Highlights of this edition of Academe include Ted Ayres鈥� humanitarian award, Jane Rhoads鈥� publication of 鈥淜ansas Opera Houses,鈥� national Educator of the Year awards from their peer organizations for Rick LeCompte and Elaine Steinke, and Robert Bubp鈥檚 interactive art exhibit at the Salina Art Center.
There is also a link to the winners of this year鈥檚 President鈥檚 Distinguished Service Awards (aka Shocker Pride) and faculty excellence awards.
As the academy of faculty and the staff at 黑洞社区 engage in externally supported research, training and service activities consistent with the university鈥檚 mission and vital to its growth, this column will recognize grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and the deaths of our current and former colleagues.
2009 SHOCKER PRIDE AWARDS
黑洞社区鈥檚 annual Shocker Pride Celebration recognizes outstanding employees with the President鈥檚 Distinguished Service Award and the Unclassified Professional Senate Wayne Carlisle Distinguished Service Award. For short features on the 2009 winners, go to .
2009 FACULTY AWARDS
Each year, Wichita State honors its faculty members for setting the gold standard for teaching, research and creative activities at 黑洞社区. For short features on the 2009 Faculty Award winners, go to .
EXTERNAL GRANTS
Victoria Shaffer, assistant professor, psychology, was awarded $99,999 by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making to examine the effectiveness of informational videos about breast cancer treatment options designed to improve breast cancer treatment decisions. Throughout 2009, 200 women from the Wichita area will be recruited to participate in this two-hour study; each participant will be paid $100.
AWARDS, HONORS AND 黑洞社区 GRANTS
Ted Ayres, vice president and general counsel, received the A. Price Woodard Jr. Award from Diversity Kansas, formerly The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) of Kansas, at its 2009 Humanitarian Awards Dinner in February.
Edna Bates, assistant director, financial operations, has been appointed to the audit committee of the Central Association of College and University Business Officers.
Denise Celestin, associate professor, dance, School of Performing Arts, received an ARCS grant from 黑洞社区 to travel to Russia for the fall 2008 International Vaganova Method Teachers Conference/Demonstration in St. Petersburg. The event celebrated the 270th anniversary of the Vaganova Ballet Academy and the 225th anniversary of the famed Maryinsky Theatre.
Deltha Q. Colvin, assistant vice president for Campus Life and University Relations and director of TRIO programs, has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on a negotiated rulemaking committee to gain consensus on new requirements in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.
Lyn Goldberg, department of communication sciences and disorders; LaDonna Hale, department of physician assistant; and Louis Medvene, department of psychology are recipients of the second annual Gridley Hoover Pilot Research Program awards through 黑洞社区's Regional Institute on Aging. Each will receive one-year, $20,000 research awards.
Kevin Hager, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, won Best of Competition in the Hard News Reporting Category in the Broadcast Education Association鈥檚 Festival of Media Arts competition for his report 鈥淵ingling Fire: 40 years later.鈥� He was honored at the BEA Best of Festival convention in Las Vegas in April.
Chris Heim, music host, producer and arts/feature reporter for KMUW 89.1, the 黑洞社区-based Wichita public radio station, has been named one of the 2009 RIAS Journalism Fellows. The RIAS program is an outgrowth of Radio in the American Sector, a joint German-American radio station that broadcast in Berlin from the end of World War II until German reunification. A bi-national program was set up in its place to foster German-American understanding of broadcast news through travel exchange.
Elizabeth King, president and CEO, 黑洞社区 Foundation, is one of two national recipients of the CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation awards, given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality and effectiveness of their foundations and the community of institutionally related foundations as a whole. She was honored, along with her counterpart at Southern Illinois University Foundation, at the organization鈥檚 annual conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in March.
Grady Landrum, director of disability services, and Phil Bowers, academic adviser and study skills coordinator for disability services, both received the Michael Lechner Award in March from the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns.
