Summer Faculty and Staff Notables

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College of Continuing and Professional Studies

Greg Baugher, instructor of mathematics, is the recipient of a university SEED grant for his study, titled “Summer Immersion Program for Mathematics.”

Dr. Tim Craker, associate professor of comparative literature and philosophy, attended the IV Convención Mundial de la Arqueología Maya, titled El Popul Vuh: Visto a Través del Arte Maya, in Antigua, Guatemala, June 17-19.

Dr. Linda Foster, assistant professor of counseling, has been asked to chair the Multicultural Standards Revision Task Force for the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education. She will be co-presenting an invited session at the ACA 2012 Conference and Exposition in San Francisco, Calif., titled:  “Diversity in Clinical Assessment: Considerations, Trends and Standards.” She participated in A Counselor’s View of Italy International Counseling Conference, in Regello, Italy, with six graduate students. On May 16, Dr. Foster joined several counselor educators from across the United States for a panel discussion, titled “Voices of Professors:  My Favorite Current Research, Course, or Project.” Dr. Foster also gave a presentation on May 24 in Regello on “Cultural Considerations for Global Teaching: Experiences from Haiti.” 

Dr. Hani Khoury, professor of mathematics and chair of the department of mathematics, science, and information systems, Khalil Derzi, adjunct faculty of mathematics, Dr. Sabrina Walthall, assistant professor of science, and Dr. Rob Ceglie, assistant professor of education in the Tift College of Education, delivered a two-week workshop in mathematics and science content to 50 elementary teachers from four surrounding counties: Crawford, Jones, Monroe and Peach July 11- 22. The workshop is part of an approved Georgia Department of Education partnership grant with Middle Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency.

Dr. Kenyon Knapp, associate professor of counseling and assistant dean for graduate programs, and Charles O’Connor, student in the Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision program, co-presented “A New Model of Fantasy for Psychotherapy” at the annual conference of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia on May 8 in Savannah. 

Dr. David Lane, professor of counseling, and Dr. Donna Lane, adjunct professor, presented “The Lie Triad as a Paradigm for Understanding Relationship Breakdowns,” at the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia’s Annual Convention on May 8 in Savannah.

Dr. Melanie Pavich, assistant professor of interdisciplinary and historical studies, and a class of her students at the Douglas Regional Academic Center participated in a unique collaboration combining art, scholarship and community building. The students contributed their research to Douglass’ Douglas County: A Journey Project by artist Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier. Marshall-Linnemeir’s was exhibited at the Douglas County Regional Academic Center between July 9 and Aug. 12 as part of the National Black Arts Festival.

Dr. Zipangani Vokhiwa, assistant professor of science, completed the Governor’s Teaching Fellows academic year symposia on April 8.  The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program was established in 1995 by then-Gov. Zell Miller to provide Georgia’s higher education faculty with expanded opportunities for developing important teaching skills. 

College of Liberal Arts

Dr. Craig Byron, assistant professor of biology, published a paper online, titled “Masticatory HyperMuscularity is not Related to Reduced Cranial Volume in Myostatin-Knockout Mice” in June. It was published in The Anatomic Record Part A.

Dr. Jamie Cockfield, the Dr. Willis Borders Glover professor emeritus of history, reviewed Learning from Foreign Wars:  Russian military thinking, 1859-1873 by Gudrun Persson for the Russian history journal, Slavic Review. 

Dr. David A. Davis, assistant professor of English and southern studies, published the essay, “The Forgotten Apocalypse: Katherine Anne Porter’s ‘Pale Horse, Pale Rider,’ Traumatic Memory, and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918,” in Southern Literary Journal. He also presented the paper, “The Help and Racial Intimacy in the Kitchen” at the American Literature Association conference in Boston, Mass., May 26-29. He was also named editor of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature newsletter.

Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies, traveled to Paris to confer with Jean-Louis Chrétien, the author of Sous le regard de la Bible/Under the Gaze of the Bible, which he is translating for publication by Fordham University Press. He also conferred with Denise Volkoff, Mercer associate professor emerita and widow of Vladimir Volkoff, whose last novel, Le Tortionnaire/The Torturer, he is also translating.

