2017-18 Graduate College Honors Convocation

2017-18 Graduate College Honors Convocation Graduate Student Research and Creative Scholar Awards and

Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards Thursday, April 26, 2018 John T. Bernhard Center West Ballroom

April 26, 2018 Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Administrators, and Friends, On behalf of the Graduate College and the Graduate Studies Council, I welcome you to this annual celebration of graduate student achievement.

Today we honor the accomplishments of those graduate students who, after a highly competitive review process, have been chosen to receive the All-University Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards and the AllUniversity Research and Creative Scholar Awards. These awards are the highest presented to graduate students by the University, and they recognize students who exemplify significant contribution to the University’s instructional and learning mission and those who have demonstrated excellence in original research or creative scholarship. We also recognize the outstanding achievement of those graduate students who have received the departmental level of distinction in teaching or research/scholarship.

These awardees represent a vast array of academic disciplines from the humanities, to the sciences, to the health-care and teaching professions.

Their creative and intellectual contributions are inspirational and play a vital role in our learner-centered, discovery-driven, and globally engaged university.

In addition, the Graduate College and the Office of Faculty Development recognize those students who participated in the Graduate Student Teaching Institute and spent the past year working with a mentor who has helped them assess their teaching practices, refine teaching and learning approaches, improve communication for diverse learners, and build a teaching portfolio showcasing their expertise as teacher and communicator.

These are very impressive students, and we are so proud of each and every one. I thank you for joining us in the recognition and celebration of our graduate students.

Sincerely,

Christine Byrd-Jacobs, Ph.D. Acting Dean, Graduate College

Program Appetizer Buffet 5 p.m.

Welcome 5:15 to 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, Acting Dean, Graduate College

Dr. Edward B. Montgomery, President, WMU Dr. Susan Stapleton, Interim Provost, WMU Recognition of All-University Award Recipients 5:30 to 5:50 p.m.

Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, Acting Dean, Graduate College Dr. Timothy J. Michael, Vice Chair, Graduate Studies Council

Recognition of Departmental Award Recipients 5:50 to 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, Acting Dean, Graduate College Dr. Timothy J. Michael, Vice Chair, Graduate Studies Council

Recognition of Teaching Credential Recipients 6:30 to 6:45 p.m.

Dr. Christine Byrd-Jacobs, Acting Dean, Graduate College Dr. Jan Gabel-Goes, Director, Faculty Development Dr. Staci Perryman-Clark, Associate Director, Faculty Development

Closing Remarks

Recognition of Graduate Scholars and Teachers The Graduate Studies Council has established two annual award programs to recognize graduate student contributions at Western Michigan University: the Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Awards and the Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards. The Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Awards were established in 1986 to acknowledge graduate students’ contributions to the scholarly and artistic productivity of WMU. The Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Awards were established in 1998 to recognize effective teaching done at WMU by graduate students as assistants to faculty, as independent instructors, or in other capacities that directly promote and facilitate student learning.

Nominations for both programs are sought on an annual basis by the Graduate College from the academic departments. Each student nominated by an academic program becomes the recipient of the award at the Department level. From among the Department award recipients for each program, a selection committee of the Graduate Studies Council selects those students whose research or creative activity, or whose work as a graduate teacher, has exceptional merit. These are designated as recipients of the award at the All-University level. Students selected for All-University recognition will have this designation placed on their official University transcript and in the commencement program.

The Graduate College and the Graduate Studies Council are pleased to recognize the 2017-18 recipients of these awards.

2017-18 All-University Graduate Student Research and Creative Scholar Award Recipients

Hazim Al-Zubaidi, Chemistry Hazim, a fifth-year doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry, has developed a novel process to create nanoparticles that can be used as the fuel source for conversion of biomass to biofuel. Currently this process uses crude oil as the catalyst. Replacing crude oil with biorenewable sources improves sustainability and will enable efficient production of commodity chemicals while protecting the environment. Significantly, the process Hazim has developed takes place at room temperature, under low pressure, and in water, all of which increase sustainability and could save industry millions of dollars annually. He has received national recognition from the American Chemical Association and has co-authored seven articles that have been published or are in press in peerreviewed journals. Nominator and advisor Dr. Sherine Obare also lauded Hazim for his excellent teaching and assistance in transforming the first-year chemistry curriculum. Upon graduation in fall 2018 Hazim plans to carry out postdoctoral research in nanoscale chemistry and become a professor.

Carolyn Borcherding, Music Carolyn will receive her Master of Music in music composition in 2018 and has already received compelling offers for doctoral study at top universities across the nation. Her advisor, Dr. David Loberg-Code, places Carolyn in the top ten students in her field of electroacoustic music composition. Her works have been performed at seven national adjudicated academic conferences during her two years at WMU, and several works have been performed in multiple venues. This is highly significant since student works are usually performed once and never again. Carolyn has also shown a dedication to engaging with the public outside academe; she has performed for seniors at Friendship Village, been involved with Art Hop in Kalamazoo and given public performances to promote the Indiana dunes. Carolyn has served as President of the Western Student Composers Alliance, currently teaches Basic Music Theory and Live Sound Practicum and has maintained a 4.0 grade point average.

She intends to continue to push the boundaries between music and other art forms, as well as pursue a doctoral degree to teach at the university level.

Christel Ciolino, Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences Christel will earn her Master of Arts in speech-language pathology in May. Her work examines the pragmatic language and social communication of children who have histories of maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure. Her thesis is significant because current literature has not focused on these specific coordinates among this population, though children exposed to alcohol in utero experience trauma at a high rate. While analyzing retrospective data, Christel reviewed the entire body of literature and presented at the national conference of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association in 2017. This is the premier national professional, scientific and credentialing association for the discipline. Her nominator, Dr. Yvette Hyter, predicts that Christel's work will make a significant contribution to the field by improving access to trauma-informed linguistic intervention. The intent of Christel’s research is to help children label, explain and understand difficult emotions stemming from traumatic experiences, thereby improving outcomes for their lives.

Sean English, Mathematics Sean finds his sweet spot at the edges of monochromatic hypergraph theory, in a currently active area of mathematical inquiry. While completing his doctorate with Dr. Andrzej Dudek in the Department of Mathematics, Sean has distinguished himself not only for the implications of his research but by developing a robust network of collaborators from outside WMU. He has seven published papers in highly selective, mainstream professional journals and has four more papers submitted or in review. As an invited speaker, Sean has presented at numerous conferences, workshops and seminars with the American Mathematical Society, the Graduate Student Combinatorics Conference and at Graph Theory Seminar at Arizona State University. He has actively sought and procured funding independent of his advisors, receiving seven grants totaling more than $10,000. With his research interest in graphs and hypergraphs, specifically focusing on probabilistic and extremal combinatorics, Sean expects a post-doctoral placement at a prestigious university and has a goal of using mathematics to solve real-world problems.

Henry Goble, Communication Henry has worked in the Communication and Social Robotics Lab for the past three years as a student in the Master of Arts in communication. During this time he has worked with Dr. Chad Edwards on projects related to social media and chatbots, social robots and human-robot interaction. His research on interpersonal communication with machines, including perceptions of honesty in robots and perceived racial identity of twitterbots, has resulted in an article in a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, Henry has led an experiment in the field of human-machine communication looking at vocal fillers and social presence.

The paper upon which the experiment was based was accepted at the International Communication Associations Conference in 2017. Henry will continue his education at the doctoral level with research into privacy communication with machines such as Amazon Echo, Siri and Alexa. In this way, he hopes to make significant contributions to society.

Cody Greene, English Cody, who will receive his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in May, has already published stories in several well-regarded literary journals, most recently placing his work "Big Cats" in Pacifica Literary Review, both online and in print. His nominator and advisor, Professor Thisbe Nissen, characterizes Cody as "universally respected and admired" by the entire creative writing community at WMU. She has recommended him for acceptance into the Iowa Writer's Workshop, which has produced some of the greatest 20th century American writers, for a second MFA. He has attended prestigious workshops, including New York State Summer Writers Institute and is being considered for fellowships at top creative writing programs around the country. Cody is currently Managing Editor at Third Coast Magazine and taught Fiction Writing and Advanced Fiction Writing. After graduation he will continue writing and publishing, teaching, participating in creative writing workshops and acting as mentor to other writers.

Anita Li, Psychology Anita works with Dr. Al Poling in the Department of Psychology and expects to receive her doctoral degree in July 2018. Anita has contributed to three publications, with four more in press, one in review and one manuscript in preparation. She has co-authored 12 conference posters, seven of those as first author. Anita presented her paper on psychotropic drugs and Autism Spectrum Disorder by invitation at the 2017 Association for Behavior Analysis International Conference in Paris and again, by invitation, at the Applied Behavior Analysis: Theory and Practice 2017 Conference in Moscow. She has presented papers and posters at conferences across the United States as well. Her work has focused on autism and psychotropic medication, as well as the participation of women in behavior analysis research. Dr. Poling reports that Anita has been a notable student, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, and an effective member of the department whose scholarly work is exceptional both in quality and quantity.

Majdi Maabreh, Computer Science With graduation approaching, Madji, Computer Science, has been preparing for post-doctoral life by interning at a major pharmaceutical company in Kalamazoo. As vast quantities of data available through genomic testing have become accessible to researchers, searching the various databases for comparable protein structures has become more and more time consuming. Madji has developed solutions to mine both structured and unstructured data sets, which are then used to design and implement new algorithms for more efficient searching. Madji's innovative solutions in open-source protein search engines allow for more efficient big-data intensive solutions that promise to optimize search engine performance. According to nominator and advisor Dr. Ajay Gupta, Madji's research, which has resulted in seven peer-reviewed papers published in the last two years, has established his strong credentials in the field of bio-informatics, machine learning, and High Performance Computing. He plans to continue working toward streamlining access for biological researchers in order to validate data and enhance reproducibility of experiment results.

Rachel Maceri, Human Performance and Health Education Rachel will receive her Master of Science in exercise physiology on April 28, after having assisted advisor and nominator Dr. Nicholas Hansen in designing an experiment on the effect of caffeine on 10K run performance in the heat. She also performed the data collection and will assist with processing the data, analyzing the results, and writing the manuscript, which will be submitted to the European Journal of Applied Physiology. Upon publication Rachel will have two peer-reviewed articles in major journals in her field. She had an abstract accepted at the Midwest regional meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in November. Rachel has been a teaching assistant and understands the value of university service, sitting on the College Curriculum Committee for the College of Education and Human Development. She plans to pursue a PhD in fall 2018 and advance her current research to investigate brain wave activity in thermal environments to aid athletes in pacing and performance.

Peggy McNeal, Mallinson Institute for Science Education Peggy attained her doctorate from Mallinson Institute for Science Education (MISE) with an offer of a tenure-track position of Assistant Professor of Geosciences at Towson University. Her groundbreaking work in the area of educating meteorologists focuses on the role of cognition: using spatial thinking, working memory, knowledge and expertise in weather patterns to identify the crucial skills students need to make weather predictions. She has presented at the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, as well as published five firstauthored papers. Her multi-paper dissertation format heralds a new model for other students in MISE to follow. Her nominator and advisor, Dr. Heather Petcovic, reports that Peggy received the first Iris Totten Geoscience Education Research Award from the Geological Society of America.

Peggy has accomplished all this while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average and completing her doctorate in record time: 3.5 years. She plans to use her data to inform future research in teaching meteorology.

Hossein Mohammadi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hossein, PhD candidate in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department began working with Dr. John Patten on the Micro Laser Assisted Machining Process in 2013. Hossein has become the lead researcher on Laser Augmented Diamond Drilling. LADD simplifies drilling hard, brittle and challenging materials such as ceramics and composites by focusing a laser through the tip of a diamond drill. Hossein applied for and was granted a U. S. patent through the Office of the Vice President for Research at WMU. Chrysler Automotive invited Hossein to present at its headquarters. He has published 20 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and presented his research at numerous industry conferences, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineering. He has also received funding from the National Science Foundation. He has not decided whether to pursue a career in industry or in teaching at the university level.

Mariam Mustafa, Comparative Religion Throughout her pursuit of the Master of Arts in comparative religion, Mariam has focused on the dynamics of race, class and gender for minority religious groups, specifically LGBTQ Muslims. Her interest in the use of social media to connect and inspire activists from marginalized groups has led to several conference presentations. She co-authored an article in Michigan Family Review titled “Couple Relationships of Transgender Individuals and Their Partners: A 2017 Update.� Dr. Alisa Perkins notes that Mariam has an advanced understanding of the significant time and effort required to bring ideas to fruition, and a corresponding ability to structure her work realistically for maximum results. This is crucial for researchers in the digital age, which Mariam will continue to explore as she pursues a second master's degree in Human Rights at the University of Minnesota. There she will maintain interaction with activists in the queer Muslim community, which has informed her work.

Elizabeth Palmer, Geosciences Elizabeth, doctoral candidate in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, came to WMU with impressive credentials, including a master's degree in geophysics and space physics from UCLA. She has since distinguished herself by going above and beyond expectations for the geosciences doctoral program, according to her nominator, Dr. Mohammed Sultan. Using radar remote sensing observations generated by the NASA Dawn spacecraft, Elizabeth discovered new evidence for the occurrence of ground-ice on an asteroid. This is a major find; since asteroids are rocky, airless bodies that scientists had believed were depleted of any water during their formation. She has published in two influential peerreviewed journals and presented at the annual American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. In summer 2017, she worked with the Qatar Foundation using ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic probe to investigate sites for deep aquifers. Her goal is to work with NASA as a planetary geophysicist with a focus on determining safe landing sites for future space missions to asteroids.

Rebecca Straple, English Rebecca, PhD candidate in the Department of English focuses on the body in motion in medieval literature.

According to her nominator and advisor, Dr. Jana Schulman, Becky uses the metaphor of movement to discern women's engagement in early medieval life. During her dissertation research, she has developed a nuanced evaluation system to pull useful information from primary documents that frequently obscure women's participation. In keeping with her focus on gendered movement, Becky has co-organized several panels at the International Congress of Medieval Studies, both independently and with the scholarly organization, A Feminist Renaissance in AngloSaxon Studies. She has also choreographed and performed in Early Music Michigan's Cosmic Dance, featuring the choral compositions of Hildegard von Bingen, and Visitatio Sepulchri, a popular medieval liturgical drama. Becky has a book chapter forthcoming and is assistant editor of Hortulus: The Online Journal of Medieval Graduate Studies. She is currently finishing her dissertation and expanding her research interest in women's roles in medieval society through Old English textual analysis.

2017-18 All-University Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award Recipients

Brian Dietz, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Brian, recommended for this award in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology, holds the title of Assistant Dean of Students at Kalamazoo College. Nominators Drs. Ramona Lewis, Regina Garza Mitchell and Donna Talbot cite his learner centered and discovery driven approaches in the classroom and his standing as a true scholar-practitioner. His commitment to collaboration and reaching across traditional campus boundaries bring fresh insight to the classroom environment for both students and colleagues. He has become the departmental content expert on higher education law, which he teaches in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program (HESA). Brian is also involved with professional development and scholarship. He has presented at national associations and published in numerous student affairs journals. With innovative techniques, Brian has extensively revised syllabi for his classes and brought more real-world assignments to graduate students in the HESA program.

Brian has earned consistently high ratings from those students who find his classroom particularly conducive to learning.

Jessica Doster, English Though a new teaching assistant, Jessica has distinguished herself as one of the most professional and thoughtful instructors of ENGL 1050 - Intensive, according to nominators Drs. Staci Perryman-Clark and Adrienne Redding of the Department of English. She is a strong course manager with an equally sophisticated toolkit for one-on-one instruction, which is crucial in the writingintensive program courses. She is the sole TA for the entire roster of ENGL 1050 Intensive Program instructors, handling administrative tasks as well as helping students new to the program. In collaboration with departmental faculty she has improved processes and outcomes for the program. Jessica herself notes that while she was initially nervous, she came to have a great rapport with students through techniques such as keeping numerous assignments ungraded or credit/no credit, thereby taking away some of the fear for beginning students. After earning her Master of Arts in English this semester, she plans to pursue a second master’s degree in library science.

Jonathan Hochmuth, Psychology Jonathan, who is pursuing a Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Behavior Management, is a consistently strong collaborator in course design, most significantly in PSY 3440, according to nominator Dr. Heather McGee of the Department of Psychology. He presents empirically tested ideas for course structure, assignment design and feedback systems that have been successfully implemented. Jon has actively mentored junior graduate student instructors in the Department of Psychology and models the concepts and techniques that are at the core of the courses he teaches. One standard practice he implements in his classes is a strong interpersonal connection with his students. He gets to know the class makeup, which then informs the examples he uses to illustrate the concepts being taught. With continual improvement as his goal, he is helping to re-design PSY 3440 with a new text, lectures, and activities starting in fall 2018. At that time Jonathan, will shift his focus to completing his dissertation and plans to obtain a faculty position to continue teaching and researching.

Rebecca Kolb, Psychology Rebecca’s evolution as an educator in the Department of Psychology was outlined by her nominators, Drs. Heather McGee and Stephanie Peterson. She began as a TA in a very challenging undergraduate psychology course, Research Methods, and soon helped develop new approaches to improve undergraduate paper writing as well as content. Throughout her career at WMU, she has sought new challenges and gone above expectations. She has emerged as a strong leader as well as a team player in developing new courses, and making structural changes to existing courses. She has encouraged students to reach out for mentorship opportunities as well as promoted learning through community engagement. In an elective course, PSY 3456, Behavioral Approaches to Sustainability, she worked with students to introduce them to grant-writing protocols which illustrates her multi-dimensional skill set as an educator. She plans to finish her doctorate and continue teaching, mentoring and researching.

John Leonard, Music John has been nominated by Dr. David Loberg-Code for his work as a TA in the area of Wind Conducting in the School of Music. John has had a successful career as a university and high school band conductor and has stepped seamlessly into rehearsing and conducting with University Concert Band and Symphonic Band. Confidence, poise, thorough preparation and a kind demeanor have endeared him to his students, who give him exceptionally high evaluations. He is routinely lauded by students for his friendly, humorous approach that makes class fun but also provides an effective learning environment. With his extensive history of teaching, arranging, writing, band directing, conducting and professional development at such institutions at University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Northwestern University in Boston, John not only has had a distinguished career in music but also has a promising future as a university-level conductor and band director.

Brian Lunn, Sociology Brian has a passion for teaching and his students have noted his kindness and fairness in the classroom. He has also demonstrated an ability to make difficult concepts more accessible in two Research Methods courses most dreaded by undergraduates in the Department of Sociology. Methods courses are difficult, but Brian spends time to bring in new technology to increase engagement, such as Socrative, a free software application that mimics iClicker. Nominator Dr. Susan Carlson pointed out that Brian routinely gets positive reviews and comments from students in his classes.

Notably, they commend him for using real-life examples, modifying his approach when students are confused, and presenting the material in a straightforward manner, without digressions. Brian seeks to help students develop a "sociological imagination" and learn to evaluate the world empirically. He enjoys teaching methods courses and data collection specifically, with the goal of becoming a faculty member at a university when he completes his doctoral degree.

Joan Martinez, Industrial Engineering Joan brings energy to his classroom that makes him one of the most popular instructors in the Department of Industrial and Entrepreneurial Engineering & Engineering Management, according to his supervisor, Dr. Azim Houshyar. Joan's ability in the classroom led him to be selected as Dr. Houshyar's teaching assistant in all his classes. He notes that Joan has even been able to step in with a new class preparation on very short notice. His rapport with students and creative approaches help him explain difficult topics in a way that promotes learning. He uses novel, real-world examples that engage students, and then brings the subject into the world of engineering simulation, helping them internalize, rather than memorize, the information discussing his research in ergonomics and healthcare systems engineering. Joan helps students understand system parameters and constraints. These students appreciate these pragmatic thinking skills. Joan consistently receives some of the highest student evaluations in the department. He plans to work in higher education at a doctoral institution.

Keli Masten, English Keli has developed a classroom persona that is both approachable and authoritative, according to nominator Dr. Scott Slawinski. He particularly notes her in-depth preparation, which helps undergraduates in the Department of English better understand and engage with difficult material. Keli did biographical background research on early colonial American authors, then made their often dry, antiquated prose come to life for today's digitally engaged students. Her Master of Arts in the Practice of Teaching has given her tools to successfully work with students of varying abilities and confidently work toward her own doctorate in literature and language with specializations in Gothic literature, utopian/dystopian worlds, and the detective novel. She looks forward to completing her dissertation and teaching full-time, preferably with beginning learners. Keli is also committed to community involvement, particularly in helping newcomers to the U.S. write in English and navigate their new surroundings.

Jennifer O’Brien, Mathematics As Jennifer works with undergraduate students in the Department of Mathematics, she is responsible for making or breaking many budding careers. According to nominator Dr. Steven Ziebarth, understanding and passing early math courses can mean the difference between continuing on in such varied majors as engineering, statistics, business, economics, the sciences, and elementary teaching of math and science. A teacher who clarifies these often difficult concepts is of paramount importance in retaining undergraduates by keeping them on track for their chosen careers. Jennifer is one of the rare graduate teaching assistants who can engage students with hands-on tasks, online activities, and new technologies (Geogebra), as well as diagnose and remediate problems before students get discouraged. She enjoys the daily contact with students and plans on looking for a faculty position at a small-scale university. Jennifer finds beauty in mathematics and in music and plays the guitar, drums, and alto saxophone.

Hannah Pankratz, Geosciences Hannah “brought order to chaos� in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences after a long-time instructor retired and left all the class materials for GEOS 4300 in two bulging three-ring binders. Upon inheriting the class, Hannah developed new assignments, presentations, grading keys, and rubrics. According to her nominator, Dr. Peter Voice, Hannah assisted in bringing the course into the 21st century with videos, animations, models, and software to help students recreate and visualize three-dimensional concepts. She assisted with creating a lab manual and oversaw field instruction with an eye to safety and learning.

Hannah has sought pedagogical training on her own to improve her teaching skills. She has reached out to the community through involvement with Michigan Geological Survey’s CoreKids program and through Science Olympiad, where she created events for middle and high school students. Hannah plans to become a professor when she receives her PhD and will focus on research and teaching.

NaTasha Schiller, Biological Sciences NaTasha, PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences is an exceptional teacher who specializes in teaching large classes. Nominator Dr. John Spitsbergen characterizes her as a “messenger of change” who works tirelessly to engage undergraduate students with the “beauty and value of biology in their lives.” The courses she teaches are part of the WMU Gateways to Completion (G2C) initiative, aimed at enhancing student success in highenrollment 1000- and 2000-level General Education required science and math courses. NaTasha has not only taught within the Gateway program, she is G2C committee chair in biological sciences. She has presented on teaching effectiveness through mentoring and scholarship at conferences around the country and is currently planning visits to senior leaders at other universities to discuss WMU’s Gateways program. Her goal is to improve educational equity for all students; to that end, her ten-year plan includes becoming a member of senior leadership at a large university.

Darcy Sturges, English Darcy was nominated by Dr. Steve Feffer in the Department of English for her teaching of expository and creative writing, but more specifically for her work as an instructor of ENGL 3000, Introduction to Playwriting. In his words, she is “that rare artist who is able to communicate the excellence of her craft…through the difficult and vigorous workshop environment.” Balancing her own insights with attention to the voices of her students, Darcy leads exercises she developed to enhance her students’ dramatic writing work. She has written and developed several original plays for production, been published, won a variety of awards for teaching a playwriting, and shows a commitment to professional development. When she completes her Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting at WMU, she plans to move to Chicago and pursue a career in teaching and playwriting.

She has written and produced a play on sustainability, which is a three-time regional award winner. Darcy is known for her commitment to social and environmental efficacy, which she imparts to her students through her teaching methods.

Allison Witucki, Mallinson Institute for Science Education Allison has a unique talent for accommodating her students’ learning styles without compromising the delivery of planned material. Dr. Brandy Ann-Skjold Pleasants, of the Mallinson Institute for Science Education (MISE), characterized Allison as comfortable in a traditional classroom setting, but able to pivot to a student-centered approach that is more in line with the goals of MISE. A well-organized natural leader, Allison spent an entire summer sorting and revising course supplies and materials, organizing them into units, and labeling them for easy retrieval by the entire department. Allison views science as a creative, culturally embedded process that changes with new knowledge and evidence. Her commitment to active learning leads her to establish an interactive classroom, with small groups and hands-on activities that allow students to see how others learn in a safe, judgement-free atmosphere.

In her future career, she plans to implement these practices as a professor and researcher at a university or college.

