Administration

Danny Armitage, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, and Jeanine Ward-Roof, dean of students at Florida State University, presented “Social Media and Freedom of Speech — Where does the Concept of Civility Fit?” at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Region III Conference, held in Virginia Beach, Va., in June.

Arts and sciences

Dr. George Anastassiou, professor of mathematical sciences, delivered two plenary hourly talks at the international conference on Applied Mathematics and Approximation Theory 2012, held in Ankara, Turkey, at TOBB University of Economics and Technology in early summer. The conference was organized to celebrate Anastassiou’s 60th birthday.

Dr. Gene A. Plunka, professor of English, recently published a book, Staging Holocaust Resistance (Palgrave Macmillan).

Dr. Steven Soifer is the new chair and professor of the Department of Social Work. He comes from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where he was associate professor and chair of the Management and Community Organization concentration. He has published widely in the area of community organizing, community economic development, social action, Jewish issues in social work and paruresis (shy bladder syndrome). He has co-founded three nonprofit organizations: the International Paruresis Association, the Shy Bladder Center and the American Restroom Association, and travels the world giving talks and conducting workshops. 

College of Communication and Fine Arts

Dr. Lily Afshar, professor of guitar, performed at Lorton Performing Arts Center at the University of Tulsa. She also performed a concert at Wong Auditorium at MIT.

Loewenberg School of Nursing

Dr. Jill Dapremont, assistant professor of nursing, was elected president elect of Beta-Theta-at-Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. 

Dr. Genae Strong, assistant professor of nursing, was awarded a $10,000 grant by the International Lactation Consultant Association. This funded research enables Strong to determine essential content elements, identify effective teaching strategies, develop a model curriculum and make recommendations for outcomes and indicators for pre-licensure breastfeeding education.

Dr. Lin Zhan, dean of the Loewenberg School of Nursing, was commencement speaker at Allen College, located in Waterloo, Iowa, Aug. 10. Allen College awarded diplomas to 62 graduates, including three Master of Science in Nursing degrees, 51 Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees and eight Bachelor of Health Sciences degrees. Zhan received master’s and PhD degrees from Boston College, and a Bachelor of Science degree from West China University of Medical Sciences. She is a Fellow of American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the highest honor in the nursing profession.

School of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Dr. Walter Manning, professor, presented “Therapeutic Goals and Principals of Success during the Therapeutic Journey” at the NSA Tacoma Continuing Education workshop in Tacoma, Wash.

Dr. Lisa Lucks Mendel, associate professor, and Chantee Brakeville, masters student, presented a poster titled “Response Time and Confidence Ratings in Word Recognition” at the annual convention of the American Academy of Audiology and the Mid-South Conference on Communicative Disorders.

Dr. Maurice Mendel, dean, was awarded the Honors of the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Annual Conference in Newport Beach, Calif., in April. The Honors are presented to those individuals whose contributions to the Council and/or to academic education in communication sciences and disorders have been of such magnitude that their impact on the Council or on the education of speech-language pathologists, audiologists or speech and hearing scientists through clinical practice, teaching, research, administration, service or legislative activity is recognized throughout the professional community. The Honors of the Council is the highest honor bestowed by the Council.

University libraries

Annelle R. Huggins, associate professor and associate dean, spoke at the Goodlettsville Branch of the Nashville/Davidson County Public Library in May. Her presentation, titled “Billy the Goat Speaks,” provided insight into the compilation of and readings from her recent publication, Billy the Goat’s Tales of Two Towns – Selected Columns, 1949-1976, by L. D. R. The publication contains 90 of the more than 800 columns written by Luther David Ralph and published in the Goodlettsville Gazette over the 28-year period. The columns dealt with memories of the land and people along Long Hollow Pike, which winds between the town of Goodlettsville, Tenn., and the community of Shackle Island in Sumner County, Tenn.