E MPLOY E E NE W SL E T T E R
JULY 2014
Department of Psychology adds Health Psychology emphasis » By Brock Allen
In the fall of 2015, Health Psychology will be added as a new emphasis in the Department of Psychology. It will join the General Psychology and Industrial Organizational Psychology emphases already offered. The emphasis was proposed last fall by Rob Wright, temporary faculty member in the Department of Psychology. Following the initial proposal, it went through the Curriculum and Dean’s Councils before being officially approved in May. Health Psychology will serve many students looking to go into such fields as sport psychology, clinical psychology, counseling, health care administration, and public health and even many medical professions. Several different departments also had a hand in helping with the development of this emphasis. “Health Science, in particular, helped us come up with this a great deal. They’ve got some great classes there. They’ve been very helpful with the design of this. All of the departments have been,” said Wright. This is in line with the interdisciplinary approach the university advocating, helping students take a wider array of classes from different departments.
“This major emphasis includes classes from Biology, Animal and Food Science, as well as from the Department of Health, Recreation and Human Performance” said Wright. This not only gives them a broader knowledge for the careers they are going into, but it helps students who are trying to figure out what they want to major in. continued on page 2
BYU-Idaho Counseling Center psychologist publishes new book » By Austin Cary
Each semester, psychologist John M. Rector works to significantly impact the lives of many BYU-Idaho students as a counselor at the BYU-Idaho Counseling Center. He continued to do that this semester while also making a significant contribution to psychological literature with his recent publication, The Objectification Spectrum: Understanding and Transcending Our Diminishment and Dehumanization of Others (Oxford University Press). continued on page 2 J U LY 2 014
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Counseling Center psychologist publishes new book: continued from pg. 1 Rector brings a novel perspective to the age-old question of why people do evil to others. “As I thought about the vast disparities in human behavior, it dawned on me that perhaps one way of making sense of this is that we human beings perceive ourselves and the world in vastly different ways,” said Rector. “In other words, Mahatma Gandhi looked at the world quite differently than a Joseph Stalin or an Adolf Hitler did. These individuals were seeing the same world, but at the same time they were seeing it in very different ways.”
some of the world’s greatest thinkers. The organization of these two key concepts into spectrums is what sets his work apart as a unique contribution to our understanding of both human evil and enlightenment. As Rector went through the fiveyear intellectual exercise of writing his book, he saw a change taking place within himself and in the way he viewed his clients. He hopes his readers will experience something similar. “More than anything, writing this book caused me to self-reflect. It has been a humbling exercise because as a human being, I’m prone to the very problems I am describing,” said Rector. “[It causes me] to strive to be more appreciative of the depth of the person sitting in front of me. Rather than being preoccupied with myself, I try to center my focus more fully on the other person and see them as ‘subject’—more as one of their own family members might see them.”
Rector asserts that the human tendency to objectify others acts as a filtering lens that alters the way we perceive reality.
“It became evident to me that what we are talking about here is the human tendency to see each other as objects to varying degrees. The more that we see each other as objects the easier it is to do evil to them,” said Rector. “There are reasons why human beings are so prone to objectification, and I write about “If I can participate in helping many of these in the book. Towards them come to know their true selves John Rector with his new book, The Objectification Spectrum. the end of the book, I focus on the more clearly, and not be so easily solution to this problem, what I call ‘the wound-up in all of their distracting, enlightenment spectrum.’ I talk about how that comes about, and random, often pointless thoughts and feelings, their problems what that looks like.” would diminish,” he added. “Not only this, but their capacity to experience happiness and genuine connection with others would Rector’s enlightenment and objectification spectrums contain increase, thus making them a little less prone to objectify.” ideas formed from over 15 years of research and readings from
Health Psychology emphasis: continued from page 1 Wright has also begun teaching Health Psychology (PSYCH 435), which hasn’t been taught for several semesters. He says many of the students have been excited about how applicable the content of the class is for daily life. He has already seen some of this excitement carry for the major, since in the eight weeks following its official approval, more than 40 students have expressed strong interest in declaring Health Psychology as their major. Since it’s a new emphasis, Wright is hoping the word will get out to all students who might be interested.
