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• Glenda Erwin has been named interim vice chancellor for university development. She had been associate vice chancellor for university development. Erwin earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from LSU A&M and a Master of Arts in liberal arts from LSUS. Prior to joining the LSUS staff in 1998, she worked for the state Department of Education, the Orleans Parish School Board, the Bossier Parish School Board and as an adjunct instructor in public relations at LSUS.
• Dr. David Gustavson, a professor of education, has been named dean of the College of Education and Human Development. Gustavson has served in a number of positions at LSUS over the past 30 years, most recently as chair of the Department of Education. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in English education, social studies and psychology in 1967 and a Master of Arts degree in secondary education in 1972, both from Murray State University in Kentucky. He received a Doctor of Education degree from Indiana University in 1974.
• Melissa T. Mainiero has been named director of institutional effectiveness in the Academic Affairs Division. She joined the LSUS staff in spring 2003 as coordinator of assessment and accountability in the College of Education and Human Development. She will continue to assist the College of Education and Human Development with assessment and continuing accreditation efforts, and will continue to teach Secondary Classroom Management and Secondary Math/Science Materials & Methods. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from LSUS in 1993 and a Master of Education from LSUS in 2003. She taught math at Benton High School from 1997 to 2003.
• Seven LSUS students have been initiated into the Pilot Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa: Stephanie Amy Cochrane, of Miami; Jillian Nichole Danzy, of Heflin; Martha Helen Durham, of Shreveport; Bridgett Kalifia Elie, of Leesville; Brynn Marie Forbrich, of Bossier City; Jamie Collette Prince, of Coushatta, and Lacey Dawn Spencer, of Greenbrier, Ark. Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) is a national leadership honor society that recognizes individuals who have attained a high standard of leadership in all phases of collegiate life. ODK was founded in 1914 and is recognized as one of the premier collegiate honor societies in the United States. National eligibility rules also require that students be juniors, seniors, graduate students or alumni. Dr. Stephen Banks, a professor of biological sciences, is the faculty advisor for ODK; Dr. Donna Austin, dean of the Division of Continuing Education and Public Service and director of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center, is the society’s secretary, and Dr. Beverly Burden, an associate professor of biology, is the treasurer.
• Dr. Gary E. Jones, professor and chair of the Psychology Department, was chosen by the American Psychological Association (APA) to attend an Advanced Training Institute on the use and logic of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in early June. Jones was selected by APA in a national competition for access to the institute, which will be attended by a limited number of faculty and doctoral students. The fMRI technology, an extension of standard MRI, is a new development in the medical imaging of tissue and bone. “The functional MRI images those areas of the brain that are active in various psychological and medical states,” Jones said. “For example, although psychologists knew that the amygdala (a small section of the brain) is important in emotional experience, with the fMRI we can now determine that much of the activity is located in a particular nucleus or section of the amygdala. The fMRI is revolutionizing much of psychology, psychiatry, medicine and neuroscience.” Various government and private agencies – including the APA and the National Institutes of Health – are supporting the training of scientists in the use of this new and advanced technology. In the week-long fMRI program, Jones will learn the basics of the technology; how to read and interpret fMRI data, and the use of fMRI technology in conducting experiments with human and animal subjects. Jones said he will be able to apply the technology to his programmatic research in visceral perception.
• Dr. Lynn Walford, an associate professor of foreign languages, had an article, “‘Fuimos cómplices también’: Violence and Sacrifice in Vargas Llosa’s Lituma en los Andes,” published in the Spring 2004 issue of Confluencia: Revista de Literatura Hispanoamericana.
• Dr. Malcolm McCallum, an assistant professor of biological sciences, has been named an associate editor for the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Sciences.
• Dr. Ken Masters, associate professor of management, co-authored an article, “Risk Propensity, Trust, and Transaction Costs in Relational Contracting,” that was published in the Journal of Business Strategies, 21, 1, 47-68. And, his paper, “Eagle Food Centers”, has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Applied Case Research, volume 6. No. 1.
• Dr. Jim Ingold, professor of biological sciences, attended the 78th Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences in mid-March at McNeese University and gave two papers: “Incidence of Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria in Louisiana Fox Squirrels” and “Movement of Ducks Banded in Northwestern Louisiana - Preliminary Data.”
• Dr. La Wanda Blakeney, assistant professor of music, is the piano accompanist for Shreveport Chamber Singers, a group of amateur and professional singers in Northwest Louisiana and Eastern Texas. The Singers toured the eastern coast of Australia for two weeks in June. The tour included Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, as well as the Cairns (aboriginal lands in the north). They performed in the Parliament House in Canberra, with the other concerts being held in churches. The 20-year-old group sings serious, classical music and has performed with the Shreveport Symphony and the Marshall (Texas) Symphony.
• Martha Lawler, associate librarian in Noel Memorial Library, attended the Rare Books & Manuscripts Section Pre-conference and the American Library Association Annual Conference at Yale University in late June. Lawler is chair of the association’s Publications Committee and, in that capacity, made several presentations at the conferences.
• The Society for Military History Awards Committee has selected Dr. Mike Leggiere’s Journal of Military History Article “From Berlin to Leipzig: Napoleon’s Gamble in North Germany, 1813,” as a winner of the Moncado Prize for excellence in the writing of military history. Leggiere, an associate professor of history, received a plaque and monetary award at the society’s annual conference awards luncheon in mid-May. He also presented a paper, “‘The Champagne Disposition’ or ‘General Yorck’s Calling Card’: The Politics of the Prussian Army during the Invasion of France, 1814.”
• Wanda Moseley, an instructor of mathematics, was awarded a commendation from the Louisiana House of Representatives for her work with Kappa Kappa Iota Educational Sorority. She was state president of the organization for the past year, and represented Louisiana at the National Kappa Kappa Iota Convention in St. Louis in June.
• The faculty, staff and patrons of the Noel Memorial Library appreciate the support and generosity of the following persons and organizations making donations of books or periodicals to the library: March – Malcolm G. Parker, William D. Pederson and Robert Pitts; April – Charlene Handford Barlow, Robert M. Bryce, James Lake, Kay Stebbins,. ISD - Geoff Plunkett - Sydney, Australia, and Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, - Baton Rouge; May – Roy E. Abrahamson, Norman Dolch, Chengho Hsieh, William McCleary, William D. Pederson, Kay Stebbins, J. W. Wilson, William Wilson, one Anonymous Donation, and Ministry of Flanders - Mr. Bart Hendrickx c/o Belgian Embassy at Washington D.C.