College of Continuing and Professional Studies
Dr. Kathy Robinson, assistant professor of counseling, accepted an invitation to be part of the planning committee for the 2014 State Suicide Prevention College Conference, sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
College of Health Professions
Dr. Nancy McLaughlin, clinical assistant professor, co-authored “How to reduce surgical site infections in orthopaedic a systematic review,” published in Sutureline. 2013; 33(5):4-7.
College of Liberal Arts
Craig Coleman, associate professor of art, received a Knight Neighborhood Challenge Grant for his project, titled “Experimental Video Art in the Corridor (XVAC).” The grant will be used to purchase a six-projector video mapping system to be used to create temporary video artworks throughout the College Hill Corridor. Coleman has partnered with Dr. Laura Moody, associate professor and chair of industrial engineering, to bring engineering and art students in two courses together to use the projection system to create projects in Tattnall Square Park during the 2014 spring semester. Coleman also exhibited artwork in “Georgia Artists Selecting Georgia Artists” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta. The artwork of 60 Georgia artists was chosen from 447 submissions from across the state with the intent to assemble in one exhibition some of the best work currently being produced in Georgia. The exhibit was on display June 22-Aug. 24.
Dr. Andy Digh, associate professor of computer science, attended the 27th Annual Consortium for Computing Sciences Southeastern Conference at Furman University, Nov. 15-16, in Greenville, S.C. He also served as director and chief judge of the 20th Annual Southeastern Small College Programming Contest on Nov. 16.
Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor of French and interdisciplinary studies, published an essay, titled “Un seul amour en nous: Human and Divine Love in Maritain and Literature,” in Love and Friendship: Maritain and the Tradition, ed. Montague Brown (Washington, D.C.: American Maritain Association, 2013), 64-75.
Dr. Gordon Johnston, professor of English, hosted two interview sessions led by student writers in November. The first, on Nov. 5, was with novelist and playwright Jim Grimsley (Sams Writer in Residence for 2014) about his short story collection “Jesus Is Sending You This Message.” The second, on Nov. 12, was with poet Steve Gehrke about his latest book “Michelangelo's Seizure.” Both events took place in Willingham Auditorium. Dr. Johnston also hosted open evening readings by the two writers in the Medical School Auditorium. This fall, Dr. Johnston was invited to serve as writer-in-residence at Ocmulgee National Monument. His writing about the park and the Creek Old Fields surrounding it will appear on the monument's Facebook page. On Nov. 9, Dr. Johnston joined Dr. Judson Mitcham, adjunct instructor of creative writing, on a panel of poets reading to celebrate the release of a new volume of “The Southern Poetry Anthology” (Texas Review Press, 2013) that covers Georgia poets. The reading was held at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference in Atlanta.
Scot J. Mann, associate professor of communication and theatre, adjudicated skills proficiency tests and taught master classes at Roosevelt University in Chicago in December. He directed and sound-designed “Love Kills” for Mercer Theatre's participation in the Volkoff Colloquium in November. Mann also served as technical editor for the book, “A Theatrical Firearms Handbook,” by Kevin Inoye, to be published by Focal Press in April.
Dr. Judson Mitcham, adjunct instructor of creative writing, was admitted to the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in a special ceremony Nov. 11 in the Richard B. Russell Building on the campus of the University of Georgia. Dr. Mitcham and noted author and activist Toni Cade Bambara were the only inductees for 2013.
Dr. R. Scott Nash, Columbus Roberts Professor of New Testament, delivered a lecture, titled “Fine Corinthian Leather? Separating Fact from Fiction about the Apostle Paul and the Ancient Corinthians,” Nov. 5, at Reynolds Plantation in Eatonton, as part of the Linger Longer Living Lectures on Culture and Classics program.
Dr. Brian E. Rood, associate professor and program director of environmental studies, was recently installed as the community co-chair of the Environmental Advisory Board at Robins Air Force Base. This is a three-year assignment. Dr. Rood's book chapter, “The Ocmulgee River Initiative: Engaging the Community in Aquatic Research,” was published in “Going Public: Civic and Community Engagement,“Hiram E. Fitzgerald and Judy Primavera, Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI (ISBN 978-1-61186-089-4).
Dr. Richard F. Wilson, Columbus Roberts Professor of Theology and chair of the Roberts Department of Christianity, was named interim president of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary. His appointment by the seminary's board of trustees will run from Jan. 1-Dec. 31. Dr. Wilson also completed a five-part series on theological method in the Baptist Studies Bulletin, July-December 2013.
College of Pharmacy
Dr. Vanthida Huang, associate professor, was appointed 2013-2014 chair of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Infectious Disease Practice Research Network Programming Committee.
Dr. W. Klugh Kennedy, clinical professor, was appointed to the 2013 editorial board for “PharmPrep: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists NABPLEX Review,” 5th Edition. ISBN: 978-1-58528-255-5.
Dr. Annesha W. Lovett, assistant professor, co-authored “Evaluation of efficacy and safety of remixed parenteral nutrition versus customized parenteral nutrition in a large teaching hospital” in Advances in Pharmacology and Pharmacy. 2013; 1(2):68-73, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/app.2013.010204. Dr. Lovett was also appointed invited reviewer for MedicalCare.
Dr. Maria M. Thurston, clinical assistant professor, co-authored “Safety and efficacy of allopurinol in chronic kidney disease” in Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2013; 47(11):1507-16. DOI: 10.1177/1060028013504740.
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
Desireé Clement, clinical instructor, was elected to the nominating committee for American College of Nurse-Midwives, Georgia Affiliate.
Susan Estes, clinical associate professor, was selected as a reviewer of content for “Wilkinson's Fundamentals of Nursing,” 3rd ed., published by F. A. Davis.
Elaine Harris, clinical associate professor, was elected vice-chair of the board of trustees for Developmental Disabilities of Georgia.
Dr. Helen Hodges, Ann C. Keeley Clinical Associate Professor, presented “Documenting achievement of selected BSN Essentials as learning outcomes with a self-authorship framework” at Sigma Theta Tau International Biennial Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., in November.
Fran Kamp, clinical associate professor, was selected to serve on the editorial advisory board for Lippincott/Laerdal for the development of computer-based simulations.
Dr. Linda Streit, dean, served as a member of a panel presentation for the New Baptist Covenant movement, established by President Jimmy Carter, on Nov. 22, 2013. The panel was titled “The Art of Transformation: How to Bring Healing to Your Community.” Dr. Streit was also elected to serve on the board of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing as North America Region 7 Coordinator. Responsibilities include offering support and enhancing communications for 39 chapters in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Puerto Rico. Term of service will include 2013-2015. Dr. Streit served as the co-chair for the fourth annual March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Awards. The event took place at the Hyatt in Buckhead on Nov. 23.
School of Medicine
Dr. Albert (Shi-Wen) Jiang, professor of genetics, and his colleagues published three papers, titled “Epigenetic and non-epigenetic regulation of syncytin-1 expression in human placenta and cancer tissues,” in Cell Signal. 2013 Nov 9. doi:pii: S0898-6568(13)00323-9. 10.1016/j.cellsig.2013.11.002; “Decreased Expression and Altered Methylation of Syncytin-1 Gene in Human Placentas Associated with Preeclampsia,” in Current Pharmaceutical Design. 2013 Jul 19; and “Hypomethylation and Activation of Syncytin-1 in Endometriotic Tissue,” in Current Pharmaceutical Design. 2013 Jul 19.
Dr. Luke Kinsinger, PGY-4 resident in the Department of Surgical Education on the Savannah campus, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Dr. Jinping Li, assistant professor, and her colleagues, published a paper, titled “HE4 Transcription- and Splice Variants-Specific Expression in Endometrial Cancer and Correlation with Patient Survival,” in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2013 Nov 18;14(11):22655-77. doi: 10.3390/ijms141122655.
Dr. Christopher Senkowski, professor and chair in the Department of Surgery, was appointed as a governor-at-large to the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Yudan Wei, associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine, published a research article, titled “Rice consumption and urinary concentrations of arsenic in U.S. adults,” in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research. An Nguyen, currently a fourth-year medical student, was co-author of the paper.
