Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and Departmental News 10/23/19

In this issue, we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in art, communication, dance, education, physics, psychology, and religious and ethical studies.

Faculty members Sarah Bean (Dance), Liz Droessler (Education), and Emily Howard (Art) traveled to Appalachian State University for the October 4-5, 2019, Women in Education Leadership Symposium (WIELS). They co-presented Increasing Student Engagement and Teacher Confidence through Arts Integration, attended by 14 international participants in the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program, as well as educators from the U.S.  Bean, Droessler, and Howard also had the opportunity to enjoy a keynote address by President Jo Allen.

Professor of Communication Teresa Holder presented her study, “Organizational Resiliency and Leadership During Crisis,” as part of a top paper panel at the 2019 annual meeting of the Carolina Communications Association, September 26-28, 2019.

Professors Mark O’Dekirk (Psychology) and Steven Benko (Religious and Ethical Studies) presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association South. Their paper, “Live, Learn, Die, Repeat,” focused on the psychological and ethical dimensions of movies and television shows that depict characters stuck in a time loop (Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, Happy Death Day, Russian Doll, and The Good Place). Also, Benko presented a paper on the intersection of Levinasian ethics with The Good Place. His paper, titled “The Good Other” will be included in a forthcoming volume on The Good Place and philosophy. While there, Dr. Benko’s summer research students, Ellie Jones and Bailey Birtchet, presented on the rhetoric and use of anger as an appropriate perspective for social critique and change. Their research focused on the intersection of anger in political action and art.

Professor of Education Julie Schrock and Professor of Physics Bill Schmidt presented “A Low Prep Activity to Facilitate Students Applying Key Concepts” workshop at the 2019 International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning (ISETL) conference in Charlotte, N.C., on October 10.

Departmental News
Wendy Pedraza, current dietetic intern and Meredith graduate school alumna (MS Nutrition ’18), conducted a food waste awareness campaign at William Peace University this September. Pedraza’s efforts, which included using social media, on-campus signage, student liaison groups and educational handouts, resulted in a 38% reduction in dining hall food waste from pre-test to post-test collections.