Faculty/Staff Accomplishments 3/30/22

In this issue, we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in art, criminology, facilities services, interior design, music, political science, religious and ethical studies, and theatre.

On March 12, 2022, Patty Blackwell, a member of Facilities Services staff and Co-Chair of Meredith’s Honoring Women in the Military Committee, presented virtually an overview of the Military Women’s Memorial (MWM) for a New Hampshire chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution (DAR), of which her aunt is a member. Blackwell is a charter member of MWM, which was previously known as the Women in Service for America Memorial and is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. (shown in photos at right)

The virtual meeting was a chance for the DAR chapter to not only see and hear about the memorial that their national organization supports, but also learn the importance of registering women’s service history on The Register, a live database at the memorial. The Register is designed to keep a history of military women’s contributions to the service of our nation through stories, pictures, and other records they wish to share and may be accessed online at womensmemorial.org.

Professor of Sociology & Criminology Lori Brown and Director of the MA in Criminal Justice Bianca Harris attended the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association annual conference in Raleigh, February 9-10. Harris presented a paper, “House Bill 608 Dignity for Women who are Incarcerated: Politics versus Reality,” which examines the reality of House Bill 608 which is called Dignity for Women who are Incarcerated and is supposed to guarantee reproductive and prenatal care for women in state prisons and jails in North Carolina. Harris points out that wording in the bill makes it fairly easy for sheriffs to not provide this care in county jails. Brown presented “Beyond the CSI Effect: Teaching a Healthy Skepticism about Forensics in Criminology,” where she talked about the need to treat the field of forensics with the kind of skepticism and research focus that policing, courts, and corrections are given currently. Around 25 students registered for and attended this local conference. 

Assistant Professor of Art Holly Fischer has a sculpture included in Coined in the South: 2022, a juried exhibition at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C. The show runs from March 25-July 3, 2022 with an opening reception on March 24.  

Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Shannon Grimes had two articles published in Gnosis: The Journal of Gnostic Studies: “Defining Greco-Egyptian Alchemy,” and “Zosimos and Theosebeia: An Erotics of Alchemical Pedagogy.” The latter is the product of her recent sabbatical research into visual and literary portrayals of a third-century Egyptian alchemist and his female colleague found in Arabic illustrated manuscripts from the medieval period.

Associate Professor of Political Science Whitney Ross Manzo will present a talk as part of The League of Women Voters of Orange, Durham, and Chatham Counties’ lecture series, “Our Rights, Our Democracy:  A Two-Part Series on Reproductive Rights and the Supreme Court.”  Manzo’s is the second in the virtual series. She will present about the U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 at 7 p.m.  The lecture is free and open to the public.  Registration is required and the deadline to register is 5 p.m. on March 30. 

Associate Professor and Interior Design Coordinator Laura Prestwood served as an Internal Reviewer for the Meredith Art Department Self Study, on March 1-2.

Director of Instrumental Activities Jim Waddelow published new sheet music reviews for the American String Teacher Association Journal: Sinfonie a Grande Orchestre: Allegro Molto, Casmir Anton Cartelliere, arranged by Robert McCashin, and Silver Dagger, by Stacy Garrop ASTA Volume 72, No 1. February. 2022. On March 15-18, Waddelow adjudicated the performances of the North Carolina Music Educator Association Music Performance Assessment for middle and high school programs of Eastern North Carolina at North Carolina State University.

Professor of Theatre Catherine Rodgers appears in a recently shot promotional video for the town of Wake Forest. View it on Facebook Watch.