Patricia Singer, professor of biology, received the 2017 Distinguished Science Teaching Award from the Iowa Academy of Sciences. The award honors and promotes exceptional and innovative science teaching at an Iowa college or university.
Matthew Lau, assistant professor of music, performed leading roles with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Opera Maine. In St. Louis, Lau sang two of the leading roles, Uncle Albert and The Inspector, in The Trial. This was the American premier by one of American’s most celebrated living composers, Philip Glass, and Maestro Glass was in attendance for opening night of the production. In Portland, Maine, Lau sang the role of Dottor Grenvil in La Traviata, a role he has also sung with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Atlanta Opera and Cedar Rapids Opera among many others. Finally, Lau was awarded “Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year for 2017” from Student Support Services at Simpson College. Katie Smith ’09, assistant professor of sport science and health education, had two articles published in Strength and Conditioning Journal. The first was titled, “Special Populations: Training the Pregnant Client,” and the second, “One-On-One: Guidelines and Practical Tips for Training the Prenatal Client.” Smith also presented “Comparison of Step Count During a Bout of Pokémon Go vs Traditional Aerobic Exercise” at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Conference in Denver. Carolyn Dallinger ’80, professor of sociology and criminal justice, published an article in the Teaching Sociology Journal of the American Sociological Association entitled, “Achieving a Global Mind-Set at Home: Student Engagement with Immigrant Children.”
Maeve Callan, associate professor of religion, organized and chaired a session at the International Medieval Conference at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., commemorating the 1,500th anniversary of St. Darerca’s death. She also presented “Brigid the Bishop, Refuge of Women: Authority, Sex, and Gender in the Lives of an Irish Saint” at the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, held at Hofstra University in New York. This fall, Callan will be presenting “‘All that was in Flooding is Now in Ebb’: Gender and Holy Space in Medieval Ireland” at the Southeastern Medieval Association Annual Meeting at the College of Charleston. Callan has also published four book reviews in academic journals including Zubin Mistry’s Abortion in the Early Middle Ages, c.500–900, in Early Medieval Europe; Andrew Sneddon’s Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland in Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft; Soldiers of Christ: The Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar in Medieval Ireland, in Studia Hibernica; and The Trial of Tempel Anneke: Records of a Witchcraft Trial in Brunswick, Germany, 1663, in The Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality. Callan’s own book, The Templars, the Witch, and the Wild Irish: Vengeance and Heresy in Medieval Ireland, is now available in paperback. Finally, Callan was accepted as one of ten participants from colleges across the country in Interfaith Youth Core’s inaugural year-long Interfaith Assessment Academy. She will be working with Rev. Mara Bailey ’06 to enhance Simpson’s interfaith internship programs. Michael Patterson ’75, professor of music, published a volume of his songs, entitled “22 Songs by Michael Patterson,” written over a period of several decades. These songs are written for high, medium high and medium low voices with piano accompaniments and were inspired by a very disparate collection of poetry admired by the composer. All of the songs were written for faculty, students and professional singers. All proceeds from the sale of this volume go to the Des Moines Metro Opera. 10 SIMPSON COLLEGE
Heather Priess Groben, assistant professor of psychology, graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute’s Community Leadership Program. During her participation in the program, Groben learned about issues facing the Greater Des Moines community, completed training in leadership skill development and worked on a team project for the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC). Groben also completed a research project for the Young Women’s Resource Center (YWRC) in Des Moines, where she assessed the psychometric properties of a new instrument the YWRC developed to assess psychological resilience in the clients it serves. Finally, Groben presented her research behavioral predictors of mathematics engagement at the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting. In this research, middle school students were video recorded completing mathematics tasks with their mothers. Recordings were coded for the types of “mindset” statements made (e.g., mathematics performance reflects innate ability versus effort), which were found to predict mathematics grades, standardized test scores, course selection and career aspirations in high school. This research extends Groben’s recently published longitudinal investigation of mathematics motivation by developing the first behavioral measure of mathematics mindsets. Bill Friedricks, professor of history, authored a book entitled, “A Great State Fair: The Blue Ribbon Foundation and the Revival of the Iowa State Fair.” The book chronicles the history of the Iowa State Fair, how the state almost lost the event and how Iowans came together under inspired leadership to save and build a lasting, high quality fair. Spencer Waugh, director of speech, debate & mock trial, received the John Shields Award from the National Council of Pi Kappa Delta. This award is a testament to his strong efforts to enhance the organizational profile in professional development. n