Faculty and Staff Notables

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Dr. Robbie J. Marsh, assistant professor of special education, co-authored “Evaluating school connectedness of students with emotional and behavioral disorders” in Children and Schools, 41, 153-160.

Dr. Susie Morrissey, assistant professor of mathematics education, and Dr. Anthony Choi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, led a robotics camp with students from Westside High School in Macon. The students programmed Lego robots with sensors to negotiate two challenges. Dr. Sharon Augustine, associate professor of teacher education, Dr. Melissa Jurkiewicz, assistant professor of science/STEM education and Dr. Phil McCreanor, professor of environmental engineering, led a STEM camp with students from Weaver Middle School in Macon. The students completed two engineering design tasks. Mercer MAT students and Woodrow Wilson Fellows also provided enrichment activities each day for middle school students.

Dr. Leah Panther, assistant professor of literacy education, authored “This is music therapy in the real world: Negotiating standardization, curricularizing joy” in Ubiquity: The Journal of Literature, Literacy, and the Arts. She also co-authored “How do we tell the story?: Community accountability in school-university partnerships,” accepted for publication in Rethinking School-University Partnerships. Dr. Panther presented “Resisting policing of youth bodies: Critical centering of youth voices in the urban classroom” at the Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference at Georgia State University.

Dr. Katherine Perrotta, assistant professor of middle grades and secondary education, authored “Bringing History to Life: A Study on the Implementation of an Oral History Research Project as a High-Impact Practice in Undergraduate History Courses,” in The Social Studies.

Dr. Cleopatra Warren, adjunct professor, was recently elected to serve as a board member on the Fulbright Association of Georgia’s Board of Directors. During the two-year assignment, she will be working to expand the new Fulbright in the Classroom initiative across schools throughout metro Atlanta. Dr. Warren is also a 2009 Fulbright-Hays recipient to Brazil and was recently featured in the national Fulbright Edge publication for a presentation to local high school students regarding her Fulbright experience.

Dr. Emily Gabriel, assistant professor of athletic training, co-authored “The Use of Theoretical Models within Exercises-Related Injury Prevention Program Research: A Systematic Review” in the Journal of Sports Medicine 2019; 49(10):1515-1528.

Dr. David Taylor, clinical associate professor of physical therapy, is highlighted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) as he describes how Mercer incorporated STEADI modules in interprofessional training on screening, assessing and intervening to decrease fall risk in older adults.

Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English, published the essay “Faulkner’s Stores: Microfinance and Economic Power in the Postbellum South” in Faulkner and Money, edited by Jay Watson. He also presented “World War I and Faulkner’s Sartoris Short Stories” at the American Short Story Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Dr. Carl E. Findley III, lecturer in Great Books and integrative studies, was invited by the University of Helsinki, Finland, in August to deliver a public lecture, titled “Robert Musil and the Aesthetics of Distance.”

Dr. Sarah E. Gardner, Distinguished University Professor of History, was appointed to a three-year term on the editorial board of the Journal of the Civil War Era. She was also appointed chair of the 2020 Tom Watson Brown Book Award Prize Committee, sponsored by the Society of Civil War Historians.

Dr. Kathryn Kloepper, associate professor of chemistry and director of Research That Reaches Out, presented Aug. 6-8 at the Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. She was a panelist at the session “Strategies for launching online science labs” and a co-presenter of “Teaching online lab science courses: Challenges and solutions.” A portion of this work was published as “Connecting with Students in an Online Class” in the Teaching Professor on Sept. 23. Marcia Owens Kloepper, an instructional media specialist in the Center for Digital Learning at the University of New Mexico and Dr. Kloepper’s mother, served as a co-author on the article.

Scot J. Mann, associate professor of communication and theatre, served as a master instructor for the Theatrical Firearms Safety Course with the Society of American Fight Directors’ National Stage Combat Workshop in August. In September, he adjudicated the Society of American Fight Directors’ Skills Proficiency Test for the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Georgetown.

Dr. Matt Marone, associate professor of physics, published Vol. 1 of his book Teaching Physics through Ancient Chinese Science and Technology, available on Amazon. He is currently on sabbatical at the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge, England, working on Vol. 2. 

Dr. Chinekwu Obidoa, associate professor of global health, delivered an invited presentation Sept. 5 during the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) webinar on global learning. The presentation was titled “Local is Global: Creating Experiential Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Global Health Students.”

Tennille Shuster, associate professor of graphic design, was selected by jury to exhibit her artist’s book, titled The Party’s Over, in Rising Together: An Exhibition of Artists’ Books, Prints and Zines with a Social Conscience organized by the College Book Art Association. The traveling exhibition was on display at the Center for Book Arts in New York April 18-June 29 and is currently on display at the University of Iowa Special Collections Library through Jan. 2. The book will be on display at the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography in Pasadena, California, in spring 2020. She is also a contributor to the second edition of For the Love of Letterpress: A Printing Handbook for Instructors and Students, edited by Cathie Ruggie Saunders and Martha Chiplis. 

Dr. Omolara Fyle-Thorpe, clinical assistant professor, will present a poster, titled “Gonorrhea and Chlamydia an Update for Clinicians,” at the Unity Conference for Nursing Excellence, co-sponsored by United Advanced Practice Nurses and Georgia Nurses Association Nov. 1-2 in Atlanta.

Nicole P. Lipscomb-King, instructional designer, presented “Implementing ADA Compliant Design in Your Online Course” at the Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) 52nd Annual Education Technology conference June 9-13 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. ASCUE is an international community of individuals committed to the innovation, implementation and furtherance of technology trends, equipment and practices within higher education.

Dr. Ajay Banga, professor, was appointed an editorial board member for the journal Pharmaceutics.

Dr. Clint Canal, assistant professor, authored “Drugs Used to Treat Mental, Behavioral, and Cognitive Disorders,” published as a chapter in Foye’s Principles of Medicinal Chemistry, 8th Edition.

Dr. Nader H. Moniri, professor and associate dean for research, published the chapter “Drugs used to induce/support sedation or anesthesia” in Foye’s Principles of Medicinal Chemistry, 8th edition. Dr. Moniri also published “Reintroduction of quazepam: an update on comparative hypnotic and adverse effects” in International Clinical Psychopharmacology in August.

Dr. Angela Shogbon, clinical associate professor, and Dr. Pamela Moye-Dickerson, clinical associate professor, co-authored “Efavirenz Induced Vanishing Bile Duct Syndrome: a case report” in Journal of Pharmacy Practice. DOI: 10.1177/0897190019868358.

Dr. Richard H. Martin, professor of criminal justice and homeland security, authored “Police recruit selection criteria should include consideration of potential for future leadership,” accepted for publication in Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal’s December issue. He was also appointed an associate editor the Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal and was invited to join the Society of International Academic Researchers as a fellow for the 2019-2021 terms. Dr. Martin also reviewed the two manuscripts: “Periodontal disease status among adults from South Africa – prevalence and effect of smoking”  for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and “Assessing Use of Force Liability and Law Enforcement Response to Naked Subject” for the Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal. 

Dr. Briana Sell Stenard, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, authored “Are Transitions to Self-Employment Beneficial?” in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights. In addition, Dr. Stenard was invited to write a blog post, titled “Considering a Job Change? Examine Your Motives First,” for the London School of Economics Business Review.

Dr. Jennifer Goode, instructor of technical communication, and Dr. Pam Brewer, professor of technical communication, along with Nahali (Holly) Croft from Georgia College, presented a poster, titled “A New Digital Archive and Search Platform for Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Research,” at the GDOT Georgia Transportation Institute’s seventh annual Transportation Research Expo Sept. 13 in Atlanta. The poster reported the results of the work recently completed under the first GDOT research grant awarded to Mercer.

Dr. Dorina Marta Mihut, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Arash Afshar, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Laura Lackey, dean and Georgia Kaolin Chair of Engineering, and graduate student Khang Le published a paper, titled “Antibacterial Effectiveness of Metallic Nanoparticles Deposited on Water Filter Paper by Magnetron Sputtering,” in the Journal of Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 368. Le defended his master’s thesis working in the same area.

Dr. Vahid Vahidi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, co-authored “OFDM Performance Assessment for Traffic Surveillance in Drone Small Cells” in IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vol. 20, No. 8, pp. 2869-2878, August.

Ivy Cadle, adjunct professor, was elected to the executive committee of the State Bar of Georgia, which is responsible for the operations of the State Bar.

Leslie Cadle, director of development, was elected to serve as the 2019-2020 president-elect of the Middle Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.

Cathy Cox, dean, published “Georgia Keeps Voting Accuracy, Safety a Top Priority,” an op-ed column on Georgia’s new voting equipment, in the Marietta Daily Journal, Augusta Chronicle, Macon Telegraph and Donalsonville News. Cox gave a speech Sept. 7 on Georgia’s history of the 19th Amendment at Georgia State’s Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Week Kick-Off Dinner, “Flashback 100 Years: No Need for Georgia Women to Vote,” in Macon.

Jessica Feinberg, associate professor, authored “Restructuring Rebuttal of the Marital Presumption for the Modern Era,” accepted for publication in the Minnesota Law Review. She presented the article at the International Society for Family Law North American Regional Conference in Chicago, Illinois, and the Feminist Legal Theory Program Law and Society Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., in June. Additionally, she was a panelist on “Regulating Queerness: A Law & Order Panel” at the Midwest LGBTQ Rights Conference at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, in March.

Linda Jellum, Ellison Capers Palmer Sr. Professor of Tax Law and associate dean for faculty research and development, was elected chair of the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section.

Stephen M. Johnson, professor, authored “Economics v. Equity: Do Market-Based Environmental Reforms Exacerbate Environmental Injustice?” in 56 Washington and Lee Law Review 111 (1999), which is being reprinted in Environmental Justice: Law, Policy, and Regulation with Nadia Ahmad, Rebecca Bratspies and Clifford Villa in the 3rd edition, published by Carolina Academic (2020).

Brian Kammer, director of the Mercer Habeas Project, filed a case in the Georgia Supreme Court this summer. The case involves a prisoner who filed petition after the limitations period had run, but who had not been informed at sentencing of the Statute of Limitations by the trial court, as required by law, or by his appellate attorney, and whose habeas attorney had calculated the limitations period incorrectly. Randall Edwards, third-year law student, helped draft the brief as a summer intern. Fall semester students have assisted in preparation for oral argument. Kammer argued the case in the Georgia Supreme Court on Sept. 12.

Pat Longan, W.A. Bootle Chair in Ethics and Professionalism, published “Introduction to the Oral History of Manley F. Brown” in the Journal of Legal History and has made monthly updates on Georgia legal ethics. He also presented “Update on Attorney Discipline” at the Urgent Legal Matters Institute in Jekyll Island in August. He presented “Mitigation for Attorney Misconduct” at a special master training during the State Bar of Georgia’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, in June. Longan was appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia to a second one-year term as one of 20 Special Masters for disciplinary cases.

Karen Sneddon, professor, and Susan M. Chesler, professor, authored “Clause A to Clause Z: The Transactional Reader and Narrative Transportation,” accepted for publication in the South Carolina Law Review. Sneddon presented “Characteristics of Good Legal Writing” in Columbia, South Carolina, Sept.12 to the University of South Carolina Pre-Law Society Meeting. 

Dr. Jennifer L. Barkin, associate professor of community medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, was invited to serve as an expert panelist at the MEDTECH Women at Southeastern Medical Device Association Conference. The conference was held Sept. 5 in Atlanta at the Academy of Medicine, and the panel was titled “The Maternity Crisis: Disruption through Innovation and Policy.” Dr. Barkin served on the panel with colleagues from WebMD, Emory University School of Medicine and Memora Health.

Dr. Keisha Callins, Joy McCann Endowed Professor, was quoted in the article “Pregnancy can cause dry eyes and other vision changes” on the website All About Vision.

Dr. Edward C. Klatt, professor of pathology and director of Biomedical Problems Program, presented “The Human Interface: Promoting Civility, Resilience, and Wellness to Prevent Burnout,” “Flipped Classroom Methods to Enhance Your Curriculum,” and participated in the roundtable session “Promoting Resilience and Wellness” Sept. 11-13 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pathology in Phoenix, Arizona.

Dr. Betsy E. Smith, assistant professor of internal medicine and community medicine, Dr. Jeffrey L. Stephens, professor and chair of internal medicine and 2019 MUSM graduate Dr. Sahra Ahmadi received the Rural HIV Innovation Award at the seventh annual Rural HIV Research and Training Conference Sept. 20-21 in Savannah for their poster, titled “Assessing Cardiovascular Disease Risk in a Southern/Semi-rural HIV Clinic Population.”

Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music, presented a band rehearsal clinic at Veterans High School with Jeremy Fermin, band director in Houston County, on Sept. 4. Dr. Hill also presented a band clinic at Southwest High School Sept. 11 with band director Larry Alexander and presented a rehearsal clinic Sept. 17 at Mt. de Sales Academy with recently hired band director Trevor Goody.

Dr. William Loyd Allen, Sylvan Hills Professor of Baptist Heritage and Spiritual Formation, delivered three lectures on the theme “Christian Spirituality in Historical Perspective” Sept. 6-7 at the Going Deeper Into Ministry Conference sponsored by the American Baptist Churches of New York State in Syracuse, New York. He also initiated and led a Baptist classics seminar on Baptist theologians for an international group of 22 Baptist history scholars Sept. 12-14 on Mercer’s Atlanta campus.

Dr. Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Carolyn Ward Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, attended Abilene Christian University’s Summit  Sept. 17 in Abilene, Texas, where she presented two papers:  “Bringing in the Sheaves with Shouts of Joy:  Embodied Worship in the Songs of Ascents” and “On the Willows We Hung Up Our Harps: Preaching the Imprecatory Psalms.” She also participated in a panel discussion on the Psalms and Christian worship.

Dr. Angela N. Parker, assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, taught and preached Aug. 25 at First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Dr. Parker lectured during the morning hour on Paul’s letter to the Galatians and preached on the Gospel of Mark at morning worship. Additionally, Dr. Parker spoke at the inaugural Liberating Evangelism: Decentering Whiteness Conference Sept. 20 in Chicago, Illinois. Her topic was “Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics as a Methodology for Revising the Center.” 

Dr. Thomas B. Slater, professor emeritus of New Testament studies, authored The Book of Revelation as Civil Disobedience, to be published Nov. 5 by Abingdon Press. In the book, he argues that Revelation is essentially a form of civil disobedience meant to encourage first-century Christians under duress in the Roman province of Asia.

Ken Blair, academic coordinator and minority mentor program adviser for the Upward Bound Program, was announced as one of the 40 Under 40 exemplary leaders from Alabama, Florida and Georgia to be featured in the September edition of Rural Leader Magazine. All recipients were recognized during a luncheon Sept. 5 at Albany Technical College’s Kirkland Conference Center.

Marc Jolley, director of Mercer University Press, spoke on “Publishing in the Twenty-First Century” Sept. 21 at the Columbus Writers Guild in Columbus.