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

Sam Ramey, distinguished professor of opera, School of Music, has been honored with a lifetime achievement award by the editors of Opera News for his distinguished achievements in the field of opera. Read more about the award at .

Janell Mayer, clinical educator, School of Nursing, passed certification as a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy specialist. She was also elected president elect for the Kansas chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. 

Patricia Dwyer, clinical educator, School of Nursing, received an APRN Mentor/Preceptor Award at the inaugural School of Nursing Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) CE Conference. 

Jennifer Rodgers, clinical educator in the Adult Care Nurse Practitioner program, School of Nursing, received the 2015 AANP Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence from the State of Kansas. 

Josh Barkan, assistant professor of English in creative writing, Department of English, was named runner-up for the Grace Paley Short Fiction Prize for his collection of stories, 鈥淢exico,鈥� which was also runner-up for the Juniper Fiction Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst. His story, 鈥淭he Kidnapping,鈥� was winner of the United Kingdom鈥檚 Lightship International Short Story Prize. 

Academic advisors Janelle Darr and Bob Rozzelle, director of technology, LAS Advising Center, gave a talk, 鈥淧ASS: The Class,鈥� which was selected as the best presentation at the annual Kansas Academic Advising Network conference. All new NCAA athletes at 黑洞社区 are required to take the course, which is designed to promote optimum academic performance. 

Kerry Jones, lecturer and writing center director, Department of English, was a finalist for the 2014 Autumn House Press Fiction Award for her story collection, 鈥淭he Ghosts in the Glen.鈥�

Professor Mel Kahn, Department of Political Science, presented a paper co-written with his student, Jonathan Piat, 鈥淭he Discharge Petition as an Effective Legislation Tool,鈥� at the Northeast Political Science Association鈥檚 annual meeting in Boston. The paper is based on the Glickman Papers housed in the 黑洞社区 Libraries Special Collections and University Archives. Kahn serves on the Kansas Democratic Party鈥檚 State Committee. 

The first cohort of Online Faculty Fellows include Kyoung Lee, associate professor of social work, David McDonald, professor of biological sciences, Lisa Overholtzer, assistant professor anthropology, Dan Close, associate professor of communication, and Eric Wilson, communication lecturer. Jennifer Tiernan, assistant professor of communication, is co-chair of the group. The role of the fellows is to establish a culture of online education and help other faculty increase the quality and quantity of online courses offered at 黑洞社区. 

Sam Taylor, assistant professor of English, was featured on the PBS NewsHour Poetry Series. 

Kaye Monk-Morgan, director of TRIO Upward Bound Math Science (UBMS) Center, has been inducted as the 40th President of the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, or MAEOPP. The organization, which covers 10 states, is the representative body of those who have an active interest in or who are professionally involved with increasing access and success in formal postsecondary education. 

黑洞社区 Provost and Senior Vice President Tony Vizzini has been chosen as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for his numerous scientific and academic contributions. Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction that is accorded to academic innovators 鈥渨ho demonstrate a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.鈥� 

PRESENTATIONS

Mary Koehn, associate professor, School of Nursing, was invited to present 鈥淲hat to Say, When They Answer, 鈥榊es, I Smoke鈥欌�� at the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians: Family Medicine Tobacco Office Champion Team Training Day. Additionally, Koehn presented 鈥淢otivational Interviewing for Care Coordinators with Health Home Partners鈥� via webinar presentation for 黑洞社区鈥檚 Center for Support and Research and a 鈥淟et it go: When learners become teachers鈥� workshop presentation, along with other speakers, at the 14th Annual International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, in New Orleans. Koehn also co-presented a number of posters, including: 鈥淚s it Possible to Increase Quality and Safety While Lowering Costs by Creating a Regional Collaborative for Healthcare Simulation?鈥� at the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative: Sixth Annual Summit on Quality; and 鈥淎ssessment of Simulation-based Curriculum Enhancements that Engage Students in Co-designing Learning Activities,鈥� at the 7th Annual Healthcare Simulation Conference.

Barbara Morrison, associate professor and Janice M. Riordan Distinguished Professorship in Maternal & Child Health, School of Nursing, presented, 鈥淩ipples on a distant shore: The neuroscience of separation and non-separation,鈥� at the 10th International Conference on Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), in Kigali, Rwanda. Morrison also presented a revised version of the presentation to residents, midwifery students and staff at Muhima Hospital, a local women鈥檚 hospital. 

Elaine Steinke, professor, School of Nursing, presented an invited paper at the 32nd Annual Cardiovascular Symposium in Wichita, 鈥淪exual function and dysfunction in cardiac patients,鈥� and a second paper titled 鈥淪exual dysfunction in men and women with CVD: What do we know?鈥� at the 1st Annual Advanced Practice Registered Nurse CE Conference, also in Wichita. Steinke was invited to present 鈥淪ex and acute coronary syndrome: When drugs get in the way,鈥� at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona, Spain. She also presented a poster at the same meeting on behalf of co-authors Victoria Mosack, associate professor, School of Nursing, and Twyla Hill, professor and graduate coordinator, department of sociology, entitled 鈥淔actors predictive of sexual activity after cardiac diagnosis.鈥� 

Debra Pile assistant professor and coordinator of the Accelerated BSN Program and Associate Professor Betty Elder, School of Nursing, presented their poster, 鈥淪leep, Activity and Obesity,鈥� at the Governor鈥檚 Obesity Conference. 

Clinical Educator Pam Martin, School of Nursing, presented her poster, 鈥淏ootstrapping: How to leverage health system change to teach essential nursing leadership skills,鈥� at the 18th Annual Midwest Regional Nursing Educators Conference. 

Jose Enrique Navarro, assistant professor of Spanish, presented his paper 鈥淎mericanismo and the Search for a Panhispanic Book Market: Francesc Cambo and the Publishing Houses of Seix Barral and Sudamericana,鈥� at the 2015 Modern Language Association Annual Conference. The paper explores how two publishing houses, one in Argentina and the other in Spain, partially fulfilled the dream of a Panhispanic publisher that supporters of Americanismo, headed by Catalan politician Cambo, had at the turn of the century. 

Faculty and students from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering presented 12 papers at the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) conference in San Francisco. INFORMS is the largest society in the world for professionals in the field of operations research, management science and analytics. The theme of the conference was 鈥渂ridging data and decisions.鈥� Department Chair and Professor Krishna Krishnan, Professor Mehmet Yildirim and Assistant Professor Ismet Buyuktahtakin made presentations along with 10 students in the areas of supply chain management, sustainable engineering, bio-fuels, bio-mass, healthcare operations management and online education.

Natalie Grant, assistant professor of social work, presented research with BSW student Lindsey Stillwell at the Council on Social Work Education national conference in Tampa, Fla. Their session shared a professor-student digital ethnography of the historic Dunbar Theatre community located in Wichita鈥檚 northeast area. Oral histories were shared through digital storytelling, and implications of memory, emotion and meaning to spaces and places were discussed in relation to social work, community capacity building and historic preservation. Information about the Dunbar Theatre can be viewed at . The two also partnered with local business owner, musician and writer, Michael Carmody to host a fundraiser to assist efforts to restore the theater, organizing an event with local musicians and the Bodo Trio, led by retired 黑洞社区 professor Craig Owens. 

Additionally, Grant teamed up with Sarah Sell, 黑洞社区 Student Success specialist and Veteran鈥檚 Center Coordinator, to present their paper, 鈥淓valuating the Effectiveness of a First-year Experience Course,鈥� at the National Symposium on Student Retention in Louisville, Ky. Through multiple evaluation measures, the team built a contribution story of 黑洞社区 101 in relation to student retention and experience. The paper has also been accepted for publication in the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange at the University of Oklahoma. 

PUBLICATIONS

Alicia Huckstadt, professor, School of Nursing, authored a Health Promotion chapter in 鈥淟ubkin鈥檚 Chronic Illness Impact and Intervention,鈥� 9th edition, published by Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Associate Professor Betty Elder, School of Nursing, co-authored 鈥淎n Integrated Elementary School Module for Teaching Nutrition and Physical Activity,鈥� in Kansas Association for Health鈥檚 Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, issue 2, pages 34-37.

Barbara Morrison, associate professor and Janice M. Riordan Distinguished Professorship in Maternal & Child Health, School of Nursing, authored, 鈥淏reastfeeding: 10% nourishing, 90% nurturing,鈥� in Essentially MIDIRS, 5(7), 7-14. She also published 鈥淧aternal perceptions of and satisfaction with group prenatal care in Botswana,鈥� in Online Journal of Cultural Competence in Nursing and Healthcare, 4(2), 17-26. Morrison also contributed to Breastfeeding & Human Lactation (5th ed.), Chapter 15, pp. 553-634, and Chapter 21, pages 859-894. Burlington, Mass., Jones & Bartlett Learning (2016). 

Associate Professor Mary Koehn and Clinical Educator Jolynn Dowling, School of Nursing, contributed a chapter on infant assessment to Breastfeeding & Human Lactation (5th ed.), Chapter 19, pages 775-813. Burlington, Mass., Jones & Bartlett Learning (2016). 

Susan Parsons, associate professor, School of Nursing, had her article, 鈥淭he mouth in the mirror: assessing your patient鈥檚 oral health,鈥� published in American Nurse Today; 9 (10). 

Elaine Steinke, professor, School of Nursing, co-authored an invited article with Professor Tiny Jaarsma, Linkoping University, Sweden: 鈥淪exual counselling and cardiovascular disease: practical approaches,鈥� in the Asian Journal of Andrology, published in the January 2015 issue. 

