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Photo: Apprentice Geisha

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Led by John Tucker, professor of history and director of Asian Stud-ies, the month-long trip provided an extraordinary opportunity for teach-ers to learn about Japanese culture, history and schooling.

“It was like a visual feast,” said Catherine Allen who teaches social studies at the Oakwood School. “I couldn’t tell you how many thou-sands of pictures I took. I just kept hoping I would somehow be able to capture what I was experiencing.”The group – made up of public and

private school teachers from around the state and three ECU Teach-ing Fellows – stayed in Kyoto and conducted field studies at historical sites and cultural events.

They visited more than two dozen Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, saw three samurai castles and toured the ancient imperial pal-ace in Kyoto, the current imperial palace in Tokyo and the Hiroshima Peace Park.

In addition, they attended a Noh

had more responsibility at younger ages and received lessons in practi-cal life skills in addition to tradi-tional subjects.

Glenna Theurer, who teaches Suzuki Method violin, a style that originated in Japan, noticed how society informs the country’s teach-ing philosophies. “It is interesting to see how much of the philosophy of that method was rooted in the value system of Japan, the religion and the culture, and to realize how much of that is the norm in educa-tion there,” she said.

Though philosophies may dif-fer, Japanese students seemed to share many of the same interests as American kids, said Damon Percy, an ECU Teaching Fellow. “I didn’t see too much of a difference in their lives versus the lives of chil-dren here,” he said.

A grant from the U.S. Depart-ment of Education Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad Program covered the costs of the trip, about $84,000.

Before traveling, most of the teach-ers had completed seminars devoted to education about Asia, sponsored by the North Carolina Teaching

Asia Network (NCTAN) based at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. Led by Tucker, the ECU-NCTAN seminar included presentations about Asian history, language and culture by ECU fac-ulty, and guest lecturers.

The teachers will receive academic credit for their field studies and will complete lesson plans showing how they will integrate what they learned about Japanese history, language and culture into their teaching.

‘‘ “

play, a kabuki performance and a dance performance by maiko (ap-prentice geisha). They donned ki-monos and took part in a traditional Kyoto-style multi-course meal, watched a Japanese baseball game, took a day-trip to Tokyo Disney and enjoyed many more cultural activi-ties.

It was a continual pleasure for me,” said Tucker, who led a sim-ilar tour last summer. “There was a lot of activity, and we were determined not to miss a second of it.

For many of the teachers, the most informative part of the trip came on visits to Japanese schools and universities. The teachers were spe-cial guests at five universities, where they had the opportunity to discuss Japanese and American educational theories.

They also visited K-12 schools to watch Japanese classrooms in ac-tion. There, they saw differences in approach between Japanese and American systems. Japanese stu-dents appeared motivated to learn,

Photo: Alfreda Sherman Photo: Tucker’s group with Takamigaoka principal and staff

It is interesting to see how much of the phi-losophy of that method was rooted in the value system of Japan, the religion and the culture, and to realize how much of that is the norm in education there.

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Gleena Theurer,North Carolina Teacher

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When the vice president’s office calls with a dinner invitation, you can’t very well turn it down. Especially if, like Jody Baumgartner, assistant professor of political science, you study Ameri-can vice presidents.

Baumgartner’s extraordinary invita-tion came by way of an advisor to Vice President Joe Biden this past May. He was asked to join several other experts on the vice presidency for a special dinner to be hosted by Biden in his Massachusetts Avenue home on June 9.

Baumgartner has published a book, “The American Vice Presidency Re-considered” (2006), and several articles on the subject of vice presidents but never thought he would have the chance to dine with one.

“I was very surprised,” he said. “It was very exciting. There is no other way to say it.”

Guests at the June 9 dinner included three other scholars, a former advisor to Vice President Walter Mondale, U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman of Delaware and several of Biden’s advisors.

The meal, which was served in a formal dining room, consisted of salad, a fish entrée, dessert and coffee. But the most memorable part was the conversation that unfolded through the courses.

Biden had called the gathering to converse about the opportunities and pitfalls facing a vice president. While Baumgartner did not reveal specifics of their talk, he did say Biden seemed to have a good sense of the office from a historical perspective.

“I got the distinct impression that he had a fair idea of what was going on already. I think he called together this convocation to confirm those ideas and see if anything new came out,” Baumgartner said.

Baumgartner’s research has shown that, though the primary job of the vice president is to help the president, some have found this secondary role to be a difficult one. “If vice presidents can avoid having other expectations for the job, they seem to be setting themselves up for more success,” he said.

Baumgartner also noted that vice presidents have become more influen-tial, more powerful and more involved since Walter Mondale served under President Jimmy Carter. He sees Biden continuing this trend.

“In spite of the fact that Biden is not going to be another Dick Cheney, there is no chance that he’s going to fade into the background. He may not overtake Cheney in terms of power and influence, but he’s not going to go backwards. That’s the trajectory this institution is on,” Baumgartner said.