Richard L.B. LeCompte, H. Dene Heskett Chair in Finance and Chair, Department of Finance, Real Estate and Decision Sciences, received the 2009 Educator of the Year Award from the Federation of Business Disciplines and the Southwestern Finance Association in February.
Wilma Moore-Black, assistant director/curriculum coordinator, TRIO Communication Upward Bound, has been named president of Wichita Professional Communicators.
Elaine Steinke, professor, School of Nursing, was named the recipient of the 2009 Educator of the Year award, conferred annually by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) during its annual conference, held in St. Louis in March.
Mary Waters, associate professor, English, will receive a $4,000 summer research grant from 黑洞社区. Her project is making a digital library of criticism, 鈥淭he Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Women鈥檚 Criticism Archive.鈥�
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Les Anderson, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, directed a team of fac卢ulty and students at 黑洞社区 that produced a video and a companion brochure to help parents with teen driving guidelines, supported by the Center for the Study of Young Drivers, University of North Carolina. Funding was facilitated through AAA Kansas.
Les Anderson, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, and his Greensburg Rebirth class were featured in episode 7 of Ch. 13鈥檚 鈥淲ichita State & the World,鈥� hosted by Provost Gary L. Miller.
Les Anderson, associate professor, and Amy DeVault, instructor, Elliott School of Communication, had their paper proposal 鈥淏ridging the digital gap in newspapers鈥� accepted for the 15th annual Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium Sept. 25-26 in Mobile, Ala. The symposium is part of the National Newspaper Association annual convention.
Deborah Ballard-Reisch, Kansas Heath Foundation Distinguished Chair, Elliott School of Communication, presented a panel session, 鈥淓xploring the Culture of the 2008 Kansas State Fair: A Participant Observation Approach to Popular Culture,鈥� at the 30th Southwest Text Popular Culture and American Culture Association conference in Albuquerque, N.M., in February. Seven Elliott School graduate students also presented at the conference.
Jo Bennett, assistant professor, College of Education, presented 鈥淗igh School Learning Community for Second Language Learners鈥� at Watermark Books in February to open the Curriculum and Instruction Research Colloquium鈥檚 spring activities.
Tina L. Bennett-Kastor, professor, English and linguistics, writes a column about the Irish language titled, 鈥淭谩 F谩ilte Romhat go Baile Br茅ige鈥� (translated, 鈥淲elcome to Baile Br茅ige鈥� 鈥� a fictional town), that appears monthly in Midwest Irish Focus.
Christopher Brooks, associate professor, English, will have his article 鈥淭o Make Seclusion Pleasant鈥� appear in the CLA Journal, which is published by the College Language Association, and his essay 鈥淩evisiting the Drama Wars鈥� will appear in a forthcoming edition of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Theatre Research.
Randy Brown, senior fellow, Elliott School of Communication, was the emcee for a tele-vised public forum on 鈥淭he Power of Open Government: What Citizens Can Do鈥� in March. The forum was broadcast live on KAKE-TV, Channel 10; Pat Dooley, Betty and Oliver Elliott Professor, was part of the panel.
Robert Bubp, associate professor, School of Art and Design, has an interactive exhibit at the Salina Art Center based on months of talks with residents about their community鈥檚 future. 鈥淰ision/Voice/Plan: Salina,鈥� a collection of drawings, sculptures, building blocks and interactive blogging, opened in early March and runs through May 17.
Denise A. Celestin, associate professor, dance, School of Performing Arts, presented a research paper, 鈥淓lements of Classicism in the Dance of Isadora Duncan,鈥� at a conference at Leiden University in the Netherlands in October 2008. The conference, Dance in Antiquity/Antiquity in Dance, was co-sponsored by Leiden University and the European Association of Dance Historians.
Dan Close, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, had his article 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be objective when newspapers die鈥� pub卢lished in Editor & Publisher; he also presented 鈥淐AR in the Classroom鈥� at the national Computer-Assisted Reporting conference in Indianapolis, and taught a workshop for the Kansas Authors Club called 鈥淜illing The Babies: Editing Your Work and Others.鈥� He also presented the editing workshop at the Kansas Associated Collegiate Press conference in Hutchinson April 19-20.
