News Briefs
Meredith College Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort
Meredith College will collect funds to support Hurricane Sandy relief efforts from November 26-30, 2012.
The fundraiser is being organized by Meredith students and the Office of the Dean of Students. Campus community members are encouraged to give $2. All funds raised will be donated to the American Red Cross. For less than the cost of a cappuccino, your donation will help the American Red Cross provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Students, faculty and staff can give their cash or checks (payable to Meredith College) at a collection table during the week of November 26 in 1st Cate Center and Belk Dining Hall.
Donations will also be collected at the following sites on campus:
- Office of College Programs, 1st Johnson Hall
- Office of the Dean of Students, 2nd Park Center
- Office of Student Leadership and Service, 2nd Park Center
- Residence Hall Directors - 1st floor, residence halls
- Apartment Manager, Oaks
For more information, contact Dean of Students Ann Gleason at gleasona@meredith.edu, Resident Director Meagan Paschal at paschalm@meredith.edu or Genevieve Gonzalideh at gholizad@email.meredith.edu.
Trustee Chair Maureen O’Connor Presents MBA Lecture
Submitted by Page Midyette, MBA Program Director
Maureen K. O'Connor, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) was the speaker for the MBA Leaders of Distinction series event on November 7. O'Connor's engaging talk was called ”Building the Health Care Bridge," and she discussed bridging from our traditional health care system to a new system based on improving quality, reducing cost and making it more patient-focused.
O’Connor leads the development and implementation of BCBS NC enterprise strategy, and is responsible for the healthcare and clinical division, network relationships and health system innovation, business development, analytics, health reform implementation and public affairs. O'Connor joined BCBSNC in 2000 as vice president and deputy general counsel and later assumed the roles of general counsel and chief administrative officer. Before joining BCBSNC, O'Connor was senior regional counsel with CIGNA, senior vice president and general counsel of Healthsource North Carolina and was in private practice with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett & Jernigan in Raleigh, N.C.
O'Connor currently serves as chair of the Meredith College Board of Trustees, and on the boards of Elon University Law School and the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. She also serves on the national board of the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) and she co-chairs the finance committee of the North Carolina Health Information Exchange. O'Connor holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor's degree from College of the Holy Cross. She was named by Diversity Journal as one of the nation's “100 Women to Watch in 2009” and was recognized in 2008 as one of ten “Women Extraordinaire” in the Triangle by Business Leader Media.
The Meredith MBA Leaders of Distinction Speaker Series brings outstanding business leaders to campus to speak to MBA students about relevant issues affecting business today.
Meredith Sculpture Students Complete Public Art Piece in Cary
Nine of Meredith's Sculpture students have been volunteering with Danish artist Nina Hole to construct one her monumental ceramic sculptures in downtown Cary, N.C.
Beginning in mid-October, Meredith students and other area volunteers have been working with Nina Hole and her three assistants to construct this enormous fortress-like sculpture reaching over 12 feet in height. The sculpture required more than 7,000 pounds of North Carolina clay.
Nina Hole has been creating large scale sculpture internationally for over 20 years in places such as Canada, Korea, Mexico, Portugal and now Cary, N.C. The final two day firing took place the first weekend of November. The finished work can now be viewed as a permanent fixture in downtown Cary on the Performance Green in front of Cary Visual Arts Center.
For more information contact Lisa F. Pearce, Associate Professor of Art, at pearcel@meredith.edu.
Twenty-two Students Inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society
Twenty-two Meredith College students joined the College’s chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda, the National Honor Society for Nontraditional Students. The following students were inducted on Sunday, November 11, in Jones Chapel.
New members are Mitchi Jean Buttram Baker, Angela R. Bloemeke, Rajneet Kaur Buttar, Mahamantra Das, Aisha Eskandari, Jessica Melnick Johnson, Meredith T. Kindl, Jennell Anna Little, Mara Lubans-Othic, Alma Nallely Manzo-Valencia, Jolene Elizabeth Markline, Beverly Taylor Mecum, Jamie Marie Merrick, Heather Catherine Murphy, Maribel Perez-Huerta, Erica Gabrielle Sabatini, Lindsey Jordan Skowron, Sherry Christina Storrs-Casanova, Monica Nicole Truax, Salome Wagner, Whitney Walker and Sally Malaka Yacout.
Lisa Flint-Morris, assistant director, adult and transfer advising in Academic & Career Planning, is the chapter councilor.
Alpha Sigma Lambda is open to all majors and women at Meredith College over the age of 22. Specifically, members must have earned a minimum of 24 credit hours at Meredith, a minimum grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and be selected from the highest 10% of their class. The honor society is an opportunity to recognize the special achievements of adults who accomplish academic excellence while facing competing interests of family, community and work.
Alpha Sigma Lambda is not only the oldest, but also the largest chapter-based honor society for full- and part-time adult students. To date, 166 members of the Pi Theta chapter at Meredith have been inducted since the chapter’s founding in 2007. Meredith was the first women’s college in North Carolina to have an Alpha Sigma Lambda chapter.
In this Issue:
Meredith College and Durham Technical Community College Formalize Transfer Partnership
Meredith M.Ed. Graduate Earns National Award
Meredith Psychology Students Examine the 2012 Election
Meredith College Event Honors Veterans
Meredith Basketball Season Opens Today
Meredith Music Ensembles Go On Tour
Have you presented research or attended a professional meeting recently? Has your department earned an award? Share news of these accomplishments and more with the Meredith community. Faculty and staff are invited to email items to Melyssa Allen, “Campus Connections” editor, at allenme@meredith.edu.