All in all, Baumgartner enjoyed the ex-perience, describing it as “pretty cool,” and “a heck of a nice deal.”

And, he spoke highly of his host: “He’s a very nice fellow. Some of it is probably practiced, but I get the sense that he is, genuinely, a really nice guy.”

“He’s a very nice fellow. Some of it is probably practiced, but I get the sense that he is, genuinely, a really nice guy.“

Jody Baumgartner, assistant professor of political science

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This past spring, 10 local elementary and middle school science teach-ers conducted ecological and ge-netic research at ECU’s West Research Campus, in continuation of a two-year immersion in field experiences that prepare them to be scientific leaders in their schools and communities.

The project, known as “Big Ideas in Science,” is funded by the NC QUEST Program from the Center to UNC General Administration, and is a collaborative partnership among the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Beaufort County Schools.

As selected participants in the project, teachers spent more than 160 hours actively involved in learning new science content, refining their instruc-tional skills and developing expertise

in leadership—all to improve the quality of science teaching in eastern North Carolina.

During their two-day immersion at the West Research Campus, the visiting science teachers focused on research of a long-term ecological experiment. They embarked on a new investiga-tion, seeking to answer the question of whether fertilization and natural disturbance treatments affect the com-munity of bacteria in the soils.

Using classic microbiology techniques and DNA sequencing, participants began to identify the bacteria present and determine whether these differ among the fertilizer and disturbance treatments.

“The study has provided some excit-ing and unexpected insights into the

effects of the treatments on the plant community,” said Dr. Carol Goodwil-lie, associate professor of biology and partner in the project.

According to Goodwillie, work the teachers participated in this spring will set the stage for further studies of soil ecology at the research site.

“If our students have as much fun as we’re having, they will love science,” said Susan Howard, a participant in the project.

Photo: Sheri Hale

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This fall, an ECU faculty member shares credit for discovering a new genus of salamander from the southern Appalachians. Dr. Trip Lamb, professor in the Department of Biology, co-authored the article in the Journal of Zoology’s Septem-ber issue that details the finding and classification of the new genus and species of lungless salamander.

It’s the first new genus of amphib-ian to be described from North America in 50 years. The research-ers call it the “patch nosed sala-mander” for the yellow patch on its snout.

Around the world there are ap-proximately 500 species of salaman-der. North Carolina boasts a high species count for salamanders with nearly 60, said Lamb.

Lamb’s co-authors are graduate stu-dents Bill Peterman of the Univer-sity of Missouri and Joe Milanovich of the University of Georgia, who found the tiny salamander; ecologist J.C. Maerz, Milanovich’s major pro-fessor at UGA; herpetologist Carlos Camp at Piedmont College, who performed the initial identification; and David Wake at the University of California-Berkley, a comparative anatomist and an expert on lungless salamanders.

Lamb had been contacted by Camp at Piedmont College to help with the initial identification as more and more facts pointed to a new species. “I first compared DNA sequences from the new salamander with those of several brook salamanders and related genera,” said Lamb, an evolutionary biologist.

As he began the analysis, Lamb said that he joked with his graduate student, David Beamer, “Wouldn’t it be wild if this fell outside of the brook salamanders? And it did. We were stunned.”

Lamb’s sequencing showed high levels of genetic divergence relative to the brook salamanders, so Camp toyed with the idea of describing it as a new genus, he said. That’s when Wake, the world’s expert on lungless salamanders, was called in.

The new species is Urspelerpes bru-cei; the specific epithet commemo-rates Dick Bruce, a well-known salamander ecologist who was director of the Highlands Biological Station in western North Carolina, Lamb said. The lungless salamanders belong to the family Plethodontidae, the largest and most geographically widespread family of salamanders.

Of the 580 species of salamander, nearly 400 are plethodontids, he said. They exchange respiratory gas-es (oxygen, carbon dioxide) through their thin moist skin and the lining of the mouth, as all amphibians do, but for lungless salamanders, skin is their only avenue for gas transfer.

One of the more remark-able things about this new salamander is that it occurs right here in the United States, opposed to some remote tropical locale, and in the Appalachian Moun-tains, a region well known for its salamander diversity and one well studied by biologists,” Lamb said. “Yet this species eluded discovery until 2007.

The new species, at 25 to 26 mm, vies with the pigmy salamander for the tiniest species of salamander in the United States.

“Discovering something like this is luck of the draw,” Lamb said. “It’s a matter of serendipity that these guys found this salamander. And describing a new species new to sci-ence is pretty exciting.”

“‘‘

Photo: Dr. Trip Lamb with Patch Nosed Salamander

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According to the U.S. Department of Labor, one of the fastest grow-ing technology industries within our economy, along with the growth of nanotechnology and biotechnology, involves the application of advanced geospatial technologies. These new information technologies include the development and use of satellite images, global positioning systems and geographic information systems, and they are used in virtually every sector of the economy, ranging from

transportation and utilities, the health industry and intelligence agencies.

This fall, ECU students and faculty are benefiting from a large gift, gener-ously provided by IAVO Research and Scientific, a geospatial technology firm located in Durham, N.C. IAVO’s gift, which arrived on campus this past spring, consists of more than 100 copies of their GeoGenesis® image-processing software, valued at nearly $3.2 million, which will be used over a

five-year period.

Students and faculty within the areas of geography, urban planning, geolog-ical sciences, maritime studies, anthro-pology and computer science will use the free software to analyze satellite and other earth images.

Dr. Matt Heric, CEO of IAVO, and Dr. Ron Mitchelson, former chair of the Department of Geography, orchestrated the GeoGenesis gift.

“This is a very generous offer from Matt and his colleagues at IAVO. This type of software is very expensive, and with tight budgets, we are very thank-ful,” said Mitchelson. “Our students will make great use of this software as they learn to inventory the surface of our planet in a scientific way and then to analyze those inventories with rigor and creativity.”

GeoGenesis is a unified image-pro-cessing suite specifically designed to

support modern geodata production services. With the GeoGenesis com-puter suite, students at ECU receive a package that is geared to support mapping, feature extraction, digital elevation modeling and the manage-ment of these tasks. Some students might be looking for pre-historic settlements, others might be examin-ing vulnerable coastlines, or designing a new subdivision, while still others might be estimating the area of imper-vious surfaces and storm water issues.

“The applications of the software are endless,” said Heric. “Mastering these tools provides great marketability for all students.”

Photo: Eric Lester, Ron Mitchelson, Matt HericOur students will make great use of this software as they learn to inventory the surface of our planet in a scientific way and then to analyze those inventories with rigor and creativity.

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Ron Mitchelson,former chair of the Department of Geography

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Though the Civil War has long past, history of this epic era con-tinues to surface. This summer, ECU professors and students in the Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology Program spent nearly four weeks identifying and docu-menting submerged vessels within the Pee Dee River near Mars Bluff, South Carolina.

The summer field school was un-der the supervision of ECU pro-fessors Drs. Larry Babits and Lynn Harris and was a joint project between ECU and the South Caro-lina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina.

According to Babits and Harris, the Mars Bluff Naval Yard was one of five inland water naval

facilities created in 1862 by Con-federate States Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory in an attempt to build a strong navy to defend the South.

Nolen Caudell and Adam Edmonds, two ECU students, participated in the summer field school, gathering data for their graduate theses. Caudell and Edmonds, as well as other stu-dents, learned a full range of un-derwater archaeological searching, mapping, recording, excavating and recovery techniques.

Goals of the field school included identifying and documenting sub-merged resources in the Pee Dee River, and uncovering, recording and recovering elements of the CSS Pee Dee armament, ordnance

and related materials, as well as artifacts associated with the Con-federate Naval yard.

Harris said the project aimed “to increase understanding of the role played by inland Confederate Navy yards during 1862-65 and the type of vessels produced dur-ing these years.”

Photo: learnnc.org

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ECU geographer, Derek Alderman, received the highest teaching award given at the university during the Teaching Awards ceremony held this past April 28 in the Mendenhall Stu-dent Center.

Derek Alderman, associate professor in the Department of Geography, was selected as the ECU recipient of the annual UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The award was one of several present-ed during the ceremony. Thirty-seven faculty members from a variety of dis-ciplines were nominated or presented with awards. Several faculty members were recognized in more than one category.

Chancellor Steve Ballard said, while the university provides many impor-tant services, teaching is “at the heart and soul of the institution.”

“I think what you all are doing makes all the difference in the world for our students and our future,” he told the nominees.

Alderman began his career at ECU in 2000 and, in 2005, became a ten-ured associate professor. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from Georgia Southern College and master’s and doctoral degrees in geography from the University of Georgia. He has received the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award, the Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Scholar-Teacher Award, in addition to other honors.

Alderman has authored a book, 12 chapters in edited books and more than 40 journal articles. He has become a nationally known expert on the politics of naming streets and oth-er public places after Martin Luther King Jr., and has been quoted in more than 90 interviews with the media.

“I’m truly honored to be recognized among all of my great colleagues,” Alderman said. “One of the reasons I enjoy this institution so much is its commitment to research, teaching and service.”

Alderman credited a mentor from his undergraduate days with his success-ful teaching model, which includes an open door policy, constant communi-cation with students, the involvement of students in research, and the culti-vation of a challenging and engaging classroom atmosphere.

“The university is more than just a transfer of information,” Alderman said. “Our job as university professors is to create opportunities and environ-ments in which we can put students in places where they can help construct their own knowledge.”

During ECU’s commencement ceremony, a member of the Board of Governors presented Alderman with a commemorative bronze medal and a $7,500 cash prize.

Several additional awards were pre-sented during the ECU ceremony.

Six faculty members were selected for the 2009 Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teach-ing Awards. Recipients were Michael Harris (Management), Jeannie Golden

(Psychology), Mark Richardson (Mu-sic), John Howard (Communication), Sue Steinweg (Curriculum & Instruc-tion) and Linda Mooney (Sociology). Each recipient received $1,000 from the UNC system.

