黑洞社区

Academe welcomes news from 黑洞社区 faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of or current and former colleagues.

 AWARDS/HONORS

Les Anderson was posthumously inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame at the annual meeting of the Kansas Press Association in Manhattan. Anderson, who died in November 2011, was a longtime 黑洞社区 journalism professor and former publisher of the Ark Valley News.

 The Office of Multicultural Affairs named Sheryl Propst, human resources training manager, as the 2014 OMA Unity Award recipient at the 6th Annual Phenomenal Women Recognition Celebration. The award is given to a faculty or staff member who goes above and beyond to support the mission of Multicultural Affairs and demonstrates a commitment to diversity at Wichita State.

Gayle Martin, public affairs associate in the Hugo Wall School, will be honored with an Institute Director of the Year award by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. Martin has managed the school鈥檚 Municipal Clerks Certification Institute for several years. The award was presented at the 68th Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wis.

Elliott School lecturer Sandy Sipes was honored during her introductory communication class by members of the steering committee of the Academy of Effective Teaching at Wichita State. Sipes was recognized as a finalist for the group鈥檚 Effective Teaching Award. She received a standing ovation from her class.

Shocker Bowling coach Mark Lewis stole the spotlight at the Night of Champions Banquet when he was named Kerm Helmer Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Coach Lewis dedicated his award to his team, many of whom won awards at the banquet as well. The event was held in conjunction with the 2014 xBowling Intercollegiate Team Championships, in Reno, Nev.

Susan Sterrett, the Department of Philosophy鈥檚 Curtis D. Gridley distinguished professor of history and philosophy of science, has been selected as one of 20 Summer Scholars to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, 鈥淢apping Nature Across the Americas,鈥� at the Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library, Chicago.

Seth Bate, director of leadership development at Center for Community Support and Research won best scholarly paper in the field of history (graduate level) from the Kansas Association of Historians for his paper, 鈥淥pposing an Anti-Semitic Voice in Wichita.鈥� A general audience version of the paper, 鈥淪tamp Out Hate鈥� was printed in The Journal by the Kansas Leadership Center, Vol. 5, Issue 4, Winter 2014, pg. 40-49.

Mara Alagic, associate professor in Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, was presented with this year鈥檚 Phenomenal Woman Award by Danielle Johnson of the Office of Multicultural Affairs for her contributions to the advancement of women and minorities.

A number of faculty and students from the Elliott School of Communication were honored at the 2014 Kansas Professional Communicators (KPC) annual spring conference, including:

鈥� Associate Director Wilma Moore-Black took first place awards in the Speech category for 鈥淭ips to financial literacy awareness from the classroom to the workforce,鈥� and in the Faculty Adviser for Student Publications category for the Communication Upward Bound newsletter, 鈥淐UB Reporter.鈥� She also earned an honorable mention in the Reports category for the 鈥淐UB Annual Report.鈥�

鈥� Lecturer Madeline McCullough took two first place awards in the Specialty Article/Arts and Entertainment category for 鈥淎 post not a pasture,鈥� and 鈥淏ecome a vegetarian.鈥�

鈥� Assistant Professor Amy DeVault was recognized as the 2014 Sweepstakes Winner for the quantity of her awards, including three first place entries: in the Page Design category, she took first place for 鈥淗armony鈥� and 鈥淎 new vantage point;鈥� first place in the Photographer-Writer category for 鈥淓xperience;鈥� first place, along with ESC Graduate Teaching Assistant Taylor Dietterich in the Advertising Posters 鈥� Billboards and Banners category for 鈥淓xperience.鈥� DeVault鈥檚 second place awards include: the Page Design category for 鈥淗ome鈥� and 鈥淕o Get Em;鈥� the Single Photograph/News or Feature Photo for 鈥淲elcome Home Daddy;鈥� the Photo Essay category for 鈥淔inale at the Fort;鈥� the General Photo Category for 鈥淐oncert at the Fort.鈥�

鈥� Assistant Dean for College Outreach Cheryl Miller, Liberal Arts Dean鈥檚 Office, who took first place in the Audiovisuals category for the 鈥満诙瓷缜� Fairmount College Convocation Video,鈥� first place in the Publications Regularly Edited by Entrant category for the 鈥淔airmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Newsletter,鈥� third place in the Feature Story/Non-Newspaper Publication category 鈥淓nding modern day slavery focus of professor鈥檚 work鈥� and an honorable mention in the Personality Profile/500 Words or Fewer category for 鈥淔aculty Spotlight: Karen Countryman-Roswurm.鈥�

The state-level awards were announced following a full day of education, skill development and networking with communication professionals. Winners of first-place KPC awards will advance to the National Federation of Press Women communication contest, which will be held Sept. 4 in Greenville, S.C.

