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Students will collaborate with meneses on presentations

Two students, Natalie Klemann and Kellie Van Dyke, are collaborating with Professor Rohald Meneses (Sociology and Criminal Justice) on presentations at the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association conference in Raleigh, NC, this month. Klemann, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice, will join Meneses in presenting "Bullying and School Shootings: An Exploratory Study of Their Correlation and Causes." Van Dyke, a junior double-majoring in criminal justice and sociology, will collaborate with Meneses to present "An Explanation of Veterans' Criminal Behavior that Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the General Strain Theory," a qualitative study of the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and criminal behavior.

Klemann and Van Dyke are both student-athletes who play on UNCP's softball team, as well as members of the Criminal Justice Club. Both plan to attend law school after graduation.

ART Department earns NASAD accreditation

UNCP's Department of Art has become one of five North Carolina schools to earn accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). The department is now an associate member of NASAD, which includes approximately 309 educational institutions. The accreditation is the culmination of a lengthy self-study, as well as a site visit by representatives from NASAD.

MSW program secures accreditation

UNCP's Master of Social Work program, housed in the Department of Social Work, has earned accreditation from the National Council on Social Work Education. More than 50 students are enrolled in the program. Since its inception in 2008, UNCP's MSW program has graduated 40 students.

Nursing scores highest among system schools

The North Carolina Board of Nursing released NCLEX-RN 2011 results in mid-January. UNCP’s scores were the highest among all 17 UNC-system universities during 2011. All 19 graduates from UNCP's Department of Nursing taking the exam for the first time passed on their first attempts. UNCP’s first-time pass rates have increased every year since graduating its first pre-licensure BSN class in 2007.

billingsley collaborates on edited volume

Professor Scott Billingsley (History) has collaborated with B. Dwain Waldrep to edit a collection of essays. Recovering the Margins of American Religious History, a celebration of the life and work of David Edwin Harrell Jr., brings together essays from Harrell's colleagues, peers, and students that explore his impact and legacy in the field of American religious history. His pioneering studies of fundamentalism, pentecostalism, and the American restoration movement, as well as his concerns with class, gender, race, and regional identity, have made him one of the most respected scholars in his field. Combining an extensive knowledge of and long-standing passion for American religious history with a comprehensive understanding of the developing world, Harrell's research and writings over his lifetime have produced compelling portraits of the American religious underclass, an increased integration of religion into the narrative of world history, and innovative new comparative studies in the healing and charismatic movements of the developing world.

Billingsley, who teaches religious history and other history courses, is also the author of It's a New Day: Race and Gender in the Modern Charismatic Movement.

Cambridge to publish inbari's book

Professor Mordechai Inbari (Philosophy and Religion) has learned that Cambridge University Press will publish Messianic Religious Zionism Confronts Israeli Territorial Compromises, his book about the ways in which the rabbinical elite of the Israeli West Bank settlers responded to Israeli territorial compromises. The withdrawals, Inbari shows, challenged their messianic expectations and it was perceived as a setback in the path towards the coming of the Messiah. The book explains their profound disillusionment with the behavior of the state, reflected in an increase in religious radicalization due to the need to cope with the feelings of religious and messianic failure. The book will be part of a series on Middle Eastern politics.

Inbari's first book, Jewish Fundamentalism and the Temple Mount, was published in 2009.

Lambda Sigma Names Mandjiny Professor of the Semester

In December 2011, Professor Sivanadane Mandjiny (Chemistry and Physics) received the Professor of the Semester Award as voted upon by the student members of the Lambda Sigma Society. Lambda Sigma is a national honor society for sophomore students dedicated to fostering leadership, scholarship, fellowship, and service while promoting the interests of the university. Established at UNCP in 2009, the Beta Lambda chapter is affiliated with the Center for Academic Excellence. Each spring, the chapter invites the top 10% of the freshman class to join the society. The executive board includes Brittney Ford (president), Brittany Williams (vice-president), Ashlea Rey (secretary), Ladriania Hudson (treasurer), Mara Lankford (social chair), and Christen McCoy (membership chair). Advisors for Lambda Sigma include Dr. Elinor Foster (Library), Beth Froeba (Center for Academic Excellence), and Professor Meredith Storms (Chemistry and Physics/Arts and Sciences).

Flowers Publishes Article on Microspectrometry

Professor Paul Flowers (Chemistry & Physics) recently published an article in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Chemical Education describing a novel senior-level laboratory project involving microspectrometry (measuring interactions between light and matter on a microscopic scale).  The article will be available in next month’s print edition of the journal and is presently available via the web at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed200054k.  Acknowledged for their contributions to the experimental work presented in the article are two of Professor Flowers’ previous undergraduate research assistants (Cilia Iluku, pictured below, and Josie Torrence) and students in the spring 2009 and 2010 sections of his CHM 4270 “Instrumental Analysis” course.

national organization honors UNcp student

Layla Locklear, a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science, is the recipient of the distinguished “Woman to Watch” National American Indian Women Award. She was honored with the award during a banquet at the Conference for American Indian Women of Proud Nations (AIWPN). The conference was held on 16 September 2011, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (http://www.uncp.edu/biology/new/layla_locklear_award.html)

Santisteban attends premiere Genomics course

Dr. Maria Santisteban was a participant in the 2011 Short Course in Genomics held at the National Institutes of Health campus from July 24-29, 2011. She, along with 31 other faculty, was selected from a field of over 100 applicants to one of the premiere learning experiences in genomics.

The course focuses on the continuing effort to find the genetic basis of various diseases and disorders, as well as current topics on the ethical, legal and social implications of genomics. The six-day intensive course is designed to update biology instructors, as well as other instructors and researchers in related disciplines, on genomic science. The course is especially intended for instructors who train students from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in health related sciences, as well as instructors from institutions that predominantly train students with disabilities and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including certain rural and inner-city environments. (http://www.uncp.edu/biology/new/marisol_santisteban.html)

biology graduate publishes paper

Hollie Young-Oxendine, a former biology major and RISE Fellow, co-authored a paper, “Protective effects of positive lysosomal modulation in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mouse models,” that was published this past June in the open access journal, PLoS ONE. Hollie was one of a team of researchers who worked on the five-year study, first initiated in Dr. Bahr’s former University of Connecticut laboratory, and recently completed in Dr. Bahr’s current lab in the Biotechnology Research and Training Center in Pembroke. Hollie contributed important results, as found in figures 1, 2 and 5 of the paper, and she presented some of the work at the 2010 Gordon Research Conference in Lucca, Italy. (http://www.uncp.edu/biology/new/hollie_young_oxendine.html)

 

Vest delivers lectures

Dr. Jay Hansford C. Vest (American Indian Studies) delivered two lectures at the Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville on September 16-17.  In his first address, “Native Holistic Empathy: Challenging the Dynamics of Race in America,” he drew upon the traditional Native American practice of empathy with the ecology and cosmos in respecting all things as a means to generate a modern philosophical ideal in race relations.  In doing so, he reviewed the difference between racial encounters of discovery as practiced by Europeans and spirit encounters of empowerment as practiced by Native Americans as manifest in initial contact between races in America. In his second address, “Beyond Removal: Indian Survicance in the South and the Jim Crow Experience,” he explored factors affecting southern tribes such as the Monacan and Lumbee as impacted by the segregation policies after the Civil War. Other conference speakers were Dr. Cornell West, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Jane Elliot.

Hansen will join Firth, Blunt in film

Holden Hansen (English and Theatre) has been cast in the major motion picture Arthur Newman, Golf Pro, where he will act alongside Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. Hansen, who has taught acting and directed student productions at UNCP for more than a decade, is an experienced actor of both stage and screen. His numerous credits include the roles of Horatio and Claudius in theatrical productions of Hamlet, the role of Lysander in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, the part of Hornbeck in the play Inherit the Wind, and the lead role in the play Light Sensitive, as well as parts in two movies and a television series. He has directed numerous UNCP student productions, including Sylvia and The Laramie Project. This spring, he will direct The Crucible, to be performed April 19-21 in the Givens Performing Arts Center.

Paparozzi will deliver keynote address

Mario Paparozzi (Sociology and Criminal Justice) has been invited to deliver the keynote address at the North Carolina Juvenile Services Association Fall Conference this month in Carolina Beach. Representatives from the headquarters of the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Raleigh will be in attendance, along with court services personnel and treatment service providers from across the state.

Recent publications, Presentations, and Exhibits

Naidoo V, Nikas SP, Karanian DA, Hwang J, Zhao J, Wood JT, Alapafuja SO, Vadivel SK, Butler D, Makriyannis A, and Bahr BA (2011) A new generation fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor protects against kainate-induced excitotoxicity. J Mol Neuroscience 43:493-502.

Butler D, Hwang J, Estick C, Nishiyama A, Kumar SS, Baveghems C, Young-Oxendine HB, Wisniewski ML, Charalambides A, and Bahr BA (2011) Protective effects of positive lysosomal modulation in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse models. PLoS One 6: e20501 (pp 1-16).

Rokes, Carla. "Exploring Critique in Foundations Art." FATE Regional Forum at The Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur. August 6, 2011.

Rokes, Carla. Insatiable. Sixth Annual Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show. Indiana University School of Fine Arts Gallery. May 20-July 30, 2011.

2+2 Program promotes student-faculty interaction

In August, the College of Arts and Sciences rolled out its new "2+2" program, which can help faculty build campus community and promote student success. The program calls on faculty to pair up and attend campus events, such as plays and gallery openings, with two students.

Participants in the program can increase attendance for events and serve as role models for students, showing them how they can grow outside the classroom. They also can help to promote student success. Here is a relevant passage from the list of recommendations prepared by the university's Student Success Steering Committee:

Studies published in the Journal of College Student Development and the Journal of Engineering Education suggest that "[r]elationships with faculty were stronger predictors of learning than student background characteristics," such as race or ethnicity, and that faculty engagement with students is "significantly and positively related" to the development of "several design and professional skills" (Lundberg and Schreiner, 2004; Bjorkland, et al, 2004).

