Top Stories 

• Professor of Religious Studies Gregory Sapp, PhD, was quoted Feb. 29 in Headsn.com and other media outlets in the article, “Practice of tracking Massgoers for political purposes gains scrutiny.” The piece examines the practice of sending political messages to people based on tracking their cellphones and identifying them as attending church, much like advertisers do with geofencing. “If political groups are using information that other advertisers might gather,” Sapp said, “to me that’s creepy. It’s unethical to use a service I paid for to inundate me with advertisements.”

• Religious Studies Professor Gregory Sapp was quoted in a CNN story on March 8 titled, “How Tyson Fury’s Irish Traveller heritage prepared him to be boxing’s biggest new star.” Sapp commented on both Tyson Fury’s success in boxing as well as his identity as an Irish Traveller, a persecuted ethnic minority group. “Being a boxing champion reflects well on the Irish Travellers in the eyes of many people,” he said.

• The Daytona Beach News-Journal quoted Associate Professor of History and American Studies Emily Mieras, PhD, in the article, “Suffrage movement: Port Orange library kicks off Women’s History Month” on Feb. 28. “We are on the verge of the 100th anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement,” Mieras said. “So, of course, it’s an auspicious time to refresh our memories about some of the aspects of that movement.”

• Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies Jason Evans, PhD, was quoted in the Feb. 28 Savannah Morning News article, “Septic tanks threaten water quality on Georgia’s coast as sea levels rise.”

• Professor of Psychology Christopher Ferguson, PhD, was quoted in the March 8 Psypost.org article, “Playing as a sexualized video game character does not increase women’s body dissatisfaction” about his study on the effects of sexualized video game characters on female body satisfaction. “Our study suggests that the impact of sexualization in games on women players is much less than people might imagine,” he said. 

• Psychology Professor Christopher Ferguson was also quoted in the story, “Is It Us, Or Is It The Video Games?” from the San Francisco-based PBS-affiliate KALW  on March 2. On the alleged link between video games and mental health issues, Ferguson said, “We really need to focus more on the issue that these individuals have these underlying mental health conditions, not so much the idea that games are causing these problems.” 

• Associate Professor of Accounting Valrie Chambers, PhD, published a book recommendation piece titled, “Books: Controlling: Get Strategic,” at the Strategic Finance Magazine on March 1. Chambers also published the column, “Onslaught of the tax procrastinators” on March 1 in the Journal of Accountancy. 

• Assistant Professor of Political Science Kelly Smith, PhD, was quoted in the Wilsonville Spokesman on March 11 in an article titled, “Term limits: Is it a good idea?”

• Law Professor Louis J. Virelli III was featured in a March 5 interview on WUSF/NPR Morning Edition called, “Daylight Saving Time Returns This Weekend. Should It Stay Year-Round?” 

Other News

• Law Professor Andrew Appleby was quoted in a March 3 article in the Tampa Bay Times called, “Miller: Backup levy wouldn’t double transportation tax.” 

• Law Professor Rebecca C. Morgan and The Center for Excellence in Elder Law were featured in the Feb. 20-26 edition of The Gabber for the annual Wills for Warriors program.

 • Law Professor Andrew Appleby was quoted in a March 3 article on Law360.com called, “MoFo, once at the top of state tax, sees group diminished.”

• Law Professor Ellen Podgor wrote the following blogs for the White Collar Crime Prof Blog: Feb. 27, Overcoming Ethical Issues With CDAs; and March 3, Criminal History of Economic Crimes – Sentencing Commission Report.

• Law Professor Rebecca C. Morgan wrote the following blogs for the Elder Law Prof Blog: Feb. 29, Ann F. Baum Memorial Elder Law Lecture; March 1: Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults Opportunities for the Health Care System; March 2: Helping Elders Learn How to Spot Fake News; and March 4: “Where Do You Plan to Live When You are “Old?” 

• Law Professor Kristen David Adams was quoted in a Feb. 27 press release about former Stetson Law Dean Darby Dickerson becoming president of the Association of American Law Schools.

Alumni News 

• Law alumnus Rand Hoch was featured in a Feb. 28 article on South Florida Gay News called, “Longest-running Florida gay rights law hits 30-year mark” for his work in getting the legislation passed in Palm Beach County. 

• Alumnus James Parker published an article at Medium titled, “Corporations Accused of Allowing Excess NDMA in Zantac MDL” on March 4.

• Alumna Meredith Schwarz was named Director of Sales, Northeast, at Phase 3 Marketing and Communications, an integrated marketing services firm, according to Printing News.

• The animation studio Illumination named alumnus Keith Feldman Chief Operating Officer (COO) on March 5, as reported by The Animation World Network.

• Law alumnus Frank Morreale was added to Holland & Knight LLP, according to a March 10 article at Kinney Recruiting.

• Law alumnus Stephen Russell has joined Ringsmuth, Day & O’Halloran, PLLC as a criminal defense attorney, according to a Feb. 27 press release. 

• Law alumna Jennifer Cowan has joined the Tampa office of Bryant Miller Olive P.A. (BMO) as an attorney, according to a Feb. 28 press release.