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

FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES // November 2025

Kellie Holzer published a review of "Asian Classics on the Victorian Bookshelf: Flights of Translation," by Alexander Bubb in Victorian Review, vol. 50 no. 2, 2024, p. 306-309.

Mindy Gumpert co-authored "Supporting early childhood educators' use of evidence-

based practices: An eCoaching mentor model," published in Intervention in School and

Clinic in October 2025. The eCoaching mentor model was developed by the authors

during their work on an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grant. Their hope is the

model will eventually become an evidence-based practice for educators.

Kathy Merlock Jackson published a book review of "Where the Wild Things Were:

Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America" by Henry Jenkins in The

Journal of American Culture, 48:4.

President Scott D. Miller serves as executive editor of President to President. Chapters One, Two and Three of the 2025-26 series, “Intentional Efforts in Belonging,” are now available. In the November issue of The President’s Letter, President Miller captures the engagement and energy building across the campus community as VWU moves toward its historic transition to Batten University. Read more about the importance of investing in nontraditional students in the October issue of Enrollment Manager. President Miller also shares daily reflections and leadership perspectives on his blog, Dialogue.

Rebecca John presented her project on "Strategic Partnerships for Literacy Instruction" at the Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education in Williamsburg, VA. The presentation described the development and outcomes of a course experience taking Elementary and Special Education candidates to Diamond Springs Elementary to apply early literacy instructional methods learned in EDUC 320.

Kathy Stolley presented “You lived under the water, but I love you so much: Fish Funerals in Popular Culture” at the Northeast Popular and American Culture Association Virtual Conference. The presentation invited the audience to consider how animal-related grief and memorialization might encourage us to think more about the circumstances, lives, and value of ALL animals, including the human animal. Dr. Stolley also presented a workshop on "Applied Animals: Engaging Students Through Animal-Related Content," at the annual meeting of the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology in St. Louis, MO. Denise Wilkinson co-authored the project.

Lisa Lyon Payne, with two co-authors, wrote "Standing on the Shoulders: Student Journalists at HBCUs Carry Legacy of Their Craft and Their Institutions." The paper, presented at MediaFest25 in Washington D.C., examines the health of HBCU student media based on in-depth interviews through the lens of institutional theory. She was joined at the conference by seven Marlin Chronicle editors.

Kellie Holzer gave a presentation on "Cornelia Sorabji and 'The Parsi Girl of the Period'" at the annual Victorian Interdisciplinary Studies Association of the Western U.S. (VISAWUS) conference at St. Louis University in St. Louis, MO. Kellie Holzer also presented "Cornelia Sorabji's Contribution to Parsi Literature" at the conference.

April Christman and Benjamin Dobrin delivered the workshop, "Fostering Community Well-being: A Scholar-Activist Approach to Police-Mental Health Partnerships," at the 2025 Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology Conference. This workshop, grounded in the principles of scholar-activism, addressed the critical gap in mental health training for law enforcement, who are often first responders to mental health emergencies. Christman also developed and led a training program, "Navigating Professional Boundaries in Social Work," for staff at the Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation. This initiative aimed to strengthen ethical social work practices within agencies serving clients experiencing chronic homelessness and housing instability.

OTHER

Travis Malone and Trey DelPo represented the Theatre Department at the Virginia Theatre Association's annual conference. In addition to working with 70 high school seniors, Trey adjudicated the Production Design showcase. Travis served as a judge for the High School Theatre Festival performances.

Sally Shedd appeared onstage as Soccer Mom in the VWU production of The Wolves under the direction of Trey DelPo. The Wolves, written by Sarah DeLappe, premiered off Broadway in 2016 and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play centers on the experiences of high school girls through their weekly Saturday morning pre-game soccer warm-ups.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Students in Mindy Gumpert's Curriculum and Instruction class participated in the NAS Oceana Air Show STEM Lab. Students taught STEM lessons that included marshmallow catapults, paper airplanes, and foam rocket launchers to approximately 6,300 Chesapeake and Virginia Beach Public School 5th graders. Students aligned their lessons to the SOLs and impressed both teachers and students with their interactive activities.

Students in Jill Sturts' SRM 345 course partnered with the Neptune Festival to set up, staff, and tear down two water stops for the Neptune Festival 8K race on September 27. These students recruited . Lauren Stephens' REC 101 students as volunteers, and together they handed out water and cheered on more than 450 walkers and runners on the course.