Torch, Summer 2001

18 TORCH / Summer 2001 Praying for Africa W ith 1.5 million people already dead and 30 million more expected to die in the next 20 years, African nations are struggling with an astounding pandemic of AIDS. The Cedarville student group “Prayer and Perspective: AIDS in Africa” held meetings during Winter Quarter to educate the campus family about the facts of this pandemic and about specific AIDS issues in South Africa. Students prayed not only for Africans afflicted with AIDS but also for the caregivers and missionaries who work with them. Engineering Students Design Fire-Fighting Robot A team of three Cedarville University senior electrical engineering students placed fifth in the 8th Annual Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Competition held recently in Hartford, Conn. The competition is considered the largest of its type in the world. More than 126 robots were registered in four different divisions. Teams from around the U.S. and seven foreign countries designed, built, and programmed robots to autonomously navigate around a model house, detect a burning candle randomly placed in one of the rooms of the house, and extinguish it. The teams earned points by completing the task as quickly as possible and overcoming a variety of obstacles and challenges. Pictured above, Cedarville University’s fire-fighting robot team poses with Ye Olde Robot and their award. Team members (from left) include Dr. Clint Kohl, advisor and assistant professor of electrical engineering; Nathanael Weygand of Chittenango, N.Y.; Roy Mwangi of Nairobi, Kenya; and Jerred Davis of Huntington, W.Va. The Cedarville team competed in the senior division with 65 other robot-building teams. Voices for Hope F or one week, the wooden silhouettes of domestic violence victims stood silently in the lobby of the Stevens Student Center. Each figure, painted red, wore a small plaque telling the true story of how a man, woman, or child had lost his or her life through domestic violence. The silhouettes, a traveling exhibit called Silent Witness, were just one part of a social work class project to increase campus awareness of domestic violence. Called Voices for Hope, the project was orchestrated by six social work majors with a passion for making a difference. Voices members, including Haley Miller and Sherri DeWitt (above) , displayed purple ribbons in an effort to raise domestic violence awareness on campus. As part of their effort, Voices gathered professionals from Greene County Domestic Violence Shelter and Project Woman to form a campus discussion panel about domestic violence and abusive dating relationships. In addition, a Christian survivor of domestic violence shared her story, and Cedarville Assistant Professor of Bible Jeffrey Cook explained how Christians can biblically approach the issue of domestic violence. Doctorates Earned C ongratulations to three Cedarville University faculty members who recently completed their doctorates. Dr. Barbara Chilton, assistant professor of education, received her doctorate from the University of Dayton in May. She successfully defended her dissertation “The Academic Identity Construction of Six Academically Able African American Middle School Males: A Case Study” to complete her degree. Dr. Scott Dixon received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in May. An assistant professor of Bible, Dixon defended his dissertation on “Believing Doubt and Doubting Belief: Christian Scholars Working and Succeeding in the Secular Academy.” Dr. Cheryl Irish, assistant professor of education, received her Ed.D. from the University of Cincinnati in May. Her dissertation on “The Effects of Peg and Keywords on the Accuracy and Fluency of Multiplication Performance in Elementary Students with Learning and Cognitive Disabilities” has been nominated for dissertation of the year.