Ten Vanderbilt faculty members will take part in the 2014-15 SEC Faculty Travel Grant Program. Now in its third year, the program provides support for selected faculty members to collaborate with colleagues at other Southeastern Conference member institutions.
In addition, seven faculty from other SEC schools will collaborate at Vanderbilt.
The goal of the program is to stimulate scholarly initiatives between SEC universities by encouraging faculty to exchange ideas, develop grant proposals and conduct research in their areas of interest.
“My trip to Vanderbilt University was very successful and has already led to additional collaborative efforts,” said Douglas Pittman, a 2013-14 program participant and an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina. “I would highly recommend this program to any faculty member willing to take time from his or her schedule and collaborate with another SEC university.”
More than 100 participants from all 14 SEC schools will travel throughout the 2014-15 academic year, and every SEC campus will host at least one participant. Disciplines represented this year include public administration, veterinary medicine and sociology, among others.
The SEC Faculty Travel Grant Program is part of the SECU academic initiative, which works to promote and advance the academic achievements of SEC universities.
Vanderbilt’s 2014-15 SEC Faculty Travel Grant recipients are:
- K. Michelle Ardisson, assistant professor of nursing, who will collaborate at the University of Kentucky;
- Tucker Biddlecombe, associate professor of choral activities and choral director at Blair School of Music, who will collaborate at the University of Tennessee;
- Tom Christenbery, associate professor of nursing, who will collaborate at the University of Kentucky;
- Elsa Filosa, assistant professor of Italian, who will collaborate at the University of Mississippi;
- Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, associate professor of physics and astronomy, who will collaborate at the University of Alabama;
- Amanda Johnson, lecturer in English, who will collaborate at the University of Florida;
- Catherine Loss, assistant professor of the practice of public policy and education, who will collaborate at the University of Florida;
- Bonita Pilon, senior associate dean for clinical and community partnerships and professor of nursing, who will collaborate at the University of Florida;
- David Wasserstein, Eugene Greener Jr. Professor of Jewish Studies; who will collaborate at the University of Mississippi; and
- Yaqiong Xu, assistant professor of electrical engineering, who will collaborate at the University of Florida.
View the full list of 2014-15 SEC Faculty Travel Grant Program participants.