The Max Ray Joyner Award for Faculty Service through Continuing Education was presented to Shanan Gwaltney Gibson of the College of Business Department of Management. Gibson received a $1,750 cash prize and a plaque.

Eighteen faculty members were nominated for the 2009 East Carolina Alumni Association Awards for Out-standing Teaching. Three winners were selected for the association’s Robert L. Jones Award. Winners were Shanan Gwaltney Gibson (Management), Lisa Clough (Biology) and Todd Fraley (Communication).

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Harriot College Dean’s OfficeCongratulations to Jennifer Tripp, director of development, and Scott Wells, major gifts officer, for their contributions to ECU’s fundraising efforts. This summer, ECU as a whole was awarded the 2009 Council for the Advancement of Education (CASE) “WealthEngine Award for Educa-tional Fundraising.” This award honors superior fundraising programs across the country and is a component of CASE’s Circle of Excellence program.

AnthropologyDr. Eric Bailey, professor of anthro-pology, recently received a federal grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration for 2009-2010. The nearly $13,000 grant will be used to develop a new on-line graduate certificate program in “Ethnic & Rural Health Disparities” at ECU. For more information on the new program, visit http://blogs.aos.ecu.edu/cer.

Dr. Charles Ewen supervised a group of 11 undergraduate students and two graduate students this summer dur-ing a five-week long archaeology field school. The field school, located in

Bath, NC, gave students the opportu-nity to excavate an 18th century mer-chant storehouse cellar, with artifacts dating as far back as 1710.

Asian StudiesThis September, Dr. John Tucker, director of the Asian Studies Program, presented a paper at National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei, Taiwan, at an international conference on “East Asian Confucianism and Japa-nese Thought.” Tucker was invited to take part in the conference by NTU, who sponsored the conference and paid for expenses incurred to allow Tucker to attend.

BiologyResearch conducted by ECU biolo-gist Dr. Jason Bond and former PhD student Dr. Paul Marek appeared in a summer issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Their study demonstrates that Southern Appalachian Mountain millipedes located in the mountain-ous regions of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, have evolved a set of defense mechanisms and color patterns that serve as a warning to potential predators. Marek and Bond document

this form of mimicry known as “Mül-lerian mimicry” in seven species that vary considerably in their warning col-oration and distribution. The article has generated considerable interest in scientific circles and recently was re-viewed in an issue of Current Biology. Marek is now a National Institutes of Health PERT postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona.

Anne Bunnell, teaching instructor in biology, directed ECU’s second annual PIRATES Summer Science Camp this June. PIRATES, an acronym for Part-nering with Industrial and Regional Assets for Teaching and Enrichment in Science, gives rising junior and senior high school students from Beaufort, Greene, Martin and Pitt counties the opportunity to immerse themselves in science. This summer, 36 high school students interested in exploring science

majors and science careers attended one of two, two-week camps.

Biology professors Joseph Luczkovich, Susan McRae and Kyle Summers took a group of students to Panama this summer to teach them about terres-trial and marine ecology. The month-long trip was organized with the help of the Smithsonian, which runs the Smithsonian Tropical Research Insti-tute (STRI) in the Central American country.

ChemistryThis summer, ECU hosted its first “Latino Youth Visit,” co-coordinated by Dr. Rosa Alvarez-Bell, assistant professor of chemistry and co-coor-dinator for Latino Day at ECU. The event, held on July 18, familiarized eastern North Carolina high school Latino students and their families with college life and the admissions process. Students from Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt and Wilson counties attended the free event, which was co-sponsored by the Associa-tion of Mexicans in North Carolina, the North Carolina Civic Education

Consortium, and the Latin Youth in Action student group.

GeographyThree associate professors of geogra-phy recently have received grants for their fields of research.

Dr. Hong-Bing Su was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for his research titled “Collaborative Research: Measurement and Modeling of Aerodynamic Inter-actions Between Tree-Sway-Motion and Turbulence In and Above a Forest Canopy.” The project seeks to improve our understanding of the character-istics and mechanisms of the atmo-spheric turbulence within and just above forest canopies. This thinnest and lowest layer of the atmosphere is the interface for exchanges of green-house gases, particles and energy from the earth’s surface. The potential role of forest canopy motion in slowing or adapting to climate changes is a goal of this research.

Dr. Yong Wang received a grant from the United States Geological Survey for his research with the North Caro-lina View (NCView) Consortium, whose members include ECU as the leading institute, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington, Central Piedmont Community College, Pitt County Management Information Systems and Information Technology Services of the City of Wilson.

Dr. Tad Wasklewicz has received three grants over the past year to continue work on mass wasting in steep to-pography. He received a National Geographic Society grant through which Wasklewicz will conduct field data collection with a terrestrial laser scanner at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Weather Ser-vice (NWS) Intensive Research Area (IRA).

