FOCUS 2020

Spotlight on the Academic Power of Piedmont

2020

Turning a Cold Case Hot The work of three forensic science students, including Haley Bolt ’20, may have solved a murder. Pg.8

“Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.� — Abraham Lincoln Piedmont College hosted Commencement ceremonies on July 24 in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center.

More than 200 undergraduate and 400 graduate degrees were celebrated in two separate ceremonies.

Due to COVID-19, participants had their temperature taken before entering the building and were required to wear face coverings. Inside, the seating arrangement allowed for social distancing.

Contents

FOCUS

FOCUS 2020

ON THE COVER Haley Bolt is one of three 2020 graduates who investigated— and may have solved—a cold murder case in North Georgia.

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10 Features 06

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Piedmont’s Good Story

What About Bob?

Camp on a Roll

Friends contribute to Rettig’s latest book

A manikin makes the team

Biology professor pens two works of fiction

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On the Case

Preserving the Past

Accolades & Affirmations

Students investigate 2005 murder

Madison Hatfield ’21 is the future of history

Good works from our faculty and students

President Dr. James F. Mellichamp

Dean of the School of Education Dr. Mark Tavernier

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost Dr. Daniel K. Silber

Dean of the R. H. Daniel School of Nursing & Health Sciences Dr. Julia Behr

Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Affairs Dr. Perry Rettig

Dean of Libraries & College Librarian Bob Glass

Design Manager Regina McCormick ’08

Vice President for Administration & Finance Brant Wright

Project Manager Adam Martin

Vice President for Advancement Craig Rogers

Contributing Photographers Kasey Brookshire Randy Crump

Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences Dr. Steve Nimmo Dean of the Walker School of Business Dr. Kerry Waller

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Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communication John Roberts Editor Terrie Ellerbee ’95

Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement Send Address Changes to: Piedmont College Institutional Advancement P.O. Box 429 Demorest GA 30535 Or piedmont.edu/updateinfo Piedmont College @PiedmontGA @PiedmontCollege

Embracing Change and Moving Forward

P

iedmont College is

Symposium, which was held virtually on April 15. Hundreds

poised to rename

of members of the Piedmont community attended the event.

itself “Piedmont

University” this

research projects undertaken by Piedmont College students,

This issue of FOCUS highlights a number of additional

Spring, a move that reflects

faculty, and staff during the 2019-20 academic year. In its

the college’s growth as well

pages, you will learn about a student’s work cataloging and

as the vitality of both its

photographing artifacts at the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center

graduate and undergraduate

history museum for a new app and historical guide to the area.

academic programs.

Although the COVID-19

forensic science students who took part in a cold case murder

pandemic created

investigation and whose analyses of case evidence will be used

unforeseen challenges for

by authorities who continue to work on solving the murder. We

Piedmont this year, we are

are proud that these forensic science students, who graduated

weathering them well and

in May, have all been accepted to graduate school.

Also of note is the investigative work conducted by three

even seeking where possible to seize opportunities created

by the disruption.

Ed.D., assistant professor of nursing and health sciences, who

received her Ed.D. degree in July for a dissertation about the

Most notably, the Spring 2020 semester saw our faculty

We are also pleased to feature Erika McKinney ’20

move incredibly swiftly to a fully online course format when

effectiveness of high-fidelity manikins in athletic training clinical

the college shifted to distance learning in mid-March. With

simulations. Dr. McKinney’s original study applies manikin-

the intensive help of our office of academic technology, even

based simulations, which have previously been used in other

faculty members who had little or no prior experience with

health care fields, to the specific types of health emergencies

online teaching were able to transition to the new format,

and injuries to which athletic trainers often have to respond.

and our students were broadly appreciative of their efforts.

