Spring 2007 - Vol. 3, Issue 3

Articles for the Spring 2007 edition of The Fount are now available.
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Dean's Message

Alfred J. Finch, Jr., Ph.D., ABPP Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences Colonel, SCM al.finch@citadel.edu

Code of Conduct
 
“A cadet does not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.”   Since 1955 this honor code has been one of the strongest pillars upon which education is built for the Citadel Corps of Cadets. Thousands of cadets have lived by this code. Recently an alumnus asked me if there was an “honor code” for the faculty. I informed him the Citadel faculty has adopted the code of professional ethics of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). His interest piqued, he proceeded to inquire about the nature of this code. Because of the interesting discussion we had, I have decided to share some of the features of a code of conduct directing faculty behavior.
 
The AAUP statement on professional ethics centers on a set of five responsibilities:
 
1.         Responsibility to the discipline
2.         Responsibility to the student
3.         Responsibility to their colleagues
4.         Responsibility to the institution
5.         Responsibility to the community
 
A faculty member’s responsibility to the discipline is to seek and state truth in their subject area as they see it, In order to meet this responsibility faculty members engage in scholarly activities such as research and writing. They share their ideas with their peers through their professional presentations and publications. Faculty members are obligated to develop their scholarly competency and to have them reviewed and critiqued by their peers. In addition, they have the responsibility to practice intellectual honesty and not take credit for work they did not do. The Citadel Development Foundation and more recently the Citadel Foundation have facilitated the faculty’s meeting this responsibility through it generous support of faculty development, research, and professional presentations. The faculty in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences has developed an impressive record of scholarly activity.
 
The Citadel is a teaching institution which means that its faculty members are carefully evaluated on their skills in the classroom. What does the code of behavior have to say about faculty members’ responsibility to their students? As teachers, faculty members encourage learning in their students. They hold students to high standards and expect their best efforts. They present the scholarly and ethical standards of their particular discipline through well planned lectures and discussions. In addition faculty members see themselves as guides and counselors for their students as they pursue knowledge. They are fair and honest in their evaluation of students and treat them with respect. While expecting mature and focused behavior from their students, faculty members are obligated to provide academic assistance and to protect the student’s academic freedom. A number of activities supported by the Citadel Foundation have been designed to improve the teaching skill of the faculty. For example, Communication Across the Curriculum is a regularly scheduled gathering of interested faculty to discuss various issues about teaching and improving their own as well as their students’ communication skills.
 
Faculty members also have responsibility to their fellow faculty members. As members of the community of professors, faculty members do not discriminate against, bully or harass their colleagues. While they may disagree with colleagues, they respect their opinions and are objective in their interactions with fellow faculty members. Academic debate and disagreement are to be expected, but they are to be done in a collegial manner. Additionally, each member of the faculty is to accept their share of the responsibilities and duties of their department and the institution. At The Citadel, there are many service obligations necessary to run the college and each member of the faculty needs to contribute his/her fair share.
 
What are faculty responsibilities to the institution?   There are several. As affiliates of the institution, faculty members seek to be effective teachers and scholars. Also they agree to follow the policies of the institution as long as they do not interfere with their academic freedom. However, they maintain their right to criticize and attempt to change policies and/or regulations with which they do not agree. This requirement is sometimes difficult for individuals outside of academics to understand. Faculty members actually have an obligation to speak out against college policies with which they disagree. Colleges, including The Citadel, have forums for such discussion and procedure for the faculty to attempt to change policies. It is the very nature of academics to debate and question, which makes it a unique and exciting environment. This unique responsibility for faculty members makes for some interesting interactions at a military college with its two very different cultures.
 
Members of the faculty live within a broader community and have the rights and responsibilities of other citizens. They evaluate these responsibilities in the light of their obligation to the institution and make clear when they are speaking as an individual and when they are speaking as a representative of the institution. Faculty members have a particular responsibility to promote free inquiry and to help increase public understanding of academic freedom.
 
These responsibilities guide the behavior of faculty and help to understand much of what they do. The academic environment is a unique one and faculty members have a unique code of behavior to follow.

Spotlight On

The Citadel 2008 Chain of Command Announced:
 
Cadet Chase Mohler - Regimental Commander – Political Science (American Government) Major. Native of Beaufort, South Carollina.
 
Commander Edward W. Kay - 1st Battalion Commander - Political Science (International Politics & Military Affairs) Major. Native of Pittsford, New York.
 
Commander Jared S. Newman - 3rd Battalion Commander - Criminal Justice & Spanish Major. Native of Beaufort, South Carolina
 
The new chain of command will assume its responsibilities on May 4th.
 
A member in The Citadel’s Department of English since 1975, will retire in August 2007. Professor Phil Leon, who received his B.A. (1966) and M.A. (1970) from Wake Forest University and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University (1974), has established a well- Professor Philip Leon, a faculty earned reputation as a scholar and writer and, as a teacher, has achieved a high degree of popularity with students in spite of being known as a disciplinarian and a practitioner of rigorous academic standards. Among the recognitions of his excellence as a Citadel faculty member were “Company Academic Advisor of the Year” in 1999, a “Faculty Achievement Award” in 1996, and a Krause Award for outstanding faculty achievement presented during the 2003-2004 academic year. Prof. Leon has published six books—on literary subjects such as Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and William Styron, and on non-literary subjects including hazing at West Point and a biography of Nanny Wood. His seventh book, Sir William Osler, Medical Humanist, is scheduled for publication in April 2007. In recognition of his work on the eminent physician Sir William Osler and related subjects, Prof. Leon was elected to membership in the American Osler Society, an international society limited to 75 members worldwide, and in 2004 was granted faculty status by the Society of Apothecaries of London (Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine). He has made presentations at prestigious venues such as The Royal College of Physicians in London and the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. 
 
In addition to his academic career, Prof. Leon had a distinguished career as a military intelligence officer in the United States Army Reserve. He is a graduate of the United States Army War College and served tours at the Defense Intelligence Agency. From 1987-1990 he took a military leave of absence to serve as a senior advisor to the superintendent at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following that he commanded a military intelligence training unit at Fort Bragg. When he retired from the Army Reserve, at the rank of Colonel, after thirty years of service, Prof. Leon was honored with a Legion of Merit Award.
 
Congratulations to Cadet Andrew Jones (German major) who just received notification this morning, March 4, 2007, that he was selected for a prestigious Fulbright scholarship (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html).  This is the 7th Modern Languages Fulbright recipient (from German Section) in the past 6 years, an impressive record.
 

Photo courtesy of  College of Charleston.
The Citadel and its Board of Visitors have announced that Dr. Sam Hines of the College of Charleston has been selected to become the next provost and dean of the college. He will begin work July 2, 2007.
 
Dr. Hines was selected from a pool of 48 applicants. He was among 10 semi- finalists named for the position. He replaces Donald A. Steven who left The Citadel last year. Brig. Gen. Harry Carter (USAFR retired), professor of business administration, has been serving as interim provost.
 
Cadet Devine, a Psychology Major, was presented with Medal of the Society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Patrick Devine of Roswell, Ga. 
 
The Medal of the Society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina is given annually to the senior cadet officer who best exemplifies the combined qualities of a good soldier and a good citizen – characteristics of the patriots who fought to obtain America’s freedom and which the Society pledges to perpetuate. These citizen-soldier characteristics are modeled after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman farmer who became a successful general, and charter members of the Society of the Cincinnati, include George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette.
 
Cadet Devine is the Regimental Commander and as the top ranking cadet he oversees the 2,000-member South Carolina Corps of Cadets. Majoring in history, he is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the international history honor society.
 
Devine’s accomplishments include Gold Stars for academic achievement, Dean’s List, President’s List and Commandant’s List recognition, the USAA Spirit Award for outstanding student accomplishment and the Maj. William Mark Hutson Award for Leadership and academic excellence. He is a member of the Army ROTC, Re-enactment Society, the campus spirit committee and a Writing Center tutor.
 
Devine also has served as an editor of the Gold Star Journal and as a tutor in The Citadel’s Writing and Learning Center. He is a member of the history honor society of Phi Alpha Theta and has made Gold Stars, Dean’s List, the Commandant’s List and President’s List during his career at The Citadel.
 
Devine holds the Shawn Williams Memorial Scholarship and a two-year Army scholarship. Among other activities, Cadet Devine has participated in intramural football, basketball, billiards, soccer, and softball. He has participated in the Cordell Army Rangers and now serves as a cadet evaluator in the Army ROTC program.
 
During his junior year, he received the William Mark Hudson Award presented annually to the second class cadet who displays an excellent sense of duty and best embodies the corps values of The Citadel. Upon graduation, Devine will commission into the aviation branch of the United States Army and will attend flight school at Ft. Rucker, Ala., in the fall of 2007.
 
During his time at The Citadel he has served twice as an administrative clerk, as the Regimental Sergeant Major, and finally as regimental commander.

English Department

Prof. Jennifer Bernstein has been awarded the Frederick J. Crosson Fellowship at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion. During her year at the Center, she will be focusing on the intimate relationship between aesthetics, science, and theology in the writings of Jonathan Edwards and concentrating on the unsettling moral consequences of antinomianism in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and William James. 
 
Prof. James Leonard, as chief editor for Prentice Hall’s Anthology of American Literature, in late 2006 published the ninth edition of the two-volume anthology. The Prentice Hall anthology, one of the leading anthologies of American Literature, was founded in the mid-1970s by Prof. George McMichael, of California State University–Hayward, who continued as chief editor until succeeded by Prof. Leonard. The other members of the current editorial team are Prof. Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Director of American Studies at Stanford University; Prof. Dana Nelson, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor at Vanderbilt University; David Bradley, award-winning novelist and Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Oregon; and Joseph Csicsila, Associate Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University.
 
Dr. Philip W. Leon, Professor of English, presented a paper on John Donne's writings on suicide to the Robert Wilson Medical History Club in Charleston in March 2007.
 
Dr. Leon will conclude a one-year term as President of the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina in April 2007.

History Department

In the spring of 2007, the Department of History began a three-year program with the Berkeley County Schools as their “higher education partner” under the terms of nearly one million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve the teaching of United States History in the public schools.
 
During this academic year, Professor Michael Barrett has delivered a paper, excerpted from his forthcoming book on Operation Albion, at Florida & Gulf Coast Chapter of The Western Front Association. Dr. Marcus Cox presented a paper on African American military training at the meeting of the Louisiana Historical Association. Professor Keith Knapp presented a papers on Chinese history religion at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris; at the annual meeting of the Southeast Medieval Association in Oxford, Mississippi; and at the yearly gathering of the American Academy of Religion in Washington. Dr. Joelle Neulander presented papers on French popular culture at the meeting of the Social Science History Association in Minneapolis and at the annual convention of the French Historical Studies Association in Houston. She also published an article, “Family Values and the Radio: The 1937 Radio Elections and the Miniseries, France,” in French Politics, Culture and Society. Professor David Preston presented research at the conference “War and Society in the Americas” at the University of Tennessee. He also published an article, “George Klock, the Canajoharie Mohawks, and the Good Ship Sir William Johnson: Land and Legitimacy in the Eighteenth-Century Mohawk Valley,” in New York History. Professor Blain Roberts gave a paper on Southern beauty culture at the New England American Studies Association. She also published an article, “A New Cure for Bright-leaf Tobacco: The Origins of the Tobacco Queen during the Great Depression,” in Southern Cultures. And Professor Jennifer Speelman presented a paper on maritime education at the California Maritime Academy’s Conference on Teaching and Learning in a Maritime Environment.
 
Dr. Kyle Sinisi, as advisor The Citadel’s College Republican Society, escorted its members on a trip to the American Conservative Union’s annual CPAC convention. Professor Speelman escorted the members of the History Club to visit historic sites in St. Augustine.
 
Black History Month at The Citadel kicked off Feb. 3, 2007 with one of the month’s most popular community events – the African American Society Bazaar.
 
The bazaar features music, exhibits and food and attracts visitors to campus from all across the Lowcountry. It is just one of several events that will highlight Black History Month at The Citadel. Here’s a schedule of events, all of which are free and open to the public.
 
Feb. 3 - African American Society Bazaar
11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Mark Clark Hall auditorium
Music by the band A Touch of Class, Sankofa African American Traveling museum, food, and vendors.
 
Feb. 8 - Keynote Address
6:30 p.m., Grimsley Hall auditorium
Alan Cambeira is a visiting assistant professor of Spanish at The Citadel and is well known in both the Caribbean and in the U.S. for his work on Caribbean identity and for his 2001 novel “Azúcar! The Story of Sugar,” which tells of the exploitation of women of the Dominican Republic. He will discuss his research in the Caribbean and its connection to South Carolina.
 
Feb. 15 - Gullah/Geechee Presentation
6:30 p.m., Grimsley Hall auditorium
Marquetta L. Goodwine, Queen Quet, is the chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation will present on the history of the culture. 
 
Feb. 22 - Community Speaker
6:30 p.m., Grimsley Hall auditorium
Charleston County Councilman Tim Scott will discuss African American entrepreneurism. Scott is a local insurance agent. Event is sponsored by The Citadel African Studies Program.
 
Feb. 27 - Keynote Address
6:30 p.m., Grimsley Hall auditorium
Douglas Egerton is currently an assistant professor of history at LeMoyne College. He will discuss his research involving Denmark Vesey, Vesey’s Caribbean roots, his historical conspiracy and the connection with the creation of The Citadel.
 
Holocaust Speakers sponsored by The Citadel History Department
 
On Thursday, 22 March, 1900, in Bond Hall, room 165, Pincus Kolender and Joe Engel spoke to the campus community about their experiences in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp from 1942 to 1945. This was a "no holds barred" opportunity to hear what hell was like from two gentlemen who were there and lost their entire families. It is especially important to hear about the Holocaust from witnesses in light of recent efforts to deny that the Holocaust even happened.
 
The lecture was free and open to the public.

Modern Languages Department

Congratulations to Cadet Andrew Jones (German major) who just received notification on March 4, 2007 that he was selected for a prestigious Fulbright scholarship (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html).  This is the 7th Modern Languages Fulbright recipient (from German Section) in the past 6 years.
 
Cadet Andrew Green, Spanish major, has been awarded a national Sigma Delta Pi scholarship for study in Cuernavaca, Mexico for there fall 2007 semester. Cadet Green was one of only 28 students in the U.S. selected to receive a Sigma Delta Pi scholarship, and the only student chosen nationwide for the sole semester-long scholarship. For an idea of the magnitude of this accomplishment, there are 545 chapters of Sigma Delta Pi nationwide, with approximately 12,000 eligible applicants in any given year.  
 
Cadets Louis Doelling (Spanish major), Kimberly Hamilton (Spanish minor) Creighton Nash (Spanish major) and Zachary Franklin (Spanish minor) are enrolled in the University of Virginia's prestigious study abroad program in Valencia, Spain, for the spring 2007 semester.
 
Charles S. Knisley (B.A., Spanish, '06) is currently working as a staff interpreter for the Anmed Health Hospital of Anderson County, S.C.
 
On November 16 at 7:00pm in the Greater Issues Room of Mark Clark Hall, The Citadel's Tau Iota Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi held an awards ceremony for its 2nd annual South Carolina Spanish Teacher of the Year award. On behalf of the Board and Tau Iota, Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro, Founder and Director of the contest, named Celina P. Anthony of West Ashley High School (Charleston) as the 2006 awardee. The Harvey, Casterline & Vallini law firm and Stewart Title Guaranty Company each presented Mrs. Anthony with a check for $500 for a $1000 total award. Professor Del Mastro presented Anthony with a $150 gift certificate for Grill 225 restaurant ($75 courtesy of Tau Iota; $75 courtesy of Grill 225). Tau Iota presented all three finalists with award plaques, and the Francis Marion Hotel provided lodging and complimentary breakfast. Chad Everett Allan of Bishop England High School and Eileen Hilera Shields of Academic Magnet High School were the contest's runners up.
 
Dr. Katya Skow has recently had two articles accepted for publication: "From Frauenliteratur to Frauenliteraturbetrieb: Marketing Literature to German Women in the 21st Century," with Julia Karolle-Berg, in German Literature in the Twenty-first Century: Trends, Traditions, Transformations, Transitions, eds. Patricia Herminghouse and Katharina Gerstenberger (forthcoming from Berghahn Publishing, summer 2007); and "Die Zuckerbäckerin, Die Glasbläserin, Die Totenwäscherin: Nineteenth-Century Women in Contemporary German Historical Fiction," South Carolina Modern Languages Review (forthcoming spring 2007).
 
For The Citadel's Black History Month Keynote Address on February 8 at 6:30pm in Grimsley Hall Auditorium, Dr. Alan Cambeira discussed his research in the Caribbean and its connection to South Carolina.
 
For The Citadel's CGPS Senior Scholars lecture series, Professor Cambeira opened the spring 2007 session at 2:00pm on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 in Mark Clark Hall with his presentation: "Daughters of Caliban: Women's Voices in Today's Caribbean As a Challenge to Traditional Exclusion and Exploitation."
 
On January 16, the 5th issue of Decimonónica was published. Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro is founding Co-Director of this refereed, online journal of 19th century Hispanic cultural production.
 
On January 8, Professor Del Mastro accepted an invitation to contribute to World Literature in Spanish: An Encyclopedia, edited by Maureen Ihrie and Salvador Oropesa.
 
In December 2006, Professor Cambeira was issued a contract by PublishAmerica for the publication of his novel Tattered Paradise... Azúcar's Trilogy Ends!
 
Dr. Cathy Jellenik presented her paper "Hypermodernity in Annie Ernaux's Novel La vie extérieure" on December 27, 2006 at the annual convention of the Modern Languages Association in Philadelphia.
 
In late November/early December and as invited speaker, Dr. Eloy Urroz attended the Guadalajara Expo in Mexico where he spoke in four different venues: 1) presentation for the journal Revuelta; 2) presentation of the book Antología poética: 1980-2005 by Luis García Montero; 3 ) presentation of the book El sueno de Inocencio by Gerado Laveaga; 4) presentation of the book La carne propia by Luis Maldonado.
 
On November 2, Professor Urroz traveled to Laval University in Quebec, Canada, where he presented his paper "Los Mario Vargas Llosa que leimos" in a conference dedicated to the Peruvian novelist. Dr. Urroz was one of a selet few Hispanists invited from across the world to participate in this event.
 
On Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 3:00 pm at the house of Professor Gurganus, the Kappa Mu chapter of Delta Phi Alpha, the National German Honor Society inducted five new members: Ashley Roe Petersen, Lisa Marie Bydairk, Michael Langdon Drozd, Curtis Tucker Knie, and Dr. Susanne Wagner. The induction ceremony was led by current student president of The Citadel’s chapter, senior Andrew Raynor Jones.
 
Cadet Andrew Green (Spanish major) has been awarded a national Sigma Delta Pi scholarship for study in Cuernavaca for the fall 2007 semester. Green was one of only 28 students in the U.S. selected to receive a Sigma Delta Pi scholarship, and the only student nationwide chosen for the sole semester scholarship available.
 
Cadet Gordon Loader (Spanish major) has been accepted into the "M.A. in Spanish: Latin American Studies" program at American University to begin in August 2007.
 
The Citadel's Tau Iota Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi inducted 13 new student members and four honorary members on March 6, 2007 at 7:00pm during its annual ceremony in the Greater Issues Room of Mark Clark Hall. Conducted by Brian Corbett (Chapter President), Jared Newman (Vice-President), Andrew Green (Secretary-Treasurer), Drs. Del Mastro and Segle (Chapter Advisers), the ceremony initiated the following active members: Valentín Boza, Travis Burton, James Chamberlain, Leandro Chamorro, Leon E. Hontz III, Kevin Jack, Jonathan Montes, Stanley (Chad) Phillips, Michael Pilotte, Jonathan Poole, Anthony Luis Rodríguez, Jonathan Rodríguez and Christopher.
 
Thurmond. Drs. Alan Cambeira, Amrita Das, Beverly Long and Eloy Urroz were inducted as honorary members.
Andrew Brooks (B.A., German, '06) has been accepted with a Prize Fellowship into the graduate program of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania; his admission package covers all tuition and fees for a five-year period.
 
Dr. Eloy Urroz was the featured speaker of the Hispanoamerican Society's luncheon meeting at the Sunfire Grill in West Ashley on Saturday, March 17 at 11:30am, where he discussed his novels for three hours with a group of approximately 30 attendees.
 
In February 2007, Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro's article "Psychosocial Development and Female Identity in Carmen Laforet's La mujer nueva" was published in Vol. 83, No. 6 of the journal Bulletin of Hispanic Studies.
 
Also in February, Professor Del Mastro accepted an invitation to serve as a guest reader for Letras Femeninas, the official refereed journal of the International Association of Femenine Hispanic Literature and Culture.
 
Dr. Del Mastro has accepted an invitation to become a founding Executive Committee member for the Charleston Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). This new association between The Citadel and NAHREP is accentuated by Modern Languages' newest course--Spanish 460, Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture--that will be offered in the fall 2007 in cooperation with Keller Williams Realty to provide Spanish majors and minors with practical experience in Hispanic language and culture.
 
Professor Del Mastro participated in the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) Annual Council and Board Meetings in Tampa, Florida, on February 14-17, 2007, where he directed two round table discussions: 1) "How Can ACHS Better Serve its Members?"; 2) "Honor Society Inclusiveness: Diversity in Membership and Attracting Non-Traditional Students." In addition to serving as Sigma Delta Pi's official representative to the ACHS, Professor Del Mastro is also an elected member of the ACHS Board.

Political Science & Criminal Justice Department

Twenty-Second Model NATO Conference, Washington, DC.
February 21-24, 2007
 
Consistent with past performances, The Citadel’s Model NATO delegation once again distinguished itself at the 22nd Model NATO Conference held in Washington, DC. The Citadel was among the 16 colleges and universities participating in the simulation. One of 26 NATO delegations, the five Citadel cadets represented the Republic of Turkey at the four-day conference.  Preparation for the conference began early in the Fall 2006 semester and included detailed studies of current NATO operations, alliance dynamics and key issues as well as an equally thorough analysis of Turkey’s government, domestic politics and foreign and security policies associated with its strategic location between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Of note, The Citadel team was recognized as the third best overall delegation (out of 26) as well as the best delegation (out of 26) in the Nuclear Planning Committee.
 
Delegation Members:
Mr. Caleb M. Ling
Mr. Michael L. Drozd
Ms. Katie L. Richesin
Mr. David M. Solich
Mr. Anthony L. Rodriguez
 
Criminal Justice cadets meet with FBI Director
Citadel Alumni Director Mike Rogers has connections at the FBI thanks to an earlier 20-year career with the agency. 
 

Shown with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III are cadets Kevin Foster '07, Jacquelyn Pastick '08, James Elliott '07, Chris Larioni '08, James Douglas '07. Courtney Whittecar '07, Kyle Ruan '07, Justin Kursh '07 and Scotty Mendenhall '07.
Now he gives criminal justice majors the benefits of his connections with an annual trip to Washington, D.C.
 
Earlier this month, nine cadets toured the FBI and met with FBI director Robert Mueller. Muller is familier with The Citadel according to Rogers who said the director recalled his days in combat in Vietnam when he had Citadel grads on his left and his right.
 
"I knew they would not let me down," Mueller told the group. "I have the highest regard for The Citadel and what it produces."
 
The D.C. trip also included tour of the White House and Capitol Hill where the cadets visited with South Carolina Congressman Gresham Barrett, Citadel Class of 1983.

Psychology Department

The Citadel Psychology Department hosted Geoffrey McKee, a noted forensic psychologist, on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
 
McKee will discuss his new book “Why Mothers Kill: A Forensic Psychologists’ Casebook” and research on women who have killed their own children beginning at 2:45 p.m. in Buyer Auditorium in Mark Clark Hall. He will sign copies of his book afterward.
 
McKee is a clinical professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.
 
The lecture was free and open to the public.
 
Two senior cadets in the Psychology Department won significant awards for the research they presented last weekend at the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) meeting in New Orleans.  Both students are members of PSI CHI, the National Honor Society in Psychology, which in itself is a rare achievement. Of the 111 student research papers presented by PSI CHI members (every school's "brightest and best"). 16 PSI CHI Regional Research Awards were presented by a panel of judges who reviewed all the research abstracts and posters. Two of the 16 award recipients were Citadel psychology majors.
 
Caleb Dispensa won for his paper entitled Young adult choices of heroes: A national sample of “My Space” sites.
 
Catie (Mary Catherine) Park won for her paper entitled Investigating bullying: Exploring the relationship of gender and age.
 
The other assisting cadets were John Mallory, Wilma Harp, Rose Ulch, Jonathan Shegog and Colette Baumle. Professors and graduate students presenting research were Dr. DeRoma, Dr. Nida, Cynthia Gerard, Cathy Goyeneche, Danielle Saia, Sara Stouffer, Michelle Turner, Allison Tebbe, and Safiyyah Wright.
 
Their research mentor, Dr. Conway Saylor, was particularly gratified to see these students recognized as they have been exceptionally committed to the research process for the last year. Both spent their spring break last year interviewing public school students for a "Heroes and Bullies" research study that was the first step of their research journey. They have completely taken responsibility for their own studies and have even assisted/mentored other cadets who were beginning the research process.
 
Many thanks to The Citadel Foundation and the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, who made this research and travel possible.  In addition, we recognize the role that the Arland D. Williams endowed professorship in Heroism played in Caleb and I both exploring an interesting and fruitful area of heroism research.
 
This year a record number of students presented research at the annual South Carolina Psychological Association (SCPA) in Myrtle Beach. Graduate students presenting original research include Whitney Bryant, Natalie Bushkar, Kate Bushnell, Natalia Davila, Graham Elmore, Joey McGuinness, Cristin Uricchio, and Shanti Whitsell.   Undergraduate students include Billy Calvo, Caleb Dispenza, Brandon Jordon, Nick Mengis, Ana Miranda, Catie Park, Ben Pettis, and Stephen Spencer.
 
The following students won awards at the South Carolina Psychological Association Convention in Myrtle Beach at the end of March.
 
Graduate student Michael Flash (sponsors, Drs. Maya Khanna and Michael Politano) won first place for his poster entitled “Contextual Information Processing and Children: Which Factors Best Predict Their Ability to Use Context in Elementary School?”
 
Graduate student Graham Elmore, (sponsored by Dr. Conway Saylor), won second place for his poster entitled “Physically Active Recreation in Youth with Disabilities and Their Peers”.
 
Undergraduate student Ben Pettis (sponsored by Dr. Conway Saylor) won first place for his poster entitled “Bullying in the Internet Generation: Exploration of ‘Cyberbullying’ in Middle School Students”.
 
The South Carolina Psychological Association presented to Dr. Conway Saylor the 2007 “Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology” award.
 
Also, Dr. Lloyd (Chip) Taylor was installed as the 2007 - 2008 President of the S. C. Psychological Association.
 
Another group of Psychology students are presenting research at the annual National Association of School Psychologist (NASP) Convention in NYC on March 27 - 31. The professors and graduate students presenting research at this event are Dr. Allen, Dr. Politano, Taylor Davis, Audrey Dooley, Danielle Saia and Meg Williams.
 
Buddy Program honored by state higher education commission
 
The Citadel’s “Buddy Program” has been honored by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
  

Associate Provost Spike Metts (left) and Steve Nida, head of The Citadel's pscyhology department, accept an award and plaque from Layton McCurdy, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, honoring the Buddy Program.
The program, under the direction of psychology professor Dr. Conway Saylor, received a Service Learning Award from the commission. It was judged on its community impact, number of students who participate and integration into academics. 
 
The “Buddy Program” pairs 160 to 220 student participants per year with “Buddies” to fill the need in the community for young adults willing to mentor, provide modeling and friendship, and expand the activity options for people with disabilities whose social/recreational skills and opportunities are severely limited.
 
Associate Provost Spike Metts and Steve Nida, head of the Department of Psychology, accepted a plaque and check for $500 from Layton McCurdy, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education. The financial awards were sponsored by State Farm Insurance.