In the summer of 2009, Wasklewicz served as a USGS Senior Scientist in Residence at the Landslides Hazards Program in Golden, Co. The work en-tailed repeat terrestrial laser scanning to aid in a study of how debris flows initiate by surface water runoff during short, intense rainstorms. The antici-pated results will be used to improve probabilistic and physical models of the transition from surface water runoff to debris flow throughout the Western United States.

Finally, Wasklewicz has been awarded an NSF grant for his research on “Geomorphic Connectivity in Recent-ly Burned Watersheds.”

SociologyCongratulations goes to Rebecca Wil-liammee, an administrative associate in sociology, who completed her bach-elor’s degree this past May. Rebecca’s husband and another ECU employee, Jed Williammee, also completed a bachelor’s degree this past May.

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Faculty and Staff

Accomplishments

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EconomicsThe 10th anniversary of Hurricane Floyd was commemorated in a two-day symposium discussing the response to, recovery from and ongoing research related to the devastating storm. The symposium was organized by the Center for Natural Hazards Research and was held Sept. 17 and 18 at the City Hotel and Bistro in Greenville. Speakers include ECU researchers and scientists from around the country; former Governor Jim Hunt, who was in office when the hurricane struck eastern North Carolina; and the Honorable Richard Moore, who, as then-Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, led the state’s emergency response to Floyd. The event focused on the history of Floyd, as well as the future of hurricane hazard response and research.

HistoryDr. Larry Tise, Wilbur and Orville Wright Distinguished Professor of His-tory, has authored a new book about the Wright Brothers titled “Conquering the Sky: The Secret Flights of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.” Palgrave Macmillan in New York has published the book, which became available on September 29.

Maritime History & Nautical ArchaeologyNathan Richards, Steve Sellers, and John Wagner, from the maritime stud-ies program, received an honorable recognition this summer for ECU’s efforts in preserving historic ship-wreck sites. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar presented a “Partners in Conservation Award” to the Battle of the Atlantic Expedition off the North Carolina coast. Richards, Sellers, and Wagner represented ECU on the project, which included partnerships between 15 other individuals within six other organizations and universi-ties, and was brought together under the leadership of the National Ocean-ographic and Atmospheric Admin-istration’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

PhysicsAssociate professor and assistant chair for graduate studies in physics, Dr. Michael Dingfelder, and co-investiga-tor and physics professor, Dr. Larry Toburen, received a one-year funded extension for their current NASA grant titled “Patterns of Energy De-position by HZE Particles in Cellular Targets.” This is the fifth year of fund-ing for Dingfelder and Toburen.

Drs. Jeff Shinpaugh and Larry To-buren recently were awarded a Na-tional Science Foundation grant in the amount of $867,982, which will be used to replace the 1970s model

particle accelerator and supporting beam components located in the ECU Accelerator Laboratory.

Political ScienceDr. Olga Smirnova co-authored a paper “Reassessing Privatization Strat-egies 25 Years Later: Revisiting Perry and Babitsky’s Comparative Perfor-mance Study of Urban Bus Transit Services,” which appears in Public Administration Review, vol. 69, issue 5, pp 855-867. Dr. Jalil Roshandel, with Dr. Anjali Sahay of Gannon University, has co-authored a paper titled “Iran to India Natural Gas Pipeline: Implications and Challenges for Regional Security,” which will appear in the January 2010 edition of Strategic Analysis. This September, Dr. Peter Francia was interviewed by the Washington Times, concerning the role of labor in elec-tions and the making of legislation. To ready the article, visit http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/07/big-labor-rising-but-main-goals-unmet/?feat=home_headlines.

PsychologyDr. Shahnaz Aziz was selected as an editorial board member for the Open Education Journal.

Recently, Dr. Erik Everhart was asked to chair an NIH study section on Psychopathology, developmental dis-

abilities, stress and aging. The study section, which meets in November, is reviewing F12b grants, which are predoctoral, postdoctoral and MD/PhD fellowships. Everhart also has been asked to be the opening speaker for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s local chapter conference on February 20, 2010. The focus of his talk will be cognitive issues and mul-tiple sclerosis.

Dr. Lisa Campbell, assistant professor of psychology and associate director of the Center for Health Disparities Research, recently was appointed to a National Institutes of Health study section on behavioral medicine inter-ventions and outcomes. She also will serve as a guest editor for the Journal of Best Practices in Health Profes-sions Diversity for a special issue on black male health. Finally, Campbell gave the keynote address on “Impact of Prostate Cancer on the Family” at the 6th annual Prostate Cancer Awareness and Education Conference on Sept. 19 in Raleigh, and she gave a joint presentation with the Health Disparities Centers form UNC, Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State at the annual conference of the North Carolina Public Health Association on Sept. 30.

This summer, Dr. Lesley Lutes, a licensed clinical psychologist in the treatment of obesity, and health psychology graduate students, Ma-

rissa Errickson and Emily Steinbaugh, joined forces with faculty from the Pe-diatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center in delivery of “Take Off 4-Health,” a three-week summer camp for adolescents with weight chal-lenges. The camp, held at the Eastern 4-H Environmental Education Center in Columbia, NC, was attended by 32 overweight teens between the ages of 13 and 17, who wanted to make healthy lifestyle changes, decrease their weight, and learn skills to maintain their healthy changes long-term.

Lutes is also co-investigator on a grant awarded by the NIH to the University of Wyoming for $16,000,000. Lutes will receive $100,000 per year, for five years, to conduct an internet-based study on physical activity.

Dr. Susan McCammon was re-elected for another three-year term to the American Psychological Association Task Force on Serious Mental Illness/Serious Emotional Disturbance.

Dr. Chris Riley-Tillman was invited to join the editorial board of School Psychology Quarterly. He also has been asked to represent the Council for Directors of School Psychol-ogy Programs at the 2009 American Psychological Association Education Leadership conference. The conference meets October 3-6, in Washington, DC.

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Photo: Recovery after September 1999 Hurricane Floyd outside of ECU’s Taylor/Slaughter Alumni Center

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Kristen Dalton, a Spanish major, was the winner of the “Miss USA 2009” pageant and placed 10th in the “Miss Universe 2009” pageant, which was held at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

Richard Barnhill, graduate student in the Department of Geography, presented a paper at the 34th American Meteo-rological Society conference on Radar Meteorology in Wil-liamsburg, Va., on October 6. Barnhill’s paper titled “Re-gional Variation of Convective Structure at Monsoon Onset across South America inferred from TRMM Observations,” was co-authored by geogra-phy professors Drs. Thomas Rickenbach and Rosana Nieto-Ferreira, with another fellow graduate student, Emily Wright. The paper is a result of research funded by the Nation-al Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on the onset of the South American Monsoon.

Whitney Bronson, a senior, undergraduate anthropology student and minor in Asian studies, recently was selected to give a poster presenta-tion at the upcoming 108th Association of American Anthropologists meeting in Philadelphia. Bronson’s poster is “Fears of Failure: The Perceptions of Chinese High School and University Students About the Fairness of the University Admission Process in Mainland China.”

Jesse Creech, a graduate of the psychology program, co-authored a paper with psychology professor Dr. Jeannie Golden. Their paper, titled “Increasing Braille Practice and Read-ing Comprehension in a Student with Visual Impairment and Moderate Mental Retardation: An Initial Study and Follow-up,” recently appeared in the Journal of Development and Physical Disabilities. Creech began the work as a project for Golden’s PSYC 4333 (Contingency management in the classroom) course. She is now pursuing her master’s degree in social work at ECU.

Diana Gliga, a gradu-ate student in biology, was awarded a Fall 2009 graduate fellowship from the ECU chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society. Gliga also received the southeastern regional award for “Most Outstanding Student” in the national Phi Kappa Phi competition. She re-ceived a named fellowship of $5,000. She has been accepted into the doctor-ate of pharmacy program at UNC, Chapel Hill.

This summer, along with 11 undergraduate students, Dawn Luker and Lauren McMillan, graduate students in the Department of An-thropology, spent five weeks participating in a hands-on archaeology field school. Under the direction of Dr. Charles Ewen, professor of an-thropology, the students worked on excavating an 18th century merchant storehouse cellar located in Bath, NC. Historic ceramic artifacts found in the cellar date as far back as 1710 to 1780.

Ajlana Music, a doctoral student in health psychology, was selected as a re-cipient of the David Hardee Scholarship, awarded by the Mental Health Asso-ciation in Pitt County. Music received a $500 scholarship and was invited to at-tend the meeting of the Steering Commit-tee of the Mental Health Association of Pitt County, on September 30, where she met the Director of the Mental Health Association of North Carolina.

Jennifer Satterwhite, a biol-ogy undergraduate, was one of 15 students attending North Carolina universities to be awarded a $5,000 Undergradu-ate Research Fellowship Award funded by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Educa-tion and Training Program. Through the fellowship, Sat-terwhite will conduct at least 400 hours of research, de-liver a seminar on her research, present a paper or poster at a professional conference, and attend a regional or state meet-ing on the business aspects of biotechnology.

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Student

Accomplishments

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This past spring, Nathan Lean, a graduate student in the International Studies Program, was awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Lan-guage Scholarship, which allowed him to study Arabic in Tunisia during the summer.

Lean, a native of Goldsboro, traveled to the Centre d’Etudes Maghrébines in Tunisia for an eight-week program of classes in both Modern Standard

Arabic and Tunisian dialect.

Prior to leaving for the trip Lean said, “I am honored to have received this scholarship. The opportunity to travel to Tunisia and immerse myself in the study of the Arabic language and North African culture is thrilling. This program will help fulfill the goals of my academic career.”

While working on his undergradu-ate degree at ECU, where he majored in piano performance, Lean took a Global Understanding course that he says changed the direction of his life and made him more globally aware. In 2006, he won a Global Understand-ing Scholarship from ECU to live and study in Morocco. While in Morocco, Lean partnered with the United States Embassy to develop a music program

that sent him traveling around the country giving concerts.

“There could not be a more critical time to study Arabic,” Lean said.

The CLS is one of the most pres-tigious language scholarships in the world and is part of the National Se-curity Language Initiative, a U.S. gov-ernment interagency effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical need foreign languages.

In 2009, from more than 5,400 ap-plications, the Department of State awarded scholarships to more than 500 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students for the study of Arabic, Indic

There could not be a more

critical time to study Arabic.”

languages (Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu), Turkic languages (Turkish, Azerbaijani), Chinese, Ko-rean, Persian and Russian.

All program costs were covered by the scholarship, including travel, pre-departure orientation costs, applicable visa fees, room, board, group-based in-tensive language instruction, program-sponsored travel within Tunisia and all entrance fees for program activities.

“ “

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Nathan Lean,ECU Graduate Student

Photo: Lean (on right) with former US Ambassader to Tunisia, Robert Godec

Photo: Lean (second from left) with other students in the Arabic Program Photo: Fellow colleague and professor with Lean (on right) in Dougg Photo: Lean (on left) with friend in Tunisia

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This past May, three graduating seniors received the 2009 Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award, which recognizes academic achievement, service and leadership qualities. Recipients were Joel Banjo-Johnson, Diana Gliga and Stefanie Wethington.

“These three students have dis-tinguished themselves with their exceptional academic and leader-ship performance. We are proud to highlight their accomplishments and hold them up as examples to the Pirate Nation,” said Paul J. Clif-ford, president of the East Carolina Alumni Association.

Banjo-Johnson graduated with a double major in broadcast journal-ism and German. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader of the Year, an Outstanding Stu-dent Leader of the Year, a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi and an Outstanding German student. She has received an American Legion Award for Scholastic Excellence, an Academic Excellence Award and Meritorious Service Award through the Air Force ROTC program.

While at ECU, Banjo-Johnson served in leadership roles for a number of campus organizations,

including Legacy Endeavors, Stu-dent Government Association, Delta Phi Alpha National German Honor Society, African Student Organization and the National Broadcasting Society. She volunteered for March of Dimes, Adopt-a-Highway, as a “Big Sister” and as a tutor.

Gliga graduated with a major in biol-ogy and a minor in Spanish. She was a two-time recipient of the East Caro-lina Alumni Association Scholarship, ECU’s Mary Caughey Helms Scholar-ship, the President’s Volunteer Service Award from ECU’s National Society of Collegiate Scholars chapter, and the Scholar Promise Award, in addition to other honors.

Gliga participated in a number of campus organizations, including Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the American Medical Student Association, the Pre-Pharmacy Organization and the NC Rural Health Student Coalition. Her volunteer efforts helped the Tar River Clean-Up, the Primary Care Physi-cian Shadowing Program, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the Grimesland Clinic and American Red Cross Blood Drives.

Wethington, graduated with a double major in communication and English. During her time at ECU, Wethington received the Golden LEAF Scholarship and interned for the United Way of Pitt County. She participated in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi honor Society. She also participated in a Leadership Reading Circle that focused on leadership in literature.

The Robert H. Wright Alumni Lead-ership Award recipients were selected based on academic performance, service to the university and com-munity and recommendations. They were recognized on May 8 at a tribute lunch for graduating seniors and their families, and at the commencement ceremonies that evening.

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Photo: Diana Andreea Gliga Photo: Joel Funmilola Banjo-Johnson Photo: Stefanie Marie Wethington

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Drs. Shahnaz Aziz and Christyn Dolbier both were awarded tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Psychology this year.

Dr. Jason Bond, (9/1/2009) professor of biology, recently was named Director of the newly estab-lished North Carolina Center for Biodiversity at ECU.

Dr. Burrell Montz, (8/1/2009) was appointed the new Chair of the Department of Geography, filling the position vacated by Dr. Ron Mitchelson. Montz comes to ECU from Binghamton Univer-sity at the State University of New York.

Dr. Isaac Kalimi, (8/1/2009) visiting professor, Biblical scholar and historian, is serving as the 2009-2010 David Julian and Virginia Suther Whichard Distin-guished Professor in Humanities. During the year at ECU, Kalimi will teach classes in the Religious Studies Program housed in the Department of Philosophy.

Dr. Ron Mitchelson, (6/22/2009) former chair of geography, stepped into the role of Interim Chair of English.

New Positions and PromotionsDr. Charles Calhoun, (8/24/2009) professor of history, was named the 2009 Thomas Harriot Col-lege of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor at the dean’s annual college convocation held Aug. 24.

Dr. Fan-chin Kung, (8/1/09) a new tenure-track faculty member, joined the Department of Econom-ics this year. Kung comes to ECU from a tenure-track position at the City University of Hong Kong.

Retirements: Dr. David Lawrence, professor of geology, retired this past May.Dr. Richard Mauger, professor of geology, retired this past May.Ms. Claire A. Pittman, teaching instructor in history, recently retired after 21 years of service to ECU.Dr. Maurice D. Simon, professor of political science, retired after 25 years of service to ECU.Ms. Betty Lou White, lead administrative assistant in sociology, retired this past May, after 35 years of service to ECU.

