VSU Presents Annual Dr. Phillip Gunter Faculty Author Reception April 7

Dr. Phillip Gunter

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University will present the third annual Dr. Phillip Gunter Faculty Author Reception at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, in the University Center Magnolia Room. Faculty, staff, students, and the general public are invited to join the celebration of some of the university’s best faculty research.

The Dr. Phillip Gunter Faculty Author Reception is a recognition of the wide range of scholarly activity produced by faculty from all disciplines and every department on campus. During the event, VSU faculty will share their published scholarly works, including everything from journal articles, books, and book chapters to poems and short stories to artwork, video and sound recordings, and much more, from the previous calendar year. Work by a couple of administrators will also be featured this year.

Dr. Darrell Ross first developed the faculty author reception when he was named head of what was then known as the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, with Marriage and Family Therapy in August 2010. (Marriage and Family Therapy is now a separate department within the James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services. The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice is in the College of Arts and Sciences.)

He wanted the opportunity to recognize his department’s faculty research efforts.  

Ross said that it was Gunter who supported his plan to expand the faculty author reception to the entire university, to include every faculty member from every department.

When Gunter died unexpectedly on May 20, 2012, a little less than a year before the inaugural event, Ross named the campus-wide faculty author reception in his memory, a tribute to his unwavering support of faculty research at VSU.

Gunter joined the VSU family in 1993 as head of what was then known as the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. (The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education are both in the Dewar College of Education and Human Services.) Ten years later, he was named dean of the college. In 2010, he was named provost and vice president of the Division of Academic Affairs, having already served one year as interim. 

Dr. Darrell Ross may be contacted at (229) 333-5943 or dross@valdosta.edu for more information.

Valdosta State University’s 2013-2019 Strategic Plan represents a renewal of energy and commitment to the foundational principles for comprehensive institutions.

Implementation of the plan’s five goals, along with their accompanying objectives and strategies, supports VSU’s institutional mission and the University System of Georgia’s mission for comprehensive universities. 

The story above demonstrates VSU's commitment to meeting the following goals: 

Goal 4: Foster an environment of creativity and scholarship.

Goal 5: Develop and enhance Valdosta State’s human and physical resources.

Visit http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/planning/strategic-plan.php to learn more.