Dr. Jeffrey Hugdahl, associate professor and chair of chemistry, recently published a paper titled “Synthesis and characterization of 1-aza-4-oxa-7-thiacyclononane: A novel azacrown heterocycle.” The paper was published in the journal, Main Group Chemistry. Co-authors were Dr. Joel A. Dopke, former associate professor at Mercer and now at Alma College, Dr.  Kevin K. Klausmeyer, from Baylor University, Matthew P. Brill, former undergraduate at Mercer University, and Daniel S. Jaremko, a student at Alma College.

Dr. Kathryn Kloepper, assistant professor of chemistry, and student Kasie Knapper, gave an invited lecture April 27 at the Georgia Mining Association’s 2011 Environmental Workshop in Macon.  Their talk was titled “Bioavailability of Trace Elements from Kaolin: From the Classroom to the Research Lab.”

Dr. Brian E. Rood, director of environmental studies and policy and associate professor of interdisciplinary studies, was awarded $10,600 from the Peyton Anderson Foundation to produce a video documentary on the natural and cultural history of the Ocmulgee River watershed. He and Dr. Yudan Wei, of the Community Medicine Department of the School of Medicine,  were also recently awarded a Mercer SEED grant to use Geographic Information Systems technology to develop a geospatial database that distinguishes breast cancer incidence and mortality in Central Georgia.

Dr. Margaret Symington, associate professor, gave three hours of lecture and conducted five hours of problem sessions and discussion as part of the Examples of Geometries workshop at Ohio State University, May 27-28.  The lectures and problem sessions comprised a concise introduction to the field of symplectic topology.  The workshop participants were 23 graduate students from both the U.S. and abroad who work in geometric group theory.

Dr. Fletcher Winston, associate professor of sociology, was a moderator for the “Sociology of Gender” paper session at the Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., April 6-9.  He also accompanied four sociology majors who presented papers at the conference. Dr. Winston was also a moderator for the session, “Creating a Civically Engaged Curriculum,” at the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Through Higher Education in Roanoke, Va., March 2-4.  He was also a proposal reviewer for the conference.

Dr. Carolyn Yackel, associate professor of mathematics, has a new edited volume on mathematics and fiber craft, titled Crafting by Concepts, now available from CRC press or through Amazon.

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Dr. Ashish A. Advani, clinical assistant professor, published and guest edited “Introduction: Men’s Health (1 of 2): Age-associated Change in Androgen and its Effect on the Male” in Journal of Pharmacy Practice, online edition at http://jpp.sagepub.com. He was also quoted in the article, “New Hepatitis C Drugs Create Unique Opportunities, Challenges,” in the Specialty Pharma Journal, online edition on June 8. Dr. Advani was also appointed to the 2011Specialty Pharma Journal advisory board.

Dr. Laurel E. Ashworth, professor, was appointed as a fellow in the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program for the 2011-2012 Symposium. Dr. Ashworth was also vice chair of the Drug Utilization Review Board of the Georgia Department of Community Health.

Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor, published a book, titled Transdermal and intradermal delivery of therapeutic agents, published by CRC Press in May. Dr. Banga was also appointed to the editorial board of the journal, Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta.

Dr. Philip A. Fabrizio, assistant professor, co-published “The clinical anatomy of type II SLAP lesions” in Health Education Assets Library 2011, online at http://www.healcentral.org/healapp/showMetadata?metadataId=42017.

Dr. Michael W. Jann, professor, co-published “Maternal treatment with opioid analgesics for the National Birth Defects Prevention Study” in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2011; 204(4):314.e1-314.e11.

Dr. Nicole L. Metzger, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, assistant professor, received a $4,500 grant for “Impact of behavioral and genetic factors on patients’ warfarin knowledge, INR stability, and bleeding risk” from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Summer Research Program.

Dr. Susan W. Miller, professor, co-authored “Urological Disorders in Men: Urinary Incontinence and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia” in the online edition of Journal of Pharmacy Practice. http://jpp.sagepub.com.

Dr. Nader H. Moniri, assistant professor, was selected as an academic leadership fellow by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Dr. Philip S. Owen, clinical assistant professor, co-published “Incidence and outcomes of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency in trauma patients” in The American Surgeon 2011; 77(5): 579-585.

Dr. Michell B. Redding, clinical assistant professor, was awarded a $93,000 contract from Rite Aid and East Marietta Drugs for the Community Pharmacy Residency Program. She also received an NRX On Demand software donation valued at $36,900 from QS/1. Additionally, Dr. Redding was appointed to the 2011-12 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Professional Affairs Committee.