Photo: Charles Calhoun - 2009 Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor

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Congratulations to the Harriot College recipients of the Spring 2009 ECU Treasured Pirate Awards!

Exie Anderson, Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Office of the DeanDonna Evans, AnthropologyKellie Guyton, ChemistryGwen Hardin, MathematicsJami Leibowitz, AnthropologyPurificacion Martinez, Foreign Languages, Literatures & LinguisticsSusan McCammon, PsychologyCindy Mills, EconomicsDawn Phillips, PsychologyMarcie Southward, PhysicsMichael Teske, Foreign Languages, Literatures & LinguisticsDerrick Wirtz, PsychologyLinda Wolfe, Anthropology

(Treasured Pirate awardees for Fall 2009 will appear in a future issue of Magnetic East.)

ECU’s Treasured Pirate Award is designed to reward the special or unique contribu-tions of ECU employees to their college/unit or to the university. The program recognizes any permanent SPA, CSS, or EPA employee within their college or unit. Award recipients receive an award certifi-cate and a gift of their choice from the Treasure Pirate Reward Gift Catalog.

The Treasured Pirate Award program is coordinated by the Staff Development Unit of the Department of Human Resources and is supported through the generous sponsorship of TIAA-CREF. To learn more about the award go to www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/humanresources.

Spring 2009 ECU Treasured Pirate Awards November 6Gloria Steinem, American feminist icon, journalist and social activist, will present the Premier lecture in the 2009-10 Voyages of Discovery Lecture Series. Her discussion, “Reflections on Feminism,” will be held at 7 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. For additional information, visit www.ecu.ecu/voyages.

November 16Dr. Steve Vance of the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calf., will give an open lecture on the “Habit-ability of Icy Worlds,” at 4 p.m. in N107 Howell Science Complex. Vance’s lecture is part of the Astro-biology Seminar Series sponsored through a course taught by ECU biologist Matt Schrenk. For more information, contact Schrenk at 252.328.5276 or [email protected].

January 26, 2010Dr. Walter Brueggemann will give the Jarvis lecture in the 2009-10 Voyages of Discovery Lecture Series. Brueggemann will present the “Recovery from the Long Nightmare of Amnesia,” at 7 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. For additional information, visit www.ecu.ecu/voyages.

February 17, 2010Dr. Trudier Harris will present the Sallie Southall Cotten lecture in the 20009-10 Voyages of Discov-ery Lecture Series. Her presentation, “Little Old Ladies and the Last Word: A Exploration of Sassiness and Risqué Behavior in African American Folklore,” will be held at 7 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. For additional information, visit www.ecu.edu/voyages.

February 20, 2010The Department of English is hosting the 7th annual TESOL Applied Linguistics Graduate Students Conference (TALGS). All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend. To register for the event, go to www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/engl/talgs/registration.cfm. Early bird registration ends Jan. 18, 2010. Pre-sentation proposals also are being accepted at www.edu.cs-cas/engl/talgs/papers.cfm. The deadline to submit a proposal is Nov. 30.

March 18, 2010Dr. Theda Perdue will give the Thomas Harriot lecture in the 2009-10 Voyages of Discovery Lecture Series. Perdue will discuss “Native Americans of North Carolina,” at 7 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. For additional information, visit www.ecu.edu/voyages.

Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Events

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www.ecu.edu/cas

AnthropologyDr. Linda Wolfe, Chair

BiologyDr. Jeff McKinnon, Chair

ChemistryDr. Rickey Hicks, Chair

EconomicsDr. Richard Ericson, Chair

EnglishDr. Ron Mitchelson, Interim Chair

Foreign Languages and LiteraturesDr. Frank Romer, Chair

GeographyDr. Burrell Montz, Chair

Geological SciencesDr. Steve Culver, Chair

HistoryDr. Gerry Prokopowicz, Interim Chair

MathematicsDr. Tom McConnell, Interim Chair

PhilosophyDr. George Bailey, Chair

PhysicsDr. Jim Joyce, Interim Chair

Political ScienceDr. Brad Lockerbie, Chair

PsychologyDr. Kathleen Row, Chair

Sociology Dr. Leon Wilson, Chair

African and African American Studies (BA & Minor)

Asian Studies (Minor)

Classical Studies (Minor)

Coastal Studies (Minor)

Ethnic Studies (Minor)

Great Books (Minor)

Indigenous People of the Americas (Minor)

International Studies (Minor, MA, and Certificate in International Teaching)

Leadership Studies (Minor)

Medieval and Renaissance Studies (Minor)

Multidisciplinary Studies (BA and BS)

Neuroscience (Minor)

North Carolina Studies (Minor)

Religious Studies (Minor)

Russian Studies (Minor)

Security Studies (Minor and Certificate in Security Studies)

Women’s Studies (BA and Minor)

DEPARTMENTS

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS