College of Health Professions
Dr. Meghan Cody, assistant professor of clinical medical psychology, was appointed to the American Psychological Association Continuing Education Committee for a three-year term.
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Jonathan Addleton, adjunct instructor of international and global studies, met with Mongolian language teachers and students at the Foreign Service Institute outside Washington, D.C., on Dec. 12, briefing them about Mongolia and discussing his book Mongolia and the United States: A Diplomatic History (Hong Kong University Press, 2013). All the students attending were Foreign Service Officers and will be departing during 2018 to serve in the Economic, Consulate, Public Affairs and Science and Environment sections of the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar.
Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English, published the book World War I and Southern Modernism.
Dr. Sarah E. Gardner, Distinguished University Professor of History, was awarded a short-term residential fellowship from the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Chris Grant, professor and chair of political science, gave a public lecture, titled “American Political Culture in the Age of Trump,” at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Sonya Green, engagement coordinator and reporter in the Center for Collaborative Journalism, along with partners Mona Yeh and Yuko Kodama, received the third-place award in the 2017 Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability, the only journalism awards competition devoted exclusively to disability reporting. The prize was for work on two radio pieces chronicling the experiences of one wheelchair user trying to navigate public transportation in Seattle. The pieces aired on the public radio station 91.3 KBCS in Bellevue/Seattle and was supported by the Association of Independents in Radio. The awards ceremony was held in November at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
Dr. Keegan Greenier, associate professor of psychology, had his research manuscript, titled “The relationship between personality and schadenfreude in hypothetical versus live situations,” published in November in the journal Psychological Reports.
Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo, assistant professor of global health studies and anthropology, co-organized a panel, titled “Knowledge Matters: Intersections of the Global and Local,” and presented a paper, titled “'Waganga use culture not science': Traditional healing as a site of epistemic contestation in Mwanza, Tanzania,” on Dec. 2 at the American Anthropological Association in Washington, D.C.
Adam Ragusea, visiting assistant professor and journalist-in-residence at the Center for Collaborative Journalism, was featured in one of six white papers commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation about the future of public broadcasting. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Public Broadcasting Act, which established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and developed a framework for government subsidized programming in the public interest in a spectrum-scarce environment for radio and broadcast television. Ragusea's paper is titled “Topple the towers: Why public radio and television stations should radically reorient toward digital-first local news, and how they could do it.”
Dr. Anya Silver, professor of English, published a poem, titled “Inauguration,” in Whale Road Review, Issue No. 9, Winter 2017. She received two Pushcart Prize nominations for “Ideal Speech” and “How to Hula Hoop.” Dr. Silver also wrote and read a poem, “Goblets,” for World AIDS Day commemoration at Mercer on Dec. 1.
Marian Zielinski, professor emerita of communication studies and theatre arts, received the Surface Design Award for her quilted painting “Griffith and Broadway” (43×58) at Quilts=Art=Quilts, an international juried exhibit at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York, on display Oct. 28, 2017–Jan. 7, 2018. Also, in the Professional Fiber, Fine Art category at the Georgia National Fair in October, she received the second-place award for “Garden of Clowns and Angels” (36×52) and third-place award for “Intervals of Time” (21×23).
College of Pharmacy
Dr. Jill Augustine, assistant professor, published “Set out to make a difference” in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association 57(1), 8. Dr. Augustine co-authored “Positive Medication Changes Resulting from Comprehensive and Noncomprehensive Medication Reviews in a Medicare Part D Population” in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy 23(3), 388–394.
Dr. Candace Barnett, professor, was named the Distinguished Professor in Pharmacy Administration for the College of Pharmacy. The appointment was made in recognition of 33 years of dedicated service to the College.
Dr. Clinton Canal, assistant professor, was awarded $268,725 for “Development of Novel Drugs Targeting Serotonin Receptors to Treat Motor, Social, Cognitive, and Sensory Domains of Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Mouse Models,” sponsored by Department of Defense and U.S. Army Medical Research. Dr. Canal was also awarded $45,000 for “Quantitative Assessment of the Serotonin System in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome” by the FRAXA Fragile X Research Foundation. Dr. Canal, along with Dr. Kevin Murnane, assistant professor, were awarded $223,491 for “Receptor Pharmacology and Toxicology of Second-Generation Pyrrolidine “Bath Salt” Cathinones,” sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Dr. Kendra Manigault, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Jill Augustine, assistant professor, contributed to the publication “Evaluating Students' Perceptions of the Usefulness of Podcasts” in Pharmacy Education 17(1), 207-214.