John Dreifort, professor, history, had his article 鈥淎nything but Ordinary: POW Sports in a Barbed Wire World鈥� published in The Journal of Sport History in fall 2008.
Kimberly Engber, assistant professor, English, had her book review of 鈥淭he Temple and the Forum: The American Museum and Cultural Authority in Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, and Whitman,鈥� by Les Harrison, published in the winter 2008 edition of The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association.
Jean Griffith, assistant professor, English, had her commentary 鈥淥n the 鈥楾urkish Lady鈥� in 鈥極 Pioneers!鈥欌�� published in the winter 2008 Willa Cather Newsletter and Review. Her book review of 鈥淢uting White Noise: Native American and European American Novel Traditions,鈥� by James Cox, appeared in the fall 2008 edition of MELUS.
Kevin Hager, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, directed and produced a documentary about the Piatt Street Crash, Wichita鈥檚 greatest aviation disaster, that aired in January on KPTS Channel 8.
Jeanine Hathaway, professor, English, had two essays, 鈥淛ust Say Yes鈥� and 鈥淲itness,鈥� published in the 2008 anthology 鈥淥nce Upon A Place鈥� published by Night Owl Press.
Lou Heldman, Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism, was selected as the journalism representative on a six-member reaccreditation site team visit to the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences. The on-site review, for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, was conducted in January in Tuscaloosa.
Lou Heldman, Distinguished Senior Fellow in Media Management and Journalism, and Dan Close, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, recently discussed problems facing U.S. media, particularly newspapers and television, on KSNW鈥檚 new 鈥淧ressing Issues鈥� television program.
Ward Jewell, professor, electrical engineering, director, Center for Energy Studies, gave a presentation, 鈥淜ansas Specific Insights Regarding Solar Power鈥� to the Kansas Corporation Commission鈥檚 solar roundtable in Topeka in March.
Kerry Jones, Fairmount Lecturer and director of the Writing Center, English, had her story 鈥淟os Dias de los Muertos鈥� published in the winter 2008 issue of Bloodroot Literary Magazine. She also published two nonfiction pieces in The Shocker, 鈥淏rick by Brick鈥� in spring 2008 and 鈥淎ll the Way to China鈥� in fall 2008.
David Kamerer, visiting professor, Elliott School of Communication, recently presented two workshops on social media, RSS feeds, advanced search engines and incorporat卢ing them all into teaching and research for 黑洞社区 faculty and staff.
Joe Kleinsasser, director of news and media relations, coordinated a one-day workshop on crisis communications and media relations for the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation in Wichita. Joining Kleinsasser in making presentations during the workshop were Ted Ayres, vice president and general counsel; Randy Brown, Elliott School of Communication senior fellow; and Ron Kopita, vice president for campus life and university relations.
Patricia McDonnell, director of the Ulrich Museum of Art, was featured in episode 5 of Ch. 13鈥檚 鈥淲ichita State & the World,鈥� hosted by Provost Gary L. Miller, on Tom Otterness and the Millipede commissioned for the 黑洞社区 campus.
Kenneth Pitetti, professor, physical therapy, was featured in episode 8 of Ch. 13鈥檚 鈥淲ichita State & the World,鈥� hosted by Provost Gary L. Miller. He discussed enhancing cardio health and fitness for disabled children and adults, and others.
Margaret Rabb, assistant professor and director of creative writing, English, hosted 鈥淐elebrating 35 Years of 黑洞社区鈥檚 MFA & Creative Writing Programs,鈥� a presentation that included readings from five 黑洞社区 alumni, at the Associated Writing Programs conference in Chicago in February. MFA graduate Rick Mulkey 鈥�92 also led 鈥淎 Tribute to Albert Goldbarth,鈥� 黑洞社区鈥檚 Adele M. Davis Distinguished Professor of Humanities.
Margaret Rabb, assistant professor and director of creative writing, English, had her poems 鈥淲oman鈥檚 Constancy,鈥� 鈥淭he Good-morrow,鈥� 鈥淏reak of Day鈥� and 鈥淟ove鈥檚 Alchemy,鈥� appear in the summer 2008 Image.
Teresa Radebaugh, director of the Regional Institute on Aging, was featured in episode 6 of 鈥淲ichita State & the World鈥� that focused on aging issues and societal changes.
Jane Rhoads, director of undergraduate success, Academic Programs, had her book 鈥淜ansas Opera Houses: Actors & Community Events 1855-1925鈥� published in fall 2008. She had a book-signing at Watermark Books earlier this spring and was on hand to sell and sign books at the Kansas Sampler Festival in Concordia May 2-3.
Jennifer Schell, assistant professor, English, had two scholarly articles published. 鈥溾�橳his Life is a Stage鈥�: Performing the South in William Wells Brown鈥檚 Clotel or, The President鈥檚 Daughter鈥� appeared in the spring 2008 Southern Quarterly. 鈥淔igurative Surveying: National Space and the Nantucket Chapters of J. Hector St. John de Cr猫vecoeur鈥檚 Letters from an American Farmer鈥� appeared in the November 2008 edition of Early American Literature.
Richard Spilman, associate professor, English, had his poem 鈥淪ex and Memory鈥� appear in Gargoyle; 鈥淔ish Tale鈥� and 鈥淚mpromptu on Time鈥� were in Texas Review; 鈥淏ats鈥� was in 32 Poems; 鈥淧rimum Mobile鈥� appeared in the Cider Press Review; 鈥淟eaning Home鈥� was published in Rock and Sling; 鈥淎ntique Shop鈥� was in Poet Lore; and 鈥淛une Bugs鈥� appeared in Flyway. His story 鈥淧ie鈥� was in River Styx and his story 鈥淪pice鈥� appeared in Hanging Loose.
Xiao-Ming Sun, assistant professor, communication sciences and disorders, had a co-authored paper with M.D. Shaver, 鈥淓ffects of negative middle-ear pressure on distortion product otoacoustic emissions and application of a compensation procedure in humans,鈥� published in Ear and Hearing.
Mary Waters, associate professor, English, will have her book 鈥淏ritish Women Writers of the Romantic Period: An Anthology of their Literary Criticism鈥� published this year by Palgrave MacMillan. She also published two book reviews: 鈥淭rolander and Tenger, Sociable Criticism in England, 1625-1725鈥� in the summer Eighteenth-Century Studies and 鈥淲alker, Mary Hays (1759-1843: The Growth of a Woman鈥檚 Mind鈥� in the fall Eighteenth-Century Studies.
NEW FACULTY AND NEW POSITIONS
Michael Overcash has been named the Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Chair in Engineering.
Teresa Radebaugh, director of the Regional Institute on Aging, has been named the Carl and Rozina Cassat Professor in Aging.
