Faculty and Staff Notables

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College of Continuing and Professional Studies

Dr. Ilknur Eginli,
assistant professor of liberal studies and writing and Bridge program advisor, presented “Encouraging Self-regulated Students for Education Abroad Experience” at the annual conference of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, held in Houston, Texas, on May 30.

Dr. Kevin Freeman, visiting assistant professor of counseling, recently obtained national certification as a Master’s Addiction Counselor through The National Board of Certified Counselors. Dr. Freeman coordinates the Substance Abuse Counselor Certificate Program in the College.

Dr. Ian Henderson, professor of communication, was selected as a Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow for the academic year 2012-2013.

Dr. Kenyon Knapp, assistant dean for graduate programs and associate professor of counseling, presented three papers at the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia’s annual conference in Atlanta:  “Ethical Issues Related to Spiritual/Religious Counseling” (with Ph.D. student Charles O’Connor); “Childhood Sexual Abuse and its impact on Marital Attachment” (with Ph.D. student Mayi Dixon); and “Emotionally Focused Therapy: Theory and Techniques” (with O’Connor). Dr. Knapp was recently elected to serve on the board of directors for Dominion Classical Christian Academy for a three year term beginning fall 2012.

Dr. Richard Martin, associate professor of public safety, published an article, titled “Advancing police professionalism through higher education,” in the Law Enforcement Executive Forum, 12 (2) 78-81.

Dr. Kyra Osmus, professor of human services, has been approved as an external reader for the Counsel of Standards for Human Services Education, the national accrediting body for human services degree programs.

Dr. Don Redmond, assistant professor of counseling, presented a paper, titled “Erik Erikson, Antwone Fisher, Will Hunting and the Search for Identity,” at the annual conference of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia.

Dr. Charles Roberts, associate professor of mathematics, attended the annual national meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which was held in Philadelphia, Pa., April 25–28. NCTM is the largest organization for teachers of mathematics in the country. This conference includes those in the field of mathematics education from around the country and from all levels of the education pipeline, from pre-K through the college level.

Dr. Karen Rowland, assistant professor of counseling, was selected by the Georgia School Counselors Association as the Counselor Educator of the Year for 2012 for the state of Georgia. Dr. Rowland will be representing Georgia for ASCA’s national counselor educator of the year award in 2013. This prestigious award is based on commitment to excellence in guidance and counseling.

College of Liberal Arts

Dr. James Eric (Jay) Black, who recently defended his dissertation for his Ph.D. from Georgia State University in public communication, has also published his paper, “Silent Cal and the Invisible Audience: The Sociotechnological Significance of the Presidential Voice” in ECT: The General Semiotic Journal, Vol. 69, No 1 Jan 2012.

Dr. Jamie Cockfield, Willis Borders Glover Professor of History, was interviewed by Dr. Joe Sam Robinson on his show “Observations” on TV station WRWR about U.S. Sen. Walter F. George. Cockfield is writing a biography on George.

Dr. David A. Davis, assistant professor of English, presented the paper “Southern Poverty and the Problem of Modern Time,” at the American Literature Association in San Francisco, Calif., May 24-27. The Society for the Study of Southern Literature has also named Davis chair of the Louis D. Rubin Prize committee, which selects the best essay on southern literature published in a calendar year.

Dr. Andy Digh, associate professor of computer science, served as an exam reader and grader for the 2012 College Board Advanced Placement Program in Computer Science, June 1-9, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies, hosted the movie, “Something the Lord Made,” on campus for the annual Ethnic Awareness Week on March 2. He also organized and hosted a lecture titled “Aristotle Goes Hollywood: Seeking the Truth in American Cinema” by author and blogger Daniel McInerny for the Center for the Study of America’s Western Foundations and the Great Books Program on April 17.

Dr. Janell Johnson, associate professor, has been elected to serve a four year term on the editorial board of the journal, Perspectives in Religious Studies.

