VCU College of Humanities and Sciences

Congratulations to the eighteen faculty members who were awarded grants by the Faculty Council at the April 15 meeting. Awards were given to the following individuals:

Eric Benotsch – Psychology
Bridget Camden – Mass Communications
Maryanne Collinson – Chemistry
Mike Fine – Biology
Richard A Fine – English
Jennifer Joy-Gaba – Psychology
Craig Lawson – Mathematics
Bernard K Means – School of World Studies
Katherine Nash – English
Ryan Smith – History
Cristina Stanciu – English
Gregory Smithers – History
Catherine S. Sutton – Philosophy
Rivka Swenson – English
Faedah M Totah – Wilder School
Scott Vrana – Psychology
Fang-Sheng Wu – Biology
Yuan Zhang – Mass Communications

Dean Coleman and Associate Dean of Research, Rob Tombes commented on the grant program at the meeting. Their comments were summarized by the Secretary of the Council:

“The College was very pleased to be able to award 18 grant requests under the Small Need Grants Program. The 3 subcommittees convened by President McCullough met on Apr 8, 2013, discussed the appropriateness of and rankings for the applications received. The subcommittees reported that the grants were spread across various aspects of the research process, but perhaps due to the small grant size, were concentrated in the Humanities and Social Sciences. There is a good chance some funds will be available for similar programs in the 2013-14 academic year….”

Congratulations to all the grant recipients!

Congratulations to these winners of our 2013 Outstanding Faculty Awards, selected by a committee of their peers:

Elske v. P. Smith Distinguished Lecturer
Robert M. Tombes
Biology

Distinguished Scholar Award
Jason R. W. Merrick
Statistical Sciences and Operations Research

Excellence in Scholarship Award (Math and Sciences)
J. Paul Brooks
Statistical Sciences and Operations Research

Excellence in Scholarship Award (Humanities & Social Sciences)
David A. Golumbia
English

Distinguished Teaching Award (Math and Sciences)
Craig E. Larson
Mathematics and Applied Mathematics

Distinguished Teaching Award (Humanities & Social Sciences)
Jay S. Albanese
Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Distinguished Service Award
Deirdre M. Condit
Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Distinguished Advising Award
Lisa M. Fleming
Liberal Studies in Early and Elementary Education

Distinguished Adjunct Award (Math and Sciences)
Russ Chandler
Forensic Science

Distinguished Adjunct Award (Humanities)
Maria De Panbehchi
School of World Studies

Distinguished Adjunct Award (Social Sciences)
Julianne Guillard
Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

2012-13 RETIREES:

Jean A. Clark – Office of the Dean
Helen Ruth Aspaas - LSEE
Janet Hutchinson – Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
Judy VanSlyke Turk – Mass Communications
John F. Schmeelk – Mathematics & Applied Mathematics (Qatar)

From typing top secret reports for the upper echelon of the Marine Corps, to typing scholarship reminders to students from her desk on the top floor of Blanton House, Tammy Hynson’s life has led her down a path of technological and interpersonal change.

Tammy has worked for the Dean’s office for 19 years, watching the university grow since 1994. She recalls working as a receptionist in the Hibbs building when she first began work at VCU, and remarked that it was a time when people could still smoke on the second floor of the building.

“I remember whenever we used to walk down the halls, it was always so smoky,” she said through laughter.

Tammy is the Fiscal Administrator and part of her job is working with interim director of development Bethanie Constant to administer scholarship funding from donors. Another part of her job is interfacing with students to ensure their scholarship documents are properly submitted and dispersed on time.

“Every now and then, if there’s been some miscommunication, and the student’s waiting for that money to show up for their education . . . they do take priority, and we try to have them ready by the beginning of July so that when class starts all their money is in their account.”

Tammy has worked with computers since 1981, when they were much less common than they are today. During that time, she was in the Marine Corps where she said she received a series of promotions and graduated number one in her class in the military.

Before exiting the Corps as a corporal in 1984, Tammy had become a typing assistant for her commandant at the headquarters of the Marine Corps, where she was expected to type top secret documents for high-ranking officials.

“You had to be able to type 100 words a minute and not look, and not make any mistakes. And you’ve got a colonel, or maybe a one-star general, looking over your shoulder, telling you to type this because they’re going to see the Commandant of the Marine Corps.”

Her commandant’s office received the first fax machine before all the other offices. It produced blurry reproductions of documents and required her to physically place the phone receiver on top of a modem to transmit information.

“It took maybe thirty minutes for one page, and hopefully you could read it.”

Despite more than 30 years of computer expertise, she says people are surprised to learn she does not own a cell phone and has does not want one in the future.

“When they first came out and they were really big, I got one, but I find them invasive and right now I find them to be a tool that people use to be anti-social.”

She jokingly refers to herself as “a dinosaur”; however, she says she loves the technology but would like to see phones used differently.

“I don’t ever want to be a person that is sitting with someone, or supposed to be spending time with someone and I’m talking on the phone with someone else and it’s not an emergency. I don’t want to be tied to a telephone . . . I think it’s rude.”

Tammy is one of three children born of what she calls a wonderful relationship between her parents. She loves her friends, animals, and her niece and nephew – to whom she is “Aunt Tammy.” She describes herself as a reader and loves to work in her garden. “One of these days I’m going to have a beautiful garden. Vegetables in the back and pretty flowers in the front.”

Tammy says she is proud to be a part of the VCU community which she described as “exciting” and “never dull.” Shafer Court has changed, “but the students, basically, have not. From all these years, the only thing that’s different is how they dress. They have so much energy, and anticipation and expectancies. It’s all great to see.”

Kathleen Murphy

Kathleen Murphy is the Administrative Coordinator in the Department of History. She came to VCU in the Fall of 2004 from Stanford University in California. She began working with Dr. Joseph Bendersky, Chair of the department. She worked with Dr. Bernard Moitt while he chaired the department for six years and now works with Dr. John Kneebone, who became Chair in July 2012.

Kathleen enjoys her time in the department because of the interesting faculty, staff and students she interacts with each day. She also enjoys many of the diverse activities that take place at VCU.

Kathleen has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. When not at VCU, she enjoys spending time at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She is involved in the Fan Women’s Club, producing their monthly newsletter. She also loves to spend time at home in her garden.

Dr. Robert Holsworth

Former Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences and current Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors member Robert Holsworth, Ph.D. was recognized for his longtime public service at the Virginia Social Science Association (VSSA) Conference. Holsworth was presented the VSSA Public Service Award at VCU on Saturday, April 6, 2013.

During his acceptance speech, Holsworth stressed the need for faculty to engage in public service in conjunction with teaching and research. He says experience in the public sphere can only enrich their knowledge and expertise.

Holsworth joined the VCU faculty in 1978 as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. He later became chair of the political science and public administration departments. In 1994, he became director of the Center for Public Policy, and the director of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs in 2004. In 2006, he was appointed dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Last year Holsworth was appointed to the VCU Board of Visitors by Governor Robert McDonnell.

The 86th Annual VSSA Conference featured nearly 100 undergraduate, graduate student and faculty presentations from a variety of disciplines. VCU faculty and students contributed greatly to the conference, including Friday evening’s informative poster session at the ASPiRE Building.

“The annual VSSA conference is a great opportunity for students from all over the Commonwealth to present their research. We hope to inspire many young people to pursue their academic goals across disciplinary fields,” said C. Nana Derby, President of VSSA and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Virginia State University.

During the conference’s plenary session, Dean Jim Coleman welcomed participants from the various colleges and universities. In addition to the Public Service Award, VSSA presented the Scholar Award for outstanding scholarship and research in a particular field. VCU Health System’s Sandra Barker, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Bill Balaban Chair in Human-Animal Interaction, was honored for her groundbreaking work on psychological trauma and the health benefits of companion animals.

