Graduate Programs Librarian Rosemary Green, Ph.D., began a research project during her spring 2014 sabbatical focusing on Shenandoah University graduate students’ experiences with academic reading. She presented her preliminary findings in her paper “Reading in Graduate School: Students’ Perceptions and Practices” at the SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Commons Conference in March in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Green also presented a poster session titled “Integrating Reading, Writing, and Information Literacies” at the Virginia Library Association Conference at Williamsburg, Virginia.
ARTS & SCIENCES
Assistant Professor of Public Health Audra Gollenberg, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Sociology Kim Fendley, Ph.D.; and Health Director Lord Fairfax Health District Charles Devine are working with the newly mobilized Coalition to Curb Infant Mortality to collect information from pregnant women and mothers of young children in Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia, to determine best methods of outreach for health communications regarding safe infant sleep and other preventive measures. Alumna Katrina Daoud ’13, currently enrolled in the University of Michigan Master’s in Public Health program, and current public health student Paula Sorrentino ’15 will assist as research interns in the data collection and analysis process. Survey results will guide the coalition to plan targeted outreach efforts for future projects.
EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Associate Professor of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Brenda Murphy, Ph.D., spent the summer in Venice, Italy, working with the baroque string ensemble Interpreti Veneziani. She worked to create Italian-to-English translations of liner notes for the ensemble’s CDs, promotional materials and Web pages. She will continue to translate their monthly newsletters throughout the year.
Assistant Professor of Special Education Diane Painter, Ph.D., led a GEL trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, in May accompanied by alumnae Kauren Fritzius ’13 and Gina DeGaetano ’13 and doctoral students Antoinette Funk and Michele Sandy. The GEL group studied issues related to poverty, access to health care, education, transportation and employment. While in Hawaii, they attended and presented workshops and participated in round-table discussions at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Forum on Disability and Development, an initiative of the Division for Social Policy and Development.
BUSINESS
Assistant Professor of Sport Management Joey Gawrysiak, Ph.D., had an article, “Understanding Baseball Consumption via In-Home Gaming,” accepted to the Journal of Applied Sport Management in May 2014. Dr. Gawrysiak continued research on sport video games as a means of nontraditional sport consumption this summer and will begin research on sport video games as sport management pedagogy to develop an abstract for presentation next summer at the Eastern Academy of Management International Conference at Lima, Peru, in June 2015.
Associate Professor of Sport Management Brian J. Wigley, Ph.D., was named Outstanding Faculty Member during the Department of Athletics’ first-ever Buzzy Awards. Dr. Wigley is the coordinator of the Sport Management Division in the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business. He has taught on the faculty at Shenandoah University for 12 years. Wigley teaches sports ethics, sport consumer behavior and sport governance policy. He also serves as the university’s NCAA faculty athletics representative, a role that allows him to mentor student-athletes and work with athletic department staff and coaches to enhance the academic experience of student-athletes at Shenandoah.
“It is great to win an award presented by peers or administrators, but to win an award voted on by the students, who are the reason we do what we do, is very fulfilling,” said Wigley. “When I looked at the list of nominees, it struck me that every faculty member on the list had one thing in common—they all genuinely care for students and their futures. This is what makes this such a special honor for me.”
CONSERVATORY
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Theory David Chavez, M.M., and librettist Meredith Bean McMath ’11 wrote a new opera premiering this summer with Loudoun Lyric Opera at the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia. “NORTON: A Civil War Opera” is based on the true story of a Civil War soldier, and it features multiple faculty members, conservatory alumni and students and others who have wonderful connections in the worlds of opera and classical music. The cast includes Associate Professor of Voice Michael Forest, M.M.E., ’85, ’86; Associate Professor of Voice Philip Sargent, D.M.A.; D.M.A. graduate student Melissa Chavez; Jeffrey Luksik ’12. The instrumental ensemble included Alex Johnson ’13 and current students Tyler Garner, Stephen Readyoff and Tom Valdez.
Professor Emeritus of Music James Laster, Ph.D., was commissioned by retired Professor of Music Stephen Cooksey, Ph.D., to write and conduct a composition for choir, two trumpets and organ for the installation a new priest at St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, Virginia. Dr. Laster also served as a judge in the preliminary round and semifinal round for the Apple Blossom’s Got Talent competition in March and April. He was one of five composers, including Professor Emeritus William Averitt, Deen Entsminger ’72, Ryan Keebaugh’ 04 and Georgiann Toole ‘97, who were commissioned to write choral pieces for the May Musica Viva concert in honor and memory of former Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) music supervisor Jim Harmon. According to the Musica Viva website, Harmon “was an exceptional part of Musica Viva for more than 20 years and an extraordinary musical presence in the community, the churches and the educational world.”
On the acting front, Laster acted in a medical training film in March and played a retired general in a “Cyber Thriller” in May for Astute Technology in Reston, Virginia. In May, he was hired to play the part of a retired landowner in the Weather Channel’s new series “American Supernatural.” Laster serves as interim organist for Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, Virginia.
Assistant Professor of Composition David T. Little, Ph.D., was named fourth composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia this summer. Little is best known for the opera “Dog Days” that made several critics’ best-of-the-year lists in 2012. He is currently working on “JFK” for a premiere by the Fort Worth Opera.
In an article written by Philadelphia Inquirer Music Critic David Patrick Stearns in the May 18, 2014, issue of the phillynews.com, Little said, “I came to opera indirectly, and what I learned, I learned by doing. I’ve come up with a lot of questions about what opera has been and what it can be, what’s possible and what’s preferable. I definitely want to be at a place in terms of craft and my compositional tool kit where I can do anything…to be able to say, ‘This is the story I want to do’ and be able to do it to the best of my ability.”
Associate Professor of Organ and Director of Church Music Studies J. Thomas (Tom) Mitts, D.M.A., will assume a new role this fall semester, succeeding long-time Director of Church Music and Professor of Music (organ, harpsichord) Steven Cooksey, Ph.D., who retired from this position in May after a 42-year teaching career. Dr. Mitts has taught at Shenandoah Conservatory for more than a decade as an adjunct professor in the areas of music theory and history. He also directs the Shenandoah Community Chorus, a choir aimed at bringing the Shenandoah University community together by providing them with musical training from a senior conservatory faculty member.
Dr. Mitts, known and admired as a collegial and collaborative scholar and artist and a richly ecumenical and community-building church musician, has received enthusiastic reviews for his performances as soloist, chamber musician and keyboard artist. He has performed on numerous concert stages across the United States, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic. His skills as a performer and collaborator are complemented by a broad range of experiences with congregations (ranging from Lutheran and Jewish to Baptist), making his selection an especially good fit for this ecumenically oriented position of leadership.
Chair of the Keyboard Division and Professor of Keyboard/Piano John O’Conor, B.M., L.R.A.M., L.R.S.M., A.R.C.M., performed a recital at the Washington International Piano Festival at Catholic University in July. Offering a fresh take on some timeless staples of the piano repertoire, O’Conor began with Beethoven’s “Six Bagatelles, Op. 126,” followed by his “Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13” (the “Pathétique”), and Schubert’s wrenching late “Sonata in C minor, D. 958.”
Associate Professor of Bassoon and Music Theory Ryan Romine, D.M.A., and four members of the Shenandoah bassoon studio traveled to South Whitley, Indiana, to visit Fox Products Corporation. The group toured the Fox factory and witnessed the production of numerous models of bassoons and oboes. Students played newly made instruments (including some designs not yet available to the public), and one rising sophomore bassoonist placed an order for a new professional bassoon to be delivered this October.
Adjunct Professor of Music Production and Recording Technology Mike Sokol, A.A., published his first eBook, “RV Electrical Safety,” on Amazon.com. Visit http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L2DWBD8.
NURSING
Assistant Professor of Nursing Laurie Hudson, M.S.N., FNP-C, received the Exemplary Teacher Award from the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of the United Methodist Church. Hudson is one of 77 professors and instructors at United Methodist-related schools, colleges, universities and theological schools to win the award during the 2013-2014 academic year.
“It is difficult for me to express how surprised and grateful I am for this award,” said Hudson. “I’ve been teaching at Shenandoah University for six years, and the support and graciousness of my fellow faculty combined with the dedication and excitement of the undergraduate nursing students have been a daily blessing to me. Students have made my job so enjoyable and rewarding already, and I cannot thank them enough for the privilege of being part of their education and career development.”
The award program expresses the church’s support of and appreciation for faculty who have demonstrated exemplary leadership, excellence in teaching, service to students and commitment to education. Professors and instructors were presented an appreciation certificate and a cash award.
HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Director and Associate Professor of the Division of Physician Assistant Studies Rachel A. Carlson, Ed.D., PA-C, presented “Practice Your Recertification Skills” at the 42nd American Academy of Physician Assistants Conference in Boston in May. She made two presentations at the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants in July, including “JNC VIII and 2013 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guidelines: What’s New? What’s Not?” and “Practice Your Recertification Skills.” In August, Dr. Carlson will serve as one of four facilitators for the New Program Director’s Retreat. The five-day retreat is presented by a team of experienced physician assistant educators and administrators and will include a combination of didactic lectures, small group activities and interactive workshops. Attendees will come away with the foundation skills that all program and associate directors need for success.
Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies J. Leocadia Conlon, M.Ph., PA-C, presented “Caring for the Caregiver” and “Oral Health and Diabetes: What You Need to Know When Caring for Your Diabetic Patients” at the 42nd American Academy of Physician Assistants Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in May. Both presentations highlighted two major educational initiatives of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. In July, Conlon presented “Treating Veterans and Military Families Living With PTSD and TBI” at the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Director and Associate Professor of Athletic Training Rose Schmieg, D.H.Sc., and three athletic training graduate students, Carina Stern, Nick Erdman, and Kelsey Steele, successfully passed the International Society of Sports Nutrition (CISSN) certification exam giving them the status of certified sports nutritionists. CISSN is the premier certification in the field of sports nutrition and supplementation.