Rep. Marshall Visits
We welcomed U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, M.D., to campus on July 10. While here he joined small business owners for a roundtable at the Kansas Small Business Development Center and learned more about the National Teachers Hall of Fame and the Memorial to Fallen Educators.
STEM education
More than 60 teachers met with 150 students in Dodge City, Fredonia, Independence, and Neodesha in late May and early June for MASTERS – Math and Science Teaching Excellence in Rural Schools. MASTERS is a nearly $200,000 grant partnering Emporia State, Pittsburg State and the Southwest Plains Regional Service Center.
Success in the Classroom
The Lady Hornets’ history of success on the basketball court and in the classroom was reinforced this year as Emporia State sits atop the 2016-17 Women's Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division II Academic Top 25 list. The Lady Hornets had a school record 3.744 team GPA during the 2016-17 academic year.
Arts & Sciences
Kim Simons, chair of the Department of Physical Sciences, offered science projects with students attending the summer meal program at Emporia elementary schools. The project was part of the Summer Climbin’ program offered by United Way of the Flint Hills.
Congratulations to Jaide Allenbrand (B.S. Biology, Ecology and Biodiverity, 2017), who has accepted a research internship position at the MacArthur Agro-ecology Center in Lake Placid, Florida. MAERC focuses on the role of ranches in sustaining essential ecosystem service in South Florida, particularly food production, water quality and supply, and wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
Student Mollie Ponds, above left, was able to catch up with Michael Smith, chair of Social Sciences, during the MORE2 Annual Banquet in Kansas City, Missouri. Mollie is interning with the group, the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity. She is working on a Missouri ballot initiative called the Clean Missouri Campaign for campaign finance reform.
We are excited to bring to campus two Paraguayan piano students to study for a semester with Martin Cuellar, professor of piano. Martin traveled to Paraguay in March to just the first national piano competition organized by Comité Paraguay Kansas. The first- and second-place winners earned the opportunity to study at ESU.
Congratulations to Sami Hobson, who graduated with a master of science in forensic science degree. Sami will be a DNA extraction technician at GeneSeek Operations, the genetics division of Neogen. The company provides genetic analysis for veterinarians, breeders, and pet owners.
Ten Emporia Middle School students participated in the Summer Scholars program June 13 through 15 on campus. This is the fifth year Dr. Marvin Harrell and Dr. Betsy Yanik have directed the program. Dr. Jorge Ballester also assists with the program. Summer Scholars is targeted to area Hispanic students to encourage their interest in science and mathematics.
Under the direction of Dr. Marcia Schulmeister of the Department of Physical Sciences, Jesse Higginbotham (B.S. Earth Science) is sampling the sediments that have been dredged from John Redmond Reservoir for the potential to support crop growth. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is managing the sediments in large basins on leased land, with the goal of returning the land to crop production. The work is being supported by an ESU Summer Undergraduate Research Project grant and in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the Kansas Water Office.
Seventeen young women from across the state participated in MASTER-IT, a residential STEM program on June 5-9. Dr. Marvin Harrell and Dr. Betsy Yanik directed the program for the 17th year along with Dr. Melissa Bailey and Dr. Brenda Koerner. Area female professionals also led sessions with the students. Students participated in workshops and sessions on campus and took field trips to Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. and the Topeka Zoo. The program’s purpose is to encourage young women to continue to study and pursue STEM subjects.
Congratulations to Bekah Lane (B.S. Biology, 2016), who has accepted a position at her old high school, Wichita North, where she will teach biology and field ecology.
A group of 24 students enjoyed 10 days in London on a study abroad trip sponsored by Dr. Mel Storm of the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism.
Library & Information Management
Congratulations to Kelly Peterson-Fairchild (MLS 1996), new dean of library and learning services at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.
On June 19, a group of 17 librarians from Korea visited SLIM/ESU for their global leadership training. Dr. Mirah Dow, Dr. James Walter, Dr. Brendan Fay and SLIM Dean Dr. Wooseob Jeong delivered lectures for them.
Emporia State University SCALA was awarded the New Members Round Table Student Chapter of the Year on June 25, at the American Library Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois. This is the first time Emporia State University has received the award. This year’s Student Chapter of the Year Award Committee praised the chapter’s ability to reach members in person and virtually across wide geographic distances. In addition, the chapter grew in the preceding year and undertook an impressive documentation initiative to build up institutional memory for future years.
SLIM Alum Nang Rives ('02) visited the Emporia campus on June 16 to meet Dean Wooseob Jeong, Roy Mann, and some of the faculty.
The Teachers College
Kyle Richards, art therapy student, is completing an internship with Synergy Services in Parkville, Missouri, this summer. He’s shown here with his site supervisors, Florence Mancuso (left), and Emma Bailey (MS – Art Therapy Counseling, 2016) (right), at Synergy Services in June.
Business
Two School of Business students placed in the top 10 in the nation recently at the 2017 Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference held in Anaheim, CA, June 24–27. Madison Orrange, a sophomore accounting major and information systems minor, placed fifth in Computer Applications. Carissa McAfee, a sophomore dual management/marketing major and theater minor, placed sixth in Client Services and fifth in Public Speaking. Learn more…
Dr. Raffaele De Vito, professor emeritus, was honored with the Silver Stirrup Award for Meritorious Service at the 45th Annual Team Kansas awards banquet held on June 6, 2017, in Emporia. De Vito was a founding member of the Kansas International Trade Coordinating Council which started in 1985. De Vito was professor of management for the School of Business, retiring in 2016 after 34 years with the university.
Alumni Dave Robertson, President & COO of Koch Industries, had lunch with eight BizHornet summer interns recently. From left to right: Ryan McBroom, Katie Kapp, Luke Palmer, Fionna Colpan, Dave Robertson, Kalyn Meseke, Shane Garrison, Ramon Rivera, and Jason Kuehl.
Athletics
Congratulations to former Emporia State Lady Hornet guard Kelly Moten, who is taking her talents to Europe. Moten will travel to Switzerland later this summer to play professionally for Riva Basket of the LNA, the top Swiss league for women.
Fresh off their first winning record in MIAA play since 2004, the Emporia State soccer team has officially announced its 2017 schedule. The Hornets will play seven of 18 matches on the ESU Pitch located on the north end of the Emporia State campus.
Emporia State Lady Hornet basketball players Kathryn Flott and Kelly Moten are part of a record 543 female college athletes that have been nominated by NCAA member schools for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Top 30 nominees and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
The Emporia State volleyball team will play its first 14 matches on the road before opening at home Sept. 26, according to the schedule released this week.
Government Relations
Sen. Jeff Longbine and Rep. Mark Schreiber hosted a town hall meeting at the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the 2017 legislative session. During their recap, the legislators highlighted the $500,000 that ESU will receive for its nursing program in FY 2018.
Conferences
Sungwoong Lee, assistant professor in Instructional Design & Technology, served as a coordinator for 12 government officers from Korea for the International Society for Technology in Education 2017 conference in San Antonio, Texas, in late June.
Presentations
Annie Opat, director of Emporia State’s Reading Recovery training center, served as co-chair of the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Institute held at Anaheim, California, in late June. She also presented “Advocating for Children: Increasing Leadership during Reading Recovery Training and Beyond” at the conference. Opat has been appointed to serve as the development committee chairperson for the Reading Recovery Council of North America.
At the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Jim Walther, assistant professor in SLIM, was convener of the conference program, "From Kindergartners to Collegians: Helping Students Make the Grade.” The speakers on the panel included SLIM alumnus Matt Upson, director of undergraduate instruction and outreach services at Oklahoma State University's Edmon Law Library. The program focused on developing library instruction venues for students of all ages in all types of libraries, as well as, examining the growth of the liaison role of librarians in subject-specific learning.
Brady Lund, MLS student, presented his research “Dark Web for All!: Exploring the implications of the Dark Web for Privacy and Intellectual Freedom” at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday, June 24.
Kate Kreiman (undergraduate admissions electronic recruiter) and Roxie Pearson (undergraduate admissions assistant director) presented three presentations virtually for the EMAS Pro National Conference in San Diego, California. They were “EMAS Admins 101,” “Prioritizing Your Recruitment Efforts” and “Leading & Managing Staff.” They collaborated with several other institutions regarding the presentations, including Valparaiso, Washington State, Eastern New Mexico State and University of Indianapolis. EMAS is the Enrollment Management Action System used by ESU Undergraduate Admissions.
Publications
Dr. Kenneth Thompson and Dr. Mirah Dow co-authored a journal article titled “Co-teaching to improve control variable experiment instruction in physical sciences” published in Electronic Journal of Science Education, 21(5), 36-52.
Dr. Eric Yang and students Hui Qian and Chen Yang published “MicroRNA-26a inhibits the growth and invasiveness of malignant melanoma and directly targets on MITF gene” in Cell Death Discovery on the Nature.com website.
Dr. Kevin Rabas’s new book of poetry, “All That Jazz,” was published by Spartan Press (Kansas City) on June 22. Rabas gave his first reading from the new book on June 24 at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia.