FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES // September 2024

Kathy Merlock Jackson published a chapter titled “George and the Dinosaurs: George Lucas Contributions to The Land Before Time (1988) and Jurassic Park (1993)” in Lucas: His Hollywood Legacy, edited by Richard Ravalli for the University Press of Kentucky. Jackson also published reviews of the following three books in The Journal of American Culture, Sept. 2024, 47:3: “Interpreting and Experiencing Disney: Mediating the Mouse” by Priscilla Hobbs, “Season to Taste: Rewriting Kitchen Space in Contemporary Women's Food Memoirs” by Caroline J. Smith, and “Asian Fantasies: The Fetishization of Asian Adoptees from Girlhood to Womanhood” by Kimberly D. McKee.

As an artifact of his NOAA-funded project with Millersville University and Norfolk Collegiate Lower School, Bill McConnell co-authored an article in the NOAA online repository entitled, "Shared waters year one: An upstream-downstream collaborative." He also published an article in the National Field Experience Journal entitled, "The Impact of a Classroom Management Field Placement on Preservice Teachers Environmental Education Self-Efficacy." This original research was made possible by funding from the NOAA-sponsored Shared Waters program. In addition, McConnell co-authored an article in the journal, Action in Teacher Education: "Teacher Candidate Learning of Interdisciplinary Controversial Issues: Linking Social Studies and Science in the Elementary School Curriculum."

Sara Ryan's poem, entitled "Something about a River," was one of the ten poems accepted to the "Poetry on the Trail" project in Norfolk. Her poem will be displayed on the Elizabeth River Trail for one year.

Alain Gabon wrote articles on the European and French snap legislative elections. They are: "The 2024 French Legislative Election; "New Records for the Far-Right in Europe, More Bad News for Muslims?;

 and in "Middle East Eye."

Stephen Hock's essay, "The Freedom of 'the England of the Convergence' or 'the Long Soft Life' in DeLillo's Zero K," was published as a chapter in Figures of Freedom: Representations of Agency in a Time of Crisis (Fourth Horseman Press).

Sara Sewell published “Nighttime Cacophonies in Birkenaus Women's Barracks” for the Music and the Holocaust website, sponsored by World ORT: Impact Through Education, August 2024.

President Scott D. Miller serves as executive editor for the President to President thought leadership series, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary. This academic year’s series features insights from renowned college and university presidents. Titled “Game Changers in Higher Education,” it examines how new ideas, strategies, and influences are driving significant change on college campuses and creating meaningful, immediate and long-term impacts. President Miller's daily blog, Dialogue, can be found at prezscottmiller.blogspot.com.

Stu Minnis and Terry Lindvall's documentary feature, “Hollywood, Teach Us to Pray,” screened at the prestigious Museum of the Bible on the Washington D.C. Mall. Their documentary feature film was also screened at Hollywood Presbyterian Church for film industry professionals. Lindvall also presented his paper, “The Shroud of Cinema: Remembering and Reframing Sacred Space in Silent American Film,” at the International Conference on Religion and Film in Pasadena, California.

Arthur Pantelides presented a paper titled, "The Impact of AI on the Socio-Cultural Roots of Japanese Organizations and the Coming Renaissance in Organizational Strategy and Innovation," at the Annual International Forum on Knowledge Asset Dynamics in Madrid, Spain.

Carol Johnson presented the interactive session, "Toward Equity in Grammar, Like It or Not," at the annual meeting of the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar at the University of Pittsburgh.

Joyce Easter and Wayne Pearson (US Naval Academy, retired) facilitated a one-day "Introduction to POGIL" Workshop at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Easter was a co-facilitator for the four-day virtual POGIL Activity Writing Workshop and attended the 22nd Annual POGIL National Meeting in St. Louis to continue work on the POGIL Project Strategic Planning. She is serving a third year on the Advanced Practitioner Experience working group. She co-developed and co-facilitated a new workshop, "Facilitation Strategies and Tools" at the annual meeting.

Lisa Lyon Payne and two co-authors presented, "Starting a conversation: An exploration of the state of student media websites at Historically Black Colleges and Universities," at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in Philadelphia. This content analysis explores issues meaningful to HBCU communities using an important media source and training ground for future Black journalists.

Clair Berube, along with Bill McConnell and graduate students Taylor Paquette and Haley Sutton, presented a poster, "Explicit Instruction to Address Math Anxiety," at the annual NOYCE Summit Conference in Washington D.C. Strategies were outlined to help both teachers and their students.

Denise Wilkinson presented, “Making Connections: Fostering a sense of community to Support Student Engagement,” at the 20th Elon Online Teaching and Learning Conference.

Bill McConnell and Mindy Gumpert led a professional development session for elementary teachers at Great Bridge Primary School on "Co-teaching in Open Classrooms." The session introduces a yearlong research project that implements "Critical Friendship" as a means to improve instruction and increase student achievement in co-teaching classrooms.

President Miller delivered his 10th State of the University Address on August 23. The address can be seen on the VWU Digital Broadcasting Network. This year's address highlighted Virginia Wesleyan's continued growth and innovation, with a focus on the university's efforts to expand community outreach and serve a diverse population.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Elizabeth Malcolm organized a tree planting event at the future site of Seton Youth Service's teen shelter in Virginia Beach. Seventy-three native trees and shrubs were planted by more than 35 volunteers--mainly VWU students and Annika Quick and Maynard Schaus.

GRANT

Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson (PI) and Co-PIs Victor Townsend, Joyce Easter and Abdullah Al-Alaj were awarded an NSF STEM grant entitled,"IMPACTing Student Success in STEM through the Integration of Mentoring, Programming, and Cohort Training at a Liberal Arts Institution," for $1,989,686 to provide scholarships for students in need who are majoring in STEM (BIO, CHEM, BIOCHEM, EES, MATH, CS and Cybersecurity).

OTHER

April Christman completed the Council on Social Work Education training, "Managing a Field Education Program: A Training for New Field Directors" to ensure continued strength and development of the BSW field education program.

Jason Squinobal began a weekly Artist Residency in June at the Roads Bistro in Virginia Beach. He performs jazz every Monday night with Reid Stockdill and fellow Wesleyan faculty members Mike Laubach and Will McPeters. 

Drian Glyde and Linda Ferguson submitted the 2024 SIP annual report to the PRME Initiative and the UN Global Compact on VWU's behalf. The report documented VWU's progress in implementing the Seven Principles of PRME and comprehensively addressing the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) established by the UN. Contributors also included Elizabeth Malcolm, Maynard Schaus, and Travis Malone. Glyde was recognized in June during the 2024 PRME Global Forum as a peer review committee member for the 2024 Recognition for Excellence in SIP (Sharing Information on Progress) Reporting. The committee evaluated SIP submissions to determine which organizations exceeded the PRME standards and deserved recognition of excellence in SIP reporting.

Nadia Nafar has successfully completed the Executive Certificate in Financial Planning in partnership with Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. 

President Miller was honored to appear on the “Elevate Your Leadership” podcast where he discussed the need to continuously innovate to stay ahead in the ever-changing landscape of higher education.