HAPPENINGSA Newsletter for the Fayetteville State University Family

Published by the Office of Public RelationsA Newsletter for the Fayetteville State University Family

Published by the Office of Public Relations

HAPPENINGSVol. 3, No. 5Vol. 3, No. 5 Summer 06Summer 06

Dr. Tim Ajani, Department of English and Foreign Languages• PublishedarticleentitledWhatever Happened To “Queen’s

English”: Creativity and Innovation In Wole Soyinka’s Collected Plays,”West Africa Review:Issue7,2005.

• PresentedpaperentitledWriting an Effective SyllabustothefacultyoftheGraceCollegeofDivinityonAugust2,2006.

Dr. Louise Anderson Allen, Department of Educational Leadership

• Co-authoroftherecentlypublished2ndeditionofTurningPointsinCurriculum:AContemporaryAmericanMemoirfromPrenticeHall.

Dr. Ruth W. Johnson, Department of Nursing• PublishedarticleentitledIntegration of Technology in a

Clinical Research SettinginTheAssociationofBlackNursingFaculty(ABNF)Journal,Summer2006issue,alongwithothercolleagues.

Dr. Phyllis D. Morgan,Department of Nursing• Presentedatthefollowingtwo(2)conferencesinAugust

regardingAfricanAmericanwomenandbreastcancer:o Eliminating Health Disparities Among African

American Women with Breast Cancer--Panelist/presenteratthe7thNHAABiennialConference-HealthDisparitiesRoundtablesponsoredbyNorthCarolinaHamptonUniversityAlumni,Charlotte,NC,WestinCharlotteHotel,August18,2006.

o The Quality of Life of African American Women Coping with Breast Cancer --Oralpresentation

atthe34thAnnualNationalBlackNursesAssociationConference,Ft.Lauderdale,FL,August8-12,2006.

Dr. Daniel I. Okunbor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

• Servedasapanelistforthe2006NationalScienceFoundationGraduateResearchFellowshipProgram.Asapanelist,hereviewedandevaluatedapplicationsforthefellowship.Thefoundationawardedgraduatefellowshipstoover900students.

Dr. Gurcharan S. Rahi, Department of Natural Sciences• Reviewer/volunteer-EditorialAdvisoryBoardfor

SJI (Scientific Journals International).• Performedresearchonevaluatingpotential

ofradiation(non-chemicalalternative)tokillpathogensinporousmedium.Theshort-termlabexperimentswereconductedataResearchCenterofUniversityofFloridalocatedatQuincy.

• Reviewarticle,Positive Ion Poisoning,publishedonFSU’sfacultywebpageisquotedbyCNGHealthandEliteCombatUniformcompanieswhichmanufactureNegativeIonEmitters.ReferencetothisarticlefromFayettevilleStateUniversityismadealongwitharticlesfromHealthwiseHealthInfoCenterofCedars-SinaiMedicalCenter,MolecularNeurologyDepartmentofUniversityofCalifornia(Berkeley),WellnessCenterofUniversityofCincinnati,ColumbiaUniversity,andtheDepartmentofArchitecturalEngineeringofPennStatebyCNGHealthwebsite(Betterlivingthroughbetterlighting).

TheDepartmentofMathematicsandComputerwelcomedDr.VinodK.Aryaasthenewdepartmentchair,August1,2006.Growthwithinthedepartmenthasincreasedfacultymemberfrom27to33facultymembersstrong.Newadditionsareasfollows:

Dr.GenevieveKnightBelkDistinguishedProfessorDr.VinodK.AryaChairDr.NicoletaBilaAssistantProfessorDr.WuJingAssistantProfessorDr.XinTangAssistantProfessorDr.BingWuAssistantProfessor

Ms.BettyCrumplerretiredafter27yearsofservicehereatFSU,thus leaving Ms. Benita Y. Briggs to carry on as the office assistant. Ms.BriggsisarecentgraduateofFSU,May13,2006(History,CUMLAUDE).Sheisalicensedminister,amotheroffour,andagrandmotherofone(Quinton,21,U.S.Army-servinginIraq;Endya,19,FSUsophomoreandmotherofNoah(fourmonthsold);Benaiah,14;andDarryl,11).

She is once again enrolled as a student at FSU. With first hand experienceasastudent,shefeelsequippedtohandletheneedsofourstudents.

