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USA Presidential Candidate Forum to be Held Friday, Jan. 31, in Laidlaw

A public forum with a fi nalist for president of the University of South Alabama will take place at 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 31, in the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. Dr. Tony G. Waldrop, provost and executive vice president at the University of Central Florida, will speak. Th e forum is open to faculty, staff , students, alumni and the community. At the forum, Waldrop will discuss his candidacy for the University’s presidency. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the fi nalist and to submit an evaluation of the fi nalist following the forum. Th e evaluations will be delivered to the USA Board of Trustees for consideration. Th e USA Board of Trustees announced Waldrop as a fi nalist earlier in the week following a search process involving a special board-appointed search committee of faculty, staff , students, alumni and supporters of the University. Waldrop was on campus for a visit with leaders of University constituent groups. More than 130 nominees and applicants from across the nation have been identifi ed during the search.

“We want to encourage everyone who can to come to the forum, listen and ask questions of this fi nalist,” said Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Steve Furr. “Afterward, as has been the case throughout our search, there will be opportunities to answer survey questions which will greatly help in our selection of the University’s next leader.” Information about the search process and Waldrop, including his vita, is available from the USA Presidential Search page, www.southalabama.edu/trustees/presidentialsearch/ and the USA home page, www.southalabama.edu. USA’s next president will succeed the late Gordon Moulton, who retired July 1, 2013 after 15 years as president. Dr. John W. Smith has served as

acting president.

Respected Archaeologist and Writer to Lecture on “The Attacking Ocean”

Dr. Brian Fagan, one of the world’s leading archaeological and historical writers, will visit USA on Th ursday, Feb. 6, to lecture on his recently published book, “Th e Attacking Ocean: Rising Sea Levels, Sea Surges, and Humanity.” Th e 7 p.m. event in the Recital Hall of the Laidlaw Performing Arts

Center will be free and open to the

public. Fagan’s visit is sponsored by

the Archaeology Museum and Jaguar

Productions as well as community

co-sponsors the Mobile Bay Sierra

Club, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and

the Mobile Bay National Estuary

Program.

“Th e Attacking Ocean” tells the

story of the complex relationship

between human societies and rising

sea levels since the end of the Ice Age,

some 15,000 years ago.

Following the lecture, Fagan will

sign books. Copies of the book are

available for purchase in the shop at

the Archaeology Museum.

“Our specifi c focus this year is

the environment, so Dr. Fagan was

a natural fi t. Th is lecture fulfi lls part

of the Archaeology Museum’s main

mission of learning from the past to

help better inform our future,” said

Barbara Filion, education curator for

the museum.

A native of England, Fagan

studied archaeology at Pembroke

College, Cambridge. He was Keeper

of Prehistory at the Livingstone

Museum, Zambia, from 1959 until

1965. During six years in Zambia and

one in East Africa, Fagan was deeply

involved in fi eld work on multi-

disciplinary African history and in

monuments conservation. He came

to the United States in 1966 where

he was professor of anthropology at

the University of California at Santa

Barbara from 1967 until 2003 when

he became professor emeritus.

Fagan has specialized in

communicating archaeology and the

past to general audiences through

lecturing, writing, and other media.

A former Guggenheim Fellow, he

lectures about the past all over the

world. His many books include three

volumes for the National Geographic

Society, including the bestselling

“Adventure of Archaeology.”

USA Offi ce of Multicultural Student Affairs to Host Annual Black History Month Events

Th e Offi ce of Multicultural

Student Aff airs and the African-

American Student Association will

host its annual events to celebrate

Black History Month during February.

Most events are free and open to

the public.

Jeramey Anderson, 22, the

youngest person ever elected to the

Mississippi House of Representatives,

will speak on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7

p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Laidlaw

Performing Arts Center. During his

presentation, Anderson will talk about

“making history” at any age.

Anderson founded an organization

known as Th e Purple Knights of

America, which is dedicated to serving

as a mentoring organization to young

boys ages 11-18.

He is the recipient of numerous

honors and has served in an array

of leadership positions, including

being named to “Who’s Who Among

Outstanding American Students.” As

Youth of the Year, he created “Hearts

for Haiti” and raised funds for that

country’s earthquake victims. He

served as the 2010 Youth of the Year

Dr. Brian Fagan

Dr. Tony G. Waldrop Jeramey Anderson

N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S2

USA Marx Library Photography ExhibitFocuses on Re-Evaluation

Exploring the eff ects of societal

infl uence on individuals is at the core

of the latest photography display at

the USA Marx Library.

Katie Walden, a University student

pursuing a bachelor of fi ne arts degree

with a concentration in photography,

created the exhibit “Stereotypes

and Judgment: Enough is Enough”

to focus on the individual person

as opposed to their body type or

achievements and roles within

society.

Th e exhibit is displayed in the

library’s fi rst fl oor gallery and will

remain on display until Feb. 28. Th e

gallery is free and open to the public

during library hours.

Th e exhibit consists of six models

photographed in four diff erent images

to represent stereotypes and societal

infl uence. Th e fi rst image depicts

the model fully nude to represent a

blank slate, while the second image

displays the model partially covered

with something known to be a big

societal infl uence, such as magazines

or computers.

Th e third image shows the model

wearing clothing meant to be gender

specifi c. Th e fourth photograph

displays the model with something

they love or enjoy doing, but blurs the

model’s face, meant to show the

media’s trend toward classifying

people and refusing to acknowledge

those who do not fi t into the defi ned

mold.

“Th rough this work, I aim to move

my viewing audience into a state of

awareness and understanding by

encouraging my viewers to re-evaluate

what they fi nd meaningful in other

people and in themselves,” said

Walden. “Th is body of work calls

attention to the negatives that come

from solely focusing on gender-role

stereotypes and body image.”

Walden, a native of Eufaula, Ala.,

spends most of her time taking

photographs or working in the

darkroom developing fi lm. In the

summer of 2013, she was selected and

commissioned by the UCUR Program

to create the current display, which is

her largest project to date.

Also on display in the Rodning

Gallery of Art is a nature collage

exhibit by Megan Moore, professor

of art.

Th e USA Marx Library displays

exhibits throughout the year. For more

information regarding showcases,

please visit http://www.southalabama.

edu/librarygalleries/. All displays

are open to the public during library

hours. To view the library’s schedule,

visit http://www.southalabama.edu/

univlib/info/hours.html.

Dr. Richard Honkanen Speaks at NIH Research Symposium

In 2011, Dr. Richard Honkanen,

professor of biochemistry in the

College of Medicine, was awarded

a fi ve-year Transformative Research

Project Award by the National

Institutes of Health (NIH) that

totaled $ 1,695,625. He was one of 11

researchers across the United States to

receive the highly competitive award.

As a result of Honkanen’s project

abstract, he was recently invited

by Dr. Francis Collins, director of

NIH, to give an oral presentation at

the 2013 High-Risk High-Return

(HRHR) Research Symposium.

Th e HRHR Research Symposium

was held in Bethesda, Md., where all

guests were the recipients of NIH

High-Risk High-Reward grants.

“Due to the highly competitive

nature of getting the awards, having

my project chosen for an oral

presentation was indeed fl attering,”

said Honkanen.

“Most speakers were from high-

profi le universities, such as Harvard,

Stanford, MIT, and Johns Hopkins,”

he added, “Needless to say, I was

extremely proud to represent USA as a

speaker at the symposium.”

Th e Transformative Research

Project Award has been given to some

of the nation’s most accomplished

scientists, including Dr. Th omas C.

Sudhof, one of three recipients of

the 2013 Nobel Prize in physiology

or medicine. Th ese awards are very

limited in number and represent the

most competitive awards across all

disciplines of the National Institutes

of Health.

In this research project, Honkanen

is developing methods to safely

engineer human immune cells,

adapting a strategy used by bacteria to

allow macrophages, or natural defense

cells, to metabolize cholesterol.

“In humans the inability

of macrophages to break down

cholesterol represents a critical early

event in the maladaptive immune

response that leads to the onset and

progression of atherosclerosis,” said

Honkanen.

Th e grant has helped to fund

Honkanen’s research project that could

potentially change the way physicians

treat high cholesterol in the future.

USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital Welcomes Two Midwife Nurses

Shandra Andry and Kathryn

Detjens recently joined the

University’s department of obstetrics

and gynecology to serve as nurse

Dr. Richard Honkanen

midwives working exclusively at USA

Children’s and Women’s Hospital’s

evaluation center and at the hospital’s

labor and delivery service.

Th e addition of Andry and

Detjens as nurse midwives enhances

the quality of care for the female

patients seen in the evaluation center

after hours -- from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Prior to their employment at USA,

Andry worked at USA Children’s

& Women’s Hospital, and Detjens

served as an advanced registered nurse

practitioner at Sacred Heart Health

Systems in Pensacola, Fla.

Andry received nursing education

from Sandhills Community College

in Pinehurst, N.C., completed an

associate’s degree in nursing at

Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y., and

graduated with a master’s of science

in nursing-midwifery from Frontier

School of Midwifery and Family

Nursing in Hyden, Ky. Her special

areas of interest are natural childbirth

support, centering pregnancy, and

breastfeeding support.

Detjens received her degree in

nursing from Milwaukee County

General Hospital School of Nursing

in Milwaukee, Wis., and a bachelor’s

of science in nursing from the

University of California in San

Francisco. She earned a certifi cation

of midwifery from Frontier School

of Midwifery and Family Nursing in

Hyden, Ky., as well as a master’s of

science in nursing from Case Western

Reserve University in Cleveland.

For more information on the USA

OBGYN nurse midwives, contact

Danny Rickert at (251) 415-1569.

Kathryn Detjens

Shandra Andry

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“The first question we heard

during the ultrasound was,

‘Do twins run in your family?’“

We were shocked when we found out we were having twins,

but we’re very excited. We chose Dr. Frankie Bodie with USA

Children’s & Women’s Hospital because they have a Level 3

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which is especially important to

us now that we know we’re having twins.

My obstetrician tells me that in order to take care of myself,

I need to listen to my body, eat healthy and exercise, which

are things I did even before I was pregnant. Exercising is

now even more important to me because I’m trying to

keep myself and my babies healthy.”

Jennifer Myer

Mobile, AL

University of South Alabama

Health SystemAppointments (251) 434-3711

For more stories about our patients,

N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S N E W S F O R U S A E M P L O Y E E S4

Editor: Alice Jackson. “Midweek Memo” is published by the Offi ce of Public Relations for University of South Alabama personnel. News should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event. Visit us at www.southalabama.edu/publicrelations/midweek/

continued from page 1

Enjoying a Special Visit — A young patient at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital enjoys the attention of one-on-one technology training during a recent visit from the North and South team members of the 2014 Reese’s Senior Bowl. Th e annual visit is part of the hospital’s Mapp Child and Family Life Program, which strives to normalize children’s stays at Children’s & Women’s Hospital.

Making Memories — A 2014 Reese’s Senior Bowl player shares a high fi ve with one of the younger patients at the USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital as his teammates enjoy the moment. Each year, the bowl players take time out from their bowl preparations to visit the hospital’s patients.

for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson

County (Miss.) and was fi rst runner

-up for the State of Mississippi Youth

of the Year. In 2009, he was elected

as lieutenant governor of Mississippi

Boys’ State.

Anderson is a graduate of Moss

Point High School, and he received

his associate degree in criminal

justice from Pearl River Community

College. Anderson is currently a

senior at Tulane University majoring

in homeland security and public

relations while he continues his work

to empower youth through his own

ambition and success.

Additional events for Black

History Month at USA include:

• Monday, Feb. 3, noon-1 p.m.

– Th e annual USA Soul Food

Luncheon will be held at the

Waterman Globe in the Mitchell

Center. Seating is limited.

Admission is $8. To make

reservations, call (251) 460-6895.

• Wednesday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. --

Women of Excellence inductions

will be held in the USA Marx

Library.

• Monday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m. -- Black

History Jeopardy will be held in

the auditorium of the USA Marx

Library. Th is event is co-sponsored

by the African-American Student

Association and the Abeneefoo

Kuo Honor Society.

• Tuesday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m. -- Th e

Black History Scavenger Hunt

will be held at the USA Student

Center. Th e event is co-sponsored

by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,

Inc.

• Th ursday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. --

AASA Night at the basketball

game will be held at USA’s

Mitchell Center.

• Friday, Feb. 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

-- Minority Preview Night will

be held at USA’s Mitchell Center

on the main fl oor. Th is event,

sponsored by the USA Offi ce of

Admissions, is for prospective

minority students.

• Monday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m. --

Abeneefoo Kuo Honor Society

inductions will be held in the

Health Sciences Building in the

main auditorium.

• Tuesday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. -- Th e

“If You Really Knew Me” forum

will be held in Room 160 of the

Humanities Building.

• Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m.

-- MADDRAMA Performance

Troupe will present “Th ere’s a

War Going On” in the Laidlaw

Performing Arts Center. For more

information, visit http://www.

maddrama.com/.

• Th ursday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m. -- A

Night of African-American

Art will be held at the Mobile

Museum of Art. Th e event is

sponsored by Kappa Alpha Psi

Fraternity, Inc.

For more information, call Petre’

Freeman, coordinator of the Offi ce of

Multicultural Student Aff airs, at

(251) 460-6895.

Mobile Mayor Visits Children’s & Women’s Hospital — Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, right, listens as Owen Bailey, administrator at USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital, explains equipment used in the hospital’s new Children’s Tower. Stimpson and his senior staff toured the new addition and joined hospital leaders for lunch.