Faculty News Category
03.04.2013
In the eastern reaches of North Carolina, where the coast weaves in and out to form secluded coves and communities, live the people of the Core Sound. These people, and their lives in commercial fishing, have been the subject of study by William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English Walt Wolfram and video producer Neal Hutcheson, both of NC State.
Wolfram and Hutcheson, who have produced five documentaries showcasing the diversity of accents, dialect and culture of North Carolina communities across the state, have reunited to create their sixth documentary and the second one about the people of the Core Sound as part of The North Carolina Language and Life Project.
The new documentary, “Core.Sounders,” premieres March 14 at the N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. The film covers the economic struggles the fishing communities face. “There are lots of cultural issues (down east) and one of the important ones in this region is the commercial fishing,” says Wolfram. “It’s not only the language (or dialect) we’re interested in, but it’s also the traditions. The documentary will talk about culture, the challenges of development and also the fishing industry.”
People in the Core Sound have a long, rich history of fishing, and Wolfram and Hutcheson want this documentary to showcase that. “People have made a living for generations and now it’s changing and competing with (a lot of things),” says Wolfram. “The fishing industry is not nearly as viable, people can’t make a living. It’s not simply about fishing it’s an entire lifestyle.
Part of displaying that lifestyle for Wolfram and Hutcheson is through the events surrounding the premiere. “One of the things that will sort of show the community context is following the film, a panel of people from Core Sound will be there, including some of the people in the film,” says Wolfram. “We hope that the whole theme from hors d’oeuvres to panel to production will present community in a context that premieres usually don’t do.”
The premiere of this documentary marks the end of a lot of hard work and weeks spent working to put this film together. Hutcheson, a 1992 NC State grad, took several trips to the Core Sound and stayed with the people to get the story right and the full effect of what’s happening.
“One of the important dimensions of this film is the community has been involved in this, which is unusual,” says Hutcheson. “We have input from professionals and input from the community. We have spent years there … it’s a very vested project.”
The Core Sound people were the subject five years ago of Hutcheson and Wolfram’s documentary, “The Carolina Brogue.” That feature focused on the unique accents that have developed in the Core Sound because of its history of isolation from surrounding communities.
Hutcheson says his new film could influence North Carolina legislation in a positive way. “I think it has the potential to help,” says Hutcheson. “We’ve captured these people quite accurately and legislation is currently dealing with complicated issues: zoning, development, water quality and fishing regulation. It’s done in an abstract way without understanding who they are.”
Hutcheson knows how much it could mean to the Core Sound people to have their story told. “The people down there have been working to get attention and have a voice and have often been ignored,” says Hutcheson. “We want to help and contribute to the conversation. If this (documentary) helps get attention they need, then I’ll be very happy.”
—Molly Green
12.07.2012
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Titans.
NC State’s football program had an award in the early 2000s for offensive lineman who could stand up a defender and drive him back five yards or more. It was called the Raleigh Rails, and it was commonplace for lineman to collect the honor during games.
But offensive guard and center Leroy Harris was so powerful when he played on NC State’s offensive line from 2003-06, the coaches had to invent a new statistic called “the round trip.” In a 2004 game against Wake Forest, Harris blocked his defender in a full circle and the new stat was born.
“It was when you lock onto a guy and drive him back more than 15 yards,” Harris says, laughing. “They called it putting him on the railroad track.”
The move was a result of Harris’ aggressive play, something he learned playing as a defensive lineman in high school. But when the Wolfpack got a hold of him, they switched him to offense and couldn’t remove the love of the pursuit from Harris’ mindset.
“I got a chance to pull a lot and run and hit people,” Harris says. “It’s not about sitting back and waiting until the guy comes to you. The same mentality from defense can be applied to the offensive line.”
That aggressive mindset took Harris to the NFL. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He’s spent the last five seasons blocking for one of the best running backs in the game, Chris Johnson. And in 2011, Harris started for the Titans in every game of the regular season, a first for him.
But 2012 threw a wrinkle in veteran Harris’ journey. On the Titans’ opening drive in their Oct. 28 game against the Indianapolis Colts, Harris partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Harris’ season was over, and the Titans placed him on injured reserve. But, he says, IR does not mean a player is on vacation. He goes to the facilities to work every day. Instead of running drills on the field, he spends four hours receiving treatment and then hitting the weight room to work on maintaining his upper body strength. Everything he does is aimed at making him strong to come back in 2013.
Photo courtesy of NC State Athletics.