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“If people in other departments other faculty meet with students who express an interest along the lines of health or psychology, I would ask that they make them aware of this new major option. We want students to do what they want to do, but if they don’t know what the options are, than we are really not helping them the best we can,” said Wright. Health Psychology will provide a great option for students and will be a model of how beneficial interdisciplinary emphases can be for the student, the departments, and the university.
Students participate in rocket engineering competition » By Brock Allen
BYU-Idaho students recently competed against 37 other schools from around the2/3 world the annual Intercollegiate Rocket WideinPhoto with Captionin Green River, Utah. Thirty students Engineering Competition contributed in building the rocket that was launched at the competition. They were led by Russell Daines, faculty member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The students come from varied majors including mechanical and electrical engineering and physics. Of the 30 students who helped with the project, eight competed at Green River. Preparing for and participating in this competition has helped the students prepare for their careers in numerous ways. “It gives them a real-world design experience. They design something and they have a chance to actually test it and learn from their test errors. They get to witness first-hand the design, analyze, build, and test cycle. That’s different than the way they do homework problems in classes. This is how things are done in real-life,” said Daines.
on my own then apply those principles correctly, because there’s not a lot of room for error. If you do something wrong it’s going to blow up.” Daines and Albrecht agreed that one of the most valuable things they gained from the competition was the opportunity to talk with the other teams and share ideas. Both commented on the friendliness of the other teams, and how appreciative they were of their support.
To be able to manage a project like this takes a lot of work and a lot of thought, and it’s a great experience for them. RUSSELL DAINES
Students are able to take the knowledge they gain in the classroom and use it as a foundation for projects such as these. As they apply what they’ve learned, they are able to gain experience, and learn topics additional to those taught in the classroom. “It’s really hands-on,” said Aaron Albrecht, a mechanical engineering major who competed this year. “For example, I’m involved mainly with the propulsion system, and there are certain principles that aren’t taught in the classroom, so I had to learn it
“There’s a lot of helping each other out, and sharing ideas. It’s pretty complicated stuff, so it’s nice that it’s so friendly, because we can learn so much from each other,” said Albrecht. The team is divided into sections, with a leader responsible for each section. The section leads are each accountable to the team president. This structure provides great leadership opportunities for the students, and gives them invaluable experience for their careers.
“This is critical. To be able to manage a project like this takes a lot of work and a lot of thought, and it’s a great experience for them,” said Daines. This competition helps students prepare for their future careers by providing the real-life experience of designing and testing rockets, helping them network with other universities, and providing great leadership opportunities. The students hope to continue to improve in the coming years and watch the program grow even more.
Communication faculty visit California for relationship-building trip » By Paul Morgan
As part of its faculty members’ ongoing professional development, the Department of Communication recently reached out to professional organizations in Northern California’s Silicon Valley and San Francisco areas. The department-wide trip allowed 18 faculty to meet with a number of companies in an effort to procure internships and job opportunities for students, as well as to make sure the current curriculum meets the requirements of potential employers. “Developing internship opportunities and entry level job possibilities for our students was one of the main purposes of our trip,” said Mike Cannon, chair of the Department of Communication. “We were hoping to promote our program and
help promote our great students and what they are capable of doing.” While on the trip, faculty members were able to visit a number of organizations including Google, Facebook, Skype, Edelman Public Relations, Clorox, eBay and LinkedIn to see each of their unique corporate cultures. They were able to share curriculum and literature currently taught and used within the department and receive feedback. In addition, department members attended BYU Management Society functions in San Francisco and Palo Alto and made meaningful connections with influential Latter-day Saint professionals in those markets. continued on page 5 J U LY 2 014
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Engineering students present research in San Diego » By Brock Allen
Early this June, Levi Hill, a senior in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Noelle Blaylock, a senior in the department of Mechanical Engineering, presented their research in San Diego at the IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop. For months Hill and Blaylock have been working on this research with Stevan Hunter, adjunct faculty member of the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, as their mentor.
measurements, while Blaylock created the mechanical models used to simulate the experimental conditions. Companies don’t typically send interns to such conferences, so it was a rare honor for Hill to attend. Blaylock also received the William R. Mann Memorial Grant so she could attend the conference. There they presented to nearly 400 technical professionals from many different backgrounds. Their research was well received by these professionals, and it provided a great opportunity for Hill and Blaylock to network.
Hill is presently interning at ON Semiconductor in Pocatello. It was here he performed much of the research that was presented at the workshop. The research, entitled “It was good to network and Noelle Blaylock, left, and Levi Hill, right, present their research at the IEEE “Finite Element Modeling and discover the wide range of Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop in San Diego. Characterization of Cantilever individuals and backgrounds Probe Tips Used Wafer Test,” used represented at the conference. It CAD and ANSYS to model the interaction between a needle tip seems that in most careers, it is necessary to work on a team of and an aluminum pad. many backgrounds, not just one,” said Blaylock. Through this research, they are better able to understand and improve the current designs of probes used to test integrated circuits. Hill performed most of the experimental work and
Hill and Blaylock will be summarizing their work into a poster and presenting their research at the next BYU-Idaho Research and Creative Works Conference.
Music students place at competition in Cincinnati » By Paul Morgan
Two students from the Department of Music competed in the 2014 Susan Slaughter International Solo Brass Competition held at the International Women’s Brass Conference in Cincinnati. Sasha Schumacher and Courtney Wolterman competed in the competition that was open to all brass players, including women and men, students, and professionals of all ages.
fifth place against graduate students. I met some really amazing musicians along the way, like the great Ingrid Jensen,” said Wolterman. “I had fun and did something that was outside of my comfort zone, but in the end I learned so much more and I don’t regret a thing.” Bryce Mecham, faculty member in the Department of Music, accompanied the students to the conference at Northern Kentucky University. Mecham also helped the two students competing prepare their pieces in the months leading up to the conference.
Schumacher placed first in the trombone competition, while Wolterman placed fifth in L-R: Students Mandy Haggen, Courtney Wolterman, and Sasha Schumacher represent the trumpet. Both students Once at the conference, BYU-Idaho at the International Women’s Brass Conference in Cincinnati. enjoyed great success and students only had one hour of enjoyed the opportunity to perform. preparation time with their accompanist before they competed. Both Schumacher and Wolterman performed two pieces of music “I went to the conference not really knowing what to expect. I they had practiced before the competition. continued on page 6 competed just for fun and never thought I would walk away in
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Students to benefit from study abroad experience thanks to scholarships » By Paul Morgan
In an effort to further develop their educational experience, students from BYU-Idaho recently received scholarships that will grant them the opportunity to study abroad. Christian Burstall, a political science major was awarded the much-coveted Boren scholarship. The nationally competitive scholarship provides up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study overseas. Burstall is only the second BYU-Idaho student to ever receive the scholarship. “When I first saw that I’d been awarded the scholarship I thought I’d misread it. I have wanted to get back to China since I first went there,” said Burstall. “I wanted to go to Beijing as it would not only allow me to get the credits I need to graduate, but would also give me an opportunity to learn a lot of good Chinese.” Chelsea Kiser, international studies major and recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, will also be travelling to Beijing. Kiser will receive up to $5,000 in scholarship funding to assist her in her endeavors. “It’s hard to explain what draws me to China, but once you’ve been there it’s impossible not to be drawn in by how diverse and vibrant it is,” said Kiser.
Studies. “Both the Gilman and the Boren scholarships are competitive and I think that the more students can learn about these scholarships the more will be interested in them and apply.” Once in China, both Burstall and Kiser will live and study in Beijing. While Kiser will spend the entirety of her time in Beijing, Burstall will move to Hanzhong, where he will continue his studies at another university.
It’s hard to explain what draws me to China, but once you’ve been there it’s impossible not to be drawn in by how diverse and vibrant it is. CHELSEA KISER
Both scholarships have conditional requirements students promise to fulfill after the acceptance of their awards. The Gilman scholarship requires students to complete a follow-up service project that allows them to share their experiences and explain the benefits of the scholarship program. The Boren scholarship has a much larger commitment, and requires students to agree to work for the federal government for a time. “I’m incredibly proud of our students,” said Scott Galer, faculty member in the Department of Language and International
“Spending such a large amount of time in China will greatly benefit my language skills, because most of language acquisition happens through daily use, and is much easier to learn when surrounded by native speakers,” said Burstall. Both the Gilman and Boren scholarships provide students with precious opportunities to further their understanding of different languages and cultures. Along with their academic studies, both students will be able to immerse themselves in the wonders of Chinese culture and the diversity of everyday life in a foreign country. “As well as studying in China I will be volunteering on a weekend with The Migrant Children’s Foundation, a children’s organization in Beijing that helps kids learn English,” said Kiser.