Dr. Susan W. Miller, professor, was named the Hood-Meyer Alumni Chair for the College of Pharmacy. The chair is named after Reuben Hood, the College's first dean, from 1938-1950, and the College's second dean, Minnie Meyer, 1950-1952. Dr. Miller has served the College for almost 38 years in a variety of positions, including associate dean for administration from 2006-2009 and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice from 2009-2013. She was appointed chair of the department in 2013.
Dr. Nader Moniri, associate professor, was awarded $462,660 for “The role of ROS on beta-2-adrenergic receptor function in human airway,” by the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Moniri also contributed to the publication “Free-fatty acid receptor-4 (FFA4) modulates ROS generation and COX-2 expression via the C-terminal β-arrestin phosphosensor in Raw 264.7 macrophages” in Biochemical Pharmacology 146:139-150.
Dr. Samuel Peasah, assistant professor, and Dr. Bobby Jacob, clinical assistant professor, were awarded $67,149 for “CCORE/GALT Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship,” sponsored by Galt Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Peasah also contributed to the publication “School-Based Influenza Vaccination: Health and Economic Impact of Maine's 2009 Influenza Vaccination Program” in Health Services Research 52;S2: 2307-2330.
Dr. Maria Thurston, clinical assistant professor, received the New Educator Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Outstanding District Director Award from the Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. Thurston was also awarded $1,000 for “Building Blocks to Better Blood Pressure: An Interactive Tool for Patient Education,” sponsored by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Ambulatory Care PRN.
Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics
Jody Blanke, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Law, was quoted in an article in Vice News about privacy law and a case in which oral arguments were recently heard by the United States Supreme Court,
Dr. Tammy Crutchfield, professor of marketing, published “Critical service learning across two required marketing classes” in the Journal of Education for Business (2017): 1-9.
Dr. Antonio Saravia, assistant professor of economics and director of the BB&T Center for Research in Public Policy and Capitalism, gave several media interviews in December. He was interviewed on Fox 24 on Dec. 5 and ABC 16 on Dec. 7 about Bitcoin, as well as NPR on Dec. 7 and 41NBC on Dec. 14 about the repeal of net neutrality.
Dr. Kenneth Tah, assistant professor of finance, and Dr. Geoffery Ngene, associate professor of finance, co-authored “Ripple Effects, Long-Run Relationship and Dynamic Corrections among Interest Rate Swap Spreads,” which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Fixed Income.
James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
Dr. Paul E. Knowlton, founding director of the Institute for Spirituality in the Professions, participated in a radio broadcast with Rose Scott of WABE 90.1 FM, Atlanta's local NPR station, for her show “Closer Look.” He discussed the work of McAfee's new initiative, the Institute for Spirituality in the Professions. He also presented an introduction to the Institute on Dec. 6 to the monthly Atlanta leadership meeting.
Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, associate professor of practical theology, was accepted into the Association of Theological Schools Women in Leadership Mentoring Program. Dr. Walker-Barnes is one of 25 women in the United States and Canada selected who aspire to or show promise for senior leadership in theological schools and seminaries.
Penfield College
Dr. Caroline M. Brackette, associate professor of counseling, was appointed as a candidate to the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a three-year term. The Specialist Program sends U.S. faculty and professional to serve as short-term experts at academic and other institutions abroad. She was also inducted into the University of Michigan's Diversity Scholars Network. The network is part of the University's National Center for Institutional Diversity. The Center invited 143 Scholars from 83 institutions to join the Network this year. Dr. Brackette was appointed as the Regional Priorities Process Lead for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Region 3 Advisory Council. As part of a statewide 2018-2019 priorities planning process committee, she will engage in preparing and conducting a Delphi study. The committee members will also facilitate nominal group processes with community and regional council members. The findings from the study and groups will be organized into a 2018-19 Priorities and Strategies Report presented to the DBHDD Commissioner and executive leadership. Dr. Brackette was also appointed to a three-year term on the DBHDD Region 3 Advisory Council by the Fulton County Commissioners in 2015. She was invited to consult with the Chamblee High School Football team and developed a month-long speaker series to address student-athletes' emotional and social well-being. Dr. Brackette will be presenting on cultural and social justice competency in college athletics at the 2018 Black Student Athlete Summit at the University of Texas-Austin. She will also serve as a faculty sponsor for Clairissa Cole, a Mercer junior who will also be presenting along with a group of students from Davidson College, Morehouse School of Medicine, UNC-Greensboro and Georgia State University. The students interned with the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority and developed a program to address mental health awareness for student-athletes. Their presentation will spotlight the development and implementation of their program, for which Cole invited Dr. Brackette to be a speaker.
Dr. Suneetha B. Manyam, associate professor of counseling, attended and presented at the 2017 Fall National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE) Conference in October in Arlington, Virginia. She presented a pre-conference learning workshop on “Crowd Sourcing for Social Justice: Developing a Multicultural Competency Toolset for Rehabilitation Professionals” with three other counselor educators from around the nation. She also co-presented a poster session with one of her Rehabilitation Service Administration Grant Scholars, John Mark Park, and a counselor educator from Coppin State University on “Media Microaggressions and Persons with HIV/AIDS: A Social Justice Perspective.” Dr. Manyam also was elected as a co-chair for the Diversity and Equity Council from NCRE. She also will serve on the NCRE board as a Region IV representative for the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee for a three-year term.
Dr. Richard Martin, professor of criminal justice and homeland security, recently conducted peer reviews of the following articles: “Study on Child Labour Laws: In Special Reference to South Asian Countries,” “Forensic investigation of microscopic traces of explosives and explosive devices in humans,” “Case Illustrations of the Shortage of Evidence in Judicial Proof” and “Neuroglycopaenia Automatism and Driving Culpability” in the Forensic Research and Criminology International Journal; “The Impact of Added Load on Measures of Power and Agility in Tactical Occupations: A Critical Review” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health; and “The Development of A Scale to Measure Teacher's Self-Efficacy and Confidence in Teaching Compulsory K-12 Theology Courses” in the Journal of Education and Training Studies.
Dr. Robin Smith Mathis, assistant professor of organizational leadership, will present her research, titled “Building or burning bridges? An autoethnonarrative of Baptist silencing the women,” at the 2018 Eastern Communication Association Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She also has a book chapter in press in the Handbook of Communication Training, which is expected to be published this summer.
School of Engineering
Dr. Michael MacCarthy, assistant professor of environmental engineering, was named an associate editor and member of the editorial board for Hydrogeology Journal, the official journal of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. The journal's stated emphasis is to: foster understanding of hydrogeology, a practical discipline aimed at bettering the human situation on earth; describe worldwide progress in hydrogeology; and provide an inexpensive and widely accessible forum for scientists, researchers, engineers and practitioners in developing and industrialized countries alike.
School of Medicine
Dr. Jennifer L. Barkin, assistant professor of community medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, was invited to serve on the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Congress on Nursing to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in April. Her Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning was recently translated to Persian for use in Iran. It is now available in 19 languages and is being used all over the world. Dr. Barkin also recently presented her research at Northwestern University and will give an invited lecture on maternal functioning at Emory University in March.
Dr. Gretchen Bentz, assistant profession of microbiology, and Wyatt Cramblet, a student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences program, presented their research at the Viral Manipulation of Nuclear Processes meeting on Dec. 3-6 in Charleston, South Carolina. The title of their poster was “EBV Latent Membrane Protein-1 Targets SENP2, a SUMO-Protease, and Dysregulates Cellular Sumoylation Processes.” Dr. Bentz, Cramblet and Angela Lowrey also co-authored a review, titled “Viral Manipulation of the Cellular Sumoylation Machinery,” which was published by BioMed Central in Cell Communication and Signaling.
Dr. Hemant Goyal, assistant professor of medicine, co-authored “Serum bilirubin has an important role in multiple clinical applications,” a literature review published in the September issue of the Journal of Laboratory and Precision Medicine.
Dr. James Thomas, professor of pharmacology and obstetrics and gynecology, and Dr. Kevin Bucholtz, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts, co-authored “Structure-function relationships for the selective inhibition of human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 by a novel androgen analog“ in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Staff and Administration
Sandra Bryant, Mercer Police officer, was voted Officer of The Year by her peers at Mercer Police on the Macon campus. Officer Vince Broccolo and Corporal Steve Gaines both scored 100 percent at firearms qualification and will share the annual Top Gun Award for Mercer Police on the Macon campus.
Hugh Hunter was promoted to assistant director of the Center for Career and Professional Development, and his primary office is now on the Atlanta campus.
Tift College of Education
Dr. Justus Randolph, associate professor, co-authored “Negative pressure wound therapy versus healing by secondary intention in pressure ulcers“ in Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Journal, 4(2), 4-10, doi:10.18487/npwtj.v4i2.35.
University Libraries
Brenda Mays, acquisitions manager, was selected to participate in the 2018 class of Leadership Macon. The program selects class members who have exhibited leadership skills, potential and ambition to enhance the area's quality of life.
