Faculty and Staff Notables

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Dr. William Lacefield, professor of mathematics education, Dr. Tonya Clarke, coordinator of mathematics for Clayton County Public Schools, and Sarah Gray, a graduate student at Mercer, presented “Fascinating Numbers: Using Enjoyment to Strengthen Number Sense and Confidence” at the annual conference of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics held Oct. 17-19 at Rock Eagle Conference Center in Eatonton.

Dr. Daniel Dale, clinical assistant professor of physical therapy, presented on two occasions at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Education Leadership Conference Oct. 12-14 in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Dale presented findings from a collaborative study with Georgia Baptist College of Nursing colleagues Fran Kamp, clinical associate professor of nursing, and Suzanne Applegate, clinical assistant professor of nursing, on “Assessing Collaboration, Communication, and Role Recognition in an Interprofessional Education Event in the ICU and Acute Care Environments.” Dr. Dale also presented “Engaging, Inspiring and Developing Physical Therapist Students into Leaders: A Call to Action.”

Dr. Deborah Wendland, associate professor of physical therapy, Dr. David Taylor, clinical assistant professor of physical therapy, and Dr. Jeannette Anderson, clinical associate professor of physical therapy, presented Oct. 12-14 at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Education Leadership Conference in Jacksonville, Florida. In partnership with physical therapists from the Piedmont Atlanta Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center, they co-presented “From Take-off to Landing: Developing Future Practitioners for the Area of Integumentary Physical Therapy Practice through Collaborative Academic and Clinical Leadership.” 

Dr. Jonathan Addleton, adjunct professor of international and global studies, published a recollection on Afghanistan, titled “Bloody Week in Afghanistan Brings Back Memories of Never-Ending War,” Oct. 19 in Global Atlanta. Dr. Addleton also had an interview with Peter Bittner on Star TV as part of the ongoing weekly series “Talk to Me” posted Oct. 15 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Dr. Peter Brown, professor emeritus of philosophy, presented “Living Toward Death” at the Aging With Grace conference sponsored by the Seaside Institute Oct. 18-19 in Seaside, Florida. A copy of this presentation is posted on www.seasideinstitute.org.

Dr. David A. Davis, associate professor of English, received the Eudora Welty Prize for his book World War I and Southern Modernism.

Dr. John Marson Dunaway, professor emeritus of French and interdisciplinary studies, organized the 10th biennial Beloved Community Paired Clergy Unity Service Oct. 9 at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church.

Dr. Sarah E. Gardner, Distinguished University Professor of History, participated on a panel on “Undead Histories: Spectral Anxiety, Fabricated Narratives, and Flesh-and-Blood Violence in the Nineteenth-Century South” at the British American Nineteenth Century History Conference at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Dr. Gardner also edited a series on recent fiction about slavery and the Civil War for the Journal of the Civil War Era’s blog “Muster.”

Dr. Jonathan Glance, professor and chair of English, presented a paper, titled “Calibrating the Scoundrels: Industries of Adaptation and Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King,” Sept. 27–28 at the annual conference of the Association of Adaptation Studies held in Amsterdam.

Dr. Joseph Keene, assistant professor of chemistry, presented “What Calorimetry Can Teach Us About Quantum Dots: A Tale of ITC” at the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals July 16-17 at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Dr. Sheng-Chiang “John” Lee, associate professor and chair of physics, conducted a QEP project that involved physics education in the Bibb County School District. He helped to develop a physics lab curriculum for high school physics courses using smartphones instead of expensive conventional lab equipment. Dr. Lee gave a presentation at Central High School to school district leaders and physics teachers in the county’s public high schools.

Dr. Matt Marone, associate professor of physics, presented “Ionic Liquid Facilitated Recovery of Metals and Oxygen from Regolith” at the Georgia Regional Astronomy Meeting Oct. 27 at Emory University. Dr. Marone also presented “Experiments in Ancient Chinese Science” at the South Atlantic Coast Sectional Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers meeting Oct. 13 at Clemson University.

