NBARI PRESENTS AT UCLA ON MESSIANIC ZIONIST BELIEFS

Motti Inbari (Philosophy and Religion) participated in a panel discussion held at the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA, May 4, 2017. The topic was “Six Days/Five Decades: 1967 and Its Significance for Israeli Security, Politics and Society” and addressed the impact of the Six-Day War on Israel fifty years later.  The event featuring leading Israeli scholars from a variety of disciplines, including Gilead Sher, former Chief of Staff and Policy Coordinator to Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Dr. Inbari “traced the evolution of the messianic Zionist beliefs that have driven the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.”  The symposium was recorded and is now available on the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies website.  A summary of the event is also available.

MUSIC FACULTY PERFORM WITH FAYETTEVILLE SYMPHONY

Tim Altman (Music) conducted the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra in its Memorial Day concert on May 28, 2017 in Festival Park (Fayetteville, NC).  UNCP music faculty members Michael Sparks (violin), Steve Skillman (horn), Joey Van Hassel (percussion), and Sarah Busman (flute) performed.  

The symphony presented a concert of some of John Williams’ film music (Star Wars, Cowboys, Raiders March) and patriotic tunes. The Fayetteville Youth Symphony joined the Fayetteville Symphony members for the first three works.  Then, the Fayetteville Symphony completed the rest of the 90 minute concert to over 4,000 in attendance at the outdoor venue. 

DR. BEN BAHR RECEIVES THE 2017 OLIVER MAX GARDNER AWARD

Dr. Ben Bahr, the William C. Friday Chair and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Biochemistry at UNC Pembroke, has been named the 2017 Oliver Max Gardner Award recipient by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. This is the highest honor given by the university. Bahr is the first UNCP faculty member to receive this award.  Click here for more information. 

TRUMPET ENSEMBLE PERFORMS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The UNCP Trumpet Ensemble, under the direction of Tim Altman (Music), performed at the 2017 International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference on June 2, 2017 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  The ensemble performed the world premiere of Joe Sheehan’s “Subo.”  The work is based on a Ghanian folksong. Sheehan, a music faculty member at Duquesne University, spent months living in Ghana.

The UNCP students who performed were Terri Smith, Rachel McCoy, William Boyce, Dylan Quick, and William Hebert.  They also enjoyed concerts, masterclasses, exhibits, and more at the ITG conference. 

ALTMAN TEACHES IN GERMANY

Tim Altman (Music) spent 2 ½ weeks teaching in Germany during May 2017.  He taught conducting at Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg (Ludwigsburg University of Education). Ludwigsburg is located near Stuttgart in Southwest Germany. 

“The German students at this university were strong musically and academically.  Most of them plan to be teachers. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them,” Altman commented.

The German university creates many opportunities for their students to take some courses with native English speakers. The students had no problem understanding and could communicate clearly in English. 

Dr. Altman was able to observe other classes at LUE. The faculty in the music department were all experienced musicians and teachers. Altman said, “I learned a lot from the music faculty at LUE. They welcomed me and even showed a video of our UNCP music department to the students. They were impressed with all the offerings (ensembles, lessons, classes) we have for UNCP students. One evening, many of the music department faculty took me to dinner where I got to know them even better.”

Altman has done a lot of international performing and enjoys travel. He has performed in the the Middle East (Jordan), Italy, UK, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and more.

Dr. Altman encourages UNCP students to get out and experience other parts of the world.  He said, “Your perspective of a country or region is always a little different after living there and getting to know the people. The German faculty and students I met were all warm and welcoming. They liked hearing about where I had visited and they were so proud of their home region/city. I hope to return to Germany soon.”

Dr. Altman, who is chair of the Music Department, is pictured at above before Germany’s tallest mountain (Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps). 

OUTREACH AT SCOTLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL

Bill Brandon (Chemistry and Physics) visited Scotland County High School on May 11, 2017 and with the organizing help of Jacob Glenn and the RISE students conducted back-to-back classes. They lead one hour sessions with two sections of Chemistry for honors students and one section with Advanced Placement Chemistry students. 

Activities that the high school students participated in were: discussions of NC Promise, which begins fall 2018, of applied physics as a healthy career choice producing problem solvers, and of UNCP's 3+2 program with NCSU for top students. The discussions were followed by demonstrations of vibrating string, Chladni plates (resonance), AM laser, Lenz tube, and the measurement of the speed of sound (within 1% with freeware).

RYCKELEY ACCEPTED TO NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Congratulations to UNCP graduate Christian Ryckeley who was accepted into the North Carolina School of Medicine. Christian, a Biology and Chemistry double major, recommends working early in your academic career with UNCP's Health Careers Access Program (HCAP) to develop a plan of study. 

For information on HCAP, click here.

KEVIN FREEMAN TEACHING IN GERMANY

Kevin Freeman (Political Science and Public Administration) is spending four weeks at the Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg (Ludwigsburg University of Education) as a part of a teaching fellowship and exchange program with the German university. UNCP has a bilateral relationship with the school involving teacher and student exchange. 

Selected from a pool of candidates to teach a course, Dr. Freeman is teaching American Foreign Policy to approximately 45 German and international students.  Among the topics covered are the institutions that play a role in making foreign policy in the United States, how economic, political, and environmental policies are made, and how the United States interacts with the rest of the world.  Special focus is given on speculating which direction these policies will go given the transition to the Trump Administration.

In addition to the course, Dr. Freeman has provided a number of guest lectures to other classes and is also participating in international forums and workshops. The Political Science Department in Ludwigsburg was anxious to offer their students an American perspective on the topic, and the students have been both curious and inquisitive regarding how the system and the process works.

“This has been such a tremendous opportunity for me,” says Dr. Freeman. “The host institution, its faculty, and its students couldn’t have been more inviting.  I have thoroughly enjoyed giving my perspective to students who might not have an opportunity to see how American foreign policy works and is understood from a distinctly American point of view.”

Dr. Freeman has taken an opportunity to visit other areas around the country and elsewhere during his free time, including short visits to Munich, Brussels, and Italy, as well as touring many of the historical and cultural sites in the area around Ludwigsburg. He is pictured above on the Rhine River.

“I think that our students would thoroughly enjoy visiting Germany.  The Stuttgart area is inviting, and there are so many things to do here,” added Dr. Freeman.  “I would enjoy seeing UNCP students taking advantage of this special relationship we have with Ludwisgburg and perhaps coming here for a short term trip or even an entire semester.  They would get a lot out of the experience.”

Dr. Freeman has considerable study abroad experience, having regularly taken groups of students to Berlin and Tokyo.  He arrived in Germany on May 10 and returns on June 5, 2017.

CATCHING UP WITH ETHAN SANFORD, CLASS OF 2016

Shortly after graduation in May of 2016, Ethan Sanford joined the doctoral program in Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology (BMCB) at one of the nation's foremost research universities -- Cornell University.  Ethan has been kind to share his first-year experiences at Cornell and offer advice to UNCP students who want to pursue graduate school.  You can get there from here.

PROFESSOR WEST SIGNS BOOK DEAL

A conference paper presented by Joe West (Political Science & Public Administration) this April at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference sparked the interest of the publishing house Rowman and Littlefield and resulted in a book contract. Founded in 1949, Rowman and Littlefield specializes in scholarly books and journals for the academic market.

Dr. West’s book, Impact of Communication Technology on the Policy Process in the United States, is scheduled to go to print in May 2018.  It stems from a series of conference presentations precipitating from his 2016 research investigating the communication behaviors of legislators.  The work examines how legislators use communication technology, everything from face-to-face meetings to Facebook, including all of the common social media tools in use by legislators today, such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc..

The conference paper that attracted the publisher was titled: Death of a Trustee: An Examination of Traditional Legislator Roles in an Era of Increased Legislator-Constituent Linkages.  Dr. West serves as director of the Master of Public Administration.

2017 FACULTY APPRECIATION BANQUET AND AWARDS 

On April 28, 2017, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke celebrated its faculty with an appreciation dinner. During the event, awards were presented to outstanding faculty across the university.  The College of Arts and Sciences was well represented, and we congratulate the recipients for their accomplishments and for making UNCP a great place to study and work.

• Dr. Cherry Beasley (Nursing, pictured at left) received the 2017 Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence, which is presented annually to one faculty member at each of the UNC System’s 17 universities;
• Joanna Hersey (Music, pictured above), The Adolph L. Dial Faculty Award for Scholarship or Creative Work;
• Hannah Baggott (English, Theatre, & Foreign Languages), The Diane O. Jones Excellence in Service-Learning Award;
• Ben Bahr (Biology/Chemistry & Physics), The Graduate Faculty Mentor Award;
• Motti Inbari (Philosophy & Religion), The James F. Hubbard Faculty Award;
• Carla Rokes (Art), Outstanding Teaching Award;
• Eun Hee Jeon (English, Theatre & Foreign Languages), Outstanding Teaching Award;
• Jennifer Johnson (Nursing), Outstanding Teaching Award;
• Scott Hicks (English, Theatre &Foreign Languages), Outstanding Teaching Award;
• Terence Dollard (Mass Communication), Outstanding Teaching Award; and
• Judith Paparozzi (Sociology & Criminal Justice), the Outstanding Part-Time Teaching Award.