Harris says the key for a veteran who has been injured is to stay strong mentally. He says veterans realize that everybody wants to play, including the guys behind them, so that motivates players to come back from injury as fast as possible. But a player can’t let fear and worry build up.
“You’re kind of scared to get out of the huddle because you don’t know who’s coming in next,” Harris says. “You don’t know who that man is who is coming behind you. But the key is that you don’t let it overwhelm you. As you get older, you get a chance to understand that.”
10.11.2012
When the American Cheese Society came to Raleigh for its annual convention in August, the trade group that supports artisanal cheesemakers didn’t have to look far to find an experienced judge.
MaryAnne Drake, director of NC State’s Sensory Service Center, not only helped judge 1,700 hunks of cheese, she also gave a presentation to a sold-out crowd of cheddar enthusiasts and served as co-chair of the conference.
The Sensory Service Center, where researchers use information from ordinary consumers and high-tech machines to help food processors improve their products, is featured in the upcoming issue of NC State magazine.
Rebecca Sherman, director of marketing for the Denver-based cheese society, said the resources of NC State and its food science program were part of what made the conference so successful. “Being near an academic center like that was great for us,” she said. “And MaryAnne Drake’s work is really interesting to our members.”
Drake’s presentation focused on one of her specialties: cheddar cheese. Her lab staff chopped up more than 2,500 samples for her talk on regional and international differences in cheddar cheese flavors. Attendees also learned about the range of flavors from factors such as feed, milk and the room in which a cheese is aged.
The conference’s cheese contest attracted the largest number of entries — 1,711 from 254 companies — since the society began holding a contest 28 years ago. Categories ranged from Monterey Jack to Camembert to feta, and included nine kinds of cheddars. Each entry was evaluated by two judges, Sherman said, a technical judge and an aesthetic judge.
Drake was a technical judge, whose job it is to take away points for flaws found in a cheese. The aesthetic judge can add points for such qualities as flavor. Every cheesemaker gets a score sheet back, so everyone who enters gets valuable feedback on their products.
The conference participants also took a field trip to Schaub Hall to see two cheese-making demonstrations, one on Havarti cheese and the other on Alpine-style cheese. And just to make sure the cheesemakers at the conference knew that NC State’s interest in dairy products went beyond cheese, Howling Cow peach ice cream was served at one of the networking breaks.
– Sylvia Adcock ‘81
08.29.2012
Mary E. Wheeler didn’t go to college until after she had raised her two boys, and she was admittedly a bit nervous about going to class with students fresh out of high school.
But Wheeler did well in her studies at Norfolk College of William and Mary, graduating in three-and-a-half years with a 4.0 average. “I was accepted and found it an exhilarating experience to find my mind had not atrophied completely,” Wheeler recalled in an interview years later with The Raleigh Times.
In fact, Wheeler continued with her studies, going on to earn a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1966, Wheeler joined the faculty at NC State, where she was an associate professor of Russian history.
And while she may have been late to university life, Wheeler clearly took to academia. On this day in 1973, Wheeler became the first woman to receive one of the Outstanding Teacher Awards given annually at NC State. She was one of two recipients that year.
Dr. Mary E. Wheeler
Wheeler told The Raleigh Times that her students were open-minded and interested in Russian culture. She was excited about using that experience in her upcoming classes on Russian history.
“The Russian people were very friendly and hospitable,” she said. “They almost put Southern hospitality to shame.”
Wheeler encouraged women to follow her lead and get a college education, even if it happened later in life.
“Many are afraid they won’t be able to keep up with the younger students,” she said. “But I have found that their additional maturity makes up for their age. They have more self-discipline and are not worrying about whether or not they have a date for Saturday night.”
05.08.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors last week for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Hiller Spires, a professor in the College of Education and a senior research fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. Spires is one of two professors being recognized as Distinguished Graduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Any success I’ve had as a teacher is derived, I think, from my passion for compelling ideas and creating conditions for students to be curious and intellectually challenged. I’ve found that students more often than not rise to the learning occasion. I see my role as setting high expectations, modeling intellectual curiosity and being available to mentor, challenge and provide resources for students to be successful. I’m not afraid to show my enthusiasm and students tell me that it is contagious. “If you tell me, I will listen. If you show me, I will see. If you let me experience, I will learn.” This well-known quote by Lao Tau aptly captures my philosophy of teaching.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My favorite aspect of graduate teaching is engaging my students as co-researchers. I enjoy supporting students as they learn the rigors of the educational research process, including publishing findings and sharing them with professional audiences at conferences. It’s rewarding to watch as students become confident in their new-found knowledge and skills. I take satisfaction knowing that I have a part in contributing to the next generation of educational researchers.
05.07.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors last week for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jay Levine, a professor of epidemiology and public health in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is also an associate curator at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Levine is one of three professors being recognized with Outstanding Extension and Outreach Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Enjoying teaching, a bit of theatre, and focusing on the key elements of what you feel students may need to know, rather than on just presenting facts.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Seeing personal growth in students I’ve worked with. Watching them take on new challenges and watching them move beyond the things I’ve introduced them to. Perhaps the things I’ve enjoyed the most is taking time from the rigors of running a laboratory and teaching to work with young future scientists; helping instill a sense of wonder about the beauty of the natural world.
05.04.2012
The Alumni Association honored 21 NC State professors Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Jennifer L. Campbell, a professor of biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Campbell is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Well, much of what I would have said is already written in Jan Spears’ article unfortunately. I’ll try to be original! I agree with her 100% that flexibility and relevance are essential to successful teaching. You must be unafraid to change course as appropriate and keep your message, materials, and the work you require of them current if you want students to remain engaged and invested in the course. I also believe that the more of the course your students “own,” so to speak, the better quality their work will be and the more they will retain from it. To that end, it is important to encourage collaboration - in a sense turning the classroom into a group focused on some common goal.
It’s important to be kind and compassionate while challenging students to think more deeply, work harder, and keep a clear focus of their goals — both immediate and long term. In my class I try to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable speaking out about difficult issues. I do this so that students can both better understand and clarify their own thoughts on a particular subject while at the same time acknowledging the often opposing views of others. I also make it clear that it is okay not to have a “right” answer, and in fact for many of the issues we tackle, no right answer exists. Once freed of fear of saying the wrong thing, we can all work together to learn.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? I have been teaching long enough now that I have seen several students go on to graduate school or enter the work force. While that in and of itself gives me satisfaction, honestly what makes me feel the greatest sense of accomplishment is when they contact me via email or find me on Facebook to check in and let me know how things are going, or simply send me a link to a news article connected to the course materials I taught them that “they thought I should show to the students.” To me that means that the seeds of information I planted however many years ago are still there, still having an impact, still making them think.
05.03.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors this afternoon for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering in the College of Engineering. Dickey is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? I think caring goes a long way. I chose this profession because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. On a more pragmatic level, I make a significant effort to create engaging lectures by using active learning principles and by trying to relate material to the diverse interests and learning styles of the students in the class. Finally, I have had very good mentors (including my parents) who have helped me improve as a teacher.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? Seeing students succeed and seeing the ‘light bulb’ turn on both give me great satisfaction!
05.02.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on Thursday for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with David W.W. Jones, an assistant professor of agricultural and extension education in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jones is one of seven professors being recognized with Outstanding Teacher Awards.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? It has always been my top priority as a teacher to build relationships with my students. I personally believe that the foundation of life is relationships. As a teacher we spend a great deal of time with our students and we have the opportunity to influence and impact lives. By getting to know what students want, feel and need, it allows me the opportunity to help fulfill those needs. As we go through our lives we will continue to create relationships. These relationships include our co-workers, significant others in our lives, our children and our friends. The best teachers in my life have always been those individuals that I had the strongest relationship with.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? My greatest satisfaction as a professor has come from watching my students leave my courses and go out and share what they have thought about during my courses. When I get a note from one of my former students mentioning an assignment that changed their lives or influences their attitude it makes me smile. One of my assignments early in the Introduction to Leadership course is for the student to work diligently for one week to have a, “Tigger Day” every day. A “Tigger Day” is one of those days where nothing can go wrong … everything is OK. It’s a mind set to look at ALL activities in a positive way. It is an activity that years later students come up to me and tell me their having a “Tigger Day” and smile. It’s a great day for me when someone tells me to have a “Tigger Day” because I realize that I’ve influenced others in a positive way.
05.01.2012
The Alumni Association will honor 21 NC State professors on May 3 for their outstanding work in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the field. We talked (via email) with some of the recipients about their work and the keys to being a successful professor.
Today we’re visiting with Maria Oliver-Hoyo, an associate professor of chemical education in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Oliver-Hoyo is one of six professors being recognized as Distinguished Undergraduate Professors.
What is the key to being a successful teacher? Listening to students and to yourself … The moment an educator thinks he/she has all the answers, effectiveness is lost. Listening to what students have to say should trigger reflection about our own practices. The teaching process is the ultimate learning experience and learning is an endless process.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a professor? There is nothing like witnessing a student’s “Aha” moment or receiving communication from a former student letting you know how they are doing.
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