For a list of campus events, see the campus calendar.

Faculty and Students Shine

Over the past few months, numerous professors and students brought distinction to the College of Arts and Sciences. Here are a few highlights:

• Professor Ben Bahr (Biology/Chemistry and Physics) published “Protective effects of positive modulation of the lysosomal system in transgenic models of Alzheimer’s disease” in PLoS One, secured a number of grants, and mentored two students for a conference presentation.
• Professor James Biederman (Art), the Martha Beach Distinguished Artist, won a 2011 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. The fellowship, established in 1925, funds research and artistic creation. It is a highly competitive award, with more than 3,500 applications for about 220 slots.
• Professors Kelly Charlton, Melanie Hoy, and Shilpa Regan (Psychology) mentored students for presentations at the Association for Psychological Science Convention.
• Latif Darden, a senior political science major, participated in the competitive Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Summer Enrichment Program for six weeks this summer.  Among other things, he met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and visited the Embassy of Saudia Arabia and the World Bank.
• Jose D’Arruda (Chemistry and Physics) collaborated with David Gavasci of Robeson Community College to host the 5th Annual Robotics Workshop for teachers across North Carolina. 
• Doc Dillard, a recent UNCP graduate, will study Indonesian in Jakarta through the Critical Languages Scholarship funded by the US State Department.  He was only one of 575 students chosen out of a pool of 5200.  He hopes to go to graduate school after the scholarship and earn a master's degree in Asian Development and Asian Studies.
• Professor Dena Evans (Nursing) will publish "Animosity, antagonism and avatars: Teaching conflict management in Second Life" in Journal of Nursing Education in November 2011.
• After giving presentations at Humboldt University in Berlin, Professor Roger Guy and Professor Mario Paparozzi (Sociology and Criminal Justice) spent six days in Poland as guests of the Polish government.  While there, they gave conference presentations to audiences that included judges, prosecutors, prison officials, probation personnel, juvenile justice officials, scholars, and faculty specializing in the re-socialization of criminal offenders.  They also visited a federal prison, a youth correctional facility, a district court, and a probation office. Professors Paparozzi and Guy also will publish "Substance Abuse Technology: A Primer for Community Corrections Practitioners" in the Handbook of Evidence Based Substance Abuse Treatment in Criminal Justice Settings (New York: Springer, 2012).
• Rebecca Howell, a senior biology major, has been named a North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) Fellow for 2011.  Howell works in the laboratory of Professor Ben Bahr.
  
• Professor Jennifer Key (English and Theatre) was runner-up in the competition for the Tampa Review Poetry Prize.  Her manuscript is entitled “The Old Dominion.”
• Roger Ladd (English and Theatre) published "Divine Contagion – On the Nature of Power in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings" in Light Beyond All Shadow: Religious Experience in Tolkien's Work (Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2011).
• Daniel Locklear, a senior biology major, was elected Junior National Student Representative to the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Board of Directors. A national organization with 3,000 members and more than 10,000 alumni, the AISES seeks to increase the representation of American Indians in engineering, science, and related fields.
• Kristina Smith, a mass communications major, interned with ABC-11's Fayetteville-area reporter Gilbert Baez.
• Rose Stremlau (History/American Indian Studies) has a book, Sustaining the Cherokee Family: Kinship and the Allotment of an Indigenous Nation, coming out from University of North Carolina Press.
• Professor Adam Walls (Art) won the Martin & Doris Rosen Award in an outdoor sculpture exhibition at Appalachian State for his sculpture "Surprise." Professor Walls later took “Best in Show” for his sculpture Getaway Car at the Cary Visual Arts 2011 Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.
• Professor Laszlo Zsilinszky (Math and Computer Science) presented “Completeness properties in hyperspaces" at the Conference on Multivalued Analysis and Topology in Varenna, Italy, and “On beta-favorability of the strong Choquet game” at the 11th Topological Symposium in Prague, Czech Republic.
• The student cast and crew of Godspell traveled to Manteo, NC, for two performances at the Roanoke Island Festival in May 2011.

Pre-Engineering Students Work in MAST Lab

Dr. Jose D’Arruda, UNCP Pre-Engineering advisor, and two pre-engineering students, Fredrick Schirmer and Andrew T Neal, were at the University of Minnesota Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) lab at the University of Minnesota this summer. The MAST lab allows researchers to test the strength of structural components up to two stories high at full scale or higher at partial scale. Researchers use the MAST Lab's equipment to twist, compress, or stretch components of large structures such as buildings or bridges to study what happens to them during earthquakes and other extreme events. The MAST system is capable of applying up to 1.32 million pounds of vertical force and nearly 900,000 pounds of horizontal force. Structures up to 28.75 feet (8.7 m) in height and 20x20 feet (6.1x6.1 m) in plan can be tested at the MAST Laboratory. The Lab is part of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). The research is funded by the National Science Foundation. D’Arruda is co-director with NC State's Dr. Tasnim Hassan, director of the $600,000 grant.

 

Updated:

Thursday, February 2, 2012

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