OCTOBER 2018 |VOL. 5 ISSUE 2
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS NEWSLETTER ACADEMIC AFFAIRS This newsletter highlights the great work of our colleagues and students. The impressive diversity of our collective interests and achievements should remind us that our University remains a place of ideas and accomplishment. Each of the highlights listed in this newsletter all contribute to creating the intellectual climate that fosters student success. Within our strategic plan, our student success goals are tied to both retention and graduation rates. Over the past two years we have made gains in retention and held those gains steady the past year. Our four and six-year graduation rates have increased 7% and 5%, respectively. These are significant accomplishments and your contributions are greatly appreciated! As we move ahead, our student success efforts will continue to mature and will allow our students to achieve their full potential. Over the past few months, I have shared with many colleagues my belief that the key components for student success are the relationships our students develop with our faculty and staff. In addition, programs and curricula that align with their disciplines and professional opportunities for our students provide clearer paths for persistence and completion. Finally, the development of academic community through organizations, internships, speakers, mentoring, and advising gives our students the opportunity to clarify their values, gain professional experiences, and foster a network of colleagues that support their success. Over the next several newsletters, each of these themes will be addressed through essays by our colleagues whose scholarship covers these areas. We are fortunate to serve in a profession that transforms lives and provides opportunity for others. Along the way, we get to continue our search for more knowledge and serve one another. I remain grateful to work alongside you, and please let me know how Academic Affairs can assist as we move forward. Sincerely, Phil Bridgmon Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs
INSIDE THIS ISSUE New Faculty Highlights.........pg 2 - 4 Welcome New Staff.................pg 5 College Accomplishments.pg 6 - 9 Announcements.........................pg 10
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." - Woodrow Wilson
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OCTOBER 2018 | VOL. 5 ISSUE 2
New Faculty Highlights ARTS AND HUMANITIES
Part 2
Behavioral Sciences
"Don't become a mere recorder of facts, but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin." - Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) Dr. Rebecca Goldstein likes to live in states that touch. She grew up in Pennsylvania (PA) before earning a BA in Psychology from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland (MD). She returned to PA to earn a MS in Psychology from Villanova University and worked as a Research Assistant at Temple University. Eventually, she made her way down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana (LA) where she earned a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Louisiana State University. She brings her interests in visual attention and memory and interest in fostering learning through undergraduate research to Arkansas Tech University. For those keeping track, PA is above MD and LA is below Arkansas.
BUSINESS Management & Marketing
“If I asked my customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse.” Henry Ford Christina Stolarz earned her B.S. in Accounting and Management/Marketing at Arkansas Tech University and her J.D. at the University of Arkansas. With a professional background in business and law, she has been working in a human resources and benefits compliance capacity for the last 6 years. Prior to her appointment as a full-time Visiting Instructor, she taught Employment Law and Legal Environment of Business as an adjunct at Arkansas Tech University at both the Ozark and main campuses.
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New Faculty Highlights Continued EDUCATION Curriculum & Instruction
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
Julie Bridges joined ATU's College of Education as part of the Curriculum and Instruction program. She has a Masters in Education from UALR and is currently working on her Doctorate from University of Louisiana at Monroe. She has 5.5 years teaching experience in secondary education.
Kathleen Myers received her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education as well as a Master’s of Education in Special Education from Arkansas Tech University. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Special Education. She is researching the importance of developing rapport within our classrooms and is most passionate about being a positive role model in students’ lives! David Smith is currently an assistant professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Arkansas Tech University. He previously served as director of the master reading program at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. David also taught graduate literacy courses at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, as well as undergraduate and graduate literacy courses at the University of Nevada, Reno. David earned his doctorate in literacy studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. His research interests include the role of morphological awareness in vocabulary and spelling instruction. David has conducted professional development workshops in developmental spelling instruction at elementary schools across the country and has presented research on vocabulary instruction at national conferences.
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New Faculty Highlights Continued Dr. Selena K. Sasser is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education where she teaches elementary education courses in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to ATU, she worked at Southern Illinois University where she taught science education courses to pre-service teachers, worked with science teachers through a National Science Foundation Noyce grant, and co-chaired the regional science conference for educators in her area. Prior to university teaching, she taught for several years in a Montessori elementary classroom and in a middle school science classroom where she implemented STEM practices in her instruction. Her most recent publications include, Ecology of Blanchard Springs Caverns, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas: 42 Years Later, for the Arkansas Academy of Sciences, and a presentation titled: The Role of Mentorship with Advising in the Higher Education Setting, for the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators. She is excited to be in her new role where she will grow with teaching, scholarship and service though many outlets. One area she is passionate about is advising students in the College of Education and through the Bridge to Excellence Program at ATU. Dr. Sasser received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in science education, from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. She received both a B.S. in Human Development and Learning and a M.S. in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership from Memphis State University. She is married to Jim, and they are looking forward to exploring the beautiful Arkansas River Valley.
NATURAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES Mathematics
"I certainly do care about measuring educational results. But what is an 'educational result?' The twinkling eyes of my students, together with their heartfelt and beautifully expressed mathematical arguments are all the results I need." - Keith Devlin Andrea Denk has a B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts and the University of Rhode Island respectively. Her math experience includes working as an actuarial analyst for a major health care provider and teaching in Massachusetts and Turkey. She en math, family, dogs and the many outdoor opportunities that Arkansas offers. I look forward to being part of the fabulous Arkansas Tech community where students succeed, innovation thrives, and communities flourish. Weijia Jia, Assistant Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics, earned her Ph.D. degree from the Department of Statistics at Kansas State University. She received her B.S. in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Hunan University of Science and Technology, M.S. in Mathematics from Nankai University in China. Her fields of specialization are statistical measurement error models, nonparametric smoothing and goodness-of-fit test. Her recent research interests are variable selection, high dimensional data analysis, and hierarchical modelling in spatial statistics. Page 4
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Welcome New Staff
Rosalino Antunez joined the Registrar’s Office in May as a Registrar’s Assistant. Rosalino is a native of De Queen, Arkansas, who graduated in May 2018 with a BSBA in Management & Marketing. He is now pursuing a double degree in Business Data Analytics and Economics and Finance. Rosalino worked for Walmart for a year prior to joining the Registrar’s Office.
Erica Fay Neely graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2009 and a Masters of Applied Science in College Student Personnel in 2011. As a full time student, she served the institution as a student worker, resident assistant and graduate assistant. She served the Mathematics department from 2012 to 2014 as the Administrative Specialist; and since June 2018, she can be found evaluating and articulating transcripts in the ATU Registrar’s Office as a Registrar’s Assistant.
Whitney Robinson joined the Registrar’s Office team in August as a Registrar’s Assistant. She is a native of Choctaw, Oklahoma, who graduated from ATU in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing and a Master’s degree in CSP in 2017. Whitney was a Graduate Assistant and Volunteer with the ATU Softball team prior to joining the Registrar’s Office team.
Mackenzie Taylor joined the Arkansas Tech Registrar's office in August, 2018. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History (2013), and a Master of Arts in History (2016), both from ATU. Before joining the Registrar's office, he worked as an Instructor of History at the University of Arkansas at Ft. Smith teaching U.S. history courses. He also spent a year working on a Ph.D. in History at the University of Arkansas - Fayetteville. As a Registrar's Assistant, he works closely with students; completing their requests for registration, transcripts, enrollment verification, and other tasks fulfilled by the Office of the Registrar. Page 5
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College Accomplishments Arts & Humanities t Ar David Mudrinich – Takes Top Prize in Art Exhibit – won first prize in the 2018 RAM Annual Invitational exhibit hosted by the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum. Mr. Mudrinich captured $3,000.00 and the right to present a solo exhibit at the museum in 2019 with his pastel drawing entitled “Apple Tree.” His winning entry remained on display through September 2nd, 2018 at the museum. David is also showing "Flint Hills Vista" and "Prairie Shower" in the Oil Painting National Exhibition at Mary R. Koch Arts Center Wichita, Kansas July 20 - September 19, 2018 Jesse Ring – Artist Residency in Berlin June 6th through July 16th, 2018 – Mr. Ring was an invited guest of the Zentrum fur Keramik-Berlin, where he had a six-week collaborative residency with Bulgarian American artist Iren Tete. His designs are currently on exhibit in the Norman Art Gallery 2018 Faculty Biennial Exhibition, and will also be exhibited in Mr. Ring’s solo exhibition and lecture at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas on August 22nd – September 22nd. Reception: Wednesday, Sept. 5th 2:30pm Jessica Mongeon –Participated in “Fascination” Invitational Group Exhibition, June 15-July 11, 2018, Argenta Branch Gallery, North Little Rock, and “Forest For the Trees” Two-Person Exhibition, June 9-24, 2018, Freeform Art Space, Santa Fe, NM. Neal Harrington – 60th Delta Exhibition, juried (1 work), jurors Mr. Brian K. Young, Ms. Les Christensen, Mr. Shea Hembrey, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, May 25-August 26, 2018. Body (Parts), (7 works) group show, Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR August 23-September 19, 2018 #printmaking, (2 works) Arkansas Society of Printmakers group show, William F. Laman Library main branch gallery, August 20-October 13, 2018 Dawn Ward- August 2018 - 3 works in the Holiday Island Art Guild 30th Annual Juried Art Competition, Holiday Island, AR - Juror Zeek Taylor. She won cash prizes for 2nd Place and the Viewer's Choice awards in Photography. Windgate Summer Art Launch for Arkansas Educators - Teachers from across the state convened at Arkansas Tech University for the Windgate Summer Art Launch for Arkansas Educators July 15-19, 2018. K-12 art teachers were provided with the opportunity to learn a variety of art techniques during full-day intensive workshops. They also participated in a project/artwork share and a lecture on technology and entrepreneurship in the arts using social media. The online event registration website opened June 1 and was full with 32 teachers registered within 72 hours and several names on a waiting list. 24 teachers attended, with many from the River Valley region and others from as far as Crossett, which is about 200 miles away. The teachers who attended ranged from those just out of college at their first job, to experienced educators. Reactions of participants were overwhelmingly positive.
