August Faculty Accomplishments
News
GRANTS
Dr. Emily K. Akerson (Clinical Coordinator and Interprofessional Initiatives, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $59,769 from the Virginia Department of Social Services for the program Healthy Families Shenandoah County to provide education, resources and support for at-risk families. Akerson received $55,000 from the Virginia Department of Social Services for the program Healthy Families Page County to provide education, resources and support for at-risk families. Akerson received $11,610 from the Valley Program for Aging Services Inc. to provide educational and administrative services.
Dr. Keri S. Bethune (Assistant Professor, Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities) received $9,000 from the Minnick Education Center to provide a graduate student for an internship in the practice of behavior analytic activities.
Dr. JoAnne Brewster (Professor, Graduate Psychology) received $3,300 from the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology to perform administrative tasks.
Dr. Julia W. Carr (Senior Associate Director, University Recreation; Associate Professor, Sport and Recreation Management) and Dr. Benjamin H. Carr (Associate Professor, Sport and Recreation Management) received $8,030 from Rockingham County Parks and Recreation to provide a graduate student for an internship for programming, administration, grant writing and community outreach.
Benjamin T. Delp (Director, Research, Development and Promotion) and Alleyn S. Harned (Executive Director, Virginia Clean Cities) received $142,936 from Virginia Clean Cities Inc. for the Virginia Clean Cities Entity Agreement to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector by advancing the use of alternative fuels and vehicles.
Dr. Kyle G. Gipson (Assistant Professor, Engineering) received $5,000 from the American Iron and Steel Institute for the Curriculum Development Proposal to Enhance Student Exposure to Ferrous Metallurgy by developing and implementing new modules, as well as technical electives to function as a “metals track” within the materials science minor.
Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley (Director of Children and Youth, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $158,926 from the Virginia Department of Education to provide specialized services to children and young adults under the age of 21. Hartzler-Weakley received $139,924 from the Virginia Department of Education for a Community Learning Center for economically disadvantaged students at Spotswood Elementary School. Hartzler-Weakley received $139,924 from the Virginia Department of Education for a Community Learning Center for economically disadvantaged students at Stone Spring Elementary School. Hartzler-Weakley received $125,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to address substance abuse in Latino communities. Hartzler-Weakley received $36,681 from the Virginia Department of Health to improve campus-based suicide prevention and intervention at Virginia colleges and universities.
Dr. Elizabeth A. Johnson (Associate Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) received $57,362 from the University of Oregon for “Volatile Clues to the Initial Controls on Large Explosive Volcanic Eruptions” to study the OH contents of plagioclase crystals using FTIR spectroscopy.
Dr. Gina M. MacDonald (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $25,000 from the Research Corporation to participate in a Cottrell Scholar Collaborative to improve the attraction and retention of undergraduate students in science.
Dr. Jonathan J. Miles (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology; Director, Virginia Center for Wind Energy) received $73,570 from the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy to support the Center for Wind Energy at James Madison University.
Dr. Carole L. Nash (Associate Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $25,000 from the National Park Service for archaeological advisor services in reviewing potential Shenandoah National Park projects to determine archaeological impact.
Dr. Scott A. Paulson (Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy), Dr. John T. Almarode (Assistant Professor, Early, Elementary and Reading Education) and Dr. Klebert B. Feitosa (Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy) received $102,219 from the Physics Teacher Education Coalition for the proposal of a PhysTEC Comprehensive Site to support the creation of a Learning Assistant program, hiring of a Teacher in Residence and related efforts to enhance JMU’s physics teacher preparation program.
Dr. Olga Pierrakos (Associate Professor, Engineering) received $169,372 from the National Science Foundation to serve as program director for the Improving Undergraduate Education in STEM, Division of Undergraduate Education, Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford (Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery; Professor, Political Science) received $2,993 from the Harrisonburg Refugee Relocation Office to provide training and technical support for a pilot Harrisonburg Refugee Project.
Nick D. Swayne (Coordinator for External Relations, School of Education; Instructor, Learning, Technology and Leadership Education) received $3,600 from Virginia city and county donors for the sponsorship of Virginia/DC FIRST LEGO League robotics teams.
Dr. Steven J. Whitmeyer (Associate Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) received $308,376 from the National Science Foundation to use technology to allow students to experience geology field research via onsite-remote partnerships.
PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Rebecca N. Brannon (Assistant Professor, History) was featured on the podcast BackStory, a production of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. She discussed how the Revolutionary War gave cover to settle personal feuds in South Carolina as part of the program “Punish Thy Neighbor? What happens if you supported the crown in the Revolutionary War?”
Gerald R. Weniger (Program Director, Graduate Physician Assistant Program; Assistant Professor, Health Sciences) was an invited speaker for the 33rd annual CME conference for the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in July.
PUBLICATIONS
Dr. Carole L. Nash (Associate Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) published the article, “Hunter-Gatherers and the American Chestnut Forest: Persistence and Change in the Middle Atlantic Uplands,” in the Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology, Volume 30.
Dr. John Ott (Professor, Art History) published a chapter in the Blackwell Companion to American Art. His contribution is a state-of-the-field overview of “Patrons, Collectors, and Markets,” which will be the basis for a new JMU course on the art market in the United States.
Dr. Margaret F. Sloan (Associate Professor, Strategic Leadership Studies) published the article, “What happens on a rainy day? How nonprofit human service leaders create, maintain, and utilize operating reserves,” in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 5(3), 190-202. Her co-authors are from Rutgers University-Newark and University of Missouri-Columbia.