The following faculty were acknowledged for their promotion to the rank of professor: Jamie Litty (Mass Communication), Jane Haladay (American Indian Studies), Scott Hicks (English, Theatre, & Foreign Languages), and Shilpa Pai Regan (Psychology). Faculty Emeritus status was granted to John Bowman (Sociology & Criminal Justice), Fran Fuller (Sociology & Criminal Justice) and Joseph Goldston (Mathematics and Computer Science). 

HOCKETT NAMED 2017 OUTSTANDING SENIOR OF THE YEAR

Art major Courtney Hockett (pictured second from right) was named the 2017 UNCP Outstanding Senior of the Year. Each year the the Office of Alumni Engagement, the UNCP Alumni Association Board of Directors, and a selection committee announce five seniors as finalists for the UNCP Outstanding Senior Award. Letters of support are provided by faculty and staff, applications are screened, and interviews conducted by a seven-member review committee that selects the five finalists and the recipient.

The 2017 finalist are: Amanda Bowman (Bachelor of Science in Biology with Biomedical Concentration) from Rockingham, NC; Rachel Courtney Hockett (Bachelor of Arts in Art with Art Education Licensure (K-12) track) of Buies Creek, NC; Patrik Merkell (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Concentration Finance), Stockholm, Sweden; Katherine Rentschler (Bachelor of Science in Biology- Environmental Concentration) from Pinehurst, NC; and Lea E. Tardanico (Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Minor in Sociology) of Miami, FL.  

Courtney Hockett was announced as the award recipient during the Senior Social on Monday, April 17, 2017 at the Chancellor’s Residence. Since enrolling at UNCP, Courtney has spent numerous hours outside of class participating in academic and extracurricular activities. The Art major has published three times in the UNC system's journal of undergraduate research, Explorations: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina. She has both paid and volunteer work experience with organizations and institutions like the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, CIS Academy, North Carolina Museum of Art, Ingram Planetarium, among others. She actively peruses research grants both on and off campus and has been awarded a total of $13,489 from the Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center, the most to an individual in the history of the program. Courtney has exhibited her research in over fifteen national, state, and local venues and continues to proudly represent UNC Pembroke. She currently works as an educator at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and plans to seek employment as a High School Art Teacher upon graduating in May.

UNCP POISED TO LEAD ECONOMIC REBOUND

Dean Frederick recently contributed an opinion piece to The Robesonian. In it he states, "A 2012-2013 study indicated that UNC Pembroke created nearly $400 million in additional state income because of its role in developing market-ready talent. More to the point, every dollar invested in UNC Pembroke brought a ten-fold return. UNC Pembroke is an economic and intellectual engine that can drive so much positive change in our region." 

Read the complete article here.

MPA GRADUATE ADMITTED TO DOCTORAL PROGRAM

Jingjing Gao, a UNCP Master of Public Administration graduate (Fall 2016) was admitted into the University of North Carolina at Charlotte's public policy doctoral program beginning in the Fall 2017 semester. Jingjing was a Graduate Research Assistant for Dr. Joe West for the 18 months she was at UNCP. She recently gave panel presentation at the Midwest Political Science Conference in Chicago on the impact of social media health information on Chinese student health behaviors. Jingjing's doctoral degree will be fully funded by UNCC and includes an $18,000 annual stipend. 

MODEL UNITED NATIONS TEAM BRINGS HOME FOUR AWARDS

UNCP’s Model United Nations team brings home four awards after successful participation in the Southern Regional Model United Nations held in Charlotte, NC, March 30-April 1.

UNCP took 26 students to Charlotte, representing Ghana, Australia, France, and Bahrain during the proceedings.  The Ghana and Australia teams both won Outstanding Position Paper awards.  Current SGA Vice-President Omar Torres won an individual award for his representation of France, and Andrew Yarborough won an Outstanding Justice Award for his participation in a simulation of the International Court of Justice.

“We are happy to have left Charlotte once again with hardware,” said Faculty Advisor Dr. Kevin Freeman from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration.  “While we didn’t win as many awards as we would have liked, the competition was fierce and our students performed admirably.  All in all, I am satisfied with our performance.”

Nearly 500 students from 50 universities around the southeast participated in the conference. UNCP also had four current and former students who served on the staff for this year’s conference.

