LAKELAND, Fla. (Aug. 5, 2005) — Florida Southern College faculty members pursue extracurricular academic activities year-round, giving presentations, publishing articles, and attending conferences. The following is a summary of their recent and upcoming activities and recognitions.

Lawrence R. Burke, associate professor of music, was the featured soloist with the Colorado/Western State Brass Band on July 1. He performed the Rondo from Mozart’s Horn Concerto #3 on E flat tuba. Burke was also consulted on and quoted in a Lakeland Ledger story published June 19 about jazz great Nat Adderley. Burke was the first to approach Adderley about starting what became the annual “Child of the Sun” Jazz Festival at Florida Southern.

Dr. Lynn H. Clements, associate professor of accounting, traveled to Princeton University to join five other faculty members from around the country in revising the Major Field Test in Business. The exam is used by over 300 institutions as an assessment tool. Clements reviewed new questions for the exam to determine their level of difficulty.

Dr. John T. Crow, associate professor of English, appeared as an expert witness in a high-profile plagiarism case. He analyzed plagiarized and non-plagiarized portions of the text to determine a common authorship. Crow also attended the Assembly of Teachers of English Grammar held in Chicago July 13-16. He led a session for high school English teachers and presented a paper on “Grammar Pedagogy and Cognition: The Forgotten Dimension.”

Dr. James M. Denham, professor of history and director of the Center for Florida History, participated in “Swamp Cabbage: Cracker Culture in a Fast Food Nation,” a multi-disciplinary visual and culinary art work focusing on Florida Cracker culture as a metaphor for our disappearing connection to food and land. The project took place at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida and Food Culture Museum in Miami and included a color photography, video and sound exhibition by Miami artist Julia Lara Kahn on Florida Cracker culture.

Dr. Jose Manuel Garcia, assistant professor of Spanish, published a book titled “La Literatura Cubanoamericana y su Imagen” (Ediciones Universal 2004). The book studies the historical, cultural and literary experience of Cubans in the United States from the 18th century to the present, focusing on the works of Oscar Hijuelos, Christina Garcia and Elias Miguel Muñoz. In addition, Garcia presented a paper, “Autobiografia y Realidad en la Obra de Oscar Hijuelos,” which deals with some of the autobiographical elements found in Hijuelos’ novels, on July 31 at the Circulo de Cultura Panamericano XXV Congreso Cultural de Verano conference in Miami.

Dr. Carmen Gauthier, associate professor of chemistry, attended the First-year Undergraduate Chemistry Education International Conference at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign on May 22-25. She presented a paper on integrating a longer-term research project in a first-year chemistry course.

Dr. Luis A. Jimenez, professor of Spanish, presented the paper “Race and Nation in the Poetry of Cristina Rodriguez Cabral” at the 12th Annual Conference of Afro-Hispanic Literature in the Republic of Panama. This paper on the Afro-Uruguayan poet has been accepted for publication in the refereed journal Diaspora.

Dr. Mary Pharr, professor of English, was consulted for and quoted in the article “Our Hunt for Heros” appearing in the Denver Post on July 10. Pharr, whose expertise is in romanticism, speculative film and fiction, musicals and epics, commented on heroism in contemporary mythology.

Dr. Christopher H. Ramey, assistant professor of psychology, has published an article with E.G. Chrysikou on “The Scientific Denial of the Real and the Dialectic of Scientism and Humanism.” The article appears in American Psychologist, 60, 346-347.

Dr. Alan W. Smith, professor of religion, will participate in the 2005 Oxford Round Table at Lincoln College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, taking place August 7-12. Smith is one of fewer than 40 people from around the world invited to participate in this year’s event, which will address “Religion, Education, and the Role of Government.” Smith will present his paper, “Faith-Based Initiatives Meet the Public Schools: Florida’s ‘School Voucher’ Program and its Effects on Education, Faith, and Public Policy.” Established in 1989, the Oxford Round Table meets to discuss major issues in contemporary educational policy in the United States, England and other selected countries.

About Florida Southern College

Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 25 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors. Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.