§ Dr. Paul Sisson, formerly chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, was named dean of the LSUS College of Sciences in April, replacing Dr. Al Vekovius, who retired. Sisson, a professor of mathematics, joined LSUS in August 1993 after receiving his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of South Carolina. He has published several articles in respected mathematics journals, and has two textbooks currently in print.

§ Dr. Larry Anderson, professor of English and former chair of the LSUS Department of English, became dean of the College of Liberal Arts in mid-August. Anderson joined the LSUS faculty in August 1989 after receiving his Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has published several articles in respected journals, has published creative fiction, and has received numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and nonfiction. He was named chair of the Department of English in January 1997 and, for the past two years, served as the chair of the university’s SACS Quality Enhancement Plan Committee.

§ Dr. Debbie Shepherd, assistant professor of mathematics, has been named chair of the Department of Mathematics, and Dr. John Sigle, professor of computer science, has been named chair of the Department of Computer Science, both as replacements for Dr. Paul Sisson, who has been named dean of the College of Sciences. Dr. Michael Leggiere, associate professor of history, has been named chair of the Department of History and Social Sciences, replacing Dr. Milton Finley, who retired. Dr. Terry Harris, professor of English, has been named chair of the Department of English.

Shepherd	Sigle	Leggiere	Harris

§ Dr. Stephanie Aamodt, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, has been promoted to professor of biological sciences; Candi Bagley has been promoted to associate professor of professional practice in the Department of Education; Dr. Bernadette Palombo has been promoted to professor of criminal justice in the Department of History and Social Sciences; Dr. Ruth Ray, chair of the Department of Education, has been promoted to associate professor of education, and Dr. Hwang Yong has been promoted to professor of education in the Department of Education.

Salvatore	Mahdavian

§ Drs. Brian Salvatore, associate professor of chemistry, and Elahe Mahdavian, assistant professor of chemistry, are working on cancer research involving a new class of synthetic compounds that are derivatives of Vitamin E. Unlike Vitamin E, however, the synthetic derivatives are not anti-oxidants. Rather, they have the ability to instruct cancer cells to die. These compounds have shown very low toxicity toward normal – non-cancerous – cells. Salvatore co-authored a paper, which describes the activity of some of the compounds he and Mahdavian synthesized in their LSUS lab, together with their research collaborators Jirka Neuzil, from Griffiths University in Australia; Xiu-Fang Wang, and Paul K. Witting. The paper, “Vitamin E Analogs Trigger Apoptosis in HER2/erbB2-overexpressing Breast Cancer Cells by Signaling via the Mitochondrial Pathway,” was published in January in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (Vol. 326, Issue 2, 261-514). Mahdavian and Salvatore also co-authored with Neuzil a manuscript describing additional synthetic and biological studies performed on other molecules within this class of tocopheryl (i.e., Vitamin E) amides. It was accepted by the International Journal of Cancer for online publication in May and hard copy publication in November. Smink Sangsura and Marina Kroupenina, both LSUS junior chemistry majors, have joined the research project and, according to Salvatore, are synthesizing some additional compounds for both in vitro studies and in vivo testing in mice.

§ Dr. Michael V. Leggiere, associate professor of history, chair of the LSUS Department of History and Social Sciences, has been awarded La Société Napoléonienne Internationale’s Legion of Merit for his contributions to Napoleonic studies. According to Dr. Ben Weider, the society’s international president, the Legion of Merit is the society’s “most prestigious award.” As an adjunct professor of strategy and policy for the U.S. Naval War College, Leggiere gave lectures at the National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Md.; at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and at the Washington Naval Yard, where more than 100 high-ranking officers from all branches of the military and several congressional staffers attended his three-hour talk. All three presentations examined the coordination of military strategy with government policy during the period of Revolutionary and Napoleonic Europe, 1792-1815. Leggiere was also asked to comment on Napoleon’s contributions as a general and as a civil leader for a documentary on Napoleon for the program “Global View,” which aired on The History Channel International in April.

§ Karen Griffith, a veteran police officer who was most recently employed as an investigator for the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, has joined the LSUS University Police Department. Police Chief Larry LaBorde says the experience and knowledge she brings “will enhance our growing capabilities and we feel very fortunate to have her on our team.”

§ Dr. Chuo-Hsuan (Jason) Lee, assistant professor of accounting, earned the Award of Distinguished Performance from the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) for his performance in achieving one of the top total scores in the world in the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM) exams.

§ At the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Southern Section of the American Society of Plant Biologists in Greenville, N.C., Dr. Dalton R. Gossett, professor of biology; Dr. Stephen W. Banks, professor of biological sciences; Dr. Juan Rodriguez, a professor of chemistry at Centenary College; and former LSUS College of Sciences students Alvarro Virgen (now studying dentistry) and Rocky Fowler (now studying medicine), made a presentation titled, “Opposing Roles For Superoxide and Nitric Oxide In The NaCl-Induced Up-Regulation Of Antioxidant Enzyme Activity In Cotton Callus Tissue.” Also at the meeting Sarah Elaine Murray, a junior biology major, received the award for an outstanding poster presentation. The poster, “Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Transformed Cotton Plants and Callus Tissue,” was submitted with Banks and Gossett.

§ Dr. Sanjay Menon, assistant professor of management, has been named professor designate of the LSUS India Studies Professorship. He will serve as a liaison between LSUS and the Indian community. Following an undergraduate degree in engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Menon received his Ph.D. in organizational behavior from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He has international work experience in a large multinational company in India and has consulted with diverse organizations in Canada.

§ Dr. Wolfgang Hinck, assistant professor of marketing, led a Web-based high school project sponsored by Best Buy Inc. and JROTC, and organized by Junior Achievement. As part of the project – the first of its kind in North Louisiana – Hinck spent three weeks in the spring with 26 Caddo Magnet High School students instructing them on how to use and succeed in JA Titan. JA Titan is an interactive, competitive Internet-based business simulation that requires comprehensive critical thinking, analytical and decision-making skills in several functional areas, including marketing, capital investment, production and research and development. The winning Caddo Magnet team had the opportunity to participate in a competition with student teams from throughout the United States. In February, Hinck designed and coordinated the one-week visit of 21 students from the University of Lüneburg, Germany. The students enjoyed an eventful program and also attended a variety of LSUS lectures. The students were hosted by LSUS faculty, staff and students: Dr. La Wanda Blakeney, Dr. Diane Boyd, Suzzanne Bright, Jennifer Bromhall, Dr. Lisa Burke, Dr. Laurence M. Hardy, Jon Harmon, Wayne Hogue, Francesca McLelland, Dr. Ruth Ray, Dr. Tim Shaughnessy, Janey Slusher and Daphne Taylor.

§ Dr. Tim Shaughnessy, assistant professor of economics, co-authored and presented a paper at the 2005 International Convention of the Association of Private Enterprise Education in Orlando, Fla., titled, “Accounting for Spatial Autocorrelation in the 2004 County Presidential Vote.” He also co-authored a paper, “An Estimation of a Congressional Vote Using a Bayesian Spatial Probit Analysis,” that was presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Public Choice Society in New Orleans.

Milstead	Jones

§ Two members of the LSUS Debate Team won national championships in 2004-05 International Public Debate Association Open and Novice competition, and the Debate Team finished the season as runner-up to national champion University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. The LSUS squad retained its No. 1 state ranking. Keith Milstead, a senior communications major, won the individual Open Division competition, and was named Open Division national champion for the season. Jason Jones, a freshman political science major, was named national champion in the Novice Division. Debate Team Coach Mary “Jorji” Jarzabek, an instructor of communications, was elected IPDA president.

§ “Vargas Llosa’s Leading Ladies,” an essay by Dr. Lynn Walford, associate professor of foreign languages, has been accepted by LSU Press for inclusion in a book of essays, Leading Ladies: Women in Hispanic Literature and Art, edited by Margaret Parker and Yvonne Fuentes, and due to be published in early 2006. LSU Press, which has traditionally specialized in southern literature and literary criticism, is now expanding the concept of “southern” to include literary studies from south of the U.S. border. This volume of essays is the first LSU Press venture into Latin American literary studies.

§ Dr. Debbie Williams, assistant professor of education, was an invited presenter at the 2005 National Professional Development Conference to discuss the partnership of Midway Elementary Professional Elementary School and LSUS. The session highlighted the collaboration between the university and MEPDS personnel in the creation and implementation of an on-site offering of coursework in reading for teacher candidates in the elementary education program. With the current teaching of reading/language arts courses taking place on-site, the “hands-on” opportunities mean the coordination of pre-service teachers for observations and tutorial sessions with in-service teachers serving as teacher mentors. The tutorial sessions provided by the teacher candidates support students in Grades 3-5 who are having difficulties in reading comprehension. Other issues discussed were meeting space, scheduling of classes, personnel availability, and funding for needed materials and resources.

§ Dr. Judith Covington, associate professor of mathematics, has been selected as the editorial panel chair for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ publication, Mathematics Teacher. In that capacity, she attended the NCTM Leadership Summit held in Reston, Va., where she met with other committee chairs and the board of directors. She also attended the 2005 NCTM annual meeting in Anaheim, where she presented a session titled, “Writing for the NCTM Journals.”

§ Dr. Helen Taylor, professor of English and director of the LSUS Master of Liberal Arts program, was honored in May with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Special Humanities Award in special ceremonies at the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge. Taylor was among several Louisianans honored by Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the LEH for their outstanding contributions to the study and understanding of the humanities. Taylor has participated in a number of LEH programs, and her successful collaborations with Prime Time are credited with contributing to the program’s growth and expansion. She has served as a discussion leader at four Prime Time programs in the Shreveport area and now serves as a trainer at state and national workshops. Taylor’s other LEH projects include a radio show, “Bunny Tales,” and summer teacher institutes at LSUS in 1991 and 2002.

§ Applications for the 2005-06 LSUS Leadership Academy will be solicited beginning Sept. 1. The year-long academy provides current university staff and faculty a unique professional development opportunity, and focuses on the theory and practice of academic leadership while emphasizing the importance of skills such as conflict management, inspiring colleagues and developing vision. Participants are also able to challenge themselves at the Lake Forbing ROPES course! These “survivors” of the inaugural Leadership Academy will serve as mentors to the upcoming set of applicants: Dr. Stephanie Aamodt, Dr. Larry Anderson, Dr. Donna Austin, Dr. Diane Boyd, Sandra Gilleland, Lonnie McCray, Henry Moore, Stuart Parkerson, Dr. Ruth Ray, Dr. Debbie Shepherd, Dr. Cindy Sisson, Dr. Paul Sisson and Elmer Tingler. Information about the 2005-06 Leadership Academy can be found on the Teaching, Leadership & Technology Center’s Web site at www.ce.lsus.edu, then click on “programs.”

§ Lacey Spencer, a senior biology major, has been elected the student member on the LSU System Board of Supervisors. Spencer, the LSUS Student Government Association president, is the first LSUS student to serve as the student member on the Board since 1980. The student member on the System Board is elected by the Council of Student Government Presidents. At the Council’s meeting in May in Alexandria, Spencer was elected to the board by acclamation. Her one-year term began June 1. Spencer earned Chancellor’s List honors last fall with a 3.9 grade-point average.

§ Dr. Karen James, associate professor of marketing, received the College of Business Support Award for 2004-05 and was nominated by former student Jennie Watson for inclusion in the 2005 Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. James’ paper, “The Relationship of the Visual Element of an Advertisement to Service Quality Expectations and Source Credibility,” co-authored with Ken Clow, Kris Kranenburg, and Christine Berry, was accepted for publication by the Journal of Services Marketing. She has also been named Webmaster for the Marketing Management Association’s Web site, located at www.mmaglobal.org, and will be an invited speaker at the Fall 2005 MMA early Career Professors’ Consortium.

§ Martha Lawler, associate librarian, completed her term in June as Publications Committee chair of the American Library Association’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Section by attending the RBMS pre-conference meeting in St. Louis and the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

§ Dr. Ron Byrd, professor of kinesiology and health science, and his two teammates – Billy Algood, of Pineville, and Don Winn, of Marthaville – won the Silver Medal at the National Senior Games 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Pittsburgh. His team, the Louisiana Terminators, played in the 70+ age bracket and lost only to Gold Medal winner California.

§ The faculty, staff and patrons of the Noel Memorial Library appreciate the support and generosity of the following persons and organizations making donations of books or periodicals to the library: February: Larry Marshman and the U.S. Forest Service – Pineville; March: Sitaramarao Yechuri and LSUS College of Education & Human Development - Memorial for Manuel DeMello; April: Richard Colquette - Memorial for Dr. Edna Yarbrough, Sanjay T. Menon, William D. Pederson, Kay Stebbins and Regnery Publishing, Inc. - Washington, D.C.; May: Taconya Warren, Yolanda Welch, Anonymous, Basic Research Press - Starkville, Miss., Lumina Foundation for Education - Indianapolis, and Ministry of Flanders - Washington D.C.; June: Barbara Jo Brothers, David Foley, Dan Goodwin, George W. Head, Charlotte A. Jones, Martha Lawler, Vincent J. Marsala, William D. Pederson, Anonymous (2) and CQ Press - Washington, D.C..

§ Dr. La Wanda Blakeney, assistant professor of music, presented a paper at the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society Conference at the University of Florida. In the paper, she discussed the formation and early history of “Melody Maids,” a private girls’ chorus in Beaumont, Texas, from 1942 to 1972.

§ Wanda Moseley, instructor of mathematics, has been elected state historian and appointed national chair for campus chapters of Kappa Kappa Iota, an organization that promotes professional and personal development for teachers and future teachers through workshops, meetings and scholarships. The LSUS campus chapter meets once a month for professional development. The chapter used Spring Fling as a fundraiser to support the Family Violence Center in meeting one of the organization’s stated purposes, to respond to the problem of child abuse and neglect.

§ Dr. Jeffrey D. Sadow, associate professor of political science, had an article, “Partisanship, Chauvinism, and Reverse Racial Dynamics in the 2003 Louisiana Gubernatorial Election,” published in Vol. 3, Issue 1, of The Forum, a journal of applied research in contemporary politics. Sadow wrote the piece in response to a journal article last year which argued that racial prejudice on the part of typical Louisiana Republican voters cost former gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal a victory in the contest for the Governor’s Mansion.

§ Dr. Diane Boyd, assistant professor of English and director of the Teaching, Leadership & TechnologyCenter, chaired two sections of a panel discussion, “Navigating the Real and Imagined: Public and Private in Eighteenth-Century Literature,” at the 25th annual meeting of the South Central Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies in St. Simon’s Island, Ga. In March, Boyd was the first faculty developer intern at Western Carolina University, where she met with L. Dee Fink, author of Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses, the book upon which the TLTC’s Faculty Summer Seminar in Course Re-design was based. With research help from Martha Lawler, assistant librarian, and Dr. Robert Leitz, professor of English and chair designate of the Ruth H. Noel Endowed Chair for the Curator of the James Smith Noel Collection, Boyd presented a paper, “Spectacular Outlaw: Mary Blandy’s Tabloid Celebrity,” at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies in Las Vegas. At the Teaching in Higher Education Forum at LSU A&M, Boyd presented a roundtable discussion with Dr. Donna Austin, associate professor of management and dean of the Division of Continuing Education, titled, “We’re not in Kansas Anymore: What Works for Faculty Brown Bags.”

§ Only a select few are called “The Best in Business,” and 22 LSUS College of Business Administration students earned the title this year. Four graduate students, 10 seniors and eight juniors have been inducted into the LSUS chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) International. They are: Graduate Students – Thomas C. Horton, Benton; Courtney L. Hilton, Leesville; Haadiya Z. Jamil, Natchitoches, and Megann L. Hayes-Adams, Shreveport; Seniors – Chantel Y. Goss, Barksdale AFB; Steven R. Bell, Blanchard; Phyllis R. Carroll, Fort Polk; Angela S. Malone, Plain Dealing; Scott F. Harris, Stephen G. McKinney, Elana M. Morrow, Trista M. Muse and Theresa L. Rogers, Shreveport, and Lisa R. Thomas, Vivian; and Juniors – Lisa C. Clary, Bossier City; Sherry L. Beane and Molly C. Williford, Haughton; Kristen M. Hergenrader, Grace L. Nickels, Joshua M. Parsons and William A. Stampley IV, Shreveport, and Daniel T. Shockley, Stonewall. To be eligible for invitation to membership, juniors must rank in the top 7 percent of their class, seniors in the top 10 percent of their class and master’s degree candidates must rank in the top 20 percent of their programs at AACSB-accredited schools. Beta Gamma Sigma was founded as a national organization in 1913. Its mission is to encourage and honor academic achievement and personal excellence in the study and practice of business.

§ Two groups of LSUS students entered the student problem-solving competition at the annual meeting of the Louisiana/Mississippi Section of the Mathematical Association of America in Gulfport, Miss. Members of Team A were T.J. Barnes, Cat Cole, Jeremy McKeever and Christie Wilson, and members of Team B were Steven Smith, Candice Walker, Utroy Webster and Jarod Zich. Rogers Martin, instructor of mathematics, attended the meeting as the faculty sponsor for the student competitors.

§ Drs. Jesse DeMello and Tony Grice, both associate professors of kinesiology and health science, represented the Kinesiology and Health Science Department in making two presentations at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) National Convention in Nashville, Tenn. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. is experiencing a severe body composition problem in its youth and adult populations. Some sources report more than 65 percent of the U.S. population is estimated to be over weight and more than 30 percent may be obese. The purpose of these studies was to determine if the men and women attending an urban university were a part of this epidemic. The presentations were titled, “Physical and Body Composition Characteristics of Adult Men and Women Attending an Urban University” and “Gender Differences in the Evaluation of Body Composition of Adult Men and Women, as Assessed by Hydo-density and BMI.” In addition to DeMello and Grice, faculty co-authoring the posters were Dr. Ron Byrd, professor of kinesiology and health science; Dr. Tim Winter, professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science; Dr. Kyle Pierce, associate professor of kinesiology and health science and director of the LSUS USA Weightlifting Development Center, and Mary Hawkins, assistant professor of kinesiology and health science.

§ Dr. Meredith Nelson, assistant professor of psychology, and her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology graduate assistants have been invited to present at the annual Louisiana Counselors Association conference in Baton Rouge in October. Nancy Campbell Tracy, Rebecca Trickett, Vickie Specian and Elizabeth Dowden will present with Nelson on two topics, “Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Guidelines for Counselors” and “Nonverbal Interaction in the Counseling Setting.”

§ Dr. David Anderson, professor of history, and LSUS geography major Jeremy Anderson presented a paper, “Growing Hexagonal Trade Areas,” at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Denver.

§ Katie Saravia (formerly Shaver) has moved from the Office of Admissions and Records, where she was an admissions counselor, to the Division of Continuing Education and Public Service, where she is the event coordinator. Allen Garcie, who recently received a Master of Education degree from Northwestern State University, has been promoted to graphic design and marketing coordinator in the Division of Continuing Education and Public Service.