High Honor
Congratulations to alum Dathan Fischer (BSE Elementary Education 2003; MS Educational Administration 2010), who was named Assistant Principal of the Year by the Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals. Dathan is in his first year as head principal at Emporia High School where he served as assistant principal then associate principal.
International Visitor
The head of a Paraguayan study abroad organization visited Emporia State University on Oct. 21. Federico Mora is general coordinator of the National Scholarship Program for Study Abroad or BECAL. The program sends undergraduate and graduate students as well as professionals to top universities and research centers around the world with the promise they will return and use their new knowledge to benefit Paraguay.
100% Success
The ESU nursing department announced that 100 percent of their May 2019 graduates passed the NCLEX-RN exam!
Leadership Training
Emporia State University received a second phase of funding from the Kansas Leadership Center as a 2020 Leadership Transformation Grant partner.
Arts & Sciences
The 2019 Homecoming musical, “Little Women” hosted its opening night on Thursday, October 17. Emporia State students worked day and night for over a month to create a fantastic show. All four performances of the musical were held in Bruder Theatre in King Hall.
2011 political science and journalism alumna and Outstanding Recent Graduate Kelsey Ryan returned to ESU on Friday, October 18 for the 2019 Homecoming celebrations. Kelsey spoke in Plumb Hall about her career success following her graduation from Emporia State. After working for both the Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star newspapers, Kelsey is launching The Beacon, a nonprofit, in-depth journalism startup.
Forensic Science Master’s program hosted the first event of its Forensic Science Seminar Series on October 7. Guest speaker Dr. Diane Peterson, Johnson County Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner, discussed the anatomy and biology aspects of her career and highlighted how forensic pathology can be a career choice for people interested in forensic science but not lab work. Dr. Peterson presented in front of an audience of around 80 ESU students and faculty and visitors.
Emporia State University was selected as one of 10 participating institutions in the American Association of State Colleges and University's American Democracy Project Global Civic Literacy Initiative in partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations. The aim of this initiative is to help students increase their knowledge of our global society and understand how global issues affect their lives. Dr. Mark Daly, Dean of International Education, and Dr. Bekah Selby, Department of Mathematics & Economics, are ESU’s representatives. Dr. Selby was also recently appointed to the American Democracy Project Steering Committee.
Around 25 High School TRIO students from Wichita visited Mathellaneous, an exhibit created by the Department of Mathematics and Economics, on October 17. Four Emporia State University Kappa Mu Epsilon students led the high school TRIO students through various math puzzle stations and performed card tricks for them using basic mathematic principles. The high school group toured the historical exhibits as well.
The Sociology, Anthropology, and Crime and Delinquency Studies Department hosted 40 Emporia High School students on October 10 for their event, Deconstructing Society: One Piece at a Time. EHS students were able to experience a variety of breakout sessions centered around the disciplines. The event was made possible through the ESU high-impact learning grant.
Business
The School of Business was proud to host three alumni at the annual Homecoming Panel Discussion & Reception. Mark Scoles, Distinguished Alumni; Michael Gonzales, Hayes Lecture speaker; and Cassondra Boston Richards, Outstanding Recent Graduate, answered questions to a room overflowing with students, faculty, staff and guests.
Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) performed at the Black & Gold Gala. They are pictured here with Dr. Joyce Zhou, one of the co-advisors and Dr. Allen Comstock.
Students had an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, small business development and the business history of Emporia during the Business Education Tour on Oct. 16. The opportunity was made possible by the Kathrine K. White Faculty Incentive.
The Teachers College
The American Art Therapy Association recognized Emporia State’s Art Therapy program for taking 31 students to the AATA’s 50th Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, October 30-November 3. ESU undergraduate and graduate art therapy students will pair up for a year-long mentorship experience. The pairs will participate in the annual service project during the conference, create response art after conference, and present on their experience in a public forum following the program. Funding for attending the conference came from a $10,000 grant from ESU’s High Impact Learning Initiative.
Dr. Jennifer Thomas and Health & Human Performance students spent October 15 facilitating the City of Emporia 2019 Employee Health Fair.
Katelin McAnrews (MS 2018 – Art Therapy, Clinical Counseling) was featured in a video about art and healing for her employer, Mosaic Life Care of Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri.
Dr. Elizabeth Dobler, Elementary Education / Early Childhood / Special Education, received the 2019 Computers in Reading Research Award from the International Literacy Association, Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group at the International Literacy Association Conference in New Orleans on October 12.
Dr. Damara Goff Paris and Dr. Basil Kessler, Counselor Education, were featured in Quest magazine published by Emporia State University’s Graduate School.
Dr. Melissa Reed, Elementary Education / Early Childhood / Special Education, is the program chair of the International Literacy Association’s Special Interest Group: Professors of Literacy and Teacher Education.
Library & Information Management
Dr. Bobbie Bushman, assistant professor, was interviewed for the Library Leadership Podcast about serving underserved populations who do not use libraries.
Student Affairs
Emporia Police Chief Jerry Cook today announced the promotion to lieutenant of Don Schaefer, a 40-year veteran of the ESU Police department. Last week, Jerry dropped the “interim” title when Dr. Jim Williams, vice president for student affairs, presented him his police chief badge.
TRIO Programs
On October 12, the TRIO Upward Bound students engaged in a community service project with Emporia Main Street. They weeded and cleaned out some of the garden areas downtown.
Koch Center
Students in the Adam Smith Club hosted a viewing and discussion of “The Big Short” as part of their Liberty at the Movies series on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Presentations
Dr. Marj Bock presented “SODA Strategy: A Metacognitive Intervention for Persons with ASD” at the Second Annual Rich Simpson Autism Conference held in Overland Park on October 11.
At the International Literacy Association Conference in New Orleans, October 11 and 12:
- Dr. Elizabeth Dobler, Elementary Education / Early Childhood / Special Education, co-presented “Fostering Curiosity & Deep Learning through Personal Digital Inquiry.”
- Dr. Melissa Reed, Elementary Education / Early Childhood / Special Education, presented “Friends of Corky: A Multilingual Literacy Partnership in Kindness.”
Dr. Dusti Howell, Instructional Design & Technology, and Joseph Kern, (MS 2009 – Instructional Design & Technology) co-principal investigators of the National Science Foundation Grant, “Integration of Computing in Rural Agricultural Education,” presented "We Are So Cool" at the STEM+C Summit, held in Alexandria, Virginia, September 18-20.
Drs. Sandy Valenti and Terri Summey presented information on emotional intelligence, self-care, and why leaders today need them at the, October 17 session of Leadership Emporia Academy.
Publications
Dr. Paul Luebbers and Dr. Michael Butler, Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, co-authored “Effects of Practical Blood Flow Restriction Training on Adolescent Lower-Body Strength” published in October 2019 issue of the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research.
These articles are published in the fall issue of Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science:
- “High-terrace chert-gravel deposits in the Toledo vicinity, Chase County, Kansas” - James S. Aber.
- “Survey of fishes, semi-aquatic turtles, and crayfishes on the Emporia State University Natural Areas” by Jackson G. Holmgren, Dylan M. Osterhaus, and Jacob A. Schaefer
- “Does activity of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) vary between human-hunted areas and refugia?” by Dylan M. Osterhaus and William E. Jensen.