2009 DaVinci Fellows





Kevin J. Hayes
, Professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma, is among the preeminent bibliographers in the United States.  The author of over twenty published scholarly volumes, Dr. Hayes has made seminal contribution to the study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American literature and culture, the history of literacy in the United States, and the development of American film and literature during the twentieth century.  Dr. Hayes’s most recent publication, The Road to Monticello: the Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson Oxford University Press, 2008) has been acclaimed by scholars, critics and reviewers and is quickly emerging as the definitive intellectual biography of our nation’s third president.

 



Greg Mellott
, Professor of Film and Video Production at Oklahoma City Community College, in 2008 was awarded an Emmy for best historical documentary, Dream No Little Dream: The Legacy of Robert S. Kerr. Greg was responsible for all aspects of the production from researching the life and times of Robert S. Kerr, scouting all locations and conducting all the interviews, directing the narrator, Keith Carradine, then supervising the editing It has been broadcast on OETA and through a grant from Chesapeake Energy, the DVD version has been distributed to all high schools and middle schools in Oklahoma.




Dr. Amy Aldridge
, Assistant Professor of communication Studies at Northeastern State University, has developed for her students a unique symposia which are distinct from typical student requirements. Her dedication to inspiring creative thought and critical inquiry skills has resulted in an experiential assignment whereby students are challenged to identify, examine, and develop creative solutions to issues affecting student life at NSU.  In so doing, she has addressed one of the toughest challenges faced by any educator—how to make his or her course materials relevant to students.




Dr. Mary Linn

is Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department and Associate Curator in the Department of Native American Languages at the University of Oklahoma.  As a linguistic anthropologist, her research, teaching and community service focuses on the documentation and description of Native languages of North America with an emphasis in the American Southeast, and a concentrated focus on the Euchee (Yuchi) language.  Dr. Linn’s A Reference Grammar of Euchee provides the first complete grammar of the Euchee language. Her research has led to the creation of the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, one of the largest Native youth gatherings in the country.  One Thousand Fifty-five students, who made 351 presentations in 21 languages, participated in the 2008 Fair “Language Lives in Laughter.”




Brad Matson
, Director of the Digital Media Institute (DMI) at Northern Oklahoma College, is in a field that requires innovative thinking.  In 2007, Brad has formed a partnership with Game Equals Life, an Oklahoma gaming company headed by a 2003 graduate of Northern’s DMI program.  This partnership opened the door for Brad’s students to work with coders and artists to create elements of a video game to be released on Xbox and PC. His students have the opportunity to use their talents in a professional working environment and to make important contacts for job placement upon graduation which usually takes years of experience to be eligible at this level. The end product which will be released to the public in 2010 will be an amazing action, adventure medicinal game for diabetics which sends the player on a quest to maintain healthy blood sugar.

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