Scholarship and Recognition
Nathaniel Greene, professor of physics, wrote an Energy Harvest grant, "Bloomsburg University Wood-Chip Boiler Replacement of Coal Stoker," which was awarded $500,000 by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Aug. 26.
The project was developed in collaboration with Eric Milner, assistant vice president of administration. Siemens Corporation has been selected to retrofit BU's central steam heating plant to burn biomass fuel (wood chips) in a new, high-capacity boiler. When the project is completed, the heating plant will have the flexibility to burn wood chips, natural gas, and coal, with the latter being significantly reduced.
John R. Grandzol, professor of management, was elected chair of the Advisory Council for the Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance, a consortium of more than 350 North American universities that integrate Dynamics software products into their business and information systems curricula.
As chair, Grandzol coordinates and directs the efforts of the council's faculty members, representing thirteen different universities, to develop relevant strategies that stimulate curricular cross-functional integration and technology enhancements.
Grandzol has served as BU's representative to the Academic Alliance for the past five years and played a key role in Microsoft recognizing the College of Business with its Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Education in 2006. Grandzol is also serving as guest editor for the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education's special topic forum, "Leveraging Enterprise System Technology for Curricular Innovation and Redesign," scheduled for publication in mid-2010.
Gifford Howarth, assistant professor of music, was selected adjudicator for the National Bands of America High School Marching Band contest at Towson University in Towson, Md., on Oct. 10.
There were 13 bands from five states in the competition. Howarth was one of seven nationally selected adjudicators.
Thomas Starmack, assistant professor of educational studies and secondary education, recently had an article, "Mentoring for High Quality Instruction Using Adult Learning Theory: Lesson From Research and Practice," published the new NCTM special three-volume Empowering the Mentor series.
Williams Emeka Obiozor, assistant professor of exceptionality programs, along with Margret O'Connor, associate professor of business education and Doreen Jowi, assistant professor of communications studies attended the PASSHE Weekend Writing Retreat & Workshop from Aug. 13 to 16.
The weekend writing program meant for faculty/researchers from different state system universities attracted the participation of writing experts and peer-review journal authors who shared innovative strategies on researching and writing acceptable papers for publication. The workshop took place at the Toftrees Golf Resort and Conference Center, State College.
Eric Affsprung, assistant professor and psychological counselor with the Center for Counseling and Human Development, authored a review of two books about working with Native American college students, which was published in Making Connections: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Cultural Diversity.
Affsprung also recently authored an essay concerning the interface of detective fiction and the work of the psychotherapist, "Whodunnit? (And Why Do You Ask?)," which appeared in the Pennsylvania Psychologist.
Marilee Salvator, assistant professor of Art, is currently exhibiting her research in a solo exhibition, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" at Open Studio in Toronto Ontario.
The exhibition is about collecting and appropriating imagery to explore Salvator's past and address broader, historically embedded issues surrounding the roles and stereotypes of woman. Open Studio is Canada's leading center for research in the field of printmaking. Salvator recently returned from installing her work, attending the opening reception and giving an artist talk.
Tim Knoster, associate professor of exceptionality programs, has been selected by Pennsylvania's Bureau of Juvenile Justice, in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, to serve on a sub-committee to guide the development of the Developmental Disabilities Training Curriculum.
The curriculum will be used by the department in its training endeavors with its staff across the state commencing this fall. In addition, Knoster was contacted to serve as lead author of the content for a 30-hour training curriculum for counselors in the Juvenile Justice System. Knoster's consultative activities were funded through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation and emphasized the development of training curriculum that would be applicable to the Pennsylvania's Bureau of Juvenile Justice, as well as other states to improve the knowledge and skills of staff working with juvenile offenders who have developmental disabilities.
Jerry Wemple, professor of English, was a featured reader at the recent Third Annual Stillwater Poetry festival. The festival included several nationally known poets, as well has jazz and acoustic music. Wemple is the author to two collections of poetry.
Barry Jackson, professor and director of DAWN, recently served as an invited guest expert to the New Zealand Minister of Health Forum on Addictions in Wellington on Sept. 9.
Jackson was among 40 national and international addictions treatment specialists invited to testify to the ministerial staff and the Minister of Health. The next day, Jackson was the keynote speaker for the New Zealand national addictions treatment and intervention conference, "The Cutting Edge." His speech on brief interventions for alcohol abuse and dependency was given to more than 300 addiction practioners in the social services and medicine.
Jackson was the guest of the National Addictions Centre in Christ Church. The center serves the research and educational needs of the professional addictions service providers in this nation of 4.5 million people.
Walter Brasch, professor of journalism, has been selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition of Who's Who in America, published since 1899, for the 15th continuous year.
Brasch was previously listed in Who's Who in the West for five years when he lived in California and later in Who's Who in the East. He is also listed in Who's Who in the Media. Outside of BU, Brasch is an award-winning syndicated columnist, author, and producer. He is currently president of the Pennsylvania Press Club.
John O. Okpara, associate professor of management, presented a paper, "Perspectives on Corporate Governance Challenges in a Sub-Saharan African Economy" at the annual American Business Research Conference in New York, Sept. 28 to 29. His paper won the best paper award at the conference.
Brian C. Johnson, academic adviser/Act 101 part-time program coordinator/Frederick Douglass Institute Director, recently won the 2009 Philli C. Chinn Book Award by the Multicultural Program Awards Committee of the National Association for Multicultural Education.
Johnson is the coauthor of "Reel Diversity: A Teachers Sourcebook (Counterpoints: Studies in the Post-modern Theory of Education)," a resource manual for teachers who want to infuse the concepts of diversity and social justice into their secondary and college courses. He will receive the award at the 19th Annual International NAME Conference in Denver, Col., from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.
Nathalie G. Cornelius, associate professor of French, has had her review of Azadee Nichapour's Parfois la beaute published in the October 2009 edition of The French Review.
In the review, Cornelius analyzes how Nichapour, originally from Iran, uses poetic language to redefine her identity by fusing images from her childhood with those of contemporary France.
Jason Godeke, assistant professor of Drawing and Design, had a solo show, "Departures: Drawings and Paintings," at Illinois Central College, in Peoria, IL, from Aug. 26 to Sept. 19.
Godeke was also part of a two-person show with BU adjunct instructor, Chad Andrews, in Williamsport at Java Juice Art Gallery and Cafe. The exhibit was reviewed by the Williamsport Sun Gazette. In addition, Godeke was part of a group show of graduate alumni at Stony Brook University, on Long Island, New York, which was up through September.
Stephen Whitworth, associate professor of English, recently organized a student conference on literature and psychoanalysis, "Psychosexual Haunting in Henry James and William Shakespeare."
The conference took place at the Alumni House on Oct. 10 and examined the relationship between sexuality and identity. The conference was sponsored by the Bloomsburg Dead Letter Society, the local chapter of the international Ecole de Psychanalyse des Forums du Champ Lacanien. Whitworth was officially invited to become a member of the EPFCL this fall.
Thomas Starmack, assistant professor of educational studies and secondary education, developed BU's first Principals Academy, which recently launched its three-year program designed for local principals and school administrators to earn continuing education credits closer to home.
The academy is an approved Pennsylvania Department of Education principal induction program and written to meet the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership Core Standards. It targets first-year principals, although veteran principals and school administrators can also participate. Starmack serves as the academy's lead instructor.
M. Safa Saracoglu, assistant professor of history, presented a variety of papers involving his research at several conferences over the summer, including an invited talk at Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin, Germany, in August.
Saracoglu presented, "Resilient Notables: Looking at the Transformation of the Ottoman Empire from the Local Level" and "Contested Spaces of Nobility" in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 28-30. He then presented "'Those Cattle Thieves:' Immigrants, Land-Use and Violence in a Nineteenth Century Ottoman County" as part of the World Congress of Environmental History in Copenhagen, Denmark, in Aug. 4-8. Saracoglu concluded his summer by presenting "Writing the Immigrants into the Local Record" at an invited talk at Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin, Germany, on Aug. 11.
Joseph Andreacci, associate professor of exercise science, is a co-author on the manuscript, "Comparison of Body Composition Measurements from Contact-Electrode Bioimpedance Analyzers with Air-Displacement Plethysmography in Young Adults."
The manuscript appears in the September 2009 issue of the International Journal of Body Composition Research.