Dr. Perry Rettig and Dr. Carlos Camp. Dr. Rettig, vice

The speed with which our entire society has embraced

Also featured are two faculty and staff authors,

the online format also led us to the strategic decision to move

president for enrollment management and student affairs,

the majority of our graduate-level programs to a permanent

has a forthcoming book about college enrollment that

online format. As of Fall 2020, graduate programs in our

explores the workings of college admissions, financial

School of Education are online, and our MBA program in

aid, and registration. Dr. Camp, professor of biology, has

the Walker School of Business will adopt a hybrid format.

published two novels, Muskogee Creek, a murder mystery,

Although the great majority of our undergraduate population

and But for the Grace of God, a Civil War spy tale.

will participate in face-to-face courses, specific online programs

at the undergraduate level are also being created as convenient

and look forward to sharing our academic

options for working adults seeking to complete a college degree.

community’s future accomplishments.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue of FOCUS

Despite the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, we are

especially pleased that so many of our students, faculty, and staff were able to continue to pursue meaningful academic research and creative work throughout the year. For example, although many events that had been planned for the latter half

Daniel K. Silber, Ph.D.

of the Spring 2020 semester had to be canceled, we were very

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

proud to be able to showcase the talents and achievements of over 130 Piedmont students at our second annual Piedmont F O C U S 2020

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Dr. Perry Rettig, who served as a principal at elementary and middle schools early in his career, has authored six highly acclaimed books that focus on education leadership, governance, decision-making, and policy analysis.

Help from His Friends Rettig’s latest book to include Piedmont contributions

By John Roberts

L

ast spring, Dr. Perry Rettig, Piedmont’s Vice President for

Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, had just

mused, than the people who made it.

wrapped up a board presentation when a Trustee pulled

him aside.

most present — and asked them to contribute essays to the

During his two-hour team talk, Rettig, who has a gift

And who better to help tell the story, he Rettig reached out to 12 colleagues — some past,

book, the working title of which is Enrollment Management:

for breaking down difficult concepts into simple, easy-

Practitioners Describe Student Success. They all agreed.

to-understand terms, had discussed the complexities of

higher education admission and financial aid. He talked

success stories, challenges, and advice. It will include

numbers — ­ discount and graduation rates, net tuition

segments on financial aid, admissions, student success,

revenue, and student retention — and how those benchmark

student life, data management, and enrollment planning.

numbers illustrate the strength of an institution.

Rettig will author the introduction chapter and introduce

Heads nodded.

each successive chapter, and two essays himself.

“You know, Perry,” the Trustee said, “you should

Rettig said the contributed chapters will include

The authors include: Lisa Danielson (Registrar at the

write a book about enrollment management.”

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh), David McMillion ‘05 MBA

‘10 (former Director of Financial Aid at Piedmont and current

At first brush, Rettig, who joined Piedmont

in 2013, dismissed the notion.

Associate Director of Financial Aid at the University of North

Georgia), Jody Anderson ‘97 (Director of Institutional Research),

But later he realized there would be a market for such a

work. Colleges and universities routinely onboard trustees and

Cindy Peterson (Associate Vice President for Undergraduate

volunteers. But few of them understand the challenges of higher

Enrollment Management), Kathleen Carter (Associate Vice

education. Why is enrollment declining? How are demographic

President for Graduate Enrollment Management), Cat Wiles

changes impacting student recruitment? Why do some small

(Administrative Assistant to the Vice President for Enrollment

private, rural colleges close while others (like Piedmont) thrive?

Management and Student Affairs), Dr. Kim Crawford (Dean of

Student Life and Leadership), Jim Peeples (Director of Athletics),

Rettig had authored six highly acclaimed books that

focused on education leadership, governance, decision-

Dr. Julia Schmitz (Professor of Biology and Coordinator of the

making, and policy analysis. A book about higher education

Quality Enhancement Program), Dr. Melissa Tingle (Professor

enrollment management and student affairs would be a

of Mass Communication and QEP Fellow), PJ Woolston, (Vice

departure from his past works, but certainly not a stretch.

President for Enrollment Management and Admissions at the

University of Texas Permian Basin and Associate Consultant for

Since transitioning to his current role (Rettig served

as Piedmont’s Vice President of Academic Affairs

Ruffalo Noel-Levitz), Jenni Walsh (former Executive Director of

from 2013 to 2018), he has been immersed in both

the Wisconsin Campus Compact at the University of Wisconsin-

issues and had also served as a leader in the college’s

Extension), and Dr. Petra Roter (former Vice Chancellor for

strategic planning efforts with consulting firm partners

Student Affairs at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh).

Credo-Higher Education and Ruffalo Noel-Levitz.

know the literature, they have practical experience, they are wise,

During a time when many small private colleges are

“These contributors are held accountable every day, they

struggling, Piedmont has recently put in place several

and they know what they’re doing,” he said. “Each will provide

strategies and initiatives that have advanced the institution

a lay of the land for their area and explain the unique endeavors

in student retention, recruiting, and enrollment.

they developed and implemented. They will also share their

successes, lessons learned, and what they would do differently.”

“After some consideration, I came to the conclusion

that we have a really good story at Piedmont, and it needed

The work should be available next summer.

to be told,” said Rettig. “And I wanted to do that.”

F O C U S 2020

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Student SLEUTHS SLEU THS Piedmont grads may have solved 15-year-old murder

By Terrie Ellerbee ’95

H

aley Bolt ’20, Veronica Cappas ’20, and Breanna

as thrilling as popular television shows make it out to be,

Kramer ’20 may have helped solve a murder that

though one did lead to multiple arrests for drug trafficking.

happened when they were in kindergarten. Their work

is evidence of Piedmont’s powerful forensics program,

the investigation actually offers,” Bolt said. “Some of the cases

one that takes students like them outside the laboratory and into

we dealt with didn’t have a whole lot of anything to go on.”

real-world investigative work.

willingness to do more than was required. Bolt and Cappas

Bolt, Cappas, and Kramer helped develop fresh leads in the

What impressed Willis most about the trio was their

murder case while completing a semester-long internship with the

volunteered to process evidence. Kramer assisted a county

rural North Georgia sheriff’s office in the county where the victim’s

coroner’s office with everything from administrative file work to

body was found. Despite the work of

examining crime scene photographs.

local and state investigators, and with

“They’re volunteering their time

even the cause of death in question, the

because they’re inquisitive. They

case had gone cold.

want to know how to do it,” Willis

said. “Outside of that, if you called

The students and Piedmont

Professor of Forensic Science and

them right now, they would come to

Criminal Justice Bruce Willis, who has

help, which is really uncommon.”

decades of criminal justice experience

All three students conducted

and deep ties to law enforcement

independent research on medicolegal

agencies in Georgia and beyond,

death investigations while at Piedmont

worked alongside investigators to examine all the evidence gathered in

Veronica Cappas at an excavation in Carrollton, Georgia.

They combed through the autopsy report, and using

and are pursuing master’s degrees.

Kramer will attend the University of Memphis and plans to become

the case, including witness statements.

a forensic anthropologist. At Piedmont, she researched the

technology unavailable in 2005, created a map similar

effects of diabetes and hypertension in post-mortem changes.

to a spider web to illustrate the connections of geo-

mapping details from text messages and phone records.

science graduate program and plans to be a crime scene

The case file went from slim to plump with possibilities.

investigator. She examined the effects of moisture, sunlight,

and shade on tissue in post-mortem intervals for her research.

Now the students and Willis believe they know

Bolt is headed to Marshall University for its forensic

who murdered the victim. Willis said the three are

“chomping at the bit” for an arrest to be made. He

Crime Lab. She will continue her groundbreaking research

has promised to text them as soon as he knows.

on microbiology present on decedents at Pennsylvania

“It was cool to be part of a real investigation,” Kramer

State University, a school she chose because “it felt like

said. “We weren’t just interning. We got to do what

Piedmont to me. I wouldn’t be just another number there.”

everybody else was doing. It definitely opened my

eyes to a lot more of what happens in the field.”

could determine the time of death faster than is now possible.

They worked on other cases, too, and found it is not always 8

“You have to lower your expectations a little bit with what

| F O C U S 2020

Cappas’ ultimate goal is to work for the U.S. Army

Her groundbreaking work may lead to a field test kit that

Tools of the trade: From left, Breanna Kramer holds a laserprotractor, Bruce Willis has a fingerprinting comparison glass, Veronica Cappas displays tape lifts for trace evidence, and Haley Bolt holds a ballistics exemplar.

F O C U S 2020

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McKinney Professor’s idea is helping athletic training students excel

By John Roberts

F

or nearly a decade, Bob has been prodded, poked, and cared for by Piedmont students.

He’s been diagnosed with cancer, had hundreds of strokes and heart attacks,

and has endured death many, many times.

Bob, a high-fidelity medical manikin, takes it in

stride. It’s for a good cause. He teaches nursing students.

His symptoms and even language (yes, he can talk) are controlled by faculty behind a one-way privacy window.

Bob’s dress code is casual. Mostly, he wears a loose-

fitting hospital robe and spends much of his day relaxing on the fourth floor of Daniel Hall. About a year ago, Dr. Erika McKinney ’20 Ed.D., an assistant professor of health sciences in the R.H. Daniel School of Nursing and Health Sciences, forever changed Bob’s routine.

She dressed him in a Piedmont soccer uniform, put cleats

on his feet, and changed his room. Workers installed an aluminum bench and turfgrass, and erected a large image of a stadium crowd and scoreboard. Then Bob’s head began to hurt.

Really bad. He felt nauseated. And his speech became muddled.

Then a different set of students began

treating him. He had never seen them before.

They were studying to be athletic trainers.

McKinney says athletic training students see plenty

of sprains, breaks, and strains while shadowing certified athletic trainers on the court and field. But few are confronted with a head injury case. McKinney also programed Bob to suffer asthma attacks, dehydration, and diabetic seizures.

“During a career, our athletic trainers will be confronted

with many of these issues,” she said. “But because they occur less frequently, they don’t see them during their clinical training.”

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From left, Dr. Erika McKinney Ed.D. ’20, ’20 Mackenzie Wilcox ’21, ’21 “Bob,” Gabby June ’22, Killian McClain ’21, ’21 are pictured in Daniel Hall. All three students will graduate with master’s degrees.

Manikin and the

McKinney’s simple idea introduced a new dimension of

with Bob helped students to think on their feet. It

learning for Piedmont athletic training students. And its impact

boosted both their confidence and knowledge.

was the subject of her doctoral dissertation, “The Effects of

High-fidelity Manikin Simulation on Athletic Training Students’

Piedmont faculty since 2013, earned her bachelor’s degree

Perceived Self-efficacy in Caring for Traumatic Brain Injuries.”

from Otterbein University (Westerville, Ohio), master’s

degree from Marshall University (Huntington, West Virginia)

Practicing on Bob, she discovered through research,

McKinney, an Ohio native who has served on the

was far superior to learning about how to treat a brain

and doctoral degree in Education from Piedmont.

injury through standard lectures and presentations.

are likely to be published in the Athletic Training Education

“The active learning really resonates with

She hopes her 187-page dissertation, the findings of which

students,” she said. “They learn by doing.”

Journal, encourages Athletic Training programs at other

institutions to use high-fidelity manikins when they are available.

Through surveys, she found that working

F O C U S 2020

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Valley Gir Girll

Hatfield making her own history in the Nacoochee Valley

By Terrie Ellerbee ’95

A

s a preteen, Madison Hatfield ’21 wanted to take a “fun family weekend trip” to Andersonville, a tiny Georgia town once home to a prisoner-

of-war camp. Thousands of Union soldiers died of scurvy and dysentery in the 14 months the Southern forces operated the camp during the Civil War.

Dr. Beth Lovern, associate professor of anthropology at

Piedmont and a mentor to the senior, would not be surprised by that story. Lovern took note of Hatfield’s “intellectual curiosity, motivation, and organizational skills” when she received news of an internship at the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center (SNCC) history museum. Executive Director Patrick Brennan was seeking help with digitizing the museum’s collection.

“Early on, Madison had expressed an interest in

museum studies as a way to combine her interests in history, sociology, and anthropology,” Lovern said.

Hatfield photographs and numbers pieces in the

collection. The work is critical to the launch of the center’s first app as well as a new written guide highlighting historical and cultural resources in White County. The North Georgia county is home to the Nacoochee Valley, unincorporated Sautee Nacoochee, and the cities of Cleveland and Helen, an Alpine Village-themed tourist destination.

“Grinding stones were used in pulverizing acorns and other nuts, to be made into something like grits,” said Max White, Piedmont professor of anthropology, who was contacted when the grinding shown in the photo was spotted in an area creek. It is now housed in the SNCC history museum.

Hatfield’s work is historic in itself and has resulted in waves

of gratitude from locals.

“People from the history museum committee who have

wanted this project done for years come up to me and say, ‘you don’t know how much this means to us that you are doing this,’” Hatfield said. “It’s just very rewarding.”

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Nachoochee Valley photo by Gabe Bennet

The experience likely will guide her life’s direction. She

The gazebo is considered either an insult to native peoples or a

may pursue a master’s and possibly a Ph.D. She could teach

protectant that saved the mound from further destruction. It will

or go into law. She could practice public history and apply it

take the work of people like Hatfield to tell the area’s truth.

to real-world issues. She will also have a minor in social justice

as a participant in the Lillian E. Smith Scholars Program.

don’t highlight the times we failed as humans, and that is why I love

“It’s important to highlight our accomplishments in history, but we

studying history,” Hatfield said. “It’s like flipping a switch when you The future of history

get into college. This is the real world. This is what happened. You’ve

According to Brennan, municipal leaders have seen

got to deal with it and move on and build off of that knowledge.”

the light around historic preservation and heritage tourism as moneymakers. Hatfield’s work will help provide the authentic experience visitors seek.

More than 189 historical sites have been identified in and

around the Nacoochee Valley thanks to students. It marks the beginning of what will surely be a long process as just 18 sites will comprise the first heritage tour. Hatfield prioritizes artifacts that relate to those sites, bringing history to life as she goes.

“She’s been able to associate Indian pottery from

amateur archeology at the Stovall House, which is one of our three [National Register of Historic Places] sites in the county,” Brennan said. “When you go onto the app, there is a carousel at the top of the page. There is an image for the John Stovall House, so you can push through and see a picture of the Stovall family on the porch, a picture of the house as it was on an early map of White County.”

The Stovall House today is a bed and

breakfast, and a clear link between history and modern-day tourism and commerce.

The SNCC uses a gazebo as its marketing icon

and with good reason. There is one nearby just off State Route 75 that is well known to locals and tourists alike.

Built around the turn of the 20th century, the gazebo sits atop what appears to be a burial mound that has for decades been wrongly associated with the Cherokee.

Madison Hatfield with Piedmont Associate Professor of Anthropology Dr. Beth Lovern.

F O C U S 2020

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An Authentic Southern Voice

Carlos Camp on the footbridge over the wetlands.

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Camp at a snake hunt on campus. They hit it off.

“One of the advantages to being in a place like

Piedmont that worked out so well for me was to have that cross-disciplinary interaction. I’m probably as close to him as I am to any professor, but I never actually had a class with him,” Stancel said. “It was one of those experiences that can only happen at a liberal arts college like Piedmont.”

Stancel went on to Arkansas State to achieve a master’s in history. Today, he is manager of engineering for Norfolk Southern. His passion for American history is

Camp pens two novels

By Terrie Ellerbee ’95

reflected in his hobby as a War of 1812 reenactor.

Camp reached out to see if he would be interested in working on the book. They collaborated remotely as the work progressed, with Stancel providing “heavy

I

underpinnings of fact.” The authors tell a story that fits so

n his Stewart Hall office at Piedmont, biology professor

accurately into the period that it could almost be true.

Dr. Carlos Camp has an eclectic collection.

There is a framed front page of a London newspaper

historical knowledge. We would work through some real people,

printed in 1814, a diorama with hand-painted toy soldiers

real stories, and then weave the narrative,” Stancel said.

“His imagination for crafting the story prompted my

depicting a pivotal moment in the Battle of Waterloo,

and a “Jinx and Jasper” film cell from an animated

timelines and having characters at the right place

short that was the precursor to “Tom and Jerry.”

at the right time and with the right units.”

They share the common trait of authenticity. If it isn’t

Camp said, “It was very meticulous in making

Within a day of sending in the proposal with the first three

genuine, he is not interested.

chapters of the book, Camp had an

email from a publisher requesting

That is one reason why he

wrote Muskogee Creek. It takes a

the rest of it. A contract arrived

Southerner to write about Southerners.

the next day. Once it was signed

Readers will find no characters

by both authors and faxed to the

sullied by an outsider’s pen in

publisher, only about an hour had

the novel published in March.

passed when the cover appeared

Eleven-year-old Randy Youngblood,

in Camp’s inbox. The book was

the main character, brings the reader

pushed out in a matter of weeks.

along for this murder mystery set in

1960s Alabama. Camp draws upon

Amazon.

his outdoorsy youth for imagery and bountiful family for characters. The son of two parents who each have eight siblings, Camp has 45 cousins.

“And that’s just first

Both works are available on Camp is well known for his

Eli Stancel with his son, Jude, at the Fort Daniel historic site in Buford, Georgia, in 2017. Stancel, who works for Norfolk Southern, is a War of 1812 reenactor in his spare time.

Photo used with permission from Gwinnett Daily Post.

research and work with reptiles and amphibians, and more specifically with salamanders. He has edited and written textbooks about the critters and penned a column for the local newspaper, The

cousins. I’m not counting all the seconds and thirds and once-removeds,” he said.

Northeast Georgian, about nature and wildlife for several years.

Camp’s father was a Southern Baptist preacher, and that no

He now has a textbook at the printers on scientific

doubt also colors young Randy’s observations.

Right on the heels of Camp’s first novel came the publication

research entitled The Way of Science he co-authored with Dr. Jessica Wooten, associate professor of biology at Piedmont.

of his second, But for the Grace of God. Written with Eli Stancel

’00 and published in May, it centers on a plot to kill Union

the cartoon slide, books about amphibians—are about

generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant to

more than an appreciation for authenticity.

diminish President Abraham Lincoln’s chances at a second term.

with outside: animals like frogs and toy soldiers and toy ships,”

At Piedmont, Stancel majored in history and minored

in anthropology. A fellow student introduced him to

Those items in Camp’s office—the military history,

“Think about my age cohort and what little boys played

Camp said. “I guess you could say I never grew up.”

F O C U S 2020

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Accolades & Affirmations Faculty Dr. Jeff Bruns Professor of Business and Associate Dean

and Dr. Ed Taylor Dean of the Walker School of Business (retired) Presented “The Transformative Effects of Student-Centered Learning: Turning Grade-seekers into Knowledge-seekers” at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Region 3 Fall Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Nov. 1-3, 2019.

Dr. Carlos Camp Professor of Biology Co-authored with Piedmont College alumnus Eli Stancel ‘00 the novel But for the Grace of God, which was published by W&B Publishers in May. Authored the novel Muskogee Creek, which was published by W&B Publishers in March.

Dr. Carlos Camp Professor of Biology

and Dr. Jessica Wooten Associate Professor of Biology Authored the textbook, The Way of Science: A Primer for the Beginning Scientist, which was published by Kendall Hunt in July.

Dr. Hugh Davis Associate Professor of English and Chair of Humanities Presented “‘Tidmore and the Negro’: An Unpublished Chapter from Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2019.

Presented “Faith and Philosophy in Little Miss Sunshine” at the Popular Culture of the South Annual Convention in Wilmington, North Carolina, in September 2019.

Presented “How to Read a Movie” at the TomeCon Student Literacy Conference in Gainesville, Georgia, in March 2019.

Dr. Jaydn DeWald Assistant Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing Published a pamphlet of poems, Voyage, Out, with UK’s Broken Sleep Books in February.

Published an essay-in-vignettes, “One Take After Another: A Notebook,” in Entropy, in March.

Published a chapbook, A Love Supreme: fragments & ephemera, winner of the 2019 Quarterly West Chapbook Contest, in May. Wrote the introduction for My Love for the Going: Athens Anthology, Volume 1, a chapbook anthology of Athens poets, in July.

His essay, “In Praise of Constraints: Inciting the Unexpected,” was reprinted in the anthology Far Villages: Welcome Essays for New and Beginner Poets (Black Lawrence Press) in July 2019.

Published a prose poem, “GRID (11),” in Issue 8 of The Scores in July 2019.

Dr. Steve Carlson Professor of Business Published book review of Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.) in Applied Management Journal, 19; 151-166 (2019), in September 2019.

Presented and published “Strategy and Marketing: Measuring Alignment,” at the 2019 American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, Sept. 26-28, 2019.

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Published a suite of six stories from a manuscript entitled “GRID,” in the 2019 and 2020 issues of Sou’wester.

Dr. Kate Guthrie Assistant Professor, Qualitative Research Methodologist Published “Contemplative qualitative inquiry: A review” in The Qualitative Report in June.

Published “Exploring Kerr and McKay’s beehive of smart girls: Understanding the challenges facing gifted adolescent females” in Gifted Child Today in April.

Presented “Cultivating creative connection: The role of empathy in creativity” at the Georgia Association for Gifted Childrens annual conference in March.

Presented “Contemporizing teaching ‘training’: Understanding the transformation of teachers to teachers of the gifted” at the Georgia Association for Gifted Childrens annual conference in March.

Published “The weight of expectations: A thematic narrative of gifted adolescent girls’ reflections of being gifted” in Roeper Review in January.

Presented “Writing a three-article dissertation: Breakthrough strategies and lessons learned from bridging three fields of study using qualitative methodology” at The Qualitative Report’s annual conference in January.

Presented “Cultivating creativity: A deeper look at the TTCTs and suggested classroom applications” at the National Association for Gifted Children’s annual conference in November 2019.

Presented “Helping gifted teens and pre-teens understand giftedness: Topics and activities” at the National Association for Gifted Childrens annual conference in November 2019.

Published “‘Nothing is ever easy’: Parent perspectives of intensity in gifted adolescents” in The Qualitative Report in August 2019.

Dr. Randy Hollandsworth Associate Professor of Education and Coordinator, Graduate Program in Instructional Technology (retired) Judged fifth- and sixth-grade students in Digital Game Design for the virtual statewide Georgia Technology Student Competition, a project of the Georgia Educational Technology Consortium, in May. Served by request on the Georgia Professional Standards Commission Instructional Technology Task Force in March.

Dr. Nathan Holt Assistant Professor of Physics

Dr. Beth Lovern Associate Professor of Anthropology Presented “Critical Thinking and Information Literacy for Public Engagement: The Use of Op-Ed Exercises” at the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning 50th Annual Conference on Innovative Higher Education Pedagogy in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2019.

Awarded 2019 Boy Scouts of America “Scouter of the Year” for the nine-county Cherokee District of the BSA Northeast Georgia Council, on June 4, 2019.

Dr. Erika McKinney Assistant Professor of Nursing and Health Sciences Published dissertation: “The Effects of High-Fidelity Manikin Simulation on Athletic Training Students’ Perceived Self-Efficacy in Caring for Traumatic Brain Injuries” on June 16.

Dr. Keith Nelms Professor of Business Presented “Devils and Details: How LMS Choice May Enable or Impede Effective Instructional Practices” at the University of Georgia College of Education Innovation in Teaching Conference in Athens on Oct. 25, 2019.

Presented “Carrot & Stick Micro-Motivation and Student Engagement Using Advanced Learning Management System Techniques in a Content-Rich Freshman Business Technology Course” for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Region 3 Fall Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in November 2019.

Dr. Julia Schmitz Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Quality Enhancement Plan Presented “Implementing a Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Projects” at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2019.

Presented “The Muon and the (Piedmont) Lion: A Tale of Research at a Teaching College” at Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, Oct. 29. 2019, in College Station.

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Accolades & Affirmations Dr. Jerry Sullivan Professor of Business Published “Supportive Leadership and its Relationship to ROA within Community Banks During Three Economic Time Periods” in the Journal of International Business and Economics Volume 20, No. 1, 2020, in January with two other authors.

Dr. Matthew Teutsch Director of the Lillian E. Smith Center Curated an online forum on Milestone Comics on the Black Perspectives blog and published “‘I’m just a kid’: Representation in Milestone Comics” in the forum on Oct. 11, 2019.

Presented “Luke Cage, Stagolee, and the Importance of Myth” at the Society for American City and Regional Planning History in Arlington, Virginia, on Oct. 31, 2019.

Published “The Taproot Remains: On the Life and Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines” on Black Perspectives, on Nov. 7, 2019.

Presented “‘Everywhere there were ghosts wandering through our everyday lives’: The Gothic in Lillian E. Smith and Ernest J. Gaines” at the Sixth Biennial Interdisciplinary Conference on Race: Race, Memory, and Identity at Monmouth University on Nov. 15, 2019.

Students Mike Adams ’20 English and Anthropology & Sociology major Presented “House Lannister: Byronic to Ironic Heroes” at the Popular Culture Association of the South Annual Convention in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Sept. 27, 2019. Adams also organized and chaired the Game of Thrones roundtable on which the paper appeared.

Presented “Los Santos: Social and Literary Minefield of American Culture” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 17, 2019.

Keaton Benfield ’20 English major Presented “The Femme Fatale’s Subversion of the Male Gaze in Resident Evil 2” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 17, 2019.

Veronica Cappas ’20 Biology and Forensic Science major

Published “Holloway House and the Black Literary Underground” on Black Perspectives on Dec. 5, 2019.

Published “Frank Yerby and Lillian Smith: Challenging the Myths of Whiteness” in The Bitter Southerner on Jan. 9.

Interviewed by Leah Fleming for Georgia Public Broadcasting on “How Lillian Smith ‘Seared the Conscience of White America’” on Jan. 16.

Discussed Lillian Smith, Frank Yerby, and comics in an interview for Keri Leigh Merritt’s “Merritocracy” podcast on Feb. 10.

Presented “Everett K. Ross ‘The Emperor of Useless White Boys’: Narrative Point of View in Christopher Priest’s Black Panther” at the Planet Deep South conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 10.

Published “Rediscovering Frank Yerby: Critical Essays,” with University Press of Mississippi on April 20.

Published “For those in the ‘ghetto torture chambers’: Iceberg Slim’s Impact on Hip Hop” alongside Jason Oakes, lecturer at the New School, in the Oxford Handbook of Hip Mop Music on June 15.

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Accepted into the master’s program in forensic science at Pennsylvania State University.

Stephanie Hamrick ’21 Religion and Philosophy major Accepted into the Young Scholars Program at the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library, St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota) for her research project “The Love of Wisdom and the Wisdom of Love.”

Cassidy Heflin ’20 Biology major Accepted into the physician assistant studies program at the Philadelphia College of Medicine.

Olivia Lane ’20 Biology major Accepted into the master’s program at Drexel University.

Allyson McCollum ’20 English major Presented “Cannibalism as Cultural Critique in Fruit Chan’s Dumplings” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2019.

Dalton Patterson ’20 Biology major Accepted into master’s program at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Maggie Belle Hudson ’21 and Dakota Stockton ’21 Placed second in dramatic interpretation and fourth in extemporaneous speaking, respectively, at the Cleveland State Community College Forensics Classic in Tennessee on Feb. 29.

Athletes Analee Bradach ’20 Women’s Cross Country

Lauren Smith ’21 English major Presented “Choice Where There is None: Patriarchy and Power in The Witch” at the Popular Culture Association of the South Annual Convention in Wilmington, North Carolina, in September 2019.

Imani Vincent ’23 Forensics Science major Selected as a Spring 2020 Hawkes Learning Student Ambassador.

Named to the 2019-20 Second Team Academic All-America Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Jordan Abbott ’20, Morgan Calhoun ’23, and

Carson Weiner ’23 Women’s Golf Named Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars.

Josh DeSain ’20 and Matthew Leemann ’21 Men’s Golf

Ann Wallace ’20 English major Presented “Gothic Sensibility in Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle” at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2019.

Jaela Dodson ’23, Noah Irwin ’23, Brett Loftis ’23, Angel Rucker ’23, Dakota Stockton ’21, Nicole Thomas ’20, and Dante Wilson ’23 Earned 11 individual awards and placed third overall at the 2020 Georgia Intercollegiate Forensics Association (GFIA) State Championship in February.

Named Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

Miles Riley ’20, Evan Easton ’21, and Jordan Foote ’21 Men’s Basketball Named to National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court.

Bottom left: Piedmont College Speech and Debate Team members include, front, from left, Angel Rucker, Nicole Thomas, Jaela Dodson; second row, Dakota Stockton; and top, Brett Loftis, Noah Irwin, and Dante Wilson.

Below: Jordan Foote ’21 on the court.

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The Power of FOCUS Wendi Tseng ’20 is flanked by her mother-in-law-to-be Beverly O’Kelley and fiancé Corey Nguyen at the R.H. Daniel School of Nursing & Health Sciences Pinning Ceremony in Demorest on July 25.

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