Students who receive such coveted awards are not only benefiting their own lives, but are further helping to perpetuate the reputation of BYU-Idaho. With each award such as these, BYU-Idaho is further able to establish itself as an academic institution with high standards of education. “Our students are able to compete with students from any university in the country, and compete favorably,” said Galer.
Communication Department in California: continued from page 3 “Going on department trips such as this is part of our professional development. Every time we do it we are able to see where we are, and where we could use some adjustments in the instruction and experience we are providing for our students,” said Cannon. The time spent visiting companies in Northern California was not only an important opportunity for faculty to share ideas and receive feedback from the corporate world, but was also a chance
for members of the department to share time together outside of the confines of the workplace. “One of the great benefits of going anywhere together as a department is being able to interact and talk with each other. It’s great to have the chance to get to know your colleagues better and be able to share insights and generate ideas together,” said Brian Howard, faculty member in the Department of Communication.
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Brass competition: continued from page 4 “The conference is a great place for students to meet other women their own age who also play brass instruments. It’s also a good opportunity to see what the competition is like out there, and to meet women who have been successful professionally playing brass instruments,” said Mecham. Students were able to meet with music professionals, other students from across the country as well as BYU-Idaho alumni. They were also able to watch performances from women’s brass groups. The conference also provided a diverse selection of workshops for those in attendance to take part in. “The reason I wanted to go to the conference was to motivate myself and get myself more excited about music. I needed a challenge. I got more than just that. I met the composer of the piece I played for the competition and many other amazing
musicians. They were the most inspiring part of the conference,” said Schumacher. While in Cincinnati, faculty members Bryce Mecham and his wife, Jessica, took students to a number of places of cultural interest including the Cincinnati Museum of Art, and Music Hall, home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. “During this trip I was reminded that I absolutely love music and that it’s more exciting to set high goals than to just do what’s required. Going to this conference was probably the best academic decision I made this semester. I think that more people should go out there and challenge themselves. They may find that it’s quite fun and that they can do more than they thought they could,” said Schumacher.
Sacred Music Series concerts conclude with live web streamed performance from Rexburg » By Don Sparhawk
For the first time, a performance of a major musical work featuring BYU-Idaho choirs and orchestra was streamed live over the Internet. The final concert of “How Beautiful Upon the Mountains” was held July 12 in the BYU-Idaho Center. The concert was also made available live via web streaming. The oratorio, which was commissioned by BYU-Idaho as part of its Sacred Music Series and composed by Daniel Gawthrop, featured the BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra, Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir and Collegiate Singers.
It was performed June 25 in Twin Falls and June 28 at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. The lyrics for the new work were adapted from scripture by Gawthrop’s wife, Jane Griner, focusing on chapters 12-16 of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. This is the 12th work in the university’s Sacred Music Series. The initial commissioned work, which premiered in 1989, was Darwin Wolford’s “Behold, He Cometh!” This helped to establish the foundation of the current biennial series wherein the university commissions, performs and
records major Latter-day Saint religious music. Conductor Dallin Hansen, a member of the BYU-Idaho Department of Music, said, “The music is very traditional in terms of its harmonic language, and the overall mood is gentle but powerful. I think the audience will receive the work with enthusiasm and love.” This is Gawthrop’s second oratorio. His first was “The Passion and the Promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” which was performed at BYU-Idaho, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C., in 2001.
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News & Notes A monthly publication of University Relations A D V I S O R Marc Stevens W R I T E R S Brock Allen, Austin Cary, Paul Morgan P H O T O G R A P H E R S Michael Lewis, Ryan Chase, Leanna Davidson, Tyler Rickenbach If you have any ideas for future issues, please e-mail newsdesk@byui.edu.
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