2017-18 Department Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Award Recipients ________________________________________________

Doctoral Level Nouf Almutaril, Special Education and Literacy Studies Abubkr Abuhagr, Chemistry Justin Arnold, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Ariel Berry, English Sean English, Mathematics Julia Ftacek, English Douglas Greer, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Mohammed Hussain, Electrical and Computer Engineering Anita Li, Psychology George Lluberes, Political Science Alexander Luck, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Majdi Maabreh, Computer Science Robert Makin, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Tristan McBain, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Hossein Mohammadi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Mary Ochieng, Mathematics Frank Ofori-Acheampong, Economics Elizabeth Palmer, Geosciences Sandra Raak, Spanish Kristin Roberts, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology NaTasha Schiller, Biological Sciences Sanela Sprecic, Special Education and Literacy Studies Fehime Utkan, Industrial and Entrepreneurial Engineering and Engineering Management Herlik Wibowo, Physics Angela Willson-Conrad, Mallinson Institute for Science Education Kristen Witzel, Sociology Qi Zhang, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Master’s Level Ireland Atkinson, English Derek Benson, History Kathryn Bishop, Educational Foundations Carolyn Borcherding, Music Christel Ciolino, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Brittani Decess, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Nicole Elder, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Henry Goble, Communication Cody Greene, English Vageesha Gunawardana, Chemistry Caroline Kerney, Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies Samantha Lemmer, Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Kayla Lindeman, Frostic School of Art Rachel Maceri, Human Performance and Health Education

Lauren Mingo, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Mariam Mustafa, Comparative Religion Piyush Pokharna, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Enrique Rodriguez Sanchez, Spanish Sam Roodbar, Geography Kelly Ruder, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Beth Ruhlman, Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies Benjamin Seiderman, Geosciences Jamie Smith, Biological Sciences Tamara Toutant, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Tyler Wall, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Krystal York, Electrical and Computer Engineering Qingyi Zhang, Family and Consumer Sciences

2017-18 Department Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award Recipients _________________________________ Doctoral Level Barbara Agens, Mallinson Institute for Science Education Hazim Alzubaidi, Chemistry Taylor Birkholz, Biological Sciences Michael Bischak, Physics Kathleen Bolter, Political Science Aqeed Chyad, Civil and Construction Engineering Dynetta Clark, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Brian Dietz, Educational Leadership, Research and Technology Alba Fernandez, Spanish Martha Golubski, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Claire Herhold, History Rebecca Kolb, Psychology Brian Lunn, Sociology

Joan Martinez, Industrial Engineering Megan Michalczak, Special Education and Literacy Studies Jennifer O’Brien, Mathematics Frank Ofori-Acheampong, Economics Sara Olivares, English Hannah Pankratz, Geosciences Zahra Salemi Najafabadi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Laura Tinigin, Mallinson Institute for Science Education Juan Villanueva Ramirez, Electrical and Computer Engineering Lacey Wolfer, English Master’s Level Trenton Benedict, Geography Charlie Bouverette, Comparative Religion Jessica Cheung, Family and Consumer Sciences Kevin Coulter, Mathematics Jessica Doster, English Kendra Flournoy, English

Lydia Gildea, Human Performance and Health Education Jia Guo, Computer Science Jonathan Hochmuth, Psychology Karolina Jevaltaite, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Sydne Johnson, History Christy Kalata, Biological Sciences Angela Kennedy, Biological Sciences Emily Kerul, Spanish Margaret Kieckhafer, Music Erin Kishman, Human Performance and Health Education Samantha Lemmer, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Abby Leonard, Bronson School of Nursing John Leonard, Music Nicholas Moleski, Geosciences Prajna Paramita, Manufacturing Engineering Christopher Proctor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Zachary Reinke, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Marina Thelen, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology Emile Van Meter, Chemistry

The Graduate College and the

Office of Faculty Development proudly recognize students from the 2017 class of the

Graduate Student Teaching Intensive who successfully completed all requirements.  Khushi Bhatt, Physics Megan A. Kuk, Industrial and Entrepreneurial Engineering and Engineering Management Brian D. Lunn, Sociology Joan Yamil Martinez, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Zanovia Tucker, Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology

Acknowledgements The Graduate College gratefully acknowledges those who contributed to this annual awards event.

Graduate Studies Council Graduate Research and Creative Scholar Selection Committee Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Selection Committee and All Council members who served on these committees Office of Faculty Development Graduate Student Association (GSA) Mr. Marcial Amaury Pineda Moquete, President Ms. Zahra Ameli Renani, Vice President Bernhard Center Staff Graduate College Staff A special ‘thank you’ to the students from WMU’s School of Music for their contribution: Negar Afazel, violin Jon Barnes, cello