Lolly Ockerstrom, Ph.D., English associate professor, presented a paper at the International Conference on Virginia Woolf, in June in Georgetown, Ky. Ockerstrom’s paper, “Landscapes, Longing and Cornwall: Virginia Woolf and A.L. Rowse,” examined the impact of childhood experiences in Cornwall in the writings of Woolf, and Rowse, a 20th century critic and historian.
Laurie DiPadova-Stocks, Ph.D., School of Graduate and Professional Studies dean, and public administration professor, was recognized by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. DiPadovaStocks received the chapter’s Award for Special Contributions in recognition of her exceptional dedication to the chapter.
Dennis Okerstrom, Ph.D., (left) English professor, and Jane Wood, Ph.D., (right) College of Liberal Arts and Sciences interim dean, and English associate professor, presented papers as part of a panel at the International Hemingway Conference in July in Lausanne, Switzerland. Okerstrom’s paper was on “Ernest Hemingway on Kansas City’s Woodrow Wilson Avenue: The Geography of Gender in a ‘Wonderful and Unsavory’ Town” and Wood’s paper was on “Mores of the Midwest: Hemingway, A Moveable Feast and the Longing for Home.”
Emily Donnelli-Sallee, Ph.D., English associate professor and Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning assistant director, received the inaugural Missouri Campus Compact Engaged Faculty Fellowship. The purpose of the Missouri Campus Compact Engaged Faculty Fellow program is to promote the scholarship of engagement as a rigorous and scholarly form of teaching, research and professional service in the state of Missouri and across the nation. As the 2010-11 Engaged Faculty Fellow, Donnelli will serve as co-editor of the peer-reviewed Missouri Journal of Public Scholarship in Higher Education.
Gerry Walker, D.H.Ed., nursing assistant professor and program chair, presented a session at the Midwest Leadership Institute for Nurse Educators/Deans and Directors in Columbia, Mo., in June. Walker presented the session “Revisiting the Past: Building New Partnerships Using an Old Nursing Model.” The session discussed Park University’s partnership with Truman Medical Centers and described the collaborative process to take Park’s nursing program to TMC. Tim Westcott, Ph.D., history associate professor and Department of Culture and Society chair, provided the keynote session at the Westport Historical Society Speaker Series in August in Kansas City, Mo. Westcott discussed “General Order No. 11” that was issued by Union Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing Jr. on Aug. 25, 1863, in retaliation for a Missouri “Bushwhackers” raid on Lawrence, Kan.
Awards, appointments and recognitions Mike Brown, Ed.D., education adjunct instructor, was honored by the Greater Kansas City, Mo., Principal’s Association as its Middle School Principal of the Year. Brown, principal at Plaza Middle School in the Park Hill (Mo.) School District, was nominated for his work using collaborative leadership that transformed the school through professional learning communities and the organization of “reality teams.”
Lt. Col. Tony Monetti, management adjunct instructor at the Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., Campus Center, was recognized by the Warrensburg, Mo., Chamber of Commerce for his extensive leadership and community involvement. Monetti, director of operations for the 13th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB, was named the Chamber’s “Man of the Year” based on his community leadership, influence, personal characteristics and personification of the Warrensburg “Made Fresh Daily” theme. John Noren, Ph.D., (left) sociology associate professor, and Timothy Westcott, Ph.D. (right), history associate professor and Department of Culture and Society chair, were honored with the Patriot Award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency that acts as a liaison between employers, supervisors and the military. Bijaya Shrestha, Ph.D., computer science adjunct instructor, was awarded a U.S. patent as a co-inventor for “Automatic Detection of Critical Dermoscopy Features for Malignant Melanoma Diagnosis.” This patent is on a process and algorithm, based on training a computer system with advanced logic systems to examine a digitized image of the cancer lesion and reliably recommend whether it is malignant melanoma or benign.
Fall 2010 - 25