Faculty Profiles of Scholarship and Student Engagement

Faculty Profiles of Scholarship and Student Engagement 2015-16 1

2

Morehead State University is recognized among the top public regional universities in the South. A critical component of our success is the outstanding scholarship and commitment to student engagement of our dedicated and talented faculty.

By creating and disseminating scholarship that includes research, artistic and professional endeavors, Morehead State University faculty contribute to the discoveries that enrich our lives. Faculty scholarship also infuses the Morehead State community with intellectual vitality in and out of the classroom, on and off campus.

In the pages that follow, Morehead State University is pleased to showcase selected accomplishments of four distinguished faculty.

The work of Edna Schack, Janelle Hare, Michael Hail and John Flavell represents the high level of scholarly and professional achievement often characteristic of Morehead State faculty. Moreover, the work of these four scholars demonstrates how our faculty effectively meld together scholarship and teaching to engage students in meaningful learning experiences. Also included is a description of MSU’s focus on student engagement through undergraduate research, such as the Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship and the Annual Posters at the Capitol session in Frankfort.

I offer my congratulations to all the faculty and students whose accomplishments are celebrated in this Faculty Profiles of Scholarship and Student Engagement publication.

Dr. Steven Ralston, Provost and Vice President for Acadmic Affairs

3

“There’s a curiosity in students at the elementary school level and I want to build that same curiosity in the teachers that I teach to pass that on to them.”

DR. EDNA SCHACK

Professor of Mathematics Education, Co-director of MSUTeach During the past year, she has continually finetuned her elementary math methods classes while assuming responsibility for the middle grades math methods class. Complementing this is the extensive work that she has done in developing a cooperative clinical relationship with Tygart Creek Elementary School in Carter County, which moves a major portion of teacher preparation into authentic settings in public school classrooms.

Dr. Edna Schack is a professor in the elementary education program in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education. Throughout her career, Schack has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to quality instruction with a focus on her students graduating with an in-depth understanding of how children develop mathematic thinking and with the skills needed to foster a high level of mathematical competency.

Schack has played a central role in both the organization and development of MSUTeach as both co-director and project coordinator.

The MSUTeach initiative will be vital to the improved education of Kentucky students by serving as a vehicle to attract more STEM majors into teaching. Through this program, best teaching practices are integrated within STEM content areas, allowing students to complete a Bachelor of Science degree within four years while earning secondary teacher certification. This will help produce more highly qualified science and math teachers that meet the demand of Kentucky schools and help impact future generations of students in the Commonwealth.

Schack has exhibited leadership as coordinator of the elementary (P-5) education program and her willing participation in a variety of ad hoc committees focused on improving the quality of education programs. She is also a former chairperson of the Kentucky Committee for Mathematics Achievement, where she still plays a significant role. She has developed an extensive array of peer-reviewed presentations and publications over the course of her career, including eight presentations and three publications last year alone. She has several publications in preparation. This includes serving as co-author for the book “Building Perspectives of Teacher Noticing,” which is under contract.

4

“I want students to be prepared to investigate and understand any biological phenomenon they encounter during their lifetime. I want them to have that foundation and feel confident they can build on that foundation and bring any new knowledge into that knowledge base.”

DR. JANELLE HARE Professor of Biology

In the past three years, she has given research

In addition to teaching virology, pathogenic virology and biology to biomedical science and biology majors, Dr. Janelle Hare taught an inquiry-based research project sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (KBRIN) this past spring semester.

This course is called the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science. It allows first-year students to engage in authentic biomedical research by isolating and discovering novel viruses that infect bacteria (phages), characterizing their virus’ DNA, and ultimately publishing their work after peer review.

talks and presentations in Greece, Mexico and Germany, as well as invited research seminars at Transylvania University, the University of Louisville and at a national conference of the Educational Testing Service. She and eight student co-authors have published several papers in international journals, with another paper in press. These students’ research presentations have been recognized for excellence at local, state and international conferences. Hare’s research expertise will help her in serving as the KBRIN lead faculty member for MSU’s participation in this NIHfunded grant.

Hare’s research is conducted with multiple undergraduate biology majors and has been funded for years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as KBRIN. Hare’s research expertise will help her in serving as the KBRIN lead faculty member for MSU’s participation in a highly competitive NIH-funded grant. She is also primary investigator and co-primary investigator on over $900,000 in grant funding.

She has served as a role model in encouraging the participation of young women in science by speaking multiple times as a panelist in “Women in Math and Science” for the interdisciplinary women’s studies program and SpaceTrek camp. She also served on a committee to help design curriculum for the the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science & Mathematics.

5

DR. MICHAEL W. HAIL

Professor of Government, Assistant Dean for Economic Development College of Business & Technology Legacy of George W. Bush, edited by Michael O. Grossman and Ronald E. Mathews Jr., Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009. He served as co-editor both with John Kincaid of The Federalism Report and for the book from the University Press of Kentucky titled, “Kentucky Government, Politics, and Public Policy.”

