National Exposure
A film crew from the U.S. Probation Office was on hand to record a day of physical fitness assessmentsperformed on employees conducted by students in HL 566 Exercise Testing and Prescription on April 24. The assessments will be featured in the USPO’s fitness initiative for U.S. courts. Andrew Johnson and Dr. Jennifer Thomas presented information on fitness to the group once a battery of physical tests concluded.
Roe R. Cross
Dr. Gregory Schneider, professor of History, was named the university’s 2019 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor on April 23. This is the highest academic honor that ESU faculty can receive.
Premiere Performance
Freshman music major Alissa Robinson will conduct that symphonic band at her alma mater, Gardner Edgerton High School, in “Solving the Mystery,”an original piece she finished composing with this year at ESU. The premiere performance is at 7 p.m. Monday at Gardner Edgerton High School.
Arts & Sciences
The Mishler Theatrein Altoona, Pennsylvania, named Kristy Magee (BFA Theatre 2004) as its first manager. She will oversee daily operations, book and schedule productions and events and supervise staff, box office operations and the Spiritz Lounge.
The woodwind trio traveled to Independence High Schoolon April 18 along with the ESU chamber orchestra. The groups performed for musical groups at the high school and worked with soloists before their state contest later in the month.
The Mid-America Woodwind Quintetwore costumes to perform Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" for about 150 local elementary students in Heath Recital in Beach Music Hall with vocal professor Dr. Scott Wichael as narrator and assisted by Dr. Tracy Freeze, percussion professor. Mid-America Woodwind quintet members are Dr. Allan Comstock on bassoon. Dr. Dawn McConkie on clarinet, Dr. Kate Bergman on flute, Ms. Terrisa Ziek on horn and Mark Rustman on oboe
Congratulations to the students who won awards for music appreciation postersduring Research & Creativity Day — Ashlynne Bowles, first; Drew Villaca, second; Liza Cooper, honorable mention; and Yongyi Yang, honorable mention.
Shout out to Niels Ras, who attended ESU and studied political science as an exchange student in 2015-16. Niels been sworn into the District Council of Amsterdam-North, Netherlands, as an elected official.
On April 19, Dr. Michael Smith, professor and chair of Social Sciences, discussed the 2020 Presidential election on KCUR's Up To Datewith Peverill Squire of the University of Missouri and Beth Vonhamme of University of Missouri Kansas City.
Five mathematics students attended KME’s National Convention in Frostburg, Maryland, along with Dr. Brian Hollenbeck on April 11-13. While there ESU student Katie Beckley presented a talk titled “The Math Behind Disc Golf.” Kappa Mu Epsilon is a mathematics honor society founded in 1931 to promote the interest of mathematics among undergraduate students.
Dr. Scott Wichael will performthe tenor role of Hywel Ddu in the American Premier of the first Welsh opera written, “Blodwen”, with Rimrock Opera Foundation in Billings, Montana. Performances are May 10, 11, 18 and 19.
“Concerto for Tuba and Piano,” written by Gary Ziek, professor of music, was performed April 12 by a student at The Julliard Schoolin New York City. Ziek wrote the concerto for Alan Baer, tuba professor at Julliard and principal tubist of the New York Philharmonic. It premiered at Emporia State a few years ago.
Nick Vogts (BS Biology 2016) is a physician assistantat the McPherson Hospital family medicine clinics. Nick’s ESU degree included a concentration in pre-physician assistant. He completed his master’s degree at Missouri State University.
Business
Many honors were handed out at the Spring 2019 Beta Gamma SigmaInitiation and Honors Banquet held on April 25. The new BGS members were (left to right) Allison Hill, Cullen Roche, Mayra Aguirre, Darian Bishop, Bernesta Liburd, Martin Okonkwo, Leticia Rust, Shelby Clark and Tina Miller. Mayra Aguirre, business alumni, was the Honorary BGS Inductee. Other honors included the Stephen J. Butcher MBA award to Addie Lackey and Outstanding Senior to Cullen Roche.
The School of Business Dean’s Advisory Councilmet on April 25 in Cremer Hall’s newly remodeled Roe R. Cross Room. Thank you to our members who gave their time to better our School of Business! We look forward to the unique contribution each member will make to the council and their respective committees.
Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Muldoon, Assistant Professor of Management, who received the President's Award for Research and Creativity. This award honors individuals who have been active in research, scholarly activity or creative endeavors.
Congratulations to the students who completed the Classroom to Career Certificate Program.The program was established by Career Services, School of Business, and our corporate partner, Dillard’s. The goal of this program is to build a strong professional image with program participants. At the completion of this program, students earn a professional suit.
The Teachers College
The Emporia State University Coaching Education Program hosted the Spring Migration Triathlonon April 14. A total of 52 triathletes competed in the 400-meter swim in the ESU indoor pool, a 20K bike ride north on Highway 99 and a 5K run through the rolling hills of Emporia.
Emporia State Coaching Education students teamed with the ESU Cross Country team to help present Coaching as a Careerduring Career Day at Riverside Elementary School in Emporia USD 253 on April 12. First through fifth graders participated in several fun interactive activities on positive mindset, focus, relaxation and energization.
The Student Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology competed in the Kansas Society for Human Resource Management Student Summit and HR Gamesin April in Hays against 13 teams including some from Wichita State University, Kansas State University, and Fort Hays State University. One of ESU’s teams won the entire competition! Human Resources Professionals Association of Greater Emporia helped fund the students’ trip. Above, Jessica Danford and Alexandria Klema accept the prize.
Outstanding students, alumni and faculty were recognized April 19 at the Health, Physical Education, & Recreation’s 2019 Hall of Honor Awards. Inductees into the Hall of Honor included Deandra Doubrava-McBride (BSE/BS 1999), Nancy Hopkins (BSE Physical Education, 1973), Rick Patton (BSE Physical education, 1974), Bob Szymanski (BSE Physical Education, 1968), and Dr. Jennifer Thomas (BS Health Promotion, 1997; MS HPER, 1999). Plaques were dedicated honoring Joella Mehrhof and Kathy Ermler; the plaques will be displayed on the HPER building.
Dr. Zeni Colorado-Resa was recently named interim associate deanfor 2019-20 beginning in June. As she is currently the chair of instructional design and technology, Dr. Jim Persinger, chair of psychology, will serve as interim chair for instructional design and technology for 2019-20.
Library & Information Management
SLIM continues its commitment to achieving full accessibility of its courses. This semester, Dr. Sarah Sutton and Dr. Andrew Smith worked to ensure the full accessibility of LI 855 Collection Development and Management.
Student Affairs
Students involved in the THRIVE peer educator programwere busy during April, which is Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month. The group partnered with SOS, Inc., in Emporia to offer “Where Do You Stand?” to discuss ways to expand prevention efforts on campus. On April 18, students attended SOS’ event, “Take Back the Night,” part of an international movement on college campuses to speak out and march for survivors and advocates.
Koch Center
During the weekend of April 12-14, the Koch Center took five ESU students — Cullen Roche, Brexton Lukens, Karoline Kennedy, Emily Euler and Courtney Burian — to participate in an intercollegiate reading group summit at Creighton University hosted by its Institute for Economic Inquiry.
On April 22, Dr. Derek Yonai, Koch Center director, engaged in his red badge exchange and became a full member of the Wichita Rotary Club.
On April 23, the Koch Center hosted its final Governance, Law, and Economics Lecture of the Spring 2019 semester. Professor Jonathan Adler, the Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, presented his talk titled, “Federal Environmental Regulation Reconsidered.”
Athletics
ESU track and field had a strong showing at the Drake Relayslast weekend:
- The women's 4x400m relay team of Leah Nelson, Brianna Schmitz, Jazmin Williams, and Kelsey Graber improved four spots over their seed into the finals. Their time of 3:54.25 was good enough four fourth in the finals after entering with the eighth best time.
- Brandon Rhone, Hayden Goodpaster, Parker Evans, and Luke Stenzel combined to run 3:15.74 and finish fourth in the finals of the men's 4x400m relay.
Earlier in April, the teams competed at the KU Relays:
- Carey McLeod made his outdoor debut in spectacular fashion, finishing second in the men's long jump in near record fashion.
- Jared Reinke ran a season's best 1:55.18 to place fourth in the men's 800m.
- The men's 4x400m relay team of Brandon Rhone, Hayden Goodpaster, Reinke and Parker Evans ran 3:20.25 to place fourth.
- The women's distance medley relay team of Leah Nelson, Jasmine Hurla, Linnea Meier, and Nora Wheatley ran 13:05.26 to finish second.
Hornet throwers competed April 18 at the Mule Relaysin Warrensburg, Missouri. Madelyn Hayes had the best finish for Emporia State in Warrensburg with a throw of 131-10 (40.19m) to place third in the women's javelin.
Presentations
Students and faculty from SLIM participated in the annual Research & Creativity Day on campus:
Oral presentations:
- Words Worth Sharing: Library Advocacy and Kansas House Bill 2719, Danica White
- Tell Us Your Story! Developing an Oral History Program in Special Collections and Archives, Ally Urban
Poster presentations:
- Comparing Accessibility of Learning Management and Library Management Systems for Students With Disabilities in the United States, China, and Nigeria, Brady Lund, Ting Wang and Daniel Agbaji.
- How the West Was Women: A Literature Review of Women's Journey West, Allyson Urban.
- The Northeast Kansas Library System: Results from Stage 1 of a Historical Case Study, Dr. Michael Widdersheim and Danica White.
- Making it accessible: Converting a blended graduate course to full accessibility, Dr. Sarah Sutton and Dr. Andrew Smith.
Dr. Dennis Kear, Executive Director, Kansas Masonic Literacy Center, and Jodi Case, Mobilizing Literacy Liaison, USD 253, presented “Building Better Brain Structures in Young Children: Consistency, Care, and Contributing Factors to Child Care Givers and Preschool Teachers”in Emporia and Burlington in early April.
Dr. Darla Hodges Mallein, Professor of Secondary Social Sciences Education, and Amanda Simon, MS in History graduate student, presented a breakout session and a poster session at the annual National Council for History Educationconference in Washington, D.C. in March. The theme of both sessions was using images from the Library of Congress.
Kristi Bolen, director TRIO Student Support Services/Upward Bound, and Gieselle Taylor, director Academic Center for Excellence and Success, presented “An Adaptive Approach to Providing Successful Student Services” at the Heartland College Reading & Learning Association 2019 Spring Conferencein Ashland, Nebraska.
Faculty in the School of Library and Informatin Management and University Libraries and Archives presented at the Association for College & Research Libraries 2019 Conferencein Cleveland:
- Dr. Sandra Valenti, SLIM, and Dr. Terri Summey, ULA, facilitated a Roundtable Discussion, “Changing Times, Changing Roles: Redefining the Roles of Academic Teaching Librarians Using the ACRL Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians.”
- Bethanie O’Dell and Dr. Terri Summey, University Libraries and Archives, presented a TechConnect session, “Bring your LibrARy to Life: Recasting Library Instruction and Outreach Through the Use of BlippAR, a Free Augmented Reality Tool
- Dr. Terri Summey presented a Poster Session, “Creating Personal Connections for Quality Customer Service: Recasting ‘Soft Skills’ Needed by Reference and Information Services Librarians as Emotional Intelligence.”
Publications
Dr. Terri Summey, Professor and Research/Instruction Librarian, and Bethanie O’Dell, Assistant Professor and Virtual Learning Librarian, had a chapter published in “Library Service and Learning: Empowering Students, Inspiring Social Responsibility, and Building Community Connections.” The chapter, titled, “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Infographics to Visually Present Student Research,” focused on student use of infographics as a research assignment in the ESU University Libraries and Archives’ UL100 course.
Dr. Emily Vardell cowrote a chapter titled “Health sciences librarians in the field: Pioneers for LGBTQ+ health” which was published by Emerald Group Publishing in the book LGBTQ Librarianship in the 21st Century: Emerging Directions of Advocacy and Community Engagement in Diverse Information Environments.