Alan Goodboy, assistant professor of communication studies, is the lead author or coauthor of five publications in peer reviewed journals, including the Atlantic Journal of Communication and Journal of Classroom Interaction.
His latest research appears in The Qualitative Report, Psychological Reports and Communication Research Reports.
Nicole Defenbaugh, assistant professor of communication studies and theater arts, co-authored a book chapter published this past spring, "Mentoring relationships: Creating a future for qualitative inquiry."
In May, she attended the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry Conference in Urbana, Ill., and co-presented on a panel about crystallization in qualitative research. Defenbaugh was recently nominated for the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, & Gender Teacher-Mentor award and in July was a national winner for a video contest about ulcerative colitis.
Eric Rawson, associate professor of exercise science, recently delivered/co-authored three presentations at the Annual Conference of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle, Wash.
The presentations included, "Physical Activity and Cognitive Processing in Older Men and Women," "Dairy Intake and Cardiorespiratory Fitness Influence C-reactive Protein Levels in Young, Healthy, Non-obese Individuals," and "Estimation of Energy Expenditure During Resistance Training Using Accelerometry." Three BU graduate and seven undergraduate students were co-authors on these research presentations.
Conrad Quintyn, assistant professor of anthropology, co-authored an article with Sarah Wagner, of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, "Dismantling a national icon: Genetic testing and the tomb of the unknowns."
The article can be found in 2009 Anthropology News 50(5):7-9.
Sheng Ding, assistant professor of political science, recently published a refereed journal article and two peer-reviewed book chapters. "Informing the Masses and Heeding Public Opinion: China's New Internet-Related Policy Initiatives to Deal with its Governance Crisis" was published in Journal of Information Technology and Politics. "A Concealed Regionalization without Historical Roots: A New Form of Regionalism in Rising China's Foreign Policy" was published in an edited volume from Ashgate.
And "To Build a Government of Better Transparency and More Accountability: The CCP's Governance Performance in the Hu Era" is forthcoming in an edited volume from Rowman & Littlefield (in print).
Shaheen Awan, professor of speech pathology, was recently named a Fellow by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, one of the highest honors ASHA bestows. Awan's work focuses on computer analysis of disordered speech and voice.
Awan has published 35 research articles and book chapters, and is the author of The Voice Diagnostic Protocol. His recent research has focused on the development and validation of acoustic models for the prediction of dysphonia severity in sustained vowels and continuous speech. In addition, Awan has been active in developing clinically-oriented computer software for speech and voice assessment and is a consultant with KayPentax in Lincoln Park, N.J., and Tiger DRS Inc. in Seattle, Wash.
Betina Entzminger, associate professor of English, gave a presentation, "Jesus us Poisonwood: Christianity, Economic Imperialism, and White Masculinity in Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women" at the American Literature Association meeting on May 24 in Boston.
Deeanne Wymer, professor of anthropology, had the chapter, "The Paleoethnobotanical Assemblage from the 1971-1977 Excavations at the Seip Earthworks" published in Re-Interpretation of a Group of Hopewell Low Mounds and Structures, Seip Earthworks, Ross County, Ohio.
The publication is a special volume of the Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Volume 34 (1). The volume brings together a number of archaeologists and specialists to re-examine materials and original paperwork from earlier 1970s excavations and to offer new interpretations of this famous Ohio site.
Ferda Asya, associate Professor of English, presented a paper, "An Expatriate Coup d'Oeil at World Events in Edith Wharton's In Morocco and Diane Johnson's Lulu in Marrakech," and chaired two conference panels, "Women and Ghosts" and "Gender Issues and Contemporary Fiction," at the 20th Annual Conference of American Literature Association in Boston, Mass., held in May.
Stephen Whitworth, associate professor of English, recently spoke as an invited lecturer at the bi-annual English-Speaking Symposium of the Ecole de Psychanalyse des Forums du Champ Lacanien in Paris. His paper, "Ravage: Between Masculine Sexuality and Analytic Desire," will be featured as the first essay in a 2010 book published by the Ecole, "Sexual Identity and the Unconcious."
Whitworth was afterwards invited by the Ecole to speak at its 2010 Congress in Rome, on the subject of "the mysteries of the speaking body." His paper, "Transference and the Telepathy of the Wound-Mouth in the Mother-Son Relation: Crashaw's 'Sancta Maria Dolorum." The Bloomsburg psychoanalytic study group Whitworth advises, the Dead Letter Society, has been registered as an outreach affiliate activity of both the Forum and the Ecole.
Jorge González, assistant professor of audiology and speech language pathology, recently began a consulting relationship with Neuro-Kinetics in Pittsburgh. In July, González spent three days in Seoul, South Korea, providing technical and clinical instruction on the use of the rotational chair to audiologists and physicians. In August, González gave a two and a half day workshop on advanced rotational testing at the James A. Haley Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Tampa, Fla.
González is currently conducting a number of research projects, including some student doctoral theses using the NKI Neuro-Otologic Test Center rotational chair. BU is one of a handful of sites outside of the military and V.A. systems that has one of these advanced diagnostic tools.
Andrea Fradkin, assistant professor of exercise science, recently presented two papers at the American College of Sports Medicine International Meeting in Seattle.
One of the presentations, "The Science of Warm-up" was an one-hour invited tutorial lecture. The other presentation, "Does warming-up improve physical performances? A systematic review with meta analysis," was a free communication presentation.
Joseph Andreacci, associate professor of exercise science, along with former exercise science students, Luis Ramos, Elise Fitzgerald and Dan Reppert, co-authored the manuscript, "The Effect of Acute Fluid Consumption on Measures of Impedance and Percent Body Fat using Segmental Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis," which appears in the September 2009 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Melissa Taylor, assistant professor of communication studies and theatre arts, was the lead author of an article, "Students' perceptions of e-mail interaction during student-professor advising sessions," published in the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication.
Other authors included Doreen Jowi, Howard Schreier and Dale Bertelsen. Taylor also presented a paper, "A selective overview of message design logic studies across contexts. What have we learned?" to the Eastern Communication Association in Philadelphia.
Tara Diehl, instructor of developmental mathematics, recently received certification as a developmental education specialist from the Kellogg Institute, which offers month-long living and learning experience for educators who work with academically underprepared college students.
Diehl was one of 45 educators selected from across the U.S. to participate during the 2008-09 academic year.
Dennis Hwang, professor of accounting, published his paper, "The Effects of Guanxi (relationship/personal connections) on Accounting and Auditing," on Friends of Accounting (4th Issue, 2009) in China.
The paper was selected the key article of the issue, and he as the cover figure (photo was taken by BU information writer, Eric Foster). Hwang also presented, "The SEC Roadmap on the IFRS Convergence and the Prospective," in an accounting conference in China.
Faith Warner, associate professor of anthropology, has an article, "Ethical Considerations for Digital Fieldwork: Cyberethnography and IRBs" published in the Sept. 2009 volume of Anthropology News Special Edition "Codifying Ethics," the world's largest professional organization of anthropologists: "Anthropology News."
The article addresses the need for development of ethical guidelines in doing online ethnographic research through a discussion of the relationship between anthropologists and IRBS.
Conrad Quintyn, assistant professor of anthropology, published a paper, "The naming of new species in hominin evolution: A radical proposal – A temporary cessation in assigning new names," which addresses the possibility of the overestimation of fossil species in hominin evolution.
Quintyn's paper can be found in the 2009 Journal of Comparative Human Biology 60(4):307-341 and available online.
Marilee Salvator, assistant professor of art, recently returned from China after spending a month with 15 international artists. The trip included the 2009 China Sanbao International Printmaking Exhibition and Symposium held at Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute University, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi where she exhibited and lectured on her recent printmaking research.
Salvator also gave a second lecture at Shangxi University, Tai Yuan, Shangxi. The exhibition will travel around the country for the next year and include the publication of a catalog and the artists' experience in the country will be documented in a forthcoming book published by Shangxi University.
Other recent research highlights include her work being included in "The Exhibition of The Stream of International Prints," Anyang, South Korea, including a catalogue publication and recent solo exhibition, "Circles," at Fairbanks Gallery at Oregon State University.
Barry Jackson, professor and director of BU's DAWN Office was named Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Primary Care and General Practice at the University of Otago School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Wellington, New Zealand.