The Latest in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

FSU HAPPENINGS

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Dr. John Mattox, associate professor in the FSU NaturalSciences Department, participated in the 26th GeneralAssemblyof the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Aug 14-25, 2006in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. He gave apresentationat IAUSpecialSession#2, “Innovation inTeaching/Learning Astronomy Methods,” which was entitled, “DaytimeUtilizationofaUniversityObservatoryforLaboratoryInstruction.”

The hot topic of this IAU General Assembly was thedeterminationof thestatusofPlutoasaplanetandtheresultingofficial determination of the number of planets in our solar system.

TheIAUisthe internationalastronomicalorganizationthatbrings togetherdistinguishedastronomers fromallnationsof theworld. IAU’smission is topromoteandsafeguard thescienceofastronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation.Foundedin1919,theIAUistheworld’slargestprofessionalbodyfor astronomers.The IAU GeneralAssembly is held every threeyearsandisoneofthelargestandmostdiversemeetingsintheastronomicalcommunity’scalendar.

FSU Astronomer Participates in International

Astronomical Union 26th General Assembly

ByDr.JohnMattox

ByDr.ToddFrobish,DepartmentofPerformingandFineArts–

Fewpeopleevergetthechancetobetreatedlikeroyalty,butthisisexactlythetreatmentIreceivedduringmyone-monthvisittoBudapest,Hungary,asaFulbrightFellow.

It was Professor Joseph Diaz who first introduced me totheU.S.DepartmentofEducation’sintensiveFulbright-HaysSummer SeminarsAbroad program. Whereas the traditionalFulbrightawardsareteachingorresearchgrants,theFulbright-Hays awards are cultural learning grants wherein granteesare expected to study a chosen culture and then apply thatknowledgeintheclassroomuponreturn.IappliedinOctoberof last year and was selected as a Fulbright-Hays Fellow inMarch.Duringtheapplicationprocess,Iwasprovidedwithalistofsixcountries,andtoldthatIhadthechancetorankordermytopthreecandidates.Ionlychoseone,however,andthatwas

Experience of a Fullbright FellowExperience of a Fullbright Fellow

The Math and ScienceEducation Center conducted twoworkshopsandhostedanotherheldon campus this summer. Two five-dayworkshopswereheldduringtheweekofJuly10th. The first was an AdvancedFunctionsandModelingWorkshop. This workshop taughtfunction concepts from multipleperspectives: symbolic, graphicalandtabular.Italsotaughtmodelingtechniques using real world dataand data collection. ShermanSumpter, a NC PIMS facilitator,instructedtheworkshop.Secondly,MSEC conducted a SummerScience Institute. This workshopwas instructed by Dr. Lillian

Johnson(AssistantProfessorofMiddleGradesandSpecialEducation)andshewasassistedbyCherylAlston,aMSECconsultant.Thisisanine-dayinstitute (five days were conducted during the summer and the remaining fourdayswillbeheldduringthe2006–2007schoolyear).TheyfocusedonthemajorsciencethemesintheNCStandardCourseofStudyforGrades3-5:Energy/Forces,andRockCycle.Theinstitutealsoemphasizedsciencecontentandauthenticintegrationofliteracy,mathematicsandtechnology.The twoothermajor themes,EcologyandWeather andClimate,will betaughtduring the2006–2007school year.Uponsuccessful completion

of thenine-day instituteand curricular project, participantswill receive6CEUs.

The last workshop the MSEC hosted was held on July 25-27.Itwasafree,hands-onEnvironmentalScienceEducationWorkshop.Dr.MaryBellamy,aK-12outreachcoordinatorat theScienceHouseonNCStateUniversity,conductedtheworkshop.Itwasopentoallhighschoolscienceteachers.Theteachersparticipatedinhands-onsciencelearningactivities that have correlated with the North Carolina Science StandardCourse of study for high school grades. Everyone that completed theworkshopreceived:

• A free copy of the National Science Foundation’sScienceandTechnologyCenter forEnvironmentallyResponsible Solvents and Process Publication andEnvironmental Science:A Collection ofActivities fortheHighSchoolClassroom –VolumeI

• Astipend• Freelunchandsnacksonworkshopdays• CorrelationswithNCSCOScompetencygoals• Environmental Education Certification Credit• 18 contact hours of instruction, worth 1.8 renewal

credits• Freelaboratorymaterials

For information on upcoming workshops and classes, please visit ourwebsitewww.uncfsu.edu/msec/andclickonCourses&Workshops.

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Continued on page 4,Fullbright Fellow

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FSU HAPPENINGS

Experience of a Fullbright FellowExperience of a Fullbright Fellow

K-5LeadTeacherswithDr.TuprahandNC–PIMSFacilitatorJoyceHodges(standing).