Dr. Gina J. Ryan, clinical associate professor, and Dr. Lisa M. Lundquist, clinical associate professor, co-authored “Update on antiplatelets” in Georgia Pharmacy Journal 2011; (4) 33:21-29.

Dr. Leslie F. Taylor, professor, was appointed to the Arthritis Foundation 2011 Crystal Ball Planning Committee.

Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics

Dr. Walt Austin
, professor, wrote, “Enterprise Resource Planning and Implementation: A Case of Incompatibility” co-authored with Dr. Linda Brennan, professor, and James Hunt, professor.  It was accepted for publication in Summer 2011 by Journal of Cases on Information Technology.

Jody Blanke, professor of computer information systems and law, was an invited participant at the 4th Annual Privacy Law Scholars Conference, hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology in Berkeley, Calif., June 2-3, 2011.

Georgia Baptist College of Nursing

Dr. Susan S. Gunby, professor, was the keynote speaker for DeKalb Medical Center’s Nurse Week Celebration held on May 4.

James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology

Larry McSwain
, associate dean, was selected as “Author of the Year” by the Georgia Writers Association in the non-fiction biography section for his biography of Jimmy R. Allen, “Loving Beyond Your Theology.”

MERC

Charles Boulware
, mechanical engineer, presented “Design and Test of A C-5 Cargo Floor Panel Modular Repair” at the Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment conference in San Diego, Calif., on April 20.

Peter Bryant, electronic systems division manager, presented a technical paper, titled “Support Equipment Engineering for Aging EW Systems,” at the Dixie Crow Symposium March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

Glenn Carter, senior principal electrical engineer, John Cook, junior software engineer, Michael Grayson, associate software engineer, Peggy Haeusler, junior software engineer, Jean Le’on, electrical engineer, and Nathan Moore, software engineer, were honored as the Software Team of the Year by the Association of Old Crows, Dixie Crow Chapter. The award was given during the opening session of the 36th annual Dixie Crow Symposium on March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

Michael Grayson, associate software engineer, received the Outstanding Computer Engineering Graduate Award for 2010-2011. He also received an industry award in 2011 as a member of a MERC software development team and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi April 7.

Mark May, senior principal software engineer, presented a technical paper, titled “Deinterleaving 101,” at the Dixie Crow Symposium March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

Dr. Robert McGinty, senior principal mechanical engineer, presented a technical paper, titled “Thermal Analysis of Circuit Cards,” at the Dixie Crow Symposium March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

Billy Osborne, information systems division manager, presented a technical paper, titled “ICARR-3D: Aircraft Maintenance Data Collection Techniques and Avionics Systems,” at the Dixie Crow Symposium March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

Steve Tilidetzke, principal software engineer, presented a technical paper, titled “GEOSET – A Flexible Simulation Platform For Testing Geolocation Algorithms,” at the Dixie Crow Symposium March 22 in the Scott Theater at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. 

School of Engineering

Dr. Donald Ekong, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, presented a paper, titled “A Robotics Workshop for Middle School STEM Teachers,” at the 2011 American Society of Engineering Education Conference in Charleston, S.C., on April 11. The paper’s co-authors were Dr. Anthony Choi, assistant professor of computer engineering, and Dr. Barbara Rascoe, assistant professor of education in the Tift College of Education. Dr. Ekong was also elected secretary of the Computer Engineering and Technology Division of the American Society for Engineering Education, Southeastern Section.

Dr. George Hayhoe, professor of technical communication, was recognized by the IEEE Standards Board for excellence in standards development. The award was presented in recognition of his leadership in developing IEEE standard for adoption of ISO/IEC 26514:2008, Systems and Software Engineering—Requirements for Designers and Developers of User Documentation.

Dr. Richard Kunz, associate professor of mechanical engineering, attended the American Society for Engineering Education Southeast Section Annual Conference at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Dr. Kunz presented two papers at the conference: “The Challenger Disaster: Making it Personal” and “Retests: A Rescue Plan for the Sophomore Slump.” The second paper was co-authored by Dr. Monika Bubacz, assistant professor, and Dr. Jack Mahaney, associate professor.

