Speakers Bureau
Salem College is pleased to present this online guide to our Speakers Bureau, a select group of faculty and staff. Our speakers are experts on many diverse topics of interest to the community. Members of the Speakers Bureau will tailor their talks to your time specifications and answer questions from the audience at the end of each program.
To arrange for one of our speakers to talk to your group, please call the Office of Public Relations at Salem College, (336) 917-5313, or email info@salem.edu. If possible, please call to reserve a speaker well in advance of the program date.
Business & Economics
Dr. Craig Richardson is listed in Who´s Who in American Teachers 2002 and was named Salem College Omicron Delta Kappa Teacher of the Year in 1997. Richardson specializes in the economics of everyday life, Zimbabwe, trends and public policies, economics of the Internet, and environmental and health care economics.
Selected Publications
Richardson’s 1994 article "Clinton Plans Reverse Incentives" was published in The Wall Street Journal. In 1999, his article "Digital Darwinism" appeared in Entrepreneur. His paper "Health Insurance Reforms" in the Journal of Insurance Regulation was selected as the 2002 paper of the year. In 2004, Richardson´s book, The Collapse of Zimbabwe in the Wake of the 2000-2003 Land Reforms (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) was published. Nobel laureate Milton Friedman called his conclusions "clear and lucid."
Dr. Richard E. Johe is a practitioner in the business world and brings practical experience in his teaching. He recently completed his fourth teaching tour in Riga, Latvia as a Fulbright Scholar. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma (Honor Society for Collegiate Schools of Business) and Sigma Beta Delta (International Honor Society in Business, Management, and Administration). Johe´s work has been published in The Handbook of Business Strategy. At Salem College, he teaches courses in management, marketing, and international trade and business.
Philosophy & Religion
Dr. Wayne Burkette, head of Salem Academy, holds the M.Div. degree from Moravian Theological Seminary and the D.Min. degree from Union Theological Seminary of Virginia. Dr. Burkette speaks on "Church-Related Education: What Makes It Different?", "Sisters of Salem," a look at the young Moravian women who founded Salem Academy and College, "The Care for Independent School Education," and "The Role of Community-Building in Education."
Dr. Suzanne Henderson is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She teaches in the areas of Biblical studies (Hebrew Bible and New Testament), women in the Bible, church and culture, the historical Jesus, Biblical interpretation, and the Apostle Paul.
History, Politics & International Affairs
Lynn Ellis, head of the history department at the Academy, holds a master´s degree from Wake Forest University. She speaks on the early women´s rights movement and the fight for suffrage.
Dr. Jennifer Stollman has done research in several areas of American history, including Native American, colonial, ethnic, African-American, and southern history. She has also studied the history of organized labor, immigration, American medicine, and American sexuality. Stollman organizes Phi Alpha Theta´s (the history honor society) film series, which showcases screenings and discussions of popular historical films, including The Last of the Mohicans, The Red Badge of Courage, and Malcolm X.
The Arts
Dr. Douglas B. Borwick is a nationally recognized lecturer and educator in the fields of arts management and not-for-profit management. He consults and conducts workshops on strategic planning, not-for-profit marketing, board development, fundraising, and program evaluation. Borwick is also a professional composer and conductor. He has served as producer of visual and performing arts events in New York, Texas, and North Carolina. His compositions have been published by ALRY Publications, Layerle Publications, and Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. In April 2000 he released a CD of his music with the National Flute Choir. Borwick´s areas of specialty are music composition, music theory, the role of the arts in the community, and leadership theory.
Published Works Include:
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: Not-for-Profit vs. For-Profit Management
Music
Dr. Reeves Shulstad is the Director of the Salem College School of Music, where students can study vocal or instrumental music performance or music education. Shulstad also coordinates the School of Music´s Concert Series, which brings internationally known artists to Salem for public performances. Shulstad is a graduate of Florida sate University, with an M.M and a Ph.D. in Historical Musicology. Her primary area of expertise is music history, and she is especially interested in the relationships between music, philosophy, and literature. Much of her research has concerned music of the 19th century, chiefly the Romantic period.