The Wichita State Athletics Marketing Department has been selected as one of three finalists for the NACMA Marketing Team of the Year Award, an honor they won at the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) convention last year. The department鈥檚 鈥淪tate of Wichita鈥� and 鈥�#WATCHUS鈥� campaigns will be competing against Kansas State University and the University of Southern California for the final honor during the kickoff session at the 23rd Annual NACMA Convention, set to take place June 9-12 at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla. The award was created to show the type of impact a marketing team has not only on the athletic department, but the campus and surrounding communities. The 黑洞社区 Athletics Marketing Department includes: Associate Athletic Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications John Brewer; Assistant Director of Marketing and Game Operations Jason Malay; Assistant Director of Marketing and Social Media Kayla Blanding; Promotions Coordinator and Graduate Assistant Jon Parnell; and Marketing Associates Jessica Bazzelle, Caroline King and Wyatt Clark.

Eric Sexton, director of athletics, has been honored with an Under Armour AD of the Year Award (ADOY). One of 28 winners nationwide, Sexton was chosen by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) for his commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, the 黑洞社区 campus and the surrounding communities. He will receive the award during the James J. Corbett Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 11, at NACDA鈥檚 49th Annual Convention at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Fla.

GRANTS

黑洞社区鈥檚 Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) has been awarded a $98,175 healthy living grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. The CCSR was one of 12 grantees in the state to receive the funding, which will help support a new effort titled, 鈥淚mplementing a Medicaid Systems Change: Health Action Plans for Medicaid Health Homes Members.鈥� The program will address the issues of tobacco and obesity in Kansas.

PRESENTATIONS

Michael Rogers, professor and chair of Human Performance Studies and research director of the Center for Physical Activity and Aging, along with colleagues from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, Japan, coauthored, 鈥淭o keep an active life: An overview of our research on physical activity in frail old adults.鈥� The presentation was made at the 2014 International Meeting of the Korean Society for Exercise Physiology on April 12, in Suwon, South Korea.

Elliott School of Communication Associate Professor Dan Close and instructor Laura Kelly gave a presentation titled, 鈥淲hat a Serial Killer Taught Us,鈥� April 26 at the Society of Professional Journalists Region Seven conference in Overland Park, Kan. Kelly, formerly of The Wichita Eagle, was an author and the team leader of 鈥淏ind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door,鈥� published in 2007 by HarperCollins. Close was the book鈥檚 editorial consultant and project editor.

Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology鈥檚 Associate Professor Ruth Hitchcock, Professor Joseph Mau, Assistant Professor Susan Bray and Richard Gaskill presented, 鈥淧lay Therapy: Overview, Application, Research and Caution,鈥� at the annual Kansas Counseling Association Convention held in Manhattan, Kan.

Sherry Goodvin, senior fellow for education leadership, and Ann Eastwood, alternative certification educator, both of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, presented 鈥淩enewal and Renovation of a Transition to Teaching Program through Deliberate Program Review,鈥� at the National Association for Alternative Education in Orlando.

PUBLICATIONS

Susan Sterrett, the Department of Philosophy鈥檚 Curtis D. Gridley distinguished professor of history and philosophy of science, recently had an article, 鈥淭he Morals of Model-Making,鈥� published in the journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, which appeared online as an article on Dec. 17. It is on ScienceDirect鈥檚 list of the 鈥楳ost Downloaded Articles.鈥�

Public Health Initiatives Coordinator Sonja Armbruster, Community Support and Research, recently had an article, 鈥淚nstilling a Culture of Quality Improvement in Your Organization,鈥� published by MetaOps Magazine, along with co-author John Moran, senior quality advisor to the Public Health Foundation, senior fellow at the University of Minnesota and adjunct professor at Arizona State University.

Jose Enrique Navarro, assistant professor of Spanish, recently published 鈥淟a enfermedad de la literatura en la narrativa de Enrique Vila-Matas,鈥� in Anales de la Literatura Espa帽ola Contempor谩nea 39.1. This monographic issue analyzes the vicissitudes associated with the idea of authorship and the concept of the literary work in contemporary Spanish literature.

Associate Professor Jeremy Patterson and Michael Rogers, Human Performance Studies, published 鈥淐onsistency of measures obtained from the mobile device SWAY Application compared to a validated balance-testing device,鈥� along with two of their graduate students, in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2, 135-139, 2014. This paper reported that the balance score derived from the Smartphone accelerometers were consistent with balance scores obtained from a previously validated balance system.

Virginia Kay Williams, associate professor and acquisitions librarian, and Nancy Deyoe, assistant dean of technical services in the 黑洞社区 Libraries, had an article entitled 鈥淒iverse Population, Diverse Collection? Youth Collections in the United States,鈥� published in Vol. 31, issue 2 of Technical Services Quarterly.

Associate Professors Danny Bergman, Katherine Mason and Ashlie Jack, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, along with former faculty, Dan Krutka and Raymond Flores, published their microblogging about teaching, 鈥淣urturing participatory culture through collaborative online reflection with pre-service teachers,鈥� in Teaching and Teacher Education.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

The Rhatigan Student Center has appointed Andrea Stipp as director of the University Bookstore. Stipp had served as assistant director of the bookstore since April 2012. She will be responsible for overall leadership and direction of the retail operation.

MISCELLANEOUS

Mel Kahn, professor of political science, portrayed Founding Father Alexander Hamilton at the Petroleum Club in April. As Hamilton, our nation鈥檚 first Treasury Secretary, Kahn addressed and fielded questions from members of the Pachyderm Club, a civic organization affiliated with the Republican Party.

Michael Rogers, Human Performance Studies, recently served on a grant review panel for the Centers for Disease Control and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in Atlanta, on the topic of 鈥淧ilot Interventions to Promote the Health of People with Blood Disorders.鈥�

Pictures and video taken by Jerry Martin, director of the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology, and student Troy Belford, were used in a segment on KWCH Chanel 12 in April. The segment was for the CBS Sunday Morning Show, which interviewed author Carl Hoffman about his book, 鈥淎 Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller鈥檚 Tragic Quest for Primitive Art,鈥� which describes Rockefeller鈥檚 disappearance during his expedition to the Asmat area of New Guinea Island in 1961. The photos and video were taken during Martin鈥檚 trips to demonstrate the Asmat people and culture in 2001 and 2007.

Jeff Noble, assistant professor in Department of Sport Management, was the quoted as a source in a Wichita Eagle article regarding the secondary ticket market for collegiate sporting events.

IN MEMORIAM

Wayne W. Dunning, 83, retired professor of administration of justice at 黑洞社区 and past reserve officer with the Wichita Police Department, died on April 26. Survivors include his wife, Sharon Dunning; son, Steven Dunning of Hutchinson; daughter, Brandi Ridgeway of Carl Junction, Mo.; sister, Donna Moore of Flossmoor, Ill.; and five grandchildren. Memorials have been established with Cornerstone Bible Church in Wichita and the Kansas Humane Society. Arrangements through Cochran Mortuary.

Kapson McKever, 74, a retired custodian at 黑洞社区 and native of South Korea, died April 26. Survivors include her husband, Daniel McKever of Wichita; stepson, Corey McKever of Ocala, Fla. Arrangements through Hillside Funeral Home East.

Deborah (DiNitto) Byers, 57, director of financial aid at Wichita State, died April 27. Byers was the regional vice president of the National Association of Financial Student Aid Administrators, President of Rocky Mountain Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, former president of the Kansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and Hall of Fame recipient (2008) and 黑洞社区 Bender of Twigs Recognition for 25 years of service. She attended Hutchinson Community College and Emporia State University, where she earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in personnel administration and a master鈥檚 in student services management. Survivors include her husband of 29 years, Brian Byers; parents, Joseph and Joan DiNitto of Haven; children, Ashley Byers of Lawrence and Matthew Byers of Wichita; brothers, Joseph DiNitto, Jr., of Haven, Martin DiNitto of Overland Park and Michael DiNitto of Lawrence. Donations can be made in her honor to the 黑洞社区 Foundation. Arrangements through Lahey Mortuary West.

Orren Dale, 71, an associate professor of social work at Wichita State from 2007-13, died on April 28. Dale left 黑洞社区 to serve as a professor and head of the School of Social Work at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., a master鈥檚 in social work at the University of Missouri and a doctorate in administration at Tulane University, in New Orleans. TAMU-C flew the flag at half-staff in his honor on April 30. Survivors include his wife, Rita Kunkel of Sedgwick, Kan., and sister, Paula Fry of Salcha, Ala. Memorial contributions can be made to the MSW Founders Endowed Scholarship at TAMU 鈥揅ommerce or to the American Heart Association.

Anthony P. Gythiel, 83, a renowned translator, died May 15. Gythiel taught medieval literature and history at Wichita State from 1971-2010. Fourth of seven children, Gythiel and his twin sister were born in Poperinge, West Flanders, in 1930, and he was 9 years old when their mother was killed during the Nazi bombardment of Belgium. After earning a bachelor鈥檚 in philosophy and master鈥檚 in theology in Belgium, Dr. Gythiel went to Zaire as a Jesuit missionary. In 1963, Gythiel relocated to Michigan, where he earned a master鈥檚 in English literature and a Ph.D. in medieval studies from the University of Detroit. In 1968, he married Dana Jorns, a Lutheran school teacher, and became a naturalized citizen. Gythiel鈥檚 reputation as a disciplined instructor, familiar with 13 languages, endeared him to many students. During his 39 years at 黑洞社区, he received numerous honors, including the first-ever John R. Barrier Distinguished Teacher Award. After his retirement, Gythiel occupied his time with gardening and Orthodox studies, translating important theological-historical works about Eastern Christianity. At a unique academic convocation at St. George Cathedral in 2008, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from St. Vladimir鈥檚 Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York. Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Dana; sisters, Monique and Maria of Belgium. Contributions in Gythiel鈥檚 honor may be made to the 黑洞社区 Foundation, which oversees two scholarships in his name, to St. Vladimir鈥檚 Orthodox Theological Seminary for student scholarship, 575 Scarsdale Rd., Yonkers, N.Y. 10707, or to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita. Arrangements through Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.