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This is the last edition of ByLion of the year. ByLion will return Tuesday, January
20, 2015. Have a joyous holiday season.
Southeastern confers degrees on approximately 1,200
Southeastern conferred degrees on more than 1,200 graduates Saturday, Dec. 13, at
the university's fall commencement exercises.
At the ceremony held in the University Center, Southeastern honored one of Central
America's most influential business leaders with an honorary doctorate. Jose Barrios
Ng, who has led current efforts to modernize the Panama Canal, received the honorary
Doctor of Humanities Degree and addressed the graduates at the 10 a.m. ceremony in
the University Center.
A native of Panama City, Barrios is known for his vision in helping the canal
to remain the world's leading gateway for commerce through the investment of billions
of dollars in modernization efforts. He is currently president and chief executive
officer of ABCO Global, a consulting firm for maritime and supply chain management,
and was recently appointed by the president of Panama to serve as president of the
Board of Maritime Authority for the country.
Barrios has worked with Southeastern and its Hispanic Business Institute in developing
the Executive Commercial Mission to expand business relations between Louisiana and
Panama. He has facilitated the canal's support of the state's efforts to develop the
International Transfer Terminal that is expected to greatly enhance trade with Louisiana.
Barrios holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from LSU, as well as master's
degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and UCLA.
Candidates for associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees were honored.
In his welcome, President John L. Crain noted that the 1,217 individuals being
recognized at commencement included 426 men and 791 women who were receiving 13 different
degrees; and representatives from 18 states and 15 countries. Nine candidates received
the doctorate in educational leadership.
The university awarded its highest academic honor, the President's Medal for
Academic Excellence, to eight students with the highest cumulative grade point average
in the university's five colleges.
Medal recipients were:
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – criminal justice major Emily Lauren
Dykes of Kentwood, 3.952 GPA. College of Business – accounting major Hannah Christine Jones of Pearl River, 4.0
GPA; and Franklin Vazquez – accounting major of Baton Rouge, 4.0 GPA. College of Education and Human Development – middle school education major Theresa
Marie Kaaihue of Prairieville, 4.0 GPA. College of Nursing and Health Sciences – nursing major Aryn Michael Marchand of Prairieville,
4.0 GPA; nursing major Ryan Ashley Vermilyea of Mandeville, 4.0 GPA; and social work
major Fallon Frances Waguespack of Walker, 4.0 GPA. College of Science and Technology – computer science major Ranjan Poudel of Covington,
4.0 GPA.
PRESIDENT'S MEDAL WINNERS – Southeastern awarded its highest academic honor, the President's Medal for Academic Excellence, to eight students with the highest cumulative grade point average in the university's five colleges. Pictured front, from left, are Ranjan Poudel of Covington, Emily Lauren Dykes of Kentwood, Franklin Vazquez of Baton Rouge, and Hannah Christine Jones of Pearl River. Back row, from left, are Commencement Speaker Jose' Barrios Ng, President John L. Crain, Fallon Frances Waguespack of Walker, Aryn Michael Marchand of Prairieville, and Rep. Steve Pugh. Not pictured are Theresa Marie Kaaihue of Prairieville, and Ryan Ashley Vernilyea of Mandevllle.
Hyde announces new book on Civil War legacies
Southeastern Professor of History Samuel C. Hyde Jr. has announced the release of
his newly edited book The Enigmatic South: Toward Civil War and Its Legacies.
Published by Louisiana State University Press, the book includes 10 essays edited
by Hyde, who currently holds the Leon Ford Chair of History. Chapters were included
from Civil War authority and Pulitzer Prize winner James M. McPherson, the George
Henry Davis Professor of American History at Princeton University; LSU Professor of
History Gaines M. Foster; and George C. Rable, the Charles G. Summersell Chair in
Southern History at the University of Alabama. McPherson provides the forward for
the book, while chapters were written by other specialists in Civil War and Deep South
history.
"The authors are seeking to highlight some less revealed subjects that contributed
to the South's movement toward secession, the implications of the Civil War, and the
transformation of the South in its aftermath," explained Hyde, who is the director
of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeastern.
Topics covered in the book include the roles of religion and education in fomenting
secession sentiment, support for the South in the North during the war, and an article
that challenges the old belief that it was a "rich man's war, but a poor man's fight,"
Hyde said.
The book is intended to honor the retirement of LSU Boyd Professor of History
William J. Cooper Jr., Civil War historian and author of numerous works on the war
and the South.
"A fitting tribute to William J. Cooper Jr., one of the leading historians of
the 19th century South, these chapters exemplify the depth of research, clarity of
writing and rigor of analysis that we associate with the honoree," said John B. Boles,
William P. Hobby Professor of History at Rice University.
The book includes an afterword by LSU's Foster, an expression of appreciation
to Professor Cooper. It is available through the web site lsupress.org.
Southeastern students receive training through partnership with North Oaks Health
System
Southeastern students are reaping the rewards of a program in partnership with North
Oaks Health System. The students, as well as other area health care workers, are gaining
valuable experience through the Health Transition Alliance program at North Oaks,
where they are being prepared to work as health coaches.
As part of the program, Southeastern students are being trained to provide follow-up
consultation with patients after they are discharged with the intent of reducing the
number of patient re-admissions to the hospital. They ensure that the patients are
following physicians' instructions for home care, including taking medications, following
a prescribed diet, using appropriate therapies and scheduling follow-up visits with
their physicians.
According to Ralph Wood, professor of health education and promotion, Southeastern
is thought to be the only university in Louisiana providing this level of training
to undergraduate students.
The Health Transition Alliance program trains the health coaches to work with
diagnoses of heart attack, chronic obstructive lung disease, congestive heart failure
and pneumonia. The program is funded by a three-year $351,989 grant from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Under Wood's guidance, Southeastern students enrolled in the Internship in Health
Education and Promotion course are currently participating in the training opportunity.
Students who are enrolled next semester in internships in exercise science, fitness,
or sports management will have the same opportunity to participate in the program.
"This internship has offered a wide variety of experience," said Bobijo Bode,
a health education and promotion senior from Covington. "We have had the opportunity
to view health care from the perspective of nurse, social worker, health coach and
patient, both in the hospital setting and in the patient's home."
"This internship opportunity is just another example of Southeastern setting
the curve of innovative partnerships and training opportunities for our students,"
Wood said. "Students will learn the process of health coaching, as well as receive
substantial training in motivational interviewing."
Recent communication grads win Top Paper recognition at national conference
Four recent graduates of Southeastern's organizational communication master's program
have been recognized with the Top Paper Award for a presentation made at the annual
conference of the National Communication Association held in Chicago.
The students, Mallory Lindsly and Megan Caldwell of Metairie, Piyawan Charoensap
of Mandeville, Lauren Broussard of LaPlace, all earned their master's degree program
last May. Theirs was one of four papers selected out of nearly 70 to be presented
in the Training and Development Division of the NCA, the largest association of communication
professionals in the United States.
"We are extremely proud of the research and writing that our students did in
preparing this paper," said Associate Professor of Communication Claire Procopio,
who accompanied the team to the association meeting. "These students trumped professors
and established scholars to earn this honor."
The paper, "Evaluation of a Soft Skills Training Program," was prepared as part
of the requirements for their course in research methods, said Procopio.
"The students evaluated the effectiveness of a soft skills, face-to-face employee
training program as opposed to one offered online a large area hospital," she explained.
"They looked at the effectiveness of each form of training on the degree of learning,
behavioral change and willingness to learn."
Procopio said results of the study showed that neither the willingness to learn
nor method of delivery affected degree of comprehension by the participants.
"However both had major effects on the reported behavior change by the participants,
with the People Style Model Training Method of training appearing to be more effective
in teaching employees how to 'flex' their personal style and to improve their relationships
with others. The research by these students suggests various implications and directions
for future study."
COMMUNICATION GRADS TAKE TOP HONOR – Four recent graduates of Southeastern's organizational communication master's degree program won the Top Paper Award at the National Communication Association held recently in Chicago. Pictured are, from left, Mallory Lindsly and Megan Caldwell of Metairie, Associate Professor of Communication Claire Procopio, Piyawan Charoensap of Mandeville, and Lauren Broussard of LaPlace.
REC Sports and Wellness to host Christmas Camp
Rec Sports and Wellness is hosting a Christmas Camp for kids ages 5-12. Scheduled
on Dec. 22 and 23, the camp will take place in the Pennington Student Activity Center,
located at 1350 N. General Pershing St., from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day.
The camp includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, physical activity, Christmas decorations,
Christmas craft and more.
The cost to attend is $35 per child each day and $25 per additional child per
family. There must be a minimum of 20 children registered for the program to make.
Registration deadline is Friday, Dec. 19. Email RECSports@southeastern.edu or
call 549-5591 to register.
Southeastern in the news
Hammond Daily Star
Ramping up
http://www.hammondstar.com/news/ramping-up/article_a9b9f42a-80d5-11e4-9e33-73044f536eb8.html Degrees conferred on 1200
http://www.hammondstar.com/news/degrees-conferred-on-more-than/article_db15f556-8318-11e4-aabd-c3e2f5c91744.html
Welders in demand
http://www.hammondstar.com/news/welders-in-demand/article_0fcb655a-8324-11e4-97b5-7b743214e929.html
N.O. Times Picayune Southeastern receives $10,000 traffic enforcement grant
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2014/12/southeastern_louisiana_univers_2.html
This Week in Athletics
The Southeastern men's and women's basketball teams will continue non-conference play
during this week in Southeastern Athletics.
