Founder/editor of Iran’s Tehran Bureau to visit campus April 12
Kelly Golnoush Niknejad will give a presentation to the SPSU community on Thurs., April 12, from 3-4 p.m. in H-203. She will speak about journalism in Iran and the role new media is playing globally.

Niknejad is the founder and editor-in-chief of Tehran Bureau. Launched in late 2008, the independent news organization is a virtual bureau connecting journalists, Iran experts and readers all over the world. In 2009, Tehran Bureau partnered with PBS/Frontline and won an Emmy for its first editorial partnership, the documentary “A Death in Tehran.”

Niknejad was born in Iran and moved to the U.S. at the age of 17. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and writing, a law degree with an international and European focus, and two master’s degrees in journalism.

Memorial service planned for Prof. R. Glenn Allen
Prof. Emeritus R. Glenn Allen, SPSU’s 2010-11 Teacher of the Year, lost a hard-fought battle with cancer on April 3. “Glenn was one of the great ones, as all of his colleagues and students can readily attest,” wrote Dr. Zvi Szafran, vice president for academic affairs, in his blog, The Weekly Blab.

Family, friends and colleagues will gather on Thurs., April 12, at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Marietta to pay tribute to Prof. Allen. Visitation in the gym from 5-5:45 p.m. will be followed by a Celebration of Life Service at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary and then another visitation until 7:45 p.m. The church is located at 4495 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, GA, 30066.

Prof. Allen was diagnosed with a brain tumor in June 2010. After undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and while participating in a research study at Duke University’s Brain Tumor Center, he continued to teach and perform his duties as the founding director of the Mechatronics Engineering Program until he retired in June 2011. He was one of the original faculty members of the Division of Engineering (now a school) and nurtured the Mechatronics Engineering Program, which celebrated its first graduates in spring 2011 and now has 217 enrolled students, making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the United States.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations: the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center (www.cancer.duke.edu/btc), the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (www.sbtf.org) or the SPSU Foundation (checks may be designated to fund the Engineering Innovation Scholarship Endowment founded by Prof. Allen). Mailing addresses for these organizations are listed on the SPSU website.

ITE team wins Georgia Traffic Bowl again
The SPSU student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) repeated last year’s victory over Georgia Tech at the second intra-section Traffic Bowl in March.

SPSU will represent the Georgia Section of ITE at the Southern District Traffic Bowl Competition in Lexington, Ky., April 15-18.

“We are proud of team members Joshua Conrad, David Peters and Nicholas Mullins from civil engineering and civil engineering technology,” said their advisor, Dr. Sung-Hee (Sonny) Kim, assistant professor of civil and construction engineering and director of the Center for Georgia Aggregates Research at SPSU.

Hornets baseball team hitting home runs
The SPSU baseball team is nearing the end of its regular season with a 30-18 overall record and 14-10 conference record.

The Hornets rank No. 10 in Division 1 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAA) in total doubles (93). In their conference, they are No. 5 for a .303 batting average and No. 5 in runs batted in (RBI) per game (5.48).

Currently ranked No. 6 in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and No. 20 in Division 1, the Hornets have some stand-out athletes who contribute to the team with their strong pitching and batting abilities.

The pitching team consists of notable players including junior Casey Shiver, who leads the team in both earned run average (ERA) (2.65) and average strike-outs per game (67, 773 total). Shiver also ranks No. 2 in the division in wins (8) and No. 3 in the division in total innings pitched (78). Junior Kevin Bibler has an ERA of 2.96, and senior Josh Means has an ERA of 3.48.

At bat this year is senior Jon White who ranks No. 1 in the division in total doubles (20) and No. 5 in total RBI (53). He leads the team in both RBI and batting average (.385). Senior Devin Thaut has an individual game high of 13 total bases, three doubles and three home runs and leads the team in stolen bases (12).

The Hornets are under the leadership of Matt Griffin who is in his ninth season as head coach. He started the season with an impressive 328-144 record, having led the Hornets to three SSAC championships, six advancements to NAIA regional play and one World Series appearance.

Two CET alums receive appointments in industry, community
Two graduates of SPSU’s Civil Engineering Technology (CET) Program recently made the news. Greg Teague (1996), an employee of Croy Engineering, has been named vice chair of Leadership Cobb, and Greg Halsted (2000) is the new Pacific Northwest and western Canada regional manager of The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI).

Teague, who leads Croy Engineering’s Transportation Division, will help guide Leadership Cobb, which develops skills and knowledge through programs and retreats and introduces its participants to viewpoints that illustrate economic, political, educational and social factors at work in Cobb County.

Halstead, who lives in Bellingham, Wash., is responsible for promoting the use of reinforced concrete construction in the building, bridges and paving markets. He also supports CRSI’s western region through engineering, marketing and promotional activities. Before joining CRSI, Halsted was the market manager for the Portland Cement Association and before that a technical services manager for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Girl Scouts turn ‘Trash Into Treasure’ with help of ATT
Students and faculty members in the Apparel Textile Technology (ATT) Program conducted a fun two-day seminar on fashion design for more than 20 members of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta.

The goal of the seminar was to produce fashion by turning “Trash Into Treasure” with reusable recycled paper, fabric and anything that can be repurposed into eco-friendly attire.

Prof. Keely Clay, an assistant professor in industrial engineering technology, conducted the seminar with a number of ATT students, including members of the student organization Fashion Designers Outspoken. Participating Girl Scouts created five designs currently on display in the W. Clair Harris Textile Center through April 23.

Save the date: May 1 is Annual Employee Picnic
The annual SPSU Employee Picnic has been scheduled for Tues., May 1, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Sycamore Grove.

SPSU’s own Fridays at Five Band will keep the crowd entertained, and those involved in the Secret Pals program will find out who they’ve been receiving notes and gifts from all year.

The picnic is hosted by the Social and Community Building Committee and sponsored by Chartwell’s and the SPSU Foundation. This is an annual event provided free of charge to all SPSU faculty and staff. On the menu will be hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, potato chips, iced tea, water and – thanks to the SPSU Foundation – a dessert table.

Social and Community Building Committee members are Kellie Blosser, Trish Buchanan, Cressia Callahan, Alberta Cook, Quint Hill, Bill Ketchum, Ron Koger, Scott Larisch, Jennifer Louten, Diane Mercure, Vickie Moody, Jenny Rogers, Mary Phillips, Kenneth Shelton, Leigh-Ann Soublis (chair), Kelli Tracy, Amanda Traylor, Kit Trensch, Alda Wood and Donna Zeigler.

Have news to share?
If your department has an upcoming event or other news to share with the campus community, please send an e-mail with all the pertinent information to Diane Payne (dpayne@spsu.edu). To be considered for use in a specific issue of the SPSU Hornet’s Nest, a news item must be submitted no less than four weeks before the date of the issue.

Volume 5, Issue 14
April 11, 2012