For Dr. Emily Splane, one meal’s leftovers were added proof that portion sizes are out of control and Americans are eating too much. A day after dining at a chain restaurant, she took a box from the refrigerator only to be shocked by how much there still was.

“My leftovers filled an entire bowl used to feed a family of four,” she said. “I was stunned to see that after eating until I was full, I still had enough food left to feed my entire family. The sodium in that pasta dish was probably three times the average level.”

For Splane, that example epitomized the ongoing struggle in America: a growing obesity problem, health issues caused by diet and ultimately how the simple and necessary act of eating has become deadly.

It’s a subject that Splane, associate professor of psychology at Flagler College, is passionate about, whether in her research or in teaching students in a course called “Psychology of Eating.” She is co-authoring a textbook by that same name with her graduate mentor, Dr. Neil Rowland, professor and chair of the psychology department at the University of Florida.

Although the textbook will address the psychological, biological and sociocultural aspects of eating, Splane said her and Rowland’s motivation for writing was to address what experts in the field of eating refer to as a “toxic environment” — a term coined by Yale professor Kelly D. Brownell in “Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry.”

He used it to describe the collision between more sedentary lifestyles and modern, unhealthy food that is plentiful, accessible, relatively cheap, calorie dense and extremely tasty.

The result, she said, has led to the health crisis the country is facing.

“One-third of our country is obese, and two-thirds are either obese or overweight,” she said. “Only one-third of our country is of normal weight, and that statistic includes eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Ultimately, this means that a very small percentage of our country’s population is in a healthy weight range.”

Splane said if we hope to understand how our eating behaviors have changed, we must first understand just how much our environment has changed.

“Part of the problem our society is having is that food is so readily available almost anywhere you go,” she said. “Over 50 years ago, if you went to a gas station, you went to purchase gas, not to buy food. Now, people have started to associate food with places such as bookstores, car washes and even home-repair stores.”

This wasn’t always the case, as food wasn’t so plentiful. People used to have to hunt and gather, struggling to put enough food on their plates, and to survive. But as our environment changed, food became easier to come by.

“Food is around us all the time, and it’s relatively cheap and calorie dense,” she said. “This ‘toxic environment’ isn’t the type of environment that humans and other animals existed in originally. As our environment has changed, our brains have evolved to suit our needs – to like the sweet taste, the salty taste and the fatty taste.”

Splane said other eating disorders have emerged in addition to obesity.

“Eating disorders are on the rise as a response to this environment — as a way of maneuvering through all of the chaos,” she said. “Of course there are also other factors contributing to these [eating] disorders, such as psychological issues, family issues, self-image issues and the pressure to be thin in today’s society. But again, we live in a country where food is so plentiful. You don’t see issues with obesity, bulimia or anorexia in Third World countries because there isn’t enough food for these disorders to exist.”

Splane said for the first time, something called “binge eating disorder” will be listed in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ” – a book used in the field of psychology to diagnose mental and other disorders.

“Binge eating disorder will almost inevitably lead to overweight and obesity issues,” she said. “With this condition, the person is eating way past their needs and numbing themselves with food. Emotionally, the binge eater is eating for comfort and filling some type of void.”

But while food often seems harmless, Splane said the truth is that of all the psychiatric disorders, eating disorders are the most deadly.

“With anorexia and bulimia, the risk of cardiac arrest is very high,” she said. “In addition, both disorders can cause heart failure or a stroke because fluid balance and electrolyte balance can be thrown off dramatically, leading to sudden death.”

Although the change in our environment plays a key role in the rise in obesity and other eating disorders, Splane said she is currently researching another key factor that could be contributing to the emergence: a link between mood and food.

“There’s some new supporting evidence that there is such a thing as a ‘food addiction,’ ” she said. “In performing experiments with rats, we are now finding that with food being so tasty, it’s over-stimulating the reward centers in the brain. It’s very similar to drug addiction in that the brain has become so overridden with pleasure molecules that cravings become virtually impossible to ignore.”

What’s the solution?

Splane thinks a lot of it starts with better education and, especially with children, everything from teaching nutrition in public schools to providing healthier lunches.

