Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and Departmental News 12/7/16

In this issue we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in the departments of art, biological sciences, English, human environmental sciences, music, and social work. We also share news from Family and Consumer Sciences and Exercise and Sports Science.

Professor of English Rebecca Duncan‘s short story “Another Jessica” has been accepted for publication in The Pisgah Review. A special issue of the review will feature work from the first Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference at Brevard College, including that of the workshop leaders:  Ron Rash, Rick Bass, and Marjorie Hudson.

Instructor of Art Holly Fischer’s sculpture KISS will be featured in CraftForms 2016: 22nd International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Craft at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Penn., from December 2-January 28.

This fall, new Director of Choral Activities Shannon Gravelle has kept her students busy doing what they love. The Meredith Chorale performed for Meredith’s Honoring Women Veterans event on November 9. Meredith choirs sang for the 2016 North Hills Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 19. Gravelle and Meredith music majors Chelsea Huber and Victoria Peach sang with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra on November 17, 18, and 19. The singers performed “Neptune” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets at the Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh and an outreach performance at the Wilson Center in Wilmington. The Meredith performers were three of 18 singers who rehearsed once as a choir before singing a dress rehearsal with the orchestra.

Associate Professor of Graphic Design Woody Holliman will be a guest artist at West Virginia University on December 7-8, critiquing work by graduate and undergraduate graphic design majors and giving a public talk entitled “Designing for Social Change: New Paradigms in Practice & Pedagogy.”

Assistant Professor of Social Work Joy Learman has been selected to participate in the Council on Social Work Education’s Program Director’s Academy, a leadership certificate program for program directors who have been in their positions for less than three years. The Academy incorporates mentoring, a summer leadership institute, two leadership development institutes, and online coursework. Learman also recently presented her work Gender-based Violence and HIV Infection: Experiences of HIV Positive African Immigrant Women at the CSWE annual meeting in Atlanta.

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Carolina Perez-Heydrich co-authored a paper, “Land use and household energy dynamics in Malawi,” that was recently published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Instructor of Social Work Betty-Shannon Prevatt is a co-author of an article, “Lifetime substance use and postpartum mental health,” published in Archives of Women’s Mental Health, the official journal of The Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health. Prevatt is a 1999 alumna of Meredith and a former member of the College’s Counseling Center staff.

Professor of Art Jane Terry‘s film Stations was named an official selection of the 2016 Blow-Up International Art-house Film Festival in Chicago. Stations is supported in part by a grant from Tree of Life Foundation.

Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Deborah Tippett gave a presentation on “Global Trends Affecting Families: Smaller Families, Aging Parents, and Different Faces” to the Durham County Library’s Humanities Program and Sister Cities of Durham. This event was held on Sunday, November 13.

Director of Instrumental Activities Jim Waddelow published a set of program notes of obscure works of Joseph Haydn on for the College Orchestra Director Association. He also guest conducted Green Hope and Chapel Hill High School Orchestras this fall.

Departmental News

Meredith Hosts FCS State Student Leadership Event
Meredith College hosted the State Student Leadership Meeting of the North Carolina Association of Family and Consumer Sciences on Saturday, November 12. Courtney Parker, a junior in Family and Consumer Sciences serves as vice-president of the Student Section of NCAFCS. She planned and presided over the meeting. Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Deborah Tippett gave the opening presentation on “Taking Charge of Your Life and Career” and Assistant Dean of Students Tomecca Sloane gave the closing address on “Self-Empowerment: Taking Control of Your Own Destiny.”

New Video Promotes Exercise and Sports Science Program
A new video promotes Meredith’s Exercise and Sports Science (ESS) program. ESS is the study of immediate and long-term effects of physical activity on the body.The video shows how majoring in ESS at Meredith College prepares students for careers or graduate and professional school. The video was produced by Meredith Marketing in partnership with the Exercise and Sports Science program. Watch the new video