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Arts & Humanities Continued Behavioral Sciences Lockyer, Joshua. 2018. Review of Sanford, A. Whitney (2017) “Living Sustainably: What Intentional Communities Can Teach Us about Democracy, Simplicity, and Nonviolence.” Communal Societies 38(1): 117121. Thibodeaux, J., & Winsler, A. (2018). What do youth tennis players say to themselves? Relations between observed and self-reported self-talk on the court. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 126-136. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.06.006 Roosevelt, R.W. (2018). Deconflating buffoonery and hazing: A two-factor model of understanding maladaptive new member activities. Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors. 13 (1), 16-31. Jason Ulsperger organized a commodity drive for HIV Arkansas with the help of AKD (sociology honor students) and other students in the department. We collected and delivered 725 items (May 20, 2018). Jason Ulsperger organized the collection of items for the Pope and Yell Counties Single Parent Scholarship Fund auction. Multiple members of the department participated (July 2018).
Communication & Journalism David Eschelman - His musical play, "Helaine and the Little War," for which he wrote the script, has been awarded an Arkansas Humanities Council grant. This grant was procured by Rae Ann Fields, Development Director of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. The grant will go to support a public reading of the play at the museum in October. Some of the funds will support Arkansas Tech student actors.
History & Political Science Dr. Kelly H. Jones published “Freedom at ‘The Pine Bluffs,’ 1864: A Research Note,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 77, no. 1 (Spring 2018): 45-51. Dr. Patrick Hagge published “From Mule to John Deere: Elements of Rural Change in the Mississippi Delta, 1930-1970,” Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies 49, no 1 (Spring 2018): 125-139. Dr. Hagge also prepared a geodatabase of historical partial county populations for Susan Welch, “Women in State Legislatures from the Gilded Age to the Global Age” in 100 Years of the Nineteenth Amendment: An Appraisal of Women’s Political Activism, ed. Lee Ann Banaszak, and Holly McCammon (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018): 151-171. Dr. Joseph Swain prepared a map of Northeast Yell County for Diane Gleason and Joe Grimes, A Pictorial History: Dardanelle and the Bottoms, 1880s-1980s, ed. Micheal Tarver (Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Publishing Company, 2018). Page 7
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Education The Nook is a newly decorated room for students to study, have lunch, relax, or just meet to work together on projects. It is a comfortable lounge area that also has computers, chargers, tables, sofas, chairs, etc. for students to prosper. COE was awarded the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators Travel Award Friday, September 14 at the annual conference in Searcy. ATU faculty traveled the farthest with the most people. They also had more presentations than other universities represented. COE Faculty and Staff participated in the Family Day Party at the Plaza at 3 pm on September 22. On Homecoming Day, October 20, they will be having a Chili Cook-Off to determine which recipe will be used in the Russellville October Fest Chili Cook-Off Contest. A raffle for a BBQ grill and a hammock will be available. Proceeds go to a new COE Scholarship created by the Administrative Specialists called Administrative Specialists Scholarship of Promise which will go to an education major. They sponsored a Bargain Sale September 15 and raised $200. Teacher Cadet Tours: Three schools have visited and toured campus from Teacher Cadet Programs from Pottsville, Russellville, and Greenwood. Others plan to come later in the semester. Students are able to meet with the dean, associate dean, department head, and director of student services to learn the importance of becoming a teachers and the importance this plays in our communities, state, and nation. Dr. Latasha Holt completed Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Training this summer. This allows her to serve as an advocate for children who have entered the foster care system in Pope, Johnson, and Franklin counties.
Natural & Health Sciences Charles Mebi published "Cyclic tetranuclear iron-carbonyl complex containing thiobisbenzenethiolate ligands: Synthesis and structural characterization" Shakeena L. Johnson, Nikolay N. Gerasimchuk, Charles A. Mebi, Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2018, volume 477, pp 306-311, DOI: 10.1016/j.ica.2018.03.043 2. and " Crystal and electronic structure of a hexacarbonyldiiron cluster tethered to naphthalene-2-thiolate ligands" Charles Mebi, Nikolay Gerasimchuk, Jordan Labrecque, Acta Crystallographica Section C-crystal Structure Communications, 2018, volume 74, issue 2, pp 224-228, DOI: 10.1107/S2053229618000712 Newt Hilliard has an upcoming presentation with Marasco and Ilerioluwa Sowande. "Cellular energy mechanisms as an acid tolerance response: pH-dependent protein expression in Halothiobacillus neapolitanus" (final paper number: SWRM 171). 2018 Southwestern Regional Meeting (SWRM) of the American Chemical Society, November 7-10
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Natural & Health Sciences Continued Deb Leslie Publications: Leslie D.L. and Lyons W. B. (2018). Variations in dissolved nitrate, chloride, and sulfate in precipitation, reservoir, and tap waters, Columbus, Ohio. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(8): 1752 and Willett, C.D., Grantz, E., Leslie D.L., and Reba M.L. (in press) Monitoring residual herbicide concentrations in a tailwater recovery system in the Cache Critical Groundwater Zone. Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2017, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series. Deb Leslie Grants: Investigating Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. Sub-award to Arkansas Tech University via a cooperative agreement between USDA-National Resources Conservation Service of Arkansas and USDA-Agricultural Research Service Delta Water Management Research Unit. June 2018 and June 2021. Total: $23,590 and Growing and non-growing season impacts of herbicides in recovered tailwater. Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board April 2018 and March 2019. Collaborators: C.D. Willett, D.L. Leslie, and M.L. Reba. Total: $75,000. Jason Patton Publications: Patton, Jason A., Davis, Michael G., Gowing, Kenyon, and Vickers, Hunter; in review; Optimum Magnetometer Transect Spacing to Locate Legacy Oil and Gas Wells: Preliminary Results; Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, v.72. Jason Patton Grants: Arkansas Tech Undergraduate Research Grant: Refining Efficient Methods to Locate Legacy Oil & Gas Wells (Co-Pi with Mike Davis). Total $2534 Jason Patton Presentations: Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells: Infallible Barrier or Environmental Disaster? UALR EarthTalk Seminar Series, April 18, 2018, University of Arkansas Little Rock, Little Rock, AR. Mike Davis Publications: Patton, Jason A., Davis, Michael G., Gowing, Kenyon, and Vickers, Hunter; in review; Optimum Magnetometer Transect Spacing to Locate Legacy Oil and Gas Wells: Preliminary Results; Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, v.72. Mike Davis Grants: Arkansas Tech Undergraduate Research Grant: Refining Efficient Methods to Locate Legacy Oil & Gas Wells (Co-Pi with Mike Davis). Total $2534
Adjunct Support Committee Welcome back, adjunct faculty! The Adjunct Support Committee would like to update you all on our goals for this year. The Senate Faculty is working with the Support Committee on inclusion. We are finding ways to be involved with other committees on campus. We are also advocating for a pay raise and distribution pay dates. At the end of October we will be sending out a survey and we hope all of you will participate in filling it out. We are trying to compile new data for our recommendations. We hope you all have a great semester! Feel free to contact Jennifer McNeely, (Chair of the Adjunct Support Committee) at jlawhon@atu.edu, if you have any questions or concerns!
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Announcements Degree Audit Deadline Deadline for December 2019 graduate degree audits is Friday, Oct. 5.
Reception for New Exhibit at Norman Hall Art Gallery The ATU Department of Art will host a reception at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, to celebrate the opening of "Cluttered With Wishes," an exhibition of works by artist Sandra Luckett in the Norman Hall Art Gallery.
ATU Theatre Presents "The Playground King" The play, written by Tanner Williams, shows the world through a child's eyes. Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7. Tickets, $5 for adults and $3 for students, will be available at the door at Techionery Theatre, 1502 North El Paso Ave. in Russellville.
Interdisciplinary Research Lecture Dr. Guolin Yi, Assistant Professor of History at ATU, will present, “Da Waixuan (Great Foreign Propaganda): The Global Projection of China’s Soft Power”. Presentation is scheduled in Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall room 134 on Friday, Oct. 5.
Fall Break Fall break at ATU is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, and Friday, Oct. 12. Faculty and students will receive a two-day respite from class. Offices will remain open.
"There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor." - Charles Dickens
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