Royals
More than 300 Royals fans enjoyed the special package put together by ESU Alumni — pre-game tailgate, special T-shirts and tickets to the game. During the game, the ESU fans were recognized on the video board, and President Allison Garrett and Corky appeared on the field.
Data Quality
Congratulations to Dr. JoLanna Kord, assistant provost, and Christy Schreck, analyst, both in Institutional Research and Assessment, for their hard work collecting, analyzing and providing data. ESU received the 2017 Data Quality Award from the Kansas Board of Regents. The award serves as a way to recognize institutions for excellence in the quality of data submitted and the timeliness of submissions.
Marketing
Congratulations to Kelly Heine, who started her new job as ESU’s chief marketing officer on Monday. Kelly is an ESU alumnus. She graduated in 2001 with a BFA in communication with a minor in business and a psychology cognate. She has spent her career with Sprint where she has gained a wide range of experience including marketing and communication strategy development and execution.
Ducks
When we released Pekin ducks into Wooster Lake, we asked the Emporia elementary and preschool as well as ESU’s child care center to name the ducks. The eight ducks in Wooster are now named Grant (Timmerman School), Albus Dumdleduck (Logan Avenue School), Willow (Walnut School), Lucky (Riverside School), Steve (Village School), Quackers (Maynard School), Blazer (William Allen White School) and Goosey-Lucy (ESU’s Center for Early Childhood Education).
Arts & Sciences
Congratulations to these graduates of the Master of Science in Forensic Science program:
- Yuan Feng has accepted a position as a research assistant at the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at Kansas State University! Yuan just graduated with the MSFS degree as well as a master’s in Biology with Dr. Scott Crupper!
- Brian Dorsey will be a confirmation chemist at Clinical Reference Laboratory in Lenexa, Kansas
- Lindsy Whitlow was accepted to a second internship that will begin after her time at the Kansas City Police Department Crime Laboratory. This internship will be specifically in the Latent Prints section at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory under the direction of Troy Mohror. Lindsy will be expanding her research on statistically evaluating footwear impression techniques. She will graduate with an MSFS this summer upon completion of her thesis.
And, 100 percent of the students in the Master of Science in Forensic Science Class of 2018 who applied for internships have secured them, including:
- Sharee Lambert will be at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center developing a method for them to quantitate difluoroethane. This substance is in canned air and is abused to get high and is seen in DUI cases fairly frequently.
- Kristin Rindom will be at Van Stratton, Winer, and Associates under the direction of Michael Van Stratton, formerly the KBI crime laboratory director. Mike is a bloodstain pattern expert, and Kristin will be working on research on determining area of origin on horizontal bloodstains. Not only is Mike offering her an internship, he has agreed to be her mentor, which can lead to becoming a certified blood stain pattern analyst.
- Lexi Mers will be at the St. Louis Police Department! This internship is very competitive and Lexi began the application process last November. She starts her internship on Monday.
Congrats to ESU graduate Kyle Downing (B.S. Biology - Pre-Physical Therapy Concentration, 2014). Kyle recently graduated from the Physical Therapy program at Wichita State and has accepted a position as a travel Physical Therapist at an outpatient clinic in Philadelphia.
ESU’s Marine Biology Club participated in the Topeka Zoo’s World Oceans Day on June 3. The displayed ocean photos and information about marine biology and the university.
Alumnus Mary St. John was featured in a Topeka Capital-Journal article for an exhibit of her photography. Mary has taught for 10 years and currently is art teacher at Washburn Rural High School.
Recently, KCUR and KPR radio featured EMLJ Chair Dr. Kevin Rabas, speaking as the new Kansas Poet Laureate (2017-2019).
Photos by alumnus and ESU Distinguished Alumnus Bob Gress illustrated an article on the six most colorful summer birds in Kansas in the Wichita Eagle. Gress is former director of the Great Plains Nature Center.
Professors Rachel Spaulding and Gregory Robinson (English, Modern Languages, and Journalism) are currently leading a study abroad experience for 13 ESU students in Granada, Spain.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016-17 graduate essay competitions in the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism. Each winner receives a cash award of $500. Thanks go to this year’s judges, Kevin Kienholz, Max McCoy, and Katherine O’Meara for the Walton Award, William Clamurro, Richard Keller, and Amy Sage Webb for the Wild.
- Chris Michael is the winner of the Charles E. Walton Graduate Essay award for his essay, “Lights, Camera . . . Boredom,” written for Professors Amy Sage Webb and Mel Storm.
