Page 19 - N.C. A&T Magazine Spring 2019

caMpUs highlights
lamon laWhorn, assistant director
of bands, organized and composed
music for the commemorative
drumline celebrating American
Honda’s 60th anniversary at the
Faculty, staff & administrators, cont. 2019 Tournament of Roses Parade
in Pasadena, California, on New
Year’s Day. The 60-member HBCU
drumline included members of N.C.
A&T’s Cold Steel drumline, as well
as percussionists from Prairie View
Valerie J. learning. She engages her students In 2007, McMillan was recognized as A&M University, Bethune-Cookman
mCmillan, in a discourse of learning through the Academic Advisor of the Year University, Tennessee State University,
Ph.d., an self-discovery, cooperative activities, by the College of Agriculture and Hampton University, Alabama A&M
associate experiential engagement and Environmental Sciences. In 2011, she University and Miles College.
professor of reflection. received the Outstanding Teacher
family and A faculty member at N.C. A&T since of the Year Award from the College Honda has supported HBCUs for
consumer 2000, McMillan has facilitated and of Agriculture and Environmental nearly 30 years with initiatives
sciences in fostered numerous undergraduate Sciences and the Award for including the Honda Battle of the
the College Excellence in Teaching from the N.C. Bands and the Honda Campus All-Star
of Agriculture and Environmental and graduate students’ successful A&T Chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta. Challenge. The 130th Rose Parade,
entry into the early childhood
Sciences, received a University of workforce in careers such as She received the Early Childhood themed “The Melody of Life,” was seen
North Carolina System 2019 Board teachers, center directors, child Champion Award from Guilford Child by more than 45 million viewers.
of Governors (BOG) Award for development specialists and Development in 2017.
Excellence in Teaching, along with extension agents. She develops Each Excellence in Teaching
leading faculty from the other 16 and teaches courses designed awardee receives a commemorative
constituent campuses of the to prepare students to meet the bronze medallion and a $12,500
UNC System.
unique needs of young children cash prize. BOG members present
In her teaching strategies, McMillan and families, regardless of ethnicity, the awards during each campus’s
emphasizes the process rather than culture, language, ability, disability spring commencement ceremony.
the product of teaching and and family structure.
As an outgrowth of its recently updated strategic plan and
commitment to outstanding quality in research, teaching and
community engagement, North Carolina A&T has created three new
Centers of Excellence to provide exemplary leadership in research,
academic programming and community outreach, consistent with
roBerT neWman, Ph.d., associate professor in the university’s land-grant mission.
the Department of Biology, received $1.4 million
from the National Institutes of Health’s National Serving as interim directors for the Center of Excellence in
Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate Cybersecurity, Center of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing
the biochemical mechanisms that facilitate and the Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
communication within and between cells in the are Tonya smiTh-JaCKson, Ph.d. (pictured top left), professor
human body. and chairwoman of the Department of Industrial and Systems
Engineering; aJiT d. KelKar, Ph.d. (top right), professor and
Newman is researching cellular signaling pathways— chairman of the Department of Nanoengineering in the Joint School
how cells know what to do and when to do it. of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering; and Thaddeus mCeWen,
Focused on phosphorylation-dependent signaling pathways mediated Ph.d. (bottom), professor in the Department of Management and
by protein kinases and phosphatases, this research holds possibilities for coordinator of the entrepreneurship program, respectively. They will
improved treatments for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes to heart establish interdisciplinary faculty advisory committees and external
disease. It also has the potential to answer fundamental questions about advisory committees, initiate discussions with business and industry
the regulation of cellular signaling pathways. This information can be used leaders and plans for sustaining the centers for the long term.
to develop computational models of cellular signaling pathways to predict They will also assist with hiring of permanent directors and initiate
dynamic changes in pathway properties following exposure to various strategic planning.
physiological, pharmacological and toxicological stimuli, both in isolation
and in combination.
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