Dr. Michael W. Hail is a professor of government and assistant dean for economic development in the College of Business & Technology. Hail teaches courses on federalism and constitutional law, public management, state and local government, Kentucky politics, economic development policy, western political philosophy, and American political thought. Hail received the Dean’s Citation for Research in 2013 and the Morehead State University Distinguished Researcher award in 2014.

His recent research grants include awards from the U.S. departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Education FIPSE, and the Economic Development Administration. Hail was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Hail is president-elect of the Somerset-Pulaski County Industrial Economic Development Foundation and he was recently elected as a member of the board of the Somerset Independent School District.

He serves on the editorial board of Publius: The Journal of Federalism and The Commonwealth Review of Political Science. He also has been published in several journals, including Publius: The Journal of Federalism, EURASIP: The Journal of Information Security, P.S.: Political Science and Politics, and The European Legacy: The Journal of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas. Hail has contributed to numerous books, including the Encyclopedia of the Constitution and Federalism in America, and is the author of “Bush’s New Nationalism: The Life and Death of New Federalism,” in Perspectives on the

“This is a field about get ting people to become graduates wh o want to hold public office. I think when you’re helping these people dev elop as leaders, you are continuing to imp act the future of your community and you r country.”

6

, “Being able to bring professional ersity univ a into ce rien expe rld -wo real mix. good a like ed seem situation the The students mixed it up with s professionals and the professional t Firs The . them dge owle ackn had to d gran a in out ed play Amendment was better.” theatre. I don’t think it could be

JOHN FLAVELL Instructor of Journalism & Multimedia

Flavell is also the faculty advisor for The Trail Blazer, MSU’s student newspaper. In 2015 and 2016, his students earned local, regional, national and international publication of their reporting of the Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis/ marriage equality issue. They were published in Huffington Post, The Washington Post, National Public Radio (NPR) and The Guardian newspaper in London, England, which all linked to The Trail Blazer content.

John Flavell (87) has served as an instructor of journalism and multimedia for MSU’s Department of Communication, Media and Languages for the past four years. His photojournalism career started when he was an undergrad at MSU, regularly freelancing for the Associated Press, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Courier-Journal in Louisville and The Morehead News. He served for 24 years as the chief photographer for The Daily Independent in Ashland, Kentucky.

His influence has resulted in credits for 30 students and their work appearing in professional publications. Acceptance of these projects serves as external review of their work and, indirectly, his instruction. Flavell was also nominated in Fall 2015 by his students for the Distinguished Teacher Award, which further testifies to the respect his students have for his guidance.

Currently, he remains a freelance photographer for the above mentioned publications along with serving as a consulting editor for The Daily Independent. As of May 2016, Flavell has shot 32 Kentucky Derby races. His photo series “West Liberty, One Year” (2013) and “The 2014 Senate Campaign” (2015) were both honored with the Kentucky News Photographer Association’s Award for Best Photo Story/ Essay of the Year.

7

As an Undergraduate Research Fellow, Adolfo Enrique Samudio Cano, a senior majoring in design and manufacturing engineering, helped to design and build a delta robot (pictured here) as part of his coursework in the School of Engineering and Information Systems. It’s one of many opportunities that MSU provides where students benefit from the combination of quality academic programs and hands-on experience.

8

FACULTY EXPERTISE DRIVES INCREASED RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY MICHAEL C. HENSON, PH.D. Associate Vice President for Research & Dean of the Graduate School Excellence in research and creative endeavor is the hallmark of a dedicated and engaged faculty and tends to be reflected in the amount of competitive financial support that is received from outside funding agencies and foundations. Because the mission of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Morehead State University is to provide leadership, information, direction and technical assistance in the pursuit of excellence in research, public service and lifelong learning, we are pleased that external funding continues to increase due to the outstanding efforts of our world-class faculty.

During the past academic year, 160 grant proposals and contracts were submitted. The total funding for all requests submitted was $22,526,697, which was a 16.5 percent increase over the previous year’s request. The total for awards funded also grew with an amount of $14,640,011, a 9.1 percent increase over last year. The total request for facilities and administrative costs direct to the university was $1,424,501, with $664,604 received.

