College Accolades
Faculty and Staff Notes
January 2013
Dennis Beck, assistant professor of educational technology, was awarded a $2,500 SEC Visiting Faculty Travel Grant.
Samuel Totten, professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction, co-edited the fourth edition of Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts with William S. Parsons, published by Routledge.
December 2012
Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, assistant professor of English as a second language education, has been elected as chair-elect for the Applied Linguistics Interest Section of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) International Association.
September 2012
The Arkansas Leadership Academy's Master Principal Program was highlighted by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration.
Carleton Holt, associate professor of educational leadership, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration.
July 2012
Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, assistant director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas, has been elected to lead the Arkansas Virtual Academy as the chair of the academy’s Board of Directors.
June 2012
Freddie Bowles, assistant professor of foreign language education, was elected to the board of directors of both the Association of Teacher Educators and its state affiliate, the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators, for terms that run from 2013 through 2016.
April 2012
Laurie Brigham, administrative specialist in the curriculum and instruction department, won the Outstanding Service to Faculty and Staff award for fall 2011.
Sean Connors, assistant professor of English education, won the college's Innovative Teaching Award.
Karee Dunn, assistant professor of educational statistics and research methods, won the college's Rising STAR (service, teaching, advising and research) Faculty Award given to the outstanding all-around new faculty member.
Mounir Farah, professor of secondary education, won the college's Faculty Career Award.
Lori Foster, director of scholarship programs, won the Outstanding Service to Students award for spring 2012.
Christian Goering, assistant professor of secondary education, won the college's Superior Service Award.
Jay Greene, holder of Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Reform, won the college's Significant Research Award.
Carleton Holt, associate professor of educational leadership, was appointed a topic area editor for National Council of Professors of Educational Administration Publications.
Marcia Imbeau, associate professor of special education, won the college's Mentoring and Advising Award.
Jonah Kronenberger, computer support specialist, won the Outstanding Overall Performance award for fall 2011.
Kate Mamiseishvili, assistant professor of higher education, won the college's STAR Faculty Award given to the outstanding all-around faculty member.
Jackie Micheletto, accounting tech in the Office for Administration, won the Outstanding Service to Faculty and Staff award for spring 2012.
Hillary Palmer, accounting assistant in University Recreation, won the Outstanding Service to Students award for fall 2011.
Joyce Patrick, administrative support supervisor in the health, human performance and recreation department, won the Outstanding Overall Performance award for spring 2012.
Gary Ritter, holder of Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, won the college's Superior Service Award
Christy Wear, academic counselor in the curriculum and instruction department, won the Outstanding Service to Faculty and Staff award for fall 2011.
Shari Witherspoon, administrative specialist in the Human Performance Laboratory, won the Outstanding Service to Faculty and Staff award for spring 2012.
March 2012
Kathleen Collins, associate professor of special education, has been elected to the Special Interest Group Executive Committee of the American Educational Research Association.
January 2012
Ro Di Brezzo, University Professor in exercise science, has been named a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Claretha Hughes, an associate professor of workforce development, has been accepted to attend a highly competitive two-week management development program at Harvard University this summer.
Michael T. Miller, professor of higher education, and John Murry, associate professor of higher education, co-edited Staff Governance and Institutional Policy Formation. The book published by Information Age Publishing examines the need for staff involvement in determining the direction and vision of the contemporary university.
Carsten Schmidtke, clinical assistant professor of human resource and workforce development, has been chosen to work as a subject matter expert for National Occupational Competency Testing Institute. Schmidtke will work on the company's test-revision team for the 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success assessment.
The College of Education and Health Professions announced the recipients of outstanding classified staff awards for the fall 2011 semester: Outstanding Service to Students: Hillary Palmer, accounting assistant, University Recreation; Outstanding Service to Faculty/Staff: Christy Wear, administrative specialist III, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; Outstanding Service to Faulty/Staff: Laurie Brigham, administrative specialist II, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; and Outstanding Overall Performance: Jonah Kronenberger, computer support specialist I, Technology Services.
November 2011
Gretchen Oliver, assistant professor of kinesiology, has been named a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Judy Stephen, instructor of counselor education, received the Outstanding Counselor Educator Award from the Arkansas Counseling Association.
October 2011
Nan Smith-Blair, associate professor of nursing, received the Honors College Distinguished Leadership Award and Gretchen Oliver, assistant professor of kinesiology, received the Honors College Distinguished Faculty Award.
August 2011
David M. Deggs, assistant professor of workforce development, was elected to the board of directors of the Higher and Adult Education division of the Eastern Educational Research Association.