The Virginia Social Science Association is the oldest association of academic disciplines in Virginia. The VSSA brings together academics from anthropology, business, criminal justice, economics, education, geography, history, international relations, political science, psychology and sociology. The VSSA’s core mission involves breaking down traditional educational boundaries in pursuit of social science research, dissemination of new ideas generated by that research, and the fostering of dialogue about teaching at all levels.

Written by Bruce A. Vlk

View a gallery of pictures of the conference on Facebook.

African American Studies
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

Biology
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 N. 3rd Street, Exhibit Hall C

Brandcenter
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
First Baptist Church
2709 Monument Avenue

Chemistry
Friday, May 10, 2013
6:00 pm
VCU Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

English
Saturday, May 11, 2013
2:00 p.m.
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church
1627 Monument Avenue

Forensic Science
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 N. 3rd Street, B15abc

Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

L. D. Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Saturday, May 11, 2013
2:00 pm.
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 N. 3rd Street, Exhibit Hall A

History
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Richmond Salons
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

LSEE (Liberal Studies in Early Elementary Education)
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 1st Floor

School of Mass Communications
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 N. 3rd Street, Exhibit Hall B

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

Military Science & Leadership
Friday, May 10, 2013
9:00 a.m.
Sacred Heart Cathedral
800 S. Cathedral Place
Richmond, VA 23220

Philosophy
Saturday, May 11, 2013
3:00 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

Physics
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

Psychology
Saturday, May 11, 2013
7:30 p.m.
Siegel Center
1200 West Broad Street

Science
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

Statistical Sciences and Operations Research
Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:30 p.m.
University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms
907 Floyd Avenue, 2nd Floor

School of World Studies
Saturday, May 11, 2013
2:00 p.m.
Greater Richmond Convention Center
403 N. 3rd Street, B21ab

Dorothy Fillmore

Dorothy Fillmore (M.A. English/English Education, ’84) is the current associate director of academic operations in the Department of Psychology.  Dorothy will soon be honored by ROSMY, a local organization that works with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, with their highest honor: the Catalyst Award. Dorothy is being given the award for her distinguished work in supporting LGBTQ youth in the Richmond community, and more specifically, her work on VCU’s LGBT Subcommittee of Equity and Diversity (which is now called Equality VCU).  As we celebrate the recognition of her impact on our LGBTQ youth with great pride, it is worthwhile to take a look back at Dorothy’s 31 years of education and service to VCU. 

A proud East Tennessean by birth, Dorothy left Knoxville to pursue a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C.  Her next stop was Union Theological Seminary in Richmond for a year before finally arriving at VCU to pursue her master of arts in English/English Education.  Upon graduating from VCU in 1984, Dorothy accepted an adjunct faculty position in the English department where she taught English Composition and Rhetoric I and II for two years.  It was in her next role as an academic advisor where Dorothy discovered her passion for the profession of academic advising.  She describes advising as “the perfect synthesis between her strengths in both teaching and listening.”  Luckily for VCU students, she has remained on that career path ever since and despite the many other hats she has worn since then, she still identifies first and foremost as an academic advisor.  On her experience with a variety of VCU departments, her partner of 23 years, Lisa Furr of VCU Allied Health Professions’ Virginia Center on Aging, has remarked quite comically that Dorothy has never had to apply for a new job because of her tendency to “reorganize” every 3 or 4 years, or so. (more…)

Dr. Carrie Rentschler will speak on “Video Witness and the Re-Definition of the Bystander”  on Monday, April 22. Her talk examines how social movements are harnessing the capacity of cell phones to allow bystanders to easily record events and targeting the bystander as a site of social intervention.

Dr. Rentschler is Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar of Feminist Media Studies in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies and Director of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at McGill University. She is author of the book Second Wounds: Victims’ Rights and the Media in the U.S. (Duke UP, 2011). Her work examines the relationship between media witnessing and citizenship, the gendered politics of fear and security, the media activism of social movements, and feminist anti-violence work.

Monday, April 22
1:00 pm
Student Commons, Forum Room

For further information contact Dr. Eric Garberson, Director, Media, Art, and Text at eggarberson@vcu.edu.

Sponsored by the interdisciplinary program in Media, Art, and Text.