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Meredith
College December 2003 Commencement Highlights
By Andrea Weaver
 About
150 students received undergraduate and graduate degrees from
Meredith College on Dec. 13 during a commencement ceremony
in Jones Auditorium. Anne Bryan, ’71, co-founder and
president of Exploris, delivered the address, titled “Lots
o’ Lux!”
“Lux is the Latin word for light,” Bryan said, noting
that “Lux” is inscribed on the Meredith College
seal. “This college keeps the lamp of learning burning
brightly” through its academic programs, commitment to
community service and emphasis on personal integrity, she
said.
The ceremony celebrated the accomplishments of students who
completed their degree requirements during the summer and
in December 2003. The College awarded the degrees of Bachelor
of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor
of Social Work, Master of Business Administration, Master
of Education, Master of Music and Master of Science.
“This is a day to rejoice, celebrate and be thankful,”
Meredith College President Maureen Hartford said in her welcoming
remarks. She noted that over half of the students receiving
bachelor’s degrees entered the College as non-traditional
students.
 Sarah
Caroline Hook, who spoke on behalf of the bachelor’s
degree recipients, was a non-traditional student when she
enrolled at Meredith in 1999.
“I’m a single mom. I thought, ‘What kind of
life do I want to give my child? …I had to improve myself
in order to improve our lives.”
Hook earned a B.A. in history and political studies and graduated
cum laude. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in New Zealand.
“I worked hard and I was fortunate to receive direction
and guidance from faculty who truly cared,” she said.
Deborah Wilkes
received a Master of Education and spoke on behalf of the
graduate students. She recently received the 2003 Teacher
of the Year Award from the N.C. Migrant Education Program
for her work as an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher at
West Lee Middle School in Sanford, N.C. Meredith helped her
become “a more creative and effective teacher,”
she said.
Bryan advised the graduates to continue the enlightening experiences
they enjoyed at Meredith by pursing learning throughout their
lives, and by finding ways to make meaningful contributions
to their communities.
“My hope is that you will seek light, and then give light,”
she said, later adding, “No one else’s light shines
like yours does. If it’s a little quirky, that quirk
is needed somewhere.”
Bryan concluded her remarks with a quote from the late Eleanor
Roosevelt, a social activist, U.S. representative to the United
Nations, and wife of the 32nd President of the United States,
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘I would rather light a
candle than curse the darkness.’ May each of us light
a candle that burns brighter and brighter each day,”
Bryan said.
Fall
Full of Undergraduate Research Projects
By Erin Hege, ’04
 The
fall semester was a busy time for the Undergraduate Research
Program. Students who participated in undergraduate research
last semester represented the art, psychology, health and
physical education and mathematics departments.
A number of students received grants for their work. Art major
Tamar Harris, ’03, received a summer stipend to travel
to the Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York, which helped her
coordinate the sculptural exhibition on campus last semester.
Merrily Strickland ’04, also an art major, received a
small grant for her thesis, which focuses on “Icon Imagery
in the Book of Kells.”
Jessica Tolbert, an exercise and sports science major, received
a grant to study “The Effects of Heat on Lactic Acid
Accumulation in Trained Athletes.”
Erika Snitzer, ’04, received a grant for her research
in the psychology department on her project titled, “Spatial
Frequency, Visual Fields and their roles in the recognition
of facial expressions.”
Snitzer said, “In studying this project I have had a
great experience finding new research and working with others.
I found there are many different perspectives that have helped
me in my own study. I'm glad to have worked with so many intelligent
women, and I look forward to presenting with all of them this
spring.”
Dr. Rhonda Zingraff, director of the Undergraduate Research
Program, said, “The research these students share speaks
loudly about the quality of their scholarship and about the
caliber of their Meredith education, so it was a semester
of wonderful accomplishments.”
Other students have been busy presenting their undergraduate
research at conferences locally and nationally. Kristin Siha,
’04, Merrily Strickland, ’04, Katherine Weaver,
’04, and Allison Harmon, ’04, presented various
research projects at the SECAC/Tri-State Sculptors Conference
on October 30-November 1 in Raleigh. Kara Duckett will present
her research titled, “Close Packing Polyhedra-Three Dimensional
Tessellations,” at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in Phoenix,
Ariz., Jan. 7-10.
These students and many others will be presenting their research
to the Meredith community on April 22, 2004, during the Celebrating
Student Achievement Day. This day recognizes outstanding students
for their academic and leadership achievements throughout
the year.
Meredith
Theatre Production Selected for Kennedy Center American College
Theatre Festival
By
Melyssa Allen
The Meredith Performs Theatre production of “And Then
They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank,”
has been selected to advance to regional competition in the
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. This is
the first time that Meredith College has advanced to the regionals
in this competition.
Meredith Director of Theatre Catherine Rodgers says “being
selected to advance to the regionals really puts Meredith
Theatre on an equal playing field with other larger, excellent
schools, such as Middle Tennessee State University, University
of Florida and the University of Alabama. It is such an honor
to be chosen since 40 schools were either recommended or strongly
recommended to advance, but only seven were actually selected
to do so.”
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s
regional festival will be held February 3-8 at the University
of Alabama-Birmingham. Regionals include productions from
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto
Rico and the Virgin Islands.
“Our participation is so important because, first of
all, it really legitimizes our program,” Rodgers says.
“Secondly, our students are exposed to what other schools
are doing and can use that as a measuring stick of sorts to
judge their own work. Lastly, it enables our students to attend
the festival, to complete its invaluable workshops and to
compete for graduate schools and scholarship monies.”
Written by James Still, “And Then They Came for Me”
is a combination of videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors
and live actors recreating scenes from their lives during
World War II. The play was the winner of the 2000 American
Alliance for Theatre and Education Award.
Started in 1969 by Roger L. Stevens, the Kennedy Center’s
founding chairman, the Kennedy Center American College Theatre
Festival is a national theatre program involving 18,000 students
from colleges and universities nationwide, which has served
as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theatre
in the United States.
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Meredith College Will Host The 11th Annual Southeastern African-American
Student Leadership Conference
By
Crystal McLeod ’04
On
Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, Meredith College will host the 11th
Annual Southeastern African-American Student Leadership Conference.
This will be the first time that the conference is held at
a private women’s college. The theme this year is “Creating
Leaders Today to Conquer Tomorrow.” The event will be
three days filled with various educational sessions and social
gatherings.
 The
Southeastern African-American Student Leadership Conference
(SEAASLC) is an annual event that began at UNC-Wilmington
in 1993 to encourage leadership among African-American students.
According to the mission, the purpose of the conference is
to develop and strengthen the leadership abilities and skills
of primarily African-American students across the Southeastern
United States. Although the conference is aimed towards African-Americans,
it welcomes students of all ethnicities, as well as faculty
and staff.
Charletta Sims, director of commuter life and diversity programs
at Meredith College, took members of the Association of Cultural
Awareness (ACA) to UNC-Wilmington for the 10th annual conference.
Stenisha Green, Devetta Landers and Crystal McLeod, ACA officers,
gained knowledge and motivation through the experience of
attending the SEAASLC. These students proposed holding the
conference at Meredith College, which resulted in the committee
of conference coordinators agreeing to have the conference
at Meredith for the next year. This proposal is a LeaderShape
vision for Tiffany McKinnon, an ACA officer.
McKinnon said, “As an African-American student at Meredith,
I feel that it is important to offer a conference that evokes
the leadership skills that I need to overcome obstacles I
may face while trying to be a successful leader… The
conference will allow Meredith minority students to have a
leadership conference right here at Meredith, at home, and
not have to travel to another institution.”
For more information or registration questions email SEAALC@meredith.edu
or visit the website at http://www.meredith.edu/seaaslc.
Exploring
the Benefits of Attending Conferences
By Melyssa Allen
Many
Meredith faculty members often find themselves as students
back in a classroom of sorts when attending academic conferences,
which offer opportunities for faculty members to learn more
about their fields, meet with colleagues at other colleges
and more.
“Attending conferences is good for faculty in several
ways. Most importantly, it is a wonderfully invigorating treat
to spend a few days exchanging ideas with colleagues in one’s
field,” said Eloise Grathwohl, professor of English and
head of the department.
“Faculty return with good ideas for new directions in
teaching and in research and with renewed energy and enthusiasm,
and often they make important connections with other professionals
in their fields,” Grathwohl said. “In addition,
of course, it brings recognition to the College when our colleagues
present their work at a conference or serve on professional
committees or boards.”
Among the English faculty members who attended conferences
this fall were Honors Program Director Judy Dearlove, associate
professor, who attended the National Collegiate Honors Convention
and Sarah Boone, adjunct instructor, who attended the NC Writers’
Network Fall Conference. At the annual South Atlantic Modern
Language Association (SAMLA) convention, Professor Susan Gilbert
chaired a session and Assistant Professor Rebecca Duncan and
Associate Professor Robin Colby read papers.
Debora Maldonado-DeOliveira, assistant professor of foreign
languages and literatures, also attended a conference related
to her field of study – the Mid-America Conference on
Hispanic Literatures at the University of Boulder, Colo.
“It was a great experience to share knowledge and meet
new colleagues in my field of comparative literature and Latin
American narrative,” Maldonado-DeOliveira said. She plans
to attend additional conferences in the spring.
In November, human environmental sciences faculty members
Mitzi Cook, assistant professor, and Diane Ellis, professor,
attended the International Textiles and Apparel Association
Annual Conference, which focused on research and teaching
in the fields of textiles, apparel and merchandising.
Professor of Physical Education Melinda Campbell attended
the NASPE National Teacher Education Conference. This conference
focused on topics of interest for college and university physical
education teacher education faculty, cooperating teachers
and field experience supervisors. The purpose of the conference
is to highlight best practices in the preparation and continuing
development of physical education professionals for K-12 schools.
Doug Spero, assistant professor of communication, has found
a way to get the most out of one trip by attending three conferences
at once.
“Every year I travel to the Broadcast Educators Association
(BEA) convention in Las Vegas,” Spero says. “At
that time there is another convention that runs next door
for the Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA).
With our BEA registration, we are free to visit the RTNDA.
In addition, as soon as the BEA convention finishes, the National
Association of Broadcasters (NAB) moves in the next day. We
are also allowed to attend that convention. Every year, I
attend all three. That gives us a triple bang for the buck.”
Spero feels that each conference is very beneficial.
“I learn a lot about new teaching styles, new broadcasting
equipment and trends, and I take part in numerous ethics lectures.
In addition, I send back boxes of material including industry
publications and trade papers for the students to enjoy.”
Spero adds, “It is very important for people in mass
comm. to attend these conventions because our industry is
constantly changing. I have been out of TV newsrooms for just
over three years and industry trends have changed rapidly...almost
overnight. The conventions always send us home with new ideas
and products to share with our students so we can better position
them for jobs in a very competitive market.”
Note: Faculty and staff members who participate in conferences
and other events related to their fields are invited to send
information to the marketing office for use in the “Nutshell
Notes” section of “In A Nutshell.” Email information
to Co-editor Melyssa Allen at allenme@meredith.edu.
Nutshell
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