Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and News Briefs 10/18/23

In this issue, we share the accomplishments of faculty and staff in communication, education, interior design, nutrition, music, and political science. We also share a Save the Date about this year’s Honoring Women Veterans event and news from the Department of Nutrition, Health, and Human Performance about its 2023-24 Witt-Beauchamp Scholarship recipient.

Assistant Professor of Food and Nutrition Rebecca Hagedorn-Hatfield, Dietetic Internship Program Coordinator Amy Bowen, and Dietetic Internship Site Preceptor Stephanie Antonelli attended the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Denver, Colorado, October 7-10, 2023. They presented an abstract poster, Measuring the Impact of Simulation on Dietetic Interns’ Knowledge, Confidence, and Perceived Readiness. This study explored the impact of simulation on knowledge, self-efficacy, and career readiness related to four new 2022 ACEND competencies, concluding that the use of simulation before students enter a dietetic internship can build student knowledge, confidence, and feelings of readiness. 

Professor of Music Kent Lyman was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in a ceremony held in New York City on October 5, 2023. The awards ceremony was followed the next morning by a VIP tour of the Steinway & Sons piano factory, which is located in Queens. The Piano Teacher Hall of Fame is a program started by Steinway in 2019. Every two years, Steinway dealerships around the country nominate teachers within their jurisdiction whose “passionate commitment to teaching and inspiring young people in their study of piano is commendable and rare.”  Dr. Lyman was accompanied in his travels by Keith Pendergraft and Kerry Henry, representatives of Hopper Piano, the official Steinway dealer for the Triangle area of North Carolina.

Professor of Education Monica McKinney, Assistant Professor of Education Cindy Morton-Rose, and Associate Professor of Interior Design Laura Prestwood presented “Harnessing the Power of Placemaking in the Culturally Responsive Classroom” at the North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (NC-ACTE) annual conference on September 28, 2023. 

Professor of Political Science David McLennan was a panelist at the Southern Association of Public Opinion Research annual conference and talked about challenges and opportunities in election polling. He also spoke on possibilities and probabilities for the 2024 elections at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He and Associate Professor of Political Science Whitney Ross Manzo published an op-ed in The Hill on the role of abortion as an election issue in 2024.

Angela Smedley, Adjunct in Communication, presented a GIFTS (Great Ideas for Teaching Students) session, “Addressing the Hidden Curriculum: Using an ‘Orientation Module’ to Create a Foundation of Success Before Discipline Scholarship” at the Carolina’s Communication Association Conference in Greensboro, N.C., September 29-30.

News Briefs

2023 Honoring Women Veterans Event
Save the Date for Meredith’s annual Honoring Women Veterans event. The 2023 ceremony will be held on Wednesday, November 8 at 10 a.m. in  Jones Chapel. President Jo Allen will be the keynote speaker.

2023-24 Witt-Beauchamp Scholarship Recipient
Meredith College is pleased to announce that it has awarded the 2023-24 Witt-Beauchamp Scholarship to Rachel Bauer. This annual scholarship is offered by the Department of Nutrition, Health, and Human Performance and supported by the Witt-Beauchamp Endowment Fund. 

Gifted by Celia Witt Beauchamp, ’78, and Chad Lewis Beauchamp, this scholarship supports a Dietetic student aspiring to practice dietetics/nutrition, in her/his effort to become a registered dietitian.