Deborah Byrd, an English instructor on GPC’s Newton Campus, and Dr. Michael Nelson, a biology professor on Clarkston Campus, are recipients of the 2015 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence awards. A  Texas-based organization, NISOD recognizes men and women who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues.

Joshua Corin, English, Dunwoody, has published his fourth book, “Cost of Life.” Here’s what best-selling author Rebecca Cantrell said about the new novel: “In ‘Cost of Life,’ Joshua Corin turns a humdrum airline flight into a ride on an F-15 with a smoking engine—fast, terrifying, and oh so fun. I loved the writing. Corin’s whip-smart dialogue crashed me straight into a world of fascinating characters and complicated allegiances.”  

ESL faculty member Barbara Hall presented a workshop to English secondary school teachers at the Liceo Academica de Borcua in Costa Rica. Hall is a Fulbright Scholar working in Costa Rica this semester.

About 24 GPC faculty, administrators, staff and students have been working since last fall to revise advising programs to better meet student needs and help them graduate. Led by Dr. Don Pearl, head of GPC’s Complete College Georgia initiative, the committee members are: Dr. Amanda Damarin, Dr. Katherine Perry, Marian Adomakoh, Lorretta Arrington, Martha Bowles, Timothy Brown, Dr. Susan Cody, Emily Cowdrick, Kelly Cranford, Debra Denzer, Mary Hamilton, Fredrick Holloman, Nathanial Holmes, Diwana Lowe, Nicole Lynch, Dr. Matthew Robison, Chris Rednour, Elizabeth Thornton, Johnny Tooson, George Vargis, Susan Westfall, Robbie Williams and Stephanie Wright. To find out more about this initiative, contact Pearl at Donald.Pearl@gpc.edu

Deborah Byrd, English, Newton, and current president of the Two Year College Association of Georgia, presented “Edgar Allan Poe and ‘The Cask of Amontillado’: A Southern Writer’s Journey Through American Romanticism” at the TYCA-SE Conference in Jackson, Miss., Feb. 20.

Tutor Jana Wall created the math, science and writing posters that brighten the walls of the Alpharetta Campus Learning and Tutoring Center. Wall is a Georgia Tech architecture graduate, a documentary film maker, and now a communications tutor for GPC. “The posters are meant to be either thought provoking, practical, inspirational, humorous or serious about the subjects offered for tutoring at the LTC in Alpharetta,” says her supervisor, Lizann Gibson. 

Mark Flowers, economics, Newton, has been accepted into the Virtual Fellows Program. The program is an opportunity to serve as a professional, virtual consultant on issues, problems or questions faced by the U.S. State Department. He will advise on energy policy in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The fellowship is a six-month appointment.

Mark Eister, director of Military Outreach, presented “Military Friendly: Strategies for Serving Student Veterans”at the annual Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Conference Feb. 1-4 and at the National Association of Personnel Administrator Veterans Conference Feb. 7-10.

College photographer Bill Roa, Marketing and Communications, participated in the 2015 Career Exploration Night sponsored by the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee. Roa spoke to those who came by his booth and participated on a panel, sharing information about photography as a career. “I believe in impacting the lives of young people and people overall,” he says. “We professionals should take an active role in sharing with the next generation.”

Joseph Floyd, humanities, Dunwoody, presented a paper, “Seeing the Southland: Travelers on United Fruit's Great White Fleet,” that won the best graduate student paper at the Gulf South Historical Association in Galveston, Tex. It will be published in Southern Studies: An Interdisciplinary Study of the South.  Another paper, “A Killing in Quiriguá, Guatemala: Race, Labor, Nation and Empire in the Caribbean” won the best graduate student paper at the Conference on the Americas, organized by the Americas Council of the University System of Georgia.

Steven Benton and Brian Powell, Advising, Counseling and Retention Services, Dunwoody, have both received travel grants to attend the NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) Region 4 conference to be held in April at Auburn University. They had to write essays outlining an advising or retention issue they face at work and how they think attending the conference will help them tackle the issue upon their return. They will be honored at the region luncheon on the second day of the conference. 

Dr. Ca Trice Glenn, personal counseling, Decatur and Alpharetta, had an article, “A Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Spirituality and Resilience with Emerging Adult Childhood Trauma Survivors,” published in Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health and included in an online article collection featuring the most downloaded articles published in Routledge Behavioral Sciences journals in 2014. Glenn’s article was the top downloaded article in the “Culture & Religion” section of Mental Health publication.

Dr. Matthew Robison, Clarkston dean of students, and Elizabeth Thornton, English, Clarkston, will present during the University System of Georgia conference, “College Connections for Student Success: A Focus on Foster, Homeless & Other Disconnected Youth,” to be held March 31 and April 1at the Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort.