The state Senate has confirmed Joar Dahn, president of Bloomsburg University’s Community Government Association, to serve on the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Dahn, a senior political science major, joins Brian Swatt, president of the Student Government Association at IUP on the 20-member board that oversees the State System.

Dahn was elected CGA president in April 2017 and serves as the organization’s chief executive officer. He is responsible for supervising the CGA-owned University Store, Honeysuckle Student Apartments and the organization’s employees and professional staff. A Board of Governors Scholar, he also serves as the president of the Class of 2019 and the African Student Association at Bloomsburg. As CGA president, Dahn developed the initiative, “Beyond the Fountain,” a day of dialogue among residents of Bloomsburg and students about the issue of racism in the community.

Bloomsburg University alumnus Caleb Jackson '17 has been honored with the Elijah Watt Sells Award by AICPA. The award is given to candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score of 95.50 across all four sections of the CPA Exam and who have passed all four sections of the examination on their first attempt. Jackson is one of three in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who have received this recognition.

Also, PICPA has announced its 2018 scholarship winners. Four Bloomsburg University accounting majors have received scholarships, including Justin Dickerson, Julie Nicolov and Matthew Swales who earned $2,000 Statewide scholarships and David Lopatka who earned a $1,000 Northeastern Regional scholarship.

Terrance Riley, Ph.D., professor of English, has been named as the Employee of the Month for June. The Employee of the Month recognizes those individuals who serve BU in an exceptional manner with outstanding service through his or her work and a positive and supportive attitude.

"As a faculty member, Terry is continually trying new approaches to teaching materials in order that he can continue to be as effective as possible in service to his students and their learning. As a colleague, he collaborates in ways that encourage inclusivity and a receptive exchange of ideas. As a scholar, he does not rest on his title of full professor. He continues to explore new terrain and areas of study out of genuine enjoyment for research and discovery. The English department relies heavily upon Terry Riley, not only for his wisdom but also for his unflagging contributions to the work of the department and the university.”

Bloomsburg University faculty attended the Lilly Conference on Designing Effective Teaching in Bethesda, Md., from May 31 to June 2, courtesy of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Center (TALE). (L-R) Amarilis Hidalgo de Jesus, Mary Jo Larcom, Dina Clark, Melissa Cheese, Rodger Benefiel, Kristy Sands and Cassandra Sachar.

Lilly-Bethesda is part of the overall Lilly Conference Series. For nearly 40 years, Lilly Conferences on College and University Teaching and Learning have provided opportunities for the presentation of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Faculty and administrators at various stages in their academic careers come from across the United States, representing nearly every discipline found in higher education.

Bloomsburg University’s Board of Governors’ Scholars Program celebrated the graduation of 45 of its members with guest speaker Sakinah Tillman ESQ, an alumna and managing member of Tillman LLC. Tillman, who graduated in 2009 with a bachelor’s in political science, represents clients in collection and appeals matters before the Internal Revenue Service and State Taxing Authorities and advises clients with business formation and tax planning.

At BU, she was a Board of Governor’s scholar, president of the Chi Alpha Epsilon Honor’s Society, treasurer for the Black Cultural Society, and joined Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Currently, she serves as the chair of the Knowledge is Power Committee of the Washington Bar Association and treasurer for I-Thrive worldwide, a non-profit organization located in the District of Columbia.

As one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland, Trinity College Dublin is considered among the most elite in Europe and best in the world. This month, a group of future college student affairs professionals from Bloomsburg University will see it firsthand. The prestigious university, founded in 1592, is on the list of eight colleges students from the College Student Affairs (M.Ed.) graduate program will visit during their two-week stay in Ireland.

“Ireland’s higher education system and universities are very well-established and are known all over the world for their quality of education,” Jonathan Gowin, CSA graduate student. “With this being the first graduate-level study abroad done by BU, we wanted to make sure it was going to be successful, personally and professionally impactful, and of course, very educational.”

TALE Outstanding Teaching Award recipients with (L-R) Amarilis Hidalgo de Jesus (TALE director), Victoria Geyfman (finance department), David Fazzino (anthropology department), Claire Lawrence (English department), Steven Welch (management department), and Mark Tapsak (Dean of Graduate Studies and Research).

Graduating seniors and graduate students, who have earned 15 credits, are invited to submit online a nomination for outstanding teaching. Each student is limited to one nomination. The nomination form requires students compose a narrative indicating why the professor is deserving of the award. The selected professors will receive a plaque and professional development money, funded by the BU Foundation at the May commencement ceremonies.

Bloomsburg University will now recognize students who serve their communities as a first responder by enabling them to count their service toward their general education requirements. Students who are first responders, such as volunteer firefighters, EMTs, or fire police, can register for a co-curricular learning course that counts toward BU’s citizenship general education requirement.

Coinciding with National EMS Week, May 20-26, BU’s new “First Responder” course was approved May 21. While counting towards general education requirements, the course has zero academic credits, so the student-first responder does not have to pay tuition or fees. BU has roughly 15 students who volunteer with the Bloomsburg Fire Department, according to Scott McBride, Bloomsburg Fire Department chief who is also BU’s Fire and Safety Coordinator.

Nearly 20 Bloomsburg University pre-service student teachers from the Department of Teaching and Learning representing early childhood, middle level and secondary education majors have been teaching in the Bethlehem Area School District under the supervision of Molly Marnella, Ed.D., chair and associate professor teaching and learning.

They recently gave back to the Bethlehem community by working with Holy Infancy School as they prepared for their Multicultural Community Fair, which all proceeds go to the school.

Heading to this spring’s American Association of Geographers annual meeting Owen Wickenheiser didn’t expect to see a familiar face among the 7,000-plus geographers and researchers on location in New Orleans. But he did … his mother, who was among those presenting.

“My parents have always been very supportive of my educational aspirations,” said Wickenheiser, a senior environmental geoscience major, who himself presented collaborative research at the meeting. “Having a professor as a parent was very helpful when I first started college.”

Chase Sakitis’s childhood passion has led to — not one but three — post-graduation options. The graduating Bloomsburg University mathematics major will have a choice between a master’s program in statistics at Binghamton University, a doctorate program in statistics at North Carolina State University, as well as a full-time job opportunity back home in Bethlehem.

“I chose mathematics, because it was a subject I excelled at throughout my school career,” Sakitis said. “Solving math equations or proving theories were like solving puzzles to me. I want to work with students at the college level, because it’s a critical time in a person’s life. I want to be able to help people at this age while teaching a subject I love.”

Bloomsburg University’s national business education honors society, Pi Omega Pi, has been named one of the top five chapters for 2017. Pi Omega Pi strives to encourage an enthusiasm for business education in schools. Scholars aim to provide grades K-12 with accurate and relevant business knowledge to prepare them for their future careers. Inductees must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and must have earned at least 60 credits.

“It has given us the opportunity to network with others regarding business education and has allowed us to develop lifelong friendships,” Hannah Schmeck, a senior business education major said.

Jing Luo, professor of French and Chinese, introduced BU’s Chinese program at Northwest Area Middle School/High School in Shickshinny earlier this month. He answered questions about Chinese language and issues of modern China from approximately 30 students in two classes.

BU's Department of Languages and Cultures offers eight programs of study to include Arabic Studies, Chinese, French, German, Latin, Russian and Eastern European Studies, Spanish, and Spanish for Heritage Language Learners.