UNCP has won over 50 individual and team awards at various conferences over the last two years.

Model United Nations emphasizes cooperative, hands-on, experiential learning that allows students to confront a range of topics with the perspective of their assigned country or organization. Through these experiences --during preparation, in committee sessions, and even in hallway caucuses --students develop an appreciation of differing viewpoints, experience the challenges of negotiation, see the rewards of cooperation, broaden their world view, and discover the human side of international relations and diplomacy.

The Model United Nations team next attends the Southern Regional Fall Conference in Atlanta, Georgia November 16-18.  The Braves will represent Norway, Iceland, Costa Rica, and Italy.

ARTS & SCIENCES ACADEMIC AWARDS DAY CELEBRATION 2017

The College of Arts & Sciences celebrated Academic Awards Day on April 5, 2017.  Family, friends, faculty and students joined to honor this year’s recipients despite the stormy weather.  Over 125 scholarships and awards are presented annually by the 16 departments within the college.  If you'd like to contribute to a scholarship, contact our Office of Advancement or donate online. 

BIOLOGY MAJOR PRESENTS RESEARCH AT REGIONAL CONFERENCE

Biology major Robbie Juel presented a research poster at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists in March 2017. His topic was "Defining Plant Communities and the Vascular Flora of Sampson's Landing, Robeson County, North Carolina." He collaborated with his mentor Lisa Kelly (Biology) while conducting the research. The presentation was made possible through a generous travel award from the Pembroke Undergraduate Research and Creativity Center (PURC) program. 

FIELD TRIP TO RELIGIOUS WORSHIP SITES LEFT STRONG IMPRESSIONS

The Department of Philosophy and Religion at UNC Pembroke sponsored a unique event recently: on March 31, 2017, about thirty students and four faculty members went together on a field trip to visit places of worship in Fayetteville NC. Dr. David Nikkel, the chair of the department, explained that our department wanted to give our majors, minors, and students taking courses in Religion a direct experience of religious practice through visiting worship sites and services. “It’s good to read and hear about religions and to watch videos. But it takes things to another level to view in person a religious site, to directly experience a religious ceremony, and to ask questions of religious believers and leaders, and our students did ask a lot of questions,” said Dr. Nikkel.

Our first stop was at Masjid Omar Ibn Sayyid, a mosque that serves mostly African-American Muslims in the Fayetteville area. We came to attend the Jumu’ah, the congregational Friday prayer, and we had the opportunity to speak with Imam Bobby Ahmed, the spiritual leader, who spoke about the Islamic value of civility.

From there we continued the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, where we were welcomed by Father Alexander, who spoke about the history of the Greek Orthodox Church and explained about the meanings of the beautiful icons on the walls of the church.

After a short stop for dinner, we visited the Hindu Bhavan Temple. During a short conversation with two members of the congregation, we learned about the inclusive values of Hinduism. Later we attended a Puja, a ritual service, where faculty and students were offered the opportunity to give offerings to the Hindu Gods.

We ended up at Jewish Beth Israel Congregation to participate in Kabalat Shabbat. Friday evening services are welcoming the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, and we had the opportunity to join in prayer with the community. At the entrance to the synagogue, we all put Kippot on our heads, in respect of place, as you can see in the pictures.

Logan John, who majors in Philosophy and Religion, said that “my experiences with Jewish songs, Islamic Sallah, Hindu Puja, and Greek Orthodox iconography left me wanting to do more field work. I hope this is an experience the Philosophy and Religion Department is able to provide for years to come.” Kasi Mae Breen, another major of the department, observed that the field trip was enjoyable and educational. “It was a calming experience that will not be forgotten. Overall, I felt that the leaders from each worship site gave a message about offering inclusiveness to other faiths, which I feel is an important issue for our society today,” she said.

On behalf of the faculty of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, we wish to thank warmly the office of the Dean of Arts and Science, the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, and the Friends of the Library who helped cover the costs of the trip.

For more information about the field trip, click here.

RISE GRANT RENEWED FOR $2.3 MILLION

March 2017: The National Institutes of Health renewed UNCP’s Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) grant. Funding includes $2.3 million distributed over 5 years. The RISE program is designed to create a more diverse research workforce and prepares UNCP students to be future research scientists. The grant is administered by Robert Poage (Biology), who serves as the primary investigator, Sailaja Vallabha (Chemistry & Physics) and Rachel Smith (Chemistry & Physics). "RISE funding is instrumental in helping our great faculty to mentor UNCP students into the next generation of great scientists. We are grateful for the wonderful support of a program with unlimited potential," stated Jeff Frederick, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences.

Robert Poage explains the orgins of the grant, "This undergraduate research training grant has always been a collaboration between the departments of Biology and Chemistry & Physics.  Sailaja Vallabha, Paul Flowers and I submitted in the initial application in 2004 with little idea of our chances of getting funded.  This award begins the third cycle of funding for the program, and it is still a joint venture in science and education. The addition of Rachel Smith (Chemistry)  as a co-director will allow us to explore some new ways to prepare our graduates for research careers.  We are exceptionally proud of the student Fellows and their UNCP Faculty Research Mentors – they deserve mountains of praise for their tenacity, ingenuity and willingness to explore the unknown.”

The program is an asset to students since it supports those who would like to pursue graduate degrees in STEM fields by allowing them to conduct research with faculty mentors and by helping them develop the skills needed to gain admission into graduate programs. “For the past 10 years we have designed and developed training activities to help strengthen the graduate school applications of our fellows. Based on what we have learnt from the in-house and external evaluations, we tinkered and tweaked these activities. And now I truly believe that we have a product that will produce the desired outcome, the goal of the RISE program – that is to produce BRAVE graduate students,” Sailaja Vallabha remaked.  Rachel Smith noted, "As the newest member of the RISE staff, I’ve enjoyed mentoring our RISE fellows, helping them to develop key skills which will make them successful in school and in life."  By taking the RISE fellows to national scientific conferences and supporting them in conducting extramural summer research, the RISE program exposes them to the broad variety of career opportunities that a graduate degree can allow them to pursue.

“I would be remiss if I did not express my thanks to so many offices and entities on campus who helped us along the way. UNCP not only believed in our commitment to training our undergraduate students but cheered us along the way, and I am extremely grateful for all the support,” Vallabha added.

Multiple RISE fellows from UNCP have successfully completed masters and Ph.D. degrees from institutions such as Duke, Rutgers, Northwestern, University of Massachusetts, and Yale University. 

For more on the RISE program at UNCP, follow this link. 

NURSING PURCHASES TWO 3D PRINTERS

In March, the Department of Nursing was able to purchase two MakerBot Replicator+ 3D printers.  These 3D printers will aid the department in providing high quality education while incorporating emerging technologies in the discipline.  Faculty will be using these 3D printers to create realistic and life-size models of the human anatomy, for example a heart, while being able to enlarge certain aspects for emphasis and clarity.  Students will have the opportunity to work with faculty to create objects and models that can be used for community education, presentations, and community engagement. Pictured above is a 3D model heart produced on one of the printers. 

THE PINE NEEDLE BRINGS HOME AWARDS

Mary Sandell (Mass Communication), who serves as advisor to the Pine Needle, UNCP's student newspaper, has something new to brag about. The Pine Needle and UNCP students brought home a number of great awards in February from the North Carolina College Media Association.

BEES SWARM BEHIND GPAC

On March 21st, Dr. Rita Hagevik (Biology), who runs the Kids in the Garden Program, was alerted by Mark Vesely (Facilities) that there was a large swarm of bees hanging on a small shrub behind the GPAC. She passed the information on to Dr. Kaitlin Campbell (Biology) who tends the campus bee hives. To capture the hive, Dr. Campbell placed an empty hive box below the shrub where the bees were hanging and tapping the branch to dislodge the bees into the box. After about 10 minutes all the bees had entered the box, being attracted to the smell of the queen who was at the center of the swarm and safely in the box. She then transported them to the apiary located at the campus garden near Pine Cottage and set them up into an empty hive, where they are settling into a new home quite nicely.

Honeybees will swarm when their current home starts to feel too cramped. To deal with population control, half of the hive will fly off with the old queen and a new queen will be made by the remaining half of the bees. When the bees fly away from the hive, they congregate as a hanging mass on a branch for a couple of days as they search for a new nest cavity. During this time, they send scout bees out to identify potential homes and report back. The distance and direction of the cavity is conveyed through the bees' symbolic language known as the waggle dance and more scouts are recruited to good locations. After a consensus is reached, they fly off together and move in to the best location. 

STEMville SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM

UNCP College of Arts & Sciences in collaboration with the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center welcomed 104 sixth and seventh graders from Robeson County schools to campus on Friday, March 17, 2017. The students participated in a STEMville Science Symposium, a conference-style event complete with registration, check-in, a keynote speaker and five concurrent sessions.

