The Roundtable
Volume 43/Number 1
October 2009
Lane charts new directions, opportunities in fall General Assembly address
Emporia State University’s president is sketching an ambitious blueprint for increasing the school’s enrollment in the coming school year.
Speaking during ESU’s fall General Assembly Tuesday, Aug. 18, Dr. Michael R. Lane outlined retention and graduation rate improvements, adjustments in student recruiting strategies and a review of scholarship programs that will be part of recommendations by a consultant that ESU will retain.
“We have made some progress, but we want to get some expert help in those areas,” said Lane, telling ESU faculty and staff members that the consultant will also handle training on new methods for student recruitment and training.
Lane is also pushing for expanded online availability of ESU’s general education courses to serve students who are not able to come to the Emporia campus for traditional classroom instruction. “It is time to step forward and demonstrate our quality in every teaching modality,” Lane said.
Along with increased availability of online course, ESU is investigating enrollment growth possibilities overseas. “We are looking at placing an intensive English program in China,” Lane said, adding that ESU is also considering offering selective graduate degrees to students in China.
“We must do things differently, and we must do different things,” Lane concluded.
Also during the General Assembly address, Lane noted:
- Progress on the Memorial Union renovation continues, with plans for a spring groundbreaking event.
- Ventilation and electrical system upgrades in Roosevelt Hall, King Hall, and William Allen White Library are nearing completion, resulting in more comfortable interior environments and energy savings.
- One outgrowth of ESU’s new Strategic Plan, improvements in campus signage, is already evident. New building identification signs and direction signs will help visitors and new students find their way around the campus.
Fall classes at Emporia State University started Wednesday, Aug. 19.
WHO, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE
AWARDS
Sehlaoui, A. S. Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Director of TESOL Program, Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism & Albrecht, N. (July, 2009) received Year III Notification Federal Grant Award for Project ESTRELLAS . This Year III Grant Award is $273,889.00.
The 2009 Sunflower yearbook earned 3,485 points out of a possible 4,000 and was awarded a First Class Rating from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP).
CONFERENCES
Monica Kjellman-Chapin, Associate Professor, Art History Department of Art, chaired a session on Aesthetics in American Culture at the 54th Annual Conference of the British Association for American Studies, University of Nottingham, in April 2009.
Dr. R. Brent Thomas (Biological Sciences) served as the keynote speaker at the awards banquet at the Tri-Beta Regional Conference April 4, 2009 at the biological field station on Lake Texoma. Tri-beta is a national undergraduate biological honor society.
PRESENTATIONS
Sehlaoui, A. S., Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Director of TESOL Program, Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism & Albrecht, N. presented a paper entitled " Online Professional Development for TESOL Teachers: A Research-based Innovative Model” E-Learning Institute, Jones Institute, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS, June 2009.
Monica Kjellman-Chapin presented three conference papers in April:
- “The Figure and Formal Rupture: Whistler and the Constitutive Blank.” 54th Annual Conference of the British Association for American Studies, University of Nottingham, April 2009
- “Curating Kinkade: The Ballad of Jeffrey Vallance.” National Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 2009
- “Kitsch’s Codes.” Midwest Art History Society Annual Conference, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, April 2009
Dr. R. Brent Thomas (Biological Sciences) presented an invited seminar entitled "Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History of Freshwater Turtles: an integrative approach to understanding a largely neglected group " in the Department of Biological Sciences at Cameron University.
These presentations at the 141st Annual Meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science (March 27-28, 2009; Hosted at Washburn University) were authored or co-authored by ESU Department of Biological Sciences:
- Long, A. M., W. E. Jensen, and R. S. Matlack. Negative Effects of Mesquite Density on Lark Sparrow Nest Success
- Zhao, Y., and Y. Yang. Gene Expression Profile of Malignant Melanoma Cells in Response to the Treatment by Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract.
- Wang, X., and Y. Yang. Effect of Mercuric Compound at Sublethal Concentrations on the Survivability of Bacterial Cells Challenged by Ultraviolet Light or N-Ethyl-N-Nitrosourea.
- Schifferdecker, S., K. Stevens, and T. G. Burnett. An in Vitro Approach to Determine Selective Toxicity of Anti-cancer Drugs.