Dr.ClaraB.Jones,associateprofessorofpsychology,andHeatherMiller,psychologymajor,traveledtoBelize,CentralAmericafor10daysinJunetoinvestigatebush-meathunting.JonesandMillerwereparticularlyinterestedindocumentingwhichethnicgroupsaremostlikelytohuntmonkeys(howlermonkeysandspidermonkeys).

Theresearchersinterviewed key officials in the BelizeanForestryDepartmentandinnon-governmentalagencies(e.g.,TheBelizeAudubonSocietyandTheNatureConservancy)aswellasBelizeanecologistsandconservationists.InterviewswereconductedinBelizeCity,inBelmopan,thecapitalofBelize,andattheCommunity“Baboon”Sanctuary,anecotourismsite.

Thissummer’sstudyispartofalargerinvestigationof“conservationpsychology”byDr.JonesandherstudentsdocumentingtherelationshipbetweenresidentsofBelizeandtheirnaturalenvironment.Onetentative finding of this summer’s studyisthatillegalimmigrantsappeartobeprimarilyresponsibleforhuntingmonkeysinBelize.WealsodocumentedthatBelizeanprimatesarekillednotonlyforfoodbutalsoforfun,andpossiblyforthepettrade.

AnyonewishingadditionalinformationonthisinitiativeoranyundergraduateinterestedintravelingtoBelizewithDr.JonesnextJunetocontinuethesestudiesisinvitedtocontactheratcbjones@uncfsu.edu.

Psychology Professor and Student Studies in Central America

Suzetta Perkins, Secretary of the University in the Office of the Chancellor, released her debut novel Behind the Veil on August 8, 2006. Behind the Veil is a riveting tale of love, betrayal, and loyalty. It is the story of Jefferson Myles, CEO of his own securities

firm, who allows greed to take him down a dark and dangerous road and compromise the lives of those near and dear to him. This book represents a major milestone in Suzetta’s life and she is very excited about where this journey is taking her. She is touring on weekends, promoting her book in Washington, DC; Virginia; Maryland; North Carolina; Massachusetts, Michigan, and Georgia. Suzetta is also a contributing author of My Soul to His Spirit, an anthology of short stories that was featured in the June 2005 issue of Ebony magazine and winner of the 2006 Fresh Voices Award. Suzetta will be in the Fayetteville area signing her book on September 16, from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. at Waldenbooks in Cross Creek Mall. On September 30, from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., she will host a book release party in the Seabrook Auditorium lobby on the campus of Fayetteville State University.

Congratulations!

Congratulations!Congratulations!

Suzetta Perkins, Secretary in the Office of the Chancellor.

The NC–PIMS (North Carolina Partnership for Improving Mathematics and Science) has also been busy this summer. In June,K–5and6–12summercourseswereheldforleadteacherswithintheNC–PIMS.Newmaterialwaspresentedtotheseteacherssotheycouldbeginpreparingprofessionaldevelopmentpresentations for theirpeer teachersthroughout the 12 NC–PIMS partner districts. Facilitators Dr. KwamiTuprah(associateprofessorofMath&ComputerScience),JoyceHodgesand Casey Sensenich, who work out of the FSU hub, held three five-day leadershiptrainingworkshopsessionsfromJune19-July14,2006.

Young Minds: Continued from page 2Young Minds:

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FSU HAPPENINGS

Hungary. (Asahighschoolstudent, IhadtheopportunitytotraveltoEuropeforthreeweeks, but only got a one-day glimpse ofthe beautiful city of Budapest during thattime.Itwasano-brainerthatInowtaketheopportunitytoreturn.)

The timing was perfect. I was ableto teach a few courses during the first Summer session, and then leave for thetwo-day orientation program they hadprepared for me at Indiana University,Bloomington. Here, I met my group forthe first time. There were eight of us total, whichwasanunusuallysmallgroupgivenpastyears.Iwasthelonemalewithsevenfemales of differing backgrounds. Wehadthreehighschoolteachers,twocommunitycollege professors, and three universityprofessors. IndianaUniversitywaschosenas the orientation site because they havean excellent program in East-CentralEuropeanstudieswithHungarybeingoneofitsemphases.Sowelistenedtotwofulldaysofpreparatorylecturesbytheexperts,and got to know each other during theprocess.A few years back, we were told,theywouldsimplyputthegroupofstrangerson a plane, which was awkward at best.Thisway,wecouldboardtheinternationalflight at least as acquaintances.