Dr. Jamila Simpson, assistant dean at NC State University, presented the keynote address “Seeing the Scientist in You!”  She spoke about her passion for meteorology and inspired the students with the message that they too can become scientists.  With help from a young participant, she concluded her presentation by creating a mini tornado in Moore Hall Auditorium to the amazement of the audience.

Presenters in the breakout sessions included 16 UNCP faculty and students from the departments of Biology, Chemistry & Physics, Geology & Geography, and Nursing. Most of the scientists are participating in the Morehead Planetarium’s “Inspiring Meaningful Programs and Communication through Science” program – IMPACTS – funded by the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. The program trains researchers and STEM professionals to communicate their research to the general public. The researchers reflect North Carolina’s diverse populations as well as the diversity of STEM careers. The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center also had its mobile science lab on campus teaching students about extracting DNA from strawberries. 

PORRUA DELIVERS KEYNOTE IN COLOMBIA

March 8-10, 2017, Enrique Porrua (English, Theatre, & Foreign Languages) presented the keynote address at the conference “Jornadas sobre la enseñanza de español a hablantes de otras lenguas” in Medellin, Colombia.  His topic was "Globalization and The Teaching of Foreign Languages (SFL)."  He also participated in a conference session, where he presented "La cruz de San Andrés and the Maturity of Celian Postmodern Discourse," followed by an open discussion with Memo Ánjel, Professor of Social Communication and a prolific Colombian novelist, about the works of Spanish Novel prize in Literature Camilo José Cela.  Themes of the conference included the importance of Spanish as a second language in today’s world and the intersection of language, culture, and literature in the teaching of languages.

THE 25th ANNUAL SOCIAL WORK SYMPOSIUM

The UNC-Pembroke Social Work Department celebrated a monumental symposium anniversary on Friday, March 3, 2017. The 25^th Annual Social Work Symposium commemorated the theme “The Silver Lining of Social Work”.  A video was created to share the history of the Annual Social Work Symposium and an oral account of the 25 years was given by Frederick Stephens, MSW, LCSW.  Dr. Frederick, Dean of Arts and Sciences, provided a warm welcome to approximately 100 attendees.                                                                                                                                    

Professional speakers covered Trauma and Eye Movement Desentization (Laura Lawyer, MSW, LCSW), Leveraging Indigeneity (Amy Hertel, JD, PhD), Ethics and Geriatric Care  (Yale Kodwo, MSW, PhD, Social Work Department Chair), and Elder’s Resilience and Strength (Tony Locklear, MBA). The symposium also featured a BSW student presentation, "The Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew," by Jordyn Roark and co-presenter BreAnna Branch, and a MSW student poster presentation, "Substance Use Disorder Among Native Americans," by Martha Quattelbaum. 

A memorial was displayed in recognition of students, faculty, and colleagues who committed their life work and goals to the social work profession. Their mark in life has not been forgotten.

Alice Kay Locklear, MSW, PhD, Symposium Chair, states “The event marked a successful outcome to a year-long planning process.  It is a honor to give back to our social work field supervisors and instructors. Connecting with community and regional partners is a privilege and keeps the door open for vitality and progression of our social work department....  Working together, we all succeed.”

Thanks to: Ms. Loreen Randall, Josaphine Chaumba, MSW, PhD, and Gloria Anderson, MSW, PhD, for assisting with planning the symposium.

UNCP HOSTS SECOND ANNUAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE

A distinguished group of over 200 experts, panelists, researchers, law enforcement, NGO’s, prosecutors, faculty, and students gathered Feb. 28, 2017, at UNCP for the Second Annual Human Trafficking Conference. The conference featured discussion and collaboration on this critical global human rights and crime issue which likely involves in excess of 20 million people.  Click hear for more on human trafficking. 

THOMPSON RECEIVES BITTNER SCHOLARSHIP

Broadcasting major and Braves golf team captain Savannah Thompson, a junior, has been named the North Carolina recipient of the annual Dr. John R. Bittner Scholarship from the Radio-Television-Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).

Thompson was recognized in a ceremony February 11 at television station WBTV in Charlotte, where RTDNAC was hosting its annual career workshops for college juniors and seniors pursuing careers in broadcast news.  

The scholarship honors the memory of the late Dr. Bittner, a professor at Chapel Hill who was also the first executive director of RTDNAC.  Funding is provided by the organization's board of directors as well as Capital Broadcasting Company/WRAL and Hearst Television/WYFF.  

Annually the organization selects one recipient each from South and North Carolina.  This is the first year that UNCP takes the award home.

Mass Communication department chair Dr. Jamie Litty says Thompson is a natural leader and role model who has worked her way up to a co-producer position for the students' weekly TV newscast, Carolina News Today, while successfully balancing her dual student-athlete obligations and interests. Thompson has served as a mentor to area youth involved in junior golf camps and participated in the "Braves Buddy" literacy program.

THE 38-STAR FLAG AT UNCP

When UNCP was founded on March 7, 1887, as the Croatan Normal School, the flag of United States had 38 stars. At left, Nancy Fields, Director of the The Museum of the Southeast American Indian, examines such a flag in the museum’s collection. The 38th star was added in 1877 to represent Colorado, which became a state August 1, 1876. The 38-star flag remained the official flag of the country until 1890, when the number of stars increased to 43. Could this flag have witnessed the birth of UNCP?

ANDERSON PRESENTS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Gloria Anderson (Social Work) was a guest speaker at the “Crossing Over Jordan” Conference, November 18, 2016, in Philadelphia. The conference was a national conversation about advance care planning in faith-based communities. 

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PINES

Jonathan Drahos (English, Theatre, & Foreign Languages) and Carolanne Marano, his wife, are creating a theatrical project called Shakespeare in the Pines. Their first production, Much Ado About Nothing, is planned for early June 2017 in Pinehurst. UNCP and area high school students will provide supporting cast roles and assist with lighting, sound, and costuming. For more information, click here. 

DURHAM CHAPTER OF THE KING'S DAUGHTERS AND SONS VISIT UNCP

The Department of Nursing hosted the Durham Chapter of the International Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons on November 28, 2016.   Participants toured the Health Sciences Building, the Museum of the Southeast American Indian, and were treated to a bus tour of campus.  They also had lunch with nursing students, Cherry Beasley (Anne R. Belk Endowed Professor of Nursing),  Jennifer Twaddell (Interim Chair, Nursing), and Jeff Frederick (Dean, College of Arts & Sciences). The King’s Daughters and Sons sponsor an endowed scholarship supporting a UNCP Nursing major and an endowed scholarship in the School of Education.

AN EVENING WITH REAR ADMIRAL CLIFFORD S. SHARPE

The College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of History, and the Department of Mass Communication hosted An Evening with Rear Admiral Clifford S. Sharpe November 15, 2016, at the UNCP Entrepreneurship Incubator.  Dr. Judy Curtis (Mass Communication) provided remarks on the changing nature of small-town newspapers, and Rear Admiral Sharpe spoke about the history of The Robesonian, a local newspaper owned by the Sharpe family for 75 years.  When the family business was sold, Sharpe fulfilled a personal ambition to serve his country, joining the US Navy. Commanding at every level from Lieutenant Commander to Admiral, Sharpe served with distinction all over the world, including multiple deployments in support of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The event was well attended by community members, faculty and students. For more images, click here.

UNCP MODEL UNITED NATIONS TEAM WINS AWARDS

The UNCP Model United Nations team, lead by Kevin Freeman (Political Science & Public Administration) celebrates recent victories. The team received a Distinguished Delegation award, which is given to the top 10 percent of teams competing at the National Model United Nations Conference in Washington, DC, November 11-13, 2016. It also received eight awards at the Southern Regional Model United Nations Conference in Atlanta, GA, November 17-19, 2016 (pictured above). Included was an Outstanding Delegation Award (the highest award possible) for Denmark, an Honorable Delegation Award for Japan, an Outstanding Position Paper Award for Denmark, and an Outstanding Position Paper Award for Andrew Yarborough, who represented the United Kingdom in the Historical Security Council. Way to go team!

LIBRARY PANEL ON "AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN OF PROUD NATIONS"

On November 17, 2016, the Friends of the Mary Livermore Library presented a panel discussion on American Indian Women of Proud Nations: Essays on History, Language and Education (Peter Lang, 2015). Edited by Cherry Beasley (Nursing), Mary Ann Jacobs (American Indian Studies), and Ulrike Wiethaus (Religion and American Ethnic Studies, Wake Forest University), the book is a collection of multidisciplinary essays on three interlocking themes: tribal history, language revitalization, and traditional educational systems. Authors Jane Haladay (American Indian Studies) and Olivia Oxendine (Administration & Counseling) participated and were joined by moderator Jesse Peters (English, Theatre & Foreign Languages). The work is part of series Critical Indigenous and American Indian Studies. 

NEW BOOK PUBLISHED BY PROFESSOR GUY

Roger Guy (Sociology & Criminal Justice) recently published his second book since joining the UNCP faculty: When Architecture Meets Activism - The Transformative Experience of Hank Williams Village in the Windy City (Lexington Books, Nov. 2016).  The book is a social history and community study that examines resistance to the construction of a community college in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.  

For more information on the publication, click here. 

NEW BOOK ON JEWISH ULTRA-ORTHODOXY PUBLISHED

Dr. Motti Inbari, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy & Religion, recently published a book on modern Jewish radicalism. In Jewish Radical Ultra-Orthodoxy Confronts Modernity, Zionism and Women's Equality (Cambridge University Press, 2016) Professor Inbari undertakes a study of the culture and leadership of Jewish radical ultra-Orthodoxy in Hungary, Jerusalem and New York. He reviews the history, ideology and gender relations of prominent ultra-Orthodox leaders Amram Blau (1894–1974), founder of the anti-Zionist Jerusalemite Neturei Karta, and Yoel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), head of the Satmar Hasidic movement in New York. Focusing on the rabbis’ biographies, the author analyzes their enclave building methods, their attitude to women and modesty, and their eschatological perspectives. The research is based on newly discovered archival materials covering many unique and remarkable findings. He concludes with a discussion of contemporary trends in Jewish religious radicalization. Inbari highlights the resilience of the current generation's sense of community cohesion and their capacity to adapt and overcome challenges such as rehabilitation into potentially hostile secular societies.

Dr. Inbari is a leading expert on Jewish fundamentalism and has won such prestigious awards as the Adolf L. Dial Award for Scholarship in 2014. This is his third book.

STATE HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION DONATES HUMAN SIMULATOR TO NURSING DEPARTMENT

Junior nursing students Prateeksha Dhakal, left, and Monica Brooks, provide care and comfort for the Department of Nursing’s newest human simulator as part of their Adult Health I Class.

Thanks to a generous donation by the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association, the nursing school acquired its newest human METIman simulator. Standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing well over 200 pounds, the full-body wireless instrumented manikin goes by the name Za Gracious – an anagram for Craig Souza, association president and member of the UNC Board of Governors. “Our association was very pleased to donate the digital human simulator to UNC Pembroke’s School of Nursing,” Souza said. “UNCP’s nursing program is among the finest in the state and its graduates are not only among the best qualified, but many tend to practice very close to their home communities. 

Dr. Jeff Frederick, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the state-of-the-art simulator allows the university to continue its tradition of producing world-class nurses equipped for the challenges of the 21^st century healthcare environment. “Passionate professors, cutting edge resources, generous partners, and enthusiastic students make for a great program,” Frederick said.  

For more on the simulator and donation, click here. For more on our Nursing Program, follow this link.  

UNCP CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR ESTABILISHES $425,000 ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP

Len Holmes (Chemistry & Physics), picture right with Devang Upadhyay, established the Leonard and Hickory Holmes Medical Career Endowed Scholarship at UNCP. The endowment will fund four scholarships per academic year for American Indian students studying either chemistry, physics or nursing. The scholarship honors Holmes' son, Hickory, an Oregon farmer, and seeks to advance the medical profession. 

“For me, it makes common sense,” Holmes said. “I love UNC Pembroke. I love the community. I’m not from this state, but this state accepted me and took me in and gave me a chance to make a living so I feel indebted to North Carolina, in general, and UNCP, in particular. 

“I’ve been working at a Native American school for 26 years … it’s time to give something back.”  Click here for more on Professor Holmes' donation.

UNCP AND NC STATE TO OFFER "3-PLUS-2" ENGINEERING DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM

UNC Pembroke and N.C. State University announced the 3+2 degree program during a ceremony in July 2016.  The program is designed for students to earn two degrees in five years. Students will earn a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from UNCP in three years followed by a bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering at N.C. State. UNCP will begin accepting students into the program in August 2016.  Pictured above are Chancellor Robin Cummings and UNSU Chancellor Randy Woodson.   For more information, click here. 

SARAH BUSMAN TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL FLUTE COMPETITION

Sarah Busman, a part-time lecturer teaching flute in the Music Department, will participate as a finalist in the 38th annual National Flute Association Young Artist Competition in San Diego, California August 8-14. The finalists will perform an unaccompanied round, and a panel of judges will select six contestants to advance to the semifinal round and will then choose three finalists to appear in a recital. The National Flute Association will present the first-prize winner in a performance at its 2017 convention and honor the winner in The Flutist Quarterly, along with a cash prize of $5,000. 

Busman holds a master’s degree from Peabody Conservatory of John Hopkins University. She is married to Dr. Joshua Busman, a music history professor at UNCP.