Research and Innovation: October 2025
Several HPU faculty members participated in North Carolina A&T State University’s Artificial Intelligence Conference “Exponential Intelligence: Advancing AI Beyond Boundaries and Disciplines.” Pictured from left were Dr. J.R. Moller, staff director of the HPU Poll for the Survey Research Center; Dr. Stefan Hall, chair and professor of game design and director of Communication Fellows; Dr. Andrea Hunt, professor of the practice of communication and business leadership; Dr. Matthew Brophy, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the HBS Artificial Intelligence Committee; Heidi Echols, director of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning; Dr. Nasir Assar, associate professor of economics and MBA program director, and Dr. Daniel Hall, dean of the Earl N. Phillips School of Business.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 28, 2025 – High Point University students, faculty and staff frequently conduct, publish and share research and creative works in a variety of ways. Below is a recap of recent research and innovative initiatives.
Faculty Members Present Research at AI Conference
Several HPU faculty members presented their research at North Carolina A&T State University’s Artificial Intelligence Conference “Exponential Intelligence: Advancing AI Beyond Boundaries and Disciplines” on Sept. 25-26 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Four faculty from different disciplines shared their perspectives in a panel discussion titled “Putting AI into Practice.” Heidi Echols, director of HPU’s Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, was joined by Dr. Matthew Brophy, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Witcher School of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences’ Artificial Intelligence Committee; Dr. Daniel Hall, dean of the Earl N. Phillips School of Business; and Dr. Martin Kifer, chair and professor of political science and director of the Survey Research Center. The discussion was moderated by Dr. J.R. Moller, staff director of the HPU Poll for the Survey Research Center.
Brophy also presented his research titled “The Co-Educational Classroom: Students, Teachers and Chatbots in Ethical Dialogue.”
Dr. Andrea Hunt, professor of the practice of communication and business leadership, presented her research titled “Redesigning Pedagogy: Reflecting Generation Z Using Universal Design for Learning and In Video AI for Reach and Impact in Business Leadership.” She also presented her work as a poster session on both days of the conference.
Dr. Stefan Hall, chair and professor of game design and director of Communication Fellows, presented his research titled “Lifelong Companions: Designing AI Helpers for Neurodiverse Learners from Childhood to Adulthood.”
Faculty Publishes Movie Theater Book
Benita VanWinkle, an associate professor of art, completed her first book, “America’s Hometown Movie Theaters: Please Remain Standing,” which will be published this spring. Preorders are available from Bauer and Dean Publishers, which will release the book for delivery on April 23, 2026, known as National Movie Theater Day.
What started as a community college student project became a lifelong calling for VanWinkle after she documented the Carib Theatre, an old cinema near her hometown of Largo, Florida. The Carib was torn down two years after she photographed it. During that time, she became aware of other downtown theaters being boarded up or demolished across the country.
Although there were about 13,000 movie theaters in 1982, less than half of those remained by 2020. After witnessing dozens of theater restorations, spearheaded by their communities, VanWinkle realized there was reason to be optimistic and switched her focus to photographing hundreds of historic single-screen theaters that still were being used to show movies, live theater or community activities. She collected stories about these community spaces and their impact on people’s lives.
“It has been my passion since I took my first photo of my hometown theater when I was in college, and then it was torn down two years later,” VanWinkle said. “That set me on this journey, and I have been connecting theater folks with resources, touting the benefits of a large screen and trekking to 1,200 theaters across the country and a few beyond.”
Faculty Publishes Research
Jeremy Whitson, an assistant professor of biology, recently published a research paper in the journal “Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.”
The article is titled “Proteomic Characterization of the Rhesus Macaque Lens Nucleus: Similarity to Human Lens, Age Effects on Protein Solubility, and Trends in Post-Translational Modifications.” The rhesus macaque is a monkey that weighs around 12-17 pounds and is found in Asia. Whitson served as the senior/corresponding author, and recent HPU alumni Billy Hayden and Owen Kelley worked as the first and second authors, respectively.
“This article presents the first-ever proteomic characterization of the rhesus macaque lens and compares tissue from young and old animals to determine the effects of aging,” Whitson said. “These results have implications for our understanding of how cataracts form in humans.”
Alumnus Publishes Hurricane Recovery Op-Ed
Alumnus Jake Matthews recently published an editorial on Fox News about the impact of Hurricane Helene and recovery from it one year later.
Matthews, a Class of 2021 political science alumnus who earned his master’s degree in communication and business leadership in 2022, reflected on how Hurricane Helene reshaped western North Carolina and the southern Appalachia region.
As a native of Mars Hill, North Carolina, a small community on the state’s border with Tennessee, he remembers the hurricane’s impact as if it happened yesterday in his home county that had just three towns, seven stoplights and 20,000 people.
“Despite Helene destroying two of our county’s three towns, our faith remained strong,” Matthews said. “Families dropped everything to check on their elderly neighbors, churches delivered meals on horseback to residents cut off from the outside world, and universities and nonprofits donated their time and labor to scrape mud out of buildings, distribute essential supplies and bring revival back to our community.”
After seeing the devastation, one of the first things Matthews did was reach out to HPU President Nido Qubein asking whether the university could include Madison County in its volunteer and donation drives. Qubein assured him HPU would help, which it did.
“Southern Appalachia is still rebuilding as many families remain unhoused and entire town blocks sit condemned. But the progress we have experienced must be celebrated,” Matthews said. “Many towns have reopened, shops are being rebuilt, and families are beginning to feel a new normal. Out of the wreckage, a quiet but powerful revival is taking root—fueled by faith, resilience and the unshakable spirit of our mountain communities.”
HPU Integrates Leadership and Mental Health in Nursing
HPU’s Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing hosted its inaugural Nursing Executive Leadership Panel on Sept. 23 as part of its innovative Nursing Leadership course. Facilitated by Dr. Lorrie Davis-Dick, assistant professor and psychiatric mental health coordinator, the event provided an opportunity for students to engage with distinguished leaders in nursing and health care.
“We were privileged to have Dr. Racquel Ingram, founding dean of the Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing, in attendance. Her presence underscored the school’s enduring commitment to cultivating leadership excellence and preparing the next generation of nurse leaders,” Davis-Dick said. “I am deeply proud of our senior HPU nursing students and profoundly grateful to our panelists and all who contributed to the success of this milestone event.”
Patricia Ford, office administrator for HPU’s Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law and a former registered nurse, served on the panel of experts who shared their rich experiences, leadership insights and professional journeys from nurse executive to practicing law.
Davis-Dick thanked Ingram, School of Nursing Administrative Assistant Angela Duncan, HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development and a group of student moderators and assistants for helping to make the panel a success.
“This inaugural panel highlighted the strength of collaboration between academia and practice, reinforcing the importance of mentorship, professional dialogue and intentional preparation in shaping the future of nursing leadership,” Davis-Dick said. “A special thank you to our senior nursing leadership students, who presented their oral professional development projects with confidence, professionalism and vision. Their ability to articulate career aspirations, future goals, vision of entrepreneurship ideas and innovative mindset to transform practice was both inspiring and a testament to their growth as emerging leaders, and to their preparation collectively by the School of Nursing faculty.
Davis-Dick was recently certified as a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, an evidence-based certification program.
“After losing my sister-in-law, a family nurse practitioner, to suicide, I understand firsthand how vital awareness, education and early intervention truly are,” Davis-Dick said. “This work is deeply personal and rooted in hope for change.”
Davis-Dick also was principal investigator of a recently published study in HPU’s publication of The Lighted Lamp titled, “Examining Junior Nursing Student Self-Efficacy in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Clinical Simulation Experience.”