BUSINESS
PROFESSORS PUBLISH ARTICLE IN NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL Mugs: Dr. Jeffrey A. Edwards, Dr. Lyubov A. Kurkalova and Dr. Mark L. Burkey GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dr. Jeffrey A. Edwards, professor and chair of the Department of Economics, Dr. Lyubov A. Kurkalova, associate professor of economics, and Dr. Mark L. Burkey, professor of economics at North Carolina A&T State University, along with colleagues R. Gary Pumphrey (Angelo State University) and Lucia Barbato (Texas Tech University), have published “Building a Simple General Model of Municipal Water Conservation Policy for Communities Overlying the Ogallala Aquifer,” an article that appears in the Natural Resources Journal (vol. 52, no. 1). # # # NIEMAN FEATURED AT THE “LUNCH WITH CAROLINA AUTHORS” Dr. Valerie Nieman GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dr. Valerie Nieman, associate professor in the Department of English, will be one of four authors featured at the "Lunch with Carolina Authors," 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Warwick Center Ballroom at UNC Wilmington. This event supports local scholarships for non-traditional women students. Tickets are $28 and include the luncheon, program, and raffle. For more information, visit the website at http://wilmington-nc.aauw.net. # # #
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A&T PROFESSOR CHOSEN AS VISION AND CHANGE LEADERSHIP
FELLOW Mug: Dr. Mary Smith GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina A&T University associate professor and chairwoman in the Department of Biology, Dr. Mary A. Smith has been selected to serve as a Vision and Change Leadership Fellow for Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE). PULSE is a joint initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and the National Institutes of Health/NIGMS (NIH/NIGMS). Over the next year, selected fellows will work as a team to produce an implementation framework describing strategies for change within academic departments. Smith is now part of a team of 40 fellows competitively selected from an application pool of over 250. The team’s goal is to stimulate systemic changes within biology departments at all types of post-secondary educational institutions, based upon the findings from the 2011 report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action and other similar calls for transformation of undergraduate life sciences education. The Vision and Change Leadership Fellows come from 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They represent research universities, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive/regional universities, and two-year colleges. MARTIN ELECTED TO COUNCIL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ACCREDITATION Mug: Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr. GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina A&T State University chancellor, Harold L. Martin Sr., has been elected to the board of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). He was elected to a three-year term during the CHEA Board of Directors meeting Sept. 24-25 in Washington, DC. Martin has been chancellor since 2009. Prior to his appointment at N.C. A&T, he was the senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina system. He previously served as chief administrator and seventh chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. Martin has also served in several administrative and academic capacities at A&T, including vice chancellor of academic affairs and dean of the College of Engineering. Martin received his B.S and M.S. in engineering from A&T and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of approximately 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations. CHEA is the only national association focused exclusively on higher education accreditation. The CHEA Board of Directors is composed of chief executive officers from degree-granting institutions, joined by other institutional representatives and public members. The board and executive committee meet three times each year. SPEIGHT-BUFORD INDUCTED INTO BLACK COLLEGE ALUMNI HALL OF FAME Mug: Dr. Velma-Speight Buford GREENSBORO, N.C. - One of North Carolina A&T State University’s most vocal alumnae has added yet another feather to her cap. On Sept. 28, Dr. Velma Speight-Buford, also known as “Miss Aggie Pride,” joined more than 275 distinguished alumni from historically black colleges and universities who have been inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. “It is the greatest honor that I have ever received. That organization is keeping the legacy of HBCUs alive. That is a legacy we ought to cherish and it’s a legacy that should live on,” Speight-Buford said. She was honored in the category of lifetime achievement during a weekend-long conference in Atlanta. A life-long educator, she received both her bachelor’s degrees from N.C. A&T in mathematics and French. True to A&T’s reputation, the Aggies had the largest and the liveliest delegation of supporters present at the ceremony. “My Aggie family represented me well – Aggie Pride was all over the place,” Speight-Buford said. “When I stood up to accept my award the first thing I heard was ‘Aggie Pride’ and I gave it right back to them.” This was the 27th year for the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Weekend Conference. The conference included the inaugural Legacy of Leaders Awards Luncheon, Black College Queens Competition, an official NCAA sanctioned golf tournament and the Competition of Black College Gospel Choirs and the highlight of the weekend, the Hall of Fame Induction Reception and Ceremony. Speight-Buford was one of 13 HBCU alums honored for leadership and accomplishments in their respective industries and communities. “I hope that I represented A&T well,” she said. “Two years ago at the Southern Education Foundation meeting, I talked so much about HBCUs, they said I was the moral compass for HBCUs and that is a title that I wear with pride.” Speight-Buford received her masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Maryland College Park. Her faith in her alma mater is rooted in her personal history with the school. It began when the Snow Hill, N.C., native was a student and almost too poor to attend college. She received financial assistance along with other support and nurturing while making friends with people whom she remains close. The support Speight-Buford received as a student helped her develop an unrivaled devotion to paying it forward. She has generously given monetary, property and planned gifts to the university. She has also given her time and talents to the university serving in various leadership roles throughout the institution. She has served as president of the National Alumni Association where she established the Alumni Scholars Program. She was the first woman elected to the Board of Trustees where she served 11 years, the last three as the chairwoman. She has also been a member of the School of Education Board of Directors as well as the Friends of Education, the Aggie Athletic Foundation and the advisory committee of the Talent 21. She has previously been honored by the university, the N.C. A&T State University Alumni Association and the N.C. A&T University Foundation. A&T UNIVERSITY CHOIR DIRECTOR AND STUDENTS PERFORM IN NATIONAL CONCERT CHOIR Photo: Maestro Travis Alexander and Gospel Singer Tramaine Hawkins GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina A&T State University Choir director, Maestro Travis W. Alexander, was named a national conductor for the 105 Voices of History HBCU National Concert Choir’s 5th Season Celebration on Sept. 21, at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. He spent half the year traveling to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country to rehearse the various groups of singers brought together regionally to prepare music for this big concert featuring representation from each of the 105 HBCUs. “This National Choir is a conductor’s dream made up of the Crème de Crème of choral singers. Each school conductor selects the very best student to participate, and they must go through a rigorous audition process to be a part,” said Alexander. The event culminated with a week of intense 12 hour days filled with morning and evening rehearsals at Howard University and workshops at the Washington National Opera Company of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Grammy Award winning gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins was the guest artist and sang two selections with the choir under Alexander’s direction. Grammy nominee Wintley Phipps was the host. “The Last Words of David,” arranged by Randall Thompson, “Way Over in Beulah Land” arranged by Stacey Gibbs, “Come Thou Fount” arranged by Mack Wilberg and “The Potter’s House” with Tramiane Hawkins as soloist were some of the highlights of the repertoire conducted by Alexander. “As a national conductor, I was so fortunate to be able to take three of my A&T University Choir students with me for this all-expense paid week in D.C., when usually only one student per school is allowed. It was a great opportunity for my students to meet, perform and forge new relationships with cutting edge students from other universities who are also leaders excelling in this difficult discipline of classical music,” Alexander said. Three senior music majors, tenor, James Thomas and sopranos Stacee Lyles and Chelsey Stanley, represented A&T in the National Choir. Last year, Alexander’s student, senior Anjelica McRae, was named National Voice of 105 by a committee of judges who deemed her solo musical preparation and performance the top among her 105 peers from the other universities across the nation. N.C. FAMILY COUNSELING CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT N.C. A&T GREENSBORO, N.C. - The 2012 statewide Fall Family Counseling Conference will be held at North Carolina A&T State University on Thursday November 15th. The conference theme is “Families: All of Us for Every One.” In addition to breakout sessions, the conference will include a panel discussion on the state of families, and a graduate student poster session. The keynote speaker will be Leonard Pitts, nationally acclaimed columnist with The Miami Herald. Conference clusters include: · Families and Trauma, · Families and Health Care/Disabilities, · Families and Healthy Marriage, · Families and Schools, and · Families and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Proposals for presentations are welcome. Forms for proposals and for registration are here at http://aggieresearch.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/2012-fall-family-counseling-conference-call-for-proposals-and-registration.docx. For additional information, contact Dr. Patricia Whitfield, president of the North Carolina Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Services, betheap@ncat.edu, or 336 334-7916. N.C. A&T SELECTED FOR FAA CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR GENERAL AVIATION GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is among 16 universities selected as members of the new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for general aviation. The U.S. Department of Transportation says researchers at the institutions will focus on the safety, accessibility and sustainability of general aviation. The group is officially called the FAA Center of Excellence Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility and Sustainability (PEGASAS). The center will be led by Purdue University, The Ohio State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The core team also will include the Florida Institute of Technology, Iowa State University and Texas A&M University. N.C. A&T is an affiliate member, along with Arizona State University, Florida A&M, Hampton University, Kent State University, Oklahoma State University, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), Tufts University, Western Michigan University and University of Minnesota, Duluth. Dr. John Kizito, associate professor of mechanical engineering, will lead A&T’s work with the center. In addition to his aerospace research and teaching, he serves as advisor to mechanical engineering majors concentrating on aerospace. He is also mentoring two Guilford County Schools teachers chosen as Kenan Fellows for a project on designing safe aircraft and a group of A&T students collaborating with students at Purdue to design an experiment to be conducted aboard the International Space Station. The FAA’s Center of Excellence program is a cost-sharing research partnership between academia, industry and the federal government. Its 30 industry, government, and nonprofit partners include Cessna, Gulfstream, GE Aviation, Harris Corporation, NetJets Inc., Piper, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, and Rolls-Royce, among others. The agency says it intends to invest at least $500,000 per year, during the first five years of the 10-year PEGASAS program. Research and development efforts will cover a variety of general aviation safety issues, including airport technology, propulsion and structures, airworthiness, flight safety, fire safety, human factors, system safety management, and weather. The FAA is in the midst of a 10-year program to reduce general aviation fatalities 10 percent by 2018. PEGASAS is the FAA’s ninth center of excellence. N.C. A&T has participated in two earlier ones, the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology and the Center of Excellence for Airworthiness Assurance. Among A&T’s aviation research assets is the NASA Center for Aviation Safety, directed by Dr. Kunigal Shivakumar. The university also is a founding member of the National Institute of Aerospace. For more on the FAA Centers of Excellence program, visit the program’s webpage, http://www.faa.gov/go/coe. BROOKS TO KEYNOTE FALL CONVOCATION Mug: Bishop George W. Brooks GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina A&T State University will welcome back alumnus Bishop George W. Brooks as the keynote speaker for Fall Convocation at 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 25 in Harrison Auditorium. Fall Convocation is the first of several events on the Alumni Schedule of Events for the 2012 edition of the Greatest Homecoming on Earth. Brooks is senior pastor and chief elder of Mount Zion Baptist Church of Greensboro Inc. After accepting the call to the ministry in December 1974, and being licensed to preach the gospel in March 1975, Brooks began his service as pastor of Mount Zion. He is the co-founder of Welfare Reform Liaison Project, a program designed to empower welfare recipients to become self-sufficient. Brooks is also an executive producer of the “Fresh Fruit” television broadcast that airs weekly on Tri-State Christian Television (TCT-61). Brooks believes in holistic ministry and serves the community on a local, state and national level as a member of the TCT Board of Directors, Mechanics & Farmers Bank Board of Directors, N.C. A&T College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Board, Beautiful Butterflies, Inc. (a nonprofit Lupus Foundation) and various advisory boards and boards of directors. He has been named among the “Most Influential Persons in the Triad” by The Business Journal each year since 2005 and serves as Bishop of Administration of Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. Brooks earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from A&T, a master of divinity degree from Shaw University in Raleigh and his doctorate of ministry degree from Friends International Christian University in Merced, California. KEA PRESENTS AT HOWARD LEE INSTITUTE Mug: Cathy Kea GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dr. Cathy Kea, professor of special education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at North Carolina A&T State University, and Dr. Theodore Pikes, professor of special education at North Carolina Central University, presented “Diversity in Teacher Preparation: School and Community Partnerships” at the Howard Lee Institute, which convened at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center on Sept. 26. A&T PROFESSOR PRESENTS AT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN HEALTH SUMMIT Mug: Dr. Maura Busch Nsonwu GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dr. Maura Busch Nsonwu, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at North Carolina A&T State University, was a presenter at the Maya Angelou International Women’s Health Summit on Sept. 28, at Forsyth Medical Center Conference Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Her presentation was titled “Working with Women and Children from Refugee Camps: Perils and Paradoxes.” Nettie Rowland |