USCBe Informed: News & Happenings

Fin-tastic Vol. 6 January-May 2022

Message from Dr. Al M. Panu, Chancellor

Our Spring 2022 semester has shown that efforts and resilience are paying off. In our recent graduation we have seen that our students are capable of being on-task in order to complete their educational goals. We salute them and as we do so, we also shine the focus on our faculty and staff who have walked side-by-side with our students during truly historic times.

As this academic year closes, we foresee tremendous opportunities to work better for USCB academic goals and services. In this edition, our faculty and staff continue to share their Fin-tastic qualities. These evidences of work continue to uplift our institution and demonstrate evidence of quality university performance to our students. 

Cohan, Deborah, PhD  • Professor of Sociology (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences) 

• Awarded. The Eastern Sociological Society awarded Deborah the newly created ESS Public Sociology Award, presented during 92nd annual meeting in Boston, March 10-13, 2022. The award recognizes sociologists who have done cutting-edge sociological research and engaged in meaningful public work using that research including high profile public dissemination and media appearances with attention toward improving public welfare. Conference Website.
• Awarded. Deborah received an award from Memoir Magazine for the 2022 best memoir in the category of caregiving. Award Link
• Invited Speaker. Deborah was invited to give two talks and workshops at Colorado College from March 9-10 about compassion fatigue and caregivers, as well as compassion fatigue among educators.
• Published. In March 2022, Deborah's work was selected for publication in The Good Men Project and Backstory.

Lahar, Cindy, PhD  • Professor of Psychology (Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences)

• Presented. “Socio-Emotional Resilience Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the Southeastern Psychological Association, March 24, 2022. Nominated for the Outstanding Professional Paper Award. Co-authored with Angela Nadeau, Jayne Violette, Summer Roberts, Diana Reindl, and Carmella Coughlin-Torres. Presentation Website.
• Moderator/Session Chair. “Ethnic and Minority Psychology”, Paper session at the Southeastern Psychological Association, March 25, 2022. Session Website. 

McCoy, Erin, PhD  • Associate Professor of English & Interdisciplinary Studies (Department of English, Theater, Arts, & Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Published. A War Tour of Viet Nam: A Cultural History (McFarland, 2022).Publication Website.
  
  Published. “Propaganda & the Continued Cold War” on the Instituto Internacional de Estudios en Seguridad Global (INISEG) blog, 5 April 2022. Publication Website.
• Invited Speaker. “Attempted Reconciliation: The Role of Karl Marlantes in Burns Novick’s 2017 Documentary the Vietnam War.” INISEG University Seminar, “The Vietnam War.” International Institute in Global Security Studies, 23 February (virtual).Speaking Engagement.
• Invited Speaker. “Discussing A War Tour of Viet Nam.” Liberal Men of the Lowcountry, Hilton Head Island, 8 February. Speaking Engagement.  South Carolina Humanities Council Speaker’s Bureau Engagement: “Music & the Viet Nam War.” Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, 21 February 2022.Speaking Engagement  (pg 18).
• Presented. “Rockin’ 1972: Music and the Wind Down of the Viet Nam War” for "1972: The War Between North and South Vietnam" Conference hosted by The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive and Institute for Peace & Conflict at Texas Tech University, and the War and Society Program at Chapman University. April 1-2, 2022. Orange CA. Presentation.
• Presented. “Ode to the Ekphrasis: Keeping Creativity in the Undergraduate Classroom” for “‘...Only Connect’: Sites of Inclusion, Seclusion and Transformative Change and Creativity.” Humanities Education and Research Association Annual Conference. 2-5 March 2022. Virtual. Presentation. 

Montford, Genia, M.B.A.  • Associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator (Dept. of Athletics)

• Appointed. The Business of Small College Athletics (BOSCA) announced that Genia Montford the newest member of the BOSCA Advisory Board. Genia is a two-time recipient of the Sun Conference Charles Morris Administrator of the Year Award. Small College Athletics Article Link  USCB Athletics Article Link

Montie, Eric, MS, PhD • Associate Professor of Marine Biology (Dept. of Natural Sciences)

• Awarded. Eric Montie received a grant ($37,500) from the Port Royal Sound Foundation for the project, “Bottlenose Dolphin Monitoring in the Port Royal Sound Area – Establishing a Flagship Program for the Port Royal Sound Foundation”.
• Presented. Eric Montie presented “Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS)”, at the State of the Sound Symposium hosted by the Port Royal Sound Foundation. February 11, 2022.
• Presented. Eric Montie presented “Historical Analysis of Salinity and Fecal Coliform in the Estuaries of Beaufort County, South Carolina”, at the State of the Sound Symposium hosted by the Port Royal Sound Foundation. February 11, 2022.
• Presented. Eric Montie and Alyssa Marian presented “The Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program”, at the State of the Sound Symposium hosted by the Port Royal Sound Foundation. February 11, 2022.
• Presented. Seongsoo Kim, Yiming Ji, Jongyeop Kim, and Eric Montie presented “Dolphin Whistles Visualization Framework: My SQL Query Approach”, at the 20th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering Research. Las Vegas, USA, May 25-27, 2022.

Nadeau, Angela, MA  • Instructor of Psychology (Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences)

• Presented. “Socio-Emotional Resilience Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the Southeastern Psychological Association, March 24, 2022. Nominated for the Outstanding Professional Paper Award. Co-authored with Cindy Lahar, Jayne Violette, Summer Roberts, Diana Reindl, and Carmella Coughlin-Torres.Website.

Roberts, Summer, PhD • Associate Professor of Sociology (Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences)

• Presented. “Socio-Emotional Resilience Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at the Southeastern Psychological Association, March 24, 2022. Nominated for the Outstanding Professional Paper Award. Co-authored with Cindy Lahar, Jayne Violette, Summer Roberts, Diana Reindl, and Carmella Coughlin-Torres. Website.   

Sawyer, Caroline, PhD • Associate Professor of Communication Studies (Dept. of Business and Communications)

• Awarded. Caroline placed in the Silver Medal Class in the Inaugural Anthem Awards. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) selected her work on the National TV Show “By The River”. IADAS is a diverse group of social impact leaders and experts who are all working to improve our world. Winners represent work that the academy scored the highest in the judging process. Anthem Awards Link. 

Skipper, Eric, PhD • Provost & EVCAA (Academic Affairs)

• Published. Eric published “The Liberal Arts Can Counteract Polarization – But There Are Caveats” in Times Higher Education. 12 January 2022. Article website.
• Published. Eric published “USCB Tripled External Funding in 2021” in The Bluffton Sun Article website and The Island News Article Website. March 2022. 

Sidletsky, Jim, M.F.A • Assistant Professor of Visual Arts and Design (Department of Visual Arts and Design)

• Featured. Jim was recently featured in Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine where they talked about Jim's accomplishments, the accomplishments of the Media Arts Students, and of the Studio Arts Program. They noted Jim's and his student's success in creating the short film, The Ghostly Lovers of Fripp Island and the film being an official selection at the Beaufort International Film Festival as well as the South Carolina Underground Film Festival. They were keen to point out that this was the only art-based Bachelor's Degree program specializing in the instruction of 3D animation for film and games in South Carolina. They also talked about how seven Media Arts Students are helping to grow a budding IT industry in Beaufort by interning at the Beaufort Digital Corridor, using the technical art skills they learned in their Media Arts classes, here at USCB. Feature Website.

Staton, Joe, PhD • Professor of Biology and Marine Science

• Dr. Joe Staton, our resident invertebrate zoologist, was featured on the Today Show as an expert on the unusual sea creatures we call Portuguese man-of-war. Physalia physalis is a colonial marine hydrozoan. Dr. Staton discussed the biology and toxicity of these beautiful blue and translucent jellies. Their tentacles pack a potent sting, even after a colony washes up on the shore and dies. Be careful where you walk on our Atlantic beaches and be wary of these invertebrates floating on our coastal waters. Today Show Episode Link.

Wheeler, Jana, PPCNP-BC, CHSE, CNE • Assistant Professor of Nursing, Simulation Lab Coordinator (Department of Nursing)

• Presenting. Sigma Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland July 2022.
• Finalist. Simulation Star Q1 Finalist 2022 Simulation Star Award Crystal Award (National Simulation Award) 

USCB Faculity Collaborations

Research Article

Dudas, Kimberly, PhD, RN-BC • Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Innovation (Interim), Director of Campus Health Initiatives. Wheeler, Jana, PhD • Assistant Professor of Nursing/Simulation Lab Coordinator (Department of Nursing) & Brooks, G.

• (2021). Anxiety and a mindfulness exercise in healthcare simulation briefing. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 59, 61-66.

Presented

Dudas, Kimberly, PhD, RN-BC • Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Innovation (Interim), Director of Campus Health Initiatives. Wheeler, Jana, PhD • Assistant Professor of Nursing/Simulation Lab Coordinator (Department of Nursing) 

• South Carolina Nurse Educators Simulation Alliance. December 2021
• Sigma Biennial Conference, Performance of Caring, November 2021.

Collaborated and Represented

Brugler, Mercer, PhD • Associate Professor of Biology, Pettay, Daniel, PhD • Assistant Professor of Biology, Alvarez, Beda, MD •  Instructor of Biology, Staton, Joe, PhD • Professor of Biology and Chair (Dept. of Natural Sciences) 

• Mercer, Tye, Butch, and Joe worked together with USCB Biology students to represent USCB at the Hilton Head and Beaufort Shrimp Festivals to showcase USCB’s science programs to the local community. Event Link 1 and Event Link 2.

Peer-reviewed articles

Catma, Serkan, PhD • Associate Professor of Economics (Department of Business & Communications) & Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair(Department of Public Health and Human Services) 

• (2021). Parents’ willingness to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children in the United States. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(9), 2919-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1919453 Special thanks to Sea Islands Institute for funding.

Varol, S., Catma, Serkan, PhD • Associate Professor of Economics (Department of Business & Communications), Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair (Department of Public Health and Human Services) & Serieux, E.

• (2022). Primary Factors Influencing the Decision to Vaccinate against COVID-19 in the United States: A Pre-Vaccine Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3),1026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031026

Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair (Department of Public Health and Human Services) & Catma, Serkan, PhD • Associate Professor of Economics (Department of Business & Communications)

• (2022). “A pre-vaccine analysis using the Health Belief Model to explain parents’ willingness to vaccinate (WTV) their children in the United States: implications for vaccination programs” Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737167.2022.2045957 Special thanks to Sea Islands Institute for funding.

McIntosh, T., Koury, A., Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair
(Department of Public Health and Human Services) Lewis-Kratky, Rena, Instructor of Spanish, M.Ed., (Department of Humanities & Social Sciences) 

• (2022). “Factors influencing social and emotional well-being among women who sleep with women (WSW): minority stress and compartmentalization” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737167.2022.2045957 Special thanks to Magellan Grant from University of South Carolina Columbia.

Presentations

Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair (Department of Public Health and Human Services) & Catma, Serkan, PhD • Associate Professor of Economics (Department of Business & Communications)

• GIS hot spot statistical analysis of parents’ willingness-to-accept (WTA) a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine for their children in the United States. Poster Presentation at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference, Denver, CO, October 2021. Special thanks to Sea Islands Institute for funding.

Lahar, Cindy, PhD • Professor of Psychology (Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences) Nadeau, Angela, M.A. • Adjunct in Human Services & Psychology (Department of Public Health & Human Services), Violette, Jayne, PhD • Associate Professor of Communications (Department of Business and Communications),  Roberts, Summer, PhD • Associate Professor of Sociology (Department of Humanities & Social Sciences), Reindl, Diana, PhD, CHES • Associate Professor & Interim Chair (Department of Public Health and Human Services)
Coughlin-Torres, Carmella, (USCB Student)

• Socio-Emotional Resilience Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Presentation at Southeastern Psychological Association. Award finalist for the 2022 Annual Meeting for Outstanding Professional Paper Award (OPPA). Special thanks to Sea Islands Institute for funding.

Presented

Wheeler, Jana, PPCNP-BC, CHSE, CNE • Assistant Professor of Nursing, Simulation Lab Coordinator and  Ricardo, Libby, M.F.A. •  Assistant Professor of Theater (Dept. of English, Theater, and Interdisciplinary Studies)

• Jana and Libby collaborated on a poster presentation at Sigma’s 46th Biennial Convention in November of 2021. 

USCB Grants

We salute our faculty and staff who, by virtue of their innovative, creative and resourceful work, attract the attention of other organizations and entities who then invest in us so we too can invest further in the education of our USCB students. And it is worth noting again that ultimately, the goal of research is to improve life on earth, so we distinguish the contributions of those in this list.

Awarded January 2022 – April 2022
 
Dudas, Kimberly • American College Health Association/CDC/HHS, $3,000.  Campus COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation (CoVAC) Initiative Mini-Grant Program  

Jones Williams, Morgin • USC Office of the Vice President for Research, RISE, $5,998. Audacious Minds: An Educational Play Featuring Black Women Mathematicians

Mayer, Alyssa • USC Office of the Vice President for Research, Magellan.  $3,000.  Women's Mental Health Experiences of Pregnancy and Postpartum in the Era of Social Isolation: A Grounded Theory

Montie, Eric • Port Royal Sound Foundation, $37,000. Bottlenose Dolphin Monitoring in the Port Royal Sound Area: Establishing a Flagship Program for the Port Royal Sound Foundation.
 
Olivetti, Keri • Town of Bluffton, $10,000. Bluffton Ambassador Program.  
 
Pate, George • USC Office of the Vice President for Research, RISE.  $6,000.  Can We Be Funny? The Lines and Limits of Comedy in the 21st Century.
 
Ricardo, Elizabeth • USC Office of the Vice President for Research, RISE, $5,998. Audacious Minds: An Educational Play Featuring Black Women Mathematicians.
 
Zhang, Xiaomei • USC Office of the Vice President for Research, RISE, $5,995. Enabling PeerCloud in Vehicular Networks: Feasibility and Reliability of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Offloading.

Total awarded:  $70,993