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 August 2013)

Emily K. Akerson (Associate Director, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) and Jane Hubbell (Associate Director, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $50,000 from the Virginia Department of Social Services for Healthy Families Page County Prevention Funds to continue to meet the needs of at-risk families in Page County by providing education, resources and support.

Dr. Costel Constantin (Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy) received $20,000 from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund for “Thermal transport across GaN interfaces: Linking structural imperfections to thermal properties.” The project is designed to develop a robust set of procedures for optimizing the thermal boundary conductance between gallium nitride semiconductor substrates and gold metal contacts.

Dr. Kyle G. Gipson (Assistant Professor, Engineering) received $5,000 from the American Iron and Steel Institute for a curriculum development proposal designed to enhance student exposure to ferrous metallurgy by developing and implementing new modules for two courses, as well as technical electives to function as a “metals track” within the materials science minor.

Alleyn S. Harned (Executive Director, Virginia Clean Cities) received $4,500 from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the Virginia Biofuels Waste Grease Transportation Inventory, which is meant to track waste kitchen grease transporters that interact with biodiesel production, and to encourage those individuals to register with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences.

Elizabeth Hoover (Assistant Director, Furious Flower Poetry Center) received $2,000 from Target for “The Furious Flower Community Project” to provide after-school poetry workshops to area middle schools.

Dr. Erika N. Kancler (Assistant Professor, Biology) received $2,500 from the Wells Fargo Foundation for the Careers in Health and Medicine Program to support a day camp to increase under-represented minorities in health careers and increase awareness of obesity as a risk factor for chronic diseases.

Dr. Reid J. Linn (Dean, The Graduate School; Professor, Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities), Cheryl L. Henderson (Co-Director, Training/Technical Assistance Center) and John T. McNaught (Coordinator, Training/Technical Assistance Center) received $58,375 from the Virginia Department of Education for Region 5 Training and Technical Assistance Center Section 611 Support to continue to assess needs and services provided to consumers in Region 5 following each consultation and training event provided by the Training/Technical Assistance Center’s staff.

Dr. Eric H. Maslen (Director and Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) and Dr. Joseph D. Enedy (Professor Emeritus, Geographic Science) received $2,000 from the Virginia Geographic Alliance for co-coordinator operations to support the responsibilities and planning activities of the Virginia Geographic Alliance.

Dr. Jonathan J. Miles (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology), Remy M. Pangle (Director of Education and Outreach, Virginia Center for Wind Energy) Dr. S. Keith Holland (Assistant Professor, Engineering) and Dr. James W. Wilson (Assistant Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $24,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for the Wind for Schools in Virginia program, hosted by James Madison University, Phase III Mod. 5 to formalize the Wind Applications Center at JMU and to employ a novel Wind for Schools facilitation scheme for K-12 schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dr. Samuel A. Morton (Assistant Professor, Engineering), Dr. Adebayo A. Ogundipe (Assistant Professor, Engineering), and Dr. Bradley A. Striebig (Professor, Engineering) received $153,475 from the National Science Foundation for “MRI: Acquisition of a high performance liquid chromatograph for the establishment of a sustainable engineering research laboratory” to procure equipment that will allow for the rapid establishment of a Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory in the School of Engineering at JMU.

Dr. Samuel A. Morton (Assistant Professor, Engineering) received $5,805 from the University of Kentucky for “Demonstration of an Algae-based System for CO2 Mitigation from Coal-fired Power Plants” to consult on the completion of algae cultivation process modeling focused on the existing Center for Applied Energy Research-led pilot-scale process.

Gary S. Race (Grants Administrator, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services; Director, Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence) received $2,000 from the United States Institute of Peace to support public education for the peace building project “Post conflict reconstruction: Bottom up sustainable economics.” The goal of the project is to increase community knowledge for individuals of a sustainable nongovernmental post-conflict recovery model.

Dr. Mark C. Rankin (Associate Professor, English) received $169,685 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for “Tudor Books and Readers: 1485-1603” to host a seminar for college and university teachers that will investigate the physical construction of books and the nature of reading during the Tudor period.

Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford (Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery; Professor, Political Science) received $153,000 from the U.S. Department of State for CISR Fellowships for the 2013-2014 academic year. The fellowships are to provide administrative and other assistance to PM/WRA to facilitate the accomplishment of WRA’s goals and objectives through provision of a Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Humanitarian Mine Action Fellow.

Dr. Kristen E. St. John (Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) received $6,000 from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers for her editor-in-chief appointment to the Journal of Geoscience Education to provide services for three volumes of the professional journal.

Nick D. Swayne (Interim Director, Education Support Center; Coordinator for External Relations, College of Education; Instructor, Learning, Technology and Leadership Education) received $700 from Virginia city and county donors for the Robotics STEM Project to provide sponsorship of robotics teams.

Dr. Brian C. Utter (Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy), Dr. David B. Daniel (Professor, Psychology), Dr. Mark E. Mattson (Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy), Dr. Scott A. Paulson (Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy), and Dr. David A. Slykhuis (Associate Professor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) received $99,960 from the Physics Teacher Education Coalition for a proposal for a PhysTec Comprehensive Site at James Madison University to support the creation of a Learning Assistant program, hiring of a teacher in residence, implementation of a physics pedagogy course and related efforts to enhance JMU’s physics teacher preparation program.

Dr. Jane R. Wiggins (Director, Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia) received $23,817 from the Virginia Department of Health for the center to improve campus-based suicide prevention and intervention at Virginia institutions of higher education.

HONORS

Dr. Donna S. Amenta (Interim Head and Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Science and Mathematics from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Suzanne C. Baker (Assistant Department Head and Professor, Psychology) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Health and Behavioral Studies. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Dr. JoAnne Brewster (Professor, Graduate Psychology) was honored with the 2013 Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police President’s Award for her many years of service to Virginia law enforcement. Staunton Police Chief Jim Williams, 2012-2013 VACP president, presented the award to Brewster in Williamsburg, Va.

Corinne J. Diop (Professor, Art) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Visual and Performing Arts from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Beth Ann Eck (Head, Sociology and Anthropology; Associate Professor, Sociology) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Arts of Letters from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Frances Flannery (Associate Professor, Philosophy and Religion) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Arts of Letters from the University. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Carol W. Hamilton (Director, Center for Entrepreneurship; Lecturer, Management) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Business from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Douglas R. Harrison (Associate Professor, English; Assistant Director, Center for Faculty Innovation) received a 2014 Kluge Fellowship in the Social Sciences and Humanities at the Library of Congress in support of his current book project, “The Gospel Sensibility: Faith, Fallibility, and Feeling in the American Sacred Song.” The Kluge Fellowship invites scholars to use the large and varied collection available at the Library of Congress to conduct humanistic and social science research.

Dr. Laura R. Katzman (Associate Professor, Art, Design and Art History) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Dr. John H. Kidd (Associate Professor, Learning, Technology and Leadership Education) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Education from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Alexander S. Leidholdt (Professor, Media Arts and Design) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Arts and Letters from the university. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Christie Liu (Instructional Technologist, Libraries and Educational Technologies) and Carolyn Schubert (Health Science and Nursing Librarian, Libraries and Educational Technologies) won the “Best in Track” award from the Sloan Consortium.  The Sloan Consortium is one of the pre-eminent national organizations in the field of online learning.

Dr. Nancy Nichols (Professor, Accounting) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Business from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Dr. Ioana Niculescu (Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Science and Mathematics. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Dr. Ratkim Pal (Associate Professor, Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Business from the university. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Dr. Jennifer Steinberger Pease (Assistant Professor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Education from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Dr. Barbara A. Reisner (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Science and Mathematics from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Scott Rikkers (Assistant Director, School of Music; Instructor, Music) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Visual and Performing Arts from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Dr. Cindy D. Rubenstein (Assistant Professor, Nursing) was selected for the Excellence in Teaching and Innovation Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Dr. Barbara S. Stern (Professor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) won the Madison Scholar Award for the College of Education. In each college, professors nominate their colleagues for the Madison Scholar award. The award winners exemplify excellence and scholarly achievement in their respective disciplines. Each winner presents a lecture on his or her area of expertise during the academic year.

Dr. Kristen E. St. John (Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the General Education program from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Dr. Sharon L. Strang (Associate Professor, Nursing) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Health and Behavioral Studies from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Jeffrey D. Tang (Associate Dean, College of Integrated Science and Engineering; Associate Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) won the Distinguished Service Award for the College of Integrated Science and Engineering from the university. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a faculty member who provides exceptional professional related service at the university, local and national levels.