July 2011
Sean Connors, assistant professor of English education, was named a runner-up for the 2011 M. Thomas Inge Award for Comics Scholarship for his paper "Reading Images: Deconstructing the Visual Design of Graphic Novels."
Ro Di Brezzo, University Professor of kinesiology and director of the Human Performance Lab, was named interim vice provost for academic affairs.
Jay P. Greene, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Reform, wrote Why America Needs School Choice, a pamphlet published by Broadsides from Encounter Books.
June 2011
Claretha Hughes, associate professor of workforce development, was named director of the college's Honors Program.
May 2011
Cheryl Murphy, director of distance education and associate professor of educational technology, won a Gold Award for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching from the United States Distance Learning Association.
John Pijanowski, associate professor of educational leadership, is the recipient of the university's teaching honor, the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award for 2010.
Elizabeth Sullivan, coordinator of student recruitment, was elected to the Staff Senate.
April 2011
Jeff Bonacci, coordinator of the athletic training education program, was selected as an item writer for the Board of Certification that certifies individuals with education and experience in the practice of athletic training.
February 2011
Angie Smith-Nix, clinical assistant professor in the department of health, human performance and recreation, was elected vice president-elect of the Southern District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
January 2011
Richard T. Roessler, University Professor emeritus of rehabilitation education and research, was awarded the National Distinguished Service Award from the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
December 2010
Chris Goering, assistant professor of secondary education, has been elected to the Secondary Section Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Marcia Imbeau, associate professor of special education, collaborated with Carol Tomlinson of the University of Virginia to produce a guide for teachers to incorporate differentiated instruction in the management of their classrooms.
November 2010
Gregory M. Benton, assistant professor of recreation, presented results to the National Association for Interpretation at a conference in Las Vegas of a survey taken earlier this year that found high visitor satisfaction with Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area in Benton County, the largest state park in Arkansas.
Lynne Hehr and Cathy Wissehr were elected to the Arkansas Environmental Education Association Board of Directors for the 2011-2012 term. Hehr is director of the University of Arkansas STEM Center for Mathematics and Science Education, and Wissehr is assistant professor of science education.
September 2010
Fran Hagstrom, head of the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communication disorders, was named a fellow of the Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium Academic Leadership Development Program.
August 2010
David Deggs, assistant professor of workforce development, was elected to a division director position on the board of directors of the Eastern Educational Research Association.
Linda Eilers, clinical associate professor of childhood education, is serving as president of the Arkansas Reading Association.
Sharon Hunt, professor of recreation, was appointed by Chancellor G. David Gearhart to be the faculty athletics representative for the University of Arkansas to the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference.
July 2010
Kathleen Collins, associate professor of special education, co-edited Toward a Broader Understanding of Stress and Coping: Mixed Methods Approaches.
June 2010
Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, assistant director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, was appointed to the Arkansas Farm Bureau Rural Health and Safety Committee for a two-year term ending in 2012.
Samuel Totten, professor of curriculum and instruction, will serve on the faculty of the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies affiliated with the University of Toronto for a two-week intensive seminar in August. He will teach a session on Darfur, Sudan.
May 2010
Jay P. Greene, professor of education reform, was appointed as a fellow of the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas. Greene also published research in Economics of Education Review in February that showed high-stakes testing in some subjects does not hurt student learning in other subjects.
Claretha Hughes, assistant professor of workforce development, and Carsten Schmidtke, clinical assistant professor of workforce development, will edit a special issue of the International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management next year.