The Lions (2-7) will open the week on the road, traveling to UTEP for an 8 p.m.
contest on Tuesday. On Friday, SLU will return home to host Winthrop at 7 p.m. in
the University Center.
The Lady Lions (3-6) will also be at home this week. SLU hosts Florida A&M on
Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest. Sophomore guard Bre' Warren will be Saturday's Spotlight
Player of the Game and the first 100 fans will receive a trading card featuring the
Slidell, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.
All three of this week's games will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on
KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net. LionVision subscribers will be able to access a live video stream of Friday and
Saturday's games.
Tuesday, December 16 Men's Basketball, at UTEP, El Paso, Texas, 8 p.m. (KSLU)
Friday, December 19 Men's Basketball, vs. Winthrop, University Center, 7 p.m. (KSLU) (LionVision)
Saturday, December 20 Women's Basketball, vs. Florida A&M, University Center, 2 p.m. (KSLU) (LionVision)
- Bre' Warren – Spotlight Player of the Game
Southeastern home events in bold
Professional activities
Dr. Robert Martin (Sociology and Criminal Justice) co-authored the article "Ensuring Liberties: Understanding
State Restrictions on Religious Freedoms." It is being published this month in the
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
Lusine Nahapetyan (Kinesiology and Health Studies) has co-authored two papers with researchers in the
University of Georgia. "Marijuana Use from Middle to High School: Co-occurring Problem
Behaviors, Teacher-rated Academic Skills and Sixth-Grade Predictors" was published
in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence with H. Ehrenreich. "Gender Differences in Trajectories of Relational Aggression
Perpetration and Victimization from Middle to High School" was published with P. Orpinas
and C. McNicholas, in Aggressive Behavior. This article was first featured in a University of Georgia press release (http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/uga-study-mean-boys-not-mean-girls-rule-at-school-1214/), after which it received extensive media coverage and was featured in the New York
Times opinion pages, CBS news, Daily Mail and multiple social media sites such as
Buzzfeed.
Dr. Luanne Billingsley (School of Nursing) and Dr. David Wyld (College of Business) collaborated on a recent article titled "How Does Radio Frequency
Identification Technology Impact Nursing Practice?" The article was published in the
December issue of The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (JCEN). Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can save nurses time, improve
quality of care, enhance patient and staff safety, and decrease costs. However without
a better understanding of these systems and their benefits to patients and hospitals,
nurses may be slower to recommend, implement, or adopt them into practice. The purpose
of this article was to increase awareness of RFID and its potential uses and benefits
for nurses.
Angela Dunnington (Library) received a Large Project Proposal Student Technology Fee grant in the amount
of $13,445 to sustain the laptop loan program at Sims Library. The grant funding will
provide 10 laptop computers with wireless capability and a multi-bay battery-charging
unit to circulate new devices to students.
Seven faculty members and 19 graduate and undergraduate students from the CSD program in the HHS department recently presented the following papers in November at the 2014 Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Orlando, Fla.
Otto Mazzoni, Nina Simmons-Mackie, Roxanne Stoehr, "For the Sake of Naturalness: A Novel Application of PACE Scoring to One-on-One
Conversation Therapy."Lillian Stiegler, Mazzoni, "Virtual Field Trip: Bringing a Unique Clinical Environment into the University
Classroom."Ashley Meaux, Meghan Savage, "Interactive Syllabi: How Interactive Are They?" Lauren Schembre Maestri, Savage, "Comparing the Effects of Two Types of Aphasia Therapy on Impairment-Based Tasks."Jacqueline Guendouzi, Savage, "Cultural and Clinical Competency in the Case of Changing Parameters of Selfhood
in Dementia." Danelle Blue, Stoehr, "Pragmatic Articulation Carryover: A Holistic Therapeutic Approach for a Unique
Case."Meaux, "SLPs and the CCSS in Early Elementary Language-Literacy Instruction."Meaux, "Using RTI to Appropriately Identify Speech & Language Disorders in Schools: From
Teachers to SLPs."Stiegler, "Dignifying the Art of Practice by Speech and Language Clients."Donna Thomas, "Common Core, Collaboration, Language & Literacy."Paula Currie, "Using Journal Clubs to Facilitate Interprofessional Collaboration & Interprofessional
Professional Behaviors Across Curricula & Practice."Simmons-Mackie, "Living with Aphasia: Framework for Outcome Measurement (A-FROM)."Simmons-Mackie, "A conceptualization of the formal assessment process within a biopsychosocial framework
of aphasia rehabilitation."Simmons-Mackie, "A set of measures related to supported conversation with adults with aphasia (SCA)."
ByLion is published weekly online (bi-weekly during the summer session) for the faculty and staff of Southeastern Louisiana University. Send submissions to publicinfo@southeastern.edu, SLU 10880, fax 985-549-2061, or bring to University Marketing and Communications Office in East Stadium. Submission deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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