, and M.M. Roforth published “Combination of rapamycin and 17 -allylamino-17- demethoxygeldanamycin abrogates Akt activation and potentiates mTOR blockade in breast cancer cells” in Anti-Cancer Drugs, 2008, Vol. 17 No. 7, in August 2008. Dr. Tan and Dr. Roforth studied the effect of rapamycin and 17-AAG on PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways in human breast cancer cells. Their findings establish a mechanistic rationale for a combination approach using these two drugs in the treatment of breast cancer.

Dr. Chad M. VanDenBerg, clinical associate professor, and V. E. Spratlin received a grant for “A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study Examining the Safety, Efficacy and Tolerability of SEP-225289 in Subjects with Major Depressive Disorder (including Atypical and Melancholic Features)” in the amount of $145,580 from Sepracor Pharmaceuticals.

Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics

Dr. Angela Dills, assistant professor of economics, published “Transfer College Quality and Student Performance,” with Rey Hernández, Eastern Economic Journal, 34(2), April 2008, 172-189.

Dr. William Skip Mounts, interim dean, published “The Influence of Economists on Public Attitudes Toward Government,” with Dr. Scott Beaulier, assistant professor of economics, and William J. Boyes of Arizona State University, in The American Economist. 

Dr. Mounts and Dr. Beaulier also co-wrote, with Josh Hall of Beloit College, “From Entrepreneur to Manager: An Economic Transition,” in Entrepreneurship and its Economic Significance, Behavior and Effects, (Nova Science Publishers Inc.)

James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology

Dr. Loyd Allen, Sylvan Hills Professor of Baptist Heritage and recent McAfee graduate Baily Edwards Nelson, co-presented a paper titled, “A New Generation of Baptist Global Activists and Young Baptist Ministers at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration” at the centennial meeting of the British Baptist Historical Society held in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 19.

School of Medicine

Dr. David Burtner, professor in the Department of Family Medicine, served as visiting faculty for the medical residency program at Kurobe City Hospital in Kurobe, Japan, from June 2-14. He also went for teaching and exchange at Toyama Medical School during that visit.

Dr. Kerry L. Coburn, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has been appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, which is dedicated to the research and study of brain activity.

Dr. Coburn was recently awarded a certificate for the “Reviewer of the Year” for the International Journal of Psychophysiology. This certificate is given to persons who make exceptional contributions to the journal’s publications by reviewing and editing submitted articles to ensure accuracy and quality of recent brain research. 

Dr. Coburn has received and accepted an invitation to speak to the Sixth Annual Latin American Congress of Neuropsychiatry in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September.

Margaret Gaskill, who recently celebrated her 10th anniversary with Mercer, passed the Certified Professional Coder examination, which was given in May. The credentialing body is the American Academy of Professional Coders, a nationally recognized organization that was founded in 1988 in an effort to elevate the standards of medical coding by providing certification, ongoing education and recognition within this discipline of health care operations. She shares this designation with 51,000 colleagues worldwide.

Dr. David L. Innes, Office of Research Compliance, has recently returned from an accreditation site visit for Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International at a major research university in North Carolina. Dr. Innes serves AAALAC as an ad hoc specialist and was one of four AAALAC members who conducted this on-campus site visit over a five-day period. AAALAC International is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs. When animals are used, AAALAC works with institutions and researchers to serve as a bridge between progress and animal well-being.

Drs. Sylvia Shellenberger, J. Paul Seale and Dona L. Harris (deceased), of the Department of Family Medicine, along with J.A. Johnson, C.L. Dodrill and M.M. Velasquez, co-authored an article in Academic Medicine, titled “Applying Team-Based Learning in primary care residency programs to increase patient alcohol screenings and brief interventions,” which is in press.

Dr. Shellenberger also presented a talk, titled “Alcohol and Brief Interventions,” at a meeting sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization in Panama entitled “Alcohol consumption and related problems: Latin America’s response.” The meeting was held August 5-7.