“We shouldn’t assume that our children will only eat foods like chicken nuggets and hotdogs rather than grilled chicken, fruit and veggies,” she said. “Humans lived and thrived for many many years before the creation of the chicken nugget.”

Flagler College students helped film veterans for the documentary on Vietnam; they also found archival photos of the war.

“I have a hearing problem, and I can still hear one even when it’s off in the distance, “he said. “I suppose it’s because that sound is embedded in my brain.”

Mansford is one of five Vietnam Veterans who participated in a documentary called “Vietnam: Service, Sacrifice and Courage; Local Neighbors, National Heroes.” He also served as a Sergeant in the Marine Corps in the war from 1965 to 1966.

Michael Isam, a Vietnam veteran himself, was one of 15 Flagler College students who participated in the creation and filming of the documentary for a communication class television workshop. Isam was both the scriptwriter and the narrator for the documentary that featured numerous vets.

The documentary was directed by Flagler College alum, Josh Wallace, ‘04, who is also the Flagler College TV Station Manager, and produced by Michael Rothfeld, president of the Florida Veterans Programs & Projects Inc. Rothfeld and his organization were responsible for producing two other similar documentaries on WWII and the Korean War.

“When we made the WWII documentary, all of the veterans were very anxious to have their stories told,” Rothfeld said. “When we started working on ‘Korea: The Forgotten War,’ they [veterans] were thrilled that we were going to interview them. In the beginning, when we first started placing calls to the Vietnam veterans, they wouldn’t talk to me; they were very leery.”

Isam said, “They weren’t certain how we would portray them, and we understood why. The Vietnam War is still such a political soccer ball. It is kicked all the time.”

The documentary dispels certain myths about the Vietnam War; for example, many believe that most who fought were drafted when the reality is that two-thirds volunteered. It also reveals that 2.59 million Americans served in the war, one out of 10 Americans lost their lives, and 58,169 were either killed or missing in action (MIA).

For many, the memories of the war are still with them and tough to talk about. Tom Crawford, who was a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps, said he still has disturbing dreams about the war.

Wallace said he learned a lot about the war during the making of the documentary.

“Documenting their personal stories was really eye-opening,” he said. “It’s just a war you don’t hear too much about because it’s always over-shadowed by the political issues related to that particular war.”

Isam said the Flagler College students, under the guidance of Wallace, did most of the work for the documentary.

“The students really did the lion’s share of the work,” Isam said. “They were the ones who carried around the cameras and lights, amongst other things. They set everything up, got it running, did the actual filming, then brought everything back into the editing booth and said, ‘OK, capture all of this.’ ”

The documentary aired on WJCT TV, the PBS affiliate in Jacksonville,Fla., throughout the week surrounding Veterans Day in November.

“I was surprised and overcome when I was informed that I would be receiving the medallion,” Kenan said. “I remember when my late father received it in Palm Beach, and he was very thrilled and grateful, as am I.”

In 1985, Frank H. Kenan was the first to receive the medallion — the highest honor Flagler bestows to an individual who has made significant contributions to the development of the college.

The Medallion is awarded by the Board of Trustees, and no more than 10 medallions may be issued to living recipients at any given time. Kenan is the 11th person to receive the award.

College President William T. Abare Jr. says Kenan has been a loyal supporter of the college from its earliest days.

“He has encouraged us; he has supported us; he has challenged us in terms of the quality of our faculty, the quality of our academic programs and in terms of fundraising,” Abare said.

Flagler College Board of Trustees Chairman David Drysdale said the board was unanimous that there could be “no more fitting recipient.” He commended Kenan for his support of the college as an individual contributor and as a trustee of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

Abare said, in terms of significant milestones in the college’s history, the Trust has played a major role in some of the college’s biggest projects.

“In my opinion, the college’s accreditation, the construction of Kenan Hall and the construction of the Proctor Library were the top three milestones in the history of Flagler College,” Abare said. “It was essential that we have their very, very strong support from the beginning. Both Kenan Hall and Proctor Library were funded primarily by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.”

