August 18, 2008
For Immediate Release

Ginn Assumes Presidency of Academic Society

          SALISBURY, N.C. — Sherry Ginn, Ph.D., a psychology instructor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, has been elected president of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences (ISHN). Ginn is the first woman to hold the post.

          ISHN was founded in 1995, with members from Europe, Australia, Asia and both Americas. Ginn's term began in June, when ISHN's 13th annual conference convened in Berlin. Ginn has been a member of the ISHN since 1996.

           Among Ginn's interests are representations of neuroscience in art and literature. Her paper about the intersections of art and neuroscience in Renaissance Italy was published recently. She also has a project underway examining the wax anatomical models of Anna Morandi Manzolini, chief model maker of the Bologna school of modeling. Ginn plans to spend time after her presidency in Italy, continuing her work on this project.

          Another of Ginn's on-going projects concerns the ways in which science and scientists have been depicted in popular culture, specifically in science fiction and horror films.

           Ginn's presidential address in Berlin was titled: "Travel, Study and Wishful Thinking in 19th Century Continental Europe." In her address she shared her reasons for choosing this period of time as the one in which she would most like to live, should time travel ever be possible. She specifically discussed the year 1885, in which a great number of scientific discoveries were made in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

           One of her roles as president is to plan and chair the annual conference, and Ginn has chosen Charleston as the site of the 2009 meeting. A focus of the conference will be neurology and war.

           "Many believe American Neurology was born out of the Civil War. Thus Charleston is the perfect location for the conference," Ginn explained.

           Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. RCCC offers approximately 40 programs of study in business, health and human services and engineering technologies at multiple campus locations. RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an enrollment of approximately 20,000 adult students. RCCC programs include an associate degree in arts and sciences, an associate degree in applied science, and diploma and certificate programs focusing on workforce training, continuing education and basic skills education.

           In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus, under construction in Kannapolis, N.C.

           For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.