Gayla Lohfink, assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, published her paper, 鈥淭he impact of a school-university multicultural read-aloud project on pre-service teachers鈥� pedagogical understandings,鈥� in School-University Partnerships, 7(2), 34-47. 

Arwiphawee Srithongrung, associate professor at Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs, will be published in the International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues in 2015. Her research is titled 鈥淔iscal Policies and Subnational Economic Growth in Mexico.鈥� 

NEW APPOINTMENTS

The Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) has recently added a number of new members to its staff: Bailey Blair, who is returning full-time in the role of behavioral health systems specialist to assist with the certified peer specialist training CCSR offers throughout the state; Brittney Hauck, behavioral health systems specialist, who is working to develop the Youth Leaders In Kansas (YLinK) program for youth receiving mental health services; Anne Maack, early childhood coordinator, who will focus the center鈥檚 resources on community initiatives that improve outcomes for young children; and Julia Nkanata, a new organizational development specialist whose primary duties involve providing expertise and direct technical assistance to local and governmental partners seeking to increase their capacity to fulfill their mission. 

The Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has hired a number of new staff and faculty, including: TJ Boynton, assistant professor of English; Kaytie Brozek, academic advisor in the LAS Advising Center; Casey Craig, mathematics instructor; Jill Fisher, assistant director of the Fairmount Center for Science and Mathematics Education; Keith Gray assistant professor of structural geology; David Groot, assistant professor of social work; Jeff Hayton, assistant professor of history; Brian Hepburn, assistant professor of philosophy; Steven Huprich, professor of psychology and director of clinical training; Eveline Kalomo, assistant professor of social work; Danielle Koupf, assistant professor of composition studies, Department of English; Matt Kraushar, field station manager for the Department of Biological Sciences; Foudil Latioui, physics instructor; Elizabeth Mlotkiewicz, academic advisor, LAS Advising Center; Rachel Safarik, mathematics instructor; James Schwartz, philosophy instructor; Catherine Searle, assistant professor of mathematics; Summer Steenberg, mathematics instructor; Yumi Suzuki, assistant professor of community affairs; Alex Shvartsburg, assistant professor of chemistry; and Andrew Swindle, assistant professor of hydrogeology. 

Laila Cure, assistant professor, has been brought by 黑洞社区鈥檚 College of Engineering from Western Michigan University to join the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department. 

MISCELLANEOUS

Ever feel like no one reads your academic work? Serendipity put a paper co-written by Lisa Parcell, associate professor and graduate coordinator at the Elliott School of Communication, into the hands of Rudy Maxa, former host of The Savvy Traveler and current host of Rudy Maxa鈥檚 World. Maxa was waiting on a professor at Ohio University when he picked up 鈥淧romoting Hershey: The Chocolate Bar, The Chocolate Town, The Chocolate King鈥� to kill time. Recently, Maxa invited Parcell onto his program, the nation鈥檚 most widely syndicated radio travel show. You can hear a recording of the broadcast at . 

Susan Sterrett, Curtis D. Gridley Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Department of Philosophy, recently received positive reviews by MAA (Mathematical Association of America) and a 鈥渞ecommended鈥� rating by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries for her recently co-authored book, 鈥淭hree Views of Logic: Mathematics, Philosophy, and Computer Science,鈥� published by Princeton University Press. The book and reviews can be found online at . 

Professor Krishna Krishnan, department chair of industrial and manufacturing engineering, Assistant Professor Ehsan Salari and Assistant Professor Laila Cure have agreed to a contract to help RedGuard, a Wichita manufacturing company. The work performed by the faculty and student team from Nov. 1-July 30 will help the company to be more efficient, achieve significant cost reductions and streamline processes. In addition, the team will design a new facility in Wichita for enhancing the company鈥檚 production capabilities. The team will apply lean principles and concepts from the current production facility to the design of the new one, and their work will add jobs to the local economy. 

Murtuza Jadliwala, assistant professor of computer science, was quoted in an article by The Wichita Eagle, saying that because data security technology has not kept pace with internet use, tens of millions of people are at risk from unsecured data stored on remote servers. You can read the article at . 

Dominic Canare, an instructor of engineering design, is a leader in the local 鈥渕aker space movement,鈥� and was featured in The Wichita Eagle in a story on MakeICT, a local nonprofit that has built a community of innovators, equipping them with tools to build their ideas. Canare was quoted as joking that 鈥淢akeICT techies are so talented 鈥榯hey can make 3-D printers that make 3-D printers.鈥欌�� Other MakeICT members featured in the story include Electrical Engineering and Computer Science undergraduate students Richard St. Aubin and Austin White. You can read the article at . 

EMERITUS FACULTY

Emeritus President Eugene Hughes was honored as an Outstanding Alumnus by Western Nebraska Community College at its inaugural banquet/awards ceremony held in Scottsbluff, Neb. The award is made to a graduate of WNCC who has been successful in his chosen career. Hughes was also recently honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by the Nebraska Community College Association at their annual awards ceremony in Lincoln, Neb.