Dr. Margaret Symington, associate professor of mathematics, gave five undergraduate lectures (from linear algebra to the non-squeezing theorem of symplectic geometry) as part of the Program for Women and Mathematics at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., May 20-25.

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Dr. Ashish A. Advani, clinical assistant professor, was awarded a $54,000 contract for the Drug Information Residency (Patient-Centered Outcomes Residency Training Program) from Total Therapeutics Management Inc. Dr. Advani also co-authored Princeton Review: Cracking the PCAT, 1st edition, Framingham, Mass.: Princeton Review, Inc; May 2012

Dr. Ajay K. Banga, professor, was awarded a grant of $50,000 for “Analytical testing of nicotine lozenges” from GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Banga was also awarded a $9,375 grant for “Dermatological dosing study for a new rosacea treatment” from Accuitis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Banga and Piyush Jain, Ph.D. student, co-authored “Formulation optimization, skin irritation, and efficacy characterization of a novel skin lightening agent” in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 2012; 11(2):101-110. Dr. Banga, and Ph.D. students Neha D. Singh, Haripriya Kalluri, and Anushree K. Herwadkar, co-authored “Transcending the skin barrier to deliver peptides and proteins using active technologies” in the journal Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems 2012; 29(4): 265-298.

Dr. Michael W. Jann, professor, Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, assistant professor, Dr. Hailing Zhang, assistant professor, and Dr. Chad M. VanDenBerg, clinical associate professor, co-authored “Lack of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction study with venlafaxine XR/indinavir and desvenlafaxine /indinavir in healthy volunteers” in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2012; 68(5): 715-721. Dr. Jann was also elected treasurer of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology for 2012-2014.

Dr. W. Klugh Kennedy, clinical associate professor, was awarded an $86,640 grant for “The effectiveness of Risperdal Consta® in a standardized inpatient rehabilitation and treatment program, a retrospective comparison to oral antipsychotic treatment” from Johnson and Johnson (Janssen).

Dr. Nicole L. Metzger, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Leisa L. Marshall, clinical professor, co-authored “Medication errors” in Principles and Practice of Hospital Medicine, 1st edition. McKean, S.C., Ross J.J., and Dressler, D.D., edtiors. New York, New York: McGraw Hill Medical, 2012:56-65. Dr. Metzger was also selected as the Emory Healthcare Department of Pharmaceutical Services Residency “Preceptor of the Year” for 2011-12.

Dr. Kathryn M. Momary, assistant professor, co-authored “Statins personalized” in Medical Clinics of North America 2012; 96(1):123-39.
 

Dr. Gina J. Ryan, clinical associate professor, was awarded a $37,500 Novo Nordisk Grant for “Hypoglycemia investigation, intervention, and prevention operation (HII-PO)” from the American Diabetes Association. Dr. Ryan and Dr. Joseph T. Dye, assistant professor, co-authored “Diabetes care practice patterns of recent pharmacy graduates” in Journal of Pharmacy Practice 2012; 25(3):380-391.

Heather Schmidt, clinical assistant professor, was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award for her role as advisor for the Godsey-Matthews Student Society at the 2012 American Academy of Physician Assistants annual conference.


Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics

Jody Blanke, professor of computer information systems and law, was an invited participant at the 5th Annual Privacy Law Scholars Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference is jointly sponsored by the George Washington University Law School and the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at Berkeley Law School.

Dr. Steven McClung, associate professor, sports management program director and MBA program director, and Dr. Ania Rynarzewska published “Using affect as a tool for target market homogenization: Sportswear advertising among the community of sports participants” in the Florida Communication Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1, spring 2012, 1-15.

Dr. Gina L. Miller, professor and associate dean, and Dr. Faye A. Sisk, professor and director of executive graduate programs, co-authored the article “Business Education & Gender Bias at the C Level” in the Administrative Issues Journal., volume 2, issue 1, April 2012.

