NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY®

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December 2014, Issue 32

A Newsletter for Faculty, Staff, Alumni and Friends of Norfolk State University

United States Army Major General LaWarren V. Patterson, DeputyCommanding General-Operations/Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army’sInstallation Management Command, will deliver the keynote address

at Norfolk State University’s fall commencement ceremonyon Saturday, Dec. 13, at Joseph G. Echols Hall wheremore than 500 students are expected to earn theircollege degrees.

Patterson, who previously served as theCommanding General for the U.S. Army CyberCenter of Excellence in Fort Gordon, Georgia, is a1982 graduate of Norfolk State and earned a degreein mass communications. The Maj. Gen. will alsoparticipate in a military ceremony where four NSUArmy ROTC students are expected to be commissioned.

Patterson’s career in the U.S. Army spans morethan 30 years. He has served inWashington, D.C.; Fort Huachuca,Arizona; Fort Hood, Texas; Germany;South Korea; the United Nations;and Saudi Arabia in support ofOperation Desert Storm. The Maj.Gen. has also earned degrees fromCentral Michigan University, wherehe received a master’s degree ingeneral administration, and theU.S. Army War College, where hegraduated with a master’s instrategic studies.

Continued on page 3

Dr. Aswini Pradhan, professor of engineering, is among the

recipients of the 2015 OutstandingFaculty Award presented by the StateCouncil of Higher Education forVirginia and Dominion Resources.

The Outstanding Faculty Award is the Commonwealth’s highest honorfor faculty at Virginia’s public andprivate colleges and universities andrecognizes superior accomplishmentsin teaching, research, knowledgeintegration and public service.

Thirteen recipients were selected from a pool of 88 nominees based on accomplishments that stronglyreflect the missions of their respective institutions.

Dr. Pradhan joined Norfolk StateUniversity in 2003 at the Center forMaterials Research and Departmentof Optical Engineering in 2007. He is a leading scientist in the field of next-generation novel nanomaterials forenergy, innovative electronics, and optics as well as biomedicalapplications.

Aligned with NSU’s mission and vision,he has not only established a premierresearch group and facilities at NSU,but also provided numerous researchexperiences for students from highschool to doctoral level.

Dr. Pradhan has been the principalinvestigator and director of twoCenter of Excellence projects fundedby the National Science Foundation

and the Department of Defensetotaling $10 million, and PI and Co-PIon grants from the National ScienceFoundation, Department of Defenseand industries, such as Intel Corp,totaling about $11 million. He hassecured total grant funds close to $21 million.

The recipients will be recognizedduring a February 19 ceremony at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. Each recipient will receive an engravedaward and $5,000 underwritten by the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources.

Pradhan Receives SCHEV’s Outstanding Faculty Award

Norfolk State University – An Equal Opportunity Employer

Maj. Gen. Patterson to Address Graduates

Dr. Aswini Pradhan, professor of engineering,works with a student.

The Kennedy Center is considering the Norfolk State University

Theatre Company’s production ofLorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in theSun for an invitation to its regionaltheatre festival. This marks the firstKennedy Center visit to NSU in thehistory of theatre on campus.

If chosen, the NSU Theatre Co. and Raisin would represent the entire southeast region of America’scollegiate theatre programs at theAmerican College Theatre Festival(ACTF) in Georgia in February.

Hundreds of shows enter thiscompetition annually, only a fewdozen become recommended to be considered for festival inclusionand only four are actually selected to perform.

“I knew that this show wouldrepresent NSU in a wonderful way

and bring NSU Theatre into thenational scene,” said AnthonyStockard, NSU director of theatre.“This is NSU’s first submission to thefestival and to receive confirmationthat we have been recommended is a testament to the hard work of our students.”

Started in 1969 by the KennedyCenter, the ACTF national theatrecompetition program involves 18,000students from more than 600 collegesand universities and has served as acatalyst in improving the quality ofcollegiate theatre in the United States.

In addition, three NSU TheatrePerformance students have beenselected to represent the Universityand compete in the acting categoryagainst the hundreds of othercompetitors at the festival. They are Briyana Guadalupe, ChristopherLindsay and Juspin Jones. “This is ahuge honor for our students andbrings great recognition and credibilityto theatre at NSU,” said Stockard.

The NSU Theatre Co.’s production of A Raisin in the Sun ran from Nov. 20-23, and was the secondoffering presented by the group. A Musical Tribute to Whitney Houstonwas performed in October to packedhouses. Two more productions, For Colored Girls and Dreamgirls, arescheduled for the spring semester.

Kennedy Center Considers NSU Production for Theatre CompetitionThree NSU Students AlreadyChosen to Represent NSU in Competition

Making Waves 2

Making Waves is publishedby the Office of Communications

and Marketing.

(757) 823-8373

Eddie N. Moore, Jr.Interim President and CEO

Deborah C. Fontaine, Ph.D.Interim Vice President

for University Advancement

Stevalynn AdamsInterim Director

Communications and Marketing

Regina LightfootEditor

Stan Donaldson, Jr.Christopher Setzer

MAKING

marketing@nsu.edu

WAVESWAVES

Aribbon-cutting ceremony for the new nursing and general classroom building is scheduled for Friday, January 9, 2015, at 10 a.m. FacilitiesManagement is expected to begin moving items from Brown Hall into

the building starting the week of December 8 and is scheduled to becompleted by the winter holiday break.

Faculty and staff are expected to begin using the building when they returnfrom the break in January.

The new nursing and general classroom building is located near the LymanBeecher Brooks Library and further establishes the new academic quadrangle,which is anchored by the library on one end and the Student Center on the other. The new 140, 286-square-foot facility has a total project cost of$45,269,968 and will feature more than 32 classrooms, five computer labs, 20 group study rooms and 10 nursing and medical technology labs.

The building also includes 68 faculty and staff offices, three conference rooms, several lounges, a cafe and a new IT help desk. The nursing labs willhave 48 beds with 18 of those used for simulation. The simulation area bedswill be wired to a dedicated clinical skills observation control room. Theclassroom and nursing building will include a robust technology infrastructurefor student access and state-of-the-art classrooms with five classroomsoffering virtual teleconferencing capabilities.

Ribbon-Cutting Set for NSU’s New Building

Meredith Johnson as Ruth Younger and JuspinJones as Walter Lee Younger in Raisin.

Photo by Anthony Stockard

3Making Waves

Dr. Denise Littleton, dean of the School of Education, receivednotification of a sub-award of$200,000 over a five-year period forthe NASA-funded grant NASA STEMEducator Professional DevelopmentCollaborative, led by Texas StateUniversity, in collaboration with other minority serving institutions.

Faith Fitzgerald,executive director for housing andresidence life, hasbeen appointed to a two-year term as a member of theNational Association

of Student Personnel Administrators(NASPA) Excellence Awards Team.

Six nursing faculty and instructorsrecently passed the Certified NurseEducator Exam. Those now CNEcertified include Sandra r. Barnes,Hilary Gersbach, Angela Hayes,Antoinette McCray, Dr. JessicaParrott and Felisa Smith.

Dr. Terricita E. Sass, assistant vice president for enrollmentmanagement,recently completedher doctoral studies,receiving her Ph.D.

in Leadership for Higher Educationfrom Capella University withdistinction. Dr. Sass also completed a post-master’s certificate inenrollment management with anendorsement from Noel-Levitz.

Leon rouson, associate professor of early childhood/elementary andspecial education, was notified by theU.S. Department of Education of$193,800 in continued funding for the Student Support Services-TeacherPreparation (K-12) Project.

Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden, associateprofessor of socialwork and Ph.D.program director,was one of eightcommunity membersrecognized as

Champions of Child Welfare inHampton Roads at the Championsaward luncheon in Norfolk, Virginia.

Dr. Charles Ford, professor ofhistory, is a co-recipient of a NationalEndowment for the Humanities grant in the amount of $176,322. The award provides for two, one-week workshops for 72 school teachers on Virginia’s Massive Resistance.

Biology majors Jordan Blufordand Briana Spruill-Harrell wereawarded full travel grants to attendthe annual Biomedical ResearchConference for Minority Studentsheld in San Antonio, Texas,in November.

Dr. Eleanor Hoy, Spartan SuccessCenter director, was awarded anadditional year grant of $70,000 fromthe Nuclear Regulatory Commissionto conduct further research based

on a 2010 proposal, “EmployingNuclear Safety Research to Expandthe Recruitment and Retention ofUnderrepresented Students in STEM Majors.”

Dr. Stan Tickton,professor of masscommunications andjournalism and thecoordinator of themaster of arts inmedia andcommunication

program, was reelected (unopposed)to a fifth term to represent the 1,500member Mass CommunicationsDivision in the NationalCommunication Association'sLegislative Assembly.

Dr. Arthur Bowman,professor of biology,has been appointedto serve a two-yearterm on the editorialboard for the Journalof Chess Research.Dr. Bowman is also

working with the Norfolk StateUniversity School of Education on ateaching improvement projectcoordinated by Texas State University.

Jennifer Bailey, biology major, has been awarded the 2014Environmental Protection AgencyGRO Undergraduate Fellowship. Thefellowship was awarded based onresearch conducted with MaureenScott, assistant professor of biology,titled “The Impact of FluoridatedWater on Amphibians.” Bailey alsowon third place for that sameresearch in the undergraduate poster presentation category at the combined 11th InternationalSymposium on Recent Advances inEnvironmental Health Research and13th International Symposium onMetal Ions in Biology and Medicine at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

Biology major Alissa Harrellpresented “The Effect of AmmoniumNitrate Pollution on Susceptibility of Rana catesbiena Tadpoles toPathogenic Fungi Batrachochytriumdendrobatidis” at the combined 11thInternational Symposium on RecentAdvances in Environmental HealthResearch and 13th InternationalSymposium on Metal Ions in Biologyand Medicine at Jackson StateUniversity in Jackson, Mississippi.

A white paper by Dr. Tarin Hampton,associate professor of health, physicaleducation and exercise science, titled“Cultural and Political Impact on theEvolution of Dance Styles in Trinidadand Tobago,” was chosen as one oftwo proposals selected by the Schoolof Graduate Studies and Research for submission to the NationalEndowment for the Humanities forthe NEH summer stipend program.

Katrina B. Miller, Title III director, hasbeen appointed chair of the StrategicPlanning Committee for the NationalAssociation of HBCU Title IIIAdministrators Inc.

HAVE YoU HEArD?

Faith Fitzgerald

Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden

Dr. Terricita E. Sass

Dr. Stan Tickton

Dr. Arthur Bowman

Address Graduates Continued from page 1

His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 awards), Bronze Star,Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (4 awards),Joint Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2 awards), JointAchievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2 awards), the OverseasService Ribbon (5 awards), Korean Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Order of National Security Merit-SamilMedal, which was presented to him by order of the President of the Republicof Korea.

NSU’s Veterans Day observance featured U.S. Army Col. Marvin Thornton Jr.(inset) as the keynote speaker and recognized Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, a veteran who served 28 years in the U.S. Army. Pictured are Andrew Cooley, a 90-year-old World War II veteran, (front), and from left to right are Del.Lingamfelter, Congressman Bobby Scott, NSU professor and Cooley’s daughterDr. Joy Cooley-Doles, Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., and NSU Interim President andCEO Eddie N. Moore Jr.

The Golden Key InternationalHonour Society recentlyinducted five honorary

members and 77 new members intothe society at an event held in theScott-Dozier Ballroom.

Golden Key is the world’s largesthonor society with more than twomillion members and 400 chaptersacross the United States and aroundthe world. Membership in Golden Keyis by invitation only and applies to thetop 15 percent of college anduniversity sophomores, juniors andseniors, as well as top-performing graduatestudents in all fields ofstudy, based solelyon their academicachievements.

Honorary members are chosen bystudent members, chapter officersand advisors for their individualaccomplishments on campus/in thecommunity and for their success andsupport of academics, leadership andservice. This year’s honorarymembers are Dr. Leroy Hamilton,associate professor of English andforeign languages; Dr. Colita Fairfax,associate professor of social work;regina Lightfoot, communicationsand marketing practitioner; Dr.Jessica Parrott, chair of nursing andallied health; and Bernadette Smith,assistant principal of I.C. Norcom HighSchool, Portsmouth, Virginia.

The NSU Golden Key Chapterachieved Key Chapter status

for the 2013-14 academicyear—the highestchapter standing thatcan be achieved—andalso celebrated its

20th anniversary as a chapter.

Golden Key Induction

Lesley Nashand his motherLinda Artisewere amongthe 77 studentsinducted intothe Golden KeyInternationalHonour Society.

Tues., Dec. 23, 2014Noon Closure

Wed., Dec. 24, 2014–Fri., Jan. 2, 2015Closed

Mon., Jan. 5, 2015Resume Normal Business Hours

Norfolk StateHoLIDAY SCHEDULE