January 2017 Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Awards

Dr. Linette Watkins (Professor and Department Head, Chemistry and Biochemistry) was awarded the Clare Booth Luce Scholarship to attend the 2017 Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institute in Denver. Considered one of the premier leadership development organizations for women in higher education, the HERS Institute is committed to transforming academia by creating and sustaining a community of diverse women leaders by focusing on mentorship, gender equity, and inclusion on today’s campuses.

Grants

Awarded in January, 2017

Lauren K. Alleyne (Assistant Director, Furious Flower Poetry Center) received $7,000 from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities to support a week-long poetry seminar targeting high school and college teachers, focused on the works of Yusef Komunyakaa.

Dr. Nancy E. Barbour (Accreditation and Special Projects, College of Education; Professor, Early, Elementary and Reading Education) received $184,953 from the U.S. Department of State for an International Leaders in Education Program to showcase educational concepts, technology, civic life and culture for foreign secondary-level teachers.

Dr. Keri S. Bethune (Assistant Professor, Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities) received $63,000 from George Mason University to implement and maintain a statewide program to meet the educational needs of teachers of students with severe disabilities in Virginia.

Dr. Jo Anne Brewster (Professor, Graduate Psychology) received $3,300 from the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology to perform administrative tasks for the Society.

Alleyn S. Harned (Executive Director, Virginia Clean Cities) received $12,000 from the National Fire Protection Association to provide extensive outreach campaigns to promote training and coordinate additional logistics.

Dr. M. Rockwell Parker (Assistant Professor, Biology) received $80,226 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop new tools for halting the spread of the Burmese Python.

Nick D. Swayne (Coordinator, 4VA; Instructor, Learning, Technology and Leadership Education) received $7,000 from Rockwell Collins Charitable Corporation to help promote the growth of the FIRST LEGO League in  Washington, D.C., as well as in rural areas and school divisions with the Title 1 designation.

Dr. Linette M. Watkins (Head and Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) received $12,000 from Huntsman International LLC to perform bio-analytical testing services.

Honors

Dr. Tom Devore (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) was awarded the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Founded in 1948, the award is presented to a member of the Virginia ACS who has been of exceptional service to the local section and the chemistry profession.

Dr. Lance E. Kearns (Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) was the co-author of an article, "Mineral Discoveries at the Morefield pegmatite of Amelia, Virginia," that won the National Friends of Mineralogy Best Article of the Year Award for 2016 in Mineral News. Co-authors were Betsy S. Martin and Michael A. Wise.

Dr. Caroline P. Lubert, (Professor, Mathematics and Statistics) and Dr. Theresa B. Clarke (Professor, Marketing) received the Outstanding Faculty Award presented by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and Dominion Resources. These awards are the Commonwealth's highest honor for faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities and they recognize superior accomplishments in teaching, research, and public service.

Publications

Dr. Elizabeth Johnson (Associate Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) published "Post-rift magmatic evolution of the eastern North American “passive-aggressive” margin" in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GC006646/full) with Sarah E. Mazza, Virginia Tech; Esteban Gazel, Virginia Tech;  Michael Bizmis, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Ryan McAleer, U.S. Geological Survey; and C. Berk Biryol, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Emily Westkaemper (Associate Professor, History) published the book Selling Women's History: Packaging Feminism in Twentieth-Century American Popular Culture through Rutgers University Press.

Service

Dr. John T. Haynes (Associate Professor, Geology and Environmental Science) has been named co-chair of the development committee for the College Board's AP Environmental Science exam. Haynes is in his fourth year on the committee. This is his first time serving as co-chair.

Visit Madison Scholar to access an archive of past accomplishments.