Dr. Arthur Rutledge, professor, published a paper titled, “Student Attitudes and Interest in Working Internationally: Pre and Post 9-11,” co-authored with Dr. Kenneth R. Tillery and Dr. Louis Jourdan.

Georgia Baptist College of Nursing

Dr. Lanell Bellury, associate professor, presented Institute for Evidence-based Practice Change and Dash to Discharge: Practice Change Requires Much More than Evidence at the 37th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress in New Orleans, La., May 3–6.  Dr. Bellury also received the Distinguished Dissertation Award from the University of Utah on May 4.

Tara Bertulfo, clinical instructor, has been selected as a National League for Nursing ambassador to Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.

Dr. Virginia Dare Domico, Dr. Laura Kimble, Dr. Tanya Sudia-Robinson, professors; and Susan Estes, Elaine Harris, Fran Kamp, Kelli Shugart, clinical assistant professors, were inducted into Phi Kappa Phi on May 2.

Susan Estes, clinical assistant professor, participated as a reviewer of the 8th Edition text published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins titled, Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, written by Taylor, Lillis, Lamone and Lynn.

Dr. Laura Kimble, professor, presented a poster, titled “Nuisance Bleeding, Concern about Medication, and Self-reported Adherence in Patients taking Clopidogrel,” on May 8 at the Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Conference sponsored by the American Heart Association.

Karen Maxwell, clinical assistant professor, has been asked to serve as a faculty advisor for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accreditation committee for Saint Joseph’s Nurse Resident Program

Dr. Linda Streit, dean and professor, has been appointed to the Georgia Action Coalition for Nursing and Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition.

McAfee School of Theology

Thomas B. Slater
, professor of New Testament language and literature, has published “Ephesians,” a commentary in the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary Series. Slater argues that the book of Ephesians originally was written to a community transitioning from a predominantly Jewish congregation to predominantly non-Jewish one. He argues that the book of Ephesians provides both theological and social guidelines for making that transition peacefully.

Dr. Brett Younger, associate professor, published The Lighter Side: Serving Up Life Lessons with a Smile. The book is a compilation of 65 of his columns from Baptists Today and is available from Nurturing Faith Inc. of Macon.

School of Engineering

Dr. Helen M. Grady, associate professor and director for the technical communication program, was honored by the Society for Technical Communication in a ceremony at its annual conference in Rosemont, Ill., on May 22. Grady, a senior member of the Society, was named a Fellow, one of the highest ranks that the Society confers upon a member. To be considered for election as a Fellow, members must have been previously inducted as an Associate Fellow. In addition, the member must have attained distinction in the field of technical communication. They also must have accomplished one, two, or all three of the following: been responsible for important work in the field of technical communication, done notable original work that has contributed to the advancement of technical communication and made a significant contribution to the Society and helped to tell STC’s story. Also, honorees must have attained eminence in the field of technical communication through outstanding achievements in and contributions to the arts and science of technical communication.

Dr. Behnam Kamali, professor of electrical and computer engineering, presented and published a joint article with NASA colleagues Dr. Jeffrey Wilson and Robert Kerczewski, titled “Application of Multihop Relay for Performance Enhancement of AeroMACS Networks” at the IEEE ICNS 2012 conference in April. The article will be republished as a “NASA Technical Memorandum.”

School of Medicine

Dr. Grady Carter, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has been chosen by the Federation of State Medical Boards and The National Board of Medical Examiners to serve on the Step III Committee. This committee has responsibility for oversight of the USMLE Step III exam.