Barbara DeMaio Caprilli is the head of the Department of Voice. As a professional opera singer, Caprilli has performed all over the world. Her credits include Verdi´s Aida, Nabucco (at the Teatro La Scala) and Attila, Puccini´s Turandot and Tosca, and Bellini´s Norma. She sang the role of Francesca in the world debut recording of the opera Paolo e Francesca. In addition, she has judged "Voci Verdiane," a Verdi contest in Busseto, Italy. She is a member of the Board of Directors of American Singers Opera Project and of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Having lived overseas for several years, Caprilli is fluent in Italian and speaks good conversational German.
Communication and Media
Dr. Carol Dykers specializes in civic journalism, public polling by news media, visual communication, and the role of news media in creating community. She is interested in adolescent media use, technology, and a new journalism movement called Public Journalism. Dykers spent 15 years as a journalist, including 10 years at the Charlotte Observer, where she was Piedmont Editor and a member of the Editorial Board. She also spent a year as a radio copywriter and a year as a public-relations professional. Currently, Dykers is an Associate Professor of Communication and Communication Curriculum Coordinator at Salem College, as well as being the advisor to the student newspaper, The Salemite.
Literature
Penelope Niven lectures and gives workshops nationally and internationally on biography, creative writing, the creative process, American literature, and the works of Carl Sandburg, Thornton Wilder, and Edward Steichen. She has received three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; two visiting fellowships at Yale University Library;and two honorary doctorates. Niven was also granted a 2004 North Carolina Award, the state´s highest civilian honor, for outstanding contributions to literature. Niven is currently working on a biography of the playwright Thornton Wilder.
Published Works Include:
Carl Sandburg: A Biography
Voices and Silences with James Earl Jones
Steichen: A Biography
Carl Sandburg: Adventures of a Poet (children´s book)
Swimming Lessons: Life Lessons From the Pool, From Diving In to Treading Water
Women in Education
Dr. Julianne Still Thrift became the first female president of Salem Academy and College in 1991, Dr. Thrift was the executive vice president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, where she represented the needs of private colleges in Washington D.C. She served as the president of the Women´s College Coalition from 1996-1998. Dr. Thrift is also a member of the Mothers´ Council for the Motherhood Project, which promotes a deeper appreciation of the contributions mothers make to children and society and strives to help mothers meet the unprecedented challenges of mothering in the 21st century.
Dr. Thrift is an expert on women´s education, private higher education, and other national issues in education.
Dr. Alice C. Patterson is the Dean of Continuing Studies at Salem College, where she recruits and counsels non-traditional college students of many backgrounds. She has also headed programs at Furman University, Hofstra University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Patterson speaks on adult education, the importance of life-long learning, and the value of a liberal arts education.
Administration
Beth Mabe Gianopulos serves as General Counsel and Chief Planning Officer at Salem Academy and College. An alumna of Salem College, Gianopulos graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law. She clerked for the Honorable William L. Osteen, the United States Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, assisting him in his role as Chairman of the Committee on Codes of Conduct for United States Judges. She later practiced litigation and labor and employment law at Smith Moore, LLP, in Greensboro. Gianopulos speaks on various legal issues, including the role of women in the legal profession.
Education
Micha Jeffries is a nationally recognized lecturer and educator in the fields of early childhood education, elementary education, and school reform. She has, since 2000, served as the coordinator of the elementary education program at Salem College. She is the co-founder of Constructive Consulting, a consulting firm providing services to public schools through professional development in the area of pedagogy and program evaluation. Jeffries is also a national faculty member for the National Paideia Center and works with schools across the country in implementing whole school reform. She is a highly regarded consultant and workshop leader with expertise in Socratic seminars, conceptually based math instruction, and multicultural education.