Latest Faculty Accomplishments

Submit scholarly news—publications, paper presentations and professional awards and service (appointment to boards, etc.)—to Janet Smith in Public Affairs at smithjl@jmu.edu or 568-8008.

GRANTS (awarded April 2013)

Dr. Elizabeth A. Arnold (Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics) and Dr. Katie S. Quertermous (Assistant Professor, Mathematics and Statistics) received $5,900 from the Mathematical Association of America for the Expanding Your Horizons Conference for Young Women for girls in grades 7 through 10 to stimulate interest in and appreciation of mathematics, provide female mathematician role models, increase awareness of opportunities in math- and science-related careers and encourage interaction with peers and female college students.

Dr. Robert N. Brent (Assistant Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $27,945 from DuPont for “Experimental Use of Adsorptive Media Structures to Treat South River Water and Improve Physical Habitat” to use an experimental mesocosm test system to evaluate the ability of adsorptive media to treat the water column and reduce mercury uptake in periphyton.

Dr. Daniel M. Downey (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to inventory the water quality of forest streams and monitor the effects on stream water chemistry of implementing the management as developed in the forest plans.

Dr. Elizabeth S. Edwards (Assistant Professor, Kinesiology) received $1,750 from the LPGA Foundation to support the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Harrisonburg, Va., at JMU.

Alleyn S. Harned (Executive Director, Virginia Clean Cities) received $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate the introduction and deployment of domestically produced alternative fuels and energy efficient vehicles in a variety of National Park Service units across the United States.

Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley (Administrator, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $69,700 from the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority for the Cultural Diversity in Healthcare Scholarship Program to partner with public and private schools focusing on high-priority target areas to introduce under-represented minority students to health careers, to increase their interest in pursuing health professions and to increase success in school through parent education, student goal setting and individual barrier reduction, with the long-term goal of increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce.

Dr. Cynthia A. Klevickis (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) and Dr. David A. Slykhuis (Associate Professor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) received $24,562 from the Virginia Department of Education to conduct summer workshops and support teachers with curriculum implementation of the integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics and engineering design activities into their mathematics and science classrooms that are aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning.

Dr. Christy L. Ludlow (Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders) received $3,031 from Purdue University to provide data from patients with Parkinson’s disease from the use of a SpeechVive device.

Dr. Jonathan J. Miles (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $24,855 from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to lead an interdisciplinary team of students to design and construct a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that can be used to power small electronic devices.

Dr. Jacquelyn K. Nagel (Assistant Professor, Engineering) received $8,496 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to provide an undergraduate student with research experience at the laboratories of the institute.

Dr. Ronald W. Raab (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $20,000 from LUNA Innovations to develop a novel protein purification system that can ultimately be adapted to large-scale production of kilogram quantities of protein.

Gary S. Race (Grants Administrator, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services; Director, Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence) received $143,724 from Valley AIDS Network to provide university and administrative services. Race received $24,982 from the Virginia Department of Health to develop an interactive online learning module using live training content. He received $10,398 from Virginia Commonwealth University for “Sickle Cell Training Development and Training Support” to develop and provide an educational training curriculum for patient navigators along with training manuals.

Gary S. Race (Grants Administrator, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services; Director, Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence) and Jane Hubbell (Associate Director, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $369,856 from the Virginia Department of Health to assure the provision of comprehensive, essential health and support services for individuals and families with HIV infection.

Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford (Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery; Professor, Political Science) received $30,916 from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining to prepare a description of the existing institutional architecture for disability programming in Vietnam and $18,250 from Action on Armed Violence to provide psychosocial support to facilitate the healing process of victims of armed violence in Burundi.

Dr. Trevor F. Stokes (Director, Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center; Professor, Graduate Psychology) received $35,500 from the Shenandoah Valley Regional Program to provide student internships for educational experience through involvement in professional activities in the area of applied behavior analysis within the school districts associated with the program.

Nick D. Swayne (Interim Director, Education Support Center; Coordinator for External Relations, College of Education; Instructor, Learning, Technology and Leadership Education) received $1,000 from Science Applications International Corp. to provide sponsorship of robotics teams for the FIRST Lego League.

Dr. Roger J. Thelwell (Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics) received $27,500 from the Mathematical Association of America to continue the M3: Mentoring for Minorities in Mathematics summer program to foster mathematical development and personal mentorship.

PRESENTATIONS

Michael J. Gulotta (Lecturer, Communication Studies) and Diana L. Romano (Undergraduate Student, Communication Studies) presented “Bullying Intervention Methods and Their Effectiveness: An Analysis of Six Schools” at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Eastern Communication Association in Pittsburgh in April.

Dr. Margaret F. Sloan (Assistant Professor, Strategic Leadership Studies) and Wenli Yan of Virginia Commonwealth University presented the findings of their research study, “The Impact of Employee Compensation and Financial Efficiency on Membership Organization Donations,” at the Western Social Sciences Association Annual Conference in Denver in April. Their participation in the conference was supported by a $2,441 grant from the ASAE Foundation.

PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Christine L. May (Assistant Professor, Biology), Dr. L. Scott Eaton (Professor, Geology and Environmental Science), Joshua J. Roering of the University of Oregon and Kelly Burnett of the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station wrote an article, “Controls on valley width in mountainous landscapes: The role of landsliding and implications for salmonid habitat,” which was published in Geology in April.

SERVICE

Dr. Christy L. Ludlow (Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders) has been appointed as chairperson of the Motor Function, Speech and Rehabilitation Study Section for the Center for Scientific Review. The two-year position requires high competence and achievement in the researcher’s scientific discipline and members are selected based on quality of research, publications in scientific journals and other significant activities, achievements and honors.

Dr. David Slykhuis (Associate Professor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) was elected to a five-year term as president of the Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education at the organization’s March meeting. SITE’s membership represents 450 universities, 80 percent of which are in the United States.

Dr. Steven J. Whitmeyer (Associate Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) has been selected to serve a four-year term as science co-editor for GSA Today, the Geological Society of America’s science and news magazine published monthly for members and other earth scientists. Whitmeyer’s term begins Jan. 1, 2014.