Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and Departmental News 9/7/16

In this issue, we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and staff in the departments of art, biological sciences, chemistry, communication, dance, education, English, human environmental sciences, music, political science, religious & ethical studies, and sociology. We also share news about this year’s Sizzlin’ September concert and Technology Services’ online security training.

Dance faculty Sarah Adams Bean, Alyson Colwell-Waber, and Carol Kyles Finley have started rehearsing with renowned dancer Clay Taliaferro for a new work commissioned by Meredith’s Dance program. The work, which will be premiered January 13 and 14 in the Meredith College Dance Faculty Concert, is set to several movements of Gyorgy Ligeti’s stirring String Quartet No. 1. Taliaferro, Professor Emeritus at Duke University, danced professionally with the Jose Limon Dance Company and earned acclaim for his performance of Othello in Limon’s Moor’s Pavane.

Associate Professor of Education Julie Schrock and Assistant Professor of Religious & Ethical Studies Steven Benko have done multiple presentations on their research on strategies for improving student participation. This research grows out readings and conversations in the Creative Pedagogy PDC of Jay R. Howard’s Discussion in the College Classroom. The presentation, “Redefining Participation: How Well Did I Do? How Much Did I Help?,” looks at strategies for improving classroom participation and focuses on students self-assessing their participation using a rubric that focuses on attendance, out of class preparation, and in class participation. Their first presentation was at the N.C. Lilly Conference on Designing Effective Teaching in Asheville, N.C. They presented the next stage of their research at the 13th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference at Elon University. They have been invited to give this presentation at N.C. State in mid-September.

Assistant Professors of Chemistry Andrea Carter and Sasha Ormond attended the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., from July 31 – August 4, 2016. Carter presented a talk August 3 on “Use of socially situated writing assignments to promote metacognition in an upper-level course.” Ormond presented a talk August 1 on “Does Le Châtelier’s principle still stand when student performance is the system and homework is the disturbance?” Both attended workshops, some of which focused on assessment and hands-on activities for lectures and labs.

Ormond also attended the 252nd National American Chemical Society Meeting and Exposition in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 21 – 24, where she presented a poster on “Undergraduate research: a case study of one lab at Meredith College.” Meredith senior Vanessa Cupil-Garcia also attended the meeting, presenting a poster on “Ciprofloxacin structural modifications: Novel synthesis as a response to bacterial resistance” in the Undergraduate Research Posters session.

Lisbeth Brittain Carter, who teaches voice in Meredith’s music department, was invited back to teach at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, this summer. The six-week program included around 100 singers and an orchestra of 75, and in that time the program presented more than 30 performances.Carter taught the classes in German Art Song interpretation and worked also in Audition Training Seminars.

Associate Professor Woody Holliman will be co-chairing a session at SECAC (Southeastern College Art Conference) in October 2016 called “Designing for Social Change: New Paradigms in Practice & Pedagogy.” He will also be delivering a paper, Design Activism & Guerrilla Art in the Classroom and Beyond.

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Environmental Sustainability Erin Lindquist presented at the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida August 8-12. She gave an Ignite talk titled “How to be a blissful dual-career couple in ecology” and served as a panelist in a session for early-career ecologists.  At the meetings, she served as a mentor for an early-career ecologist, a post-doc from Montana St. University, who is interested in working at an undergraduate institution. Lindquist also coauthored a curriculum module shared at the meetings based on forest data from the EREN (Ecological Research as Education Network) PFPP (Permanent Forest Plot Project) she co-leads.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology Kris Macomber was quoted in a Voice of America story about sexism in media coverage of women Olympians, and the impact of social media on this issue. The story also went out on the VOA newswire. She was quoted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitutionopinion column about women who don’t support Hillary Clinton’s run for president. Macomber also talked to Raycom Media for a story on news coverage of women Olympians. This story has run in more than 40 media outlets.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Whitney Manzo’s opinion piece was published in US News’ Debate Club. She argued that the GOP couldn’t get rid of Donald Trump, even though he’s made many mistakes, because it will hurt their chances in down-ballot congressional and gubernatorial races.

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Carolina Perez-Heydrich, along with collaborators at University of Florida and Valdosta State University, had an article published in the latest issue of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases. The title of the study was Patterns of Mycobacterium leprae in wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in Mississippi, USA.

Associate Professor of Mass Communication Doug Spero was quoted in a News & Observer story about WRAL’s ratings during the Olympics.

Professor of Religious & Ethical Studies Margarita Suarez participated in an author’s workshop in Chicago at the Interfaith Youth Corps offices. She has been selected to write a chapter on interfaith pedagogy for a new edited volume currently titled, Towards a Field of Interfaith Studies, scheduled to be published by Beacon Press in 2017-18.

Stations, a short film by Professor of Art Jane Terry, was awarded the Honorable Mention in Experimental at the 2016 University Film and Video Association Conference in Las Vegas. Only two awards, one of which was the Honorable Mention, were presented for each category (Animation, Experimental, Documentary and Fiction). She is greatly honored to receive this recognition. Terry attended the University Film and Video Association Conference held July 31-August 4 for the screening of Stations. She presented her film to an audience of peers from across the nation. After the screening, her session respondent Professor Kelly Wittenberg, Western Michigan University, gave an extraordinary critique of Stations. Following the respondent’s talk, the audience shared insightful comments for a meaningful discussion of the film. Stations is supported in part by a grant from the Tree of Life Foundation.

Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Deborah Tippett and Associate Professor of Human Environmental Sciences Eunyoung Yang attended the IFHE World Congress in Daejeon, Korea, August 1-5, 2016. Tippett co-authored a poster with President Jo Allen and StrongPoints Director Candice Webb on “Using Strengths to Build a Stronger Future” on Meredith’s StrongPoints initiative.  She also presented an oral presentation on “Building a Positive and Sustainable Future through Appreciative Inquiry.” Yang presented two posters, “Integrating Natural Dye Techniques and Cultural Research into the Undergraduate Apparel Design Project” and the “Importance of Soft Skills.”

Departmental News

Sizzlin’ September Concert September 9
Jake Miller, along with opening acts NC State’s Grains of Time and local band Restless Raleigh, will be performing during Meredith’s annual Sizzlin’ September concert at Dorton Arena on Friday, September 9. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Faculty and staff tickets are FREE with a Meredith ID. Employees may also receive one guest ticket for free. Ticket distribution and sales will be in 202 Cate Center (Office of Student Leadership and Service) now through Friday, September 9 at 5 p.m. You also can pick up tickets at the concert. To pick up your free Meredith ticket (and free guest ticket, if applicable), please bring your Meredith ID with you.

Public tickets for $10 are available at brownpapertickets.com.

Other Information about the Concert:

• No alcohol or outside food/drink is permitted at the concert.  Food will be available for purchase during the event.
• Meredith tickets are non-transferable to outside guests.
• At the concert doors you MUST show your Meredith College ID with your ticket.
• Do not bring backpacks, large purses, or coolers – just bring your Meredith I.D. and any cash to purchase food and drinks at the concert.
• Items brought through the doors are subject to search by Campus Police.

Questions? Contact the Office of Student Leadership and Service at 919-760-8338.

Online Security Awareness Training
Colleges are just one of the many organizations attacked daily by fraudulent organizations/people who attempt to steal personal and confidential information. Because of this, Meredith College will be implementing a year-long security awareness training program.

The program will not only protect the College, but it will also teach you how to protect yourself and your home/family from having your financial and confidential information stolen. More details on this self-paced, online training will be shared from Technology Services in advance of September 19, when the first phase of training will be available.