Virginia Wesleyan University will become Batten University on July 1, 2026.

FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES // February 2026

With his son Chris Lindvall, Terry Lindvall published the book chapter “He should have been called Yitzhak: Mel Brooks and the Pleasures of Parody” in Mel Brooks--Seriously!: Essays on the Films, Television Shows, and Standup (ed. Sue Matheson) (Lexington Books, 2025). In addition, Terry Lindvall's panegyric contribution to "The Incomparable Kreeft: An Intoxicating Gift of God" appeared in The New Oxford Review. Volume XCII Number 10 (December 2025).

The lead chapter of editor Michael Cundall's Sacred Laughter (Bloomsbury, 2006) features an article by VWU alumnus Christian Palmisano and Terry Lindvall on "Monastic Laughter: Eutrapelia, Hilaritas, and risus capax."



Kathy Merlock Jackson published a book review of "Ida Lupino: Forgotten Auteur" by Alexandra Seros in The Journal of American Culture, 48:4.

Kathy Merlock Jackson published an article titled "Nearsighted, Shortsighted, and Farsighted: Mister Magoos Christmas Carol (1962)" in a special Christmas issue of The Journal of American Culture, Dec. 2025, 48:4.

Kathy Merlock Jackson published a book review of Animating the Victorians: Disney's Literary History by Patrick C. Fleming in the Children's Literature Quarterly, 50:1.

April Christman and Benjamin Dobrin authored a research article, "The impact of a public health prevention model on college student mental health," published in the Journal of Public Mental Health in January 2026.

Kevin Kittredge and Felix Bevc published the article “Design of Nanomaterial-Based Sensors for Enhanced Halogen Bonding” in the journal ACS Omega with collaborators at the University of Richmond. These nanomaterial composite films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) further demonstrate their potential as rapid and sensitive field sensors for nonvolatile explosives such as RDX.

Sara Sewell published “Screams: Expressions of Fear Thundering in Holocaust Soundscapes," in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Eric Mazur's chapter “Hosti Gezeyn in Dayne Lebn?: Representations of Judaism in Television and Film,” has been published in Contemporary Religion, Television, and Film, a volume in the Handbook on Contemporary Religion series published by Brill. In addition, Mazur's entry “1972 Hebrew Nixon Presidential Campaign Button" - drawing from his personal collection of religion-themed US presidential campaign buttons - has been posted on the Fashioning Faith website (hosted by Wake Forest University).

Jennifer Slivka published an article titled, "'New Ireland' and the Domestic in Jennifer Johnston's Later Novels," in the first installment of a double special issue devoted to Irish women's genre fiction in the journal Literature, Interpretation, and Theory. It is available online.

Annika Quick had two papers published in a special Urban Streams issue of Freshwater Science in December 2025: “Spatial and temporal variation in dissolved organic matter in urban streams in metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts (USA)” and “Salting behaviors influence urban stream conductivity in Boston, Massachusetts (USA).”

Ben Haller published an invited post for the Society of Classical Studies Blog reviewing We Players' performance, titled “Odyssea, at the 2026 joint Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies and the Archaeological Institute of America.” 

Scott D. Miller's annual "Letter to Santa" was featured in The Virginian-Pilot on December 14, 2025. He also serves as executive editor of the President to President thought leadership series. The fifth and sixth chapters of the 2025-26 series, Intentional Efforts in Belonging, are now available online. In “The Wednesday Walk: Building a Better Community One Step at a Time,” Christopher Newport University President William G. Kelly explores how a simple campus tradition fosters casual conversation and genuine connection. In “Belonging Without Borders,” SUNY Oneonta President Alberto J.F. Cardelle, Ph.D., examines the importance of building positive relationships between campuses and their surrounding communities. President Miller shares daily reflections and leadership perspectives on his blog, Dialogue.

Taryn Myers served as a member of a panel entitled "Helpful crosstalk: Integrating clinical science perspectives in the eating disorders field" at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in New Orleans, LA.

Taryn Myers and student Nathan Price presented "You can’t win, so win: How athletes and non-athletes respond to images of professional athletes" at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies conference. Prince also presented two additional posters coauthored with Dr. Shantanu Tilak, adjunct professor and Director of Center for Educational Research and Technological Innovation at Chesapeake Bay Academy.

Sara Sewell presented "Listening to Emotions in Voice: A New Approach to Oral Testimony" at the Beyond Camps and Forced Labour Conference in London in January 2026, hosted by the University of London and the Wiener Holocaust Library.

Terry Lindvall presented two lectures at the Southern California C. S. Lewis Society Annual Conference: "Jack on Trial: The Case of Plaintiffs and Critics of C. S. Lewis" and "Jack in Love: The Many Loves of C. S. Lewis." He then got stuck in the Dallas airport for four days.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Students in Lisa Lyon Payne's MC 328 Public Relations course partnered with Girls on the Run to create and implement a semester-long campaign to boost awareness of and strengthen relationships between the nonprofit and the VWU community. Presentations to the client were held in The Marlin Chronicle newsroom.