ON SABBATICAL
The following faculty have been granted sabbatical leaves for the 2009-2010 school year:
Alexandre L. Boukhgueim, professor, math, fall 2009
Robert R. Bubp, associate professor, art and design, fall 2009
Ronald W. Christ, professor, art and design, spring 2010
Vincentia A. Claycomb, professor, marketing, spring 2010
Jason W. Ferguson, associate professor, physics, spring 2010
Kay L. Ferguson, associate professor, curriculum and instruction, fall 2009
Kevin E. Hager, associate professor, communication, spring 2010
Almer J. Mandt, associate professor, philosophy, fall 2009
Robert C. Manske, associate professor, physical therapy, fall 2009
Louis J. Medvene, professor, psychology, spring 2010
H. Craig Miner, professor, history, fall 2009
Betty R. Monroe, professor, performing arts, spring 2010
Richard Muma, professor, public health, spring 2010
Achita Muthitacharoen, associate professor, FREDS, spring 2010
Michael J. Palmiotto, professor, community affairs, fall 2009
Phillip E. Parker, professor, math, spring 2010
Jodi E. Pelkowski, associate professor, economics, spring 2010
IN MEMORIAM
Diane R. Barnes, 64, retired 黑洞社区 administrator, died March 21 in Wichita. She was preceded in death by mother, Betty Riley. Survivors include daughter, Erin Barnes, of Sacramento, Calif.; father, Joe Riley of Oklahoma City; and sister, Cynthia Arthur of Wichita. Memorials have been established with 黑洞社区 Foundation, Diane Barnes Music Scholarship, 1845 Fairmount, Campus Box 2, Wichita, KS, 67260-0002 and Lifeline Animal Placement, 310 W. 45th N., Wichita, KS, 67204.
Donald Dee Christenson, 74, former dean of College of Business and vice president of academic affairs, of Austin, Texas, died Jan. 23. Survivors include wife, Margie Stoker, Austin, Texas; mother, Evelyn Christenson, Mesa, Ariz.; sister, Ginger Stone, Meza, Ariz.; sons, Greg Christenson, Kansas City, Mo.; Tony Christenson, Kansas City, Mo.; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Memorial Service planned for Feb 14th, Kansas City, Mo., and later in Mesa, Ariz., and Northern New Mexico. Contributions may be made to American Cancer Society or charity of choice.
Wesley Lee Faires, 76, retired 黑洞社区 speech pathology professor and department head, died May 3. Services were held Thursday, May 7, in El Dorado. Survivors include children Katherine Faulkner, Julia Molstad and Robert (Maureen) Faires, all of Wichita; Michele Reynolds of Goddard, David (Kay) Faires of Woodstock, Ga., Samuel Faires of Wichita; adopted children, Howard Faires of Wichita, Robert Faires of Ogden, Kan., Laurel Faires of Augusta; 13 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association or Heartspring in Wichita.
William E. 鈥淏ill鈥� Heard, 62, 黑洞社区 and Wichita Water Department plumber, died Jan. 18. Survivors include his wife, Ann of the home; son, John of Santa Monica, Calif.; daughters, Kellie Erickson and Sherrie Smith, both of Wichita; brothers, Hal of Texas, Kenny of Missouri, John of Wichita; sisters, Lolly Strange of Goddard, Margaret Walker of Wichita; grandchildren, Emily and Dakota Erickson, Jake Marquis, Grant and Karlie Smith. A memorial has been established with the Christian Children's Fund, 2821 Emerywood Parkway, Richmond, VA 23294.
Max Allen Hunt, 67, retired 黑洞社区 associate controller, died January 22. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilfred and Vella Hunt. Survivors include his wife, Sarah; daughters and sons-in-law, Robin (Robbie) Pollard of El Dorado, Kan.; and Paula (Terry) Luck of Vilonia, Ark.; son, David of El Dorado, Kan.; brother, Don (Jamie) of Wichita; and four grandchildren. Memorial established with Immanuel Lutheran Church, 909 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67211.
Elizabeth Ruth Smith, 80, former 黑洞社区 and Wichita Public Schools teacher, died Feb. 25 at Grove, Okla. General Hospital. She is survived by husband, Charles, of Grove; daughter, Susan Waedle, Grove; son, Alan Smith, Atlanta; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by sister, Vera Clark. The family asks for donations of time and energy to your local public school system and Humane Society.
Kurt Albert Soschinske, 50, assistant professor, died March 2. Survivors include wife, Amy (Allen) Soschinske; son, Jack Albert Soschinske of Wichita; parents, Albert and Betty Soschinske of Hartford, Wis.; sister, Gail Soschinske of Hartford, Wis.; many relatives and friends. A memorial has been established with Reformation Lutheran Church, 7601 E. 13th, Wichita, KS 67206.