HU J-School Welcomes Poynter Institute Multimedia Expertise

Sara Quinn, a multimedia expert with the Poynter Institute, will conduct one and a half days of workshops focusing on topics in multimedia at the HU Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications on Jan. 28 and 29.

On Jan. 28 from 2 p.m.- 4 p.m., Quinn will lead a discussion to include storytelling across platforms and visual thinkings. There will also be a brainstorming session to develop ideas for photos, graphics, video, audio, mumeracy, data visualization and conceptual illustration. She will also present strategies on the best tools and most effective ways to integrate them into a report. These include interactivity, video, audio, social media, blogging and more.

On Jan. 29, sessions will be held from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. for faculty. The sessions will focus on teaching multimedia across the curriculum and social media skills.

Interim Dean Rosalynne Whitaker-Heck is looking forward to the sessions. “Faculty and students in any top-ranked journalism and communications program must continually enhance their knowledge and skill set to maintain pace with the media industry’s demand for multi-skilled graduates, and who better than Sara Quinn from the Poynter Institute to share her expertise with us?”

The Poynter Institute is an advanced studies institution located in St. Petersburg, Fla. Poynter aids in the development of skills or experienced journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism. Quinn is director of Poynter’s EyeTrack07 research project, co-author of “Eyetracking the News,” director of a six-week Summer Fellowship for Young Journalists and a contributor to Poynter Online.

HU Honors Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Jr.

HU Honors Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Jr.

Hampton University honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by hosting a march and a musical performance on Jan. 18. The HU Pan-Hellenic Council sponsored the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. March, which began at 1:30 p.m. at the historic Emancipation Oak. The march concluded at Ogden Hall where the Rev. Jerome A. Barber, senior pastor of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Temple in Hampton, Va., spoke. Later that evening, the HU Department of Music presented Let Freedom Ring: the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Choral Festival at Ogden Hall. The performance featured the HU Concert Choir and the Woodside High School Jubilee Chorale, as conducted by HU alumnus Jason Dungee.

The march began at Emancipation Oak and concluded at Ogden Hall.

The Pan-Hellic Council hosted the annual march.

Rev. Jerome Barber

The HU Concert Choir performs in Ogden Hall.

HU Choir to Perform at Va. Gubernatorial Inauguration

HU Choir

The Hampton University Concert Choir has been invited to perform at the Inauguration of Virginia Governor-elect Robert F. McDonnell. The inauguration will take place on Jan. 16 in Richmond, Va., on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol. The choir will perform between 10:30 a.m. – noon.

“Governor McDonnell is a true representative of service, honor and dedication to improving the way of life for the citizens of Virginia. I am proud for Hampton University to be a part of this historic, inaugural event,” said HU President Dr. William R. Harvey.

The HU Concert Choir, comprised of nearly 40 talented students, will perform in 20-minute sets alternating with the 29th Division Band. They will sing a diversified program of anthems and spirituals, including Roland Carter’s arrangement of “Precious Lord.”

“Historically, choirs have not been involved in the state’s gubernatorial inauguration, so this is truly a great honor for Hampton University to be invited in the celebration,” said Royzell Dillard, director of the HU Choirs.

The HU Concert Choir is the primary touring ensemble for the university. Established in 1870 as the Hampton Singers, this group has distinguished itself by performing in some of the most honorable concert halls and churches in the U.S. and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In 1997, the choir performed at the Inauguration of U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton.

HU Names New Director of the College of Virginia Beach

Hampton, VA - Dr. John Waddell has been named the new director of the Hampton University College of Virginia Beach. He replaces Margaret Dismond Martin, who became the college’s interim director in Fall 2006 and served as the director from 2007 until Waddell’s appointment in December 2009.

Waddell served as president of Denmark College in Denmark, S.C., for two years before coming to HU. Denmark College is a historically black, two- year technical college that serves continuing education students, traditional, full-time and part-time students.

HU President Dr. William R. Harvey’s leadership model and HU’s brand of excellence are what made the university an attractive place for Waddell to work. Waddell said his own personal goals for the College of Virginia Beach align with the overall institutional priorities for the satellite campus.

“These include but are not limited to enhancing the enrollment, expanding academic programs and cultivating external relationships within the Virginia Beach community,” he said.

Waddell earned both a bachelor's in secondary education and a master's degree in student personnel from the University of South Carolina. He earned a doctorate from Florida State University in higher education administration, and also attended the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management (IEM).

With the current economic climate, Waddell plans on instituting new accelerated programs beginning with the fall semester that will benefit the residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as the nation. He also wants to focus on responding to the national workforce demands in nursing and equipping students to be their best personally and professionally. On this subject, Waddell states, “If we listen attentively and respond in an efficient and effective manner, we can truly become an educational haven for traditional and nontraditional students alike. Our programs will allow those students to gain an accelerated, substantive degree and advance their employment status, income and overall quality of life.”

Located in the Virginia Beach Town Center, the College of Virginia Beach opened Sept. 2, 2003. It offers undergraduate degrees in nursing and hotel/resort management and graduate degrees in education as well as education certification programs. For more information about the college, go to http://www.cofvb.hamptonu.edu/programs/ or call 757.637.2200.

HU Receives $1.4 Million to Increase Minority STEM Professionals

Dr. Anne Pierce, Dr. Carolyn Morgan and

Dr. Clair Berube of Hampton University

Hampton University was recently awarded two grants totaling more than $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation. The cross-discipline grants both seek to increase the production of minority professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Dr. Carolyn Morgan, professor of mathematics, is principal investigator for both grants.

HU received a NSF Educational Research grant of $565,441 to support Financially Oriented Research Calculus Experience (FORCE), a collaborative effort between the School of Science and the School of Liberal Arts. The grant will investigate whether the integration of financial applications into calculus courses significantly increase achievement for STEM majors. FORCE will support the university's Quality Enhancement Plan targeted at enhancing student-learning outcomes in mathematics and financial literacy.

"Students often come to the classroom thinking that they want to be engineers, but have no idea what that entails mathematically," said Morgan. "It's going to be a very interesting project."

Morgan, along with co-principal investigator Dr. Anne Pierce, director of humanities at HU, will conduct mixed-methods research by integrating topics of finance into MAT 151 and MAT 130 Calculus I courses, taken by business and sciences majors. Using a base-line methodology, results of this research will have a broad impact on the enhancement of calculus reform, contributing to the body of evidence that increased academic achievement in calculus is a significant factor in retention of STEM majors.

HU also received a five-year NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant in the amount of $840,881. This grant is a collaborative effort between the School of Science and the College of Education and Continuing Studies. It aims to prepare STEM undergraduates and professionals to become K-12 science teachers in high-need, economically disadvantaged public school districts. The grant intends to ensure that more minority students will join the ranks of highly qualified STEM teachers.

As co-principal investigators, Morgan and Dr. Clair Berube of the HU Division of Professional Education will prepare 30 highly qualified undergraduates and career-switching professionals through scholarships, summer workshops, involvement in educational research and curriculum development, and attendance at local and national conferences. The grant will also provide integrated support services during the teachers' first through third years in the field. As an educational research component, HU will measure the effectiveness in attracting and retaining STEM undergraduates and professionals into the teaching profession.

"These grants are a collaborative effort highlighting Hampton University's emphasis on the importance of interdisciplinary grant initiatives," said Morgan.

HU NASA Satellite Mission to Study ‘Night Shining’ Clouds Extended

HU NASA Satellite Mission to Study ‘Night Shining’ Clouds Extended AIM satellite has provided the first global-scale, full-season view of strange, iridescent polar clouds that form 50 miles above Earth’s surface. Hampton University graduate students who work on the AIM mission. Noctilucent (NLC) or 'night-shining'. Dr. James Russell, AIM principal investigator. Hampton, VA - Hampton University recently received a contract increase of $10.2 million from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to extend the NASA Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite mission for three more years. The HU led NASA AIM is the first satellite dedicated to the study of these noctilucent (NLC) or "night-shining" clouds. They are called "night shining" clouds by observers on the ground because their high altitude allows them to continue reflecting sunlight after the sun has set below the horizon. They form a spectacular silvery blue display visible well into the night. “Hampton University is leading the way in innovative research,” said HU president Dr. William R. Harvey. “This mission is improving scientists’ understanding of global change.” AIM has provided a global-scale view of the clouds over five complete cloud seasons covering both poles and has documented for the first time the entire complex life cycle of NLCs. The satellite is providing an unprecedented horizontal resolution of 3 miles by 3 miles. The AIM baseline mission ended May 31, 2009 but NASA has approved extending the satellite program through September 2012. The funding increase adds to the research base of the HU Center for Atmospheric Sciences, which supports 17 faculty, research professors and post-doctoral employees, 9 support staff and 10 graduate students. "The AIM mission has changed our view of noctilucent clouds,” said AIM Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the HU Center for Atmospheric Sciences Dr. James Russell. "The measurements show the brightest clouds ever observed with more variability and structure than expected, signifying a greater sensitivity to the environment in which the clouds form. They also show that the cloud season turns on and off like a “geophysical light bulb” going from no clouds to 100 percent cloud presence in a matter of days and vice versa at the end of the season." The bright "night-shining" clouds are seen by the spacecraft's instruments regularly, starting in late May and lasting until late August in the northern hemisphere and late November to late February in the southern hemisphere. The AIM satellite reports daily observations of the clouds at all longitudes and over a broad latitude range extending from 60 to 85 degrees. The clouds are made of ice crystals formed when water vapor condenses onto dust particles in the brutal cold of this region, at temperatures around minus 210 to minus 235 degrees Fahrenheit. One potential and plausible explanation for the changes observed is that temperatures where the clouds form are becoming colder with time due to carbon dioxide build-up resulting from human activities, Carbon dioxide increases near the Earth surface cause global warming, but at 50 miles altitude, the opposite occurs. Increasing methane in the atmosphere is another possible contributing factor because it reacts with oxygen to form water vapor that is needed to form the clouds. Both gases have been increasing in the atmosphere since the early 1900s. AIM is a NASA-funded SMall EXplorers (SMEX) mission managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The mission is led by Russell and the Project Data Center is managed at the HU Center for Atmospheric Sciences. HU undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of atmospheric science, computer science and engineering all work on the mission. The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado, Boulder, and the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Utah State University built instruments. LASP also manages the AIM mission and controls satellite flight operations. GATS, Inc., Newport News, Va. led the ground data system development and leads the SOFIE instrument activities. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va., designed, manufac tured, and tested the AIM spacecraft, and provided the Pegasus launch vehicle. For more information on the AIM mission visit aim.hamptonu.edu.

HU Professor Named Deputy Assistant Sec., Air Force

HU Professor Appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force

Hampton, VA - President Barack Obama has appointed Associate Director of the Hampton University William R. Harvey Leadership Institute and Honors College Dr. Jarris L. Taylor, Jr. as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Strategic Diversity Integration, Washington, D.C. He will begin his appointment on Dec. 14.

“Judging Dr. Taylor from his work here at Hampton University, he will do a fine job with the Department of the Air Force,” said HU President Dr. William R. Harvey. “We wish Dr. Taylor well as he transitions from service to Hampton to service to our nation.”

Taylor will be responsible for the formulation and execution of long-range, strategic plans for Strategic Diversity Integration. In addition to strategic planning, other principal duties and responsibilities will include program development and evaluation, resource planning and management, representation and liaison, and human resource management.

“It was truly a honor and humbling experience to be nominated for such a prestigious position,” said Taylor. “As a 20-year retiree of the United States Air Force, to be called to duty once again to serve our country is a blessing and privilege.”

As associate director of the William R. Harvey Leadership Institute and Honors College Taylor’s duties include the following: teaching honors and leadership courses and seminars, program management, coordinating and planning events, fundraising, grant writing, and assisting students to obtain employment, fellowships, grants, internships, scholarships, and prepare them for graduate school and life after HU.

“My past four years at my ‘Home by the Sea’ have been a wonderful experience, mentoring and teaching our leaders of the 21st century,” said Taylor. “I immensely thank Dr. William Harvey and Dr. Freddye Davy, director of Honors College, for giving me the opportunity to serve my alma mater.”

In March 1985, Taylor joined the United States Air Force to serve his country. His assignments included: Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss.; Camp O’Donnell, Republic of the Philippines; Pil Sung Range, Korea; Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colo.; Grissom Air Force Base, Bunker Hill, Ind.; and Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Va. Taylor received the bachelor’s of arts degree from Hampton University in 1995 and the master’s degree in education and human development, 1997, and the Ed.D. in higher education administration from the George Washington University in 2005.

Taylor retired from the United States Air Force in May 2005. Upon retirement he immediately pursued his career goal of working in academia and served as an adjunct professor at Regent University and at Norfolk State University. He was appointed associate director at Hampton University in 2006.