On the Stage
Erik Gratton (BFA 1998) is playing the lead character, Buddy, in the touring production of “Elf the Musical.” The show, based on the Will Ferrell movie “Elf,” is ending its run in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The New York production opened December 13 and runs through December 29, excluding December 25.
Arts and Sciences
All the music education student teachers in the fall semester passed the Kansas Professional Teacher Portfolio. Students includes R.J. Horvat, Monika Markus and Glenn Woolard. This is an important step; if students do not pass the KPTP they do not graduate.
Speaking of music, Drs. Ramiro Miranda and Martin Cuellar performed a concert in early December for ESU alumni in the Los Angeles area. Pictured above are Angela Fullen, ESU Foundation associate director of development; Cuellar, Miranda and ESU President Allison Garrett.
Congratulations to the following political science students on furthering their education:
- Jessica Parks and Emily Reed (expected 2018) have each been accepted both to Washburn and KU Law Schools.
- Tyrone Townsend (expected 2017) has been accepted into graduate school at Northwestern, to study Mental Health Counseling.
- Camila Ascarrunz (Business Management and Political Science, expected 2019) will be interning this spring at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC
- Eric Williams (expected 2020) will be interning this spring in Washington for Rep. Kevin Yoder.
- Brooke Bailey (Political Science and Communications, expected 2018) will be interning this spring in Topeka for Senate President Susan Wagle.
Congratulations to Dr. Connie Schrock (Professor of Mathematics) on her selection as one of the featured speakers at the 2018 T3 “Aha!” International Conference in San Antonio, Texas, in March. This conference provides instructors with opportunities to learn proven strategies that get students excited about learning math, science and STEM, explore fresh, high-impact ideas that deepen understanding and support achievement, and experience hands-on interactive sessions that strengthen teaching, technology and content skills.
Congratulations to ESU online student James “Rob” Rice, who received the Farvolden Award from the National Groundwater Association. The award is given to the best student presentation at the Groundwater Summit, which was December 4 through 7 in Nashville, Tennessee. Rob’s presentation was co-written with Dr. Marcia K. Schulmeister and based on his thesis, an application of Dr. Schulmeister’s research on direct-push methods for aquifer characterization. The work was conducted at a contaminated, former U.S. Department of Energy uranium ore processing facility in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Teacher’s College
Dr. Katrina Miller and Counselor Education adjunct Paul Hardin co-facilitated a workshop as invited speakers on December 6 at Sylmar, California. The topic was cognitive task analysis and case management, presented at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Corporation for Re-Employment and Safety Training (annual training conference for vocational rehabilitation counselors. The conference was held at the Guide Dogs of America campus; the dogs were evacuated due to the encroaching fires, but the conference proceeded as planned.
Approximately 275 Kansas high school students attended the Educators Rising Kansas Student Leadership Conference on December 5 at Emporia State University. Coordinated by Todd Roberts in The Teachers College as well as the Kansas National Education Association, attendees met Dr. Randy Watson, Kansas commissioner of education, and Davis Laughlin, a 34-year veteran middle school science teacher.
ESU hosted a reception on December 4 at ESU-Kansas City for Olathe Public School Superintendent John Allison (MS 1994), who was named 2018 Superintendent of the Year for Kansas. Guests included Olathe school board members, Olathe principals and teachers, ESU faculty, and ESU students.
All of the educators mentored through a program at Emporia State University in 2016-17 achieved the highest honor of the teaching profession — for a second time. The 17 educators were notified recently the work they had done toward certification had measured up. Emporia State’s Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification maintains a 100 percent renewal rate with candidates achieving recertification on their first attempt. This is the 13th consecutive year the center’s renewal rate has reached 100 percent.
Dr. Melissa Reed, Kristy Duggan, and education majors Chieko Zimmerman, Sadie Boline (both elementary education), Ashley Womack (secondary social studies), Natalie Leffler (secondary math) and Isabelle Rawley (education major) hosted Code Like a Girl on December 9 in Visser Hall. Eighteen local girls in fourth through eighth grades participated in the event. Dr. Sungwoong Lee assisted with collecting data to be used for future projects to better support preservice teachers.
Library & Information Management
Kristy Kemper Hodge (Oregon 2010), is a youth librarian at the Corvallis-Benton County public library. She recently attended a school library conference where a speaker posited that empathy is a first and integral step in design thinking, and then proved it through fun and engaged exercises. She shared this talk as part of the Oregon State University Libraries’ "Library Faculty Association Seminar Series" on December 8.
Athletics
Senior punter Justin Marcha can add another All-American honor to his resume after being named First-Team Associated Press All-America. It is his third All-American honor for the Edmond, Oklahoma, native who led the nation in punting this past season.
Hornet safety Marcus Houghton and running back Landon Nault have earned earned Emporia State's 51st and 52nd Academic All-America honors as presented by CoSIDA. Houghton, a graduate student from McPherson, was named First-Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA while Nault, a junior from Kingfisher, Oklahoma, was named Second-Team.
Student Affairs
Thanks to a donation from the Emporia Police Benefit Association, more ESU students will be helped through Corky’s Cupboard food pantry. Officers from the benefit association presented a check for $500 to the cupboard project.
Alumni Relations
Congratulations to Dr. Diane DeBacker (BSB 1982) who was named executive director of business and education innovation at the Kanas Department of Commerce.
Admissions
Work by Roxie Pearson, associate director of undergraduate admissions, and Kate Kreiman, electronic recruiter, were recognized in the EMAS Pro client newsletter. They have piloted and implemented the latest innovations of EMAS, a product of Education Systems, Inc., used by ESU Admissions to communicate with prospective students.
Foundation
Hornet Nation came together for the common good of Emporia State and all of its past, current, and future students on #GivingTuesday, November 28. It was amazing to see all of the buzz on social media for #GivingTuesday, ESU's second giving day in history! Together, we received 262 gifts and raised $23,028!
Publication
Alumnus Jeremy Tiemann (M.S. Biology 2002) co-wrote with colleagues Jason L. Robinson and Mark J. Wetzel “Some phoretic associations of macroinvertebrates on transplanted federally endangered freshwater mussels,” which was published in Northeastern Naturalist.
Dr. Jinxuan (Jenny) Ma, assistant professor in School of Library and Information Management, co-wrote in research papers:
- Faith community nurse-led cognitive behavioral and spiritual counseling for rural dementia caregivers: Qualitative analysis of therapeutic process, in Qualitative Health Research;
- Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) in information technology: An exploration of employability skills gained from internships, in Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning;
- Assessing alignment between information technology educational opportunities, professional requirements, and industry demands, in Education and Information Technologies.
Presentations
Dr. Jim Walther, assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Management, was the general session, keynote speaker at the Kansas Society of Association Executives on December 5 in Topeka. His speech focused on free speech in an information-overloaded world, as well as demonstrating resources available to these executives from state and federal libraries.
On November 29, Dr. Connie Schrock was the featured speaker at the NCSM Fall Seminar in Chicago, Illinois. The title of her talk was “Conversations about Equity and Social Justice.”
On December 7, Dr. Connie Schrock led a breakout session for the Conference Board for Mathematical Sciences board meeting in Washington, D.C. She was representing NCSM during the CBMS Forum Planning Session.
Dr. Darla Mallein, professor in the Department of Social Sciences, and Dr. Amanda Lickteig, assistant professor in the Department of School Leadership/Middle and Secondary Teacher Education, presented “20 Visual Strategies for Picture Perfect Student Engagement” at the Association for Middle Level Education national conference in Philadelphia in November. Dr. Mallein’s trip was paid for with a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region.