Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and Departmental News 8/10/20

In this issue, we celebrate accomplishments of faculty and staff in art, chemistry, child development, communication, nutrition, psychology, and technology services.

Assistant Professor of Child Development Fain Barker presented at a virtual conference on August 1 for the NC Council for Exceptional Children with co-presenters Dionne Sills Busio, from East Carolina University, and Tammy Barron, from Western Carolina University, on the subject of “Family Engagement for Children with Disabilities: Early Intervention, Preschool, and School Age.”

Assistant Professor Andrea Carter and Associate Professor Sasha Ormond from Chemistry, Physics, and Geoscience had presentations accepted at the 26th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, which was to be held on July 18-23, 2020, at Oregon State University but was canceled because of the pandemic. Carter was planning to present on “Lowering the activation energy: introducing a CURE in multiple small steps at a small, primarily undergraduate liberal arts college,” and Ormond planned to present “Fostering scientific writing and understanding through a writing intensive quantitative analytical chemistry course.” Together, their presentation “Using recitation activities during the general chemistry I laboratory to support student success” was going to include Professor of Chemistry Walda Powell and Laboratory Manager Cassie Lilly as authors. The conference provides opportunities to grow as faculty through workshops, seminars, and symposia.

Associate Professors Jennifer McMillen (nutrition) and Andrea McPherson (psychology) presented their interdisciplinary research project on Intuitive Eating Practices at The Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior’s national conference for 2020. This research began as a summer research project funded by Dupont. Alongside the faculty, graduate student Jessica Long and undergraduate students Caroline Coleman and Emily Watkins shared their results and deliverables to a national audience. The conference was moved to an online format, but attendance to their session was strong.

Associate Professor of Mass Communication Doug Spero appeared on WPTF (680am & 98.5fm), on July 29 for two segments of the show hosted by Rick and Donna Martinez. One segment was about current media coverage of protests, demonstrations and presidential politics. Spero described the second segment as “a look-back on the life of one of the great personalities of TV, Regis Philbin, who died on July 24 at 88.  We talked about his accomplishments in the broadcasting industry for over 60 years and how my one meeting with him, years ago, changed my TV news career in New York.”

Professor of Art Jane Terry‘s film Intensity and Black Eternity was selected by reviewers to be part of the 74th University Film and Video Association Conference, which was held as a virtual event July 26-30. The UFVA is an international academic organization dedicated to the study of film and media. Terry participated in the conference as a presenter and respondent.

Departmental News

Technology Services Participates in Adopt-a-Highway Program
Meredith College Technology Services Department is proud to announce that they have, via the North Carolina Adopt-a-highway program, adopted a 2.3 mile stretch of Rogers Lane in Raleigh (Rogers Lane from New Bern Avenue southward to New Hope Road)

Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus and delays in state steel procurement, their Adopt-A-Highway signs won’t be added until late this year or early next year. They plan to share additional pictures at that time.

Regular members of the pickup crew are Ginny Kemp, Lauren Hickey, Diane Sherman, Jeff Howlett, Gus Vandermeeren, Jennifer Kane, and Jenny Hayes.

In May the team picked up nine bags of trash, a fence rail, hubcap, truck exhaust, small flagpole, lots of cardboard, a refrigerator drawer, and a few large mystery pieces of hard molded plastic. In July they picked up another nine bags of trash plus some assorted other large junk.

Shown in photo from July service day are (clockwise) Lauren Hickey, Dani Bahena-Bustos, ’21, Denise Bahena-Bustos, ’23, Diane Sherman, Ginny Kemp, and Gus Vandermeeren (center).