- Brickell, C. L., B. A. Koerner, and L. Luina. Impacts of Shrub Encroachment on Soil Respiration in Native Tall Grass Prairie.
- Cao, Y., and S. Crupper. Cloning of the Gene Responsible for Malachite Green Degradation in Staphylococcus Aureus ATCC29213.
- Du, J., and S. Crupper. Generation and Evaluation of an Antibody Specific for East1 From Enteroaggregative Escherichia Coli.
- Lassley, M. L., K. Villmer, and T. G. Burnett. Capability of Radiant Catalytic Ionization to Reduce Microbial Load on Stainless Steel Surfaces.
- Qiu, L., and S. Crupper. Bioactivity of Myxobacterial Secondary Metabolites.
- Schrock, J. R. Internal and External Assessment in the History of Major U.S. Education Reforms (Focus on Science Education).
- Schrock, J. R. Ten Problems With the Online Medium in Science Teaching and Science Publication.
- Schrock, J. R. Ten Reasons “Simulations” Do not Replace Reality-Based Labwork.
- Wang, X. and Y. Yang. The Toxicity of Luria-Bertani Medium on Certain Escherichia Coli Strains.
- Westby, A., Y. Cao, L. Qiu, and S. Crupper. Identification of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Sorangium Cellulosum.
PUBLICATIONS
Monica Kjellman-Chapin, Associate Professor, Art History Department of Art, published an article entitled “Fake Identity, Real Work: Authenticity, Autofiction, and Outsider Art,” in Specs: A Journal of Contemporary Culture and Art, vol. 2, special issue on Faux Histories, (2009): 148-59.
James Hoy, Director, Center for Great Plains Studies and Susan Brinkman, Assistant Director. Rarely are detailed glimpses of 19th century life in the Flint Hills available to the 21st century reader. A recently published book, “A Window on Flint Hills Folklife: The Mardin Ranch Diaries 1862-1863,” gives readers just that glimpse into early life in Chase and Lyon counties. Published by The Center for Great Plains Studies at Emporia State University, this book allows readers to travel back to the days of farming and stock raising, pasture burning, housework, and other daily activities during the early settling of the Flint Hills. Copies of “A Window on Flint Hills Folklife: The Mardin Ranch Diaries 1862-1863” are available from The Center for Great Plains Studies, Campus Box 4040, 1200 Commercial St., Emporia, KS 66801, 620-341-5574 or cgps@emporia.edu. The cost is $10 plus shipping and handling and, for Kansas residents, sales tax. More information about this book and other CGPS activities is available at www.emporia.edu/cgps.
A. S. Sehlaoui, Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Director of TESOL Program, Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism published a Sociolinguistics paper in the International Journal of Storytelling, Self, Society, 5:1-24, 2009. The paper is entitled "Moroccan Professional Public Storytellers: An Endangered Species".
A. S. Sehlaoui, Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Director of TESOL Program, Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism, & Albrecht, N. (2009) Published a paper entitled "Online Professional Development for TESOL Teachers in Rural and Suburban Kansas: An Innovative Model" in The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society, Volume 5, 2009.
Dr. William Jensen (Biological Sciences) recently published a paper in Conservation Biology. This is an international level peer-reviewed journal and is considered the most prestigious journal in the field of conservation biology. The citation information follows: Rahmig, C. R., W. E. Jensen, and K. A. With. 2009. Grassland bird responses to land management in the largest remaining tallgrass prairie. Conservation Biology 23:420-432.
Thomas Winski’s (English, Modern Languages, and Journalism) coauthored book, "Journalism: Writing for Publication," came out in its third edition.
OTHER
Dr. Marshall Sundberg (Biological Sciences) traveled to Arlington, VA to review 330 grant proposals for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Dr. Robyn Long, assistant professor in PARM (Psychology, Art Therapy, Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling) taught a month-long study abroad course for eleven students across the university in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, in June and July. Students completed six hours of coursework on personality theory (540/703A: Scottish Character and Culture) and migration and the Scottish Diaspora (504/703B: Scottish Migration and The Transnational Identity) and participated in daily excursions as well as a three-day tour of the Scottish Highlands. This program will be led again in Summer, 2010, and is open to all majors.
EMPLOYMENT SEARCH
Last Updated July 2, 2007