Dr. Richard O. Mines Jr., director of the Master of Science and Master of Science in Engineering programs and professor of environmental engineering, taught the environmental engineering portion of North Carolina State’s professional engineering review course May 16-17 on the North Carolina State Centennial Campus in Raleigh, N.C. He also attended the 2011 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress held in Palm Springs, Calif., May 22-26. His paper, titled “Mercer On Mission to Malawi, Africa” was published in the conference proceedings. Co-authors of the paper included  Dr. Zipa Vokhiwa, assistant professor of the department of math, science and information systems; Randall Harshbarger, associate professor of the department of interdisciplinary studies and Dr. Craig McMahan, university minister and director of Mercer On Mission.


School of Medicine

Dr. David Baxter
, assistant professor of internal medicine, was given the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Internal Medicine Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Debbie Brickner, student coordinator, was given the Outstanding Mercer University School of Medicine Staff Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Susan D. Cline, assistant professor of biochemistry, presented a poster titled “Disruption of mitochondrial DNA polymerase ? replication by the Alde Hyde adduct of DNA, M1dG” at the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting held April 9-13 in Washington, D.C. It included data from collaborative research with Lawrence Marnett, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, and William Copeland, Ph.D., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Dr. Dayle A. Daines, assistant professor of microbiology, provided an invited presentation, titled “The curious ‘alternative lifestyle’ of nontypeable Haemophilus influenza,” to the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Wash., Dec. 7, 2010.

Xavier D. Davis, administrative secretary, was inducted into the Kappa Delta Epsilon professional education fraternity on April 30.  Kappa Delta Epsilon recognizes through its membership outstanding students preparing to enter the teaching profession and those actively engaged in teaching or related professions. As a professional organization, it is an active group in which members of serious purpose undertake projects of service to the campus and/or community. 

Dr. Sarfaraz Dhanji, associate director of family medicine, was presented the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Family Medicine Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Qihai (David) Gu, assistant professor of physiology, presented a poster “House dust mite potentiates capsaicin-evoked Ca2+ transient in mouse pulmonary sensory neurons via protease-activated receptor-2” at the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting held April 9-13 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gu, who was recruited to the School in March, also holds an adjunct faculty position at the Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky Medical Center. He and Dr. Lu-Yuan Lee, professor of physiology the University of Kentucky have recently written an invited review, titled “Airway irritation and cough evoked by acid: from humans to ion channels,” for the journal Current Opinion in Pharmacology. Dr. Gu was invited to join the editorial board of peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Renal and Epithelial Physiology in May 2011.

Dr. Natalie Hogan, assistant professor of pediatrics, was given the Outstanding Faculty in Pediatrics Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Ashley Horner, assistant professor of pharmacology, Yamiece E. Gilbert, and Dr. Susan D. Cline, assistant professor of biochemistry, recently published a paper, titled “Widespread increases in malondialdehdye immunoreactivity in dopamine-rich and dopamine-poor regions of rat brain following multiple, high doses of methamphetamine,” in a special topics issue of the journal Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. This special issue of Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience contains the proceedings of the 10th triennial meeting of the International Basal Ganglia Society, which took place in June.

Dr. Shi-Wen Jiang, professor of genetics, presented “The Tumorigenic Role of HE4, Isoform-specific correlation with patient survival and experimental evidence” at the 7th Annual NCI/MD Anderson Uterine Cancer Biology Symposium May 19.

Dr. Geri Justice, OB/GYN resident, PGY2, was given the Outstanding Resident in Obstetrics/Gynecology Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Edward C. Klatt, professor of pathology, led a focus group session, “The Translational Curriculum: From Basic Science to Clinical Rotation,” at the 15th Annual International Association of Medical Science Educators Meeting in Tampa, Fla. He and Carolyn A. Klatt, reference and electronic resources librarian, presented a poster, “How Much Can You Read?” Dr. Klatt also released the 22nd edition of the online Pathology of AIDS textbook on May 2.

Dr. Melissa A. Kling, director of the animal care facility and attending veterinarian, presented “Incorporating the Exotic Companion Mammal into a Traditional Small Animal Practice” at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University on April 21. She was accompanied by Dr. Roy D. Russ, professor.

Dr. Dana A. Kumjian, associate professor of internal medicine at the Savannah Campus, presented a lecture on Proteinuria (spillage of protein into the urine) at the National Kidney Foundation’s 2011 Spring Clinical Meetings in Las Vegas on April 26.  Dr. Kumjian has been on the national teaching faculty for the foundation for the last three years. Dr. Kumjian, who served with the U.S. Army during Desert Storm, is president of Medical Associates of Savannah and is actively involved in teaching residents, medical students, physician assistant students, nurses and pharmacists in the community.  

Dr. Edward C. Lauterbach, professor emeritus of psychiatry and neurology, recently published “Dextromethorphan as a potential rapid-acting antidepressant,” in Medical Hypotheses 2011 May; 76(5):717-9. He also recently published “Psychotropic Drug Effects on Gene Transcriptomics Relevant to Alzheimer Disease,”  in Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders 2011 May;76(5):717-9.

Dr. Bruce B. Marshall, assistant professor of emergency medicine, was given the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Emergency Medicine Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Richard O. McCann, associate professor of biochemistry, gave an invited talk, titled “Cell Adhesion Proteins and the Origins of Multicellularity,” at the International Choanoflagellate Workshop held at the University of California–Berkeley, June 16-19.  His presentation was based on research conducted in the School of Medicine with the assistance of Angela Lowrey, research assistant III (CLA ’00) and Jorjetta Ilieva (CLA ’11). Dr. McCann was also one of 31 participants in the Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., held May 4-13. For more than 30 years this course has taught the latest advanced techniques in light microscopy to scientists from around the world.

Dr. Robert McKallip, assistant professor of immunology, presented a poster, titled “Role of CD44 in LAK cell-mediated killing of melanoma,” at the American Association for Cancer Research 2011 annual meeting held April 2-6 in Orlando, Fla.

Dr. William McRae III, surgery resident, was given the Outstanding Resident in Surgery Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2. He was also awarded the Outstanding Intern of the Year.

Deborah C. Moten, administrative coordinator, received a Master in Education degree from Tift College of Education during the Macon Campus Commencement Ceremony on May 14.

Dr. Robyn Mowery, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and clinical director for the Marriage and Family Therapy Program in Atlanta, one of seven members appointed to the 2011 national task force charged with a decade review/revision of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Code of Ethics. Additionally, her expertise in medical ethics and palliative care has been recognized by Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.

Dr. Sam Murray, associate professor of surgery, was presented the Outstanding Mercer University School of Medicine Faculty Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Amanda Newton, pediatrics resident, was presented the Outstanding Resident in Pediatrics Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Edward L. Perkins, associate professor, and Dr. Amy L. Greene, assistant professor, were published this spring in the Methods in Molecular Biology book series. They co-authored “Downstream bioengineering of ACE chromosomes for incorporation of site-specific recombination cassettes.”

Jennifer K. Rayhill, family medicine clerkship coordinator, graduated with a Master of Education from the Tift College of Education at the Macon campus Commencement on May 14.

Dr. Dabin Ren, postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Susan D. Cline, assistant professor of biochemistry, and Dr. Dayle A. Daines, assistant professor of microbiology, presented a poster, titled “A novel role for the VapB-2 antitoxin of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in genomic stability following oxidative stress,” at the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting held April 9-13 in Washington, D.C., which included contributions by Mercer biology student Clem Bell III, as part of the MUBS summer undergraduate research program.

Dr. Larry E. Robinson, professor emeritus, adjunct faculty and community instructor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, co-authored with Carol W. Babcock, “A Novel Approach to Hospital Palliative Care:  An Expanded Role for Counselors” in the April issue (Volume 14, Number 4, 2011) of the Journal of Palliative Medicine.

Dr. Anthony Royek, associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology, was presented the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Obstetrics/Gynecology Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Paul Seale, professor of family medicine, presented a lecture, titled “Brief Intervention for Unhealthy Alcohol Use,” at a conference sponsored by the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the University of Sapienza, Rome, Italy, on May 10.

Dr. Christopher Senkowski , associate professor of surgery, served on an expert panel discussing implications of Affordable Care Act on issues of coding and reimbursement at the national meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons in San Antonio, Texas, in April.

Dr. Tina Thompson, associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of neuroscience, was named to the National Board of Medical Examiners’, Step I Neurology/Neuroscience Question Writing Task Force. She was also appointed a Liaison Committee of Medical Education faculty fellow for the 2010-2011 academic year. She participated as a team member on a full accreditation site visit March 20-23.

Dr. Qian Wang, assistant professor of anatomy, was one of the co-authors of a paper, titled “A Finite Element Analysis of Masticatory Stress Hypotheses,” published in American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Dr Wang also presented a poster, titled “Impact of Sutures Assessed in a Finite Element Model of a Macaque Cranium Using Dynamic Simulation,” at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 2011 meeting held April 13-16 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Dr. Yudan Wei, associate professor, accompanied Crystal Davis, first-year Master of Public Health student, to give a presentation on the research project, titled “Assessing arsenic exposure from drinking water before and after the improvement of water supply and the health effects on children in endemic regions of China,” at the Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities Conference held in Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, on May 5. It is a collaboration project from several universities in the nation, led by Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Emory University, to reduce environmental health disparities in vulnerable children.

Dr. Oliver Whipple, assistant professor of surgery, was presented the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Surgery Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2. She was also given the Outstanding Clerkship Director Award.

Dr. Stephen Yost, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science, was presented the Outstanding Clinical Faculty in Psychiatry Award at the School of Medicine’s Savannah Campus Class of 2011 Honors Ceremony on May 2.

Dr. Uriel Zapata, postdoctoral fellow, has received an American Association of Anatomists Postdoctoral Fellowship.  As an award winner, he has a $20,000 fellowship plus travel funds to the next AAA meeting. Dr. Zapata plans to use the fellowship to continue his postdoctoral work with Dr. Qian Wang. Dr Zapata also presented a poster, titled “Ontogenetic changes in the microarchitecture of sutures in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis),” at the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting held April 9-13 in Washington, D.C.  

Staff and Administration

Brian F. Dalton, senior vice president for strategic planning, recently defended his dissertation for his Ph.D., in Education Administration with an emphasis in Higher Ed., from the University of Texas at Austin.
 
Betsy Johnson, director of career services-Atlanta, was elected as president of the Georgia Career Development Association for 2011-2012 with Dr. Stephen Brown, director of career services-Macon, as treasurer, and Kim Meredith, assistant director of career services–Atlanta, as a board director.

Thomas A. Parker, counselor, produced and narrated a relaxation CD, titled “Self Love – Self Care: A Stress Reduction, Relaxation and Sleep Aid CD.” The CD is available on www.cdbaby.com/DrThomasAParker, Amazon.com, www.drthomasaparker.com, as well as other sites. He also created the Stress Rejecters Nation (www.stressrejectersnation.com), a member-based group designed to help support people who would like to actively fight stress.

Tift College of Education

Dr. Elaine M. Artman
, associate professor, and John L. Mason, doctoral candidate, co-presented a paper at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education on June 4 in San Francisco, Calif. 
 

Dr. Sharon Murphy Augustine, assistant professor of education, presented a paper, “Assemblages all the way across: Writing and reading as data analysis,” for a plenary session in May at the Seventh International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao, professor of education, presented a hands-on gallery workshop at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 15. The topics of her presentation included information on how to use the Rainbow Number Puzzles, STAR 10, Quadrilateral Pieces: A Geometry Puzzle, Equals: The Game of Strategy for the Basic Facts and the Liquid Measure Fractions Model. She was also invited to present at the Georgia Institute of Technology on June 17, where she presented to a group of Fulton County math and science teachers as part of a math and science partnership grant through CEISMC.

Dr. Catherine M. Gardner, professor of education and chair of the Henry/Douglas/Newnan/Forsyth Regional Academic Centers, and Dr. Dana H. Lilly, professor of early childhood education, made a presentation, titled “Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction in Teacher Education: Strategies for Connecting Theory, Research, and Best Practices in a Hybrid Learning Environment,” at the Association of Small Computer Uses in Education in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in June.

Dr. William Lacefield, professor of mathematics education, presented “Celebrating Number Sense through Rich Tasks and Rich Discussions in the Primary Classroom,” at the annual conference of the United Kingdom’s Association of Teachers of Mathematics, held in April at the University of Wolverhampton in Telford, England. Dr. Lacefield was recognized for volunteer service at Dunwoody Springs Elementary School in Fulton County, where he provides educational support to fourth grade students. He was also recognized by the Fulton County Office of Aging for his volunteer service to the Dorothy Benson Senior Services Complex.

