MACON - Two Mercer graduates will answer the call to serve underprivileged students this summer when they join the highly selective Teach for America program and become teachers. Graduating May 16, Jessica Skinner, of Peachtree City, will teach in Philadelphia and Shalonda Sherman, of Lincolnton, will teach in the Mississippi delta in the fall, following their summer training. Skinner and Sherman join a number of Mercerians in the program, including nine who joined in last year's class. Skinner, a double major in international affairs and political science, was inspired by the organization's mission to take part in its 2008 summer institute as an intern. The daughter of Mark and Lisa Skinner of Peachtree City, Skinner said her internship inspired her to apply for the program. "A number of factors influenced my decision to join Teach For America, and I credit my experience at Mercer as one of the most influential factors. Not only has Mercer given me an excellent education that will...
ATLANTA - Mercer University awarded the honorary Doctor of Science degree to Peter H. Vlasses, executive director of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences commencement on May 2. Mercer University President William D. Underwood made the presentation after Vlasses delivered the commencement address.
Dr. David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, has joined the stable of contributors for The Washington Post's coverage of religion through its "On Faith" Web site. Dr. Gushee, who also writes for Associated Baptist Press and the Huffington Post, will join a set of Washington Post "On Faith" contributors that includes Martin Marty, Cal Thomas, Arthur Waskow, Susan Jacoby and Brent Walker. The "On Faith" Web site is moderated by Newsweek's Jon Meacham and The Washington Post's Sally Quinn.
MACON - This Saturday, hundreds of children from several of the neighborhood's schools will gather at Tattnall Square Park for a day of adventure, fun and literacy. Sponsored and organized by seniors in Mercer University's Service Scholars program, the Adventure Reading Festival is a free event that runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is intended to encourage children to love reading and to stimulate their imaginations as they head into the summer. The event is free and open to the public.
Mercer alumna Cheryl Horn of Chattanooga, Tenn., recently received a third place prize for a paper and poster she submitted at the national convention of the Air and Waste Management Association (A&WMA).
Horn, who graduated from Mercer in December 2002 with a degree in environmental engineering, won the prize for a paper on air quality in Atlanta she submitted at the A&WMA convention in San Diego.
The project was the result of an independent study course she took with Mercer's Dr. Andre Butler, an assistant professor in environmental engineering.
With an estimated 50 entries from environmental engineering students across the country, the contest was extremely competitive, according to Butler, who accompanied Horn at the convention.
"This says a lot about Horn as a student," he said. "She has excellent training in both laboratory work and research. She knew what she was talking about at the convention and impressed the judges."
Horn is the daughter of Donna...
MACON - Department of Music professor Ian Altman, piano, will present a concert featuring works by Bach, Schumann, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Chopin and Liszt, as part of the Mercer Music Faculty Artist Series. The recital begins at 7:30 p.m. April 5 in Neva Langley Fickling Hall of the McCorkle Music Building on Mercer's Macon campus. The event is free and open to the public. Call (478) 301-2748 for more information.
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta as well as three regional academic centers. With 10 schools and colleges, the University offers programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and theology. For 15 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has named Mercer University as one of the leading universities in the South.
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MACON - Henry E. Young, Ph.D., was presented the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Faculty Humanism in Medicine Award from Mercer University School of Medicine during commencement May 7 in Macon. Young - the first non-physician to ever receive the award in the School's history - was chosen by the Class of 2005 for his empathetic, sensitive and respective behavior in providing patient care.
LITHIA SPRINGS - Mercer University will offer two Praxis I exam preparation workshops for prospective teachers at its Douglas County Regional Academic Center, 975 Blairsbridge Road, in Lithia Springs off Interstate 20, exit 44 at Thompson Road. The Praxis I exam is one of the steps required to become a certified teacher in Georgia.
The Praxis I Verbal Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22. Individuals will receive hands-on practice at taking the reading and writing sections of the PPST or CBT exam, and will learn a variety of strategies and approaches that will help them tackle reading comprehension and on-the-spot essay writing with confidence. Sample readings, questions and essay prompts will be analyzed. The workshop will also have a refresher of grammar basics.
The Praxis I Math Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 6. The workshop will cover all the major components of the Mathematics section on the PPST or the...
LITHIA SPRINGS - Mercer University's Douglas County Regional Academic Center will begin its first session of the summer term on Friday, May 19. Adults interested in earning a bachelor's degree through the center's evening and weekend programs are invited to a free drop-in informational session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18. Academic advisors, professors, financial planning representatives and admissions counselors will be available to answer questions and discuss programs.
This past Saturday's Mercer commencement -- which included graduates from the College of Liberal Arts, School of Engineering, Stetson School of Business and Economics and Tift College of Education -- will be re-broadcast Wednesday, May 17, on WCOX15 on Cox Communications (locals only, channel 15). The commencement, which was held Saturday morning at the University Center, was broadcast live by Cox on channel 15.
The re-broadcast, which will give those who participated or attended the ceremony an opportunity to watch it on local (Macon) cable television, will begin at 6 p.m.