Kenan said he has always had a keen interest in Flagler, and that the college and the former Hotel Ponce de Leon have always been a part of his family. “It [Flagler College] has been a part of my life since the 1960s,” he said.

Abare emphasized Kenan’s strong beliefs in the value of family and relationships.

“I think that relationship is key,” Abare said. “I can’t think of anybody who epitomizes the importance of relationships more than Tom Kenan.”

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust has primarily supported institutions of higher education. According to Abare, the Trust also contributes to numerous other colleges and universities.

Kenan was jointly responsible for establishing the William R. Friday Endowed Scholarship for the Arts at Flagler College. The scholarship is awarded annually to a student majoring in art. He was also jointly responsible for establishing the William R. Kenan, Jr. Endowed Scholarship in honor of Mary Lily Wiley Flagler. This scholarship is awarded annually to a student majoring in either fine art or graphic design.

It was a photo in The Washington Post that caught Marisella Veiga’s attention. The Japanese were growing watermelons in square containers to make it easier to ship them. They were square watermelons.

“I thought that was a great metaphor for someone living with the bicultural experience,” said the adjunct English instructor and Cuban-American author who has focused most of her writing on her own experiences living with two cultures.

“Square Watermelons: Ten Essays on Living with Two Cultures” is a collection of spoken-word essays that was born out of her syndicated columns for Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C.

More recently, she had a short story, “Fresh Fruit,” selected for publication in the anthology, “Short-Short Stories from the United States and Latin America.” She has been awarded the Special Mention in Fiction for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Small Presses, for a story called, “Arroz Con Pollo,” and has published features, commentary and poetry.

More often than not, her writing deals with the theme of being born into one culture and then transplanted into an entirely different one.

“It’s very similar to the watermelons being planted in the square containers,” she said. Veiga said when she was thinking about the square watermelons metaphor, she realized it could apply to just about anyone.

“You’re born a certain way, and by the time you reach adulthood, you’re beaten into a square of sorts,” she said. “You certainly are shaped by experience. So I think the metaphor could be greater than what it originally stood for.”

Veiga was born in Havana, Cuba, and she and her family went into exile in 1960 when they moved to the United States. She had no choice but to learn how to live with two cultures. For years, she has been questioned regarding her ethnicity and Cuban politics.

“When one is forced to leave one’s country for political reasons, I would have to compare the exile to having experienced a childhood trauma,” Veiga said. “It impacted my entire family including my parents, siblings, grandparents and cousins. It has impacted my other Cuban friends. The whole exile community — everyone who is in exile has experienced that trauma.”

Veiga and her family moved to Minnesota not long after they came to the United States.

“When we first moved to Minnesota, it was pretty evident that I was not from there,” she said. “I had to adjust to constant questioning, especially regarding Fidel Castro and Cuban politics. People are very interested in those issues.”

Veiga said living in exile has definitely influenced her writings and the writings of her peers and colleagues. “There is a definite break in the concept of what is home,” she said.

Veiga is quick to point out that she is one of many people who are fortunate enough to live with two languages and with two cultures.

“I am Cuban-American, and I write in English,” she said. “I have become an English professor, and I am published. These accomplishments are huge milestones for me, personally.”

Veiga says the columns she submits to Spanish Link are usually social commentary dealing with issues such as acculturation, assimilation and increasing understanding and awareness of living with two cultures.

Even in her classrooms, Veiga sees cultural differences.

“I speak about this issue in my classroom,” she said. “Initially, I look at my classes and think that everyone is white and middle class. Then, when we start discussing backgrounds, I find that some of my students come from military backgrounds, some are first generation college students, and some are from the northeast.

For the first time in 50 years, Veiga heads to Cuba with her husband this August. She said she longs to see the place that is her heritage.

Veiga once had a professor say something that really resonated with her.

“My professor said that home is where you hang your hat,” she said. “I thought about that, and he’s really right.”

Longtime friend and benefactor of Flagler College, Mary Lily Flagler Lewis Wiley, affectionately known as “Molly,” passed away peacefully at her home in Richmond, Va., this past May. She was 90.

Wiley, a philanthropist related to oil titan and railroad magnate, Henry Flagler, grew up in St. Augustine at Kirkside, the mansion built by Henry Flagler next to Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Wiley and her brother, Lawrence Lewis Jr., were related to Henry Flagler through their mother, Louise Wise Lewis Francis, who was the niece of Mary Lily Kenan Flagler. Mary Lily married Henry Flagler in 1901.

From the inception of Flagler College in the late 1960s, Wiley played an important and significant role in the college’s growth that spanned the college’s entire 42-year history. She donated many gifts to the college and stepped forward on many occasions, lending not only financial assistance, but support in many other ways.

“Molly was very philanthropic, and she was very generous with her gifts to Flagler College, said President William T. Abare Jr. “She was a friend to the college, and she had a deep interest in the college; that interest was obviously developed through her brother, Lawrence, whom she adored.”

When asked in a 2006 interview what stood out as the greatest change as well as the most interesting development in the history of Flagler College, Wiley was quick to reply that it was impossible to emotionally tabulate the satisfaction of the success of Flagler College.

“It was just glorious to witness that beautiful building — the Ponce de Leon Hotel — come to being … a great big, wonderful, successful college,” she said.

She was also asked how she would describe Flagler College and its philosophy to people who might not have ever visited St. Augustine. Her reply was swift and filled with pride and sentiment.

“I would tell them that the history of the building [Ponce de Leon] is so unique that if they send a child there [Flagler College], they have to realize that they are in a kind of ‘hallowed ground.’ There is nothing like it. This was the first building that Flagler built in Florida, and by itself, it’s a glorious building. It’s a monument to architecture. To have something that unique that was just dropped in our laps is just too good to be true, and it should never be wasted,” she said. “Thanks to Bill Proctor [Flagler College’s President from 1971-2001 and now its Chancellor], and thanks to Bill Abare, it’s a glorious place.”

Proctor also remembers Wiley fondly.

“Ms. Wiley was a delightful and charming lady,” he said. “She was generous beyond measure, and I enjoyed our every encounter. She was unfailing in her support of her brother, Lawrence, and all that he did to establish Flagler College. Even after his death, she continued her support of Flagler College.”

Although Wiley was a very giving person, many also remember her for her smile, energy, love for golf, entertaining and her infectious laugh.

“She was a very outgoing person who made me feel welcome whenever I would visit her,” Abare said.

Abare also said she was always happy to see him and genuinely interested in how the college was doing.

“She was an exceedingly generous person who had a genuine interest in the institution,” Abare said. “That interest came from within. It was never something that we were trying to find an area in which she might have some interest – whether it had something to do with the drama department, endowing a scholarship for the best students we had coming in or participating in the construction of the dormitories or library – all of those projects, Molly had some interest in.”

Not many women can boast that they hit the links with golf pro Sam Sneed or danced with Fred Astaire, but Wiley did both.

“She was an avid golfer and she competed even into her 70s and early 80s,” Abare said. “She won several club championships at courses that she belonged to, and she played with some very famous golfers.”

John D. Bailey Sr., who has been on the Board of Trustees at Flagler College from the very beginning, recalled his last visit with Wiley.

“My wife Peggy and I went to visit Molly about a year ago,” he said. “My purpose in visiting her was two-fold: first, I wanted to satisfy myself with a final visit to a great lady who was very instrumental and so supportive of Flagler College from the beginning to the time of her passing. During our visit, it was important for me to convey to her – and I think she understood – how much it meant to the college to have her support.”

Bailey also said he wanted to visit Wiley because she was a fun-loving lady who was a joy to be around.

“She was a classic lady,” he said. “She always had a great smile on her face. Even after Lawrence was deceased, Molly, on her own, continued to make generous donations to the college. That was a tremendous help in getting where we are today.”

In a note to Abare in 2004, Wiley wrote, “Dear Bill, I am so proud of Flagler College! The ‘Little College that Could’ is the greatest! Love, Molly”

Kelly, a former economics professor and scout for the Seattle Supersonics, employed game theory to analyze five seasons of data from NBA schedules to see if there had been any potential scheduling bias. His research was prompted by a noticeable pattern: certain teams were playing games two nights in a row, and most of the time they would lose the second game.

“Teams get tired, and they’ve been traveling,” he said. “They’re not left with much time to practice or rest in between games. So the conspiracy theorists wondered, ‘Are back-to-back games being rigged by the NBA?’ I found out that it was not.”

Using game theory, which uses mathematical models to predict outcomes, his data showed that the number of back-to-back games assigned to each team appeared to be random, and that there was no evidence of bias in scheduling.

Kelly said, “Although differences in the number of back-to-back games do result in a slight variation in competitive balance, one positive externality is that these types of games reduce travel costs by millions of dollars per year.”

The NBA article was actually Kelly’s second on game theory in the past year. He also had an article on the Austrian connection to early game theory published in “The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.”

Kelly teaches a course at Flagler on game theory, as well as economics of sport.

Whittaker has extensive experience in higher education fundraising, having served in senior-level development positions at Stetson, Hollins University, Rhodes College and Sweet Briar College. He has considerable experience in capital campaigns, comprehensive development programs, alumni relations, planned giving, special events, marketing and communications, and government relations.

Prior to joining the College of Law at Stetson, Whittaker founded Whittaker and Associates in 2003 to provide comprehensive fundraising solutions to a select number of nonprofit organizations.

“I am confident that Mr. Whittaker will be an outstanding addition to the Flagler College administration team and will continue the fine record established by Dr. John Stewart in the Office of Institutional Advancement,” said Flagler College President William T. Abare Jr., Ed.D.

Whittaker said he was looking forward to becoming a part of the Flagler community.

“It is a pleasure to be joining Dr. Abare and Flagler College at this important time in the development of the college,” he said. “I look forward to meeting and working with the Flagler alumni and friends in expanding the impact the college is having on its students and higher education.”

Whittaker attended New College of Florida and is a graduate of the University of Maine in Orono. He completed the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management Program. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and an active member of the Association of Fundraising professionals and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Whitaker replaces John Stewart, who recently accepted a position as president of the University of Montevallo in Alabama.

For years, Flagler College Professor of Education Carl Williams has worked overtime teaching deaf education to his students for one simple reason: There was never a single comprehensive textbook written for instructors in deaf education.

That prompted him to write “No Limits,” a first-of-its-kind instructional textbook on deaf education that correlates with the Council on Educating the Deaf standards and the Educational Content Standards in Deaf Education.

“These standards are important because they ensure that deaf students fully learn the content of subjects such as math, science and social studies,” Williams said.

The textbook was released in 2009 by Butte Publications.

For many years, teaching those standards and how to apply them in an instructional setting has been difficult due to the lack of books with good visual aids, activities and case studies. So, after years of creating his own syllabi using many different journals and books related to special or deaf education, Williams decided to write a textbook that would embody all of this information.

“In the past students have been asked to browse through journals for information and many of these journals were just broad special education issues. Some were even outdated,” he said. “I felt this was a very unwieldy way of approaching this particular issue.”

So Williams came up with a better way to present the course information to his students: He began posting his own tailor-made chapters online a week prior to discussions. “I just followed the guidelines of both sets of standards combined with my research from other sources and created my own teaching material,” he said. “When it came time to present my material to the publishers, I took everything that I had researched and used for my courses and presented it to them. They loved it.”

Williams, a 1977 Flagler College graduate, was inspired to write “No Limits” for other reasons. “It is very difficult, yet important, to be able to teach deaf students a fact, concept or skill,” he said. “At one seminar I attended, I heard other professors lamenting about lack of information in this area, and I made it a point to include it in my book.”

Williams said his 14 years of teaching the deaf and hard of hearing at The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind helped in the writing of his book. “Many of the successes that I had in the classroom at FSDB gave me insight into the types of approaches and practices that would be effective with deaf and hard of hearing students,” he said.

This is not the first book written by Williams for deaf education. In 2006, Butte – a publishing company that specializes in deaf education books – published “It All Depends,” a case study book in deaf education. He will now be using both books together to teach his courses.