Faculty Author Reception Honors Legacy of Dr. Phil Gunter

The inaugural author reception celebrates the legacy of the late Dr. Philip Gunter, Valdosta State’s former provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, honoring his support of faculty research.

VALDOSTA – Valdosta State University will host its inaugural Dr. Philip Gunter Faculty Author Reception Wednesday, April 24 at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.

The reception will showcase scholarly activity completed by faculty members from various disciplines within the university. Work includes published books, journal articles, audio and video recordings and juried art.

The reception celebrates the legacy of the late Dr. Philip Gunter, Valdosta State’s former provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, honoring his support of faculty research.

Among work submitted is the recently published book, The Choruses in Mozart’s Opere Serie, written by Dr. James Shrader, professor of music.

“I have chosen to share this because it is my first published book,” said Shrader, who sought to shed light on a fairly unknown part of classical music in the book.

“I was trained as a choral conductor,” said Shrader. “I have always looked for works from the classical period of music and found that most work in that time period is sacred music. However, there is a group of choruses coming from Mozart’s opere serie, or serious operas, that is secular music. The book basically points out a whole new group of choruses that are being brought to the forefront during that time period and discusses the history of the chorus in opera.”

Shrader said that the book serves as a reference book for music faculty at colleges and universities and can also be used by anyone with an interest in this kind of choral music.

Dr. James Peterson, professor of political science, will present the fourth edition of the book, Introduction to Political Science: An Overview of the Fields. The textbook was co-edited by Peterson, along with Dr. Lee Allen and Dr. Nolan Argyle, also professors in the Department of Political Science, and Mihaly Mozes, a former visiting professor from Eszterházy Károly College in Hungary. Peterson served as chief editor for the book.

“The book is divided into eight sections, all of which are subfields of political science,” said Peterson. “Each section includes a writing by a classical political scientist, such as Aristotle, and provides the political scientist’s perspective on the field. The book also includes essays from other faculty members within the Department of Political Science.”

Peterson stated that the most unique feature about the book’s fourth edition is the inclusion of two sections that focus solely on Hungarian perspective. After expressing interested in taking part in this edition, Mozes encouraged some of his Hungarian colleagues to provide writing support for the book.

Introduction to Political Science: An Overview of the Fields, which can be found in the VSU Bookstore, is used in VSU’s Introduction to Political Science course.

“This book gives students a sense of what more specialized courses in political science will be like,” said Peterson. “It is unique because not many books present these subfields of political science. The department is very proud of this project and looks forward to showcasing it.”

Publications and scholarly works are still being accepted for the author reception. Work can be submitted to Dr. Darrell Ross, head of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice and Marriage and Family Therapy Program, in the University Center, room 1122, until April 15. For more information, contact Ross at (229) 333-5943.