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Dr. Thomas Ross (geography) was named Outstanding Educator of the Year by the North Carolina Geographical Society.

Dr. Ross has served the Geographical Society in many capacities including president. He received the award at their recent annual meeting in Wilmington, N.C.

The society promotes the study of geography, particularly the geography of North Carolina. Dr. Ross said the honor places him in very distinguished company across the state.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by my colleagues for this highly prestigious honor,” Dr. Ross said. “Outstanding geographers have won this honor before me, and I’m proud to join their ranks.”

Dr. Ross has published numerous books including “American Indians of North Carolina,” and “A Cultural Geography of North American Indians” in addition to atlases for Robeson, Richmond and Moore counties. He is also a nationally recognized expert on Carolina bays, which are shallow depressions in the landscape of the Coastal Plains of the Southeastern U.S.

Dr. Ross has advised UNCP’s highly successful Geography Bowl teams since 1980, and he said he never tires of the teaching and learning process.

“It’s a great job, the best job in the world,” Dr. Ross said. “I have the opportunity to work with bright students and great faculty.”

A faculty member since 1969, Dr. Ross twice won Adolph Dial Awards for Scholarship and was named Distinguished Professor in 1988. He said that the support of the University administration at UNCP greatly facilitated his work.

“This is a great place to work because the administration has been very supportive of my outreach activities, which is what this award is all about,” he said.

John Hays with treasury employee Sarah McConnaghy and the check

State treasurer surprises UNCP employee with check

A surprise visit from the North Carolina Department of the Treasury is enough to unnerve a guy. But it left John Hays (UCIS) $383.64 richer.

North Carolina Treasurer Richard Moore surprised Hays on October 22 with a check from the state’s unclaimed property fund. The fund (which can be found at www.nccash.com or by calling (919) 508-1000) found Hays and his money from a health insurance claim that never reached him.

“They contacted me a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I might get a check sometime before Christmas,” Hays said. “This was from some old medical bill from a long time ago. I was living in Fayetteville then.”

During Unclaimed Property Month in October, Treasury Secretary Moore traveled around North Carolina surprising people with checks and calling public attention to the fund.

UCIS Supervisor Delores Lowry was in on the surprise. Peanut butter sandwich in hand, Hays said it took awhile for his heart to calm down after the surprise. He said he has a few ideas what to do with the money.

Money from a variety of sources, including banks, insurance companies, utilities etc., ends up in the fund. Interest from the fund goes to scholarships in the Educational Assistance Authority.

Calabrese family serve as March of Dimes ambassadors

Kimberly Calabrese (UCIS – new hire), a member of the Cape Fear Division Advisory Board for the March of Dimes, recently attended the charity’s 13th annual Chef’s Auction.

Calabrese with husband, Carmen (Business), and daughter, Cailie, served as the Ambassador Family for the fundraiser, held at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in Fayetteville. The auction was very successful for the March of Dimes, which serves children and their families.

In a testimonial at the event, Calabrese said, “During our struggles to have a healthy baby, we came to greatly appreciated the noble work of the March of Dimes. Its mission to prevent miscarriages, to improve the medical care for premature babies and to provide vital support to families of babies in the NICU (neo-natal intensive care units) is so very important.”

There were over 450 guests in attendance. The auction raised over $70,000 dollars, with the presenting sponsor from Spring Lake Dental, Dr. David Dickerhoff. The Calabrese's honored guests were Dr. Roger Brown, Dr. Carolyn Thompson, Dr. Eric Dent, Ms. Amy Dent and Mr. and Mrs. Paquia.

Ricotta attends leadership program

Lorna Ricotta (Advancement) completed training in the Leadership from the Ground Up: Effectiveness in Changing Times program, which featured as speakers Rudy Guiliani, Suze Orman, Stephen Covey and others.

The program is presented in cooperation with Fortune magazine. Participants hear from the foremost leaders and innovators in the world and learn up-to-the-second business and leadership principles.

Krista Dees is 3rd in Miss N.C. USA pageant

Krista Dees, daughter of Darrell and Pattie Dees (Physical Plant), was 3rd runner-up out of 54 delegates in the Miss North Carolina USA 2005 pageant. The event was at the High Point Theatre and Exhibition Center in High Point, N.C., on October 22 - 23. Krista is a freshman at UNCP majoring in biology.

