The Reporter, July 2011

The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues.SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Meeting with Ralph Nader (second from left) are, from left, Allen Sack, dean of the College of Business at the University of New Haven, president-elect of The Drake Group and author of "Counterfeit Amateurs”; Kadence Otto, WCU associate professor of sport management and past-president of The Drake Group; and Jason Lanter, assistant professor of psychology at Kutztown University and current president of The Drake Group. ACHIEVEMENTS Kadence Otto discusses state of sports with Ralph Nader Kadence Otto, associate professor of sport management at Western Carolina University, met recently with influential political activist Ralph Nader at his office in Washington, D.C., to discuss their mutual interest in the current state of sports in the United States. During a two-hour conversation, they paid specic attention to critical issues facing intercollegiate athletics. Otto is past-president of The Drake Group, a national network of faculty and sta members who lobby for academic integrity in college athletics. The League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Nader to encourage social and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS 2011 faculty tenure and promotion decisions announced Thirty-six Western Carolina University faculty members were promoted or received tenure in spring 2011. Robert Anderson received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of engineering and technology. Teresa Armfield, assistant professor of music, received tenure. Julia Barnes was promoted to professor of mathematics and computer science. Robert Carton received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of entrepreneurship. Kefyn Catley received tenure and was promoted to professor of science education and biology. Mae Claxton received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of English. Philip Coyle was promoted to professor of anthropology and sociology. Laura Dewald was promoted to professor of chemistry and physics. Sharon Dole was promoted to professor of human services. Tuval Foguel, professor of mathematics and computer science, received tenure. Terry Fox, associate professor of stage and screen, received tenure. Elizabeth Heffelfinger received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of English. Christopher Hoyt received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of philosophy and religion. Michael Hubble was promoted to professor of health sciences. David Hudson received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of physical therapy. Scott Huffman received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of chemistry and physics. Cheryl Johnston received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of anthropology and sociology. Kathleen Jorissen received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of educational leadership and foundations. Gibbs Knotts was promoted to professor of political science and public affairs. Becky Kornegay was promoted to associate professor of Hunter Library. William Kreahling received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of mathematics and computer science. Bradley Martin received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of music. Ron Mau received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of construction management. Sharon Metcalfe received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of nursing. William Richmond, associate professor of computer information systems, received tenure. Phyllis Robertson received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of human services. Michael Smith was promoted to professor of global management and strategy. Benjamin Tanner received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of geosciences and natural resources. Lori Unruh received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of psychology. Barbara Jo White received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of information systems and economics. John Whitmire received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of philosophy and religion. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Denise Wilfong received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of health sciences. Pavel Wlosok was promoted to associate professor of music. Stephen Wohlrab received tenure and was promoted to associate professor music. Mesfin Woldeyohannes received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of chemistry and physics. Tracy Zontek received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of health sciences. © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | TOP STORIES Elders to visit WCU for dialogue on Native science Pioneers of Native science will visit Western Carolina University in August to participate in dialogues intended to help develop the Rooted in the Mountains event founded last year. “Native science” honors the natural laws of interdependence, or phrased alternatively, a universal law of interconnectedness. The goal of the dialogues is to “open up a new way of thinking about health and environment,” according to medical and applied anthropologist Lisa Lefler, director of WCU’s Culturally Based Native Health Programs. Lefler is helping coordinate the dialogues and the Rooted in the Mountains symposium, set for October on the WCU campus. The 12-person panel will convene for the dialogue Aug. 4-5 in the hospitality suite of WCU’s Ramsey Regional Activity Center. Leroy Little Bear (Blackfoot Confederacy), a leader in North American Indian philosophy, will moderate. Little Bear is an author and the former director of the American Indian Program at Harvard University. In 2003 he was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation in Canada. Serving as assistant moderators will be Nancy Maryboy (Cherokee/Dine’) and David Begay (Dine’), adjunct professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northern Arizona University; Tom Belt (Keetoowah Band of Cherokee), Cherokee language instructor at WCU; and Evelyn Conley (Keetoowah Band of Cherokee), chair of the Indigenous Education Center, a Rooted in the Mountain organizer, and spouse of Robert Conley, WCU’s Sequoyah Distinguished Professor in Cherokee Studies. Conley, who has observed a number of dialogues, explained them as “deep thinking toward the subject matter.” Typically, she said, Little Bear spends time considering the issues prior to the dialogues, and at the end of the first day, he often leaves those at the table with a question to consider overnight. Western-trained academics and professionals can access “Native science” as a means of learning about indigenous epistemologies, which can offer principles of how to live in a world of relationships. Native science pioneers have acted as consultants to NASA and physicists worldwide for decades, according to Lefler, and renowned quantum physicist David Bohm learned how apply his work to social issues after dialogue with Little Bear and other Native elders. This will be the first such dialogue on the East Coast; the University of California at Berkeley hosted a similar dialogue this past spring. The nonprofit Center for Native Health (Lefler is executive director) is co-hosting the dialogues; Mission Health System’s Integrative Healthcare also is a sponsor. A limited number of seats are available to members of the campus community for the dialogue sessions, with organizers stressing that dialogue etiquette requires quiet from anyone not seated at the table. Lefler is hopeful that the dialogues will “promote a paradigm shift in our understanding of how our health and well-being is directly connected to our relationship with the environment.” This, in turn, will inform the direction of the Rooted in the Mountains event. Founded in 2010 and held on the WCU campus, the symposium “aims to highlight a different approach to understanding our relationships with the world and environment in which we live,” Lefler said. “When our environment changes, our mountains altered or destroyed, we are all affected. Our physical and mental health is impacted.” Though only a year old, Rooted in the Mountains is quickly evolving, and three other institutions – Berea College, Appalachian State University and Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee – have expressed interest in alternately hosting the annual symposium (Berea and LMU also are dialogue sponsors). The goal of the dialogues is to help build a foundation for the event as it grows, Conley said. This year’s Rooted in the Mountains, scheduled for Oct. 20-21, will feature a Thursday evening concert and keynote addresses by Dennis Martinez, who leads the Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration Network, and journalist and cultural historian Jeff Biggers, the grandson of a coal miner and critic of mountaintop removal and strip mining. For more information about the Dialogues with Native Science Pioneers, contact Lefler at 828-227-2164 or llefler@wcu.edu. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Exhibit highlights area’s different architectural styles An exhibit at Hunter Library showcases the different architectural styles on display in Jackson County and the surrounding region. The exhibit, on the first floor of the library, is free and will run until Dec. 9. “Exploring the Architecture of Jackson County” illustrates the differences in styles from cabin to colonial (such as the Lambuth Inn in Lake Junaluska) to gothic revival (the Webster Methodist Church). The exhibit features photographs, antique hand tools, vintage Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogues, restoration plans and informational panels. A scale model of the historic Hooper House in downtown Sylva, constructed by Deborah Bardo, also is part of the exhibit. Bardo constructed the model between 1999-2001 and included elaborate detail such as 4,200 hand-painted roof shingles. WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center and the Hunter Library exhibit committee collaborated on the project. The artifacts are from larger MHC collections donated by the families of John B. Battle, Fred Biddex, Albert McCracken, George Satter and Jesse Bryson Stalcup. History students Scott Chamness, a rising senior, and Kaylynn Washnock, a graduate student, conducted preliminary research on historic architecture and the artifacts. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Faculty members earn emeritus status Fourteen faculty members received emeritus status during the 2010-11 academic year. John Roger Bacon, professor emeritus of chemistry and physics; Tyler Blethen, professor emeritus of history; Patricia Brown, professor emeritus of the Division of Educational Outreach; James Goodwin, professor emeritus of psychology; Robert Holquist, professor emeritus of music; Sharon Jacques, professor emeritus of nursing; James A. Lewis, professor emeritus of history; George Mechling, professor emeritus of global management and strategy; Gordon Mercer, professor emeritus of political science and public affairs; Ronald Morgan, professor emeritus of modern foreign languages; Nancy Newsome, professor emeritus of collection development and resource management of library services; Stephen Owens, professor emeritus of global management and strategy; Austin Spencer, professor emeritus of accounting, finance, information systems and economics; Harold Williford, professor emeritus of mathematics and computer science. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | WCU students, faculty and staff film Whimzik on the new motion picture stage at WCU. Arledge Armenaki, associate professor of cinematography, monitors the footage. Del DeLorm, technical director with the School of Stage and Screen, controlled the lighting during TOP STORIES First production filmed on new motion picture stage As a raven danced to mandolin music to chase the night away, the cameras rolled and the lights slowly came up on WCU’s new motion picture stage. The recent lming of Cullowhee mask-and-music theater group Whimzik marked the rst production on the updated stage in Ramsey Regional Activity Center, and offered an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to gain experience with the new facility. “The Whimzik production allowed us to get a sense of the space and how to use the new equipment,” said Arledge Armenaki, associate professor of cinematography. Last year, an underutilized TV recording venue in Ramsey Center was retrotted into a modern 30- by-30, 18-foot tall motion picture stage. Jack Sholder, director of the WCU Motion Picture and Television Production Program, said then- Chancellor John W. Bardo had rst talked to him about adapting the studio in Ramsey seven years ago, and the project won approval for $160,000 in funding last year. “In terms of square footage, it’s not a big stage – not a Hollywood stage – but it’s a real movie stage,” said Sholder. “It’s big enough for us to build a set, and has a separate classroom and tools students can learn to use. This fall, students will build a cabin in the woods on the stage for part of a movie lmed for a senior project. We are excited. It’s fantastic.” The facility has more capabilities than the Killian Building teaching stage and features equipment and lighting systems more typical of today’s movie sets, said Armenaki. “We are so thankful,” said Armenaki. “The stage truly oers a higher level of training for our students. The lighting system alone enables us to do lighting eects on camera that were not possible on the Killian stage, such as changing levels quickly and having multiple lighting setups at one time.” In June, three motion picture and television production students – senior Josh Hartigan from Cullowhee, senior Trey Campbell from Wilmington and junior Kevin Slamon from Winston-Salem – lmed Whimzik with Armenaki; David Brewin, who recently retired from WCU; and Del DeLorm, technical director with the School of Stage and Screen. Slamon, who was operating one of the cameras, said he was eager to check out the new space and take part in the production. “Aside from getting a chance to get a feel for the stage, it has just been a fun and creative project,” he said. By Teresa Killian Tate RELATED POSTS Slideshow of filming of Whimzik CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT the filming of Whimzik. Jack Sholder (right), director of the WCU Motion Picture and Television Production Program, discusses filming on the set of Whimzik. production Feature story about Whimzik theater company © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Chancellor David O. Belcher TOP STORIES From the desk of Chancellor David O. Belcher To my new faculty and staff colleagues: Susan and I are truly happy to be here in Cullowhee and to join you, the people who make Western Carolina University such a wonderful place to study, work and live. Although we are still working at getting our lives organized after our move from Arkansas to Western North Carolina, we are already taking the first steps in the important process of crafting a shared vision for the next phase of this great university’s development. Many of you may recall the term “shared vision” from my remarks back in April. What I meant by that term is that I do not come to this job with a preconceived notion of where the university needs to go or what must be done to get there. Yes, I do have some ideas, but I will not develop a vision for WCU without the input of its key constituents – and that includes you, the faculty and staff. My team is now in the process of putting together a “get-acquainted tour” that will take me across the region and state, as well as to important out-of-state centers such as Atlanta and Washington, D.C., where I will meet with a broad cross-section of the WCU family. At those gatherings, I will get to know our alumni, benefactors, legislators and community leaders, and I will listen to what they have to say about the direction of Western Carolina University. That tour will start right here at home, on the WCU campus. Although details are still being nalized, we are working to establish – as soon as possible – sessions where I can meet with university sta. And we are planning get-acquainted opportunities for faculty and students shortly after faculty members report to campus and as students return and classes begin. Obviously, budgetary challenges presented by the current nancial situation in our state will be a part of our discussions, but they should be just that – a part. To be sure, the university has made some dicult choices under the leadership of John W. Bardo, and we face additional dicult choices as we go forward. But we cannot and must not allow budgetary concerns alone to dominate our conversations. We must collectively work to ensure that Western Carolina emerges from these tough nancial times a stronger university that never loses focus of its mission of improving individual lives and enhancing economic and community development in the region, state and nation by oering opportunities to those who aspire to make a difference in their world. It is only through an open and honest dialogue that we can determine this university’s next steps. I said it back in April, and I mean it: My modus operandi is to use a consultative approach. It’s not about my vision; it’s about our vision. Together, we will work to shape that vision. I look forward to your input in the process. Since Susan and I arrived on campus a couple weeks ago, we have found that our initial impressions of this institution known as Western Carolina University and this place known as Cullowhee were right on target. Not only are you, WCU’s faculty and sta, absolutely committed to and passionate about striving for excellence in all that you do, you also are some of the nicest people we have ever met anywhere. It is an honor and privilege to serve as your chancellor, and I look forward to getting to know you in the coming weeks and months. – David O. Belcher CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home July 5, 2011 Email This Post Print This Post Share | A renovation of Harrill Residence Hall includes a 6,000 square-foot addition and several green energy features. (Rendering by Architectural Design Studio) A 71,367-square-foot, 400-bed residence hall originally constructed in 1971, Harrill Residence Hall will be a 77,296-square-foot, 354-bed residence hall after the renovation. TOP STORIES Harrill Residence Hall ‘green’ renovation project to begin in July A $15.5 million renovation of a nearly 40-year-old residence hall at Western Carolina University set to begin in July features enough energy-saving and sustainability features to qualify the building for LEED certification. “As part of our campus planning, we have evaluated all residence halls and determined which facilities need to be replaced and which can be renovated, and Harrill Residence Hall was one we were excited to be able to develop a practical – and also green – design to modernize,” said Keith Corzine, director of residential living. “This renovation is just another step in realizing a better overall quality of student life here at WCU.” In addition to reconguring Harrill Hall’s living area