SPCS alumni, faculty & staff recognized in Spider Insider, UR faculty & staff publication
We’re pleased to share that a number of SPCS faculty and staff, along with UR employees who are are also SPCS graduates, are recognized in the fall 2019 edition of Spider Insider, the campus-wide publication for faculty and staff at the University of Richmond.
Recent Graduates
A number of UR employees earned degrees and academic certificates from SPCS, awarded during Commencement Exercises on May 11, 2019.
- Ashley Bentley, GC’19, Master of Liberal Arts
- Matthew Brock, C’19, Certificate in Applied Studies
- Amy Gallagher, GC’19, Master of Human Resource Management
- Meriwether Gilmore, GC’19, Master of Liberal Arts
- Jon Gunter, GC’19, Master of Liberal Arts
- Allison Olivia Johnson, C’19, Certified in Applied Studies
- Paul Just, C’19, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
- Matt Lee, C’19, Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies
- Malorie Olivier, GC’19, Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management
- Chris O’Neil, GC’19, Master of Nonprofit Studies
- Richard Thomas, C’19, Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies
- Anna Kay Travis, C’09, C’19, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
- Maya Vincelli, C’19, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
- Josh Wroniewicz, GC’19, Master of Human Resource Management
Alumni
Sunni Brown, GC’18, won first place in the Virginia Professional Communicators’ communications contest in the News or Feature Release category for “Bees saved from tornado-downed tree.” She also placed first in the Media Pitch category for “Andy Spalding on the Olympics.”
Faculty & Instructors
Dr. Matthew Edinger, adjunct professor of education, co-published “Improving Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Role of Social Capital, Teacher Efficacy, and Support” in the Journal of Psychology.
Dr. Lauranett Lee, adjunct assistant professor of liberal arts in SPCS and visiting lecturer of leadership studies, was named a charter members of the St. John’s Church Foundation Leadership Council.
Justin Madron, GIS professional certificate instructional team member in SPCS, was among recipients of a grant from the Rockefeller Archive Center for “Mapping the Foundations: US Philanthropy in a Cold War World, 1947-1991.” The project also received an internal grant from the Office of the Provost.
Dr. Eugene Marurakis, R’74, G’76, adjunct professor of liberal arts in SPCS and visiting research scientist, was awarded funding from the Virginia Academy of Science for his research project, “Testing the General Public’s Knowledge and Attitudes of Nest-building Fishes in Virginia.”
Dr. Dave Myers, adjunct associate professor of education, was named assistant superintendent of data for the Virginia Department of Education.
Dr. Erik Nielson, associate professor of liberal arts and assistant chair of MLA, joined rappers, industry leaders and other scholars in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Jamal Knox v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Knox was convicted of using terroristic threats and witness intimidation, based largely on his rap lyrics.
Dr. Bob Spires, assistant professor of education, is featured in the Spider Insider cover article for co-leading a unique study abroad opportunity through the Office of International Education’s EnCompass program. Earlier in the year, he also co-presented “An Exploratory Case Study on Rural Cambodian Border Youth” at the Comparative & International Education Society’s Education for Sustainability Conference in San Francisco. He also served on a panel at the Atlanta Global Studies Symposium at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Ellen Walk, former associate dean and assistant professor of information systems, retired from SPCS after 21 years of service.
Staff
Dr. Daniel Hocutt, R’92, G’98, web manager and adjunct professor of liberal arts in SPCS, presented “UX Studies of Complex Websites: Proposing Methods for Studying Posthuman UX” at the 2019 Symposium for COmmunication Complex Information in Shreveport, Louisiana. He also presented research on holding digital search algorithms accountable at the annual conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing in Pittsburgh.
Stacy Hull, program coordinator for Partners in the Arts, was hired in late spring 2019.
Mary Catherine Raymond, C’18, senior program manager in SPCS, presented “Professional Development and Personal Enrichment Programming for Au Pairs Living in the U.S.” at the ninth annual Continuing Education Training Institute in Nashville.
Nell Smith, program coordinator for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, was hired in spring 2019.