Ph.D. graduate Darkus Jenkins and Dr. Zerihun Assefa (pictured), professor of chemistry, have published a peer reviewed journal article, “2-(diphenylphosphino)-1-methyl-1H-benzo[d] imidazolephosphine.” The manuscript is published in the August issue of Acta Crystallographica Section E (2013, E69, o1364).

Dr. Ceola Ross Baber, professor of leadership studies, is the N.C. A&T project administrator and co-principal investigator for the Health Equity Collaborative Evaluation Planning Program (HECEPP), a partnership project with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. A&T’s $30, 0123 subcontract with UNC-Chapel Hill is funded through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Community Transformation Grant.
 
In addition, Baber and Dr. Sheila T. Robinson have co-authored “Putting Herself on the Line: African American Female Teacher Leaders as Exemplars of Social Justice Leadership,” which was published in The New Educator (Vol. 9, No. 3).

Dr. Linda Florence Callahan, professor of journalism and mass communication, was a panelist at the national conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, D.C., last month. The panel addressed “Insiders’ Guide to the Academy: Understanding Tenure, Academic Freedom and Faculty Governance.”

An article by Dr. Paula E. Faulkner, assistant professor in the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience, appears in the June issue of Fulbright Association News (Vol. 1, No. 5). “First A&T student from a North Carolina historically black college gets a Fulbright”—about recent graduate Emmanuel Johnson, the Office of International Programs and The Honors Program at N.C. A&T—appears in the Diversity Corner section of the newsletter. As a result, Faulkner has been working with Fulbright’s Washington, D.C., office on diversity initiatives in North Carolina. She also serves as a board member for the N.C. Fulbright Alumni Association and is a member of the university’s Fulbright committee.

Dr. Edward B.Fort, professor and chancellor emeritus, edited “Survival of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Making it Happen (The Africana Experience and Critical Leadership Studies),” a book that “serves as a ‘think piece’ for those concerned about the future of HBCUs” as well as “a guide for those who need enlightenment on the status of these institutions ….” Fort authored the preface, introduction and three chapters—“For HBCUs: The Real Challenge,” “The Difference Is Leadership” and “On-Campus Diversity and Its Challenge”—and the conclusion. The book is part of The Africana Experience and Critical Leadership Studies series edited by A&T professors Dr. Abul Pitre and Dr. Comfort Okpala. It is published by Lexington Books.

Louis Judge III, director of technology transfer, has been named Outstanding MBA of the Year by the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). The award recognizes an association member for, among other things, developing future leaders in the community and in the organization. Judge, who earned his MBA and Six Sigma Black Belt certification from Winston-Salem State University, is the founding president of the organization’s Piedmont Triad chapter and founder of the North Carolina NBMBAA mini-conference.

Dr. Cathy Kea, professor of special education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, was the invited speaker at the Program Improvement Data-Based Problem Solving Comeback Session sponsored by the Monarch Center at the University of Illinois on Sept. 6. Her presentation, "Looking Back to Move Forward: Data-based Decisions in Culturally Responsive Teaching," demonstrated how teacher educators can use data-based problem-solving models and program data to determine their program’s strengths and possibilities.

Dr. Luba Kurkalova, professor in the Department of Economics and the Department of Energy and Environmental Systems, and Dr. Tara Wade, post-doctoral researcher with the Department of Economics, attended the United States Department of Agriculture/Economic Research Service’s (USDA/ERS) Agricultural Markets for Ecosystem Services workshop on Aug. 8 to make the invited presentation, “Estimation of discrete choice models with aggregate data: an application to the adoption of conservation tillage.” The study is coauthored by T. Wade, L. Kurkalova and S. Secchi, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Godfrey A. Uzochukwu, professor and director of Interdisciplinary Waste Management Institute, has been appointed to serve on the City of Greensboro's Solid Waste Management Commission, effective Aug. 5. The commission is charged with reviewing and developing recommendations for long-term sustainable waste management, waste reduction and recycling options.

In addition, Uzochukwu has been appointed to serve on the Cape Fear River Assembly Executive Board of Directors. The Cape Fear River Assembly is the largest and most industrialized river system in North Carolina and has tributaries in 29 of 100 counties. The Cape Fear River Basin extends from the headwaters of North Greensboro to the river's’ mouth in Southport. Twenty-seven percent of North Carolina's population live within the Cape Fear River Basin.