- Lindsay Dorsch is this year’s winner of the Jeremy Wild Graduate Essay award for her essay, “Acting Unhindered within Political Constraints,” written for Professor Michael Behrens.
Many thanks to ESU alumnus Darryl Morgan of the KDHE Department of Water and Randy Brown of the EPA for joining Marcia Schulmeister’s Environmental Field Methods class. Students learned about surface geophysical methods and the teaching included hands-on work in a geophysical training area on campus.
Dr. John Richard Schrock (ESU Emeritus Professof Biology) was among the limited invitation-only participants in the Monarch Conservation Plan Summit held June 7-8 in Topeka. The meeting was to “...lay a foundation for developing a coordinated statewide plan for restoring monarch populations which can be supported and implemented by a broad coalition of private and public stakeholders.”
Athletics
Baseball
Ryan McBroom concluded his baseball career with a trifecta of All-American honors. He was named a ABCA/Rawlings All-American along with first-team All-MIAA, ABCA/Rawlings All-Region, NCBWA All-Region, D2CCA All-Region and was named to the All-Tournament team at the recently completed NCAA Division II Central Regional tournament.
Levi Ashmore was named first-team All-Central Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, first-team All-Region by ABCA/Rawlings and second-team honors from the Division 2 Conference Commissioner’s Association.
Catcher Mason Brown was named second team All-Region by ABCA/Rawlings.
Coach Bob Fornelli was named the MIAA and Central Region Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He became the winningest coach in Emporia State history earlier this year.
Emporia State ended its season 42-13 with an MIAA regular season championship. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and 12th time in coach Bob Fornelli’s 14 years at the helm. The team is set to return three everyday starters in the field, two of their three normal weekend starters and five of their top six relievers next year.
For the second year and fourth straight national championship meet the Emporia State men’s 4x400m relay team earned All-American status with an eighth-place finish on May 27 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Florida. The Hornet men have now scored in 15 straight NCAA Outdoor Championships and in 23 of the last 25 outdoor national meets.
Emporia State added 58 newcomers to their list of student-athletes on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and three newcomers were named MIAA Scholar-Athletes after completing two terms of attendance at Emporia State. In addition, seven Hornets were given MIAA Academic Excellence awards for compiling a 4.0 GPA.
With five of 15 sports programs placing nationally in NCAA post season play, Emporia State University finished in the top one third of over 300 NCAA Division II schools in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings for the 15th straight year with 232.5 points. The Director’s Cup measures the overall strength of an athletic program based on NCAA postseason play.
Alumni
Congratulations to four ESU alumni named to Ingram’s Magazine’s 50 Kansans You Should Know 2017: Steve Coen (BSB 76-Business Administration), Wichita; Dr. Ed Gerhardt (BSE 65-English, MS 67-English, EDS 70-Educational Administration), Topeka; Dave Robertson (BSB 84-Business Administration), Wichita; and Jeremy Rusco (BSB 06-Business Administration), Emporia.
The Emporia State University Alumni Association’s board of directors met on Saturday, June 3. During the meeting, four new members were introduced: Mayra Aguirre, Jonathan Rivers, Patrick Schroeder and Debra Taylor. Also, three members retired from the board after serving their maximum terms: Brett Bruner, Will Ramsey and Omar Rogers. Finally, Bill Patterson officially began his term as president of the board. Thank you all for your service to ESU!
During our Volunteer Recognition Luncheon on June 3, we presented University Service Citations to four people: Maurice Gray, Dr. Jim Hoy and Tim and Kristi Wright.
The Teachers College
Undergraduates Kayna Hastings, Logan Williams, Ashley Peterson, Robin Gassen and Kylie MacGregor along with ESU faculty Paul Bland and Amanda Lickteig traveled to Finland this summer for courses at the University of Jyvӓskylӓ.
Faculty from across Kansas gathered May 17 on ESU’s campus for The Leadership Educators Sunflower Summit. Representing 13 institutions, the 35 faculty convened in the Memorial Union’s Colonial Ballroom to share best practices, connect with new colleagues, and plan future collaborations across universities. The summit was funded through a grant by the Association of Leadership Educators and coordinated by Clint Stephens at Emporia State University, Kerry Priest at Kansas State University, and Brandon Kliewer at Kansas State University
Gifted students in Grades 3 through 8 enjoyed a three-course meal with farm to table produce during the “Molecular Gastronomy 101” Enrichment camp in Visser Hall.
Student Affairs
Mike Wise, director of ESU Recreation Services, was elected chair of the City of Emporia’s Multi-Use Path Planning Board during the group’s May meeting.
Business
Based on data from the 2015-16 graduating seniors, five of our six degrees awarded by the School of Business achieved a 100 percent career outcomes rate with an average of 99 percent for these six degrees. Career Services collects and reports data following the First-Destination Survey standards established by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Congratulations to Tyler Paul (BSB ‘04, Accounting) for being inducted as part of the 2017 class into the MIAA Hall of Fame. Tyler was an All-American running back for the Hornet football team and was named the 2003 College Division Academic All-America of the year by CoSIDA. He was the 2004 Ken B. Jones Award winner and led the MIAA in total rushing yards as a junior and senior. After attending ESU, he received his Juris Doctor of Law and is a practicing attorney in Wichita.
ESU’s Kansas Small Business Development Center assisted 152 small business clients in 2016, seeing a total return of $18.20 for every dollar invested in the ESU KSBDC. The following results were from a survey where 56 clients responded:
- $5.3 million in new or increased sales
- 164 jobs created and/or retained
- $2.8 million in capital infusion
- 23 new businesses
Two business students, Madison Orrange and Carissa McAfee, will compete at the 2017 Phi Beta Lambda National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California, later this month.
Library & Information Management
Brady Lund, SLIM student, has been elected to serve as president of the Student Chapter of the American Library Association (SCALA).
Kathie Buckman, director of Central Kansas MLS program, has been elected to serve on the Wichita Area Library Association (WALA) Board of Directors. This two-year term begins in August, 2017.
During the Medical Library Association (MLA) conference in Seattle, Washington, on May 29, Dr. Emily Vardell, assistant professor, concluded her term as Chair of the Professional Recruitment and Retention Committee. At the conference the MLA President announced the new Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded MLA Research Training Institute, in which Dr. Vardell will be an instructor.
Publications
Lawrence Lyman, professor in Elementary Education/Early Childhood/Special Education; Harvey Foyle, professor emeritus in Instructional Design and Technology; Michael Morehead, dean emeritus at New Mexico State University; Sara Schwerdtfeger, assistant professor in Elementary Education/Early Childhood/Special Education and Allyson Lyman, Emporia Public Schools; had their book ”Mentoring Student Teachers and Interns: Strategies for Engaging, Relating, Supporting, and Challenging Future Educators, 3rd edition,” published in May by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. The new edition includes an e-book format.
Presentations
Eric Yang attended the 10th World Cancer Congress on May 19-22 in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Yang presented his research in the effects of Vitamin C on the cytotoxicity of anti-melanoma drug against human malignant melanoma. Dr. Yang also chaired the meeting session of Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers.
Dr. Emily Vardell, Assistant Professor, SLIM, presented her dissertation research in a paper entitled “Health Insurance Information Needs: How Librarians Can Help” at the Medical Library Association (MLA) conference in Seattle, WA, on May 29.
Dusti Howell, professor in Instructional Design and Technology, gave presentations in Asia recently, including: “A Humorous Look at the Shadows of Facebook” at the SEARCH conference at Taylor University in Malaysia on May 18, 2017; “What are Your Three Greatest Passions?” in Yangon, Myanmar on May 20, 2017; “Prudently Behaving Wisely” in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 27, 2017 and June 4, 2017, respectively; and “Million Dollar Rookie Mistakes made by College Freshmen,” at the Ambassador Bilingual School in Chiang Mai, Thailand on June 1, 2017.
Dr. Jim Walther, assistant professor in SLIM, spoke at Augusta Public Library on Friday, June 2. His remarks celebrated 100 years of Pulitzer Prizes and commemorated William Allen White’s call to protect free expression, focusing on fake news and other challenges of information overload.
Conferences
Ellen Hansen, chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, recently attended the Triennial meeting of the Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) at Asilomar Conference Center, California. Dr. Hansen is current president of SWG.
Dr. Douglas Smith, School of Business, attended the inaugural Race in the Marketplace (RIM) forum in Washington, DC. The Race in the Marketplace (RIM) Research Network is a transdisciplinary and international research network which seeks to collaboratively advance our understanding of the role of race (and its intersecting socio-political constructs: e.g., class, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality) in the marketplace.