Dr. J. Paul Seale, professor of Family Medicine, and Dr. Richard Brown, an associate professor of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented a 3 1/2 day Faculty Development Workshop on Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment for Alcohol and Drug Misuse in Haiphong, Vietnam, July 28-31, under the sponsorship of the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief.

Dr. James L. Thomas, associate professor, was a featured speaker at the symposium, Pre-receptor Steroid Metabolism as Target for Pharmacological Treatment, in Eibsee, Germany, May 26-28.  His talk was titled: “Structure/function relationships responsible for the substantially higher affinity of human type 1 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isomerase (3β-HSD1) for substrates and inhibitors relative to human 3β-HSD2.”

Dr. Thomas also presented posters at the Endocrine Society and Adrenal 2008 meetings in San Francisco, Calif., in June and published an article in collaboration with Dr. Kevin Buchholtz, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts, along with Vance L. Mack, Jason A. Glow, Delaram Moshkelani and J. Ross Terrell, “Structure/function of the inhibition of human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and type 2 by trilostane,” which is in press with the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

School of Engineering

Dr. Marjorie Davis, professor of technical communication, was named a fellow by the Society of Technical Communication, which is the highest rank it can confer upon a member for contributions to the theory and practice of technical communication. The

citation reads, in part:  “Marjorie Davis’s career as an educator in the technical communication disciplines spans 35 years at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.  Here, she created both the BS and MS technical communication degree programs, which are offered through Mercer’s Engineering School.  These programs contribute to engineering education with a strong focus on technical communication for engineers, recognized as a distinctive characteristic of Mercer Engineering graduates….”

Dr. George Hayhoe, professor of technical communication, received the Society for Technical Communication President’s Award at the Society’s annual conference in June in recognition of his retirement after 12 years as editor of Technical Communication, the Society’s journal. 

Dr. Hayhoe continues to participate actively in the development of international standards for information products. In May, he attended a meeting of the International Organization for Standardization working group of experts responsible for preparing standards for technical communication. The first standard, for designers and developers of software user documentation (ISO 26514), which he co-edited with Dr. Annette Reilly of Lockheed Martin Corp., was published by ISO in June after being approved unanimously by international standards organizations.

Dr. Sinjae Hyun, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, published and presented three papers at the 2008 Summer Bioengineering Conference of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering in Marco Island, Fla., on June 26. The papers were titled “Effects of Endovascular Graft Morphology on the Migration Force,” co-authored by Young-Eun Hyun of East Chapel Hill High School and Dr. Michael Klyachkin of Cardio-Thoracic, Vascular Surgery Associates; “Effects of Sedimentation on Particle Deposition in the Lung Alveoli,” co-authored by Imshaan Somani and Jonathan Whitten, graduate students in the Biomedical Engineering Department, and Dr. Chong S. Kim of National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and “Risk Assessment of Cerebral Aneurysm Rupture and Regrowth” co-authored by Emily M. Childress and Christina Yarborough, graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Dr. Arthur J. Ulm of the Georgia Neurosurgical Institute, and Dr. Joe Sam Robinson Jr., of the Georgia Neurosurgical Institute.

Dr. Richard Kunz, associate professor of mechanical engineering, published and presented a paper titled “Continuum Damage Mechanics Modeling of Solid Propellant” at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 44th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibition in Hartford, Conn., on July 22.

Dr. Paul E. MacNeil, associate professor, presented his poster paper titled “Genetic Algorithms and Solutions of an Interesting Differential Equation” at the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference 2008 in Atlanta July 12 - 16. The conference was sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery.

Dr. Richard Mines, professor and director of engineering Master of Science programs, Dr. Laura Lackey, associate professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Engineering, and David Tribble, a mechanical engineering student, co-authored “Bench-Scale Ozonation of Waste Activated Sludge,” which was published in the Proceedings of the 2008 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, May 12-16, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Dr. R. Radharamanan, professor of industrial engineering, and Dr. Hodge

Jenkins, associate professor of mechanical engineering, presented and published technical papers at the International Symposium on Flexible Automation in Atlanta in June. Dr. Radharamanan presented “Real-Time, CNC Machine Tool Control with Linux: A Capstone Design Case Study” and Dr. Jenkins presented “Axial Deposition Control in Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition.”

