Fallen Educators Legislation
Many thanks to U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who recently reintroduced legislation to designate the Memorial to Fallen Educators as a national memorial. Above, Sen. Moran is shown at the memorial with Dr. Ken Weaver, dean of The Teachers College, during a visit to campus in September 2015. Learn more…
Literacy Center
Congratulations to Dr. Dennis J. Kear, the new executive director of the Kansas Masonic Literacy Center in The Teachers College. Kear, an alumnus of Emporia State (BS Education 1970, MS Elementary Education/Reading 1975), previously served an elementary classroom teacher in Kansas. Learn more …
Global Learning
Dr. Katrina Miller, chair and professor in Counselor Education, traveled to Cuba in early January as part of a delegation of university educators and rehabilitation professionals on a comparative study tour.
Butler Academy
A new academy next fall at Butler Community College will benefit high school students wanting to become teachers. Students in the academies can earn an associate’s degree from Butler and a diploma from their high school at the same time. The Elementary Education Academy at Rose Hill will prepare students to enter the BEST partnership between Butler and ESU. Learn more…
Arts & Sciences
Congratulations to Dr. Zuber-Chall, lecturer in Sociology, Anthropology, and Crime and Delinquency Studies, who received a $3,000 teaching grant from the Koch Center for Leadership and Ethics. Students in her Ethics in Criminal Justice course will study ethical decision-making in law enforcement and corrections.
The ESU Faculty Research and Creativity Committee granted Dr. Rochelle Rowley, assistant professor in Sociology, Anthropology, and Crime and Delinquency Studies, $9,547 for a 12-month graduate research assistant for a study on the experiences of transgender individuals in the current political climate.
Congratulations to Dr. Scott Wichael, assistant professor of voice in the Department of Music. He is contracted to perform Sancho Panza in “Man of La Mancha” at the Indianapolis Opera March 24 through 26.
Dr. Elizabeth Yanik, professor, and Dr. Qiang Shi, associate professor, both in the Department of Mathematics & Economics, presented posters on January 5 at the 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Atlanta, the largest math meeting in the world. More on the presentations is below.
ESU students Isaac Hall (physics & engineering major, mathematics minor), Amy Fugit (mathematics & engineering major) and Toby Smith (mathematics education and computer science major) may have found a way to help the greater Seattle area with traffic flow problems by using self-driving cars. The trio entered their solution to this problem through an international contest for college undergraduates called the Mathematical Contest in Modeling.
ESU students and faculty made their usual strong showing at the annual Kansas Natural Resources Conference in Wichita, Kansas, January 25-27. A total of 16 students and faculty attended, shown above. Learn more…
Information Technology
Nine Cremer Hall Learning Spaces recently were updated with the newest podium and other technologies including lecture capture components. This summer the rooms will be updated with short throw projectors and new writing surfaces. This is part of a planned Learning Space update across campus over the next three years.
Several new Canvas enhancements were rolled out recently, including built-in integrations with Office365, OneDrive, OneNote, Google Drive and Google Apps for Education. This bridges several key enterprise systems on campus and allows faculty and students alike the ability to easily create, manage and submit materials from either the Google or Microsoft systems directly through Canvas.
Athletics
The ESU baseball team has been ranked No. 2 in the Preseason MIAA Coaches Poll. The team opens its season on Friday. Learn more…
The ESU softball team was ranked eighth in the Preseason MIAA Coaches Poll. The team also opens the season on Friday. Learn more…
The Teachers College
Dr. Jennie Long, assistant professor of Early Childhood, was awarded an Emporia State Faculty Research and Creativity Grant to research “The Decline of Child Care on IHE Campuses and Impact on Student Retention.”
Joella Mehrhoff, professor in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, received the Mark Harvey Legacy Award during the Central District SHAPE America Conference. HPER alumnus Sarah Jo Heath was named the Central District SHAPE America Adapted Physical Educator of the Year.
Government Relations
On Wednesday, January 18, the Kansas Board of Regents hosted representatives from university alumni associations and foundations along with CEOs and governmental relations officers to discuss ways for these key entities to partner and advance higher education’s legislative agenda.
The Chambers of Commerce in Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and Topeka hosted a joint legislative reception on January 17 at the Dillon House. Lyon County is unique in that it produces a shared legislative agenda for multiple entities including K-12 education, higher education, health care and transportation. Local chamber representatives and members of the Government Matters committee shared this statement with legislators on January 18.
Business
The Elevator Challenge and Emporia Entrepreneur Challenge are under way. The competitions are open to ESU and Flint Hills Technical College students. Over $4,500 in cash prizes will be awarded. Learn more…
On January 25, members and candidates of Beta Alpha Psi gathered to volunteer at the Emporia Gazette's Food for Students, an organization which provides to-go bags of food to students in Emporia schools who come from food insecure households.
Nine students participated in the initiation ceremony for the Lambda Psi chapter of Beta Alpha Psi on January 26. Learn more…
Library & Information Management
Congratulations to Jody Fick (’91 SLIM), who recently was appointed director of Siouxland Public Libraries in South Dakota. Learn more…
Publications
In 2016, Dr. Brice Obermeyer published two research papers:
- "We call it put him away: Contemporary Delaware burial practices and NAGPRA.” North American Archaeologist 37(2). Pp. 112-135
- “‘The Lands of My Nation’: Delaware Indians in Kansas, 1829–1869." Great Plains Quarterly 36 (1): 1-30. (with John P. Bowes).
Dr. Rochelle Rowley co-wrote three research articles:
- “The more things change, the more they stay the same: An analysis of cyberbullying experiences among college students” in Emporia State Research Studies, (2016) 51(2), 30-38,
- “From holding hands to having a thing to hooking up: Framing heterosexual youth relationships in Marriage & Family Review, (2016) 52(6), 548-562
- “Is it teen dating violence, bullying or both? Student, school staff, & parent perceptions,” in Children and Schools, (2016) 38(1), 22-29.
Stacy Smith’s (Sociology, Ph.D. Candidate) article “Gender Stratified Monopoly: Why Do I Earn Less and Pay More?” will appear in the April 2017 edition of Teaching Sociology.
A paper written by Dr. Joyce Zhou, Dr. Jun Yu, School of Business, and their coauthors, titled “Chinese Consumers’ Perception of Advertising: A Regional Analysis” is accepted for publication in the Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness.
Dr. Mark Stanbrough, professor in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, co-wrote with Jenna Hill (MS - Instructional Design & Technology 2015) “Motivational Moments in 2016 Olympic Track and Field.” The book is designed to inspire, encourage, motivate and teach valuable life lessons with inspiring stories of track and field athletes who competed during the 2016 Olympiad era.
Presentations
Dr. Steve Lovett was the main speaker/author at a National Business Institute conference, presenting course materials titled, “New Ethics Rules: Responding to Subpoenas and Document Requests,” on January 25.
Dr. Mark Stanbrough and three coaching education students — Alexandria Griffin, Shelby Marten, and Courtney Troyer — presented two sessions, “Setting the Stage for Mental Success with Mental Skills and Drills” and “Mental Skills and Drills for Athletes and Coaches” at the Central District SHAPE America Conference, January 27-28 in Cedars Falls, Iowa.
Poster presentations at the Joint Mathematics Meetings
- Dr. Elizabeth Yanik, “Hispanic Outreach Programs.”
- Dr. Qiang Shi, “Inspired by Math — a Mathematics Enrichment Program in Emporia, Kansas,” which was co-written with Laura Albertson and Josh Tuttle of Emporia Middle School and Kandace Miller, ESU math education student.
SLIM had a strong presence at 2017 ALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) annual meeting held in Atlanta, January 17-20.
Paper Presentations:
- Andrew Smith (Associate Professor): “The Serbian connection: Diversity education through university and community partnerships in Serbia.”
- Mirah Dow (Professor), Wooseob Jeong (Dean), and Andrew Smith (Associate Professor): “In the interim: Strategies for successful interim administrative appointments.”
- Sarah Sutton (Assistant Professor) and Sandra Valenti (Assistant Professor): “Adjunct LIS Faculty as Educators through Communities of Practice.”
- Robin Kurz (Assistant Professor) with Nicole Cooke at University of Illinois: “Engaging Diverse Local Communities: Lessons from the Archives.”
- Jinxuan Ma (Assistant Professor) and Lynne Stahl (MLS student): “Connecting Social Responsibility to Parental Health Information Behaviors: Questioning and Using Childhood Vaccination Information in Social Media”
- Jinxuan Ma (Assistant Professor) and Laurie Bonnici at University of Alabama: “Is the public library in the Blue Zone? Socially Responsible Nudging to promote Community Engagement in Planned Community Health Initiatives”
Poster Presentations:
- Jinxuan Ma (Assistant Professor) and Laurie Bonnici at University of Alabama: “Blue Zones: Socially Responsible Information Provision to Engage Citizens in Community Health Initiatives”
- Jinxuan Ma (Assistant Professor) and Paul Wilcox (MLS student): “Employing Self-Direction in Learning Theory to Explore lifelong learning, community engagement, and social responsibility within Public Libraries”
- Amanda Harrison, Sarah Valesquez, Rene Burress, and Lynnette Schreiner (all doctoral students): “Social Media Use in Academic Libraries.”
From students and faculty attending the Kansas Natural Resources Conference:
Oral Presentations:
- Logan J. Sleezer (Biology undergrad), William E. Jensen (Biology faculty), Colin D. Kraft (Earth Science undergrad), and Richard O. Sleezer (Earth Science faculty) — Effects of Ponds and Mineral Sites on Trailing Behavior of Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus) and Bison (Bison bison) as Determined from Remote Sensing.
- Brenda A. Koerner (Biology faculty) and Erin E. Lingenfelter (Biology grad student, 2016) — Fuel Load and Burn Season Effects on Sericea Lespedeza Growth and Reproduction.
Poster presentations:
- Sarah Noller (Biology grad student) and Brenda A. Koerner — Sericea Lespedeza Influences on Microbial Biomass Carbon in Native and Restored Prairies.
- William E. Jensen, Gregory R. Houseman, and Mary L. Jameson (latter two: Biology faculty, Wichita State University) — Grazing of CRP Grasslands and Wildlife.