Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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SCHEV announces Outstanding Faculty honorees
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and Dominion Energy announced the recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Awards.
Each will receive $7,500 from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation at a ceremony on March 5 in Richmond.
[Disclosure: Dominion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
The awards were established in 1987 to recognize faculty at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service. This year, the program received 87 nominations.
The 2024 recipients (asterisks indicate Rising Star awards for early-career achievement):
Tarek Abdel-Fattah, Christopher Newport University: Abdel-Fattah is the Lawrence J. Sacks Endowed Professor of Chemistry at Christopher Newport University and the CNU director of the Applied Research Center at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. His work concerning nanotechnology for aerospace applications has been recognized by NASA, and he twice received NASA faculty fellowships.
Kathleen Alexander, Virginia Tech: Alexander is a professor of wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. She has conducted research in Africa for more than 30 years, with a systems biology approach to ecosystem health, integrating human and animal health with ecosystem dynamics. She worked for the government of Botswana as the chief of the Wildlife Veterinary Unit and the ecological advisor to the Office of the President of Botswana, and she manages a study site in Botswana examining the dynamics of emerging infectious disease.
Thomas Crawford, Virginia Tech: Crawford is a University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Tech and director of the Molecular Sciences Software Institute in Blacksburg. His research focuses on the development of quantum mechanical models of molecular properties, and he has published 150 peer-reviewed papers and given nearly 230 lectures in 26 countries.
John Finn, Christopher Newport University: Finn is an associate professor of geography and chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Christopher Newport University. His research examines racial capitalism, critical landscape studies and environmental justice to better understand the ongoing economic, environmental and health impacts of persistent racial segregation in the United States.
Justin Haegele, Old Dominion University: Haegele is a professor and the director of the Center for Movement, Health and Disability in the Department of Human Movement Sciences at Old Dominion University. His primary research explores how disabled individuals experience physical activity participation, including within school-based physical education contexts.
Carrie Humphrey, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College: Humphrey is an instructor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College pursuing her doctorate in translation and interpreting studies with a focus on American Sign Language-English interpretation at Gallaudet University. She has been a nationally certified freelance interpreter for 18 years and is president of the Virginia Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
Timothy Jarome, Virginia Tech*: Jarome is an associate professor in the School of Animal Sciences and core faculty in the School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech. His research interests include understanding the neurobiological mechanisms controlling the formation of fear-based memories that underlie post-traumatic stress disorder, with an emphasis on sex differences in these processes.
Rakesh Kukreja, Virginia Commonwealth University: Kukreja is the Eric Lipman Professor of Cardiology at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research is focused on understanding mechanisms of cardiovascular injury during heart attacks and cancer drug treatment. His pioneering work on nitric oxide, cGMP signaling and the cardioprotective effects of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors including sildenafil (Viagra) have spurred numerous clinical trials.
Evan Lowder, George Mason University*: Lowder is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University and directs the Early Justice Strategies Lab. Her research examines strategies to reduce justice system contact and improve behavioral health outcomes among justice-involved adults.
Elizabeth Outka, University of Richmond: Outka is the Tucker-Boatwright Professor of Humanities and Professor of English at the University of Richmond. Her first book, “Consuming Traditions” inaugurated Oxford’s Modernist Literature and Cultures series. Her latest monograph, “Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature,” won the Transatlantic Studies Association-Cambridge University Press Book Prize and the South Atlantic MLA Book Award.
Megan Taliaferro, Tidewater Community College: Taliaferro is the program director of Tidewater Community College’s Veterinary Science department. She began the veterinary assistant and veterinary technology programs at TCC; the latter is the first newly accredited veterinary program in Virginia in over 40 years.
Melissa Wells, University of Mary Washington: Wells is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Mary Washington. Her teaching and research interests include literacy, critical theory, arts integration, technology and family engagement.
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Youngkin announces new board appointments
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced additional board appointments, including several people from Southwest and Southside.
Coal Surface Mining Reclamation Fund Advisory Board: Barbara Altizer of Lebanon, executive director, education and outreach, Metallurgical Coal Producers Association.
Virginia Coal Mine Safety Board: Danny Mann of Dungannon, retired coal mine instructor, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.
Southern Regional Education Board: Jennifer Nichols of Bristol, vice chair, Washington County School Board, and program director, Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board Region 1.
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Roanoke City Council names Rupert Cutler 2023 Citizen of the Year
Rupert Cutler has been named the 2023 Citizen of the Year by the Roanoke City
Council.
In a news release, the city cited Cutler’s “unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship, wildlife conservation, and community service throughout his remarkable life.”
Cutler was the founding executive director of Virginia’s Explore Park and the Western Virginia Land Trust (now Blue Ridge Land Conservancy). He served on the Roanoke City Council for six years, was a founding member of the Western Virginia Water Authority’s board of directors, and was appointed by Gov. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to two terms on the board of trustees of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, according to the news release.
Cutler holds an undergraduate degree in wildlife management from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from Michigan State University. He has held numerous roles on the national level, including assistant executive director of the Wilderness Society, senior vice president of the National Audubon Society, president of Defenders of Wildlife, and U.S. assistant secretary of agriculture for conservation, research and education.
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Lynchburg seeks applications for citizens academy
The city of Lynchburg is accepting applications for its 19th annual Lynchburg Citizens Academy.
The deadline for registration is Feb. 13, and space is limited.
Citizens Academy is a free 12-session program that provides an opportunity for residents to learn about city government and gain exposure to the wide range of government functions and services.
The academy begins March 7. The two-and-a-half-hour sessions are held on consecutive Thursday evenings, with most sessions starting at 6:30 p.m.
For more information and to register, visit www.lynchburgva.gov/citizensacademy.