LAKELAND, Fla. (May 24, 2006) — Florida Southern College faculty members pursue extracurricular academic activities year-round, giving presentations, publishing articles, and attending conferences. The following summarizes their recent activities and recognitions.

Alexander M. Bruce, associate professor of English, presented on “Awrethed weorthlice . . . engla maegne: Angels in Anglo-Saxon Poetry” at the 15th Biennial New College Conference on Medieval-Renaissance Studies in March. He was elected president of Paint Your Heart Out Lakeland, an organization that collects painting supplies and organizes teams of volunteers to paint homes for the elderly and disabled in Lakeland, Fla.

James M. Denham, professor of history, served as chair and commentator for a session on “Shaping Race in Early Florida” at the Fourth Biennial Allen Morris Conference on the History of Florida and Atlantic World in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb. 24-25. His article “Ridiculed, Maligned, Misunderstood, yet Cracker Settlers Kept on Going” was published in the winter, 2006 issue of “Forum: the Magazine of the Florida Humanities Council.” Also, Denham was featured as the commentator on “Cracker Country: Songs, Stories, and Interviews about the Wild Folks who Tamed Florida,” a CD produced by the Florida Humanities Council in 2006.

Lisa Erdman, assistant professor of art, was granted a Remi Award from the Houston WorldFest International Film Festival on March 2, for her video “Annual Checkup: Pharmaceuticals for the 21st Century.” Erdman’s video is one of 90 film and video pieces selected from over 1,500 entries in the short film category of the festival.

Catherine R. Eskin, associate professor of English, presented on “The Poetry of Seduction and Rejection: ‘The Passionate Shepherd’ and ‘Nymph’s Reply’” to AP students at Lakeland High School in Lakeland, Fla., in February. She presented with FSC senior English major, Lisa Marini Dillman, from Auburndale, Fla.
 
Mary M. Flekke, instructional services librarian, was awarded the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Florida Region Volunteer Excellence Award in the adult category in April. She was selected for her work with Thrivent Financial, the Society of Florida Archivists and Grace Lutheran Church, among other organizations.

Carmen Valdez Gauthier, associate professor of chemistry, spoke on “Combining High School and College Chemistry” at the 231st national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta, Ga., March 26-30.

Barbara M. Giles, professor of political science, was selected for the fourth time to appear in “Who’s Who Among American Teachers.” Nominations may come only from students who themselves are listed in “Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students” or “The National Dean’s List,” and students may nominate only one teacher from their entire academic experience.  Giles has been selected for inclusion for three consecutive years. Also, at the Florida Political Science Association Conference at Florida International University April 8, she chaired a session on “American Politics” and was elected to another three year term on the executive council of the Florida Political Science Association.

Keith L. Huneycutt, professor of English, presented his paper “The Brown Sisters in Nineteenth-Century Florida: Were They Literary Pioneers?” at the College English Association Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, April 6-8.

Luis A. Jimenez, professor of Spanish, was invited by the National Academics for the second time to serve as a reviewer for the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship Programs at the dissertation and postdoctoral levels, March 16-19 in Washington, D.C. The panel selected top candidates in the fields of African American literature and Hispanic literature.

Mary Ferguson Pharr, professor of English, presented her paper “Different Shades of Gray: Oscar Wilde's Decadent Novel Meets the Movies" and chaired a session on "Reframing Myth:  Merlin, the Mythopoetic, and the Monomyth on Film" at the 27th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., March 15-19.

Christopher H. Ramey, assistant professor of psychology, wrote a review of the book “Inwardness and Morality” titled “The Responsibility of Individual Scientists: Morality, the self, and society.” The review was published in “PsycCRITIQUES – APA Contemporary Psychology Review of Books” in April.

John Stancil, associate professor of accounting, was named one of the 20 Top Experts of the 30,000 experts on the allexperts.com Web site in April, for the fifth consecutive month. Also, he has been elected treasurer of the Polk County Financial Education Council.

About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors and by the Princeton Review as a “Best Southeastern College.” Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.