An excellent example of a recent initiative that typifies faculty engagement in enhancing research and creative endeavor is the Appalachian Health and Research Center (AHRC). The AHRC is a collaboration of Morehead State University, St. Claire Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) and the University of Kentucky (UK) Institute for Rural Health Policy focused on health and wellness. Its mission is to increase collaborative research based out of Morehead that addresses health issues faced by residents of Appalachian Kentucky and beyond. In the past year, three competitive $5,000 MSU/ AHRC Research Seed Grants were claimed by faculty members – who are also AHRC members and have active collaborations with SCRMC and UK investigators – to help them establish productive and sustainable externally-funded research programs. Grants included: •

Examining Parent Smoking, Trauma, Reactivity, and Observed Parent-Child Interactions Tim Thornberry, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Brady Reynolds, Ph.D., University of Kentucky

•

Attachment and Parenting Among At-Risk Mothers and Babies: A Group and Individual Treatment Demonstration Project Shari Kidwell, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Frances Merritt, C.N.M., and Amy ConleySallaz, M.D., St. Claire Regional Medical Center

•

Promoting Ethical-Decision Making and Behavior In Healthcare Settings Johnathan Nelson, Ph.D., School of Business Administration, Mark Neff, Sister Judi Lambert, and Will Melahn, M.D., St. Claire Regional Medical Center

In addition, 10 new Undergraduate Research Fellowships have been made available for students who choose to participate in AHRC research projects such as these.

9

SELECTED FACULTY RESEARCH & CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS Nelson, J. K. & Gebka, S. M. (2016). Identifying new organizational practices by considering different perspectives: An ethics management example. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 9(1), 152-157.

Garven, S. A. (2015). The Effects of Board and Audit Committee Characteristics on Real Earnings Management: Do Boards and Audit Committees Play a Role in its Constraint.

Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 19(1), 67–84.

Wang, M. and C. Peng (2015). “Valuation of Exit Strategy under Decaying Abandonment Value.”

Communications in Mathematical Finance, 4(1), 23–42.

Pidluzny, Jonathan. (2015). “Why the Arab Spring Failed: The Cultural Roots of the Arab Predicament,” Middle East Review of International Studies 17:2 (2015).

Conroy, Christina (2015) “Branch-Relative Identity”. In Guay and Pradeu, eds., Individuals Across the Sciences. Oxford University Press: New York Finch, J. (2015). Visual Literacy and Art History: Teaching Images and Objects in Digital Environments. In Baylen, D. & D’Alba, A. (Eds.), Visualizing Learning: Essentials of Teaching and Integrating Visual and Media Literacy (pp. 251-264). New York: Springer.

Masson, Marilyn A., Timothy S. Hare, Carlos Peraza Lope, Bárbara C. Escamilla Ojeda, Elizabeth H. Paris, Betsy Kohut, Bradley W. Russell, and Wilberth Cruz Alvarado. 2016. “Household Craft Production in the Prehispanic Urban Setting of Mayapán, Yucatan, Mexico.” Journal of Archaeological Research, February. doi:10.1007/s10814–016–9091-x Mesa-Gaido, E. (2015). “Then and Now” series (selected works). In the blind peer-reviewed, regional Contemporary South exhibition. Raleigh, North Carolina Visual Art Exchange. MesaGaido received the 1st place award and her work was described by Dave Delcambre in Artsnow as “A pair of small but exquisite works” that have a “stunning” effect.

Taylor, K. “The Teller and the Tale: Meta- and Micro-narratives in the Chansons de Toile” in The Cloister and the Court: Studies in Honor of Glyn Burgess, University of Arizona Press, 2016.

Williams, Tom. Among the Wild Mulattos & Other Tales. Huntsville, TX: Texas Review Press, 2015. Named a Great Read of 2015 by National Public Radio.

Thomas, J. N., Fisher, M. H., Jong, C., Schack, E. O., Krause, L. R., & Kasten, S. (November 2015). Professional noticing: Learning to teach responsively. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, v21(4).

10

Hughes, A. N., & Gibbons, M. M. (2016). Understanding the Career Development of Underprepared College Students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, Doi: 1521025116644262.

A. Witkowski, T., A. N. Grice, M. A. Peterson, D. B. Stinnett, W. K. Wells, and J. M. Hare.

2016. UmuDAb: An error-prone polymerase accessory homolog whose N-terminal domain is required for repression of DNA damage inducible gene expression in Acinetobacter baylyi. PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0152013.

Morehead State University delivers strong and affordable education for friendly, ambitious students who thrive in a student-focused learning environment defined by small class sizes and faculty committed to teaching and student success.

Morehead State was recognized for the 12th consecutive year as one of the top public universities in the South in the 2015 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S.News & World Report. In 2015, G.I. Jobs magazine ranked Morehead State in the top 20 percent of veteran-friendly colleges, universities and trade schools in the nation.

Morehead State is located in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County. The more than 700-acre main campus within the city limits of Morehead includes more than 50 major structures with a total replacement value of more than $650 million.

Beyond the city, the University’s real estate holdings include the 320-acre Derrickson Agricultural Complex, Eagle Trace, a par-72, 6,902-yard public golf course, and 166-acres of the Browning Orchard. The instructional plant includes 135 classrooms and 150 laboratories. Housing facilities include space for approximately 2,900 students in a variety of living styles, including traditional residence halls, suites and apartments. The University has erected a space tracking system in partnership with NASA. The second component of the Space Science Center opened in 2009 — a $16.6 million instruction and research support facility.

11

www.moreheadstate.edu MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity, educational institution.