September 1, 2000

Faculty/Staff Footnotes

Erin Alexander joined the Division of Institutional Advancement as the administrative assistant in the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. Alexander is 1999 graduate of Loyola with a bachelor's degree in English.

S.L. Alexander, assistant professor of communications, published "Their Day in Court," a study of the journalists covering the Baton Rouge federal trial of United States vs. Edwin Edwards. The article was published in the June issue of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) monthly journal Quill. Alexander also was the subject of numerous print and broadcast interviews regarding press coverage of the trial in May including WWL-Radio's "Andre Show" and WWL-TV's "Sunday Morning with Dennis Woltering." As the Louisiana Sunshine Chair for the SPJ, Alexander urged the organization to file a brief supporting the numerous motions for access to material denied to the press during the trial. Access to juror information, trial exhibits including audiotapes and videotapes, and hundreds of documents filed under seal was a subject of a hearing May 24 in Judge Frank Polozola's courtroom.

Additionally, Alexander attended the Courts and MediaConflict and Cooperation conference held recently at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. The conference was the first event held at the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for the Courts and Media, which is dedicated to opening a dialogue about the tension between the right to a fair trial and rights of a free press. Alexander was panelist for the discussion on the "What Journalists Want: How the Courts Can Help." Likewise, Alexander was a panelist on the topic "Ethical Considerations for Lawyers, Judges, and Journalists" that was part of the Louisiana Bar Association's Law School for Journalist held in the U.S. District Courthouse in New Orleans in June.

Eric Anderson was hired as an assistant director of residential life.

Donna Arceneaux was promoted from administrative assistant for the annual fund to annual fund coordinator.

Patti Beaugeois joined the Whelan Children's Center as an Assistant Teacher for the three-year-old room.

Peter J. Bernardi, S.J., associate professor of Catholic theology in the Department of Religious Studies, has contributed the chapter titled "Social Modernism: The Case of the Semaines Sociales" to the volume Catholicism Contending With Modernity published by Cambridge University Press in June.

Coretta Blount joined the Institute for Ministry as the registration coordinator.

Lisa Boe was hired as assistant to the director of environmental communications.

Mike Breath was hired as controller. He comes to Loyola after spending two years as manager of profitability reporting for Compass Bank in Birmingham, Alabama. As manager, he was responsible for the internal management reporting of profitability related information for a $20-billion bank located in six states throughout the Sunbelt region. Breath holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of New Orleans. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has been an active member in various organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Louisiana State Board of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Management Institute.

Ian Brennan was hired as a mechanic in the physical plant.

Joshua Burke joined the Whelan Children's Center as an assistant teacher for the two-year-old room.

Veronica Chapa joined the Division of Institutional Advancement as the assistant director of the annual fund. Chapa graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in May. She has experience in higher education fund-raising from her work at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

Ryan Coleman was hired as an assistant director of residential life.

Eleanor Collins joined the Whelan Children's Center as an assistant teacher for the preschool room.

Catherine Comiskey, A'94, was promoted to director of the annual fund.

Lillian S. Foster joined the School of Law as a catalog assistant in the law library.

Robert Gnuse, professor of religious studies, spoke to St. Paul's United Church of Christ in New Orleans on the topic "The Ten Commandments: Their Modern Social and Theological Implications" and he spoke to House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Harvey, Louisiana on the topic, "The Primeval History in Genesis 1-11."

Carolyn Guidry joined the Whelan Children's Center as a teacher for the three-year-old classroom.

Professor of Law Bobby Marzine Harges' article, "An Evaluation of the Mississippi Products Liability Act of 1993" in the Mississippi Law Journal was cited by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in O'Flynn v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass, 2000 WL 523031. In June at the annual meeting of the Louisiana State Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section in Destin, Florida, Harges moderated a panel discussion titled "Pushing or Pulling What Do Clients Want in a Mediator?"

Loyola Athletic Director and Head Men's Basketball Coach Jerry Hernandez directed a clinic for the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC) in Baton Rouge in May. The focus of the clinic was to assist high school basketball coaches in the state with all facets of the game. LSU Head Coach John Brady and UNO Head Coach Joey Stiebing assisted Hernandez with the clinic. Hernandez recently ended his term as president of LABC.

Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology Anthony Ladd's co-authored article, "Environmental Justice, Swine Production and Farm Loss in North Carolina" has been published in the recent issue of Sociological Spectrum. He also delivered a lecture to the Loyola Summer Fulbright Scholars on the history of the environmental movement in America.

