Letters & Sciences Today Spring 2022 by Columbus State University

Today

Letters & Sciences College of Letters and Sciences Highlights Vol. 18 - Spring/Summer 2022

“Make Good Trouble,” a Study Away Course, Spring 2022. See pages 14-16.

Dean’s Welcome “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” — Confucius When I arrived at Columbus State University in 2018, my predecessor, Dr. Dennis Rome, proudly announced that the College of Letters and Sciences (COLS) is “THE PREMIER college!” and he was right! Across Georgia, students are looking for what CSU COLS has to offer – outstanding faculty and programs. Our skilled faculty believe that while the best education includes teaching, it should also spark curiosity about the world which will fuel a lifetime of independent learning. Across curricula, we encourage students to think critically, engage in informed and respectful debate, and consider the merits of different perspectives. Our students are encouraged to learn in the classroom and beyond. COLS faculty immerse students in lab work, study abroad learnings, conference participation, fieldwork, field trips, and a variety of internship programs, all of which create a learning environment that’s holistic, engaging and hands-on. This academic year we’ve demonstrated our will to win, desire to succeed, and the urge to reach our full potential! The College of Letters and Sciences faculty, staff, and students have bounced back and are, in many ways, surpassing our pre-pandemic successes. Through our commitment to the Cougars’ core values – excellence, creativity, inclusion, engagement, and servant leadership – students and faculty have won, succeeded, and continue to reach our potential. This issue of COLS Today highlights a year of winning, succeeding, and reaching our full potential in the COLS – the Premier College. In this issue, you will find 1) we’ve received support from Senator John Ossoff to help students in the region reach their full potential; 2) faculty have cultivated and led our students to acceptances into prestigious summer research programs, winners of top honors for academic excellence and literary works, regional and local professional conference participation, and an exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art, to name a few; and 3) innovative faculty have positively impacted the community and their disciplines, five of whom won top faculty honors at the University. In closing, this has been an extraordinary year indeed. Over the summer months, each of us needs to recenter and tend to our physical, emotional and mental health. I encourage you to find time to rest, relax, and recuperate. Sincerely,

Annice Yarber-Allen Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences Letters & Sciences Today Writer and Editor – Barbara Hunt (Hunt_Barbara@ColumbusState.edu) Circulation Coordinator – Angela Johnson (Johnson_Angela@ColumbusState.edu) Design & Layout – Roy Brown (Brown_Roy3@ColumbusState.edu) 2

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Special Funding Congressional Support will Expand STEM, Robotics, and K-12 Partnerships Federal support announced by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will help Columbus State University expand not just its STEM and robotics programs, but its K-12 partnerships in these disciplines with the Muscogee County School District (MCSD). Ossoff’s announcement credited bipartisan support in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to secure $635,000 to help expand existing partnerships between Columbus State, its Coca-Cola Space Science Center, and MCSD. Specifically, the new funding will empower Columbus State to train more teachers and expand the scope of the Coca-Cola Space Science Center to include robotics, engineering, and earth and space science education programs—helping expose more students to future careers in STEM and robotics jobs of the future. “This expansion will give children in the Chattahoochee River Valley more access to science and robotics programs at a very young age so they can get excited about this emerging field and be well-equipped for their careers,” Ossoff said, drawing on impressions after visiting CSU in February, touring the university’s robotics engineering facilities, and observing demonstrations by robotics engineering students. Launched in 2021, robotics engineering is just one of the university’s newest STEM-related and workforcefocused programs of study. In recent years, CSU has expanded academic opportunities for students in various disciplines—chemistry, computer science and cybersecurity—as well as robotics. “Columbus State University is incredibly grateful to Sen. Ossoff for championing our efforts to educate the next generation of STEM professionals in areas like robotics engineering, space exploration and technology,” said CSU President Chris Markwood. “His support also underscores the importance of building strong workforce development pipelines that begin at the K-12 level and continue through undergraduate and graduate programs like ours.” Since opening in 1996, Columbus State’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center has maintained a close partnership with MCSD. At the heart of that partnership is the “CSU Teaching Contract Guarantee,” which ensures a Muscogee County School District teaching contract for any Columbus State teacher education graduate who passes the student teaching component of their degree, and who meets Georgia Professional Standards Commission induction certification requirements. In 2014, the center and school district formally expanded their original partnership to include annual center outreach to all 17,000-plus Columbus-area K-6 students—making it an exemplar among university/ local school system science education partnerships in the United States. The center’s longstanding collaboration with the Muscogee County School District also benefits Columbus State’s science and teacher education degree programs. CSU’s teacher preparation programs began including robotics for pre-service preparation programs in 2017. Center staff have also collaborated with the school district’s teacher training efforts, student projects and programs, summer camps, competitions and federally funded grant activities in these areas for over a decade. Letters & Sciences Today

Student Success Two CSU Students Accepted to REU Summer Program

According to the website of the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR), its “Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) aims to develop undergraduates’ cross-disciplinary research skills in big data for smart cities by providing tangible research experience of solving practical problems in various smart city applications.” UNR provides 10 undergraduates per summer the opportunity to work with faculty mentors on research projects. CSU students managed to snag two of the ten spots in this prestigious summer program: Gabriel Williams, who is majoring in actuarial math, and Manav Kotharia, who is majoring in finance and minoring in math. The UNR REU award consists of • $4,800 stipend for 8 weeks • Free tuition • On-campus housing provided • Food allowance • Round-trip travel expenses up to $600 • Total: approximately $7,500 According to the chair of the Department of Mathematics, Dr. Guihong Fan, “Since Fall 2021, the department has worked together to create a monthly update for our math major/minors that includes internships, part time jobs, conferences or workshops for undergraduates in mathematics, etc.” She said CSU math faculty wanted students to gain working experience before graduation to prepare them better for the world of work. As for REUs, she said that in January 2022 she sent “emails to math majors/minors and introduced them to the REU program, how to apply, and why they should apply. Our math faculty also helped spread the word” and encouraged students to apply to more than one REU in order to increase their success rate.

Manav Kotharia

Gabriel Williams

Do You Know What Your Donations Have Supported? With the help of our alumni and friends, the College of Letters and Sciences has been able to provide 43 summer scholarships and other significant opportunities for our students! By giving back to CSU, you make a meaningful impact on students’ lives! Tax-deductible contributions to our scholarship funds or other programs can be made online at ColumbusState.edu/Giving. For more information about our programs and initiatives, please contact Jill Carroll, Development Officer: 706-507-8431; Carroll_Jill@ ColumbusState.edu.

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Student Success Geography Bowl - CSU Students Win Awards Six CSU students in history and in earth and space science attended the annual meeting of the Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG) in November 2021 in Florence, Alabama. Two students gave poster presentations on their research and all six competed in the World Geography Bowl, a critical thinking, problem-solving, and geographic trivia game. One of the teams, composed of students from CSU and Georgia Southern, won the regional competition; the SEDAAG geography bowl trophy resides in the Columbus Community Geography Center room in Dillingham Place.

Columbus State and Georgia Southern students formed a team and won the SEDAAG geography bowl trophy.

In addition, two CSU students, Micah Arnholt and Sam Belisle, were recognized as top point earners in the competition and awarded financial aid to attend the annual AAG meeting in New York City, late FebruaryMarch 1. They were initially set to receive about $600 each to offset travel costs to NYC, but the conference was moved online due to Covid-19 concerns, so students were instead offered $150 to cover registration fees and encourage participation virtually.

Left to right: Bailey Melton, Clareese Spahn, Steven “Tripp” Norman, Samuel Belisle, Micah Arnholt, and Thomas Chappel the six CSU students who participated.

Only Micah Arnholt was able to participate virtually. Micah participated on the southeastern team at the national level against other undergraduates in geography from across the US, and the team finished in fourth place overall after going 2-2 in the national round. The conference featured more than 6,000 presentations, posters, workshops, and field trips by leading scholars, experts, and researchers.

Dr. Jordan Brasher, Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of History and Geography, accompanied the students to SEDAAG. The Department of History & Geography is proud of all six students who participated in the geography bowl at SEDAAG, and is looking forward to bringing another group of students to the 2022 meeting in Atlanta later this year to hold down the home turf by winning the bowl for Georgia again.

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Student Success Journey Towards Justice: The Civil Rights Movement in the Chattahoochee Valley The Columbus Museum’s latest exhibition, “Journey Toward Justice: The Civil Rights Movement in the Chattahoochee Valley,” features the research and work of several Columbus State University students. Students in Dr. Gary Sprayberry’s fall 2021 “Civil Rights Movement/Black Power” class conducted research and provided content for exhibit panels and the exhibit guidebook. The class explored the American civil rights movement, the rise of militancy in the 1960s, origins of reconstruction and the rise of segregation. The nine students who worked on the project each focused on different aspects of the movement.

Left to Right: Meredith Donovan, Shaena Wooten, Lucy Clarke. Other students who worked on the exhibit: Asheeka Branscomb, Landon Bray, Ronald Evans, Rael Lassen, and Kalee Rowland.

“One of my contributions was an essay on the First African Baptist Church. I wrote about its history and meaning in Columbus,” said senior history major Lucy Clarke. “I think it’s important to contextualize that so people really understand why it’s so relevant today and that it’s been a long-building presence throughout American history.”

Senior history major Shaena Wooten said the exhibit brings to light the lesser-known leaders and stories of the era, noting that “local history is very important. It took more than the three to five people that we learn about starting in elementary school to contribute and make a movement.” “When people think of nonviolent civil rights campaigns, they automatically think of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the march in Selma. But, people don’t realize that actions were happening everywhere, including in places like Columbus,” she said. “We had so many leaders who were a part of the movement and contributed in smaller ways to really put the whole picture together.” Sprayberry said the experience students gained helps them prepare for their careers. “It’s pretty rare for undergraduate students to get a degree in history and walk away with a publication,” he said. “I certainly didn’t get that when I was an undergrad. I think the students in the class were really inspired and did great work.” The exhibit covers such topics as the effects of Jim Crow segregation, the role of Black institutions as a source of community pride, the influence of Fort Benning in the area, the cycle of generational violence that activists faced, and the continued civil rights activism in the 21st century. More than 160 artifacts, documents and images will be on display, including several from Columbus State University Archives. The Archives loaned material including newspaper clippings, a Columbus College yearbook, and Ku Klux Klan membership cards. “I think the civil rights movement would not have succeeded if not for ordinary people deciding to take a stand for justice and equality,” Sprayberry said. “It’s like a tapestry and the story of Columbus is just one thread. Until all of those smaller stories are told, we’re not going to have the full story of the movement.” The exhibit is on display from January 15 to October 16. Admission to the Columbus Museum is free with a suggested donation.

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Student Success Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson - La Crème De La Crème English major and senior Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson keeps racking up awards, honors, and once-in-alifetime experiences. In spring 2021, she won the coveted Faculty Cup, which is awarded annually and is the highest, most prestigious award granted to a CSU undergraduate. The award signifies high academic achievement as well as leadership, service to others, and potential for future achievement. Typically, the award is given to a senior, but Jessica won it in her junior year. In April 2022, she won first place in the playwriting category in the Agnes Scott Writing Festival Contest, the longest running literary festival in Georgia, now in its 51st year. A prize of $500 was awarded during the festival to the winning entry in each category (poetry, short story, creative non-fiction, playwriting). The work of each finalist was included in the Agnes Scott College Writers’ Festival Magazine, published in April 2022; winners were also invited to a workshop with guest judges.

Jessica stands in a Napoleonic fashion at Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.

Her one-act play, A Moscovite Opera, was “inspired by my favorite Russian writers—Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. The story follows two siblings: Konstantin (Kostya) and Marya, after the death of their father Pyotr, the patriarch of the family. Marya wishes to enter back into Moscow society by seeing an opera, but Kostya is reluctant to do so, on account of his ‘affliction.’ Life in the house slowly drudges on, as the servants hope for the return of the once-glorious Buklin manor,” DeMarco-Jacobson wrote in an email. She is currently an exchange student studying English literature and history at Regents Park College of Oxford University and works “as a section editor for two of Oxford’s student-run newspapers: Cherwell and The Oxford Student.”

Jessica next to a statue of King Bladud, the founder of the city of Bath, England, and the 9th King of the Britons. He is known for two things: discovering magical mud that cured his skin disorder and for making himself wings that he thought would help him fly. They did not, and he died.

In her undergraduate honors thesis, titled “Mine Own Country: Christina Rossetti and the Italian Risorgimento,” she analyzes the Victorian poet’s relationship and sentiments for the 19th-century socio-political movement that aimed to unify the regions of the Italian peninsula into one country.

Jessica is passionate about social issues, the Risorgimento, and depressing 19th-century literature. After graduating in spring 2022, she plans to pursue a post-graduate education in English literature and become a professor because she cannot see herself doing anything but reading and analyzing old books for a living. Jessica hopes to one day return to Italy and spend the remainder of her days reading beautiful poetry whilst drinking lots of Earl Grey tea, discovering the meaning of the human condition through her writing, and falling in love with the world that surrounds her. Letters & Sciences Today

Creative Course Department of Chemistry Gets Hip on HIPs By Dr. Kerri Taylor, Associate Professor, Chemistry The Department of Chemistry at Columbus State University has been highly proactive in implementing and executing high impact practices (HIPs) amidst the pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year. Faculty has worked together to offer enriching opportunities ranging from the Introductory Chemistry Seminar and First Year Experience, while also supporting upper-class students in highly valued undergraduate research. Students effectively presented topics at a regional chemical conference - Fall 2021 Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemistry Society. In the first-year experience, CHEM 1715: Introductory Chemistry Seminar exposed students to the areas of scholarship and research across the various disciplines of chemistry and incorporated first year and upper-level chemistry majors. The purpose of CHEM 1715 is to demonstrate the value of connecting a major/degree to their future career choices. The course involves invited speakers, topical presentations, and regional field trips to local industries. These immersive experiences equip students with a background of chemical knowledge and soft skills critical to their chemistry degrees. This course also enables students to see their “future selves.” The results from CHEM 1715 enrollment and participation lead to involvement in departmental activities and student organizations. Students have reported a stronger sense of clarity and confidence as chemistry majors. Enrollment reached a maximum of 25 students in the Fall 2021 term. The field trips, funded by the Center for Experiential Learning, provided a first-hand glimpse of analytical chemistry, water chemistry, academia, organic chemistry, biochemistry and beverage chemistry. Field trips to the Columbus Water Works’ North Columbus Water Resource Facility and Environmental Services, John Emerald Distillery, and Auburn University helped students see how various companies and organizations use chemists and chemistry in their everyday operations.

Students enrolled in Fall 2021 CHEM 1715 Introductory Chemistry Seminar are shown at the Columbus Water Works facility.

Upperclassmen were incorporated as mentors in the Delta G program, and are arranged to support incoming freshmen chemistry majors. The goal of this program is to help assimilate the students into the chemistry community on campus. To serve as a mentor, chemistry majors need a minimum of a 3.00 GPA.

In this First Year Experience (FYE) course, the upperclassmen also offer a lab crawl to expose new students to the research active faculty at CSU. The ACS Student Chapter hosts events throughout the semester to help with recruitment and retention of the chemistry majors. Events are especially spotlighted around National Chemistry Week (NCW). CSU chemistry majors spotlight the interdisciplinary aspects of chemistry and demonstrate how those in this major are “creative to the core,”while also developing and supporting their relationships within the department and CSU community.

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Creative Course The HIP of undergraduate research was emphasized all semester long and resulted in the production of inperson presentations at Fall 2021 SERMACS meeting in Birmingham, AL. Students from Drs. Taylor and Meyers labs showcased work executed and gathered in the CSU undergraduate laboratories. Presentation titles include: 1. Dominic Fico., Isabelle Rodriguez, Julie Wilson, Rahul Clamor, Shanina Sanders, John Gorden, Monica Frazier, Lauren King, Kerri Taylor. “Synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxic activity of asymmetric N,N’-bis-substituted 1,2,3- triazolium Salts.” Poster presentation. Students dressed for Halloween during Lab Crawl.

2. Harris Carlisle, Kari Goodwin, Elizabeth Klar, Kerri Taylor. ”Chemical Investigations of Organics in the Chattahoochee River.” Poster presentation. 3. Cayla Rose, Ian Becerra, Anayondu Diliora, Sara Collins, Barrette Jackson, and Jonathan Meyers. “Design and antibiotic activity of novel hair-pin peptides.” Poster presentation.

Students showcased work at Fall 2021 SERMACS. Top Left image - Rahul Clamor and Dominic Fico presented on anti-tumor and antibacterial compounds. Top Right image - Harris Carlisle presented on water chemistry in the Chattahoochee River. Left image – Student SERMACS presenters with Dr. Jonathan Meyers (right).

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Internships Data Analytics Program and Internships The CSU Math Department offers a Data Analytic Minor/Certificate program in which 19 students are enrolled. Among them, three students did internal internships in Spring 2022: two students worked in the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness and one student worked in the Enrollment Management Office. All three internal internships were overseen by Dr. Kristin Lily. Kiera King and Selina Budde worked with Dr. Sridhar Sitharaman (Associate Vice President) on data analysis on our institutional students’ data. Kiera King’s topics were “Investigating Business College Students Changes in Major, Status, Time to Graduate,” and “Identifying Factors that Contribute to Major Changes and Drop-out Rates.” Selina Budde’s topics were “Investigating Correlation Among Different Type of Students (Drop out, Changing Major, Student Type, Age) Statistically and with Data Visualizations.”

Data Analytics students Kiera King, Selina Budde and Timothy Sabau conducted internships with CSU departments.

Timothy Sabau worked with Sallie McMullin (Associate Vice President) on data analysis of the institutional enrollment data. His topics were “Data Visualization on Enrollment Numbers, Predicting Enrollment for Future Semesters, Identify Factors Influencing Retention and Progression Among CSU Students” and “Predict Enrollment Numbers Based on These Factors.” The Data Science Team within the Math Department is evaluating the possibility of soon offering paid external internships with Valley Healthcare Systems, which needs interns for up to three years to help collect patient data and do preliminary data analysis for its project on the National Hypertension Initiative funded by Health Resources and Services. The Data Science Team consists of Dr. Kristin Lily, Dr. Ben Kamau, Dr. William Muse, and Dr. Guihong Fan (Department Chair).

CSU Press Internships In spring semester, the Department of English had 10 majors participating in non-paying, non-credit internships at CSU Press where they learned about different aspects of literary publishing, including the timeline and procedures for how a book becomes published, publicity for a book before and after publishing, sales and marketing, and the ongoing editing process for running a publication contest. Dr. Allen Gee, Director/Editor of CSU Press and inaugural Donald L. Jordan Endowed Professor in Creative Writing, assigned students an area or areas of interest based on their backgrounds and the amount of time they could devote to the internship. For more information on the CSU Press—including history, mission, staff, and interns—go to https://www.columbusstate.edu/csupress/ 10

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Internships Graduate Robotics Engineering Students Receive Internship Offers The graduate robotics program announced the summer internship offers its graduate students have received. These six students will have full-time appointments for around 3 months starting in May 2022. Robotics Engineering graduate students Rehmana Younis, Saira Gillani, and Onurcan Bal have been selected through a highly competitive process by PIN (Partnership for Inclusive Innovation) to be part of the 2022 Smart Community Corps Summer internship program. PIN has partnered with Georgia Tech Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) program. Rehmana Younis has been selected to work with The Ray project (Columbus, GA) as a Research Intern. Saira Gillani has been selected to work with the Columbus Consolidated Government project. Onurcan Bal will work with The Atlanta Airport City project as a Research Intern. Natasha Barrow has received an internship offer as a Design/ Manufacturing Engineer in the Aerospace Department at Honeywell in Phoenix, Arizona. Robert McLean will be employed as an Advanced Manufacturing Intern at Cummins Inc., which is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products in Columbus, Indiana. Muhammad Talha Ejaz will be interning as a Junior Controls Engineer at QDS Automation in Okemos, Michigan.

Front row: Talha Ejaz, Rehmana Younis, Saira Gillani, Robert McLean Back row: Onurcan Bal, Natasha Barrow

Tower Day Tower Day Showcases Student Research and Creativity Tower Day is an annual celebration of CSU undergraduate research and creative endeavors. CSU students from different disciplines presented their research and creative endeavors in the form of fifteenminute oral presentations, poster presentations, and five-minute talks, both virtually and in person. Here is a sampling of their efforts. Destini A. Thornton & Alexandria White (pictured right) Title: Biological Effects of Benzothiazole Derivatives: ALS cells and the effect of the TDP-43 Protein Mentors: Kerri S. Taylor & Monica C. Frazier Major: Chemistry (Thornton) & Biology (White)

Matthew F. Gilbert & Carlie H. Dollar (pictured left) Title: The Antibacterial properties of various species used in ‘bush medicine’ in Adros Island, Bahamas Mentors: Daniel E. Holt & Julie A. Ballenger Major: Biology

Anthony R. Brown, Jr. (pictured right), Lydia Jones, Sharanna Stone, Vanisha K. Strahota (pictured), & Camren Upshaw Title: Analysis of Bluegill, Leponis macrochirus age and growth, diversity, and species richness in two urban creeks in Columbus, GA Mentors: Michael G. Newbrey & Ashley Desensi Major: Biology

Simran K. Chhina (pictured left) & Jessica Odum Title: Annotation of the lin-28 Gene Across Species of Drosophila Mentor: Brian W. Schwartz Major: Biology

Skyler S. Vaughn Title: Identifying a Hidden Fault Mentor: Clinton I. Barineau Major: Earth and Space Science

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Tower Day Elise R. Snow & Megan E. Brenner (pictured left) Title: Synthesis of Metallic Triimide Based Covalent Organic Frameworks Mentor: Daniel W. Holley Major: Chemistry

Cydnee A. Harrison (pictured right) Title: Chemical Investigations of Pasaquan and Interdisciplinary Paint Restoration Mentor: Kerri S. Taylor Major: Chemistry

Justin J. Arnette (pictured left) Title: A Global Ambition: A Survey of the Development of Militant Islamic Thought on Jihad Mentor: Ryan J. Lynch Major: Interdisciplinary Studies

Tod W. Barclay (pictured right) Title: Columbus State University Peace Cooperative Mentor: Florence Wakoko-Studstill Major: Psychology

Ethan W. Rieck (left), Rashalyn Smith & Jennifer Thompson (right) Title: The Effects of Air Pollutants on Human Populations Mentor: Stephen Jessup Major: Earth and Space Science

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“Make Good Trouble” “Make Good Trouble: A Southern Civil Rights Odyssey” Story and Photo Captions by Dr. Courtney George, Associate Professor, English Photos by Dr. Sharon Renner, Assistant Professor, Health Science If you could stand where some of the country’s greatest struggles and triumphs took place—where many of America’s most accomplished activists, musicians, and writers stood up, spoke out, and, in some cases, perished in the name of freedom and equality—what would you take away from those experiences? How would you see today reflected in yesterday? How would you envision a future from our collective past? In seeking to provide students with answers to these larger questions, the Spring 2022 course “Make Good Trouble: A Southern Civil Rights Odyssey” visited significant museums, memorials, and spaces across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Before traveling, students studied the mid-20th Century Civil Rights movement in class meetings. While the majority of travel took place over the week-long spring break, students also participated in individual day trips to explore sites in Montgomery, Alabama and Columbus, Georgia. The class kept a visual diary on the social media site Instagram (https://www. instagram.com/makegoodtroublecsu/). During the second half of the semester, after the spring break travel, students created a podcast about their experiences (to be released at a later date). This course was sponsored by a National Collegiate Honors College Portz Grant obtained by CSU’s Honors College. The grant provided funding for the spring break trip and for podcasting equipment. The course was also funded by a field trip grant from the CSU Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning. For this inaugural course, students from a variety of academic disciplines came together to study History, Literature, Music, and Podcast Production by professors Gary Sprayberry (History & Geography), Courtney George (English), and Matthew McCabe (Schwob School of Music). Professors Jordan Brasher (History & Geography) and Sharon Renner (Health Science) also accompanied the group on their travels. Brasher and Renner will teach the next iteration of the course, which will be offered annually by the Honors College and will utilize different academic disciplines each year. 1. Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery Students crowd around the SPLC Civil Rights Memorial created by Maya Lin in Montgomery, Alabama. While in Montgomery, students also visited the Rosa Parks Museum, the Legacy Museum, and the Memorial for Peace and Justice.

From left to right: Courtney George, Bailey Melton, Mariah Lewis, Shaena Wooten, Courtney Anderson Davis, Savannah Wilder, Gary Sprayberry, Rael Lassen, Daniel Tice, Curtis Walker, Jalin Murphy, Heidi Parsons, Arianna Povedo, Don’ya Truesdale, Nicole Paul, Kristen Williams, Kennedy Buckner.

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“Make Good Trouble” 2. Margaret Walker Center at JSU The typewriter of acclaimed poet, novelist, and activist Margaret Walker Alexander (1915-1998) is housed in the Margaret Walker Center on the Jackson State University campus in Jackson, Mississippi. (cont. on p. 15) While on campus, students also visited the COFO Civil Rights Education Center, an important meeting site for student activists during Mississippi’s Freedom Summer Project in 1964. In addition, while in Jackson, students visited the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the home of activist Medgar Evers. 3. Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Students walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, after visiting the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. The bridge is the site of the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., that resulted in Bloody Sunday in 1965. While in Selma, students also met with an activist and historian Joyce O’Neal at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, where the march began. 4. The Delta Blues Museum Besides learning via the disciplines of history and literature, students learned about the Civil Rights Movement through the perspective of popular music like the blues. Here at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and throughout the day spent in the Mississippi Delta, the group expanded on that knowledge with stops along the Mississippi Blues Trail. From left to right: Jordan Brasher, Heidi Parsons, Curtis Walker (top row); Arianna Poveda, Kristen Williams, Nicole Paul, Don’ya Truesdale, Mariah Lewis, Shaena Wooten, Jalin Murphy (on steps); Bailey Melton, Kennedy Buckner, Sophia Jacobs (beside steps).

5. B.B. King’s Lucille (cover photo) Students pose outside of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center (Indianola, Mississippi) in front of one of many replicas of King’s famously named guitar, Lucille. From left to right: Bailey Melton, Sophia Jacobs, Rael Lassen, Curtis Walker, Courtney Davis Anderson, and Savannah Wilder.

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“Make Good Trouble” 6. Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi While traveling through the Delta, students visited many sites relevant to the murder of Emmett Till, which took place in 1955. Till’s death, and the subsequent trial where his killers were set free, were defining events in the fight for Civil Rights. In Sumner, Mississippi, students visited with activist Benjamin Saulsberry, the Public Engagement and Museum Education Director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. While sitting in the courthouse where the trial of Till’s murderers took place, Saulsberry lead them through a reading and discussion of a reconciliation document written by Sumner’s residents. 7. Black Power Students listened as sociologist and blues scholar Scott Barretta discussed the origins of the political slogan “Black Power,” the phrasing which activist and SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael first called out amidst a gathering of marchers in a community park in Greenwood, Mississippi.

8. With Love From Memphis Criminal Justice major Heidi Parsons posed by this public mural in Memphis, Tennessee, while waiting for a tour to begin. Students uniformly and absolutely agreed that their night on Beale Street in Memphis was the trip’s highlight. While in Memphis, students also visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Sun Studio.

9. Rosa Parks & the Bus Boycott The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel documents the movement from its beginnings to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which took place at the Lorraine in Memphis in 1968. One of many exhibits is a bus replica, where visitors can walk through and experience some of what Rosa Parks may have lived through when she refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955.

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Literary Award Winners Carson McCullers Literary Award Winners CSU and Area High School Students The Carson McCullers Literary Awards offers prizes to CSU students, including the Sara Ayres Jordan Awards in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, as well as prizes in expository essay, playwriting and screenwriting, with $300 1st place, $200 2nd place, $100 3rd place in each category. Prizes are also awarded to Georgia and Alabama high school students in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, expository essay, playwriting and screenwriting, with $300 for 1st place, $200 for 2nd place, $100 for 3rd place in each category. A complete list of winners, including high school winners, is available on the CSU Department of English website, as is a video showing winners and judges at this year’s virtual event. Poetry: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Poetry 1st Place: “Neville to Percival,” by Bailey Parker (pictured) 2nd Place: “and you fall in love with them both,” by Sidney Ducleroir 3rd Place: “Fear,” by Youbin Park Fiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Fiction 1st Place: “Out by the Tracks,” by Zagreus Rivers (pictured) 2nd Place: “Sir Lancelot and the Red Villa of Cortenova,” by Jessica DeMarco-Jacobson 3rd Place: “Purple Prose and Other Clichés,” by Bailey Parker Creative Nonfiction: Sara Ayres Jordan Prize for Creative Nonfiction 1st Place: “Snapshots of a Silent Composer,” by Ana Dinis Perez (pictured) 2nd Place: “Freedom From Speech,” by Youbin Park 3rd Place: “Death of a Small Town and the Memories They Hold,” by Kailey Katzfey Expository Essay 1st Place: “‘Text without Context’: Jessard Deal’s Literary Allusions in Louis Owens’ The Sharpest Sight,” by Maja Nearing (pictured) 2nd Place: “Binaries, Identity, Community, and Bridging the Gap,” by Melanie Miller 3rd Place: “Gawain Reborn,” by Sidney Ducleroir Screenwriting 1st Place: “A Father’s Story,” by Dallas Curry (pictured) 2nd Place: “The Games We Play,” by Latisha Spikes-Brown 3rd Place: “Room for Two,” by Donni “Les” Anderson Playwriting: Dr. Barbara Hunt Prize in Playwriting 1st Place: “Dad’s Not Dead,” by Maja Nearing (pictured) 2nd Place: “The Call,” by Kiera King 3rd Place: “My Sin To Hide,” by Christina Ricks

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Community Outreach Speaker Series: Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology The Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology hosted two events featuring speakers from the area. Both events were open to the public as well as to those on campus. Policing in the Chattahoochee Valley was held February 15 and featured police leadership from law enforcement agencies around the Chattahoochee Valley discussing current policing strategies and issues in their communities. Guest speakers were - Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley - Marion County Sheriff Derrell Neal - Assist. Police Chief of Columbus PD, Joyce Dentz-Fitzpatrick - Muscogee County Sheriff, Major Joseph McCrea - CSU PD Sgt. Jon Erickson Advocacy was held March 8, from 12:30-1:30 in the Davidson Auditorium and featured advocates from local government and non-profit agencies who discussed their roles/responsibilities. Guest speakers were - Shelly Hall: Director of Victim Services (Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit) - Kyle Bair: Executive Director (The Center at 909) - Lindsey Reis: Executive Director (Hope Harbour) - Bobbi Star: Executive Director (Micah’s Promise) - Kalen Sieck: Program Coordinator (Children’s Tree House Child Advocacy Center)

Westville - Translating from English to Spanish In their Spring 2022 Introduction to Spanish Linguistics class, students were involved in a field experience/experiential learning opportunity that not only impacted their community but their own lives as well. The professor of the course, Dr. Joelle Bonamy, had students work with the Historic Westville Living History Museum in Columbus to translate the Museum’s brochure, signage, exhibit panels, documents, and audio tour from English into Spanish. Prior to the students doing any translating, she took the class to Westville in early February, since most students had never been there. The Westville exhibit used to be located in Lumpkin, GA, but for economic reasons was moved to Columbus in 2019. Westville recreates a historic village that includes 17 furnished antebellum buildings, with another 14 scheduled to be moved to its new site on South Lumpkin Road. The living museum preserves mid19th century artifacts, demonstrates period work skills, and hosts special events and workshops. There are currently five crafts persons skilled in traditional trades—leatherworking and boot making, quilting, traditional carpentry, blacksmithing, and dressmaking. Buildings include a church, some stores, an early pharmacy, a courthouse, a school, craft shops, and several houses. The semester-long community service project culminated in translations the Museum can use for Spanish speaking guests. Students in the class also presented their translations at Tower Day. 18

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Community Outreach 48th Annual Math Tournament Continued Virtually in 2022 For 46 years, the Math Department at CSU has hosted an in-person Math Tournament for area and regional high school students. However, in fall of 2020, the Math Tournament Committee, led by Dr. Houbin Fang and Ms. Elizabeth McInnis, coordinated with (then) department chair Dr. Ben Kamau to propose a virtual tournament for its 47th annual tournament in spring 2021. A virtual tournament was a challenge to arrange, as the in-person tournament was primarily based on individual, machine-graded tests as well as a very engaging small group cyphering event and awards ceremony. To try to duplicate the events exactly as they would occur in person didn’t seem feasible. So, in spring 2021, each high school team was instructed to work together to solve a challenging 30-question exam, written by Dr. Eugen Ionascu, with contributions from Dr. Baiqiao Deng and Dr. Guihong Fan. Ionascu started working on the test in fall 2020 in order to create a test difficult enough to engage high-performing students working collaboratively. The questions were released throughout the morning in 10-question increments, keeping all students engaged for several hours. High school team sponsors from 12 schools, many local and some as far away as Birmingham and Atlanta, were in charge of monitoring the 144 students who participated as they researched and collaborated to answer each batch of questions. Sponsors were very happy with the event, saying “Wish all competitions were this fun!” Student observations were similarly positive: “I liked it because it was a well-run tournament which is hard to do online. There were also no other online tournaments so it was nice to actually do some math.” The Math Department was so pleased to have been able to offer a positive experience in the midst of such a challenging year, that the department decided to continue the virtual format for its 48th Annual Math Tournament on March 5, 2022. Of course, the test needed to be completely revised for a new crop of test takers. According to the 2022 rules, each school formed one team working together (with no restriction on the number of team members) and was allowed one submission. The examination was scored on the basis of +12 for each correct answer, -3 for each incorrect selection (or for multiple selections), and 0 for each omitted item. Each school worked together and was given Dr. Houbin Fang an initial score of 200 so that no school received a negative final score. Since this was an open book exam, students could use all the resources (but no human resource outside the team of students). In the small school category, the winners were

In the large school category, the winners were

1st Place: Fulton Science Academy 2nd Place: LaFayette High School

1st Place: Columbus High School 2nd Place: Chattahoochee HS 3rd Place: Valdosta High School

In April, schools received student certificates, t-shirts, and trophies. The CSU Math Tournament is sponsored by TSYS, a Global Payments company.

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Faculty Spotlights Biology Department Supports Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Brian Schwartz (Professor of Biology and a member of the COLS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee) and Ms. Ely Klar (Senior Lecturer of Biology) put together this display to show a variety of biologists with various careers in STEM. This display not only illustrates Biology’s efforts to promote diversity, but also illustrates what biologists can become: neurobiologist, developmental biologist, medical genealogist, ornithologist, and computational biologist. Graduate student Kari Goodwin also helped in constructing the display, only part of which is shown in the photo. Pictured are Dr. Brian Schwartz and Ms. Ely Klar.

CSU Engineering Professor Ranked in Top 2% of World’s Leading Scientists Dr. Mahmut Reyhanoglu, Director and Professor of Robotics Engineering at CSU, has been named in Stanford University’s global list recognizing the top 2% of the world’s leading scientists. The scientists were classified into 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields using the bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database. The study, published in PLOS Biology, provides the ranking of over 100,000 top scientists of the world based on standardized citation indicators, which include information on citations, an individual’s scientific research output or H-index, co-authorship, and a composite indicator for career-long impact. Dr. Mahmut Reyhanoglu completed his bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering and his master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Reyhanoglu also obtained a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at The Ohio State University, and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering: Systems and his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at The University of Michigan. With his over 130 publications listed in the Scopus database, Dr. Reyhanoglu is ranked number 836 in the world in the Industrial Engineering and Automation subfield out of the 96,361 researchers in this area. This top 2% ranking is considered the most prestigious worldwide. Congratulations, Dr. Reyhanoglu! 20

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Faculty Spotlight Documentary Film about Carson McCullers The McCullers Center--in collaboration with the English Department, the Film Production program in the Department of Communication, and the CSU Schwob School of Music’s Recording Studio--has embarked on the creation and production of a feature-length documentary film about Carson McCullers. Dr. Nick Norwood, Director of the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians, has collaborated with other CSU faculty (see below) to complete the first draft of a script for the film, submitted an NEH Development Grant ($75,000) to further develop that script, and won an internal Provost’s Seed Grant ($3,500) to make a film trailer to use in applying for a $500,000 NEH Production Grant. Filming for the trailer began in March 2022. When the film is completed, it will be the first-ever documentary film about Carson McCullers. The locations for filming will be in both Columbus and in Nyack, NY. • Adam Bova (Assistant Professor), Bruce Getz (Assistant Professor), and Christopher Robinson (Senior Lecturer) are the collaborators from the CSU Film Program in the Department of Communication. • Matthew McCabe (Associate Professor) is the collaborator from the Schwob School of Music’s Recording Studio. • Singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega and actress Karen Allen have already agreed to be interviewed on camera for the documentary. • The documentary will also be using filmed interviews of Edward Albee, Simon Callow, Virginia Spencer Carr, and other friends and acquaintances of Carson’s. These interviews were conducted by the late Dan Griffin with funds provided by the McCullers Center. Carson McCullers was born Lula Carson Smith in Columbus, Georgia, on Feb. 19, 1917. She is most famous for The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (novel), Reflections in a Golden Eye (novel), The Member of the Wedding (play), The Ballad of the Sad Café (novella), and Clock Without Hands (novel). Several of her works were adapted into films starring Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Ethel Waters, and Julie Harris, among many others. Her small but significant body of work includes five novels, two plays, 20 short stories, more than two dozen nonfiction pieces, a book of children’s verse, a number of poems, and an unfinished autobiography. McCullers’ life was blighted by a series of cerebral strokes caused by a misdiagnosed and untreated childhood case of rheumatic fever. The first stroke occurred when she was only 24 years old, and within several years, she was completely paralyzed on her left side. McCullers suffered a final stroke in August 1967 and died at age 50 on Sept. 29, 1967. Letters & Sciences Today

Faculty Award Winners COLS Faculty Capture Many CSU Awards Bryan Banks - CSU Teaching and Innovation Award Assistant Professor, Department of History and Geography The Teaching and Innovation Award recognizes and rewards the efforts of faculty members who develop and practice innovative methodologies in pedagogy. This award showcases the creative innovations of the faculty members who facilitate enhanced learning and specifically focuses on the uniqueness of the “program actions” that increase student interest and drive achievement. Stephanie da Silva - CSU Faculty Research and Scholarship Award Professor, Department of Psychology The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding efforts by faculty members in research and scholarship. The award is meant to celebrate the value of these activities, particularly for their role in contributing to the faculty’s intellectual growth. It implicitly recognizes the role of research and scholarship in the enhancement of a faculty member’s teaching and service capabilities. Nehal Shukla - CSU Teaching Excellence Award Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics The CSU Teaching Excellence award recognizes a faculty member’s strong commitment to teaching and learning. The winner of this award serves as CSU’s nominee for the USG Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award, and receives a medallion and a stipend sponsored by the Faculty Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Nick Norwood - CSU Creative Endeavors Award Professor of Creative Writing, Department of English The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding efforts by CSU faculty members in creative expression in their field. The award is meant to celebrate the value of these activities, particularly for their role in contributing to the student’s and faculty’s intellectual and creative growth. Jordan Brasher - 2022 Educator of the Year Assistant Professor of Geography, Department of History and Geography SGA Educator of the Year Award is presented annually by The Student Government Association (SGA) to a single faculty member nominated by students and selected by SGA representatives. The stated purpose of the award is to recognize and promote teaching excellence among CSU faculty. Dr. Brasher has also been selected to attend the Palestine American Research Center (PARC) Faculty Development Seminar, June 2022, in Jerusalem and the West Bank. PARC has been running the program annually since 2010 by selecting 10 to 12 U.S. faculty from various disciplines to participate in a 12-day seminar. Faculty participate in roundtable discussions, tour historic cities, meet with Palestinian colleagues, and visit Palestinian universities, research institutes, and cultural institutions. Through these activities, participants learn about the region, deepen their knowledge about their fields of interest in Palestine, and build relationships with Palestinian colleagues and institutions. 22

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Faculty Publications Comic Book Hero Solves Math Problems Dr. Cindy S. Ticknor, Professor of Mathematics whose field of specialization is mathematics education, wanted to ease student learning of fractions, multiplication and division, so she developed a series of comic books (now also a graphic novel) featuring Theo, a boy struggling to learn the secrets of his mysterious neighbor I. D. Vide through fractions. This math mystery comic book series, The Mysterious I. D. Vide in Newton’s Nemesis, weaves together puzzles that explain why fraction multiplication and division works with inspirational moments to reassure children that struggling means they are learning. “If you’re not struggling, your brain is bored!” is the mantra of reassurance. The website mathcomichero.com tantalizes with more details: “Who is the Mysterious I. D. Vide? A witch? A sorceress? An alien? Theo wasn’t sure. He was only certain that she lived in a creepy house next to a small puppy named Newton, and he overheard her talking about a spell. Join Theo and his friends as they try to solve the math mystery that I. D. Vide crafts for the trio.” From this website, viewers can watch a video preview, purchase comic books (single issues, the complete set, the graphic novel, enough copies for an entire classroom, etc.), and print various ancillaries, some of which are free. The website serves as a cornucopia of inspiration for teachers and students alike and tempts them into wanting to learn more.

Viewers can download a guide for parents and teachers, download two free lessons, and even arrange professional development workshops by the author or by the comic book artist, Nathan Long. The website also provides background on Ticknor’s inspiration for developing this comic book series to help young people enjoy the math puzzles of fractions. In addition to being Professor of Mathematics, Ticknor is also Dean of the Honors College. She received her doctorate in mathematics education from Auburn University in 2004, started working with Honors in 2009, and was named the Honors dean in 2014.

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Retirements The Retirement of Dr. Baiqiao, Professor of Mathematics After teaching at CSU for 29 years, Dr. Baiqiao Deng, Professor of Mathematics, retired at the end of spring semester 2022. Deng came to CSU in 1993, after earning his Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of South Carolina. Prior to that, he earned a B.S. in Mathematics at Zhejiang University in China. Deng was inspired to major in math in college after a high school teacher “taught us Calculus that was not covered in high school curriculum during that time,” he said. One teacher made such a difference in his life! Perhaps that is why he thinks his “greatest accomplishment is that I haveh taught thousands of students at all levels of math courses and made them succeed in math.” Because he was inspired by a teacher to become a teacher, he strived to inspire others. During his tenure at CSU, Deng served as Interim Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Philosophy from 2010-2011 and as Associate Chair of the Department of Mathematics from 2011-2017. He also attended numerous math and professional development conferences and published nine articles in various journals and proceedings. His special interests include harmonic analysis, especially wavelets; time-frequency analysis; and applications to image and signal processing.

Dr. Deng in Meteora, Greece.

So, what are his plans for retirement? A world traveler, he looks forward to traveling the world even more than ever!

The Retirement of Dr. Ron Linton, Professor of Mathematics When Dr. Ron Linton came to CSU in 1998, he had already been teaching math, computer science, and data analytics for more than fifteen years at Emporia State University in Kansas, the University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and has completed Postgraduate Studies in Computer Science at the University of Louisville. At CSU, he has served as Assistant Department Chair and as Interim Department Chair of Mathematics. Why did you become a math educator? I was influenced by one of my high school mathematics teachers, Reason G. Newton, who especially demonstrated a love and respect of mathematics. The decision to choose university level instruction over high school teaching was motivated by my enjoyment in solving challenging mathematics problems, leading me to believe that I would enjoy employment involving research. What do you see as your greatest accomplishments? I am most proud of personal efforts to improve the education and employability of mathematics majors as well as these achievements: •In late 2012, I worked with Dr. Sheri Noviello, then Dean of CSU’s School of Nursing, to develop a Nursing Informatics Track in the online Master’s program. •In addition, in order to develop street creds among academics and professionals in nursing analytics, I was appointed Volunteer Researcher in Data Analytics at (Linton Retires, Continued next page)

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Retirements The Retirement of Dr. Alyce Cook, Associate Professor of Spanish Dr. Alyce Cook retired at the end of Spring semester 2022 after teaching at CSU for 28 years. In that time, she has contributed monumentally to the lives of thousands of students, shaped the curriculum and culture of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, and created the CSU in Mexico program. Some of the highlights of her career at CSU include working with Dr. Bill Chappell, then Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, to co-author a proposal for the Elena Díaz-Verson Amos Latin American Studies Program. Elena Amos funded their proposal with $500,000.00 which was matched by the state with another $500,000, for a total of $1,000,000. It provided, and still provides, funds for the Latin American Studies Scholar and for study abroad scholarships. In collaboration with the Center for Global Engagement, Cook helped organize and sponsor sometimes semester-long visits from such Latin-American writers as Mempo Giardinelli and Guillermo Martinez (Argentina), and Heberto Padilla (Cuba). Two of these writers became Latin American Studies Scholars who taught upper division Spanish courses, gave regional talks, and interacted with Spanish majors. In addition, Cook directed CSU in Mexico for 26 consecutive years, taking hundreds of students to Mexico for between one and two summer months to study the Spanish language and Mexican culture. Because of a faculty development grant, Cook was able to attend, in summer 2000, Mempo Giardinelli’s “Literatura Argentina en la Argentina: Critica Y Creacion,” a month-long institute in Resistencia, Argentina, sponsored by the University of Virginia. Participants met and discussed topics of interest with Argentine writers. This experience eventually led to Cook’s developing CSU’s Colloquium on 20th-century Latin American Literature and to the visits of Mempo Giardinelli and Guillermo Martinez. Her experience at Mempo’s institute allowed her to meet the Argentine writer Luisa Valenzuela, the author on whom she wrote her dissertation (University of Virginia, 1993). Cook was then able to publish book chapters and essays on Valenzuela’s writings, and the writings of other Argentine women writers. Over the years, she has received numerous grants, presented papers at national and international conferences, and published articles, reviews, and book chapters. In addition, she is the recipient of the Faculty Service Award (2001-02) and Outstanding Teacher of Writing Award (2009-10). With all her accomplishments, hers has been a life well lived, and she looks forward to the next chapter. Linton Retires (Continued from page 24) St. Francis Hospital. I participated in several research projects, including one to use predictive analytics to reduce patient recovery room waiting time after Lidocaine use in bronchoscopy procedures. With input from CSU students, regional recruiters, graduate faculty at regional universities, and departmental faculty, I developed a Data Analytics Minor that includes these courses: Data Mining [SQL (MySQL), VBScripts, Tableau], Data Modelling (XLMiner), Ethics and Data Analytics, Data Analytics Project, and Data Analytics Internship. What are your plans after you retire? I began a wooden sailboat building project early in 2000 and plan to complete the build during retirement. My son and I will then sail the boat on several of the local lakes along the Chattahoochee River, learning how to point the vessel in our chosen directions. We will then take the 24-foot boat, named “Maddie,” to the Gulf to test our skills. I will also continue to do remote data science consulting with an insurance company headquartered in Cincinnati; the company specializes in providing various types of insurance for small businesses. Letters & Sciences Today

Meritorious Program Meritorious Program: Department of History and Geography. This semester, the Department of History and Geography has earned the designation of Meritorious Program because of its diverse activities and educational ventures. The Department is chaired by Dr. Gary Sprayberry, Professor of History. Together with colleagues in the Department of English and the CSU Honors College, Sprayberry was instrumental in planning, coordinating, and delivering the Study Away course “Make Good Trouble,” the cover story for this issue. The Department also embraces innovative minors. What happens when humanities combine with 21stcentury technology? You get Digital Humanities, a methodological approach of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Data Analytics, or Python Programming as a lens through which humanities can be viewed. Dr. Ryan Lynch is the faculty member who wrote the proposal for these minors and designed their curriculum. Lynch is an Associate Professor of History and an Honors Faculty Fellow in Residence. In the fall issue of TODAY, there will be an extended story on these cutting-edge minors. Students in Dr. Gary Sprayberry’s fall 2021 “Civil Rights Movement/Black Power” class conducted research and provided content for exhibit panels and the exhibit guidebook at the Columbus Museum. In the Student Success section in this issue (p. 6), there is a story on this as well as an article on CSU’s participation in two geography bowls, regional and national (p. 5); Dr. Jordan Brasher, Assistant Professor of Geography, accompanied and advised CSU students in this venture. Finally, faculty from the Department of History and Geography and from the College of Education and Health Professions, worked together to create a Pedagogies of Podcasting website.

The Pedagogies of Podcasting: Welcome to P.O.P. Drs. Bryan Banks (Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Geography) and Aaron R. Gierhart (Assistant Professor in the Department of Teacher Education, Leadership, and Counseling) have created a website called Pedagogies of Podcasting where they can publish not only podcasts they and their students have created, but a course-friendly website for all CSU faculty and students to use. The CSU Cougars-themed website offers lots of cool visuals and a smorgasbord of activities. This website is located at sites.google.com/view/ pedagogiesofpodcasting/home The website begins with “Welcome to Pedagogies of Podcasting. This is a web resource for faculty and staff in higher education interested in podcasting as a teaching and learning approach. Dr. Bryan Banks Please utilize the navigation menu to explore pedagogical challenges in podcasting, examples of podcasts that students have published, open-source tools for getting started with podcasting, and much more!” Dr. Aaron R. Gierhart

For example, under the “Resources” page, viewers will discover information on equipment, recording, and editing. Under the “Challenges” page, viewers can investigate such topics as authentic audiences, episodes and seasons, and storytelling. The site also has many examples to get participants started. 26

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New Leadership New Director for Pre-Med Program Dr. Daniel Holt, Associate Professor of Biology, has been named Director of the Competitive Premedical Studies Program (CPSP). He replaces Katey Hughes, who served in this position for years as advisor of pre-med students before leaving to work at Mercer School of Medicine. Holt has been a valued member of the Biology Department since 2015. He plans to “...continue the tradition of excellence established in aiding our pre-medical students and plan to expand CPSP’s connectivity in the regional medical community. I plan to utilize my connections in the area to help expand opportunities for CPSP students to gain experience and insight into the medical field, and continue to recruit highly motivated students into CPSP.” CSU’s CPSP was established in 2013 to provide a framework and support system for CSU students who wanted to go to medical school. This ultimately helps not only our students, but also addresses the physician shortage of doctors in Georgia and nationwide. The program starts helping students the day they join, providing opportunities such as pre-med tailored advising, physician shadowing opportunities, scholarship opportunities, access to volunteer programs at local hospitals, MCAT preparation, and guest lectures from medical students, physicians, and admissions directors from medical schools around the state. The CPSP has proven to be a valuable resource for our students, and Holt intends to continue growing the program in the pursuit of making CSU the preferred premedical studies university in Georgia. Dr. Daniel Holt

Inagural Assistant Dean, Dr. Jonathan Meyers Effective July 1, 2022, Dr. Jonathan Meyers, Associate Professor of Chemistry, will become the inaugural Assistant Dean of Strategic and Student Initiatives for the College of Letters and Sciences (COLS). According to Dean Annice Yarber-Allen, Dr. Meyers brings to this position “years of mentoring students with a focus on building a sense of ‘community and belongingness.’ He has experience in implementing new and creative initiatives and finding resources to promote student retention, engagement, and success. Serving on a variety of committees at the department, college, university, and community levels, [Meyers] has established relationships with a diverse group of colleagues and stakeholders who will be instrumental in the COLS student engagement and success initiatives.” In his new position, Meyers will provide leadership for the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, programs, and services that impact student engagement and success across all departments and units in COLS. He will serve as the point-of-contact for the Momentum Approach and other USG student-related initiatives. He will collaborate with other units on campus (e.g., CSU Advise, Center for Experiential Learning and Career Design, Academic Center for Tutoring) to advance strategic student initiatives. He will serve as the primary representative to coordinate, implement and assess initiatives related to equity, persistence, retention and completion. He will also be involved with retaining, reengaging, and supporting the success of COLS majors from a wide range of backgrounds. Dr. Jonathan Meyers

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Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 10 Columbus, Georgia 4225 University Avenue, Columbus, GA 31907

Generous Investments in Student Success Students in the College of Letters and Sciences are benefitting from the generous support of local donors who believe in the importance of higher education. In fall 2021, the Georgia Power Foundation (which coordinates the company’s philanthropy efforts that focus on improving the quality of life for Georgia residents) made a $75,000 contribution to boost CSU’s Georgia Power Foundation Scholarship Endowment that was established in 2018. The endowment provides scholarships for students majoring in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field or a program within the Turner College of Business. The recent donation ensures that four scholarships are available to be awarded annually. The inaugural Gerald B. and Charlotte A. Saunders Family Competitive Pre-Med Scholarships, funded in 2020 and 2021, were awarded to five premed students this academic year (2021-2022). These scholarships are named for Gerald and Charlotte Saunders, who were known for their quiet style of philanthropy that helped shape Columbus State University, as well as many other educational and cultural institutions throughout the region. Mrs. T. Sam Rawls, a longtime supporter of CSU music programs, recently established The Dr. Ashish K. Jain Pre-Med Scholarship Endowment for students in CSU’s Competitive Premedical Studies Program. The endowment honors her godson, Dr. A.J. Jain (B.S. Bio ’86), who is a local plastic surgeon and a member of the College of Letters and Sciences Leadership Council. Dr. Annice Yarber-Allen and her daughter, Ms. Jamese Dale Yarber, established the Yarber-Allen Endowed Scholarship in July 2021 to support students in the College of Letters and Sciences. Past and current Yarber-Allen Scholars, Zachary Griffith, Nicole Paul, Rakaiya Martin, and Kesna Bennett, recently met with their benefactor, Dr. Annice Yarber-Allen (center), for lunch to learn about her motivation for establishing the Yarber-Allen Endowed Scholarship and to share their career interests.