Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and Departmental News 4/10/19

In this issue we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in child development, college programs, paralegal, and political science. We also share news about the Equitable Literacy Education event sponsored by the Department of Education.

College Programs staff visited Ravenscroft High School in March and April to present information about the transition from high school to college.  Holly Weakland and Chrissie Bumgardner, co-directors for FYE, Heidi LeCount, director of residence life, and Kayla Quinn, Vann/Stringfield residence director, provided information on time management, study abroad, choosing a major, and living on campus.  Information was also prepared for the college counselors as well as parents.

Wolters Kluwer has just released the 7^th edition of one of the leading paralegal textbooks, Introduction to Law for Paralegals: A Critical Thinking Approach. Marisa S. Campbell, director of Meredith’s Paralegal Program, is the new co-author for this edition.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Whitney Ross Manzo attended the Midwestern Political Science Association meeting in Chicago, April 4-6. Manzo presented research from her project with Professor of Political Science David McLennan concerning women in appointed office. Specifically, this research demonstrates that legislation requiring or recommending gender balance on appointed boards and commissions does lead to increased numbers of women in appointed office. Four political science students attended with Manzo, presenting their senior research projects.

The students and their project topics are as follows:

• Nour Nachet, “Parental Leave Disparities Within Tech Companies”
• Emily Slusser, “Is the Party of the ‘Old, White Man’ Dead?: A Study on Republican Women Running for Office”
• Madeleine Hubbard, “Parental Leave Policy and the Wage Gap in Local Wake County Governments”
• Jennifer Garcia, “The Differences in Issue Priority Among Latino Men and Women in Congress: Are They United Politically?”

Pamela Linton Norcross, assistant professor of child development, attended the conference of the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) March 20-23, in Baltimore, Md., and presented a poster titled “Adult Attachment Predicting Maternal Sensitivity: Role of Causal Attributions,” and presented a roundtable discussion group on anti-bias pedagogy titled “Strengthening and Supporting Students: Role of Anti-bias Curriculum and Civic Engagement.”  Norcross also successfully defended her dissertation on February 25.

Third Annual Discussions on Equitable Literacy Education Event

The entire Meredith community is invited to attend the Third Annual Discussions on Equitable Literacy Education on April 15 from 4:45-7:15 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium.

This year, Janice Baines, Carmen Tisdale, and Susi Long will lead participants in a discussion on culturally relevant teaching, building on their work in “We’ve Been Doing It Your Way Long Enough”: Choosing the Culturally Relevant Classroom, published by Teacher’s College Press. While the authors focus their work in K-6 settings, the applications of their research extend to higher education and our work with diverse students across Meredith’s campus. This event is supported through a Diversity Council grant.

Those planning to attend must register for the event using this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkXVqsJUGtpZVnoYOexXfh2HhcgXm8M0Im9qN54wi34mPoeg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Please email Assistant Professor of Education Cindy Morton-Rose at mortonro@meredith.edu for more information.