David Shiffman

David Shiffman, a Master’s Candidate in Marine Biology here at the College of Charleston, has been getting a lot of media attention lately over a post on his blog about how the “Dolphin Safe”  method commonly used for tuna fishing actually harms huge populations of sharks, sea turtles, and sea birds. Check out his post here.

David’s post just placed second in an online writing contest, and he has rewritten it as an article in Beyond Blue Magazine. As if that wasn’t enough publicity, David was also interviewed by NPR’s Pat Morrison. You can check out his interview here.

Congratulations, David!

Related posts

Grant Opportunity: National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy

Painting a Portrait

Class Notes: Megan Prewitt Koon and Laura Swingle

She trudges through the brush and along the edge of Kiawah Island’s marshes almost every day, holding a large metal antennae in the air and listening for the beeps to grow louder from the tracking machine belted to her waist.

If they do, College of Charleston graduate student Sarah Latshaw knows she’s getting closer to a painted bunting she previously equipped with a “mini-backpack” tracking device.

A student in the Master of Environmental Studies program, Latshaw recently landed a prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship to continue her studies of the brightly colored birds that are on the National Audubon Society’s watch list. She’s tracking them to learn about the kind of habitats they prefer. She thinks that when her research is complete, she’ll be able to recommend to homeowners how to best landscape their yards to encourage the birds to nest in them.

“The buntings like the areas people like,” Latshaw said. “They’re attracted to the barrier islands.”

But that’s a disadvantage for them as the population on the islands swells, she said.

Citadel biology professor Paul Nolan is Latshaw’s research advisor. Citadel biology professors often advise graduate-student research at the College of Charleston, he said, because graduate-level research in biology is limited at the military college.

Nolan, who studies bird and other animal behavior, said that the number of painted buntings has been declining since the mid-1960s. He thinks that’s probably because of increased development on the east coast, which eliminates places the birds are likely to nest. He also said many of the birds are captured and sold as pets, especially in Mexico where many painted buntings spend the winter. Little research has been done on painted buntings and their habitats, he said. So he was excited to advise Latshaw on her research.

Latshaw said that along the South Carolina coast, the birds nest and have their young from early April to September or October. They spend the winter in Mexico and Cuba.

She will catch about 15 to 20 birds over the summer and attach tiny tracking devices to their backs. The devices are attached with a biodegradable type of thread, she said. She will remove them from the birds once she is done tracking them. But if she’s unable to find a bird, the thread will decay naturally and the bird will be free of the device.

Each day, Latshaw or her technician Will Lemon track the birds with the large metal antennae. When they find one, they mark the spot. Then they note the type of vegetation around and above the spot where the bird was perched.

So far, she said, the birds seem to like vacant lots adjacent to developed lots. She also often finds them along the edge of the woods where it meets the marsh, she said. But those are simply early observations and she doesn’t know what she’ll ultimately find in her research, she said.

After the tracking phase of her research, Latshaw will analyze her data, then decide on her next steps.

As a fellow, she will receive a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research.

She said she doesn’t think she would have landed the award had she not done previous research and pilot studies on painted buntings, work that was paid for by the Kiawah Conservancy.

Jim Chitwood, chairman of the conservancy’s environmental science committee, said the group tries to preserve some vacant land on the island and promote environmentally sound development practices.

Most people on Kiawah are going to landscape their yards, he said. Latshaw’s research will help them do it in a way that encourages buntings to nest. “We want to understand what we need under the trees,” he said. “And it’s just really fun to understand what makes them tick.”

Related posts
Sarah Latshaw is awarded an NSF Fellowship
Nationally Competitive Award Recipients
Update from Australia

Inside this issue, you’ll find:

• A message from the Director
• Goodbye to a good friend: The legacy of Dr. Bill Moore
• MPASA spring professional development event
• Make a difference for your MPA program
• MPA alums begin consulting firm
• PAs, environmentalists, and the battle for kickball supremacy
• MPA student wins graduate student poster session
• Graduate Student Association: Year two
• A MPASA President’s swan song
• Arts Management update
• Community assistance program update
• May and Summer graduates
• Summer/Fall 2009 calendar of events

Courtney Arthur
Knauss Fellowship
The Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational experience to students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources.  The program matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for one year paid fellowship.  Fellows receive approximately $43,000 in academic support.