Dr. Tracy E. Zinn (Associate Professor, Psychology) won the Distinguished Teacher Award for the College of Health and Behavioral Studies from the university. The Distinguished Teacher Award was established to honor faculty members annually for exemplary teaching.

Virginia Insight, a WMRA-FM call-in talk show featuring discussions on community matters in the realms of politics, culture and religion, won the Best Documentary or Public Affairs Program award from the Virginia Association of Broadcasters at the 76th Annual Virginia Broadcasting Awards. Tom Graham is senior producer and host of “Virginia Insight.”

PRESENTATIONS

Dr. David A. Stringham (Assistant Professor, Music) presented “Cut and Paste: Applying Skill and Content Learning Sequences to Re-Order Instrumental Method Books” with Dr. Alden Snell (University of Delaware, Department of Music) at the Gordon Institute for Music Learning 4th International Conference on Music Learning Theory in Chicago on Aug. 8.

Gerald Weniger (Director, Physician Assistant Program) presented “Musculoskeletal Pharmacology: A Case Based Review of Best Practices” at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium in Las Vegas on June 27.

PUBLICATIONS

Dr. John T. Almarode (Assistant Professor, Early, Elementary and Reading Education) and Ann Miller (K-12 Coordinator of Professional Development and Elementary Instruction for Waynesboro Public Schools) wrote “Captivate, Activate and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math,” which was published by SAGE Publications.

Dr. Robin Anderson (Head and Professor, Graduate Psychology), Dr. Sara Finney (Associate Professor, Graduate Psychology), Dr. Anna Zilberberg (2013 Graduate, Assessment and Measurement Program), and Dr. Kimberly R. Marsh (2013 Graduate, Assessment and Measurement Program) wrote an article, "American college students’ attitudes toward institutional accountability testing: Developing measures," which was published in Educational Assessment in August.

Dr. Christine E. DeMars (Professor, Graduate Psychology) and Alan Socha (Ph.D. student, Assessment and Measurement Program) wrote an article, “An investigation of sample size splitting on ATFIND and DIMTEST," which was published in Educational and Psychological Measurement.

Dr. Sara Finney (Associate Professor, Graduate Psychology) and Bozhidar Bashkov (Ph.D. student, Assessment and Measurement Program) wrote a didactic piece, "Applying Longitudinal Mean and Covariance Structures analysis to assess construct stability over two time points: An example using psychological entitlement," which was published in the “Methods Plainly Speaking” section of the journal Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development in August.

Paul E. Mabrey III (Lecturer, Communication Studies) and J.C. Liu wrote the chapter “Digital Literacy, Social Media and Public Speaking: Building Literacy Through Student Produced Multimedia Informative Presentations” in the book “Plugged-in Professor: Tips and Techniques for Teaching with Social Media,” which was published by Woodhead Publishing in August.

Dr. David J. Shonk (Associate Professor, Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management), T. Christopher Greenwell and Leigh Ann Danzey-Bussell wrote “Managing Sport Events,” which was published by Human Kinetics Publishers in August.

Dr. Richard F. West (Professor Emeritus, Graduate Psychology), Dr.  Keith E. Stanovich (University of Toronto) and Dr. Maggie E. Toplak (York University) wrote an article, "Myside bias, rational thinking, and intelligence," which was published in Current Directions in Psychological Science in August.

SERVICE

Dr. John Haynes (Assistant Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) has been appointed by the governor to serve on the Virginia Cave Board. VCB members serve Virginia by advising private individuals, organizations and public agencies on cave and karst related matters, providing cave management expertise, preparing and presenting educational material, identifying significant caves, and recommending conservation and preservation measures for cave resources within the commonwealth.

Dr. John Haynes (Assistant Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) has been appointed as a member of the College Board Advanced Placement Environmental Science Development Committee for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Paul E. Mabrey III (Lecturer, Communication Studies) has begun service as the vice president of Cross Examination Debate Association. CEDA is a nonprofit organization that helps govern 100+ universities and colleges that participate in competitive collegiate policy debate.

Scott Z. Smith (Instructor, School of Music) has been selected by The Masterworks Chorus of the Shenandoah Valley to serve as interim artistic director.