Faculty and Staff Notes

Announcing the 2011 Thompson Award Recipients

Morningside College presented the 2011 Thomas S. Thompson Staff Excellence Awards to Jessica Jones-Sitzmann, head softball coach; Lisa Krohn, administrative assistant to the president; Dr. Mary Leida, dean of advising and associate dean of students; Andre McWell, director of Student Success; Janice Petersen, secretary for graduate studies; and Bill Schindel, general maintenance. Leida also was named staff employee of the year. Recipients were selected based upon their demonstration of outstanding dedication, service and commitment to Morningside and its students during the 2010-2011 academic year. President John Reynders presented the awards at the annual holiday and recognition banquet in December. Each recipient received a cash bonus. Funding for the annual awards comes from an endowment established by Margaret Thompson, wife of the late Thomas S. Thompson, who served as president of Morningside from 1969 to 1978.

Jones-Sitzmann

joined the college in 1996 as an assistant softball coach and was named head coach in 1999. As a standout athlete in high school and college, she built a list of honors that included school records and all-state and All-American recognition. Her 13-year career as head coach at Morningside has added more accolades: several Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) coach of the year titles, regular season and post-season championships, and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament appearances. She is the winningest softball coach in Morningside history.

Krohn came to work for Morningside in 1999 as the administrative assistant to the president. She has many skills that make for a highly effective and likeable employee. The president’s office is one of the busiest offices on campus. It could not function without her ability to organize, plan and deal with last-minute changes. There are always unexpected assignments. For example, last summer she managed the check-in and check-out of more than 100 flood victims living temporarily in the dorms. Krohn doesn’t have the easiest job on campus, but she always handles it with grace and exceptional competence.

Leida began working at Morningside in 1987 as an assistant professor of biology. During almost 25 years at Morningside, she has been called upon to wear many hats: chair of the biology department, associate dean for academic affairs, coordinator of first-year programs, and now dean of advising and associate dean of students. She demonstrates her dedication and commitment to students and to the college in so many ways. It is apparent in her work with students. It is apparent in her wise counsel and effective leadership on a variety of task forces and committees.

McWell started working for Morningside in 2002 as an assistant track and cross country coach. He became director of the Student Success program in 2005. He makes every effort to ensure that high risk students are successful at Morningside. If it means coming in early and staying late, he does it because a student will benefit from the extra time. If a student has an important off-campus appointment and no car, no problem. He will drive them. Needless to say, commitment like this builds strong, productive relationships with students. It also makes the Student Success program a valuable campus resource. Petersen came to work for Morningside in 1986 as secretary to the associate dean for continuing education, and she started working in the graduate studies department in 1990. She does many things well, but she has been singled out for excellent customer service. Prospective and current graduate education students get high-caliber customer service, and that same commitment to customer service is evident when she deals with employees in other departments on campus. She is a team player who makes life as pleasant as possible for everyone with whom she comes in contact.

Schindel joined the maintenance department at Morningside in 2005. He has been described as steadfast, dependable and a jack of all trades who really is good at everything he does. During a typical week, he will tackle a wide variety of projects that impact students, faculty, staff and administrators. He sees what needs to be done and does it without being told. The results of his work can be seen in almost every college building and facility, as well as on the campus grounds. From snow removal to assembling and setting up new chairs and tables for a classroom, he takes pride in a job well done.

faculty and staffnotes

Aaron Bunker, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, gave a presentation at the American Physiological Society meeting in San Diego, Calif. He provided tips on using the online learning platform Moodle as a supplemental virtual classroom when teaching physiology.

Marty (Steele) Knepper 1972, Ph.D., professor and chair of English, presented a paper at the national meeting of the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association in Boston. Her paper focused on the suicide of feminist literary critic Carolyn Heilbrun, also known as mystery writer Amanda Cross.