Callie Van Koughnett
Knowles Foundation Teaching Fellowship
The Knowles Teaching Fellowships are for students who have received a bachelor’s or advanced degree in science, engineering or mathematics and are committed to teaching high school science and/or mathematics in U.S. schools. The fellowship supports them professionally and financially for up to five years through a teacher preparation program to eligibility for tenure.

Sara Latshaw
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships help ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity.  The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in the U.S. and abroad.  The award provides academic support of up to $30,000 per year.

Natalie Martin
Teach for America
Teach for America’s mission is to enlist the most promising future leaders to promote educational excellence and to eliminate educational inequality.  The program identifies highly qualified recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural schoools across the US.  The program provides substantial training and all participants are paid salaries and health benefits for their work.  Corps members also receive several other financial rewards.

K. Jourdan Reeves
Becker CPA Review National Scholarship
The Becker CPA Review National Scholarship provides financial support for the CPA review course to 50 students who demonstrate high moral character and leadership qualities, aspire to achieve significant career goals, plan to sit for the CPA Exam, and will meet the CPA Exam requirements.

Nicholas Rummell
Critical Languages Scholarship
The Department of State’s Critical Languages Scholarship funds an intensive summer study of a specified critical language.  The scholarship covers all program costs, tuition, travel, room, and board for the 7-11 week program.  Approximately 6,000 students apply each year with approximately 500 students awarded.

The Multicultural ExCEL awards program is an annual benefit for the Parents of Diverse Students – “PODS” Foundation Fund.  Proceeds raised during this event will support need-based scholarships.

Join us on Tuesday, March 31 at 5:00 in the Sottile Theatre to recognize this year’s ExCEL awards recipients.  If you’re curious, below are the nominees for the two new categories:

Graduate Student of the Year
Tiffany Dixon
Dennis Kombe
Geoff Pallay
Kevin Pratt
Kelly Sloan

Graduate School Faculty of the Year
Michael Cipriano
Phil Jos
Amanda Ruth McSwain
Gladys Matthews
William Veal

Also, the Graduate Student Association was nominated as the Student Organization of the Year.  I’m a little biased, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them.

Tickets for this event are on sale now and can be purchased at the Multicultural Center.  The public can purchase tickets for $15, while C of C faculty, staff and alumni can purchase them for $10.  There is no charge for the ExCEL nominees and their two guests, or for students with a valid ID.

Nominations due Friday, February 27

We hope that you will also help the Graduate School in recognizing our outstanding graduate students and faculty by sending us nominations for those two awards.

We must have your nominations in our office no later than Friday morning, February 27th. You should send your nomination, with a brief paragraph explaining why the nominee deserves the award, to Susan Hallatt by 12:00 noon on Friday, February 27.

If you have questions about the process, please feel free to write or call the Graduate School Office at (843) 953-5614.

The Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services is now accepting nominations for the 2009 Multicultural ExCEL Awards. This event is designed to honor students, faculty, staff, and neighbors (individuals, agencies or companies) for their dedication to enhancing diversity and multiculturalism on our campus and in the community. This dedication can be displayed through their teaching, athleticism, student leadership, departmental support or commitment to the community.
With the exception of three student award categories (Septima P. Clark, Eugene C. Hunt, and Lucille S. Whipper), we do not see race as the primary factor in the nomination or selection process. It is our hope that you will nominate the most deserving recipient based on the criteria provided for each award and their commitment to providing a welcoming campus environment for everyone. All CofC students, full-time faculty, staff, and administrators are eligible to receive these awards.

2009 ExCEL Award Categories

Undergraduate Student Award Categories

1. 2009 Outstanding Student of the Year (Final selections of the student awards are made by each academic school).
   1. School of the Arts
   2. School of Business and Economics
   3. School of Education, Health, and Human Performance
   4. School of Humanities and Social Sciences
   5. School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
   6. School of Sciences and Mathematics
2. Outstanding Female and Male Athletes of the Year (Final selections of the student athletes of the year are made by the coaches)
3. Outstanding Student Organization of the Year
4. Outstanding SPECTRA Student of the Year
5. Outstanding SCAMP Student of the Year

The Graduate School Student Award Categories

1. The Graduate School Student of the Year

Alumni Award

1. The Eddie Ganaway Distinguished Alumni Award

Faculty Awards

1. Outstanding Faculty of the Year
2. School of the Arts
3. School of Business and Economics
4. School of Education, Health, and Human Performance
5. School of Humanities and Social Sciences
6. School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs
7. School of Sciences and Mathematics
8. The Graduate School