Dr. Elizabeth Lilly, associate professor, and Charla Fields, fourth grade teacher at Cliftondale Elementary in College Park, presented “Through Their Eyes: The Power of Photography as a Catalyst for Teaching Writing,” at the 56th International Reading Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on May 11. The International Reading Association promotes high literacy levels by focusing on improvements in reading instruction, reading research and information and the importance of a lifetime reading habit. 

University Libraries

Laura M. Botts, assistant professor and head of special collections, published an article on the history of Mercer University in The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Education. Botts also presented a paper as part of a panel on “Telling the Old, Old Story: Research Opportunities for Minority Baptist Groups” at the annual meeting of the Association of Librarians and Archivists at Baptist Institutions in Dallas, Texas. She attended the mid-year board meeting of the Academy of Certified Archivists in Houston, Texas.

Elizabeth D. Hammond, dean, has been elected the 2011-2012 Chair of the Board of Trustees for LYRASIS. LYRASIS is the nation’s largest regional membership organization for libraries and information professionals.

Louise L. Lowe, assistant professor and public services librarian at Swilley Library, presented “Outreach on a Budget: Practical, creative, free or low cost ideas,” at the annual training conference for the Central Savannah River Area Library Association in Augusta in May.

Beth Perry, associate professor, and Louise Lowe, assistant professor, who are both public services librarians at Swilley Library, and Julie Poole, assistant professor and coordinator of Center Library Services, attended the Atlanta Area Bibliographic Instruction Group Conference held June 10 at Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center.

Walter F. Georgia School of Law

David Hricik
, professor, published several articles, including: “Tweet me Some Ethics,” for the Journal of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, co-authored with Natasha Crispin and Prashant Patell “An Article we Wrote Ourselves to the Future,” for the St. Mary’s Journal of Legal Malpractice co-authored with Natasha Crispin and Prashant Patel, “Legal Ethics and Non-Practicing Entities: Being on the Receiving End Matters Too,” for the Santa Clara Journal of High Tech; and “Ethics and the Internet: It’s a Funny Old New World,” for Practical Lawyer, co-authored with Natasha Crispin and Prashant Patel. He also gave the following presentations, “Ethics and Confidentiality in the Digital World,” a webcast for the Professional Education Broadcast Network with Lucian Pera and Bill Freivogel on May 3; “How to Have Fewer Clients and Make More Money,” at John Marshall School of Law in Chicago, Ill., April 28, and at Florida Intellectual Property Law Association in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., April 20; “Ethics in Joint Representations in IP Practice,” at the Seattle Biosimilars Conference with Don Ware of Foley Hoag and Irene Pleasure of Genentech on April 14; “How to Have Fewer Clients and Make More Money,” at the University of Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal Symposium in Austin, Texas, in March 2011 and at the Texas St. B. Annual IP Cle in Dallas, Texas in March 2011. He also presented “Social Networking Ethics,” at St. Mary’s Law School Legal Malpractice Symposium in San Antonio, Texas, in March; “Panelist, Ethics and IP” at the American Intellectual Property Law Association spring meeting in Orlando, Fla., and “Risk Management and IP Practice” at Lloyds of London affiliates in London, England, in February.

Sarah Gerwig-Moore, associate professor of law, was named chair of the Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission in January. She was also awarded the Georgia Bar’s Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service in February.

Michael Sabbath, professor, will be a visiting professor at the University of Georgia School of Law during the 2011-2012 academic year. He will be teaching courses in the areas of commercial law and contracts.

Scott Titshaw, associate professor, wrote an article, titled “A Modest Proposal: to Deport the Children of Gay Citizens, & etc.: Immigration Law, the Defense of Marriage Act and the Children of Same-Sex Couples,” in the Georgia Immigration Law Journal. He was cited in an Associated Press article about possible legal challenges to the restrictive new Georgia immigration law.  Since May 14, various versions of that article have appeared in publications around the country, ranging from The Fulton County Daily Report to USA Today. He also presented a panel presentation at AILA National Conference in San Diego, Calif., on June 15, on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigration law issues. He gave a new scholars presentation as part of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools Conference in Hilton Head, S.C, on July 29 titled “The Reactionary Road to Free Love: How Opponents of Same Sex Marriage May Destroy the Civil Institution They Love.”