Staff and Administration
Dr. Betsy Johnson, director of Career Management on the Atlanta campus, and Dr. John Mason, adjunct faculty in the Tift College of Education, attended the National Society of Leadership and Success's (NSLS) Regional Conference in Charlotte, N.C., in February 2012. Additionally, four Mercer students attended as Atlanta Chapter Executive Board Members. Dr. Johnson is currently the primary advisor for NSLS – Atlanta Chapter.
Stetson School of Business and Economics
Dr. Steven McClung, associate dean and associate professor of marketing, and Dr. Kim Freeman, assistant professor of management, had their latest article, “Consumer Self-confidence in Wine Consumers: The Role of Knowledge-based Factors,” accepted for publication in The Journal of Promotion Management.
Townsend School of Music
Dr. Douglas Hill, professor, performed in the Macon Symphony Orchestra “Holiday Pops” concert on Dec. 1 with
Dr. David Keith, dean, conducting. On Dec. 7, Dr. Hill performed in the Townsend School of Music annual Lessons and Carols Service at St. Joseph Catholic Church with
Dr. Stanley Roberts conducting. Dr. Hill performed in the Middle Georgia Choral Society's annual performance of Handel's “Messiah” at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Dec. 10 with interim church music faculty member
Dr. Milburn Price conducting. During Dec. 10-17, Dr. Hill presented conducting clinics for the Sandy Creek, Mundy's Mill, McIntosh, Jonesboro, Newnan and Perry High School bands. Dr. Hill performed in the First Baptist Church of Christ's annual Lessons and Carols Service on Dec. 15 with Dr. Stanley Roberts conducting. On Christmas Eve, Dr. Hill performed a trumpet solo at First Presbyterian Church in Macon with Dr. Michael McGhee on organ.
Walter F. George School of Law
David Hricik, professor of law, gave presentations in California, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Delaware and Texas. His chapter on ethical issues in patent prosecution appears in “Prosecuting Patents for Litigation” (2d ed. 2013). Professor Hricik and Mercedes Meyer completed the second edition of “Patent Ethics – Prosecution” (2d ed. 2013).
Patrick Longan, W.A. Bootle Chair in Ethics and Professionalism, delivered the annual Clifton B. Kruse Jr. Ethics and Professionalism Lecture to the National Aging and Law Institute in Washington, D.C., in November. Longan's topic was “Lawyers and Fiduciaries.”
Scott Titshaw, professor of law, wrote an op-ed titled, “Why Conservatives Should Learn to Love Gay Marriage,” published in The Huffington Post on Dec. 10. Titshaw was also quoted in an article published Dec. 10 in ABA Journal by Pamela A. Maclean, titled “DOMA's Demise Brings New Challenges.” Titshaw's article, “Reactionary Road to Free Love,” was quoted and cited in an online version of a column by Eric Zorn, titled “What to Expect Now that We're Expecting Gay Marriage,” published in the Chicago Tribune. The Charlotte Law Review published a symposium issue featuring student summary of Titshaw's panel discussion “'I Do,' You Don't: The Constitutionality of Defining Marriage,” Charlotte L. Rev. 179 (2013). In November, Titshaw published an article, titled “Revisiting the Meaning of Marriage: Immigration for Same-Sex Spouses in a Post-Windsor World,” 66 Vanderbilt Law Review en banc 167 (2013). Titshaw was a panelist for “International ARTs and Immigration: Time for a Treaty?” at the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys Conference in Charleston S.C., in November. He was also a panelist for “U.S. Supreme Court Update: Marriage Equality – What do the Supreme Court's Rulings in United States v. Sindsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry Mean for Georgia and the Georgia Constitution's Marriage Amendment” in October at the State Bar of Georgia in Atlanta. Titshaw spoke on “The Implications of United States v. Windsor in States like Georgia” at Savannah College of Law in October. He was also a moderator for “Broader Context: Changing Patterns in International Trade” at the Mercer Law Review Symposium in October.