Dr. Knick to make two presentations

Dr. Stan Knick (Native American Resource Center) will be presenting two lectures off campus during national American Indian Heritage Month in November. The first will be on the subject of “Native American Cultures in Prehistoric Eastern North Carolina.” The discussion looks at prehistoric Native American life from the earliest nomadic hunters of the last Ice Age to the farmers encountered by Europeans when Columbus got lost on his way to India. It will be held at Fort Bragg’s Noncommissioned Officers’ Club as part of their Indian Heritage Month observance.

The second lecture will be entitled “Medicine Plants of Native America” and will be at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Over the millennia, Native people employed scientific methods to develop the most effective uses, as well as combinations of uses, of the plants in their local environments. “Today, the survival of this vital element of Native American culture is a signal to us all - one which calls us to preserve both the environment and the traditional cultures which remain,” Dr. Knick said.

Sherry Hunt wins MPA scholarship

Sherry Ann Hunt (Education), a candidate in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, was selected to receive the North Carolina City and County Managers Association scholarship of $1,800 for 2004-05.

The criteria for the award is the submission of an essay discussing the importance of ethical decision making in the public sector.

“I would like to thank Dr. Robert. Schneider (Political Science) and Dr. Michael Hawthorne (Political Science) for their work in judging the essays submitted,” said Dr. Nicholas A. Giannatasio, director of the MPA program and scholarship coordinator.

Dr. Reising attends College Board training

Dr. Robert Reising (English) attended a SAT II Writing Assessment Session in Parsipany, N.J., from October 13 -17, and then flew to Atlanta for an evening and all-day meeting of Advanced Placement Summer Institute Directors. Invitations to both meetings were extended by the College Board and Educational Testing Service (ETS).

Dr. Reising is currently serving as a visiting scholar at Michigan State University.

Will and Walt Clark shine academically

Will Clark, oldest son of Sallyann Clark (Mass Communications) attends St.Andrews Presbyterian College and is a member of the Knights baseball team. Clark qualified for the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) Presidential Honor Roll for the 2003-2004 school year.

CVAC institutions raised the academic bar as 696 student-athletes achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale). The CVAC’s emphasis on “Academics and Athletics Working Together” yielded the largest Presidential Honor Roll in conference history as the conference strives to be the front runner in NCAA Division II.

Walt Clark, Clark’s youngest son, attends Marlboro Academy. He won a medal for the highest score at the South Carolina independent school’s Math Quiz Bowl held in Orangeburg, S.C., in October.

Margie Labadie is guest artist in Australian gallery

Margie Labadie (Art) was invited to participate in a guest artist gallery for the International Digital Art Awards (IDAA) of Melbourne, Australia.

The exhibition may be viewed at: www.internationaldigitalart.com/guests/guestartpub.html

Labadie’s work centers around birds and the way birds and bird imagery have been part of human culture for centuries. Themes of war, love, separation and heroism are realized through collages of printed feathers, broken eggs, torn love letters and medals of valor.

John and Margie Labadie in Southeastern C.C. show

John and Margie Labadie (Art) are in an exhibition at Southeastern Community College, opening November 15. The show is called: “Digital Convergence Too.” The exhibition will be a combination of digital and traditional two and three dimensional works.

Dr. John Labadie’s works on display in Florida

John Antoine Labadie (Art) presented a paper on his artwork at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Jacksonville, Fla., on October 16. He was part of a four-person panel called “Wanted: Designer,” which dealt with the possibilities, expectations and realities of working in digital studios in the university setting.

Dr. Labadie’s digital art works are included in the Indian Documentary of the Electronic Arts (IDEA) No.7, a new media project published out of New Dehli, India. Labadie has 35 still images and four original video works in this version of the IDEA. Dr. Labadie's work was also included in the “IDEA No.6” in 2002.

Dr. Labadie has also published an essay with the Museum of Computer Art (MOCA) in New York. MOCA’s main page can be located at http://moca.virtual.museum/index.asp
The essay, “The Digital Past Speaks to the Digital Present – and Future,” is his sixth publication with MOCA and is located at: http://moca.virtual.museum/editorial/jal10_04.htm

Previous essays have included an interview with master printmaker Ralph Steeds (Art) and a discussion of printmaking from a digital perspective. These and other essays can be located at http://moca.virtual.museum/editorial.htm.

Steeds wins grant for regional art project

Ralph Steeds (Art) was awarded $1,000 for a Regional Artist Project, entitled “A Professional Hand Printmaking Shop and Studio.”

Steeds’ work is included in the print portfolio project “Beaten For Jesus.” This portfolio will contain the work of 23 nationally known contemporary printmakers. It will be on exhibit during the Southern Graphic Council conference in Washington D.C., March 2005.

Margie Labadie presents paper at conference

Margie Labadie (Art) presented a paper on her artwork at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Jacksonville, Fla., on October 16. She was part of a four-person panel called “Next Generation: SECAC's Newest Artist-Educators.”

Her presentation, subtitled “Flight of Metaphor," included 28 recent works including etchings, lithographs, collagraphs, linocuts, digital prints, mixed media collages and assemblages. The presentation highlighted two self-portraits and works in which bird imagery is used to express ideas of war, surrender, separation, rebirth, and love.

Labadie also received a Regional Artist Project Grant for $1,400 from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. She plans to refurbish a “well-worn” combination etching and lithography printing press for a home studio.

Paul Van Zandt exhibiting at NC State

Congratulations to Paul Van Zandt (Art) who has his work in an exhibit of Art and Design College at NC State University. The exhibit is called “Whata Relief.” Van Zandt is among 10 sculptors invited from the UNC system to show their work in the Brooks Hall Gallery at the College of Design November 7 through December 4. He will exhibit two reliefs.

Janette Hopper exhibiting in Texas, Illinois

Janette K. Hopper (Art) is exhibiting two monotypes in an invitational exhibit at The Art Studio, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas, along with other members of the National College Arts Administrators Organization.

In other recent activities, Hopper’s graphite drawing, called “Circling,” has been juried into the 30th annual Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition at Bradley University Department of Art in Peoria, Ill.

Birthdays, November 1-15
Rhonda Allen
Wayne Barkley
Domenico Bilotta
Robert F Britt
Amanda Calvin
Joyce Chavis
Carl Danis
Darlene Dial
Norris Ebron
Nicholas Giannatasio
Linda Hafer
Ronnie Hamilton
Connie Ingram
Saundra Jones
Virginia Jones
Glenda Kiser
Illya Lindsey
Angie Locklear
Donnie Locklear Jr.
James B Locklear III
Tabitha Locklear
Gao Longge
Matthew Lundin
Regenia Maynor
John T Mckenzie
Jennifer Morgan
Paul J. O’Neil
Rebecca Oxendine
Larry Parsons
Ed Powers
Timothy Ritter
Shirley Rodgers
Ted Strickland
Harold Teague
Jay Hansford Vest

New Hires
Loletta Deese – Housekeeper, Physical Plant
Myran Hunt – Housekeeper, Physical Plant
Mary Haywood – Housekeeper, Physical Plant
Wanda Locklear – Housekeeper, Physical Plant
Channing Alred - General Utility Worker, Physical Plant
Vernell Oxendine - General Utility Worker, Physical Plant

Promotions
Malcolm Jacobs - Maintenance Mechanic IV, Physical Plant
Craymon Strickland - Maintenance Mechanic IV, Physical Plant

Transfers
Liz Cummings - UCIS

Reclassification
Brenda Kay Jacobs - Program Assistant V

Births
Emma Evans (English) has a new granddaughter, Michaela Grace Evans, born on October 18, Her parents are. Michael and Amy Evans of Spring Lake, N.C.

Deaths

• Robert L. Canida passed away October 16 at age 78. He was the grandfather of Robert L. Canida II (Multicultural and Minority Affairs).
• Penny O. Locklear’s (Controller) nephew and Earl Cummings (Physical Education – retired) grandson, Quentin Cummings, passed away Oct. 13.

NCFlex enrollment ends Nov. 5
NCFlex annual enrollment ends November 5.

HR has discount cards from Belk
HR has received several discount cards from Belks. The discount card is good on Sunday, November 7, 5-9 p.m. to receive an extra 15 percent off regular and sale-priced merchandise throughout the store (10 percent off in the Home Department). If you would like to receive one of these cards please email donna.strickland@uncp.edu. First come first served!