Tift College of Education

Sharon Murphy Augustine, instructor, was a keynote speaker and workshop leader for North Georgia RESA and the Georgia Center for Assessment’s “High School Teacher’s Summer Writing Institute,” in July. She presented a paper at the annual spring conference of the International Reading Association in Atlanta titled “Fostering lifelong reading: Using visual strategies with adolescent readers.” She also presented a paper presentation at the annual Georgia Council of Teachers of English at Callaway Gardens titled “Form not Formula: Persuasive Strategies for High School Writing Teachers.”

Dr. Sherah Carr, assistant professor, presented “Creating a Climate for Differentiated Instruction,” as well as conducting several workshops at the Differentiated Instruction Conference in Brandon, Miss., in July 2008.

Dr. William Lacefield, associate professor of mathematics education, was a member of the Board of Examiners for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education focused visit at Berry College in Rome, Ga., April 27-29.

Dr. Lacefield presented “Nurturing Transformation through Comparative Mathematics Education and Global Experience” at the International Conference on Ethics in Education, held in San Francisco, Calif., in July.

Dr. Lacefield was also honored as the 2008 “Unsung Hero” by the Fulton County Senior Services Department of Aging for his volunteer work at the Benson Senior Center in Atlanta.

Dr. Margaret Morris, professor of education, and Dr. Lacefield, published “Teaching in the Early 21st Century: What Issues Affect the Transforming Practitioner?” in the journal of the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators.

Townsend School of Music

Dr. Monty Cole, associate professor, spent a week in July teaching, performing, and working as the jazz coordinator at the International Music Camp, located at the International Peace Garden between the United States and Canada. He was a featured soloist with the Faculty All Star Jazz Ensemble both in concert and then later on a jazz CD.

Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music, was the recipient of a Faculty Development Grant to research chamber music and full band works in the University of Michigan School of Music Ensemble Library and the William D. Revelli Band Library, May 12-14. The research yielded over 25 chamber works for mixed woodwind, brass and percussion instrumentations and 12 full band works. The addition of these works into the Townsend School of Music ensemble library will allow the pieces to be performed throughout the upcoming concert season.

Amy Schwartz Moretti, associate professor and director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, presented solo and chamber music performances at several music festivals during the summer. She was featured soloist in Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No.5 in A Major, K.219” with Maestro Keith Lockhart conducting the Transylvania Symphony Orchestra at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina on July 25, and in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” with the Astoria Festival Orchestra in Oregon on June 29, Keith Clark conducting.

Moretti performed in recital with Robert McDuffie, Distinguished University Professor and Robert McDuffie Center for Strings founder, at the Aspen Music Festival, July 31, and the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, May 30; with the Diaz Trio in the Brevard College Porter Center, July 16; and with Trio RPM including Christopher Rex, cello chair and Distinguished Artist of the McDuffie Center, and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen at the Madison Chamber Music Festival in Georgia on June 15.

In other chamber music performances, Moretti appeared at Hibben Gallery for the Art of Élan concert series in San Diego, Calif., May 19-20; the Madison Chamber Music Festival in Georgia, June 16-18; Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival in Florida, May 31-June 15; Seattle Chamber Music Festival, July 7-11; and the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy, June 19-26. She collaborated with international artists Jeremy Denk, James Ehnes, Anne-Marie McDermott, Robert McDuffie, Roberto Diaz, Hsin-Yun Huang and Andres Diaz, Distinguished Artist of the McDuffie Center for Strings.

At the Amelia Island and Rome chamber music festivals, Moretti assisted in presenting students from the McDuffie Center in concert: violinist Megan Ganyard, junior; cellist Elaine Shin, sophomore; violinist Lily Squires, sophomore; and violist Ryan Stauffer, 2008 Mercer graduate.

Christopher Macklin, assistant professor, submitted his Ph.D. at the University of York, and spent much of the summer working as a scholar and performer.  On June 18, he presented a paper entitled “Plague, performance, and the strange history of the votive composition Stella coeli extirpavit” at the 2008 Reuter Masterclass and Lecture held at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Culture in the University of Southampton (UK). He sang a 13th Century polyphony for a broadcast of BBC1 television program “The One Show,” recorded at the 11th century hospital of St. Cross in Winchester on July 8. On July 20, Macklin appeared as the Devil in Igor Stravinsky’s music drama “The Soldier’s Tale” as part of the Paxton House Chamber Music Festival, held each year in the historic manor on the border between England and Scotland.

Dr. Robert Parris, Charles B. Thompson Professor of Organ and university organist, played recitals on two significant instruments of the 17th-century north German organ builder Arp Schnitger in July. On July 2, he made his fourth appearance on the 1691 organ in Norden (near Emden), and on July 6, his fourth appearance on the 1710 instrument in Weener under the sponsorship of the Organeum, successor to the former North German Organ Academy. Following the Weener recital, he gave a guided tour of the 19th century villa which the offices and library of the Organeum, as well as a noted collection of historic keyboard instruments. These instruments include two cabinet organs from the late 18th century, a fortepiano from the time of Beethoven, a modern replica of a 17th-century “cembalo universalle” possessing 19 keys per octave, and one of Europe’s most valuable antique instruments, a harpsichord from 1741 by the noted German builder Christian Zell. He explained and demonstrated each instrument as well as responding to questions from the audience.

Staff and Administration

Steve Brown, director of Career Services, served as a presenter at the Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers Annual Conference at St. Simons Island, June 10-13.

Theresa A. Crowley, registrar specialist, attended a mission trip to Santa Cruz, Jamaica with Byron Baptist Church, July 11-18.  The group put on two Vacation Bible Schools with more than 300 children and only 10 workers, including six teenagers.  Until 3 years ago, one of the churches did not allow children under 16 to attend church, the other did not allow them to be baptized.

Dr. Wallace L. Daniel, provost, published “Rossiiskii zakon o svobode sovesti 1997 g. vchera i segodnia” (“Russia’s 1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience, Yesterday and Today”), trans. Irina Shin and Vladimir Poresh, with Christopher Marsh in Russian Review, a Russian Online journal, April-May 2008. 

Dr. Daniel also wrote “Reconstructing the ‘Sacred Canopy’: Mother Serafima and Novodevichy Monastery,” in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Vol. 59, No. 2 April 2008. He also published an editorial in the Journal of Church and State “Church, State, and the Presidential Campaign of 2008” with Meredith Holladay, Winter 2008 Vol 50. No. 1.

Dr. Daniel was also editor, with Peter L. Berger and Christopher Marsh, of the book, Perspectives on Church-State Relations in Russia, published in 2008 by the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Relations, Baylor University, Waco, Texas. The book included a chapter “Russia’s 1997 Law of Freedom of Conscience in Context and Retrospect” by Daniel and Marsh.

Derek Hart, multimedia design specialist in the Learning Technologies Center, graduated from the Mercer School of Engineering with a Master of Science in Technical Communication Management on July 26.

Charlene Leach, associate director of Career Services, served as a presenter at the Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers Annual Conference, at St. Simons Island, June 10-13. Leach also serves as an executive director on the 2008 GACE Board.

Kim Meredith, assistant director of Career Services, Atlanta, graduated from Mercer University’s Atlanta campus with a master’s degree in community counseling on May 17. She also passed the National Counselor Exam, qualifying her for the credential of National Certified Counselor and Licensed Associate Professional Counselor.

Mark Vanderhoek, director of media relations, earned his Master of Business Administration from the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics in August.

University Libraries

Laura M. Botts, head of Special Collections at Tarver Library, hosted the annual meeting of the Association of Librarians and Archivists at Baptist Institutions on the Macon campus, May 21-22. Botts also served as a moderator during the annual meeting of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, held at Mercer’s Atlanta Administration and Conference Center, May 22-24. On July 2, Botts and co-author Lauren Kata were named co-recipients of the David Gracy II Award for the outstanding article published in Provenance: The Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists, for Vol. XXIV, 2006.

