Presentations

Beverly Matherne (English) did a blues poetry performance at Houmas House plantation near Baton Rouge, La. on the occasion of “Awesome Art in Autumn Gardens: A Gathering of Louisiana Artists.” She was one of 13 performing groups stationed about the gardens during this annual art show. Her trip and performance were funded by River Region Art Association, the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and the Baton Rouge Arts Council. She also did a blues performance in Gretna, La. Her performance was funded by Friends of CODOFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana), West Bank.

Adam Prus (Psychology) gave a poster presentation at the 36th annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, held Oct. 14-18 in Atlanta, Ga. The paper he co-authored with scholars from Vanderbilt University is titled "Effects of the neurotensin analog NT69L on cortical dopamine and acetylcholine efflux using microdialysis in rats." Using a technique called microdialysis, the drug NT69L was found to increase levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain in rats. This could have practical implications in the treatment of schizophrenia. In fact, further investigations using microdialysis found that NT69L increased the ability of the antipsychotic drug Risperidone to increase dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex. Future studies will test the effects of NT69L in models of schizophrenia.

Kelly Simon (Upward Bound) presented two sessions at the Michigan World Language Assocation conference held Oct. 27 in Lansing. "Let's Go Outside the Textbook!" addressed multiple assessments and intelligences in regards to foreign language learners. The second session was titled "AVID for the World Language Teacher" and introduced a program similar to Upward Bound that is moving into urban Michigan schools.

Rebecca Ulland (Modern Languages and Literatures) presented her paper “The Discourse of Power/The Power of Discourse: The Voyage of the Beagle and La tierra del fuego” at the annual conference of the Asociación Internacional de Literatura Femenina Hispánica. The conference was held Oct. 7 on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.