Campus news
Faculty and staff achievements Dr. John Porter has been promoted to Professor of English. He has been on the faculty since 1998. Dr. Susan Quigley-Duggan has been promoted to Professor of Voice and Opera. She has been at CMU since 2006. Dr. Travis Johnson has been promoted to Associate Professor of English and was granted tenure. He has taught here since 2011. He also was awarded the ODK Harold Momberg Gold Chalk Award at the school’s beginning gathering. He earned his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from The College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth, Minn., his master’s and his Ph.D., both in English, from the University of Iowa. Brian Spielbauer, athletic director, has published his first book. Titled Tales of Lemuria: The Demon’s Chamber, it is the first of a fantasy trilogy. The second and third books will be published in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Dr. Ashley Lough, assistant professor of biology, with CMU since 2014, was awarded the ODK Harold Momberg Gold Chalk Award at the beginning faculty/staff meeting of the year. She received her B.S. in biology with a minor in English from Truman State University and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and College Teaching from the University of Missouri, Columbia. The ODK Outstanding Staff Member Award went to Tish Clark at the opening gathering of school. She has been with Central since 2013 as an administrative assistant in mathematics. She earnd her bachelor’s and master’s in education at CMU in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Steve Wiegenstein, who teaches ITV Dual-Credit English courses for Central has just released his third historical novel, The Language of Trees, about the logging industry in the Missouri Ozarks in the 1880s. Preceded by the novels Slant of Light about the Civil War and This Old World, set during Reconstruction, his new book is third in an open-ended series of what it means to be normal people living ordinary lives in a significant time. Wayne Morse, assistant director of plant operations, finished his first Ironman competition in October. He swam 2.4 miles in the Ohio River, rode a bicycle for 112 miles and ran a marathon, for a total of 140.6-mile total race. Kayla Kelly ’13, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy, has been appointed Central’s new Fayette chaplain. She graduated this May from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey with a dual program of master of divinity and an MACEF in ministry with young people. Her position is in CMU’s Center for Faith and Service. Kelly will coordinate the weekly student-run chapel services and fellowship events, and will lead local, national, and international mission trips. Autumn Newby is Central’s newest counselor for students, faculty, and staff. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Lincoln University in Jefferson City and her master’s degree in school counseling from MidAmerica Fall 2017
Nazarene University in Olathe, Kan. She has completed more than 1,200 hours of practicum and internship experience in various counseling programs. Lara Doescher ’17 graduated with a master’s in education with an emphasis in athletic administration from CMU. She followed that up with a position as assistant athletic trainer here at Central. She will assist the director of athletic training services in academic and sports medicine responsibilities. She also has a B.S. degree in athletic training from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. She already has experience as she worked as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at CMU while pursuing her master’s. Billy Mangum has been appointed Sports Information Director at CMU. He will be responsible for promotion of varsity and junior varsity athletic programs, sports media relations, maintenance of the athletics website, sports press releases, design, and statistics for sports. Mangum was lead sports information graduate assistant at Auburn-Montgomery, Ala. He also did similar work for Piedmont College, as well as doing play-by-play duties. He received the NAIA-SID Association Gary Spitler Memorial Award for Excellence in Publications in 2015-16 at Auburn. Suzanne Hickman has been hired as the academics operations coordinator for CMU’s Office of the Provost. Her primary responsibilities include creating course schedules, updating catalogs, overseeing faculty promotion and tenure processes, maintaining academic calendars, academic forms and policies. She will also help with compliance and regulatory, and audit activities, and more. Sabrina Eaves Shockley ’14 has joined CMU’s Advancement and Alumni Relations Department. She was hired as stewardship coordinator. She will be facilitating a comprehensive stewardship program to meaningfully acknowledge gifts given to the University. She graduated from Central with a B.S. in criminal justice and psychology. Her parents and her grandparents also graduated from Central, and Shockley says, “I guess you could say I never left my second home. Central is where my heart is.” It’s no surprise as her husband, Aaron Shockley ’12, has been working here as an admission counselor for a year as well. Amanda Morrow-Linneman ’17 is finishing her bachelor’s degree through Central’s online coursework this winter and has already begun working for the Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs for Central. She has been hired as the new assistant director of development. CMU is not new to Linneman. Even while studying, she has had a job here in the Technology Services Department. “When this position came open,” she says, “I learned it would allow me to work with alumni and friends of Central. This got my attention, because I love talking to people. I don’t know a stranger.”
Central Methodist University Talon
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