USC Upstate Magazine

Family and friends of USC Upstate

Faculty Achievements

Kenneth Barideaux (Psychology) was awarded $5,200 by the American Psychological Foundation David and Carol Myers Fund. The funds will be used to support a summer professional development workshop for high school psychology teachers in the upstate South Carolina region. Christa Christ is the co-PI.

Logan Camp-Spivey (Nursing) was recognized in the Sigma Theta Tau International Society of Nursing Member Spotlight.

Chung-Yean Chiang (Business) had his paper “Whose AI Matters? Examining the Bilateral Effects of AI Capability Orientation on Supply Chain Resilience” accepted by the International Journal of Operations and Production Management.

Shirleatha Dunlap (Nursing) is project director of a $1.3 million HRSA Congressionally Directed Spending grant, “Emergency Disaster Preparedness and Management Simulation: Equipment to Improve Healthcare Project.” Co-project directors are Logan Camp-Spivey, Stephanie Barnhill and Monique Jones. Dunlap is also the co-author of “Addressing Program Effectiveness for Nursing Accreditation: Outcome Specification and Measurement” in the Journal of Nursing Education.

Derek Fenner (Art Education) and senior Morgan Kitts presented “Unfolding Art Research” at the National Art Education Association annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, in March.

Uma Gupta (Business Analytics) was a keynote speaker for Virtu’s Women in Data Science Virtual Conference in March.

Carmen Harris (History) has been serving as the state scholar for the Smithsonian exhibit “Spark! Places of Innovation” under the auspices of South Carolina Humanities. She provides scholarly expertise and historical knowledge to the five communities hosting the exhibit, including her hometown of Gaffney. In January, she gave a presentation in Gaffney on the impact of innovation on small towns.

Araceli Hernández-Laroche (Modern Languages) was recognized in November by Expo Latina Business among the Top 12 most influential women in the Southeast. She also served as the humanities scholar in the SC Humanities-funded documentary “Miss Perry Will Speak,” which tells the story of legacy members of Business and Professional Women of South Carolina. The film premiered in March.

Tina Herzberg (Education) co-authored the article “Mission INSPIRE: A Science Fair-Type Activity for Youth Who Use Braille in STEM Learning” in the January/February issue of Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. She also co-presented “How to support the transition to digital math tools for students with visual impairments: key skills, resources and issues” at the national Council of Administrators of Special Education conference in Savannah, Georgia, in November 2024.

Polinho Katina (Advanced Manufacturing) was the co-editor of two textbooks: “Cyber Space and Outer Space Security” and “Healthcare Industry 4.0: Computer Vision-Aided Data Analytics.”

Bridget Kirkland (Graphic Design) will be chairing the panel “Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Interdisciplinary Teaching” at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October.

Allison Lane (Communication) worked with the national Public Relations Society of America to establish a student branch of the organization at Upstate. It is only the fifth student chapter of the group in South Carolina.

Rob McCormick (History) won the University of South Carolina Trustees Professorship award for 2025. The award honors faculty who are committed to teaching excellence.

Kristi Miller (Nursing) published the textbook “Informatics and Nursing: Opportunities and Challenges.” She also co-authored “Student Perceptions of Nursing School Safety Culture: A Longitudinal Study Using the Modified SON-COSS” in the journal Nurse Educator and “The Academic Nurse Educator Shortage: Recommendations for Policy Makers” in the Journal of Nursing Education.

Ben Montgomery (Biology) co-authored “Students in the Wild: Safety Instruction Practices in Distance-taught Biological Laboratory and Field Classes” in the journal The American Biology Teacher.

Nolan Stolz (Music) authored the chapter “The Origin of Progressive Metal Lyrics in Black Sabbath’s Music” in the book “Progressive Rock, Metal, and the Literary Imagination.” In March, the Oklahoma City University Symphony Orchestra gave a preview performance of the “26 Gas Stations” movement of his forthcoming Route 66 Suite at the College Music Society’s South Central Chapter Conference.

Refika Turgut (Education) co-presented the paper “Exploring Translanguaging in Linguistically Inclusive Computer Science Curricula: Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives on Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners” at the Eastern Educational Research Association.