Dr. Frank McNally, assistant professor of physics, successfully applied for Mercer’s membership in the IceCube Collaboration Sept. 24-29 in Stockholm. IceCube is a multi-messenger astronomy project located at the South Pole designed to detect high-energy neutrinos, near-massless and neutral particles coming from space. In 2013, IceCube became the first experiment ever to detect extrasolar neutrinos, opening up a new field of astronomy. As a member of the collaboration, Mercer joins more than 50 institutions in 12 countries, including Georgia Tech, MIT, UC Berkeley, UW-Madison and Yale. Dr. McNally’s research focuses on the study of charged particles from space (cosmic rays) as they hit the earth’s atmosphere, and his research students will now have access to collaboration resources, including many terabytes of data and simulation as well as computing clusters at UW-Madison and Georgia Tech.

Marian Zielinski, professor emerita of communication studies and theatre, won the second place award in the Fine Art – Fiber category at the Georgia National Fair in October for her piece, titled “Celestial Dwelling.” Another of her works, “Griffith and Broadway,” won a Georgia Artists for Art Fine Art Merit Award.

Dr. Clint Canal, assistant professor, was named a grant reviewer for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) for Sept. 27-Nov. 8. Dr. Canal was also named a reviewer for Frontiers in Neurology for September and the Journal of Psychopharmacology for September and October.

Dr. Martin D’Souza, professor, was named guest editor for “Microparticles-based Vaccines,” a special edition of Vaccines, an international peer-reviewed open-access journal published quarterly online by MDPI in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. D’Souza also served as a grant reviewer for the NIH Cancer Immunopathology and Immunotherapy (CII), Cancer Biomarkers (CBSS) and Chemo/Dietary Prevention (CDP) study sections for October, the NIH National Cancer Institute Clinical and Translational Omnibus, Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group for October and the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR), Social Solutions International for September.

Dr. Nader Moniri, professor, and Dr. Kathryn Momary, associate professor, co-authored “Statin-associated Achilles tendon rupture and reproducible bilateral tendinopathy upon repeated exposure” in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Dr. Kathryn Momary, associate professor, was named a grant reviewer for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s New Investigator Award for September-October 2018.

Dr. Pamela Moye-Dickerson, clinical associate professor, was co-author of the committee report of the 2017-2018 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Dr. Kevin Murnane, assistant professor, and Dr. Ajay Banga, professor, were co-authors of “Formulation and evaluation of 4-benzylpiperidine drug-in-adhesive matrix type transdermal patch” in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Dr. Awatef A. Ben Ramadan, assistant professor of mathematics, science and informatics, was the first author of two published original articles in two peer-reviewed health informatics journals. The first article is titled “Estimates of Female Breast Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratio (MIR) of the Counties and the Senatorial Districts Grouped to County Boundaries (SDGCs) in Missouri 2008 – 2012,” published in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice. The second article is titled “Improving Visualization of Female Breast Cancer Survival Estimates: Analysis Using Interactive Mapping Reports,” published in the Journal of Medicine Internet and Research – Public Health and Surveillance (JMIR-PH). Dr. Ben Ramadan presented as first author a poster, titled “Estimates of Female Breast Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratio (MIR) of the Counties and the Senatorial Districts Grouped to County Boundaries (SDGCs) in Missouri 2008 – 2012,” at the Public Health Informatics Conference in August.

Dr. Caroline Brackette, associate professor of counseling, was featured as the scholar of the week for the Diversity Scholars Network (DSN) by the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan. The network was founded in 2008 and is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional community of scholars committed to advancing understandings of historical and contemporary social issues related to identity, difference, culture, representation, power, oppression and inequality as they occur and affect individuals, groups, communities and institutions.

Dr. Hani Q. Khoury, professor and coordinator of mathematics, presented “Citizenship through Mathematics and Science Education” Oct. 6 at the American University of Madaba in Jordan  and “A Journey with Disability – A Personal Perspective” Oct. 10 at An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. Dr. Khoury was invited by both institutions to deliver his talks. During his visit, Dr. Khoury was honored by various civic and educational institutions for his contributions to education and for his professional achievements as a person with disability.

Dr. David Purnell, professor of liberal studies, submitted “When friends are separated by          miles: Using technology as a bridge over troubled times” in the International Review of Qualitative Research with an expected publication date of summer 2019. He submitted “Finding Our Fathers” in Qualitative Inquiry with an expected publication date of spring 2019. Dr. Purnell also submitted “Public Parks: Third Places or Places Eliciting Moral Panic?” in Qualitative Inquiry with an expected publication date of this winter. Dr. Purnell will serve as keynote speaker at the Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Conference on Nov 3.

Jody Blanke, Ernest L. Baskin Jr. Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Law, wrote “Top Ten Reasons to Be Optimistic About Privacy,” which was accepted for publication by the Idaho Law Review in the spring. Blanke was an invited panelist at Indiana University’s Ostrom Workshop on Smart Cities: Security, Privacy, and Governance Best Practice, where he spoke on a panel called “Governments, Data, and Society.” He was invited to become an external affiliate of Indiana University Bloomington’s Ostrom Workshops on both Data Management and Information Governance, and Cybersecurity and Internet Governance.

Dr. Elizabeth Chapman, associate professor of management, co-authored a blog post based on one of her papers that appeared on the London School of Economics website beginning Oct. 23.  The post is about personal characteristics that impact happiness during and after retirement.

Dr. Antonio Saravia, associate professor of economics, was accepted to serve as associate editor for The Social Science Journal, a Q2 journal with a 1.00 ISI impact factor.

Dr. Briana Stenard, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, organized and presented a session, called “Love at First Sight: First Day of Class and First Impressions,” at the Academy of Management Teaching and Learning Conference Aug. 12 in Chicago. Dr. Stenard was accepted to, earned a scholarship and completed the Experiential Classroom Certification in Entrepreneurship Teaching from Sept. 20-23 at the University of Tampa. Dr. Stenard interviewed Becky Blalock Oct. 18 for Women’s Entrepreneurship Week. She also discussed her research for a webinar Oct. 19 for the Mistletoe Foundation, an organization that connects university scientists with startups. The webinar was titled “Scientists, Mismatch and Entrepreneurship: Surprise and Opportunity.” Macon-based economics faculty initiated a new colloquium series that brings together academics, business leaders and students to discuss topics of mutual interest. The first speaker was Derek Yonai, associate professor of economics and director of the Koch Center for Leadership and Ethics in the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise at Florida Southern College, who spoke about his view of free enterprise education. The colloquium also includes Dr. Antonio Saravia, associate professor of economics, Dr. Robi Ragan, associate professor of economics, and Dr. Andres Marroquin, visiting associate professor of economics, as well as Macon business leaders Roy Fickling, Marsh Butler and Robbo Hatcher, and students Simran Khoja, Sachin Khurana and Christian Watson.

Dr. Jennifer Goode, instructor of technical communication, presented an invited webinar for the Society for Technical Communication’s Instructional Design and Learning Special Interest Group. The webinar, “Can You Hear Me Now? Podcasts as teaching (and communication) tools,” reflected on research from a classroom project that was supported by a grant from the Research That Reaches Out Office. 

Karen J. Sneddon, professor of law, presented “Effective Motion and Brief Writing” Oct. 5 at the Workers’ Compensation Institute on Jekyll Island.

Lindsey R. Stewart, assistant director of career services, was promoted to director of admissions and financial aid, effective Nov. 1. Stewart has worked for Mercer for two years and is a double Bear, with degrees from the College of Liberal Arts in 2006 and the School of Law in 2009.

Dr. Michael Brooks, adjunct professor, joined the faculty to participate in the tutoring program this fall. His background includes 40 years of practice in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, with a heavy emphasis in the treatment of cancer of the head and neck, and allergy.

