2010 Accolades and Awards
- Meredith College Senior Vice President for Academic Administration Denise Rotondo and Board of Trustees member Andrea Bazan are both members of the YWCA of the Greater Triangle Academy of Women’s Class of 2010. Rotondo and Bazan were among the 11 women honored by The YWCA of the Greater Triangle during its 28th annual Academy of Women Awards on November 3, 2010.
- Meredith College President Maureen Hartford was one of five women leaders chosen by Cary Magazine for its 2010 Women of Western Wake issue.
- Student Danielle Stott won a green design competition sponsored by Highwoods Properties, the largest owner and operator of suburban office properties in the Southeast. The winner was chosen based on several criteria including space plan, creativity and realism of concept, finish selections, presentation (boards and video), furniture selection and coordination and environmental responsibility.
- Jack Huber, professor of psychology, completed a translation of a best-selling self-help book from German into English. The book is called “Encouragement Makes Good Things Happen” and it focuses on the effects of negativity, and teaches readers to encourage themselves and others by focusing on the positive. It was published by Routledge Press in December 2010.
- Associate Director of International Programs Kevin Morrison participated in a panel, “Supporting LGBTQ Students Abroad: What is our Role?,” at the Council on International Educational Exchange’s 2010 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pa.
- Professor of Political Science Clyde Frazier had a book review in The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer on November 22. Titled "N.C. Professor maps his journey from depression to hope," the article was a review of The Mercy of Eternity by Eric G. Wilson, who is Thomas H Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University.
- Jane Barnes and Ying Liao from the School of Business presented their paper, “Successful Supply Chain Management Systems: The Role of Individual, Network and Collaborative Competencies” at the annual meeting of the Decision Science Institute in San Diego on November 22. The paper was named the best empirical research paper of the conference.
- Professor of Dance Alyson Colwell-Waber served as master teacher for the NC Dance Alliance Annual Event (Sept. 2010); Post-performance discussion facilitator for Even Exchange Dance Concert (Nov. 2010).
- Associate Professor of Dance Carol Finley served as a guest artist and master teacher at James Madison University (Oct. 2010).
- Professor of Music Fran Page served as an external reviewer for the Music Department at Campbell University; was an adjudicator for the North Carolina Music Educators Association North Carolina Honors Chorus.
- Professor of Theatre Catherine Rodgers presented at the North Carolina Theatre Conference held at Greensboro College on November 20, 2010. Her session, Discover Majors and Minors, explored the differences between BFA and BA theatre majors, as well as options for theatre minors and participating theatre programs as a non-major.
- Assistant Professor of Theatre Steven Roten led a workshop at the North Carolina Theatre Conference for high school juniors and seniors on How to Prepare for College Auditions where students learned how to find appropriate audition materials and what they could expect in the audition room.
- Departmental Assistant Jeannette Rogers presented at American Literary Translators Association Conference in Philadelphia: October 22, 2010; Received five grants to bring poet Miguel Decor to Meredith College from France (Sept/Oct, 2010); participated in three bilingual poetry readings with Miguel Decor at UNC-CH, Meredith College, and Pittsboro (Sept/Oct, 2010); publication of English translations in "Wild Roman Byways", a book of poetry by Miguel Decor, publisher: Institute of Occitan Studies.
- Associate Professor of Communication Carla S. Ross published article, "Reconciling Irreconcilable Differences Through Forgiveness", in book, “Perspectives of Forgiveness.”
- Assistant Professor of Theatre Curt Tomczyk served as associate technical director for Stillwater Theatre’s “Right Time Right Place,” and associate technical director, scene designer and lighting designer for "Playhouse Creatures."
- Senior Technical Operations Specialist Karen West was elected to serve as secretary/treasurer for the Datatel Users Group Governing Board.
- Adjunct Instructor of History Clay Griffith is the co-author of the new novel The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Book 1 (Pyr Books). He wrote the book with his wife, Susan Griffith. The Griffiths are the co-authors of numerous short stories and graphic novels, but this is their first novel for a commercial publisher. The Greyfriar is the first in a trilogy of alternate history fantasy with a steampunk style. Clay Griffith has taught Introduction to African History for 5 years at Meredith.
- Associate Professor of Exercise and Sports Science Chris Eschbach and his research partner have received acceptance of two presentations at the annual convention of the Southeast Region of the American College of Sports Medicine, which will be held in Greenville, S.C., in February 2011. The presentations include four graduates of Meredith’s Exercise and Sport Science program as authors.
- Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman presented at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) conference October 10-12. She made a presentation on Engaging in Reuse: Design & Implementation of a Student Swap Shop, which focused on working with Professor of Interior Design Martha Burpitt’s class to create The Daisy Trade ReUse Shop, and co-presented a panel discussion on collaborating with faculty.
- Director of Media Services John Kincheloe’s work with the Fort Christanna Historical Site in Virginia has been recognized with a 2010 Award of Merit by the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH).
- Amie Hess, assistant professor of sociology, is the author of “Hold the Sex, Please: The Discursive Politics Between National and Local Abstinence Education Providers,” which was recently published in the journal “Sex Education: Sexuality, Society, and Learning.”
- Professor of Foreign Languages & Literatures Brent Pitts’ critical edition of a thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman Apocalypse poem, Revelacion, has been published.
- Associate Professor of Art Shannon Johnstone received an Honorable Mention in the 2010 International Photography Awards for her sabbatical project “Breeding Ignorance Continues.” Johnstone was recognized in the Deeper Perspectives category. She was also selected to win an Honorable Mention in the Lens Culture International Exposure Awards 2010. Only 25 honorable mention awards were presented.
- Assistant Professor of Communication Michiko Yamada is the author of a book, “A Lucrative Double-standard on Pop Culture: Western celebrities and Japanese TV commercials,” which was published in 2010 by VDM Verlag.
- Associate Professor of History Dan Fountain is the author of “Slavery, Civil War, and Salvation: African American Slaves and Christianity.” The book was published by LSU Press in October 2010.
- Meredith College hosted the annual State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) in November 2010. Meredith is the first independent school to host the statewide undergraduate research conference.
- In 2009, Assistant Professor of Art Warner Hyde was selected from a national juried pool of artist and was commissioned to create a large ceramic sculpture for the U.S. Navy. The work, which commemorates all nuclear submariners involved in the Cold War, was unveiled on August 12, 2010.
- Doug Spero, associate professor of mass communication, presented two seminars on journalism in the United States for the American Embassy in Bolivia this summer. The lectures, which were held at Universidad del Valle in Cochabamba, focused on ethics, media law and long-form investigations.
- Senior Vice President for Academic Administration Denise Rotondo was one of the Triangle Business Journal’s 2010 Women in Business Award winners.
- Meredith College is one of the best colleges in the Southeast according to the nationally known education services company, The Princeton Review. It is one of 133 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its "Best in the Southeast" section of its website feature, "2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region."
- Associate Professor of Theatre Steven Roten was selected to participate in the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive in Washington, D.C., in July 2010. He was one of 60 participants chosen from hundreds of applicants for the playwriting intensive.
- Erin Lindquist, assistant professor of biological sciences, is part of a team that has received a $494,980 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an ecological research and education network among 12 primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), with the network expanding over time to include additional partners.
- Meredith MBAs scored better than 95% of other MBA students from colleges and universities across the nation who took the 2010 ETS Field Test of Business, MBA. The nationally-normed test is used to assess mastery of business concepts, critical thinking, and reasoning ability for MBA students.
- In addition to serving as the host sponsor, Meredith College also earned two awards during the 2010 Komen for the Cure NC Triangle Race for the Cure. Meredith won the largest college/university team award, and earned an award for highest fundraising per team member in this category.
- John Kincheloe, Media Specialist in the Carlyle Campbell Library, was awarded second place in the Lyricist’s 2010 statewide poetry competition. The Lyricist is a literary journal published annually by Campbell University.
- Paralegal Program student Natalie Copeland earned first place in the North Carolina Paralegal Association (NCPA) Scholarship Essay Contest. Copeland competed against applicants from 15 statewide programs.
- Meredith students earned first and third place and two Honorable Mentions in the Otto Zenke Competition, sponsored by the Carolinas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (CCASID). Senior Mary Rose won first place, senior Emily Cobb won third place, and honorable mentions were received by Allison van den Berg and Molly Timberlake.
- Tracy Knight, administrative assistant in the School of Business, recently earned recognition for her writing in the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Competition. Knight’s story, “Burial Ground,” was one of two second place winners.
- Associate Professor of Art Shannon Johnstone was selected for several juried art competitions across the country, in locations including Seattle, Philadelphia and Fort Collins, Colorado. These highly competitive competitions were juried by award winning photographers and art curators, including photographer Debbie Fleming Caffery, and curators Karen Irvine and Andy Adams.
- A team of Meredith College MBA students placed second in the Raleigh-Durham ACG Cup First Annual MBA Case Competition. The ACG Cup is a case study competition designed to give students from leading MBA programs across the country real world experience and invaluable insights into mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, financial advisory and private equity.
- The Oaks, Meredith’s student apartments, earned LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The Oaks opened in August 2009.
- Meredith’s School of Business earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), becoming one of only two women’s colleges in the world with this distinction. The accomplishment was featured in Business Week magazine.
- Meredith College was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. During the timeframe covered by the honor roll, more than 1,500 Meredith students were engaged in community service, either through service-learning programs or other service efforts. These students performed nearly 12,000 hours of service.
- Betty Davidson, a member of the biological sciences faculty, served on the UNC-Chapel Hill educational leadership research group that helped prepare the grant proposal that resulted in a five-year, $1.25 million grant recently received by Durham Public Schools (DPS) and the Durham Association of Educators (DAE).
- Biogen Idec Foundation through the Triangle Community Foundation has awarded $2,500 grant to the Meredith College Center for Women in Science and Mathematics. The grant is for scholarships for middle school aged girls attending Meredith’s 2010 summer science and math camps.
- Assistant Professor of Music Jim Waddelow was selected to present one of only eight featured presentations at the College Orchestra Directors Associations National Convention.
- Associate Professor of Education Marge Terhaar-Yonkers is the 2010 president-elect of the North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children (NC-CEC).
- Encore!, the Meredith College choral ensemble, was asked to sing at a Pentagon event as part of the US Army G-8 Women's Recognition Symposium.
- Assistant Professor of Art Dean Johns was appointed to a four-year term on the National Art Education Foundation (NAEF) Board of Trustees.
- Student Katelyn Moore was appointed by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue to serve as a youth member of the Governor’s Crime Commission.
- Senior Amanda Eubanks was selected to present at the Beijing + 15 conference on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), held in New York City in March 2010.
- Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures Astrid Billat published a textbook, “Three Centuries of Spanish Short Stories.”
- Professor of English Rebecca Duncan’s review of “Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman’s Journey Toward Independence,” by Leila Abouzeid has been published in The Washington Times.
