Faculty News

Dr. Martinne Scannavino, chair of nutrition has been selected to review the current ADA position paper "Food and Nutritional Professionals Can Implement Practice to Conserve Natural Resources and Protect the Environment." In this role Scannavino will review the current stance of the ADA on an issue which impacts the nutritional status of the public. It is derived from pertinent facts and data, and is germane to the mission, vision, philosophy and values of The American Dietetic Association.

Henry Marchand , assistant professor of English and advisor to Preterite, the college literary club, has been named to the Planning Committee for The Mid-Atlantic College Student Literary Magazine Conference, an annual event attended by Preterite last year in Philadelphia. This year's conference is to be held in October at Ocean County College in New Jersey.

Robin Gerchman, assistant professor and director of dance, recently completed her second Master's degree: MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts

Michelle Munno Jacobs, assistant professor of dance, recently received her Pilates certification on Beginner Mat work from AAAI.

Associate professor of theatre, Marion McCorry performed onstage this past December in a play entitled "Adigietto" at The HB Playwrights Short Play Festival in New York. She has appeared this past month in an episode of NBC's "30 Rock" titled "Reunion." In film, she appears in "Two Lovers" with Joaquin Phoenix which is open now in select Theatres and plays a supporting role in "All Good Things" with Kirsten Duntz and Ryan Gosling which will open this coming July.

Associate professor of business, Michael Donovan has been asked to join the Lehigh Executive Council on Career and Technical Education composed of business, industry, education, and community leaders. The council provides long-term direction in the areas of funding and program offerings to the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute in Schnecksville .

Meridith Gibbons, assistant professor of education, successfully defended her dissertation entitled "The Professional Development of Literacy Coaches in Graduate Courses: A Qualitative Study of the Perceptions of Principals, Reading Specialists, and Literacy Coaches." The purpose of this study was to determine the benefits of implementing a literacy coaching course at the graduate level and use subsequent data to determine course objectives and outcomes.

At the annual reorganization meeting of Allentown's City Council, associate professor of business, Michael Donovan was elected as its vice-president.

Dr. Richard Kliman, associate professor of biological sciences and Mohamed Noor (Duke University) were awarded a 4-year, $800,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health. The title of their collaborative project is "Fine-scale recombination, variation, divergence, and codon bias in Drosophila." The grant includes funds to send two Cedar Crest students each summer to Duke to work on this large-scale population genomics project.

Tim Brown, associate professor of performing arts and the director of the forensic speech program, has been appointed to the National Committee on Professional Development and Practices for the American Forensics Association. This committee is responsible for developing and supporting the highest standards of professional conduct within forensics, and for representing the professional interests of this association’s members to all appropriate constituencies.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences (PAS) announced the recipients of the 2008-2009 academic year Undergraduate Research Awards. Seven awards have been made to Cedar Crest College students and their advisors for a total of about $3,500 for use towards materials for student junior and senior research projects. These grants were collaborative efforts between students and their research advisors. The awards this year went to: Christie Hay ’09 and Dr. Amy Reese; Allison Holland ’09 and Dr. K. Joy Karnas; Sakina Khaku ’10 and Dr. André Walther; Olivia Koebler ’09 and Dr. André Walther; Rebecca Tutino ’10 and Dr. André Walther; Aimee Vozenilek ’09 and Dr. K. Joy Karnas ; and Sonia Weimann ’09 and Dr. Audrey Ettinger.

Dr. Kerrie Baker, associate professor of psychology and Tammy Bean, director of the Lutz Center recently received a $15,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Campus Compact Learn & Serve Initiative. The grant was submitted and will be executed under the leadership of the Lehigh Valley Research Consortium (LVRC). Specifically, colleagues from Muhlenberg and Lafayette colleges will work with Dr. Baker and Bean to build regional collaboration and community through service-learning courses. The LVRC will create a regional service-learning partnership targeting disadvantaged youth. The goal of this initiative is to create new opportunities to connect higher education faculty and students with community organizations and public school students in the region. This partnership will also enable faculty to develop new service-learning opportunities in a variety of disciplines, engaging in community interactions that target the critical needs of at-risk youth and their families.

The National League recently certified Sharon M. Melincavage, assistant professor of nursing, as a nurse educator for nursing. Certification as an academic nurse educator indicates that the educator has specialized knowledge, skills and abilities, and expertise in practice. This certification is voluntary and recognizes excellence in the advanced specialty role of the academic nurse educator.

2008 News

Dr. Micah R. Sadigh, associate professor of psychology, recently completed his Diplomate project in Franklian Psychology and was awarded the Diplomate/Educator status by the International Viktor Frankl Institute (Vienna).

Margo Clifford Ging, instructor in dance, has received the Distinguished Dance Educator of the Lehigh Valley Award, given by the Lehigh Valley Dance Forum/Lehigh Valley Dance Consortium.

Dr. Pamela Kistler, chair/associate professor of chemical and physical sciences, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. She has been active in the League at the local level for many years. However, this is the first time that she has become involved in the work of this important civic organization at the State level. The Board has seven members and directors that are elected for two-year terms.

Dr. Kistler has also been appointed by the President of the American Chemical Society to a three-year term on the “Committee on Public Relations and Communications.” This is a 15-member committee of the national organization. Its mission is to promote awareness of the contributions to society by the chemical enterprise in order to stimulate interest in chemistry by the general public and the media.

Dr. K. Joy Karnas, associate professor of biological sciences, joined the Board of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science as Recording Secretary.  The Pennsylvania Academy of Science serves as a valuable and vital resource for science professionals, faculty, and students within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Twenty-one current and former Cedar Crest students presented the results of their research conducted in the Department of Biological Sciences at the annual meeting in Grantville, PA.