FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES // September 2025

Clair Berube has a new book called STEM and the City: A Report on STEM Education in the Great American Urban Public School System: 2nd edition, written with co-author Sue Anne McKinney; Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, England.

Ben Haller's book chapter on Book 10 of The Oxford Critical Guide to Homer’s Odyssey edited by Joel Christensen. Oxford: Oxford University Press is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com

Ben Hallers's article on "Landscape" now appears in the De Gruyter Greek and Roman Humanities Encyclopedia edited by Silvio Friedrich Bär. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Tyler A. Lehrer published a blog post, "Tyler: Historian Leading with Asian & European Languages," with reflections, experiences, and advice for learning foreign languages, on behalf of the Language Connects Foundation.

Annika Quick contributed to "Overcoming challenges in mapping urban hydrography and heterogeneity in urban landscapes," published in Hydrological Processes in June 2025; and "Integrating Nature-based Solutions for Urban Water Security in Global South," published in PLOS Water in August 2025.

Once Upon a Toy: Essays on the Interplay Between Stories and Playthings, edited by Kathy Merlock Jackson and Mark I. West, has been published. The collection includes her essay "Broken Toys and What They Mean: A Media Analysis." It reached #2 on Amazon's Hot New Releases in the category of Children's Literary Criticism and #3 in the category of Children's Studies, and it cracked Amazon's top 100 bestsellers in the field of Children's Literary Studies (not just new releases). This is her fourteenth book.

Kathy Merlock Jackson also published a book review of Digital Girlhoods by Katherine A. Phelps in The Journal of American Culture, 48:3. Additionally, she provided the lead promotional blurb on the back cover of Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption by Jenny Banh (Rutgers University Press, 2025)

Finally, Kathy Merlock Jackson published All I wanna do is go the distance: Essays on the Rocky Franchise and Its Enduring Cultural Impact, co-edited with Philip Simpson; it includes her essay, “And the winner is Rocky: The Disputed Champion for the Academy Awards Best Picture of 1976.” Kathy's fifteenth book commemorates the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the classic sports film.

Sara Sewell's article “Sounds of Suffering on Deportation Trains” was published by Music and the Holocaust, World ORT: Impact Through Education in June 2025.

Laynee Timlin's feature article on Virginia Beach-based LifeNet Health, "Stories of Hope and Healing," is published in the September/October 2025 issue of Coastal Virginia Magazine. VWU alumnus and member of the Board of Trustees Doug Wilson was interviewed for the story.

Victor Townsend co-published the article "A SEM-based survey of the impact of infestation by parasitic freshwater mussel glochidia upon the gill morphology of two species of salmonid fish," with Dr. Sebastian Rock (son of Professor Emeritus Philip Rock), in Parasitology International. The article is the 24th published paper featuring the VWU SEM lab and Dr. Townsend's 81st publication.

President Scott D. Miller released the 2025 State of the University report; a snapshot of a remarkable year— one shaped by the hard work and dedication of trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners. His most recent opinion piece, "Becoming Batten University is a vision realized," was featured in The Virginian-Pilot. He serves as executive editor of President to President, and the foreword and the first chapter of the 2025-26 series, “Intentional Efforts in Belonging,” is now available. President Miller also shares daily reflections and leadership perspectives on his blog, "Dialogue."

April Christman developed and led a training, "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 the community.

Travis Malone was a featured storyteller at WHRO and the Emerging Leaders' Story Exchange at Zeider's American Dream Theatre in Virginia Beach. He was one of 11 storytellers in the final exchange of the year. The 3-part story exchange series will be a part of WHRO's CURATE series later in the year.

Kevin Kittredge presented a poster entitled “Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS),” at the Virginia Drug Discovery Consortium in Newport News, VA.

Tyler A. Lehrer presented a paper, "Dangerous Friendships, Contested Histories: Religious Conspiracy in 18th century Kandy," for the Authenticity in History and Historiography workshop at the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Abe Nemon delivered a presentation titled, "Genre-Style Pedagogy: Sustaining Information Literacy for Gen Z Beyond the Academy," at The Innovative Library Classroom (TILC) 2025 conference at the College of William and Mary. Genre-style pedagogy (GSP) teaches students to identify generic discourse in modern media forms like generative AI and stage "stylistic interventions" using creativity and critical thinking.

OTHER

April Christman completed a continuing education course, "ChatGPT and AI for Social Workers and Mental Health Professionals," to enhance instruction on how to integrate AI technology in ethical social work practice. April also completed the National Association of Social Worker's continuing education course, "The Future is Here: Ethical What If's of Artificial Intelligence," to inform course curriculum on ethical AI practices in social work.

In addition to teaching in-water skills at this year's Swiftwater Rescue Training course at The VA Rescue College in Blacksburg, VA, Benjamin Dobrin taught "Medical Considerations in Water Rescue" and was made the co-chair of the Swifter Rescue Section of Rescue College.

Tyler A. Lehrer—conducting research in Sri Lanka and Thailand this summer for a book project—presented a (remote) lecture for the South Asia Summer Language Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison titled, "Friendship, Danger, and the Dutch Company: Buddhist Maritime Diplomacy in the 18th C. Bay of Bengal.”

Levi Tenen (aka 89.1 LEVI) performed a live DJ set at The NorVa in downtown Norfolk for the Pride Block Party, an annual event organized by Hampton Roads Pride to celebrate LGBTQ+ culture. Tenen's set featured late-90's House blended with Pop remixes and iconic sounds of the queer underground. A recording will be available on his YouTube page.

Lauren Stephens was elected to a 5-year term as co-editor of the journal SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education.

The Hampton Roads Local Section of the American Chemical Society received the 2025 ChemLuminary Awards for Best Activity or Program Stimulating Member Involvement & Local Section Partnership/Marinda Li Wu Award. Kevin Kittredge is the treasurer for the section and was present to accept the awards at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

GRANTS

Mindy Gumpert and Bill McConnell led professional development for teachers from three independent schools and Isle of Wight third grade general, special education, and gifted teachers through their three-year NOAA environmental education grant. Educators enjoyed hands-on lessons and a collaborative "Community of Practice" focused on enhancing curriculum accessibility, fostering meaningful connections, and promoting inclusive environmental learning experiences for all students.

The local Hampton Roads Section of the American Chemical Society was awarded a Project SEED grant for 2025-2029. Project SEED was initiated by the ACS in 1968 to provide hands-on summer research experiences to High School students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds. Kevin Kittredge supervised three students this past summer.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Elizabeth Malcolm and five students developed and led hands on activities about the urban heat island to over 140 Manor High School students in Portsmouth, VA.