Robert G. Gardner, senior researcher in Baptist history, Tarver Library, had an article entitled “Missionary to Wiregrass Georgia,” published in volume 21 (2008) of Viewpoints: Georgia Baptist History, alternate-year journal of the Georgia Baptist Historical Society.

Walter F. George School of Law

David Ritchie, professor, recently delivered a talk, titled “‘Do We Like the Write?’ Can the Term ‘Legal Writing’ be Reclaimed?,” at the Writing and Legal Writing Teachers, Instructors, and Professors of Color and/or Progressive Orientation Conference at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Ritchie was awarded a grant to teach at the Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, where he is on the affiliated faculty, by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ).  He taught a graduate course in U.S. constitutional law to doctoral students in late June and early July.  Ritchie was also invited to speak at the International Symposium of Contemporary Legal Theories and Institutional Design – 20 Years of the Brazilian Federal Constitution at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on June 12, sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General. Additionally, Ritchie was invited to address the faculty at the Catholic University of Petrópolis on June 17.

Ritchie has also recently had several articles and books appear in print.  His book, Mastering Legal Analysis and Communication, has been released by Carolina Academic Press.  He wrote the preface for the book, Direito Ambimental, which was recently released by the Brazilian publisher Editor Atlas.  His article, “Rousseau Misused: Rousseau’s Political Thought and the Philosophy of Constitutionalism,” appears in Volume 12 of Revista Ciências Sociais, and his article, “Modern Constitutionalism and International Violence,” appears as a chapter in the new book entitled Parceling the Globe: Philosophical Explorations in Globalization, Global Behavior, and Peace from Rodopi Press.

Jim Fleissner, professor, participated in a panel discussion on Aug. 11 as part of the series on “Issues of Concern to the Legal Profession” before the American Bar Association House of Delegates at the ABA’s Annual Meeting in New York City.  The discussion was entitled “The Use of Subpoenas to Compel Reporters to Reveal Their Sources” and addressed First Amendment issues and recent legislative proposals for a federal “shield law.”  The other members of the panel were First Amendment Attorney Floyd Abrams and University of Chicago Law Professor Geoffrey Stone.

Sarah Gerwig-Moore, assistant professor, presented “Saving their Own Souls: Stories of Religious Practice on California’s Condemned Row” as a New Scholar at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools conference in Palm Beach, Fla., in July.

She was also named as one of Macon Magazine’s “Five under 40” and was featured in the August-September issue of the magazine.

Denise Gibson, assistant law librarian for research services at Furman Smith Law Library, has been appointed to serve a two-year term (2008-2010) on the American Association of Law Libraries’ Economic Status of Law Librarians Committee. Gibson is also serving as the committee’s Web master.

Ismael Gullon, associate law librarian for collections and technical services at the Furman Smith Law Library, presented “Better, Faster, and Easier: Printing Bindery Forms with Millennium Serials” at the Innovative Users Group Sixteenth Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., April 30. He is also serving his second year term on the American Association of Law Libraries’ Scholarship Committee.

David Hricik, professor, gave presentations concerning intellectual property ethics at the Rocky Mountain Intellectual Property Institute in Denver, Colo., in June, and also at George Mason University School of Law in July. He gave two presentations on behalf of the Rhode Island Bar Association on Avoiding Malpractice in a Challenging Economy. He also co-authored four articles that appeared in the Georgia Bar Journal, two on legal writing and two on ethical issues concerning metadata. He completed the second edition of a book on property law that he co-wrote with professors from the University of Houston and Villanova, which was published by Lexis-Nexis. Hricik also completed the first edition of Mastering Civil Procedure, published by Carolina Academic Press. He also served on a panel on challenges in teaching civil procedure at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools in Palm Beach, Fla., in August.

Linda Jellum, associate professor, published a book with Carolina Academic Press titled Mastering Statutory Interpretation. Additionally, she presented at a panel discussion regarding moot court competitions at the Southeastern Association of Law School’s annual conference.