Faculty and Staff Notes

Li Presentation Gets Wide Audience

The National Academy of Sciences features a presentation by Dr. Bailian Li, vice provost for international affairs, on its Web portal. The presentation is titled, "Principles and Practices of International Agreements – NC State."

Outstanding Extension Service Awards

Twenty-one faculty and professional staff members who have been named recipients of the Outstanding Extension Service Awards will be honored at a banquet on April 20 at the McKimmon Center for Extension and Continuing Education. The theme of the banquet is "Celebrating an Engaged University."

Award recipients are:

• Mr. Norman Fred Miller, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences/CES
• Mr. Mark  Hucks, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences/CES
• Dr. Georgia Bizios, College of Design
• Mr. Charles R. Parrish, College of Engineering
• Dr. Lynda Aiman-Smith, College of Management
• Dr. Dennis W. Hazel, College of Natural Resources
• Dr. David Eggleston, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Dr. Wandra P. Hill, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Mr. Thomas Michael Ferguson, College of Textiles
• Mrs. Marissa Langford, College of Textiles
• Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Dr. Maria T. Correa, College of Veterinary Medicine
• Dr. Jonathan Kramer, Division of Student Affairs

In addition to receiving the Outstanding Extension Service Award, the following faculty members will be inducted into the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension:

• Dr. David Tarpy, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences   
• Dr. Diane D. Chapman, College of Education
  
• Dr. Hugh A. Devine, College of Natural Resources
• Dr. M. Todd See, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Mr. Neal Hutcheson, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Dr. Audrey J. Jaeger, College of Education
• Dr. R. Michael Young, College of Engineering
• Dr. Roby B. Sawyers, College of Management

The following three recipients will also be recognized for being nominated for the Alumni Outstanding Extension Service Award. The Alumni awardees will be honored at the Honors Convocation and will receive a monetary award of $3,000 at the Convocation. 

They are:

• Dr. David Tarpy, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences   
• Dr. Diane D. Chapman, College of Education
• Dr. Hugh A. Devine, College of Natural Resources

Two Management Faculty Named ACE Fellows

The American Council on Education (ACE) announced that Dr. Mitzi Montoya and Dr. Fay Cobb Payton, both on the faculty in College of Management, have been named ACE Fellows for academic year 2009-10. Montoya is the Zelnak Professor of Marketing Innovation and assistant dean for research at the college. Payton is associate professor of information technology. Both are in the college's Department of Business Management.

The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration. This year, 38 fellows nominated by their university's senior leadership were selected in a national competition.

"We are very pleased to recognize these two faculty members. They each have exhibited tremendous leadership potential in their careers thus far. Mitzi's career has focused on the development of collaborative research and education in the area of services and innovation management, and Fay's focus has been on diversity in the IT field. We trust that their year as ACE Fellows will enable them to further define their career path and strengthen their leadership skills so that they can continue to make an impact," said Provost Larry Nielsen.

As ACE Fellows, Montoya and Payton will focus on an issue of concern to NC State while spending the next academic year working with a college or university president and other senior officers at another institution.

Fulbright Teaching Assistants Approved

NC State has been approved by the Institute of International Education to host three Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) in 2009-2010; one from India to teach Urdu, one from Bangladesh to teach Bengali, and one from Afghanistan to teach Persian. The application was made by the North Carolina Center for South Asia Studies, a Title VI National Resource Center comprising NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, funded by the U.S. Department of Education since 1999 for the development of South Asia studies and the teaching of South Asian languages. The Center's Critical Languages Program, provides courses in less-commonly-taught languages such as Persian, Bengali, Tamil, and Nepali for all three campuses.

Haenn Receives Fulbright

Nora Haenn in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology received a Fulbright Scholarship to undertake research in Mexico. In collaboration with Mexican colleagues at the El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, she will be examining the effects of international migration on sending communities located in the country's rural and tropical south, a region that only joined the international migration phenomenon in recent times. Because most migrants are men who leave behind wives and children, she will consider how women take on the management of household affairs in the absence of their husbands. Her research with farm families will document how they spend remittances and whether these expenditures entail investments in new kinds of land use that change tropical ecologies. She will also consider how local governments plan for the social and economic changes that accompany migration.

Alumni Magazine Wins Award

"NC State," the magazine published by the Alumni Association, has been recognized in the League of American Communications Professionals Inspire Awards competition. NC State won a gold award in the "Print-Hybrid Audience" category, and, based on the score, was ranked 19th overall out of more than 400 entries in multiple categories. Other winners included American Express, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Pennsylvania State.

The judges praised the publication, saying, "Clearly, a lot of care has gone into producing an exceptional communications element to reach the target audience. Great first impression. The production values found within 'NC State' are truly among the best reviewed this year."

Skaggs Wins Communications Award

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) has honored Dr. R. Wayne Skaggs with the 2009 Charles A. Black Communications Award. Skaggs is William Neal Reynolds Professor and Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He received the award in March from Dr. Henry L. Shands, CAST president, in Washington, D.C.

The Charles A. Black Communications Award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in his or her area of expertise within the agricultural, environmental or food sciences sectors.

Skaggs is an expert in drainage and subsurface water management. In 1980 he developed a computerized water management model, DRAINMOD, which helps predict how water management procedures will affect water table depth, soil water regime and crop yields. The model has been reengineered to expand its capabilities and is used by consulting engineers, researchers and government agencies worldwide.

In 1994 NC State presented Skaggs its highest faculty recognition, the Alexander Quarles Holladay Award, and in 1997, he received the University of North Carolina's highest award, the O. Max Gardner Award. That same year, he received the Alexander von Humboldt award for contributions to U.S. agriculture.

Pharmacy Benefit Changes

In order to keep the pharmacy benefit affordable for members and provide access to high quality, effective medication options, several changes to the pharmacy benefit will be implemented beginning May 1.

• Triptans are medications used to treat certain migraine and cluster headache conditions. Beginning May 1, the copay for triptans, Amerge, Axert, Frova, Zomig, and Zomig ZMT, will be $50 for up to a 34-day supply.
  
• Also beginning May 1, all users of Amerge, Axert, Frova, Treximet, Zomig, and Zomig ZMT will be subject to a formulary coverage review. Coverage will only be granted if your provider documents that you have experienced failure or intolerance with a preferred migraine medication (Sumatriptan, Maxalt, Maxalt MLT or Relpax).
• Antiemetics are medications used to prevent and treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Beginning May 1, prescriptions for antiemetics (Anzemet, Emend, Kytril (granisetron), Granisol, Zofran (ondansetron), Cesamet, and Sancuso) will have quantity limits.

Visit http://www.shpnc.org/faq-pharm-antiemetic.html for more information.

Look Out, It's a Flash Mob

The Joel Lane House Museum in Raleigh is a carefully preserved testament to the man who was instrumental in creating much of the early history of this now-flourishing region of the country. But until recently, a key part of that history was lost to most of us. On March 23, a group of volunteers from the NCSU Libraries descended on the oldest house in Raleigh, and, in a decidedly non-traditional manner, "flash mobbed" the 232 books that the museum has collected but has never been able to make widely available in a systematic way to historians and to members of the community who are interested in the history of the colonial period.

The newly catalogued books include works on museum maintenance, antiques, colonial Americana, and the history of North Carolina and Raleigh. The collection includes a significant number of rare books and documents, including historical society newsletters and pamphlets and the original Lane family Bible.

Ropes Course Opens This Summer

Campus Recreation along with the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, and Physical Education has united to create the NCSU Challenge Course at Schenck Memorial Forest. Thanks to a generous donation from alumnus Jim Wall, owner of Cornerstone Designs Inc., and the hard work and dedication of Dr. Aram Attarian, the dream is finally a reality.

"This project is long overdue. The students, faculty and staff at NC State will benefit from this amazing project. Thanks to Jim Wall and his team, we've been able to add an element to our program that will take us to the next level," says Bill James, assistant director, Outdoor Adventures.

The course is located about 10 minutes from campus in a 245-acre forest used by the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources for research and teaching. Housing an eight-element high ropes course, this project can offer groups many different team building and leadership development options. Campus Recreation is offering half-day, full-day and multi-day programs focusing on experiential education and training designed to meet the group's needs. These programs help groups explore team dynamics, resulting in more positive interaction and increased productivity within the team.

Campus Recreation will begin offering programs this summer, including teambuilding initiatives and challenge course experiences for student organizations, as well as faculty and staff groups.

For more information or to schedule a leadership development session, contact Bill James at bill_james@ncsu.edu or 513-8126.

Lucia to Join Faculty at UFAM

Dr. Lucian Lucia, associate professor of biomaterials science in the Department of Wood and Paper Science, has been invited to join the doctorate of engineering faculty at Federal University of the Amazon (UFAM) in Brazil. Lucia has been collaborating with UFAM and his addition to its graduate faculty will further strengthen NC State's connection with UFAM. Lucia will continue his regular duties at NC State University.

State Employees Appreciated

Gov. Perdue has proclaimed the week of May 3-9 as "State Employee Recognition Week" and May 6 as "State Employee Appreciation Day." She urges all citizens, "to take this opportunity to join me in expressing to all state employees our appreciation for their commendable service."