From the moment we arrived inHungary,weweretreatedlikediplomats.Wehadaprivatevanpickusupfromtheairportand deliver us to the hotel, and then to arestaurantontheedgeoftheRiverDanubefor our first meal in Budapest. While we ate, wecouldpeeracrossthebluewatersandsee thebeautifulChainBridge, theCastledistrict, and the National Gallery. We hadnoideaatthispointhowmuchhistorywasinthisonesimpleview,butwesooncameto realize thathistory isparamount to thisgeographicallysmallcountry.

A usual day consisted of waking

up around 7a.m., leavingthe hotel at 8:30 a.m. andwalkingtothebusstop,whichwould drop us off in frontof the Hungarian FulbrightCommission building. We

then listened to lectures from 9 a.m. until3 p.m., on every conceivable topic.TherewerelecturesonEast-Westrelations,1100years of Hungarian history, economics,politics,media,music, folk art anddance,minority issues, the Nazi occupation,the Soviet occupation, the Holocaust inHungary,education,and,ofcourse,severalHungarian language lessons.After3p.m.,we would either travel the city togetherwith a tour guideand listen toevenmorelectures, or have free time to explore thecityourselves.Freetimewasrare,however.Of the thirty days spent in Hungary, weonlyhadtwo“free”days.Iputquotemarksaround the word because the FulbrightCommission included optional events onthesedaysthatsoundedsoappetizingthatwewereeasilypersuadedtoattend.

Mixedintothismonthoflecturesweretwo3-dayexcursions into thecountryside.The first excursion took us to the Northeast, where we visited, among many cities,Győr, Sopron, Fertőd, and Tihany at Lake Balaton.Thiswasessentiallythecastleandpalace trip.Ournext excursion tookus tothe Northwest, where we explored, againamong many cities, the Puszta (flatlands), Debrecen, Eger, and Hollókő. This, it seemed, was more an exploration of thenaturalsideofHungarywithafewvisitstosomeuniversitiesandmuseumsthrown inforgoodmeasure.

Iwon’tgointotoomanydetailsaboutthemanysitesweexploredinBudapest,butIwillsaythatitisacitysaturatedinhistory.Everystreetcornerhasastatue,andeverybuilding, it seemed,hadbeenatone timeoccupied by some unwanted repressiveforce.Thisisacountrythathaslosteverysinglemajorbattleandwar,andlostmorethan two-thirds of its territory because ofit. This history was especially apparent inthe faces of its older generations—those

that longed to reclaim what used to betheirs.Noone,noteventheprofessorsandpoliticians,wantedtotalkaboutHungary’sfuture. Indeed, it was impossible for themto even speculate without first referencing their past. I will say, however, that this17-year old democracy and EU nation isdoing quite well, and has surpassed theU.S. inmore thana fewways.Although itis amodest country, theyhave little tobemodestabout.

Among the many highlights ofmy trip, I will best remember our tripto Parliament where we got to meetHungary’s most senior Parliamentarymember,ourmeetingwith theLordMayorofBudapest,theopportunitytobecomeanaudiencemember inaneconomicsummithosted by the US Embassy, a visit to theLabyrinth,anundergroundmazeoftunnelsunder Budapest that was once used as awartime shelter for 10,000 Hungarians,and, thehighlightofhighlights, thepeopleofHungary,whowerealwaysgraciousandfriendlytowardusYanks.

I encourage anyone visiting East-Central Europe to spend some timein Hungary, and especially the city ofBudapest.IalsoencourageotherstoapplyfortheFulbright-HaysgrantforthiscomingSummer. It is a wonderful opportunity tolearn,grow,anddevelopasapersonandteacher, and the application process isquickandpainless.

Anyone wishing more informationon the program is more than welcome tocontactmeformoredetailsat672-1206,ortfrobish@uncfsu.edu.

Todd S. Frobish, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Communication in the Department of Performing and Fine Arts. He would like to thank Dr. Valentine James, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Ms. Beverly Warren, Director of Sponsored Research and Programs, for their personal and financial assistance.

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FSU HAPPENINGS

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Department of Performing and Fine ArtsFayetteville State University

Fine Arts Series

ibyl Quartet The Performing and Fine Arts Series series opens on the weekend of September 16 and 17 with the newly formed Sibyl Quartet. The four-member ensemble is com- prised of two guest artists and two FSU professors. The guest artists are violinist Dr. Janet Orenstein of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music, and cellist Dr. Beth Vanderborgh of the Greensboro and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestras. The FSU ensemble members are violist Dr. Diane Phoenix-Neal and pianist Dr. Karen Carney. A master class in chamber music will be given by Dr. Orenstein and Dr. Phoenix-Neal from 12-2 p.m. on

September 16. Their formal concert will be held on September 17 at 4 p.m. inthe Rosenthal Concert Hall. Admission is free. Contact Dr. Phoenix-Neal at 910-672-1749or dphoenix@uncfsu.edu for more information.