Jackson is assisting in the development of primary care protocols for screening and treatment of patients who present to the hospital's emergency department with substance abuse issues. Additionally, he is lecturing fourth- and fifth-year medical students in methods of addiction assessment. His assignment also includes consulting with the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, the governmental agency that determines legislation and policy for the sale and use of alcohol. Jackson returns from sabbatical in January.
Luke Springman, associate professor of German and chair of BU's Department of Languages and Cultures, lectured at the 20th Biennial Congress of the International Research Society for Children's Literature in Frankfurt, Germany, from August 8 to 12.
His lecture, "Die Vermarktung des 'dunklen Kontinents'im Afrikabild der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur der Weimarer Republik (Marketing the 'Dark Continent' in the Image of Africa in Children's Literature of the Weimar Republic)," was given to more than 400 scholars from 43 countries. The theme of the Congress was Children's Literature and Cultural Diversity.
Jacqueline Leslie, who graduated from BU in May, was awarded a full travel grant by the Health Physics Society to present her research at the 54th annual Health Physics Society meeting, which was held from July 12 to 16 in Minneapolis at the Hilton/Minneapolis Convention Center.
Approximately 900 professional Health Physicists attended the meeting that included nearly 280 presentations. Leslie performed her research in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Jones and Jared Treas, of Geisinger Medical Center, and under the supervision of Dr. Naz Afarin Fallahian, assistant professor in BU's Physics and Engineering Technology Department. This collaboration was established in 2008 by David Simpson, associate professor and coordinator of BU's Health Physics Program. It provides a unique opportunity for the BU students to conduct research in a nearby major medical and research center.
The abstract of Leslie's research, "Dose Assessments and Quality Assurance in Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)," was approved as an oral presentation and was published in the American Journal of the Health Physics Society in July 2009.
BU students attend special education conference
Sixteen graduate students of BU's Department of Exceptionality Programs were among the sponsored participants at the Jones Center for Excellence in Special Education conference on autism, held on July 10 at the Bloomsburg Area High School.
Attending were Bethany Varano, Brian Rees, Christina Grendzinski, Diana-Lee Stenglein, Elsie Shaffer, Heather Bartholomew, Heather Miller, Holly Sulouff, Jennifer Barreca, Kristen Onder, Kristin Cercone, Kristen Seiwell, Melissa Wehry, Nichoel Schoch and Sandra Remphrey.
"I was honored to have been part of the collaborative team efforts of many talented people who worked diligently toward a common goal of providing all participants an opportunity to explore, learn and share successful collaboration strategies for effective teaming outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities," said Grendzinski, who led the student delegates and volunteered at the conference. The student delegation was coordinated by Williams Emeka Obiozor, assistant professor and course instructor in the Department of Exceptionality Programs.
Margie Eckroth-Bucher, associate professor of nursing, had an article, Preserving Cognition Through an Integrated Cognitive Stimulation and Training Program, published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias, featuring the preliminary experimental study she completed with colleague, James Siberski, director of the Geriatric Care Manager Program at Misericordia University.
Eckroth-Bucher received a Faculty Professional Development Grant and a Theta Zeta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing Grant to support the study. A larger follow-up study, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, is in the data analysis phase.
John O. Okpara, associate professor of management, has been invited by Cambridge University's Judge Business School in the United Kingdom to join "Transforming Business: Enterprise Solutions to Poverty" research team as an international research associate.
Established in 1989, the Judge Business School is an internationally recognized provider of innovative, intellectually challenging management education, encouraging critical reflection and creativity.
Patricia J. Beyer, associate professor of geography and geosciences, presented a research poster, "Comparison of Two Highly Regulated Dryland Rivers: Physical and Human Context," at the First Biennial Symposium for the International Society for River Science, held from July 12 to 17 in St. Pete Beach, Fla.
This research represents work completed during Beyer's Spring 2009 sabbatical. She also chaired a session on Fluvial Geomorphology at the Symposium.
Walter Brasch, professor of journalism, was recently honored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists for his work in online journalism. The NSNC presented Brasch with an honorable mention at its annual convention in Ventura, Calif. Other winners were from online editions of the Sacramento Bee, Philadelphia Inquirer, CBSNews, and the Huffington Post.
Brasch is senior editor of one major online newspaper and senior correspondent or featured columnist at several others. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists (Spotlight Awards competition) gave Brasch first place awards for his print column. Brasch also received first in environmental writing from SPJ and first in government/political writing from the PPC.
Williams Emeka Obiozor, assistant professor of education and exceptionality programs, presented a paper at the University of Nigeria in May on "Globalization of Special Education and Vocational Training: A Case for Effective Exceptional Program Services in Nigerian Public Schools."
Obiozor's presentation was made at the Faculty of Education International Conference in Nsukka Campus, Enugu State of Nigeria, which held from May 13 to 16. Also, Obiozor chaired a workshop session on "Globalization, Education and Enterpreneurship" during the conference.
Nada Jevtic, assistant professor of physics and engineering technology, gave an oral presentation on "Identifying Chaotic and Quasiperiodic Time-Series Candidates for Efficient Nonlinear Projective Noise Reduction" at the 2nd Chaotic Modeling and Simulation International Conference, held from June 1 to 5 in Greece.
More than 230 presentations were given at the conference by participants representing 44 countries. Jevtic’s presentation covered work done in collaboration with Jeffrey Schweitzer, a professor at the University of Connecticut. The paper is currently under consideration for publication in "Selected Papers from CHAOS 2009 International Conference" to be published by World Scientific Publishers.
Joan Miller, assistant professor of nursing, recently chaired a symposium at the International Council of Nursing Conference from June 27 to July 4 in Durban, South Africa. The symposium, "Good Work in Nursing: A cross Cultural Comparison of Competencies Needed to Promote Quality Care," addressed nursing concerns in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Iran. Papers presented addressed the challenges nurses encounter in different cultures.
Despite the unique challenges, particularly those encountered in Iran, nurses in the three cultures call for a healthy work environment, one based on trust, and a return to the core values of nursing. The application of a Toolkit to promote good work in nursing was introduced. As an outcome of this conference, Miller's research addressing good work in nursing will be advanced through collaboration with investigators from other cultures to evaluate the toolkit as an innovative teaching strategy.
Michael Patte, associate professor of education, recently had his empirical research study, "The State of Recess in Pennsylvania Elementary Schools: A Continuing Tradition or a Distant Memory," published in the peer-reviewed Play and Culture Studies, Volume 9. In addition, Patte was recently contracted to co-author a book in the New Childhoods Series by The Continuum International Publishing Group, "Rethinking Children's Play," with Fraser Brown from Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. Further, Patte co-presented a session, "The Play Experience: Igniting Passion, Leadership, and Teacher Action Research" at the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 18th Annual National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development in Charlotte, N.C., in June.
Patte also participated as a co-presenter and panelist at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Institute in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in Early, June. His presentation, "Families of the 21st Century: Developing Skills for Successful Collaboration in Challenging Times," explored logistical and psychological barriers impeding partnerships between home and school and practical strategies for breaking them down. The panel discussion, "Forging New Alliances Through Mutual Understanding Between Early Childhood and Elementary Educators: Chapter 49-2 Implementation," explored the challenges and successes of planning for the PreK-4 Certification changes across universities in Pennsylvania.
A. Blair Staley, professor of accounting, was re-appointed to the editorial board of the ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research for the 2009-10 academic year. The electronic journal solicits manuscripts not currently under consideration by another journal or publisher. Additionally, the journal publishes studies employing legal research methodologies that logically and clearly identify, describe, and illuminate important current tax issues including the history, development, and congressional intent of specific provisions; propose improvements in tax systems and unique solutions to problems and critically analyze proposed or recent tax rule changes from both technical and policy perspectives.
Margie Eckroth-Bucher, associate professor of nursing, presented a poster at the Drexel University Nursing Education Institute in Arlington, Va., from June 4 to 6. Her poster, "Using the Process Model of Self-Awareness to Facilitate Growth of Self in Undergraduate Nursing Students," discussed the use of the theoretical model she created as a result of research on the development of self-awareness. Drexel's continuing nursing education, which has managed conferences for more than 30 years across the country, offers conferences for nurse educators, staff development, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants.
