November 2016 Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Awards 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy selected Eric Imbrescia (Instructor, Middle, Secondary and Mathematics Education) for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.  The award recognizes outstanding teachers for their contributions to the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.

Grants

Awarded in September 2016

Dr. Thomas R. Benzing (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $4,000 from the Garden Club of Virginia to study the impact of invasive plant species on Virginia Brook Trout and local stream environments.

Dr. Dennis B. Blanton (Assistant Professor, Anthropology) received $4,898.89 from the City of Staunton to continue efforts on an archaeological survey of the area around the reconstructed Montgomery Hall Residence in Staunton, Virginia.

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

Dr. Suzanne L. Fiederlein (Associate Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery) and Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford (Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery) received $396,412 from the U.S. Department of State to implement a Regional Senior Managers’ Course in Explosive Remnants of War and Mine Action to be held in Croatia.

Dr. Kevin L. Giovanetti (Professor, Physics) received $4,044.17 from the University of Edinburg to support a recent JMU graduate as a research assistant assigned to the Forward Tagger Project.

Dr. Kyle G. Gipson (Assistant Professor, Engineering) received $5,000 from the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation for the continued enhancement of student exposure to Ferrous Metallurgy by implementing new modules for two courses, as well as technical electives to function as a “metals track” within the materials science minor.

Dr. Robert J. Harmison (Kibler Professor of Sport Psychology, Graduate Psychology) received $890 from West Virginia University for a “Bodies in Motion” program to promote healthy body image and eating behaviors in female collegiate athletes.

Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley (Director of Children and Youth, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $149,869 from the Virginia Department of Health to direct the Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia as a training and resource center for Virginia's college and university campuses and to create a Virginia Campus Coalition (VCC) of ten institutions.

Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley (Director of Children and Youth, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $125,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services for a collaborative initiative to reduce alcohol and drug use in the Latino community.

Patricia A. Kennedy (Coordinator of Community Grants and Institute Publications, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services) received $300,747 from the Virginia Department of Health to coordinate the professional development of home visiting staff and supervisors working with vulnerable children and families in the Commonwealth.

Joyce H. Krech (Director, Small Business Development Center) received $1,250 from the City of Waynesboro, $3,000 from the City of Lexington, $12,500 from the City of Harrisonburg, $7,000 from Rockingham County, and $29,279 from George Mason University to support the Small Business Development Center.

Dr. Robert L. McKown (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) and Dr. Ronald W. Raab (Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received $34,537 from the University of Virginia to manufacture and purify lacritin and design and generate cDNA constructs to help address how eye specific tear factor lacritin promotes ocular surface homeostasis.

Dr. Carole L. Nash (Assistant Professor, Integrated Science and Technology) received 25,000 from the National Park Service to provide archaeological services for Shenandoah National Park.

Dr. Mark C. Rankin (Assistant Professor, English) received $335,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to produce five critical editions of the prose works of influential Reformation thinker William Tyndale, to be disseminated in printed and online open access digital formats.

Dr. Kenneth R. Rutherford (Director, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery) received $156,935 from the U. S. Department of State to promote U.S. foreign policy interests and strategic objectives through information sharing as well as building and supporting the larger community of practice.

Dr. Kristen E. St. John (Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) received $9,700 from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Geoscience Education.

Exhibitions

Lisa Tubach (Associate Professor, Art) is exhibiting her artwork at Gallery 1516 in Omaha, NE. The exhibition, which opened October 7th and will run until November 27th, is entitled “Tubach + Tubach: Perseveration” and features the work of Tubach and her father, Alan Tubach. As dedicated painters whose art and lives are significantly connected, these artists share a deep empathy for our natural and cultural worlds.

Honors

The Society of Women Engineers named Dr. Jacquelyn K. Nagel (Assistant Professor, Engineering) a SWE Distinguished New Engineer. This distinction honors women engineers who have been actively engaged in engineering in the first 10 years of their careers.

Presentations

Dr. Richard Ingram (Assistant Professor, Educational Technology) presented “Implementing Burke Connection Mapping for Creative Insight Into Content and Design” at the 2016 International Convention of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology. The session was one of ten chosen presentations to be live-streamed during the event.

Publications

Dr. Timothy C. Ball (Assistant Professor, Communication Studies) published “Civic engagement and a communication research agenda” in Communication Education, 65(4), 490-492, with co-authors Claire Procopio, Southeastern Louisiana University; Beth Goring, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Qingwen Dong, University of the Pacific; and David Bodary, Sinclair Community College.

Dr. Rebecca N. Brannon (Associate Professor, History) published a new book From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists through the University of South Carolina Press.

Dr. Frances Flannery (Professor, Philosophy and Religion) published The Bible in Political Debate: What Does it Really Say? through Bloomsbury Press, with Dr. Rodney A. Werline of Barton College.

Dr. Carole L. Nash (Assistant Professor, Integrated Science and Technology), Dr. Carol A. Hurney (Professor, Biology; Director, Center for Faculty Innovation), Dr. Edward J. Brantmeier (Assistant Director, Center for Faculty Innovation), and Dr. Christie J. Brodrick Hartman (Executive Director, Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability) published “Incorporating Sustainability Content and Pedagogy Through Faculty Development” in the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Visit Madison Scholar to access an archive of past accomplishments.