A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

ACHIEVERS
Melinda Crowder, assistant director for assessment, Alicia Cohen, coordinator of leadership development, and Nicki Cantrell, associate director for student activities, presented "Student Leadership Outcomes: Connecting Experience to Learning through Assessment" at the annual Southern Association of College Student Affairs conference. The presenters discussed credit and non-credit leadership training programs and experiences offered through University Unions and Student Activities.
Outcomes related to personal management, job-skills development, appreciation for diversity and the application of these learned attributes in academic and post-graduate arenas were highlighted.
The Convention Liaison Council (CLC), which represents the Meeting and Exposition Industry, named Howard Feiertag to the CLC Hall of Leaders.
The CLC Hall of Leaders is the highest honor in the meetings industry. It recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the meetings industry including expositions, travel, and tourism. Feiertag was nominated by Meetings Professionals International, one of the 27 component organizations of CLC.
Feiertag is an instructor in the Virginia Tech Continuing Education Center. He will be honored at the Tenth Hall of Leaders Recognition Dinner on January 12, at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. A plaque in his name will be placed in the CLC Hall of Leaders at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center and at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Frank Imperatore, analytical chemist and manager of the university chemical-waste program in Environmental Health and Safety Services, recently presented a paper at the annual conference for the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association. The paper, titled A Hazardous Waste Contractor Turned University Chemical Waste Manager Discusses Strategies for a Successful and Compliant Hazardous Waste Shipment, was based on his over seven-plus years of experience as a hazardous-waste-disposal contractor. He has extensive knowledge and experience in lab packing, operations supervision, and technical-proposal preparation. He has participated in more than 100 projects for over 17 universities.
Donald Conner, safety engineer and manager of the university laboratory safety programs in Environmental Health and Safety Services, recently completed his certification with the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry and is a certified chemical hygiene officer. He passed the national exam and met all qualifications for education and experience.
E. Thomas Garman, fellow for the Center for Organizational and Technological Development (COTA), and professor in the department of Near Environments, has been elected a distinguished fellow by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE). The honor, which is designated to only 1 percent of the members, was awarded in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, at the AFCPE annual conference in November. Garman served AFCPE in a number of capacities over the years, including president.
Kathy Jones of the history department and Richard Rich, head of political science, were invited speakers to the faculty and administrators at St. Louis University on Teaching and Technology.
David Kingston, professor of chemistry, has been appointed a research associate of Missouri Botanical Garden. The appointment, which is honorary, was made in recognition of Kingston's continuing collaboration with MBG botanists on the discovery of anti-cancer agents and other medicinal compounds from plants. Kingston is the group leader of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Group that includes botanists from the garden as one of the cooperating groups. Kingston is the first chemist to be honored with such an appointment.
Frederic J. Baumgartner, professor of history, was named fellow of Early Modern Studies at the recent meeting of the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in Toronto. He was recognized for "significant contribution to the advancement of scholarship and learning." Baumgartner is the author of six books in early modern history, 17 articles and book chapters, and 89 book reviews. The honor also reflected Baumgartner's service to the conference as an officer and committee member.
Russell T. Jones, professor of psychology, recently received a small grant from the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. This grant will enable him and several of his students to travel to Volusia County and assess the impact of the wildfires on children and adolescents. These fires occurred over the summer. Jones has been studying the effects of such disasters as fires on children for several years. He and Thomas H. Ollendick, professor of psychology, previously received a $1.2-million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health to study the impact of residential fires on children and their families.
John M. Carroll, professor in computer science and director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction, participated in the Technical Program Committee Meeting for the Association for Computing Machinery's CHI'99 Conference in Pittsburgh. He served as an Associate Papers chair. Along with A.G. Sutcliffe of City University, London, Carroll published "Generalising claims and the reuse of HCI knowledge" in People and Computers XIII: Proceedings of HCI'98. Carroll also published "On an experimental evaluation of claim analysis" in, Behaviour and Information Technology and a review of Douglas Schuler's "New Community Networks: Wired for Change" in The Information Society.
Several members of the Department of Political Science faculty participated in the annual meeting of the Southern Political Association in Atlanta. John Aughenbaugh, instructor in political science and Ph.D. student at the Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP), and fellow CPAP Ph.D. student Kevin Long presented a paper titled "Does Outcome Follow Notion? Court-Directed Reform of Prisons." Karen Hult and Charles Walcott presented a paper titled "Speechwriting under Ford and Carter: The Demise of the Nixon Model?" Richard Shingles chaired a panel on Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity and presented a paper titled "Comparative Access to the American Dream? Voluntary Immigrants v. Colonized Minorities." Alissa Warters, teaching assistant in political science and M.A. student in history, presented a paper titled "Political Roles of Presidential Children: FDR to Clinton."
Three members of the Department of English attended the conference of the Society for Literature and Science in Gainesville, Fla. Peter Graham presented a paper titled "Frederick Treves and Surgical Reminiscence," and Bernice Hausman presented a paper titled "Educating Physicians: Ruth Lawrence's Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession and the `Psychologic Impact of Breastfeeding.'" Both papers were part of a panel called Cultural Studies of Medicine, which Hausman organized and chaired. Sue Hagedorn presented a paper entitled "Arguing for an American Genome: The Rhetorical Construction of the Human Genome Project" and also provided a poster session on millennial literature.
John Ballweg, professor of sociology, was invited by the U.S. Embassy-Manila to make a series of presentations at Philippine universities on the topic "The American Contribution to Philippine Education." The Philippines is celebrating the 100th anniversary of independence from Spain and the arrival of the United States in the Philippines.

Paul L. Angermeier, a fisheries and wildlife associate professor, provided technical assistance to the Virginia Museum of Natural History regarding fish biology, and also to a corporation, Biomonitioring, Inc., regarding Powell River fishes. Angermeier submitted a final report to the Virginia Department of Transportation on a survey of the fish fauna at the Dinwiddie County Route 619 Bridge in Hawkins Run. His manuscript titled "The Natural Imperative for Biological Conservation" was accepted for publication in Conservation Biology. Also, Angermeier reviewed a manuscript for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with on for BioScience.
Richard J. Neves, a fisheries and wildlife sciences professor, and several technicians traveled to the Clinch River to release endangered juvenile mussels. The event was covered by three local newspapers, a local television station and Virginia Tech's Media Services office. He also co-authored eight final reports to the Virginia Department of Transportation regarding surveys of freshwater mussel fauna at various locations state wide.
Neves, along with James A. Berkson, assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife sciences, submitted a proposal to the U.S. Geological Survey on species at risk.
Michael R. Vaughan, a fisheries and wildlife sciences professor, co-authored a report titled "Population Responses of Black Bears Following Oak Mortality Induced by Gypsy Moths" that was published in Ursus. He co-authored with two peers a report titled, "Black Bear Home Range Dynamics and Movement Patterns During a Gypsy Moth Infestation" that was published in Ursus. Vaughan also had a report published with five peers in Ursus regarding "A Comparative Bear Model for Immobility Induced Osteopenia."
Vaughan was joined by colleague Patrick F. Scanlon, professor of fisheries and wildlife sciences, and another peer in a report for Ursus entitled: "Split Parturition in a Black Bear."
He, along with colleague, Eric M. Hallerman, an associate professor in fisheries and wildlife sciences, and two peers co-authored a report for Ursus on the impact of re-introducing black bears from Minnesota into Louisiana and Arkansas.
Vaughan was the outside reviewer of the credentials of an Oklahoma State University faculty member who is being considered for a promotion. He has also continued to review manuscripts in his role as editor of the journal Ursus.
Randall R. Stith, associate director of University Relations, was recently elected chairperson of the executive committee of the Virginia Higher Education Broadcast Consortium. The consortium provides guidance to the state-wide public radio program "With Good Reason."
Steven C. Leist, coordinator of Leadership and Greek Life, participated in a panel discussion at the annual Virginia Association of Student Personnel Administrators conference. The conference was held in Wintergreen in November.
The panel discussed the recommendations of the attorney general in regards to Greek Life and Virginia Tech's response.