Faculty and Staff Notes

Patrick Blaine, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish, presented on methods for teaching film at the Cine-Lit VII Conference at Portland State University in Portland, Ore. His presentation shared bibliographies and filmographies for teaching courses on the literature and film of Argentina and Chile from a number of different perspectives. Blaine also is revising a book manuscript titled “Recovering Democracy in Chilean Film and Narrative.” Michael Calvillo 1985, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, gave a presentation at the 11th annual Iowa Teachers of Psychology conference at Central College in Pella, Iowa. During the presentation, Calvillo demonstrated a teaching technique he uses which combines multiple technology products – such as PowerPoint and Moodle, a learning management system – to conduct live, interactive experiments in the classroom. Sam Clovis, D.P.A., professor and chair of business administration and economics, presented five “Serious Civics” lectures at Morningside College. His lectures examined conservative thought and progressivism in the United States; key components – and proponents – of capitalism, socialism and communism; various templates for evaluating presidential candidates; and the impact economic philosophies are likely to have on the next presidential election based on lessons from history. David Elder, Ph.D. (ABD), assistant professor of writing and rhetoric; Jeremy Schnieder, Ph.D., assistant professor of writing and rhetoric; and Leslie Werden, Ph.D., assistant professor and chair of writing and rhetoric, are conducting a research project that will follow a cohort of students over four years at Morningside and gather data on what writing skills they bring to college, which skills they transfer from class to class, and which skills they have upon graduation. The professors created a pilot program to test the idea this spring, and they plan to launch the full project in August. James Fisk, M.L.S., college librarian and assistant professor; John Kolbo 1977, B.A., instructor of art; and Pam Mickelson, Ed.D., professor of business administration, were presenters at the Marketing Management Association’s annual fall educators’ conference held in Indianapolis, Ind. They offered information on how faculty can provide a more comprehensive marketing and graphic design education through crossdepartmental cooperation. Mickelson also served on a panel looking at best practices for using technology in the classroom. William Heyborne, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, co-wrote an article with two off-campus colleagues that has been published in the May/June issue of the Journal of College Science Teaching. The article, “A Comparison of Two Forms of Assessment in an Introductory Biology Laboratory Course,” provides evidence that student performance differs depending on the format of exams, and states that substituting one question type with another may have profound implications with regard to student performance and learning. Jan D. Hodge, Ph.D., professor emeritus of English, continues to write poetry. Several of his poems appeared in the anthology “Tipping the Sacred Cow: Overturning Myth, Fairytales, and Legends,” and another in the anthology “New Sun Rising,” a volume published to raise money for disaster relief for Japan. His 'signature' poem, "Carousel," appears in the new edition of Lewis Turco's standard reference work The New Book of Forms, and his double-dactyl rendering of a tale from the “Arabian Nights” can be found online in the most recent issue of Lavender Review. Mary Kovarna, Ed.D., professor and chair of nursing education, joined the board of directors for Sunrise Retirement Community of Sioux City. Sunrise is Siouxland's largest community-based not-for-profit retirement community that provides the entire continuum of care for seniors from independent living to specialized memory care for individuals with Alzheimer's and related disorders. Pam Mickelson, Ed.D., professor of business administration, was selected to receive a 2011 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award at the 2011 Marketing Management Association Spring Conference in Chicago. The Marketing Management Association is a worldwide organization of both business people and academics who are involved in marketing. Joan Nielsen, Ed. Spec., associate professor of education and director of Project Unlimited Proficiency, was a presenter at the National Association for Multicultural Education Third Regional Conference in Kansas City, Mo. With faculty members from three other universities, she presented preliminary outcomes of a five-year collaboration where universities in multiple states used the same curriculum to assist teachers working with English language learners. Jen Peterson, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, had a chapter published in the book “Approaches to Teaching the Works of Tim O’Brien,” which was edited by Alex Vernon and Catherine Calloway. Her chapter applies two prevalent postmodern theories to “In the Lake of the Woods.” She details specific ways in which an instructor can draw students into analysis of the novel’s form as well as into the narrative itself. Heather L. Reid, Ph.D., professor and chair of philosophy, presented her paper “Athletics and Aesthetics” at the third annual geo-aesthetics conference that was sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Environment, Space and Place at Towson State University in Maryland. The paper surveyed the similarities between sport and art and the ethical connection between beauty and goodness as embodied in the ancient Greek gymnastic ideal of kalokagathia. Her article, "East to Olympia: Recentering Olympic Philosophy between East and West," was published in Olympika, the journal of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario. The article interprets the Olympic movement's official philosophy according to both Eastern and Western philosophies and argues that a balanced approach between the two perspectives better reflects the ancient Hellenic heritage of the Olympic Games. Reid also has two books coming out this summer: "Aretism - an Ancient Sports Philosophy for the Modern Sports World," which she co-wrote with Mark Holowchak, and "Athletics and Philosophy in the Ancient World: Contests of Virtue." Rachel Robson, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, and Susan Burns, Ph.D., associate dean for academic affairs, collaborated on an article that has been published in the May issue of the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. The article is about a teaching technique Robson developed at Morningside to help students understand the role of random mutations in evolution. No teaching technique has ever been shown to improve students’ understanding of this concept before. Robson and Burns showed that, following this lesson, students were more than two times better at explaining how genetic mutations occur than they were before the lesson. Burns’ role was to collect and analyze data regarding the teaching technique.

faculty and staffnotes

Jeremy Schnieder, Ph.D., assistant professor of writing and rhetoric, received an award from the International Journal of Sport and Society for a paper he wrote, and he was invited to present the paper at a conference in India. Schnieder won the International Award for Excellence in the area of Sport and Society. His paper, “And the Crowd Goes Wild: Fan Participation as Epideictic Rhetoric,” was selected by editors from the 10 highest-ranked papers emerging from the referee process. Jim Stroh, Ph.D., professor of biology, will work with students in August on a weeklong intensive survey of the Five Ridge Prairie Wildlife Management Area. Located just north of Sioux City, Five Ridge Prairie is one of the largest tracts of native prairie left in Iowa. The Morningside group will try to determine what species of mammals and reptiles are living on this important prairie remnant. Molly Williams, J.D., professor of business administration, attended the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Leadership Conference in Arlington, Va. She attended as incoming president of Siouxland SHRM, a local chapter with over 100 members. The mission of SHRM is to serve the business community through education, networking and sharing best practices in the management of personnel. Jill Wilson, D.M.A., assistant professor of music, presented research for her dissertation, “Practices of and Attitudes Toward Treble Choral Ensembles,” at the international Research in Music Education conference at the University of Exeter in England, and she was selected to give a poster presentation on her research at the Summer Symposium of the Society for Research in Music Education in Washington, D.C. Wilson also was named editor of the Sounding Board, a quarterly publication of the Iowa Choral Directors Association, and she is joining the Iowa Music Educators Association Board as the Society for Music Teacher Education chair.

New Staff

Monica Curry, copy center technician, has been hired to assist with the coordination of production activities in the copy center, operate high-volume copy equipment and related production equipment, and supervise student workers. She previously worked for Midwest Office Automations in Sioux City. Curry has a bachelor’s degree from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City.

Keenan Ganz, offensive coordinator, has joined the full-time football coaching staff after assisting the Mustangs for three previous seasons, last year as the team’s wide receivers coach. Ganz previously was an assistant coach at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo. He also was a coach at the 2006 and 2007 Tim Dwight Camps in Iowa City, Iowa. Ganz has a bachelor’s degree from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan.

Sara Horn, head volleyball coach, was hired in December after previously serving as head coach at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In 2010 she guided the Tritons to a 22-17 record and a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 11 Semifinals. She also has coaching experience at Millard North High School in Omaha, Neb., and Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb. Horn has a master’s degree from Wayne State College. Aaron Orndorff, technology services supervisor, has been hired to work as a member of the information services team to ensure that timely, effective computer support is provided to the students, faculty and staff. He performs technical and administrative duties in the technology service center, and he supervises student workers and third-party vendors. He previously worked at Riverside Technologies Inc. in North Sioux City, S.D. Orndorff has a bachelor’s degree from Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo.

New Staff Appointments

Jim Braunschweig 2006 assumed new faculty and staffnotes duties as social media manager. He is responsible for developing and executing a social media strategy that supports communications and enrollment initiatives

while increasing online awareness. Braunschweig has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College. Ashley Brewer 2007 assumed new duties as admissions recruitment specialist. She is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with prospective high school sophomore and junior students. Her position also includes the research and development of niche markets. Brewer has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College. Casey Jacobsen assumed new duties as co-defensive coordinator for the Mustang football team. He is the dean among the Mustangs' assistant coaches with seven years of service. He was the team's special teams and linebackers coach during the 2010 season and also served as the athletic department's equipment manager. Jacobsen previously coached at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. He has a bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University. Steph (Mohr) Peters 1999 is assuming new duties as director of admissions. She is responsible for managing the admissions counselors and staff, providing information and guidance about Morningside College to prospective students and their families, and researching, developing and implementing marketing plans by segmenting territory and outlining objectives and action steps to achieve enrollment goals. Peters has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College. Randee (Ball) Small 1988 has assumed new duties as graphic services manager/webmaster. She has taken on the additional responsibilities of managing the copy center and overseeing the mailroom. She also continues to design collegerelated publications and coordinate development of website content and page design. Small has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College. Amy (Gerdes) Williams 1998 has assumed new duties as senior enrollment specialist. She is responsible for developing and implementing a plan to identify, recruit and enroll traditional freshmen. She also is responsible for recommending strategies for effective market positioning, image enhancement and name recognition for the admissions program. Williams has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College.