Recognizing Graduating Seniors: Mackenzie Slater

 

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‘Mackenzie states that she “may have not known what I was doing sometimes in my life while at Roanoke College,” but whatever it was “tried my best to do very well.”  She likes the quote from Abraham Lincoln:  “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Post-Graduation Plans:  Mackenzie plans to attend VCU’s MSW program for the Fall of 2015.   She wants to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and work within a hospital or VA setting.

Relevant Information:  Mackenzie finished Roanoke as a Psychology major and a Spanish minor.   She is a member of the following Chi Omega Fraternity, Psi Chi, Xi Theta Chi, and Sigma Delta Pi.’

 

Congratulations Mackenzie!

Congratulations Dr. Early on your coming retirement!

chuck and pie

 

Congratulations Dr. Early on your retirement! We will all miss you greatly!

The following is the resolution read at the last faculty meeting for Dr. Charles Early:

We the members of the faculty, staff and Trustees of Roanoke College rise to give tribute to and offer the following resolution honoring Dr. Charles Edgar Early, Professor of Psychology, for his long and distinguished service of 27 years to the Department of Psychology, to thousands of his students and to the entire Roanoke
College community.

Whereas, seeing little usefulness in dropping nuclear weapons on our foes, Chuck wisely decided that using psychology to communicate with the enemy and feeling their pain would be a better approach. Thus, he resigned from the Air Force and
began to pursue graduate studies in psychology. It is wise to remember he served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force as a ground traffic controller of fighter jets and also maintained nuclear targeting dossiers on the locations of various Soviet Generals,
and he earned his black belt in Tae Kwan Do style karate in Korea therefore it may be best we not get on the black-list he might still maintain.

Whereas, Chuck earned many academic degrees culminating in a Ph.D. from Penn State and attended the Air Command Intelligence School twice, we can be certain that he is indeed, by Air force and any other standard, intelligent.

Whereas, after Chuck relinquished his position as chair after years of distinguished service, his successor Dr. Ronda Carpenter referred to him as her first officer in the administration of the department. He has maintained this capacity as a fountain of administrative wisdom to all subsequent chairs of our department. His wise counsel
will be missed.

Whereas, Chuck’ history of psychology course has been recognized as a tough rite of passage for majors, it has spurred students to nominate him for the College-wide teaching award. He has led many students to succeed because he believed in them.  His advising success is a model for others in the department. Chuck is clearly well loved by his students who gave him an A+ rating on RateMyProfessor.com. They also awarded him a hubba-hubba chili pepper and likened him to Richard Gere.

Whereas, Chuck has been a life-long aficionado of the writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs, we hope that he can make use of a portion of his retirement to explore the curious psychology of the feral child Earl John Clayton Greystoke, AKA “Tarzan.” Another interest of Chuck’s is amateur astronomy, and he has attended several
annual Texas Star Parties near Fort Davis, Texas, in the fantastically dark skies where the light from the Milky Way casts your shadow on the ground. We wish him many dark and clear skies in future Texas Star Party events.

Whereas, Chuck still works out even now at retirement age, can do chin-ups and out bench press weights not achievable by the majority of RC campus’ student body, faculty and staff. We wish him continued good health and physical strength to endure the rigors of retirement. We also hope he will send us “selfies”.

Whereas, Chuck is legendary as the person who never skipped desserts, it is known that his very favorite pie flavor of all time is Apple, Peach, Cherry, Pumpkin and Blueberry. Peanut butter pie need not apply. He and a former colleague, coined the term “piece-let” to refer to small slices of pie or cake that would reasonably be
conjoined into a “piece” of dessert. In fact, Chuck has used his conditioning techniques, taught in learning, to ensure that any department member who attends Commons lunch uses their carryout item as a dessert for Chuck when we are not
graced with his lunchtime presence.

Whereas, he retains his classic comic book collection, we hope that these increase in value over the years comparably to the original Superman comic book was recently auctioned at eBay for 3.2 million dollars. These can accompany his collection of over 3000 significant books in his hand-made beautiful bookcases in his living room and office.

Whereas, Chuck is the model of a Renaissance man who has taught 20 different courses, written a book, published 22 papers, 16 reviews of chapters or books, and made 49 significant presentations and co-editing of a massive “Pictorial history of Psychology.” Now that Chuck plans to move to the Savannah, GA area to be nearer
his daughter, a successful Roanoke College alumna, we reveal that one unit of the bookcases in his home office swings aside to reveal a secret room. Dr. Pranzarone has been sworn not to reveal what Chuck kept in this formerly secret room, so it is incumbent upon friends of Chuck to communicate with him frequently if they hope
that this information be divulged. We suspect superhero powers are at play.

Whereas, it is noted that while Charles is retiring, suspiciously coincident with the retirement of his colleague Dr. Jan H Lynch, we will no longer see that they quite frequently departed the department at the same time arm-in-arm. Rumors will now
cease as they are separated to divergent parts of the United States.
Whereas, Chuck is often looked to for guidance, wisdom, and calm; we will use key quotes of his to keep his spirit alive in the department: “Students are our motivation.” and “We are first and foremost a teaching college; let us not forget.”

Whereas, we all here as part of the Roanoke College family have greatly benefited from the friendship, warmth, sincerity, gentle good humor of this tall fellow, be it then resolved that we all wish him health, clear skies and fair weather in his retirement from professorship at Roanoke College; that he be granted long life and
prosperity and that his curiosity and drive for life-long learning never be diminished.

Therefore, it so resolved that these comments be then entered into the official minutes of the Meeting of the Faculty of Roanoke College in gratitude and celebration of the life and career of Dr. Charles Edgar Early.

 

 

Band of Professors

Parkway

Professors Rich Grant (Physics), Mike Maina (Human Health and Performance), and Chris Buchholz (Psychology) will be playing covers from the 60’s to current hits at Parkway Brewing Co. Thursday April 23rd from 4:00-8:00pm.

Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/buc9d9

 

SYNAPSE Conference 2015

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Dr. Nichols, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Shenal assisted students in neuroscience-based research and a few of those students got to present their findings at the SYNAPSE conference! They went to the University of North Carolina at Asheville and represented Roanoke College.

Jacob Johnson, Christy Blevins, and Dr. Nichols presented on exploring the individual factors of temporal processing and the variability of the internal clock.

[Johnson, J., Blevins, B., & Nichols, D.F. (2015, March). Exploring the individual factors of temporal processing and the variability of the internal clock. Poster presented at the SYNAPSE conference, Asheville, NC.]

Charis Flamburis, The Goodtimes Project

Charis Flamburis 2015

 

Charis Flamburis ’15 was accepted as a counselor at The Goodtimes Project! How exciting!

“Each year over 13,000 children in the US are diagnosed with cancer. Camp Goodtimes was established in 1984 to provide a no cost camp environment for children affected by cancer where they can recapture the joys of childhood.”

Learn more about the project here: http://www.thegoodtimesproject.org/

SYNAPSE Conference 2015

image4Dr. Nichols, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Shenal assisted students in neuroscience-based research and a few of those students got to present their findings at the SYNAPSE conference! They went to the University of North Carolina at Asheville and represented Roanoke College.

Alex Grant, Nataniel De Young, and Dr. Shenal worked on a comparison between QOL in TBI and Memory Disorder Clinics.

[Grant, A., De Young, N., & Shenal, B. (2015, March). A comparison between QOL in TBI and Memory Disorder Clinics. Poster presented at the SYNAPSE conference, Asheville, NC.]

SYNAPSE Conference 2015

Nichols Lab Picture 2

Dr. Nichols, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Shenal assisted students in neuroscience-based research and a few of those students got to present their findings at the SYNAPSE conference! They went to the University of North Carolina at Asheville and represented Roanoke College.

Stephanie Shields, Caitlin Morse, and Dr. Nichols also presented on the effect of attractiveness and facial expression on EEG responses.

[Shields, S.M., Arrington, P., Morse, C.E., & Nichols, D.F. (2015, March). There’s something about a smile: Effect of attractiveness and facial expression on EEG responses. Poster presented at the SYNAPSE conference, Asheville, NC.]

Outstanding Junior Psychology Majors

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Congratulations to Alexandra Grant, Diane Nguyen, Joana Peders, Christy Blevins, & Brandy Plouff. They received the award for Outstanding Junior Psychology Majors. This award is given to the junior student or students deemed by the faculty as having demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and potential for continued success in Psychology.

Congratulations Ladies & Keep up the good work!

Nicole Hurless

 

Nicole Hurless
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“I’m about to finish up my first year as a graduate student in the clinical psychology department of Saint Louis University. I’ll be proposing my master’s thesis in the summer and taking a trip to Peru in July for an international psychology conference, which I am very excited about!”
– Nicole

 

SYNAPSE Conference 2015

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Dr. Nichols, Dr. Allen, and Dr. Shenal assisted students in neuroscience-based research and a few of those students got to present their findings at the SYNAPSE conference! They went to the University of North Carolina at Asheville and represented Roanoke College.

Caitlin Morse, Stephanie Shields, and Dr. Nichols presented on “An exploration on the reduction of artifacts in EEG studies.” 

[Shields, S.M., Morse, C.E., & Nichols, DF. (2015, March). An exploration on the reduction of artifacts in EEG studies. Poster presented at the SYNAPSE conference, Asheville, NC.]

Recognizing Graduating Seniors: Lydia Fujimura

Lydia Fujimura 2015

 

Lydia is attending Vanguard University’s Masters of Organizational Psychology program in Costa Mesa California! She hopes to go into organizational conflict resolution involving factors such as self esteem and cultural differences.

Lydia had a hard time nailing down one class as her favorite from her time here at Roanoke. “​Every semester it changes!” she said. “I have taken so many wonderful courses here: the sociology of sex and gender, health illness and healing, the meaning of life, learning, and many others. Since it is still fresh in my mind, I would probably say Learning because Dr. Early conveys the material with both material from the book and good graphs to explain phenomena. I also loved Research Seminar because of the hands-on learning we were able to do. I really liked being able to master the material by actually using software like SPSS and conducting our own research.”

Lydia also worked in Dr. Buchholz’s research lab for 3 semesters and conducted an independent study on investigating the effect of empathy and agency on social mindfulness. Lydia is always cheerful and a pleasure to be around. She is smart and a hard worker.

Good luck, Lydia! We’ll miss you!

Psychology Department Just Dance Party

By popular demand. Almost everyone got into the dance party. Almost everyone.

The annual Psychology Department Just Dance Party has been scheduled! Join us to dance or watch on Wednesday April 29 from 2 to 3:30 in Life Sciences room 515. We really hope to see the psychology seniors there, but everyone is welcome, no matter your major. Local alums are welcome also. And we particularly welcome anyone who can beat reigning champion Dr. David Nichols.
See what we mean?

Gladfelter and Friedman to Present at UVA Pedagogy Summit

Dr. Friedman and her lab manager, Jessica Gladfelter, will be leading an interactive session entitled “Teaching & learning in the research lab: Engaging students via first-hand experience” at the UVA Pedagogy Summit in May! They will highlight the benefits of participating in faculty-student collaboration from both perspectives while outlining a model for a successful undergraduate research lab.

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Alumni Weekend is Almost Here!

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The Psychology Department will be having an alumni reception over Alumni Weekend (Saturday, April 11th) on the outdoor balcony of Lucas Hall (2nd floor) from 4:00 to 5:30pm. (Rain Location: Lucas 215)

Please stop by for some drinks, snacks, and fun activities with the Psychology Department! This year we will also be honoring the years of dedicated service from Dr. Jan Lynch and Dr. Chuck Early, who will both retire at the end of this year. Contact Chris Buchholz (buchholz@roanoke.edu, 540-375-4904) for more information.

Follow us on Facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology)

Faculty Fundraising!

bbbs-logoCamac

On May 2nd, Dr.Camac is taking a fundraising challenge, rappelling 11 stories down the Patrick Henry Hotel to help raise money for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  Each rappeller has to raise a minimum of $1,000 by May 1st  (or thereabouts) in order to qualify.   Donations are tax deductible and can be made online or via check or cash.

Every little bit helps!   Check it out athttp://bigslittles.org/.  Below is a link to Dr. Camac’s fundraising page.

https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.firstgiving.com%2Ffundraiser%2FMaryCamac%2Fover-the-edge-roanoke&h=SAQELk-TL

Interested in an Internship?

Intern in the UK
Are you thinking about doing an internship next fall or spring? If so, please come to one of the informational meetings!  There are two meeting times: Thursday, April 9th at 12:00 and Friday, April 10th at 3:30.  Both are in room 501 Life Science.  Please attend even if you have already met with Dr. Macy Camac.
 
 
Because some of the internship guidelines are undergoing revision in order to comply with the Pathways Experiential Learning requirements, the website information is subject to change.  The internship meeting will include a discussion of those changes.  Two that might affect your decision are 1) that the number of hours required is now 120 (110 at the work site and 10 in meetings with the coordinator and/or your fellow interns) and 2) that you will be required to present a poster summarizing your experience at the Showcase of Experiential Learning at the end of the semester.
Please consider coming out to discuss internships!