Faculty and Staff Notables

College of Education

Dr. Robbie J. Marsh, assistant professor of special education, co-authored “Updated meta-analysis on the research on response cards” in the Journal of Behavioral Education.

Dr. Katherine Perrotta, assistant professor of middle grades and secondary education, was interviewed about her research on promoting historical empathy in social studies on the “Let ‘s K-12 Better” podcast.

College of Health Professions

Dr. Jeannette Anderson, clinical associate professor of physical therapy, was appointed federal affairs liaison by the Georgia chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Dr. Ann Lucado, associate professor of physical therapy, co-authored the chapter “Tendinopathies of the upper extremity and biceps/triceps injuries” in the fourth edition of Test Prep for the CHT Exam, published by the American Society of Hand Therapists.

Dr. Ellen Perlow, clinical associate professor of physical therapy, co-authored the manuscript “A strategic physical therapy approach to restore function and maintain quality of life for a patient with multiple myeloma and vertebral fracture: A case report,” published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Dr. David A. Davis, professor of English, published the essay “Since Time: S-Town and the Problem of Southern Temporality” in the collection Remediating Region: New Media and the U.S. South.

Dr. Riku Kawaguchi, assistant professor of sociology, presented a research paper, titled “Assessing the Net and Joint Effect of Individual Activity Patterns and Neighborhood Characteristics on Racially-Motivated Hate Crime Victimization,” in the session “The Causes and Consequences of Hate Crime” at the annual meeting of American Society of Criminology held Nov. 18 in Chicago, Illinois.

Scot J. Mann, associate professor of communication and theatre, served as an official adjudicator for the Society of American Fight Directors’ Performance Skills Test for the North Carolina School of the Arts, Florida State University, Florida Atlantic University, Roosevelt University and the Actor’s Gym of Chicago. He also certified new instructors in his capacity as master firearms safety instructor for the national Theatrical Firearms Safety Course. At Mercer, Mann directed “The Commedia Pinocchio” and served as producer and fight director for “Hamlet 2020: The Bard Meets the Black Experience.”

Dr. Lydia Masanet, professor of Spanish, presented original work from her novel Enhebradas at the Conference XIV Encuentro Internacional de Escritoras EIDE in Caracas 2021, held virtually on Nov. 5. The conference celebrated major contributions of contemporary women writers throughout the Hispanic world.

Dr. Erin McClenathan, assistant professor of art history, presented a paper, titled “Dyn’s Photographic Vernacular,” on Nov. 12 for the International Society for the Study of Surrealism’s virtual conference Nuits blanches: Noches en Blanco: Around the Clock.

Tennille Shuster, associate professor of graphic design, was selected by jury as artist-in-residence at Hypatia-in-the-Woods in Shelton, Washington, from Dec. 5-18. While in residence, Shuster presented a workshop, titled “Masking and Overmarbling in the Suminigashi Method,” on Dec. 11 in cooperation with the Timberland Shelton Library. Additionally, her artist book Bound Together was selected by jury for exhibition in “Nature Works Artist Book Exhibition” from Dec. 3-24 at Upright Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Barry Stephenson, associate professor of biology, co-authored “The effect of albinism on avian predator attack rates in eastern garter snakes,” published in Zoology. The study was conducted with Zeshan Velani, an undergraduate research student in his lab, whose University Honors project was based on elements of this work, and Nikolett Ihász, coordinator of lab services in the Department of Psychology.

Dr. Bryan J. Whitfield, professor and chair of religion, was awarded the Kilian McDonnell Fellowship in Faith and Culture at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he will be a resident scholar in spring 2022.

College of Nursing

Dr. Tammy D. Barbé, associate professor and associate dean for graduate programs, presented “Optimizing Student Learning Using Cognitive Load Principles” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Transform 2021 Conference on Dec. 3 in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Justus Randolph, professor, co-authored “Transatlantic collaboration of citizen astronomers in follow-up exoplanet detection: A joint observation of TOI 2031.01,” a poster presented at the annual meeting of American Association of Variable Star Observers in Somerville, Massachusetts. Dr. Randolph also co-authored “Updated meta-analysis of the research on response cards” in the Journal of Behavioral Education.

Dr. Maura Schlairet, professor, Dr. Patricia Troyan, associate professor, and Dr. Jennifer Bartlett, associate professor, presented “It’s Your Choice: Exploring Students Educational Motivation and Behaviors During a Pandemic” at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Transform 2021 Conference on Dec. 3 in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Bartlett served as primary presenter.

College of Pharmacy

Dr. Mahavir Bhupal Chougule, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, co-authored “Nanomedicine based approaches for combating viral infections” in the Journal of Controlled Release, 338: 80-104.

College of Professional Advancement

Dr. Arla G. Bernstein, assistant professor and program coordinator of communication, completed the two-month program for Campus Compact’s Community of Practice for Engaged Research and will present her findings to the College of Professional Advancement on Feb. 18.

Mercer Engineering Research Center

Dr. Thomas Brussat, technical advisor in the rotary wing product area, gave a presentation on “Structural Risk Analysis of Helicopter Dynamic Components” at the 2021 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program conference in Austin, Texas. Based on this work, MERC is developing a tool that will allow the United States Air Force to estimate the replacement lives of safety critical components on its helicopter fleets.

School of Business

Dr. Laura Boman, assistant professor, co-authored “Less light, better bite: How ambient lighting influences taste perceptions” in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. The work was featured in The Daily Mail. Dr. Boman and undergraduate student Dolph (Ivy) Nelson IV co-authored “The Effect of Diversity Initiatives by Brands on Consumer Perceptions,” accepted to the Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference in March. Dr. Bowman and undergraduates Marissa Orlowski and Sarah Lefebvre co-authored “The Unintended Effects of Tamper-Evident Packaging,” accepted to the same conference.

School of Medicine

Dr. James Drummond, assistant professor of microbiology, was appointed director of the Master of Science in Preclinical Sciences Program.

Dr. Krista Mincey, associate professor of community medicine, published “Teaching Bias to Undergraduate Students in an Introduction to Public Health Course” for a special issue on “The Pedagogy of Antiracism” in Pedagogy in Health Promotion: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Bonzo Reddick, professor and chair of community medicine, was selected as Citizen of the Year for Savannah for 2021 by the Mu Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. The award is given to non-fraternity members in the city who have made significant contributions to the community.

School of Theology

Dr. Angela Parker, assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, had her book, titled If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I? Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, named by Word&Way as one of its 2021 Books of the Year. Word&Way is an award-winning monthly magazine that launched in 1896 covering Baptist news across denominational lines.

Staff and Administration

Dr. Deborah A. Johnson-Blake, substitute coordinator of the Douglas County Regional Academic Center, was appointed as a board member for the Hospital Authority of Douglas County. Members of the board serve as ambassadors and advisers for community health care initiatives and assist in raising funds for health care programs and services. This is a four-year term for appointed Douglas County residents, and the appointment alternates between the Board of Commissioners and the Hospital Authority. The appointment was done by the governing of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners.