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  1. Board of Regents Endowed Scholarships

Board of Regents Endowed Scholarships

2023-2024 Academic Year

*The following endowed professorships were awarded to faculty to support research, scholarship, targeted professional development and special curriculum development.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Pauline O'Sullivan Prof II

Title

Digital Microscopes to Enhance Learning, Engagement, and Recruitment Opportunities

Faculty Name

Dawn Simms, MS, Assistant Professor

Summary of Project

Funding for the purchase of digital microscopes for the Microbiology and Biology laboratories. Images captured using digital microscopy can be used in the classroom, teaching workshops, independent research, and community engagement and recruitment activities.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Michael O'Shea Prof

Title

"True Facts of This Drastic Period": A Sabbatical Project about Slavery in Louisiana

Faculty Name

Angus Woodward, MFA, Professor

Summary of Project

This generous endowment supports my one-semester sabbatical, during which I am writing and illustrating a graphic nonfiction manuscript based on interviews of formerly enslaved Louisianians conducted by HBCU students in the 1930s.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Ann Young Prof

Title

Undergraduate Student Research Investigations in Biology & Chemistry

Faculty Name

Natalie Lenard, PhD, Professor

Summary of Project

Biology and Chemistry faculty provide both in-class and extracurricular laboratory research opportunities to FranU students.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Margaret Miller Prof

Title

Community and the Church

Faculty Name

Brian Pedraza, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

This endowment funded the first ever Theology/Philosophy/Great Books intellectual retreat for students, the writing of a chapter of a book on ecclesiology, and support for The Dunces' Corner, a podcast put on by theology professors and students.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Earleen Desselle Prof

Title

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

Faculty Name

Damon Boria, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

I attended the 28th Conference of the North American Sartre Society, hosted at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in November 2023. I presented a paper titled "Nature-Talk in Existentialism: Three Disentanglements" and participated in a session on the recently published book Earthly Engagements: Reading Sartre After the Holocene, which I co-edited and partially authored.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Jean Renaux Prof

Title

Instruction Aid: Bariatric Nursing Manikin

Faculty Name

Janice Hall, PhD, Assistant Professor


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Magdalen O'Donovan Prof

Title

Student Success on NCE

Faculty Name

William Schrieter, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

“Nature-Talk in Existentialism: Three Disentanglements.” 28th Conference of the North American Sartre Society, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, 4 November 2023.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Veronica Dorgan Prof

Title

Funding for the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society Exams and Assessing their use with the Physical Therapy Assistant Program

Faculty Name

Michael Ludwig, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

This endowment funds the use and assessment of a standardized anatomy and physiology exam which may be used assess incoming students' retained knowledge from prerequisite classes. This is in line with the University's commitment to student success and our commitment to a high quality of education and meeting our students where they are.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Linda Constantin Prof

Title

TrueLearn

Faculty Name

Mari Kantrow, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor

Summary of Project

The purpose of this endowment is to utilize a 2-year subscription of the TrueLearn platform (which provides high-quality licensure exam type questions and metrics of program performance) to guide team members for areas of improvement within the curriculum, evaluate the benefits of such a program on improving DPT first time and ultimate NPTE® board pass rates, and assist in performing real-time curricular assessments and adaptations based on performance.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Marie Lemine Prof

Title

Improving Retention Rates and Exam Performance in the Medical laboratory Science Program

Faculty Name

Deborah Fox, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

This endowment provides funds to create additional electronic resources and to incorporate American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) review resources into the MLS curriculum in order to enhance student retention within the MLS program.


1. Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Rose Fitzgerald Prof

Title

Advancing Rehabilitation Research Technology

Faculty Name

Phillip Page, PT, PhD, Associate Professor

Summary of Project

This endowment funds research on human movement and rehabilitation through state-of-the-art equipment, training, and dissemination. Access to this research equipment represents the University’s commitment to research and scholarship, as well as an investment in technology for optimal student experiences and faculty scholarship.

2. Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Pauline O'Sullivan Prof I

Title

Mapping Brain Function During Therapeutic Interventions to Reduce Pain and Improve Function

Summary of Project

This equipment will be used to measure blood flow to certain areas of the brain to quantify brain activity during movement and exercise. This information can be used to enhance rehabilitation of neurological and musculoskeletal patients.



Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Pauline O'Sullivan Prof I

Title

Error Augmentation Via Mechanical Resistance: Applications for Physical Therapy Intervention

Faculty Name

Kelly Rodriguez, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor

Summary of Project

Specific parameters to target neuroplastic changes in the brain have been identified in the literature across all populations including task specificity and intensity of training. One such way to implement these parameters is via resistance, either through resistive bands or weighting systems during locomotor activity. This endowment provided funding for a locomotor mechanical resistance device to expand the technology of our human movement analysis research lab in the School of Health Professions and explore the impact on healthy, geriatric, and neurologic populations.


Endowed Professorship Name

Sr Marie Therese Crowley Prof

Title

Determining the Effect of a Comprehensive Mental and Emotional Wellness program in Physician Assistant Student Professional Development.

Faculty Name

Josselin Carter, DMSc, MMS, PA-C, Assistant Professor

Summary of Project

This endowment funds curricular enhancements to facilitate learning and provides services with a licensed social worker to provide wellness guidance in a group setting with an option for private interventions.