Sharon Santus, instructor of mass communications, recently served as a judge in The New York Press Club Awards for Journalism. Santus helped judge best Web exclusive content, political coverage, spot news, business reporting and entries in the highest category, the prestigious Gold Keyboard Award. Winners included The New York Times, Newsweek, TIME and Fortune. Santus, an award-winning reporter and editor, formerly taught at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and is the former president of the Pennsylvania Women's Press Association.
Eric Affsprung, psychological counselor with the Center for Counseling and Human Development, authored an essay on the antisocial student that was recently published in the American College Counseling Association newsletter. Affsprung was also a recent guest lecturer at New York University speaking on antisocial behaviors on Wall Street. Additionally, he presented a poster on the legal challenges facing college counseling centers at the annual convention of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and was elected to its board of directors. Among the PPA’s missions is to advocate for increased public access to psychological services and offer continuing education for psychologists.
Elena Litvinova, instructor of developmental instructions, recently received certification as a developmental education specialist from the Kellogg Institute, which offers month-long living and learning experience for educators who work with academically underprepared college students. Litvinova was one of 45 educators selected from across the U.S. to participate during the 2008-09 academic year.
Tim Knoster, associate professor of exceptionality, was the keynote speaker at the 11th annual national conference of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates in Washington, D.C., on March 7. Knoster spoke on "The Essential Elements of Positive Behavior Support" to more than 500 special education attorneys and disability rights advocates. COPPA is considered a national voice for special education rights across the U.S. Knoster also presented “The Nuts and Bolts of Preventative Classroom management: PBS in the Classroom,” to 250 participants at the 6th annual International Conference of the Association for Positive Behavior Support on March 27 in Jacksonville, Fla. Additionally, Knoster was the keynote speaker of the annual Kappa Delta Pi (honor society) conference at Mercyhurst College on April 16 and recently the second edition of “Designing Positive Behavior Support Plans,” which illustrates effective person-centered approaches to working with students who have disabilities and problem behavior.
Timothy McConnell, chair of the exercise science department, will present a paper on how "Rural and Urban Characteristics Impact Cardiovascular Risk Reduction," in the upcoming 24th annual meeting of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Pittsburgh from Oct. 1 to 3. McConnell will be joined by Anastacia Frank, a BU graduate student, who will present a paper on demographic indicators of disease specific quality of life in cardiac rehabilitation.
Marilyn Miller, associate professor of exercise science, was among 30 presenters at the International Patellofemoral Joint Research Retreat from April 30 through May 2 in Baltimore. Her research on “An evaluation of the efficacy of two treatment protocols in the management of patellofemoral pain in females,” was presented to 50 conference participants from the U.S., Italy, Australia, Brazil, Wales, Germany, Belgium, England, Israel and Thailand.
Camille Belolan, assistant professor of writing in developmental instruction, recently had an article, “Can Color Boost Memory and Creativity?” published in the summer 2009 issue of the PADE Informer, a publication of the Pennsylvania Association of Developmental Educators. PADE is a statewide professional, non-profit, educational organization addressing the needs and interests of developmental educators in postsecondary institutions.
Mark Decker, assistant professor of English, presented “The Mysteries of Los Angeles; or, They Live as an Update of the City Mysteries Genre,” on June 13 at the Science Fiction Research Association Annual Conference in Atlanta. Last year, Decker contributed a chapter, "Politicized Dystopia and Biomedical Imaginaries: The Case of 'The Machine Stops,'" to New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction.
Jerry Wemple, associate professor of English, gave poetry readings on June 19 at the Hamilton Arts Collective in Baltimore and on June 20 at York Arts in York, Pa. Wemple, who has authored two poetry collections, also chaired a panel at the Northeast Modern Language Association Convention in Boston earlier this year. The panel, "Writing the Region: Readings from Writers Rooted in Place," consisted of five publishing authors discussing how a sense of place influences their work.
Noreen Chiktoas, associate professor of nursing, presented a poster on June 6 at the Drexel University Nursing Education Institute in Arlington, Va. Her poster "Lecture in the Education and Practice of the Nurse Practitioner," represented research she conducted during a recent sabbatical. Drexel's continuing nursing education, which has managed conferences for more than 30 years across the country, offers conferences for nurse educators, staff development, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants.