Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and News Briefs 10/20/21

In this issue, we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in art, business, music, the paralegal program, psychology, and sociology. We also share an award announcement from the DI Program.

Professor of Sociology Lori Brown was quoted in an article in The 19th* about whether efforts to invest in Pre-K programs can help reduce crime and incarceration rates. The article was published on October 18 in the media outlet, which is an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, and policy.

Dean of the School of Business Kimberly Gladden Burke was named one of the 50 leading business women in Mississippi for 2021 by the Mississippi Business Journal. The award recognized her previous role as dean of the Else School of Management and professor of accounting at Millsaps College. Burke joined the faculty at Millsaps in 1995, launching the executive education program in 2017 and the online data analytics certificate in 2020. She has also held leadership positions on multiple nonprofit boards including the Womens’ Foundation of Mississippi. Burke became dean of Meredith’s School of Business in 2021.

Paralegal Program Director Marisa Campbell presented on the use of focus groups in assessment at the national meeting of AAfPE (American Association for Paralegal Education) in October.

For the second time, a student of piano faculty member Dr. Margaret Evans has been chosen for the cover of a national trade magazine, Piano Guild Notes. The first student, Bethany Brinson, was featured for having won the Raissa Tselentis Bach Award for the nations’ highest-scoring Bach recital. The second student, Lillian Jaho, was chosen for having performed two different piano programs back-to-back, the first a program of ten selections from four stylistic periods, and the second being five complete sonatinas by Mozart, Kuhlau, Clementi, Diabelli, and Beethoven, for which she received the Sonatina Award.  

Professor of Art Shannon Johnstone participated in the Hinson Lake 24 hour Ultra race on September 25-26, running 107 miles in 24 hours, and winning the competition. This race is held every year in Rockingham, N.C., at Hinson Lake.

Participants start at 8 a.m. on Saturday and walk/run until 8 a.m. on Sunday. 

Johnstone shared that she won the race outright, meaning she beat all the men and women competing. “I have never done that before. It was totally unexpected, and I just wanted to stay while I was having fun. I stopped feeling good around 21 hours into the race, but at that point, I was in the lead and the lead man was not far behind, so my competitive side took over. I finished with 107.3 miles. The race benefits the animal shelter in Richmond County, which is another reason I loved it.”

(Photo of Johnstone with the race director was taken by Laurie Matecki)

Associate Professor of Psychology Joseph Mazzola presented “Nutrition and exercise barriers and facilitators in the workplace and their effects on daily health behaviors” at the virtual Work, Stress, & Health conference on September 15.

News Briefs
Dietetic Intern Receives Witt-Beauchamp Scholarship
Meredith College is pleased to announce that it has granted the 2021-22 Witt-Beauchamp Scholarship to Dietetic Intern Katie Barker. This annual scholarship is offered by the Department of Nutrition, Health, and Human Performance and is supported by the Witt-Beauchamp Endowment Fund. Gifted by Celia Witt Beauchamp, ’78, and Chad Lewis Beauchamp, this scholarship is awarded to support a Dietetic Intern, aspiring to practice dietetics/nutrition, in her/his effort to become a registered dietitian. — Submitted by Jennifer Lewis, DI Program