Hosted by the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at UNC Pembroke, in each episode distinguished guests discuss a thought provoking topic.
Episodes
Monday May 15, 2023
Monday May 15, 2023
Join us as we chat with Dr. Tracy Vargas, Assistant Professor in our Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Dr. Vargas is a 2023 recipient UNC Pembroke Outstanding Teaching Award, and it is easy to see why after our conversation. A native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Dr. Vargas attended University of Pittsburg, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She then earned her Master of Arts Sociology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D from Syracuse University, where she began the research discussed in this episode.
Since arriving at UNC Pembroke, Dr. Vargas has continued her research and teaching activities surrounding the sociology of work, specifically to do with dollar stores. Join us as we discuss this fascinating topic with Dr. Vargas, and hear how UNCP students are advancing research through their participation in service-learning projects, and finding their voice as scholars, using their lived experience to advance knowledge of work and society.
More information on the UNCP REACH Program, which pairs students with faculty research mentors, may be found at this link. Follow the UNCP Criminal Justice Club and the UNCP Sociology Club on Instagram and stay up on their activities.
Learn about the important work of UNCP Criminal Justice alum Virginia Locklear, Executive Director of the Rape Crisis Center of Robeson County, by visiting their website, which includes information about services and programs and how each of us can provide support.
Find the episode transcript here
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Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Saturday Apr 15, 2023
Join us as we chat with 3D printing expert Dr. Steven Singletary of the UNCP Department of Chemistry and Physics. A native of Tar Heel, N.C., Dr. Singletary served in the U.S. Marine Corps before earning a degree in Math and Computer Science from UNC Pembroke. He then earned his Master of Science in Geology from Texas Christian University and his Ph. D in Geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Back home after his time at MIT, Dr. Singletary is an integral part of his home department, and spends his time leading UNCP’s Rocket Team, who have established themselves as a group to watch after successful competitions and achievements at the national level. Dr. Singletary has presented and published for over sixty-five leading international journals and conferences and has earned over $2.6 million in successful grant funding to date. He is licensed as a Senior Parachute Rigger by the Federal Aviation Administration and works as an Accelerated Free Fall Instructor for the United States Parachute Association.
Today however, Dr. Singletary joins us to discuss the possibilities and advances in 3D printing, and how we use these machines on campus and across the community. Join us as we welcome Dr. Singletary and dive into this topic (pun intended, as you’ll hear in the interview) which is so fascinating to us all.
Find the episode transcript here
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Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Join us as we chat with Dr. David Nikkel, Professor and Chair of the UNCP Department of Philosophy and Religion. Dr. Nikkel shares his love of teaching, and his work with our students, helping them practice thinking critically as they are introduced to the writing of leaders and philosophers across the world’s religions. An active Pastor, Dr. Nikkel earned his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Master of Divinity from Methodist Theological School (Delaware, Ohio), and his Doctor of Philosophy from Duke University.
A University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, Dr. Nikkel has published twenty peer-reviewed journal articles or chapters, in addition to his book, Radical Embodiment. More than 1000 libraries hold copies of this book, which discusses embodiment in religion, and the concept of panentheism. From the original Greek meaning ‘all in God,’ this idea illustrates the belief that the divine is found in all aspects of creation, which Dr. Nikkel discusses in this episode. Join us as we step into the classroom with Dr. Nikkel to discuss his career sharing belief systems, and their importance in our lives, with students and the community.
Find the episode transcript here
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Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
In a sunny spot on the north side of UNC Pembroke’s campus, visitors to the Campus Garden and Apiary are greeted by an array of colorful plants and a wide variety of bees, butterflies, and bugs. This garden is home to the Kids in the Garden program, a creative hub for students, faculty, and community members who meet to learn, and share research and scholarship. Join us as we welcome our guests from the Departments of Biology and Geography & Geology, pollen-studying palynologist Dr. Martin Farley, insect expert entomologist Dr. Kaitlin Campbell, and science educator and program director Dr. Rita Hagevik, who chat about their work. UNCP’s Campus Garden and Apiary is a valuable campus resource sharing the love of garden plants and insect life with students on campus, and across the community.
Follow them on Facebook to see this great work in action, and keep up to date about events and activities happening in the garden.
Find the episode transcript here
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Sunday Jan 15, 2023
Sunday Jan 15, 2023
We are delighted to share our latest podcast episode, Freshwater Ecosystems on Campus and Beyond with Dr. Amber Rock, from our Department of Biology. This episode showcases Dr. Rock’s research studying water in campus ponds and local waterways, and her work helping students learn about the plants and animals in this ever-changing landscape. Dr. Rock shares how a high school career survey somewhat surprisingly launched her into a career in freshwater ecology, and the joy she finds as she develops leaders and critical thinkers through this work with our students, right in our own backyard.
Find the episode transcript here
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Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
We are delighted to share our latest podcast episode “Into the Singing Studio” with Dr. Rebecca Loar. This episode showcases Dr. Loar’s career as a vocalist, and her research into vocal health. We discussed her work with her students in the Department of Music and how we can all take proper care of our voices across our lives.
After degrees in vocal and opera performance from Samford University and the Manhattan School of Music, Dr. Loar earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance with a cognate in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina. Her doctoral dissertation was “Singing Voice Specialization, an Essential Bridge Between Two Worlds,” discussing the need for medical arts specialists. An active performing artist, Dr. Loar has performed many opera roles and concert works, and is a former member of the New York Choral Artists where she performed with the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Society of St. Lukes, and the Little Orchestra Society of New York. She has worked under the batons of Maestros Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin, Leon Botstien, Pierre Boulez, Seiji Osawa, and more.
Dr. Loar has been teaching voice for over twenty years and is an active vocal adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast. Her students perform on Broadway and in national Broadway tours, in summer opera programs and for major cruise lines. Many of her students have entered advanced conservatory graduate programs such as Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory and Boston University.
Listen as we learn about the important work Dr. Loar is doing in her teaching studio here at UNCP, which ensures healthy singing for her students as they make music here on campus and across our community.
Find the episode transcript here and join Dr. Loar in the concert she mentions with UNCP Music colleagues Drs. Jaeyoon and Seung Ah Kim on Monday, January 30th, 2023 at 7:30 PM in Moore Hall Auditorium, free admission and no tickets required.
Visit https://www.uncp.edu/departments/music/calendar-events for more UNCP Music events and information.
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Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
We are delighted to share our latest podcast episode “On the Field with the Cows” with Dr. Nicolas Negrin Pereira. A native of Uruguay, a veterinarian, and member of our Department of Biology, Dr. Negrin Pereira teaches various courses in Animal Science, Animal Nutrition, Zoology, and Physiology of Reproduction.
This episode showcases his work with bovine reproductive health, and we learn about his work with students, in the field and in the lab, and the benefits of teaching animal husbandry to the next generation. Dr. Negrin Pereira discusses his beneficial collaborations between UNC Pembroke, UNC Chapel Hill, and NC State University, and shares the story of his fascination with animal reproductive health which began for him as a student. The conversation reminds all of us that UNCP’s proud history of animal science continues in good hands with Dr. Negrin Pereira and his students.
Find the episode transcript here
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Photo Information:
The promised Sertoli cells (pink) stained with the antibody WT1 as a specific cell marker.
The students with the herd: Sydney Allen (Research Student), with Nikki Clayman and Kalani Gaddi from the RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement) Program.
The poster at Pembroke Undergraduate Research Center by student Kalani Gaddi, with Dr. Negrin Pereira.
Working with the bull is RISE Student Nikki Clayman.
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
Saturday Oct 15, 2022
We are delighted to share our latest podcast episode, featuring UNCP Associate Professor of Art, Dr. Naomi Lifshitz-Grant. This episode showcases Dr. Lifschitz-Grant’s work mentoring aspiring teachers as Coordinator of Graduate and Undergraduate Art Education, and discusses the local inspiration she finds as a painter.
Dr. Lifschitz-Grant earned her Master of Arts and Doctor of Art Education degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University. A veteran art educator, Dr. Lifschitz-Grant taught for eighteen years in public and private schools in New York City; Birmingham, Alabama; and in Italy, at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels. Before joining UNCP, she taught at Columbia University, Bank Street College of Education, UNC Charlotte, and Appalachian State University. Her research explores how community-based arts can serve to implement change, particularly in urban, under-served school programs.
Dr. Lifschitz-Grant is a practicing artist who has been awarded a number of fellowships and attended artist-in-residency programs at The MacDowell Colony, Vermont Studio Center, A.I.R. Vallauris, Brisons Veor, Centre D’Art, Arad Arts Project, and the Chautauqua Institute, and has exhibited her work internationally, with solo exhibitions in New York City at AIR and 55 Mercer Gallery.
Find the episode transcript here
We hope you enjoy this episode, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter@uncpcas and Instagram@uncpcas to stay connected with our work and programs.
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
We are delighted to share our latest podcast episode “Hydrogeologists and the Science of Groundwater” with UNCP Assistant Professor of Geology, Dr. Madan Maharjan. This episode showcases Dr. Maharjan’s research in the field of Hydrogeology, which studies the movement of groundwater across our landscape. We discussed his work monitoring well water on campus and across Robeson County, and how water interacts with our environment over time.
Dr. Maharjan is a native of Nepal, and has been teaching at UNCP for three years. His research interests are in surface and groundwater interactions, heat transport, and variations in water quality and quantity. A graduate of Tribhuvan University in Nepal, Dr. Maharjan earned his Master of Science in Hydrogeology at Kent State University, and his Ph. D in Hydrogeology from West Virginia University. He is primary author of several publications and presentations, and the recipient of multiple grants supporting water research, including the current work with Robeson County discussed in this episode.
Listen as we learn about the important work Dr. Maharjan and his students are doing to ensure that safe, clean water is available to the campus and across the county.
Find the episode transcript here
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Monday Aug 15, 2022
Monday Aug 15, 2022
In this episode we caught up with Dr. Mary Ann Jacobs (Lumbee), Professor and Chair of the Department of American Indian Studies at UNC Pembroke, to discuss her new book, Upon Her Shoulders: Southeastern Native Women Share Their Stories of Justice, Spirit, and Community. This book was a joint project together with Dr. Cherry Beasley (Lumbee), longtime faculty and Chair in the UNCP Nursing Program and former Interim Dean of UNCP’s College of Health Sciences, and Ulrike Wiethaus, Professor of Religion and American Ethnic Studies at Wake Forest University. Dr. Jacobs shares the story of their collaboration, the importance of preserving stories of Native women, how she incorporates these lessons in the classroom, and reads selections from the book.
Read the episode transcript here
Proceeds from the sales are donated to the American Indian Women of Proud Nations organization, and you will find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Upon-Her-Shoulders-Southeastern-Community/dp/1949467805
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