Dr. ZeVIDA A. JONES | Dr. DERRICK SHEPARD
Dr. ZeVida A. Jones and Dr. Derrick Shepard published the article “From isolation to integration: Cross-cultural collaboration in counseling research” in Volume 10, No. 1 (2025), of the Tennessee Counseling Association Journal, the official publication of the Tennessee Counseling Association.
The article explores how intentional, cross-cultural research teams can strengthen counseling scholarship by integrating research, advocacy, leadership and cultural inclusion. Drawing on the authors’ experiences working within a diverse research team, the article highlights the value of collaborative relationships, shared leadership, and culturally responsive inquiry in advancing the counseling profession and better serving diverse client populations.
The article – co-authored by Dr. Jennifer M. Cook of the University of Texas-San Antonio and Dr. Michael Jones of the University of the Cumberlands, can be found on Page 43 of the Tennessee Counseling Association Journal.
Dr. JASON DeVITO | Dr. SHALMALI BANDYOPADHYAY | Dr. EZRA NANCE
Dr. Jason DeVito, professor of mathematics; Dr. Shalmali Bandyopadhyay, assistant professor of mathematics; and Dr. Ezra Nance, lecturer of mathematics, secured a $35,000 National Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program grant from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) this summer.
The NREUP grant was supported by the National Science Foundation and funded undergraduate research. Alisha Melton, executive director of the Office of Research, Outreach, and Economic Development, provided additional financial support from Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for student travel to MAA Mathfest, held Aug. 6-8 in Boston.
DeVito handled administration of the grant, working directly with MAA representatives.
Bandyopadhyay directed research conducted by UT Martin students Kimsear Lor, a sophomore mathematics major from Martin, and Bailyn Hall, a junior engineering major from White House. They studied numerical solutions to the Sturm-Liouville problem using a Prüfer transformation.
Nance directed research conducted by UT Martin graduates Hunter Johnson of Chattanooga and Kyle Byassee of Union City and senior Brandon Jones, a double-major in mathematics and philosophy from Cordova. They studied the relative isoperimetric profile of a hollow square. Essentially, they minimized the perimeter required to enclose a given amount of area inside a square with its center removed.
Mathfest is the annual national meeting of the MAA. Lor and Hill presented separate posters about their research, while Johnson, Byassee and Jones presented a joint poster.
Of the three posters that UT Martin students presented, students won two outstanding poster awards: Kimsear Lor won for “Numerical Implementation of the Sturm-Liouville Problem via Prüfer-Based Shooting,” and Kyle Byassee, Hunter Johnson and Brandon Jones won for “Relative Isoperimetric Profile of a Hollow Square.”
Byassee, a magna cum laude graduate last May with a Bachelor of Science degree, will attend graduate school at Austin Peay State University and will be a lab instructor for the UT Martin Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Johnson, a cum laude graduate last May with a Bachelor of Science degree, will attend graduate school at UT Chattanooga this fall.
Dr. LYNDA BATISTE
Dr. Lynda Batiste, associate vice chancellor and director of budget in the Office of Finance and Administration, co-authored an article with the Society for College and University Planning with Dr. Adell Brown, adjunct professor of economics and finance at Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
The article, “Beyond Vision: Apply Executive Alignment as a Framework for Institutional Effectiveness and Sustainability in Higher Education,” was published in Volume 54, No. 4 (July-September 2026), of the Planning for Higher Education Journal, a publication of The Society for College and University Planning.
The article examines how organizational culture, performance expectations and decision authority interact as interdependent drivers of executive alignment and institutional effectiveness within colleges and universities. A summary of the article can be found at the Society for College and University Planning website.
Dr. MAHMOUD HADDAD
Dr. Mahmoud Haddad, retired professor of finance, was featured in the Aug. 21 issue of WalletHub in an article about the best balance transfer credit cards. The article can be found at the WalletHub website.
In the article, Haddad answers questions such as what the biggest mistake people make with balance transfers and why there aren’t more 0% balance transfer credit cards with no transfer fees.
Mahmoud retired from UT Martin at the end of the previous school year after serving 34 years on campus.
WalletHub is an award-winning personal finance company that empowers consumers to lead financially healthy lives. WalletHub provides a number of services and tools, including publishing articles with questions about economic concerns that are answered by professionals.
Dr. RENEE LaFLEUR
Dr. Renee LaFleur, professor of history, wrote the chapter “The Middle Ground of Elite Women’s Study Clubs of Northwest Tennessee,” published in “Constructing Citizenship: Tennessee Public Women in the Progressive Era” by Mary A. Evins and Minoa D. Uffelman by the University of Tennessee Press (August 2026).
This chapter looks at women’s study clubs in Martin and Jackson to explore how they created a space in which women felt comfortable doing the things men did in public. The middle ground allowed them to build organizational skills and networks that they needed to successfully lead civic reforms and wartime activities.
Information about “Constructing Citizenship: Tennessee Public Women in the Progressive Era” – including a synopsis of the book, a list of chapters and their authors and purchasing information – can be found at The University of Tennessee Press website.