Dr. Qihai (David) Gu, assistant professor of physiology, gave a presentation, titled “Functional expression of calcium sensing receptor in rat vagal pulmonary sensory neurons,” at the Experimental Biology 2012 Annual Meeting held in San Diego, Calif., April 21-25. Dr. Zhanna Vysotskaya, a postdoctoral researcher, Martin Kagira, a summer scholar and Carolyn Gilbert, a research technician, participated in the study. In addition, Dr. Gu has recently published a peer-reviewed paper, titled “House dust mite potentiates capsaicin-evoked Ca2+ transients in mouse pulmonary sensory neurons via activation of protease-activated receptor-2,” in Experimental Physiology 2012 April; 97(4):534-543. Dr. Gu has also published a book chapter invited by Wiley-Blackwell in May 2012, titled “Protease-activated receptor-2” in Therapeutic targets: Modulation, Inhibition, and Activation, edited by Botana, L.M. and Loza, M., chapter 2, p 37-62. Dr. Lu-Yuan Lee, Fred W. Zechman professor of physiology at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, coauthored both of the publications.

Jan LaBeause, library professor, Medical Library and LRC director and GaIN program director, has announced that she will retire on July 27.

Dr. Robert McKallip, assistant professor of immunology, and Dr. Christy Bridges, associate professor of histology in the Division of Basic Medical Sciences, published a research article, titled “CD44 as a novel target for treatment of staphylococcal enterotoxin B-induced acute inflammatory lung injury,” in the journal Clinical Immunology. Dr. McKallip also received a junior faculty travel grant to attend the 99th annual national meeting of the American Association for Immunologist held in Boston, Mass., where he presented a poster titled “Targeting CD44 in SEB-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome.”

Dr. Mike U. Smith, director of AIDS education and research, had “The Role of Authority in Science and Religion with Implications for Science Teaching and Learning” published in Science & Education.

Staff and Administration

Betsy Fitzgerald, executive director of The Grand Opera House, presented a special harp recital for the Macon Morning Music Club at Wesleyan College on Feb. 9 featuring the music of women composers, historic salon music and other harp favorites. She also recently joined the board of directors of the Georgia Arts Network and served as chair of the Georgia Arts Network 2012 conference, which was held in Macon, May 6-8.

Tift College of Education

Sharon Murphy Augustine, assistant professor, presented a paper with colleague and Mercer alumna Amy Davis Sanford at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their paper, titled “Composing Assemblage as Method of Analysis,” discussed the importance of writing partnerships as methods of analysis for qualitative research.

Dr. Theodorea Regina Berry, assistant professor, presented a paper, titled “Internalization, Internationalization, and Intersectionality of Identity,” at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies in Vancouver, British Columbia, in April. Dr. Berry completed her three-year term as chair of the Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association during the annual meeting. She also presented her presidential address at the Sixth Annual Conference of the Critical Race Studies in Education Association at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City.  Her address was titled “Hear the Lambs A’Cryin’: Understanding a Curriculum of Tragedy from a Critical Race Theory/Critical Race Feminist Perspective.”

Dr. Catherine M. Gardner, professor of education and chair of the Henry/Douglas/Newnan/Forsyth Teacher Education Programs and Dr. Dana H. Lilly, professor of early childhood education, made a presentation, titled “Innovative Strategies for Differentiating Instruction to Meet the Needs of Adult Learners in a Hybrid Learning Environment: Modeling What We Teach,” at the Association of Small Computer Users in Education in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in June.

Dr. Margaret Morris, professor, and Dr. Sharon Augustine, Dr. Sybil Keesbury, and Dr. Kelly Reffitt, assistant professors, presented a paper, titled “Supporting a Cradle-to-College Educational Network,” at the annual Professional Development School Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., March 8-11.

Townsend School of Music

Dr. David Keith, director of graduate studies and newly appointed interim dean, was guest conductor of the Macon Symphony Orchestra in May. Dr. Keith conducted the concert “Bond and Beyond” featuring music from the James Bond movie series as well as other cinematic music.  In addition, Dr. Keith prepared the Fort Worth Choral Society for their recent performance of Beethoven “Symphony No. 9” with the  Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.  Also in May, Keith conducted the Fort Worth Baroque Society in “An American Tapestry.”

Dr. Richard Kosowski, assistant professor, conducted a number of performances, beginning in April, including: Dubois’ “Seven Last Words of Christ” with the sanctuary choir of Christ Episcopal Church in Macon; the Floyd County 4th- and 5th-Grade Elementary Honor Choir in Rome; a musical service at Russellville Baptist Church with the Cantiamo choir of Mercer University Children’s Choirs (MUCC); and “Songs for a Spring Afternoon” with the entire MUCC organization. During the first week of May, as a vocal soloist, he sang the role of Uriel in Haydn’s “Creation” at Milledgeville United First United Methodist Church, and as chair of the education committee for the Macon Symphony Orchestra, he coordinated the Young Persons Concerts for more than 1,200 children from Bibb County Schools at The Grand Opera House. In June, he conducted a seven-state performance tour with the Touring Choir of the MUCC, assisted by adjunct instructor and pianist, Gail Pollock. Tour performances included First Baptist Church of Memphis, Elvis Presley’s Graceland, the Grizzlies House at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, River City Music Days at the Arch in St. Louis, St. Francis Xavier College Church at St. Louis University, and historic Franklin Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tenn.  He also led the celebration of the Mass at the Basilica Cathedral of St. Louis and Sunday morning services at Kirkwood Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo.  As a lecturer, he gave pre-performance lecture on Massenet’s Manon for the Central Georgia Opera Guild in April, and taught classes in vocal pedagogy for elementary music teachers at the Townsend School of Music sponsored Orff-Schulwerk Workshop at the beginning of June.

University Libraries

Hannah Rogers, public services librarian and liaison to the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, received a stipend from the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund to attend the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy to be held in Orlando, Fla., in July. The mission of The Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund is to increase librarians’ identification with medical, pharmaceutical and health care professionals.

Lee Twombly, outreach and assessment librarian at Jack Tarver Library, and Anna Krampl, reference librarian at the School of Medicine Library, presented “No Magic Needed: A Muggle’s Guide to Collaboration for Successful Programming,” at the CSRA Library Association’s 3rd Annual Conference at Augusta State University on May 25.

Walter F. George School of Law

Jim Fleissner, professor, made a two-hour presentation, titled “The New Georgia Evidence Code,” to more than 100 Georgia Juvenile Court judges on May 15 at Jekyll Island. The program, sponsored by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia, was to help prepare the judges for 2013, when Georgia’s revamped evidence rules based on the Federal Rules of Evidence, go into effect. At this year’s graduation ceremony, Fleissner was named the 2012 recipient of the Reynold J. Kosek Jr. Excellence in Teaching Award, presented annually to a member of the faculty by a vote of the graduating class.

David Ritchie, associate professor of law and philosophy, was a visiting fellow in the Department of Politics at Oxford University for the Trinity Term (April – June).  He has been made a research associate at the Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) at Oxford. He delivered and discussed a paper, titled “The Kill Lists,” to the War Workshop, convened by ELAC at Merton College, Oxford, on June 5. Ritchie has also been made a member of the international jury of PLURAL+, a joint initiative between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration. PLURAL+ is a youth-produced video festival that encourages young people to explore migration, diversity and social inclusion, and to share their creative vision with the world. On June 21, Ritchie delivered a paper, titled “Elements of the Pacifist Conscience,” at the 12th International Law and Ethics Conference “Pacifism: Still the Issue” in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Karen J. Sneddon, associate professor of law,  was elected to be a member of the Legal Writing Institute Journal Editorial Board for a term from 2012-2016. Her article, titled “The Will as Personal Narrative,” will be published in Volume 20 of the Elder Law Journal at the University of Illinois College of Law (due out fall 2012). On June 1, Sneddon presented at the Biennial Conference of the Legal Writing Institute a presentation titled “Do Now’s: 25 Invigorating Warm Up Exercises.”