Melissa A. Johnson, associate professor of anthropology, has her article "Racing Nature and Naturalizing Race: Rethinking the Nature of Creole and Garifuna Identities" published in Belizean Studies.

Students Ian Bothwell and Josephine Thinwa presented their research at the Texas-Missouri Branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Denton, Texas. Their research, which focuses on the regulation of DNA repair and damage tolerance mechanisms, was conducted in the laboratory of Martín Gonzalez, assistant professor of biology, and funded through a three-year grant awarded from the National Institutes of Health. Thinwa's poster presentation titled "Targeting of the Escherichia coli UmuC protein for destruction by the Lon protease" was awarded outstanding undergraduate student presentation. The runner-up outstanding undergraduate student presentation went to Bothwell for his presentation "Developing a model for MucAB mutagenesis: Examination of posttranslational pathways for MucA/MucA' regulation in Escherichia coli."

Helene Meyers, professor of English, is the designated scholar for a discussion series on Jewish literature at the Austin Public Library. APL received a grant from Nextbook, a national Jewish cultural foundation, and the American Library Association to support this program.

The International Rapid Prototyping Sculpture exhibition sponsored by The Sarofim School of Fine Arts and 3D Systems Inc., which includes the work of Professor of Art Mary Visser and other nationally known sculptors, will be on exhibit in the DAAP Gallery at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati from Jan. 13 through March 1, 2006.

Mary Grace Neville, assistant professor of economics and business, presented a paper titled "More than Money: A Case Story Grounding Theory from Beans to Cup" at the European Academy of Business in Society last week in Warsaw, Poland. The conference brought together business faculty and researchers, NGO representatives, and business leaders to explore making sustainable business practices mainstream, particularly in developing economies. Her participation in the conference was funded by the Samuel Taylor Foundation.

Bob Bednar, associate professor of communication studies, served as panel chair and respondent for a panel titled "Reality TV: Reframing Televisual Space," at the American Studies Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 3. He also was a featured interviewee in "Roadside Memorials: A Legal, Emotional Fight," a sweeps week top story broadcast on CBS-11 Dallas/Ft. Worth News, Nov. 17.

Five Southwestern University faculty members have been named 2005 recipients of awards from the Sam Taylor Fellowship Fund. The fund provides monetary awards for the continuing education and development of full-time faculty members of United Methodist colleges and universities in Texas. The highly competitive grants may be used for graduate study or postgraduate research. Applicants are required to submit programs that will "contribute to the improvement of the quality of intellectual, community or religious life of the state of Texas and the nation."

The 2005 Southwestern University recipients have received a total of nearly $10,000. The recipients and their projects are as follows:

* Maria Cristina Alcalde, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, will work with The Caring Place in Georgetown to conduct a study of domestic violence among Latin American women in Georgetown.

* Mary Grace Neville, assistant professor of economics and business, will use her funds to participate in a conference sponsored by the Eastern European Academy of Business in Society. The conference will focus on corporate responsibility and competitiveness in developing societies.

* Barbara Boucher Owens, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, will use her funds to collect oral histories of female pioneers in the field of computer science education.

* Cameron C. Sawyer, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, will use her award to enroll in a graduate program at Texas State University that will help her learn how to better prepare students who would like to become mathematics teachers.

* David Tabb Stewart, assistant professor of religion and philosophy, will use his award to help complete the research for his book titled Leviticus: A Critical Commentary.

Kenny Sheppard, professor of music, was the guest conductor for the Austin Symphony's performance of Handel's Messiah on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Riverbend Centre in Austin. He did a live interview about the Messiah performance on KMFA on Friday, Dec. 2.