Chad Leugers, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of biology, co-authored a chapter for a book about the molecular biology of neurodegenerative diseases. "Tau and Tauopathies" appears in volume 107 of the book "Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science.” Leugers co-authored the chapter with Gloria Lee, his graduate school advisor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Pam Mickelson, Ed.D., professor of business, wrote a book that was recently published, and she gave presentations in Missouri and Texas. “The Brand Builder Workbook” was published by The Copy Workshop in Chicago. It is a step-by-step guide to creating a marketing campaign, from identification of a situation or problem to creative execution of a pitch. Mickelson wrote the book using more than 20 years of experience working with Morningside College students to develop marketing campaigns for local businesses and nonprofit organizations. The book is available through the Morningside College Bookstore. At the Marketing Management Association’s educator’s conference in St. Louis, Mo., Mickelson gave a presentation called “Student Evaluation Feedback: Using the Results Productively.” At Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, Mickelson spoke to consumer behavior and marketing communication classes. She focused on the use of qualitative research in decision-making and the process of creating a branding campaign.

Joan Nielsen, Ed. Spec., associate professor of education and director of Project Unlimited Proficiency (PUP), and Caroline Donaway 1996, M.A., PUP project manager, were presenters at Iowa’s 26th Culture & Language Conference in Coralville. Nielsen gave a presentation about a five-year collaboration where universities in multiple states used the same curriculum to assist teachers working with English Language Learners. Donaway led an interactive session to strengthen the skills of those who face language barriers in their schools. PUP is a federally-funded program at Morningside College where area teachers receive scholarships for courses to become certified to work with English Language Learners.

Heather L. Reid, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, gave invited lectures at the Royal Institute of Philosophy in London and at the University of Rome Foro Italico in Italy. In London, she talked about how the Olympic Games originated in religious sacrifice. Based on this heritage, she argued that the modern Olympic Games should dedicate themselves to humanitarian rather than commercial goals. In Rome, she talked about her paper “Philosophy, Democracy and Sport: From Pythagoras’ Gymnasium to Plato’s Academy,” which explains the connections between philosophy, democracy and sport in the ancient world based on research from her recent book “Athletics and Philosophy in the Ancient World: Contests of Virtue.”

Andy Thomas, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of chemistry, and student Lyra Christianson were awarded access to one of the world’s fastest supercomputers for a research project. They used the Kraken supercomputer housed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to study lipid molecules in bacterial membranes. Internet connections allowed them to run their research simulations on the Kraken supercomputer without leaving the Morningside campus.

Jessica Tinklenberg deVega, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious studies, is co-author of the recently published book “All You Wanted to Know, But Didn’t Think You Could Ask: Religions, Cults, and Popular Beliefs.” The book is a compendium of short chapters on 40 different world religions and belief systems. It is written for upper-level high school and early college students. Tinklenberg deVega wrote the book with Christine Ortega Gaurkee, an instructor in Eastern religions at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Fla. It is available at the Morningside College Bookstore. Leslie Werden, Ph.D., assistant professor and chair of writing and rhetoric, was appointed vice president of the Independent Writing Departments and Programs Affiliate. The organization is an affiliate of the Council of Writing Program Administrators, a national association of writing professionals with interests in developing and directing writing programs. Werden will serve as vice president for two years, president for two years and past president for two years.

Jill Wilson, D.M.A., assistant professor of music, had a paper selected for presentation at two summer seminars in Greece. Her paper, “Informal Learning in the Collegiate Music Classroom,” was selected for presentation at the 18th International Music in the Schools & Teacher Education Commission Seminar in Komotini, Greece, and for poster presentation at the 30th International Society for Music Education World Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece.

New Staff

Hoonch Cleveland, floor technician, is responsible for floor care, cleanliness of assigned areas and other duties established by the director of physical plant and custodial supervisor. He came to Morningside from Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Neb., where he worked in the maintenance department.

Colleen McMahon-

Levine, custodian, is responsible for cleanliness of assigned areas and other duties established by the director of physical plant and custodial supervisor. She previously worked at the Tyson Events Center as a security officer and member of the clean-up crew.