Focus

Spotlight on the Academic Power of Piedmont College

2019-20

The Gospel and Gross Margins Students provide accounting help to Clarkesville Church.

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The Power of FOCUS Art Department Chair and Associate Professor Chris Kelly and Rebekah Kanipe ’19 (Graphic Design, Sculpture) closely monitor the progress of a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) router in Piedmont’s new digital fabrication lab. Kanipe was using the instrument to make chair parts for her capstone exhibition.

Contents

FOCUS

SPRING 2019-20

ON THE COVER Five business students help a local church and learn some valuable lessons.

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08 Features 06

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Looking Ahead

Kudos All Around

Accolades & Affirmations

A Q & A with RD Nordgren, Dean of Piedmont’s School of Education

In every way Piedmont’s first research day over-achieved

Good works from our faculty and students

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A Tale of Two Mentors

The Gospel and Gross Margins

A dean and biology professor help point the way for a young grad

Students provide accounting help to Clarkesville church

18 Mountain Dispatch An update from the Lillian E. Smith Center

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President Dr. James F. Mellichamp

Dean of the School of Education Dr. RD Nordgren

Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athens Campus Dr. Perry Rettig

Dean of the R. H. Daniel School of Nursing & Health Sciences Dr. Julia Behr

Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Daniel K. Silber

Dean of Libraries & College Librarian Bob Glass

Contributing Writer/Editor David Harrell

Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences Dr. Steve Nimmo

Vice President for Administration & Finance Brant Wright

Dean of the Walker School of Business Dr. Ed Taylor

Vice President for Advancement Craig Rogers

Contributing Photographers Kasey Brookshire Kyle Hess

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Director of Marketing and Communication/Editor John Roberts Design Manager Regina McCormick ’08

Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement Send Address Changes to: Piedmont College Institutional Advancement P.O. Box 429 Demorest GA 30535 Or piedmont.edu/updateinfo Piedmont College @PiedmontGA @PiedmontCollege

A Busy and Ambitious Year

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iedmont College’s newly articulated vision statement asserts that the College “prepares citizen-leaders who pursue knowledge, innovation, and

ethics throughout their lives.”

This issue of FOCUS highlights how Piedmont students, faculty, and staff worked together to further that vision and turn it into concrete reality over the past academic year.

In FOCUS you will read about a variety of collaborative efforts, explorations, and achievements. The current issue includes a profile of a young student leader who served as president of the Student Government Association and now aspires to a career in higher education administration and an article about a servicelearning project in which a group of accounting students helped a local church with its internal financial audit. These students’ college education is enabling them to choose a personally meaningful path that contributes to the community around them.

We are also proud to share the college’s first largescale academic celebration featuring the research and creative activities of nearly 200 of our students. The Piedmont Research Innovation and Discovery Exhibition was held on different days in April on both our Demorest and Athens campuses. Hundreds of students participated in these events with over 160 presenters in Demorest and over 40 in Athens.

2018-19 was a busy and ambitious year in so many other ways as well.

We showcased the creative talents of our own faculty and students as well as guest artists in numerous concerts, art exhibitions, and theatrical performances. Students traveled in Maymester courses for experiential learning opportunities in locations across the globe, including Ireland, Japan, Vietnam, and the Galapagos Islands.

The college also launched a number of new programs across a wide range of academic fields, including an accelerated 3+3 JD program and undergraduate

concentrations in hospitality and tourism management, actuarial science, and theatre arts—acting/directing. We also expanded programs at the graduate level. In addition to new degree tracks in our extensive education specialist degree program, there were two new degree programs in the health sciences—a master of science in athletic training and master of science in health and human performance.

Piedmont College is committed to providing academic programs of high educational quality that equip students for success and meet the needs of the wider community. As a comprehensive higher education institution, we prize the skills in critical thinking, effective communication, and collaborative teamwork instilled by rigorous study of the arts and sciences, and we value these skills both for their own sake and for the advantages they confer to college graduates in an increasingly complex, competitive, and integrated world. Our current mix of programs equips our graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for success in life, and we continue to study the regional market and give thought to possible additional programs to give the next generation of students even more opportunities for success.

While a publication such as FOCUS cannot detail every deserving achievement, it can convey the vibrant spirit of academic life at Piedmont College. I hope you will be intrigued and inspired by the work we are doing and the positive difference Piedmont is making in the lives of our students.

Daniel K. Silber, Ph.D. Vice President for Academic Affairs

‘RD’ Nordgren

Blue-collar roots, forward-thinking leadership

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r. ‘RD’ Nordgren joined Piedmont College July 1 as Dean of Education. A native of Illinois and former bodybuilder, Nordgren has blue-collar roots, attended college in fits and starts as his checkbook allowed, and earned his undergraduate degree at the age of 29. As a college student, Nordgren just wanted a degree that would lead to a good job in business.

He majored in English, his easiest subject, and added an education component as an insurance policy. During his junior year, Nordgren began student teaching and decided to turn his back-up plan into a full-time career. That passion has taken him to Ohio, California, Sweden, and now here, the hilly, green confines of Northeast Georgia.

Education was not your first career choice. What was?

I was working for a medical supply manufacturer.

They offered me a nice job as a product manager, but I needed a college degree. And as part of that, I had to do some student teaching. So I did my semester of student teaching, and I fell in love with it. So I told them, “I’m going to go into teaching.” My boss was the vice president, and his wife was a teacher. He said, “You’re crazy. You don’t want to do this.” I took a pay cut, went into education and have never looked back.

And that teacher mentoring is what inspired you to become an educator of educators?

It planted the seed for sure. I began attending graduate school with long-range plans of becoming a superintendent. But the more I progressed through my coursework, I discovered that I wanted to become a professor. The opportunity to work with educators during their pre-service (before beginning teaching full time) was very appealing to me.

You have conducted a lot of research about education reform. What sparked your interest in this?

I think of my own education growing up. My teachers did a good job of teaching me how to take a test, but they did not prepare me for life. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that soft skills and emotional intelligence are better predictors of college success than the SAT or ACT. I wanted to see schools become more relevant to work life and college life.

I became interested in different models of schools, different models of education.

Your study of school reform took you to Sweden.

What kinds of jobs did you have before you graduated.

I drove a delivery truck and was a cashier at a truck stop in Illinois. I worked third shift in a bullet proof cage. Later, I was a billing clerk and truck dispatcher in Texas before I moved to Florida where I had a stepbrother and stepsister and started going to school.

When you began working as a full-time teacher in Pasco County, Florida, in 1990, school administrators identified you as a leader.

I had a lot of energy. I was very organized. I was also open to new ideas and had a great relationship with the administration. I had college students coming to my classroom all the time because the professors would send them. I was experimenting with things that I had read in books. I was willing to take chances. They also put me in charge of mentoring new teachers.

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I did my dissertation work there. The data for my dissertation were pulled from three schools in a small community in Sweden. We had all these progressive ideas for education in the U.S., but they were actually doing them over there.

What did that look like?

Each student, no matter the age, developed his or her own personal learning plan and goals. Of course, the teacher and parents are involved in this, but they tried to make the student feel ownership. When I visited, little kids would have them hanging from their desk, and they’d show me their personal learning plan and what they were going to be doing that week. So when you walked into a classroom, you didn’t know when it began, because students just would come in, and they’d go to work either by themselves or with pairs or with groups of people. The teacher just bounced around the room. The first three times I visited schools there, I saw only one teacher address the entire class at the beginning of the session, and she was an American who was substituting.

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Speaking of education and change, what do you think the college classroom of the future – particularly as it pertains to teacher education and certification – will look like?

While there will always be a market for residential education, we are seeing a lot moving online now. When I started at National University (in La Jolla, California), we were about 30 percent online and 70 percent face-to-face. I moved it over to where it is about 80 percent online and 20 percent face-to-face. A lot of it just had to do with people voting with their feet. The students wanted online, especially the graduate programs, because they didn’t want to drive in two nights a week to campus.

Goss promoted to associate dean

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r. Susan Goss ’94, who joined Piedmont College in 2015, was promoted to Associate Dean for the School of Education in February.

In this role she is supporting faculty and staff

in the department’s undergraduate and graduate programs, ensuring that programs meet government guidelines, and

Do you sacrifice that personal component for online convenience?

Maybe years ago. But not now. With the technology we have now, with all the bells and whistles in the classes, you can actually have a very personal relationship with your online students. And online is much more convenient, particularly for graduate students. They are teaching during the day or have jobs. They’re not going to come in during office hours. They don’t have the time. So you end up spending more time when you teach online because you can have video chat sessions that fit their schedules.

working with Georgia school districts to develop partnerships.

A native of Habersham County, Goss earned a BA in Early Childhood Education from Piedmont and then received a MA (Education in Administration and Supervision) and a Ph.D. (Educational Leadership) from Clemson University.

Before joining the college as Director of Teacher Education, Goss worked for 18 years as a teacher and administrator in Northeast Georgia schools. The former principal at Cornelia Elementary and Clarkesville Elementary, she has also taught online courses

What attracted you to Piedmont?

I was ready to become a dean, but it had to be the right place. My wife and I had been thinking about where we wanted to land. The Southeast was very attractive to us. We wanted to live in a small town, and the southern culture is attractive to us. Moreover, Piedmont is such a unique place. It’s a growing liberal arts college and is doing amazingly well. The liberal arts component, teaching people to think and helping them to develop soft skills, speaks to me. There is a high-touch personalized approach here, too. And I like that.

for Concordia University and the University of Phoenix.

“Having worked in the public schools for nearly two decades, I understand the rewards and challenges of our profession,” says Goss. “This informs my advising and teaching, and helps me to support our aspiring teachers.”

F O C U S 2019-20

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A Pro K

If not for Dr. Kim Crawford (left), Kanler Cumbass would have likely transferred.

Dr. Julia Schmitz (right) taught him the value of research and academic inquiry.

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anler Cumbass has an easy manner around Dr. Kim Crawford and Dr. Julia Schmitz. Gathered in a room, the trio share laughs, knowing smiles and, on occasion, complete the others’ sentences.

Cumbass has known them for more than three years.

And his relationship has evolved from student to mentee, and now, colleague.

He was a freshman and considering transferring when he met Crawford, Associate Dean of Student Life. She saw a spark of leadership in the lanky tennis player and asked him to run for president of the Student Government Association (SGA).

Schmitz, a Biology Professor and Director of Piedmont’s Quality Enhancement Program, was introduced to Cumbass during his sophomore year when – as SGA President – he joined a new committee tasked with finding ways to infuse engaged learning into the curriculum.

Crawford helped teach Cumbass, the first of his family to attend college, the importance of servant leadership. She motivated him to motivate others, showed him how to set – and complete – goals, and exposed him to techniques to get groups of people working together.

duct of

Crawford and Schmitz helped Cumbass find himself and discover a career

Cumbass was a member of the USA South All-Academic Team

here are so many aspects T to retaining students and getting students involved.

Seeing the people who are a part of this plan in various departments, I realized this stuff really matters.

–Kanler Cumbass ’19 Through Schmitz, Cumbass came to understand the perplexing issues administrators and faculty face, and he was exposed to the inner workings of higher education.

The mentorship of the two reached a crescendo last December when Schmitz and Cumbass co-presented at a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. As dozens

of administrators from other institutions looked on, the pair described how Piedmont was working to incorporate high-impact learning experiences, such as research and travel study, into the student experience. In all, 179 presented at the four-day conference. Cumbass was the only student among them.

It was there that his career-calling began to take shape.

“In those moments I learned who I wanted to be and who I did not want to be,” he said.

Through the presentations he saw himself. As a first-semester freshman, Cumbass struggled to adjust to his newfound freedom, suffered from homesickness, and nearly transferred to a college closer to his home in southern Georgia. That’s when Crawford reached out. Cumbass began to get involved. His circle of friends expanded beyond the tennis team. Suddenly, he felt connected, began to thrive in the classroom, and felt like he belonged.

Later, as a student leader, he worked to educate students on ways to become more involved. And he learned from his committee work how faculty and student life personnel intentionally knitted those connections together. Now he was speaking to college presidents and vice presidents about how those experiences shaped him and how he was working with Piedmont administrators and faculty to make more of them available.

“I began to see how it all fit together. It’s a puzzle piece, really. And that excited me,” he said. “There are so many aspects to retaining students and getting students involved. Seeing the people who are a part of this plan in various departments, I realized this stuff really matters.”

Graduating with a BA in history and political science in May, Cumbass credits Crawford and Schmitz for his transformation from a homesick, scared freshman to a confident graduate who has been accepted as a MEd candidate to the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education.

After graduating from UGA, he plans to work in higher education, doing for others what Crawford and Schmitz did for him.

For three years, Cumbass served as president of the Student Government Association.

F O C U S 2019-20

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A GRAND

Inaugural research day attracts 160 presenter

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ast spring, six faculty and three staff began making plans for an undergraduate academic showcase.

The group wasn’t sure what the event would look like, did not have a name, or know where it would be held. They just wanted to create a space where students could display and discuss the academic experiences that helped shape and inspire them such as research, study away, internships, and works of art.

A trip to Furman University’s research day sparked some ideas. A visit by Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence, Director at the UNCF/Mellon Programs and Associate Professor of Sociology at Spellman College, sparked a campus dialogue. Also, five members of the committee attended a four-day institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, to learn about different ways to promote and grow active learning.

“This entire project pushed me to think on my feet because I had to field a lot of off-the-wall questions. And it also piqued my interest in conducting more research. I really enjoyed it.

–Dakota Johnson ’20

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After that trip, the event began to take shape. The committee developed a name, Piedmont Research Innovation and Discovery Exhibition, set a location (The Swanson Center for the Performing Arts) and, most importantly, developed a plan to generate support and contributions from Piedmont’s four academic units.

“Participation was a big concern for us,” said Dr. Julia Schmitz, Director of Piedmont’s Quality Enhancement Program and Associate Professor of Biology. “We didn’t want to put a lot of energy into planning an event and have underwhelming participation. As a committee, we knew that it would be important to get off on a great foot.”

Late last fall, the group estimated that great start would be 70 participating students.

By early 2019, nearly twice that – 160 students on the Demorest and Athens campuses – had signed up.

“It was real exciting to see the numbers come in,” said Schmitz.

“The deans really pushed for it. And the faculty on the committee encouraged their colleagues and students to take part.”

The April 17 event included two afternoon, one-hour classroom track sessions for students to present papers and discuss group projects. During these sessions, the mainstage featured musical and theatrical performances.

A separate poster session in the atrium separated the track sessions.

From “The Success of Finger Powders on Different Surfaces” to “A Game Theory Approach to Poker,” the presentations and discussions were vast and varied. In all, approximately 400 attended. The group included parents and some members of the community. A similar event on the Athens campus on April 11 included 30 student participants and approximately 100 spectators.

SUCCESS s, 500 spectators

Presenting an oral presentation was new to me. Anyone can write a paper. But breaking down the medical terminology to a language that non-medical people can understand is hard. The oral presentation helped me develop this skill, which will help me when I am ready to search for a job. –Erica Balkcum ’20 While some aspects of the event were replicas of what the committee had seen at other colleges, it had a unique flair. Members of the Piedmont Singers performed in the morning; there were t-shirts, door prizes, and Leo the Lion was there. The organizers wanted the day to be a celebration of scholarly work.

“This day was an example of what makes Piedmont unique: mentorship, personal relationships, and academic rigor,” said Dr. Daniel K. Silber, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “It was a wonderful example of reciprocal learning—students teaching and learning from their fellow students—and of the high-quality academic work that a Piedmont College education has empowered so many of our students to achieve.”

Schmitz said the committee is digesting feedback from the first event and will likely expand next year’s to an entire day. “By all accounts, the inaugural exhibition was a tremendous success, and we want to build on the momentum for next year,” said Schmitz. “It will be easier because we have a template and people know what to expect.”

THE GOSPEL AN (left to right) Danyelle Moon ’19, Hannah Worley ’19, Cooper Donnelly ’19, and Tariq Abdulgader ’19, pose in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville. Not pictured; Garrett Moore ’19

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Accounting project benefits church and students

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or many, an internship or real-life work experience can affirm a career choice. For others, like Garrett Moore ’19, the impact can have the opposite effect.

And that’s good, too.

A finance major who graduated in May, Moore was one of five students who worked with First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville on a special procedures report this year that reviewed and summarized the organization’s annual budget and financial statements.

His role in the three-month project was to analyze the church’s personnel-related expenses. He examined payroll, pension plans, and healthcare costs, ultimately completing a three-page report.

While not unpleasant, Moore said the work was not fulfilling. Afterwards, he shifted his career interest from financial auditing to analyst.

“Any experience that gives you an opportunity to apply what you learn in the classroom to a real setting is very positive,” says Moore, “It helped me to determine what I did not want to do, which is better than finding out after you get a job.”

For each student, Moore, Tariq Abdulgader ’19, Cooper Donnelly ’19, Hannah Worley ’19, and Danyelle Moon ’19, the project – developed by Accounting Professor Walter Keel – was a journey of self-discovery. Abdulgader, who studied contracts and outside expenses, found he excelled in client relations. Moon emerged as an organizer and task manager.

Donnelly and Worley enjoyed becoming immersed in the details.

Keel developed the exercise (it cannot be called an audit because one semester is not enough time to do the testing required for an opinion on the complete set of financial statements) five years ago to give business

majors some professional experience while serving the community.

“We did not know what to expect once we got started,” says Worley. “But it came together when we began applying some of the concepts we had covered in class.”

The project was more than number crunching, though. The group had to coordinate work schedules and meeting times with Barbara Johns, the church’s finance administrator. This was quite a task as three were varsity athletes. And they learned how to discipline themselves to meet a hard deadline.

For Keel’s part, he provided as little guidance as possible, wanting the students to work together to solve problems and smooth over any disagreements – just like the real world.

“Professor Keel did a project check every week, but he really wanted us to make this our project,” says Moon.

The result: The five seniors said the project was one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences they’ve had during college.

Matt Henderson, pastor of the 187-yearold church, praised the team for their thoroughness and professionalism.

“Our by-laws require the church to be reviewed by an outside service. So, we are grateful because this represents a financial savings,” he said. “Besides, this is a great model for college-community service. Piedmont is a vital part of the community. As a church, this is an important connection for us to have.”

This is a great model for college-community service.

Piedmont is a vital part of the community. As a church, this is an important connection for us to have.

–Matt Henderson, Pastor F O C U S 2019-20

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Accolades & Affirmations Faculty

Brian Hitselberger Associate Professor of Art His book, Counterspell, was recently accepted into the open stock at Printed Matter through an open submissions program. Printed Matter is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination and appreciation of artists’ books.

Dr. Barbara Benson Professor of Education and Chair, Early Childhood Development Awarded the “Age Well, Live Well Award” on May 29 by the Athens Community Council on Aging. The award recognizes outstanding older adults in the Athens community who exhibit and exude the qualities of aging and living well by making a difference in the community with heart, dedication, and experience.

His work was displayed at Open Gallery of Montgomery CollegeSilver Spring (Maryland) during September and October.

The solo exhibition, titled “Other Ways of Telling,” explored hate speech and self-protection in the 21st century.

Dr. Rebecca Brantley Assistant Professor of Art & Director of the MasonScharfenstein Museum of Art Published “Single Artist Spotlights: Renée Cox, Ou Zhihang, and Stacey Tyrell” in The Focal Press Companion to the Constructed Image in Contemporary Photography in September.

Dr. Stephen Carlson Senior Fellow in Business Presented “Buyer-Seller Trust Relationships: What Makes Them Work?” at the Atlantic Marketing Association Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in September.

Dr. James F. Mellichamp Professor of Music and President of Piedmont College Performed a solo concert at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, on January 9.

Sean Carrigan Professor of Chemistry Presented “Implementing a ‘What’s In the Bottle’ Guided Inquiry Lab in a First Semester General Chemistry Class as an Assessment Tool for the General Education Program” to the Division of Chemical Education at the American Chemical Society National Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 19, 2018.

Dr. Hugh Davis Associate Professor of English and Chair of Humanities Presented “Else (Take Heed) the Sweet Flesh Slips Polysexual Self-Fashioning in James Agee’s Letters” at the American Literature Association Annual Convention in San Francisco, California, in May 2018.

Presented “ ‘And Then They Would Fear You’: The Roman Subtext of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather Films” at the Popular Culture Association of the South Annual Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October.

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Performed a solo concert as part of the Picololo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 29.

Dr. Lynn Rambo Associate Professor of Education and

Dr. Kelly Land Assistant Professor of Education and Director of Clinical Experiences

and

Dr. Bill Nye Associate Professor of Education and STEM Discover Center Director Presented “Impact of a Transformational Change in Teacher Preparation” at the Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in February.

Dr. Douglas Torrance Assistant Professor of Mathematics Presented “Biconal Subspace Arrangements” at the Mathematical Association of America Southeastern Section Annual Conference at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, in February.

Dr. Carson Webb Harry R. Buttman Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Published a review of Kierkegaard and Classical Greek Thought with Bojan Zalec and Patrik Lenghart that will be included in an upcoming issue of XLinguae.

Dr. Bill Nye

Dr. Perry Rettig Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athens Operations Presented “School Governance and Democratic Principles” at the 26th Annual International Conference on Learning at Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland, in July.

Dr. Julia Schmitz Associate Professor of Biology and QEP Director Co-presented (with Kanler Cumbass ’19) “Engaging Students in the Implementation of the QEP” for the Weave Webinar Education Series in February.

Co-presented (with Kanler Cumbass ’19) “Engaging Students in the Implementation of the QEP” at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December.

The first author of “Murine Adherent and Invasive E. coli Strains Induce Chronic Inflammation and Immune Responses in the Small and Large Intestines of Monoassociated IL-10-/- Mice Independent of Long Polar Fimbriae Adhesin A” in Inflammatory Bowel Disease in December.

Presented “Creating a Pamphlet to Learn About Human Diseases” at the Human Anatomy & Physiology Society Conference in Columbus, Ohio, in May.

Dr. Carson Webb

Published “The Rise of Fascism and the Reformation of Hegel’s Dialectic in Italian Neo-Idealist Philosophy” with Igor Tavilla and Roman Králik in the January issue of XLinguae.

His work, “Eternity’s Magic Lantern: The Aesthetics of the Eternal from Spinoza to Kierkegaard,” was accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of Experimentation and Dissidence.

Published “The Courage Not To Be: Suicide and the Temerity of Joy,” in the book Taking Kierkegaard Seriously: First Person Responses.

Presented “The Courage Not To Be: Kierkegaardian Reflections on Suicide and the Temerity of Joy” at the The Eighth International Kierkegaard Conference at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in June.

Presented “Eternity’s Magic Lantern: The Aesthetics of the Eternal from Spinoza to Kierkegaard,” at the University of Lisbon in February.

Presented “Ambiguous Affects: Parsing Depictions of Faith in Black Existential Literature” at the American Comparative Literature Association at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in March.

Dr. Stephen Whited Professor of English Attended the Eighteenth Annual “Reacting to the Past” Faculty Institute, which was hosted by Barnard College (New York City) in June 2018. He served as assembly leader Lycon in The Threshold of Democracy: Athens in 403 BCE and played the role of journalist François Louis Hutteau in the Rousseau, Burke, and Revolution in France, 1792.

Dr. Stephen Whited F O C U S 2019-20

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Students Cecilia Davis ’18, Tyler Brock ’18, Jessica Smith ’18 Biology majors

Presented a poster “Differential Habitat Use by Sympatric Salamanders Along Their Parapatric Border” at a meeting of Association of Southeastern Biologists in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, March 2018.

Keaton Benfield ’20 English major

Presented “The Nietzschean Super(wo)man and Crime Noir” at the Popular Culture Association of the South Annual Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October.

Tyler Brock ’19 Biology major and

Dr. Carlos Camp

Professor of Biology

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Tyler Brock ’19 Biology major and

Rachel Matthew ’18

BS Biology Co-authored a poster “Incidence of the Leech Placobdella biannulata on Appalachian Salamanders” that was presented February 22-25, 2018 at the The Southeastern Partners for Amphibian & Reptile Conservation in Helen, Georgia.

Co-authored a poster “Host Specificity of the Leech Placobdella biannulata on Appalachian Salamanders” that was presented March 28-31 at the Association of Southeast Biologists Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Co-authored a paper, “Host Specificity of the Leech Placobdella biannulate,” that was published in the July issue of Comparative Parasitology.

Kanler Cumbass ’19 Political Science major and

Dr. Julia Schmitz

Associate Professor of Biology & QEP Director

Co-authored a paper titled “Life History and Habitat of the Rare Patch-nosed Salamander (Urspelerpes brucei)” that was published in a 2018 edition of Herpetological Conservation and Biology.

Co-presented “Engaging Students in the Implementation of the QEP” for the Weave Webinar Education Series in February.

Co-authored a paper titled “Diadophis punctatus edwardsii (Northern Ring-necked Snake) Envenomation” that was published in a 2018 edition of Herpetological Review.

Co-presented “Engaging Students in the Implementation of the QEP” at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in New Orleans, Lousiana, in December.

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Ansley Lester ’19

Lauren Smith ’21

Sociology & Anthropology major

English major

Participated in archaeological excavations at the White Pond site in Elgin, South Carolina, during spring break in 2018. The excavations were conducted by the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, White Pond Human Paleoecology Project.

Presented “Malware Women: The Femme Fatale in Ex Machina and The Postman Always Rings Twice” at the Popular Culture Association in the South Annual Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October.

Allyson McCollum ’20 English major

Presented “Cultured Cuisine: Cannibalism as Cultural Critique in Fruit Chan’s Dumplings and Antonia Bird’s Ravenous” at the Popular Culture of the South Annual Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, in October.

Tracy Mealor ’20 Mass Communications & Theatre Arts major

Received the Georgia Rotary District 6910 scholarship offered by the Rotarians of Oslo, Norway, for the International Summer School at the University of Oslo. As such, she spent six weeks this summer in the country studying with international students.

Received the Georgia Association of Broadcasters’ E. Lanier Finch ($1,500) Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to students who will carry on the tradition of excellence in Georgia’s broadcasting industry.

Sarah Reeves ’19 Psychology major and

Student-Athletes Devin Haupt ’18 Women’s soccer and

Brady Ballstadt ’19

Baseball

Named Google Cloud Academic All-Americans.

Devin Haupt ’18, Cassidy Reich ’19, Samantha Ishee ’19, Sarah Weber ’19, and Jazmin Penado ’19 All women’s soccer

Named to the Scholar All-South Region Team.

Harrison LaBollita ’19 Men’s tennis

Received a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA.

Dr. Cynthia Vance

Professor of Psychology

Presented “Perceptions of Emotional Abuse” at the Southeastern Psychological Association conference in Jacksonville, Florida, in March.

Ansley Lester ’19

F O C U S 2019-20

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Mountain Dispatch

An update from the Lillian E. Smith Center

By Matthew Teutsch

L

illian E. Smith’s grave at Laurel Falls Camp reads, “Death can kill a man, that is all it can do to him; it cannot end his life because of memory.” Those words echo in my mind every day, causing me to think, “What memory will I leave?”

As the new director of the Lillian E. Smith Center, I am excited to continue the work of Lillian E. Smith. She upheld the mission of Piedmont through her life-long learning, which, as she put it, allowed her to “build bridges to other people: to one, then to one more, and on and on.” Her compassion for all mankind and her stewardship of local and global communities through the Laurel Falls Camp and her international work exemplified Piedmont’s core mission.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Smith’s first novel, Strange Fruit (1944), and the 70th of her seminal work Killers of the Dream (1949).

There will be various events to celebrate these anniversaries. On September 17 in Demorest, Michał Choiński will present on ghosts in Killers of the Dream.

The Lillian E. Smith Symposium will occur October 26 at the Athens campus. The symposium will include a screening of Hal and Henry Jacobs’ documentary Lillian Smith: Breaking the Silence and presentations from Piedmont 2019 graduate Emily Pierce speaking about the LES Scholars program, Patricia Bell-Scott speaking on Lillian’s relationship with Pauli Murray, Tanya Bennett speaking about the geographic mapping of Strange Fruit, and Ben Railton speaking about Lillian E. Smith’s model for an inclusive America. For more information and registration, visit www.piedmont.edu/symp.

We are planning more events and programs for the coming year, so stay tuned.

For more information about the center, visit www.piedmont.edu/les.

(The author is the Director of the Lillian E. Smith Center)

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The Lillian E. Smith Symposium on Arts and Social Change Saturday, October 26 Piedmont College, Athens Campus

New Faculty SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES ◆ Dr. Francis Adams Assistant Professor, Math · PhD, MS, University of Florida · BA, Carleton College ◆

Dr. Elizabeth “Betsy” Weinrich Instructor, English · PhD, University of Georgia · MA, Auburn University · BA, Oral Roberts University

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Mr. Bruce Willis Senior Fellow, Forensic Science · EdS, BS, Valdosta State University · MPA, Columbus State University

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ◆ Dr. Kate Guthrie Visiting Assistant and Professor, Educational Research · PhD, MEd, BSEd, University of Georgia ◆

Dr. RD Nordgren Dean, School of Education, and Professor, Education · PhD, MEd, BS, University of South Florida

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Dr. Theodore “Tad” MacMillan Visiting Assistant Professor, Education · BA, MEd, University of Georgia

R.H. DANIEL SCHOOL OF NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES ◆ Dr. Lashanda Brumfield Assistant Professor, Health Sciences · PhD, University of Mississippi Medical Center · MPH, Jackson State University · BS, University of Southern Mississippi ◆

Dr. Marcella Davies Assistant Professor, Nursing · PhD, Walden University · MSN, MBA, University of Phoenix · BSN, Old Dominion University

New Programs SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES ◆ Bachelor of Science, Computer Science (Arts & Sciences) (Demorest) R.H. DANIEL SCHOOL OF NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES ◆ 3+2 Bachelor of Science, Exercise and Sport Science, with a Master of Science, Athletic Training (Demorest) ◆

Master of Science, Athletic Training (Demorest)

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Master of Science, Health and Human Performance (Demorest)

F O C U S 2019-20

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The Power of FOCUS Students mix compounds in Dr. Elaine Bailey’s chemistry class to make a commonly used product: soap.

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