Staff and Administrator Awards

1. Outstanding Staff Member of the Year

Faculty, Staff and Students are eligible for the following awards

1. The Unsung Champion Award
2. The President Leo I. Higdon Outstanding Leadership Award
3. The President Alex Sanders Outstanding Public Service Award
4. The President Theodore Stern Visionary Award
5. The President Harry Lightsey Humanitarian Award (In Memory)

Deadline: Nominations must reach the Office of Multicultural Student Programs and Services by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 27, 2009. We cannot accept late nominations. Recipients of the awards will be revealed at The Multicultural ExCEL Awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 4 p.m. You can pick up nomination packets at the STERN CENTER through Friday 2/27/09 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. If you would like to access the nomination criteria for each category and the nomination forms online, go the Multicultural Student Programs and Services website at http://www.cofc.edu/~msps.

Selection: Nominations for the 2009 Multicultural ExCEL Awards will be reviewed and adjudicated by the committee. All decisions of the committee are final. In the event there are no nominations for a particular category, the 2009 Multicultural ExCEL Awards committee will submit the nominations. Members of the Multicultural ExCEL Awards committee are not eligible to receive awards. The award recipients will receive recognition during the program, in the local newspapers, the Student Affairs newsletter, on the Multicultural Student Programs and Services website, and in a widely distributed press release.

As the semester draws to a close, we are quickly approaching Graduation Day!

The Graduate School would like to take a moment to congratulate the members of the December 2008 graduating class. This semester, a total 50 students will graduate from the Graduate School.

The Fall Commencement Ceremony is returning to campus for the first time in several years, taking place in the College of Charleston’s brand new Carolina First Arena on Meeting Street. We’re extremely excited to have the opportunity to show off the beautiful new arena with such a great event! The ceremony is also moving from Sunday morning to Saturday morning, December 20 at 10:00AM. This year’s speaker will be Jennet Robinson Alterman, Executive Director of the Center for Women, and there will be a reception after the ceremony for graduates and their families.

If you are graduating and participating in Saturday’s ceremony, don’t forget to stop by the Graduate School Office and pick up your tickets by 5:00PM on Friday, December 19. Each graduate is allowed 8 tickets. If you need more, though, don’t worry– On December 15, we will begin offering extra tickets on a first come, first serve basis!

Please feel free to contact Regan Fantry at the Graduate School Office if you have any questions, and again, congratulations to the Class of 2008!

The Graduate Studies Office is located in suite 310 of Randolph Hall.  Our phone number is 843.953.5614.

Video on the new Carolina First Arena

The Jarrard Award winners were named at the Annual Convention of the Carolinas Communication Association, which was held Oct. 3-4, 2008, in Columbia, SC.

Cooke won first place honors for her paper, titled “Type. Send. Communicate.: Text and Instant Messaging within the Workforce and its Effects on Management.”

“There is strong competition for this award,” said Brian McGee, Chair of the Department of Communication. “My faculty colleagues and I congratulate Anna-Fiona for this recognition.”

Earl Capps and Kathryn DuRant are past College of Charleston winners of this award. Earl Capps presented a paper at this year’s convention.

Also with papers accepted for the 2008 CCA convention from the College of Charleston were faculty members Doug Ferguson, Brian McGee, and Deborah Socha McGee. Celeste Lacroix, a former President of the Carolinas Communication Association Convention and College of Charleston professor, attended the convention and its Executive Council meeting.

With the largest undergraduate major at the College of Charleston, the Department of Communication enrolls more than 800 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. Students in the department study such topics as political communication, interpersonal communication, journalism, and public relations. The department is housed in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“I have always wanted to have a rewarding career and there’s one thing that has always been a constant reward in my life-education,” Van Koughnett said. “Seeing a student learn to respect a new animal and its environment for the first time is a rewarding experience, but I believe that I could successfully bring a hands-on approach to a formal biology classroom as well.”

The Tennessee native is currently earning a Masters of Education for Science and Math, with Biology Secondary Certificate at the College. Van Koughnett is a USC McNair Scholar, US Environmental Protection Agency GRO Undergraduate Fellow, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She values the importance of giving back to the community and has participated in Hurricane Katrina Relief programs and worked with underprivileged grade-school children.

(From the Office of Media Relations)