College of Fine and Applied Arts

Jeff Ramsdell, professor in the Department of Technology, is one of two recipients of the Transforming North Carolina Faculty Research Award.

The Transforming North Carolina Faculty Research Award recognizes research with a significant impact on the present and/or future of North Carolina. It is sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Development Institute and the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School. The honor includes a $1,000 award for each project.

Ramsdell was honored for his biofuels initiative. He and his team are testing biodiesel that is being produced by several companies in the region as well feedstock crops grown on and around the Caldwell County’s landfill for potential biodiesel production.

“Crops will be used to develop bio-fuel for operating the Blackburn Landfill, which will, in effect, offset building construction and lower operational costs over time,” wrote Barry Edwards, director of utilities and engineering for Catawba County.

“Appalachian will test crops, and adjust or introduce new crops when applicable, to optimize the county’s fuel production, improve biodiesel crop production in Catawba County’s climate, and learn and share with producers in Western North Carolina which crops produce the best oils for the production of biodiesel,” Edwards said.

Vicky Grube, assistant professor of art at Appalachian State University, has been named the Higher Education Art Educator of the Year for 2008-09 by the North Carolina Art Education Association (NCAEA).

NCAEA and National Art Education Association members in higher education were eligible. The award is based on significant contribution to an individual’s division in the visual arts.

“Vicky lights a fire within her students by being a positive example of how to share one’s love of art through one’s teaching,” said Pat Kincheloe Morrison, Ashe County High School Art Educator and Grube’s nominator. “She lights up the room when she arrives and inspires all around her with her ideas and passion for art and children.”

Grube will be recognized as an exemplary art educator and advocate during the NCAEA Professional Development Conference Friday, Nov. 7, at the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville.

The North Carolina Art Education Association is a professional, non-profit educational association dedicated to the promotion of visual arts education in the state of North Carolina.

by Josh Jarman, Public Relations Intern, College of Fine and Applied Arts

Dr. Karen Reesman, an associate professor in the Nursing Department at Appalachian State University, has recently been elected to the Board of the International Council on Women’s Health Issues (ICOWHI).

ICOWHI is an international nonprofit association dedicated to the goal of promoting health, health care, and well-being of women throughout the world through participation, empowerment, advocacy, education and research. The board consists of a multidisciplinary network of women’s health providers, planers, and advocates from all over the globe.

To obtain a position on the board, candidates must first be nominated and approved by the council prior to the election. Reesman decided to run for the position and was elected in August. Afaf Meleis, dean of the University Of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, extended an invitation to Reesman to join the board.

“It is a tremendous privilege and honor to serve on this Board,” said Reesman. “We all recognize how critical it is to improve the health and well-being of women throughout the world.”

As a board member, Reesman will help organize ICOWHI’s 2010 Congress. The Congress is held every two years and is conducted primarily to raise awareness of womens’ health care and to disseminate research. The 2008 Congress took place in July and was located in Gaborone, Botswana.

“As a council member and as a board member I think it is my duty to spread the wealth, and, hopefully, increase our membership,” said Reesman. “ICOWHI has nominal dues and a student rate as well.”

Reesman encourages anyone who is interested to visit the ICOWHI website at www.ICOWHI.org. For more information on the Department of Nursing, visit www.nursing.appstate.edu.

by Josh Jarman, Public Relations Intern, College of Fine and Applied Arts

Shannon Rae Peterson, a junior interior design student at Appalachian State University, was selected as the recipient of the education scholarship for Women in the Home Furnishings Industry Today (WithIT) at the panel-led event held in Las Vegas over the summer.

The 2008-09 WithIT scholarship is awarded based on academic achievements and involvement in the design world.

Peterson received the $5,000 for tuition and expenses at WithIT’s annual WOW Awards and dinner on Aug. 13 at the Renaissance Hotel in Charlotte.

Peterson also was a recipient of an honorable mention at the Young Voices, Great Spaces Haworth Design Contest with Interior Design Magazine. The competition was to create an office space to meet the needs of an advertising agency relocating in Seattle, WA.

“The contest focused on sustainability,” said Peterson. “So I approached the competition with that in mind and submitted a sample binder that I recycled, recovered and presented my ideas in.”

Peterson’s sample binder submitted for the Young Voices, Great Spaces Haworth Design Contest

Peterson went on to say that she wanted to be professional and innovative and that her goal was to create a response from the judges.

“I feel so honored to be mentioned in Interior Design Magazine, and the judges decided also to award me with a Zody Chair from Haworth,” said Peterson.

Peterson, is a self described “problem-solver,” stated that she is looking forward to entering more competitions in the future and looks forward to more great things to come.

Photojournalist Preston Gannaway will present her work and talk about photojournalism in the 21st Century at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in Room 017 in Katherine Harper Hall at Appalachian State University.

Gannaway is a staff photographer at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, and previously was a photojournalist for the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire. Gannaway’s documentary story on the St. Pierre family, “Remember Me,” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 2008.

Preston Gannaway’s Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography winner in 2008, “Remember Me,” chronicled the life of Carolynne St. Pierre, wife and mother of three, who died from a rare form of liver cancer in 2007. After her diagnosis, St. Pierre wanted to create a record of her life and love for her family.

Gannaway was named The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Region 1 (New England) Photographer of the Year in 2005 and was runner-up in 2006 and 2007. Her work has also been honored by NPPA’s “Best of Photojournalism, Pictures of the Year International,” The Society for News Design, Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar and other competitions.

Before working for the Monitor, Gannaway interned at the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Bangor Daily News. A native of North Carolina, she began her career at the Coalfield Progress in rural southwest Virginia after earning her Bachelor of Arts in fine art photography at Virginia Intermont College.

The presentation, sponsored by the Technical Photography program in the Department of Technology, is free and open to the public. For more information about the presentation, contact John Scarlata at (828) 262-6562 or via email at scarlataj@appstate.edu. For more information about the Technical Photography program, visit www.tec.appstate.edu.