Ronald LeBranch was hired as a mechanic in the Physical Plant.

Shirlene Muckelroy joined the School of Law as a law records coordinator.

David R. Normann was named Professor of the Year in the School of Law for the academic year 1999-2000. Normann also has been nominated for inclusion in the publication Who's Who Among America's Teachers.

William A. Neilson, associate professor of law, published an article in the Loyola Law Review involving various cases decided by the Fifth Circuit in the area of federal taxation. Also, Loyola's Tax Clinic, which is run by Neilson, handled a number of cases last semester before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the United States Tax Court and it is currently assisting the "Tuskegee Airmen" in attempting to obtain tax exempt status before the IRS.

Rosary H. O'Neill, professor of drama and speech, has been elected to "Who's Who Among America's Teachers 2000" and was selected by New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial as an honoree at the Women's Conference an Outstanding Woman in the Arts and Entertainment Field.

Theresa Ryan joined the Office of Publications and Marketing Communications as publications coordinator. Ryan graduated from Loyola in May with a bachelor's degree in communications/public relations and a minor in English writing. She was an intern in the publications office and was a staff writer for The Maroon and The Wolf.

Maroon adviser and Department of Communications Instructor Liz Scott won two awards from the Louisiana Press Women in May. Her column, "Modine's New Orleans," was named best humor column, and a second column, "Chronicles of Recent History," was named best specialized column. Both appear monthly in New Orleans Magazine. In addition, "Modine" won first place in the humor column category by the National Association of Press Women and "Chronicles" won second place among columns in the annual contest of the New Orleans Press Club.

Catherine Simoneaux joined Loyola as director of scholarships and financial aid. Simoneaux has over 20 years of experience in all aspects of administering institutional, state, and federal financial programs. Most recently, she served as assistant director of financial aid at Tulane University. Simoneaux has a master of business administration from Tulane and a bachelor of science degree from Georgetown University. She is an active member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Louisiana Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the Zonta International Club of New Orleans.

Professor of Music David Swanzy was named secretary of The Sinfonia Foundation. Sinfonia is a charitable and educational foundation dedicated to advancing the cause of music in America through awarding merit scholarships and commissioning new music by American composers.

Evangeline Taylor was hired as a police officer in the Department of University Police.

Robert Thomas, director of the Loyola University Center for Environmental Communications, presented a workshop sponsored by the Environmental Journalist Association at the University of Maryland in Washington, D.C., about researching environmental information for articles and print. Thomas also served on a panel titled "Science and the Media."

In July, Thomas gave a talk to the School of Communications at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala titled "How We Access and Use Environmental Information." He also consulted with the dean of the school about setting up a Center for Environmental Communications there. Julie DesOrmeaux, a communications senior, accompanied Thomas. They videotaped a four-day workshop on population genetics presented by Patricia Dorn, Loyola professor of biological sciences, as part of Dorn's research on Chagas disease. DesOrmeaux and Thomas also filmed an educational piece on management and care of stingless bees presented by Professor Carlotta Monroy. The Maya use the honey from stingless bees to treat several eye disorders, but people are losing the knowledge on how to keep these bees in captivity. Monroy is trying to preserve this Maya practice.

Leila Waller was hired as the assistant director of recreational sports.

Catherine Wessinger, chair and professor of religious studies, has published two books. She is editor of Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases, and author of How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven's Gate. She also is co-editor of NovaReligio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. Wessinger presented a public lecture, "Millennialism and Law Enforcement at Y2K" at the University of Kansas, and a public lecture, "Charisma and Credentials: Women's Religious Leadership in America" at University of New Hampshire. And she discussed millennialism on the Evening Talk Show of KERA, a public radio station in Dallas.

Deborah B. Zimmerman was hired as an internal auditor. She was most recently the supervisor of the LSU Health Sciences CenterHealthcare Services Division in New Orleans. As supervisor, she was responsible for the audits of all operations for the Medical Center of Louisiana, the largest of the nine charity hospitals in the state of Louisiana. Prior to her tenure with LSU, Debbie spent 12 years with First Commerce Corporation. Zimmerman holds a master of business administration degree from the University of New Orleans and a bachelor of business administration with a concentration in accounting from Loyola University New Orleans. She is a Certified Internal Auditor and has been an active member in the New Orleans chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors since 1990.