Dr. James Colquitt, assistant professor of medicine, recently earned his credential as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. This accomplishment helps advance the growth of simulation-based education in the School of Medicine and supports the efforts of Mercer to build high-fidelity experience-based simulation centers on all of its campuses.

Dr. Hemant Goyal, assistant professor of medicine and assistant program director of internal medicine residency, served as senior author of “The Healthcare Burden of Bradyarrhythmias and Their Impact on the Outcomes of 11,553 Lipidoses-related Hospitalizations: A Nationwide Inpatient Contemplation,” published in Clinical Cardiology. He also served as a co-author of “Incidence, Admission Rates, and Economic Burden of Adult Emergency Visits for Chronic Pancreatitis: Data From the National Emergency Department Sample, 2006 to 2012,” published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.

Dr. Jennifer Li, associate professor of histology, co-published an article, titled “Structural basis of the lipid transfer mechanism of phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP),” in the Journal of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. Dr. Li also co-authored “A novel monitoring approach of antibody-peptide binding using ‘bending’ capillary electrophoresis” in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.

Dr. Eric K. Shaw, associate professor and community medicine research coordinator, authored a chapter, titled “Ontology and epistemology, methodology and method, and research paradigms,” in How To Do Primary Care Research.

Dr. Douglas Hill, professor of music and director of instrumental ensembles adjudicated at the ninth annual Grovetown Warrior Invitational Marching Festival and Contest on Oct. 13 in Grovetown. High school marching bands from Harlem, Thomson, Burke County, Evans, Greenbrier and Oconee County schools participated.

Dr. William Loyd Allen, Sylvan Hills Professor of Baptist Heritage and Spiritual Formation, delivered on Oct. 5-6 the 2018 Richard Brogan Lecture Series on the topic “Protestant Spirituality” at Northside Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi.

Dr. Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford, Carolyn Ward Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, presented the Lund Old Testament Lectures at Northpark Theological Seminary on Sept. 26 in Chicago. The lectures were titled “Let the Floods Clap Their Hands: An Ecological/Feminist Reading of the Enthronement Psalms” and “The Embodied Praise of God in the Songs of Ascents.” She also participated in a symposium on human violence at Northpark on Sept. 27-29 and presented a paper on “Human Violence in the Imprecatory Psalms.”

Vince Broccolo, Mercer Police officer, retired after 18 years of service to the department.

David Chambers, Mercer Police officer, retired after 26 years of service to the department.

Marc Jolley, director of Mercer University Press, presented a paper, titled “Seven Deadly Sins and Life-giving Virtue,” on Oct. 25-27 at Teaching the Christian Intellectual Tradition: Teaching Dante held at Samford University.

Meredith E. Keating, assistant director of campus life and student involvement, presented at the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) South Conference Sept. 29 on “Let’s Learn Together: Advising a Student Programming Board as a New Professionals.”

Matt McCranie, Mercer Police corporal, was promoted to sergeant.

Gary Mills, Mercer Police officer, was promoted to administrative lieutenant.

Bobby Mobini, information technology support technician, attained CompTIA A+ certification. This certification is an industry standard for IT professionals and is a qualifying credential indicating an understanding of operating systems, computer hardware, networking and security.

Edward T. Roney, Mercer Police sergeant, retired after 38 years of service to the department.

Arlene F. Desselles, health, engineering and sciences librarian at the Swilley Library, was inducted into the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing Hall of Honor in recognition of her excellence in mentoring. She is not a nurse, but for years has been an outstanding mentor for faculty and for students in all College of Nursing degree programs. She was also instrumental in the library orientation process for all new faculty and students.

Lee Olson and Gail Morton, research services librarians, presented a poster, titled “ALL Aboard! Destined for Promotion,” Oct. 5 at the Georgia Libraries Conference in Columbus. They were joined virtually by Kristen Bailey, research services librarian, for the presentation.