Gretchen Oliver, assistant professor of kinesiology, was awarded $8,500 from the University of Arkansas Women’s Giving Circle to support the program “Kinematic and EMG Analysis of Female Softball Catchers.” Brent Thomas Williams, associate professor of rehabilitation education and research, co-authored Just Below the Line: Disability, Housing, and Equity in the South published by the University of Arkansas Press. Jules Beck, clinical assistant professor of workforce development at the University of Arkansas, wrote Practicing International Human Resource Development: Independent Consultants Talk About Their Life and Work published by Lambert Academic Publishing. Heidi Kluess, assistant professor of kinesiology, was named a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. Marianne Neighbors, professor of nursing, was appointed by Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe to the board of directors of Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale. March 2010 Bill Buron, assistant professor of nursing, was chosen to serve on the program committee of the Southern Nursing Research Society. The committee organizes the society's annual conference. Kathleen Collins, associate professor of special education, has been named an Outstanding Reviewer for 2009 by the American Educational Research Association. Steve Dittmore, assistant professor of recreation, co-presented "Property Rights in the Age of Digital Media: Exploring the Legal and Practical Impacts of Restricting Sport Content Usage" at the Fourth Summit on Communication & Sport in Cleveland. Lynne Hehr, director of the Center for Mathematics and Science Education, was chosen to serve in 2010-11 on the GLOBE International Advisory Committee as alternate representative and in 2012-13 as the GLOBE International Advisory Committee representative for the North America region. Nan Smith-Blair, associate professor of nursing and interim director of the school, was elected to the executive board of the Southern Nursing Research Society. February 2010 Jay P. Greene, professor of education reform, published research in the Economics of Education Review examining whether high-stakes testing hurts student learning in other subjects. Jack Kern, clinical associate professor of kinesiology, was one of two representatives of Arkansas universities invited to attend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's School of Health Education-Higher Education Academy in Atlanta in February. Diana Gonzales Worthen, director of Project Teach Them All, was honored by the Springdale public schools' board of directors for her work with the district on a Toyota Family Literacy Program grant. January 2010 Freddie Bowles, assistant professor of foreign language education, received a Lucile Cornetet Individual Award for Professional Development. Steve Dittmore, assistant professor of recreation, spoke at the second annual Sport Management Recognition Night at Wichita State University. Christopher Lucas, professor of higher education, was inducted into the 2009 Wall of Fame for distinguished alumni of the Williamsville (N.Y.) Central School District. October 2009 Tara Diebold, left, a senior from Branson, is one of the students Larry Aslin advises in the communication disorders program. Advising students is more than checking boxes on a form or signing a class schedule. Granted, those are vital aspects of advising but paying attention to the whole student and offering assistance on all levels can make a significant impact on a student's college experience. Continue reading The College of Education and Health Professions honored faculty members for advising, teaching, research and service at its annual spring faculty and staff meeting on May 1 on the University of Arkansas campus. The college also recognized staff members who won awards for their work. Continue reading Timothy Baghurst, visiting assistant professor of kinesiology, published research on muscle dysmorphia in Body Image and the International Journal of Men's Health. Gregory Benton, assistant professor of recreation, presented research on the effectiveness of a boat tour as an interpretive program about Lake Fort Smith at the international conference of the National Association for Interpretation in Athens, Greece. Bill Buron, assistant professor of nursing, received the Outstanding Future Nurse Leader Award from the College of Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. Vinson Carter, visiting instructor of technology education, won the Donald Maley Spirit of Excellence Outstanding Graduate Citation award from the International Technology Education Association. Carter also was named Teacher of the Year during the 2009 Arkansas Career and Technical Education conference. Robert Costrell, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Accountability, published research showing employer contributions for teacher pensions are higher than those in the private sector in Education Next. Costrell was also appointed to the National Technical Advisory Council by then-U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Michael Daugherty, professor of technology education, was inducted into the International Technology Education Association Academy of Fellows. George Denny, professor of educational statistics and research methods, and Nick Tschepikow, director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Renewal Zone, will assist the College of Engineering with a $488,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund a two-week summer program designed to increase 40 middle school science teachers' knowledge in physical science. Stephen Dittmore, assistant professor of recreation, presented research about how sports organizations handle blogging at the annual conference of the North American Society of Sport Management. Karee Dunn, clinical assistant professor of educational statistics and research methods, and Sean Mulvenon, professor of educational statistics and research methods, published a paper in Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation that reviewed research on formative assessments. Mounir Farah, professor of curriculum and instruction, was an invited speaker and panelist at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, where he spoke at the "Iraqi Academic Conference to Help Improve and Sustain Higher Education in Iraq." He was also interviewed by Channel 2 in Saudi Arabia concerning curriculum development in Saudi Arabia and options for students at various levels of performance and abilities. Roy Farley, professor of counselor education, received the Rosenthal Award for the Most Outstanding Counselor Educator and Supervisor of the Year from the Arkansas Counseling Association. Janet Forbess, instructor in the department of health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance, was inducted into the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy. Barbara Gartin, University Professor of special education, received the Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award from the Council for Exceptional Children's Division on Developmental Disabilities. Christian Goering, assistant professor of secondary English and literacy education, contributed a chapter on musical intertextuality in The Essential Criticism of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, edited by Michael J. Meyer. Jay P. Greene, holder of an endowed chair and head of the department of education reform, published in Economics of Education Review results of research that found evidence of discrimination in how schools grant exemptions from Florida's test-based promotion policy. Barbara Hinton retired in June as associate dean for academic affairs, a position she held since 2006. She was previously a professor and head of the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communication disorders. Claretha Hughes, assistant professor of workforce development education, won the Outstanding Assistant Professor Award from the University Council for Workforce and Human Resource Education. Laura Kent, associate professor of mathematics education, is partnering with other University of Arkansas faculty and six public school districts on a grant to improve teachers' mathematics content knowledge. LaVonne Kirkpatrick, assistant professor of elementary education, was elected president of the Arkansas chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society. Heidi Kluess, assistant professor of kinesiology, was the University of Arkansas nominee for the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. She also received a grant of $82,000 from the National Institute on Aging to study how the sympathetic nervous system controls blood flow and blood pressure in women as they age. Steve Langsner completed his assignment as assistant dean for academic affairs and returned to the faculty of the recreation program. William F. McComas, Parks Family Professor of Science and Technology Education, delivered a keynote address at a Hofstra University conference examining the impact of Charles Robert Darwin and Darwinian evolution on science and society in celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth and the sesquicentennial of the publication of his On the Origin of Species (1859). Ketevan "Kate" Mamiseishvili, assistant professor of higher education leadership, presented research comparing the productivity of international and citizen women faculty members at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association. Cheryl Murphy, associate professor of educational technology, won an Exemplary Course Award from Blackboard Inc. with Liz Stover, an instructional designer with the Global Campus. Marianne Neighbors, professor of nursing, accepted a three-year appointment as co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center at the University of Arkansas. Rebecca Newgent, associate professor of counselor education, was invited to serve on the editorial board of Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation Journal, a new publication of the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education. Newgent also received the Outstanding Individual Achievement Award for Tenured Counselor Educators from the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Newgent also received the Roger D. Herring Researcher of the Year Award from the Arkansas Counseling Association. Sung Choon Park, assistant professor of social studies, presented research about how teachers understand and teach about social justice at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Charles Riggs, professor of kinesiology, was awarded a 2009 Faculty Gold Medal from the University of Arkansas for his work mentoring students. Gary Ritter, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, presented research with Nathan Gray and Joshua Barnett that the school funding system in Arkansas aggressively targets additional resources to districts that serve disadvantaged student populations. Ritter and his team presented their paper at the annual meetings of the American Education Finance Association and the American Educational Research Association. Barbara Shadden, professor of communication disorders, received an Outstanding Alumnus Award from Southern Connecticut State University. Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, clinical instructor of nursing, was selected to participate in the Leadership for Academic Nursing Program sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Angie Smith-Nix, clinical assistant professor and coordinator of physical education activity courses, received the Honor Award from the Arkansas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Sandra Stotsky, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Teacher Quality, was asked to provide information about education standards and teaching training to the Ohio Senate Education Committee and the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Stotsky published a paper in the Journal of Learning Disabilities concerning licensure tests for special education teachers. Samuel Totten, professor of secondary education, taught the first course in genocide studies at the National University of Rwanda. Totten also was invited to address the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, to take part in a symposium concerning a report by Madeleine Albright and William S. Cohen on how to prevent genocide and mass atrocities, and to speak at a conference hosted by the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Michael Wavering, associate professor of secondary education, was inducted into the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy. Patrick Wolf, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in School Choice, presented results of the second year of an evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program that found the voucher program benefits some students and saves the state money. Wolf was also nominated by former President Bush to serve on the National Board for Education Sciences, a federal advisory board to the U.S. Department of Education. He testified before Congress at the invitation of Sen. Joe Lieberman, Ind.-Conn., about his evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Jamie Banks, director of development, was named to the Arkansas Business Journal's 40 Under 40 list of high-achieving people. Amy Koster and Alexis Hurdle, advisers in the Boyer Center for Student Services, won the Best of Region 7 Award from the National Academic Advising Association for their presentation about using wikis. Janet Walker, accountant for university recreation, was named University of Arkansas Employee of the Year.
April 2010
Samuel Totten, professor of curriculum and instruction, spoke during the International Symposium on Genocide in Rwanda on April 4-8. He was invited by the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide to speak on the topic "16 Years After the Genocide Against Tutsi: Handling Its Consequences."
Vinson Carter, clinical instructor of technology education, has been selected to participate in the 2011 Class of the 21st Century Leadership Academy of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association.
Cathy Wissehr, assistant professor of elementary science education, has been named to a three-year appointment on the National Science Teachers Association Committee for Preservice Teacher Preparation.
Advising Brings Honors: Personal Attention for Students Top Priority for Instructor
College Honors Faculty and Staff
Faculty Notes
Staff
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