Fin-Tastic Vol. 9 - May to December 2023
The USCB faculty and staff research and scholarship newsletter.
Message from Dr. Al M. Panu, Chancellor
Welcome to the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s ocean teaming with achievements for Summer and Fall 2023, a coastal institution where bright energies unfold, and distinction thrives within our university family. As we reflect on the merits and accolades of our institution, it becomes evident that our collective dedication to student-centered engagements is the cornerstone of our success. With each faculty recognition comes a multiplying impact on student success, creating ripples that reverberate throughout our institution and beyond.
The following compilation celebrates the scholarly and professional achievements of faculty and staff members. Their diverse contributions encompass a wide array of disciplines, reflecting the university's commitment to excellence in education, research, and service. This collection not only highlights individual achievements but also reflects the collective commitment to academic excellence and community engagement that defines the ethos of USCB.
To our remarkable Fin-tastic Sand Sharks, we extend our sincerest gratitude for your tireless efforts in distinguishing our students and elevating our university's reputation. Your dedication and passion fuel our collective success, inspiring us to reach greater heights together.
Research, Scholarship & Intellectual Contributions
Barnes, Mollie, PhD
Associate Professor of English
Department of English, the Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
Published. “‘To Mold in Clay and Carve in Stone’: Sculptural and Political Form in Margaret Fuller’s Italian Dispatches.” ESQ: A Journal of Nineteenth-Century American Literature and Culture, volume 69, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1–37. Publication Link.
Published, with Theresa Burriss. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute Podcast Episode, “Transcendentalism and Social Reform: Activism and Community Engagement in the Age of Thoreau.” Spring 2023. Publication Link.
Presented. “First Impressions, Preserved and Erased: Reading Charlotte Forten and Laura Towne Next to One Another.” African-American Life Writing Collective Panel. American Literature Association Conference, Boston, MA. May 2023. Conference Link.
Presented. “Unsettling Modernist Poetry Pedagogy Roundtable.” Modernist Studies Association Conference. Brooklyn, NY. October 2023. Conference Link. (invited roundtable speaker)
Local Event Invited Speaker, with Jennifer Putzi. “The Reconstruction-Era Diary of Frances 'Frank' Rollin Whipper.” Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era (ISRE) Conversation. Beaufort, SC. December 2023.
Epstein, Sheldon
USCB Campus Police Officer
Department)of Public Safety
Developed. Involved in the development and passage of legislation that awarded a Line of Duty Death Benefit to First Responders in the State of South Carolina. Program Description Link.
Farrell, Carmen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Published. “Adapting Interteaching to a Hybrid Format: A Framework for Implementation.” Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence. Fall 2023. Publication Link.
Heiens, Richard, PhD
Professor of Marketing
Department of Business and Communications
Published, with Larry Pleshko (KIMEP University, Kazakhstan). “Using Direct Observation to Examine the Relationship Between Smoking and Consumption Patterns in a Middle Eastern Food Services Setting,” Anthropology of the Middle East. Publication Link.
Kelley, Kimberly, PhD
Director of Libraries and Professor
USCB Library
Awarded. Harvard Law School. Copyright X Certification. Award Link.
Kilgore, Robert, PhD
Associate Professor of English
Department of English, the Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
Published. “Stop Trying to Make Academia Great Again: The Necessity of Solidarity and Organizing to Make Better Futures for All of Us,” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, and Composition, 23.2 (2023): 235–47. Publication Link.
Presented. “On Not Remaining Respectful: Professionalization v. Labor Consciousness in the Teaching of College Writing.” Corridors: The Blue Ridge Writing and Rhetoric Conference. Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, September 2023. Conference Link.
Elected. 2023. At-Large Executive Committee member, South Carolina Conference of Chapters of the American Association of University Professors.
Awarded. 2023. Travel and lodging funds for “Early Modern Intersections in the American South,” Folger Institute and The University of Alabama. Tuscaloosa and Montgomery, AL.
Lahar, Cindy, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Published. Research article. “Relations between risk perception, perceptions of peers’ driving, and risky driving among Cambodian adolescents (2023, with B. Lim, H.M Dang & B. Weiss).” Frontiers in Psychology: Personality and Social Psychology, 14. Publication Link.
Fulbright-Hays Participant Selection. Awarded 2023-224 Fulbright-Hays Training Grant for Project SKALE–South Korea, $8,077. Award Link.
Malphrus, Ellen, PhD
Professor of English
Department of English, the Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
Awarded. The Pen: Grounded Issue. Rank of Distinguished in the 2023 NCTE Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) program. Fall 2023. REALM/NCTE Award Link.
Awarded. The Pen: Grounded and Flight Issues. First Place Award—2023 American Scholastic Press Association Annual Literary Journal Competition. Fall 2023. ASPA Award Link.
McCombs, Kelly, MS, RD, LD, CDCES
Senior Instructor & Sports Dietitian
Department of Public Health and Human Services & Athletic Department
Local Event Invited Speaker. “Performance Nutrition for Middle and High School Athletes” for middle and high school athletic coaches meeting. Bridges Preparatory School, Beaufort, SC. Fall 2023. Event Link.
Reviewer. Research and Presentation Abstracts for 2024 Annual Conference of the Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB). Fall 2023. Organization Link.
McCoy, Erin
Associate Professor of English & Interdisciplinary Studies
Department of English, the Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies
Published. “Attempted Reconciliation: The Role of Karl Marlantes in Burns & Novick’s 2017 Documentary The Vietnam War.” The Vietnam War: Un Analisis Historico Militar. Pp. 65-77. Ed. David Odalric de Caxial i Mata. SOTEC Editorial, ISBN: 978-84-17746-39-1. 202.
Guest Lecture. Masterclass on World War I, Istitutio Internacional de Estudios en Seguridad Global (INISEG, Madrid ES): “Narratives of World War I as Insights to Contemporary PTSD Depictions.” Recorded 15 September 2023. Recording Link.
Local Event Invited Speaker. Hilton Head Island Rotary Club, 30 Oct 2023. Event Link.
Presented. “De-Mining Buried War Crimes: UXO Workers in Viet Nam & Cambodia.” War, the Holocaust, and Human Rights Conference. Ackerman Center of UT-Dallas and the US Air Force Academy, October 11-13, 2023. Conference Link.
Presented. “‘Home – A Candle You Can Hold’: Yearning and Ideations of “Home” in US Refugee & Migrant Narratives" for RHome 2023: Representations of Home in Literatures and Cultures in English (Dis)locations: The Shifting Thematics of Home. University of Lisbon University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies, June 2023. Presented virtually via Zoom due to Covid-19 infection. Conference Link.
Messick, Kyle, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Fulbright-Hays Participant Selection. Awarded 2023-224 Fulbright-Hays Training Grant for Project SKALE–South Korea, $8,077. Award Link.
Montie, Eric, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology
Department of Natural Sciences
Awarded. Received the third year of funding ($100,000) for a five-year grant from the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) / Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) for The Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS) project. Award Link.
Awarded. Received a grant ($15,087) from the Port Royal Sound Foundation for the Bottlenose Dolphin Monitoring in the Port Royal Sound Area project. Award Link.
Published. Tribble, C., Monczak, A., Transue, L., Marian, A., Fair, P., Balmer, B., Ballenger, J., Baker, H., Weinpress-Galipeau, M., Robertson, A., Strand, A., Montie, E.W. (2023). “Enhancing interpretation of cetacean acoustic monitoring: investigating factors that influence vocalization patterns of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in an urbanized estuary, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, USA.” Aquatic Mammals, 49(6):519-549. Publication Link.
Local Event Invited Speaker. “Estuarine Soundscapes and the Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program.” Oldfield Club, Bluffton, SC. October 18, 2023.
Local Event Invited Speaker. “Estuarine Soundscapes and the Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program.” Colleton River Plantation, Bluffton, SC. November 14, 2023.
Nadeau, Angela, MA
Instructor of Psychology
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Fulbright-Hays Participant Selection. Awarded 2023-224 Fulbright-Hays Training Grant for Project SKALE–South Korea, $8,077. Award Link.
Panu, Al M., PhD
Professor of Chemistry and Chancellor
Awarded. The Excellence and Innovation Award for International Education for 2023-2024, with Babet Villena-Alvarez. American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) annual meeting. Chicago, Nov. 2023. Award and AASCU Link.
Reibel, Melody, PhD
Associate Professor of Nursing
Department of Nursing
Published. “Dual application of interactive whiteboard technology to develop students’ clinical judgment skills.” Teaching and Learning in Nursing, Fall 2023. Publication Link.
Presented. “Comparing Students’ Self-Assessments of Clinical Judgment to Peer Assessment in Simulation” [Podium presentation]. South Carolina Education Simulation Alliance Annual Conference, Summer 2023. Conference Link.
Sawyer, Caroline, PhD
Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Department of Business & Communication
Awarded. 2023 Telly Award, Silver, Television Series: Cultural – By The River. Award Link.
Awarded. 2023 Telly Award, Silver, Television Series: Education & Discovery – By The River. Award Link.
Awarded. 2023 Telly Award, Bronze, Television Show: General- Cultural – By The River - Anjali Enjeti. Award Link.
Awarded. 2023 Telly Award, Bronze, Television Show: General- D&I – By The River - Anjali Enjeti. Award Link.
Fulbright-Hays Participant Selection. Awarded 2023-224 Fulbright-Hays Training Grant for Project SKALE–South Korea, $8,077. Award Link.
Sidletsky, James, MFA
Assistant Professor of Media Arts
Department of English, the Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies
Presented. “Animating for my Humanity.” CASP, Collective of Animation Scholars and Practitioners Affiliate Session at SECAC (formerly the Southeastern College Art Conference). Richmond, VA. Fall 2023. October 11-14, 2023. Conference Link.
Skipper, Eric, PhD
Provost & EVCAA
Academic Affairs
Invited Panelist. “Continuing and Workforce Development.” South Carolina Association for Continuing Higher Education (SCACHE) Symposium. October 2023. ACHE 85th Annual Conference. Charleston, SC. Conference Link.
Smith, Emily, MM, MLS
Research and Instruction Librarian
USCB Library
Certification. Open Education Network (OEN), University of Minnesota. 2023 Certificate in Open Education Librarianship. Fall 2023. OEN Certificate Link.
Villena-Alvarez, Babet, PhD
Professor of French, Spanish & Global Studies
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Department of Humanities & Social Sciences
Awarded. The Excellence and Innovation Award for International Education for 2023-2024, with Chancellor Al M. Panu. American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) annual meeting. Chicago, Nov. 2023. Award and AASCU Link.
USCB Collaborations
Boniecki, Kelli, EdD - Adjunct Instructor - Department of Education)/TCL Early Care and Education Program Director
Smith, Emily, MM, MLS - Research and Instruction Librarian - USCB Library
Presented. 2023 Arizona Regional OER Conference. Remixing OER to Meet the Needs of the University 101 Student. March 3, 2023. OERizona Network Link.
USCB GRANTS-$3,749,337.00
Awarded May 2023 to December 2023
Angell, Joanna. SC Arts Commission, $11,865.00. USCB Emerging Artists 2023-2024 (Renewal).
Beachkofsky, Sarah. Town of Hilton Head Island, $238,985.00. Vision for the Future: A Collaboration between USCB and the Town of Hilton Head Island (Renewal).
Beachkofsky, Sarah. Town of Bluffton, $32,500.00. Bluffton Ambassador Program (Renewal).
Brugler, Mercer. University of Michigan/National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA)/NOAA, $25,593.00. Evaluating oyster reefs as habitat: Comparing the utility of ecological metrics to assess ecosystem function.
Brugler, Mercer. Office of the Vice President for Research, Support for Minority Advancement in Research Training (SMART), $1,000.00. Characterizing the biodiversity and anticoagulant repertoires of marine leeches in Port Royal Sound.
Brugler, Mercer. Office of the Vice President for Research, Support for Minority Advancement in Research Training (SMART), $1,000.00. Characterizing Oyster Reef Biodiversity using eDNA.
Cavanagh, Kimberly. SC Humanities/NEH, $12,617.00. From Mahrabouy to Barnwell Tabby: Unearthing the 250-Year Journey of One Hilton Head Island Building.
D'Antonio, Edward & Ritchie, Kimberly. Sea Islands Institute. $5,000.00. Rapid wound healing observed in the Great White Shark: Identification and molecular characterization of a key antibiotic produced from a symbiotic bacterium.
Dudas, Kimberly. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)/Health & Human Services, $1,000,000.00. USCB: Increasing Pre-Licensure Educational Capacity in the Lowcountry.
Elyaderani, Hadis. Office of the Vice President for Research, Support for Minority Advancement in Research Training (SMART), $1,000.00. Community Solutions to Increase Healthfulness of Grocery Stores: Perspectives from Immigrant Parents.
Epstein, Sheldon. SC Department of Public Safety (SC DPS), $11,403.00 (Renewal). 2024 Fiscal Year - South Carolina DPS Body Worn Cameras.
Erdei, Ron. Sea Islands Institute. $2810.00. USCB & The Children’s Center: Early Learning Application [Phase 3].
Gill, Diana. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)/HHS. $500,000.00 (Renewal). Public Health Scholarship Program.
Lahar, Cindy & Sawyer, Caroline; Cavanagh, Kimberly; Nadeau, Angela. Sea Islands Institute. $5,000.00. USCB Global Learning Experience (GLE) Project: Support for Capturing and Editing Asian Video Content.
Marlowe, Bruce. US Department of Education (USDE). $899,552.00 (Renewal). Melding Academics, Support, and Training of Educators for Higher Retention Yields (MASTERY).
Montie, Eric. NOAA/IOOS via Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA). $100,000.00 (Renewal). Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS).
Montie, Eric. Port Royal Sound Foundation $15,087.00 (Renewal). Bottlenose Dolphin Monitoring in the Port Royal Sound Area - Establishing a Flagship Program for the Port Royal Sound Foundation.
Pettay, Daniel. Town of Bluffton, $185,000.00 (Renewal). Town of Bluffton Water Quality MOU.
Pettay, Daniel. Port Royal Sound Foundation, $20,831.00. Maintaining a Long-term Environmental Monitoring Program in the Port Royal Sound Estuary.
Sawyer, Caroline. Office of the Vice President for Research. Support for Minority Advancement in Research Training (SMART). $1,000.00. Mather School Digital Walking Tour Sample.
Skipper, Eric. National Science Foundation (NSF), $549,219.00. NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing cyber security technologies for the maritime system (SC).
Villena-Alvarez, Juanita. US Department of Education (USDE) / Fulbright-Hays, $125,474.00. USCB South Korean and Asian Literacy Education (SKALE).
Villena-Alvarez, Juanita & Messick, Kyle; Morris, Sam. Sea Islands Institute. $4,920.00. The Lowcountry and Coastal Empire One-Day Conference on Asian Studies.
Total for the period (new & renewal): $3,749,337.00
Faculty Mentored Undergraduate Research
Hill, Kari (student). USC Office of Undergraduate Research, Magellan Scholar. $2,486. Assessing Dollar Store Food Environments in Alignment to Nutrition Support Programs in the Lowcountry. Mentor: Elyaderani, Hadis
O'Neil, Destiny (student). USC Office of Undergraduate Research, Magellan Scholar. $2,500. Biochemical and Biological Evaluation of Gossypol-based Analogues as Inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi Glucokinase. Mentor: D’Antonio, Edward
Zalapskaia, Tatiana (student). USC Office of Undergraduate Research, Magellan Scholar. $2,495. Implementing Selective Laser Sintering in Figurative Ceramic Sculpture. Mentor: Sidletsky, James
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