The2005-06K-8TeachersLiteracyAcademy(KTLA)endeda second year of collaboration between the Fayetteville StateUniversity School of Education and the Weldon City Schools onAugust4,2006.KTLA,originallyfundedbytheNCQUESTgrantin2004,beganwithWeldonCitySchoolDistrict’selementary(K-4)schoolteacherswhoparticipatedinayear-longin-serviceprogram(40hoursofintensivesynchronousface-to-facetrainingovertwosummer sessions and ten five-hour sessions scheduled January 2004-September2005)designedandimplementedbytheSchoolofEducationand the formerCollegeofArtsandSciences. TheWeldon City elementary school students passing the NC ABCachievement tests went from 68.5% in 2003-2004 to 77.1% in2004-2005.

Thegoalof the2005-06programwasto increaseteacherknowledge and proficiency in the use of evidence-based strategies forteachingreading,writing,andliteracyskillsacrossthecontentareas to all children in elementary and middle schools. Thesecondyearprogramconsistedof twosetsofparticipants. Thefirst group consisted of teachers in grades 5-9 in the Weldon City School District. The teachers were involved in 95 hours ofprofessionaldevelopmentviaasynchonousinstructiononline,on-site workshops, one-to-one coaching/mentoring sessions, andself-reflection. Topics covered include reading, writing/literature, working with special populations, content teaching and literacy,student work sampling, peer coaching, and reflective commentary.

Usingtechnologymediatedinstruction,theparticipantswereabletocorrespondwithinstructorsonadailybasisaswellaswithoneanother in discussions online. Video and audiotape enhancedself-reflection and provided an avenue for mentoring. The second groupofteacherstaughtinpre-kindergartenthroughtenthgrade.During this final phase of the program, teachers participated in 45 hoursofonlinecourseinstructionsupplementedwithface-to-facesessions that addressed the implementation of learning stationsthat integrate the teaching of literacy in the content areas andmakinghome-schoolconnections in literacy instruction.Teachersearned graduate credit toward licensure in reading and/or theirmaster’sdegree.

The faculty for the second year program included Dr.PriscillaManarino-LeggettandDr.MarionGillis-Olion,bothoftheDepartment of Elementary Education; Dr. Virginia Dickens, Dr.CathyButler-Kosterman,andDr.KimberlySmithBurton,alloftheDepartmentofMiddleGrades,SpecialEducationandSecondaryEducation;andDr.CaroleWeatherford,Dr.BrooksieHarrington,andDr.JudyFowleralloftheDepartmentofEnglishandForeignLanguages.Dr.FrederickSmithoftheDepartmentofEducationalLeadershipdirectedthegrantandDr.JudyFowlerservedastheprojectco-director.Thisprogramisanexemplarofinter-andintra-institutionalcollaborationforregionalserviceatFayettevilleStateUniversity.

Kindergarten through Grade 8 Teachers Literacy Academy Completes Second Year

Dr.LillianRiggsJohnson,assistantprofessorintheSchoolofEducation,MiddleGrades,Secondary,andSpecialEducation,participatedinamonth-longVisitingScholarsProgramsponsoredbytheEducationalTestingService(ETS)inPrinceton,NJ.

Each summer ETS invites visiting scholars fromunderrepresentedgroupstospendtimeatETSandstudyfairnessissuesforminoritiesintestdesignanddevelopment.Thescholarsalso work on educational policy issues related to equity andpresentseminars.

Asavisitingscholar,Dr. Johnsonhad theopportunity towriteandreviewtestquestionsforthePRAXISII,GRE,SAT,andotherstandardizedtests.Shealsoparticipatedasaguestlecturertocreateamini-listeningcomprehensiontestsegmentthatwillbeincludedintheTestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage(TOEFL).FortunatelyforFayettevilleStateUniversityandDr.Johnson,shehasbeengrantedatwo-yearcontracttowriteandreviewpedagogyquestionsforPRAXISII.ItisDr.Johnson’sgoaltobeabletohelpFSUstudentswhowantandneedtopassbothPRAXISIandIIexams.

Riggs Johnson Participates in Visiting Scholars Program