Washington D.C.
ESU student Song Yang presented her research project, “Acoustic Classification of Bird Species Using Wavelets and Learning Algorithms,” at the 2019 Posters on the Hillevent in Washington D.C. on April 30, sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research hosted the event. Along with Dr. Brian Hollenbeck (Chair of ESU Mathematics and Economics Department) and and Dr. Qiang Shi (Associate Professor of Mathematics and project advisor), Yang also visited the offices of Sen. Jerry Moran, Sen. Pat Roberts, and Rep. Roger Marshall.
Phi Kappa Phi
Comprising juniors, seniors, graduate students and faculty, ESU’s 2019 Phi Kappa Phi initiation welcomed 53 new members to the nation’s oldest and most selective multidisciplinary collegiate honor societyon April 22. During the initiation, PKP Chapter President Dr. Qiang Shi thanked retiring faculty who have been instrumental in Phi Kappa Phi’s success on the ESU campus, including those in attendance: Dr. Ken Weaver, Dr. Betsy Yanik and Dr. Joe Yanik. Past Poet Laureate of Kansas and English, Modern Languages, and Journalism Chair Dr. Kevin Rabas was the keynote speaker.
Arts & Sciences
ESU calculus honors student Sara Rempel presented a seminar for the Inspired by Mathstudents on May 7, at the Emporia Middle School. She shared the importance of mathematics in our daily lives and how continued study of mathematics keeps students’ college options open. She also answered students’ questions regarding college and engineering.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2018-19 English, Modern Languages, and Journalism graduate essay competitions. Nick Clohecy won the Charles E. Walton Graduate Essay award “All-ness and None-ness: Situating HP Lovecraft in Environmental Discourse,” written for Professor Amy Sage Webb. Mardy Ortman wonthe Jeremy Wild Graduate Essay award for her essay, ”Beyond Hope and Happy Endings,” written for Professor Cynthia Patton. Each winner will receive a certificate and a cash award
Congratulations to Corryn Anderson on being a McNair Scholar. Corryn’s research with Dr. Maire Niamh explores how the burial practices of ancient Egypt can reveal social class.
ESU’s 12-member Flute Choir swelled to 36 members when it joined with the Emporia Community Flute Choir and Prairie Winds from Topeka for the first-ever Spring Fling concert. Each group performed two pieces separately, then combined for three pieces conducted by Dr. Kate Bergman, ESU flute instructor.
Congratulations to Callie Dallimore, named the American Chemical Society Outstanding Senior last month.
Business
Phi Beta Lambda members are continuing to raise funds for their June trip to Nationals in San Antonio, Texas. The BizHornet Center (CH128) is selling one-of-a-kind ESU T-shirts for $12 each or two for $20.
The School of Business held a graduation reception and graduate hooding ceremony on May 10. We wish all of our new alumni the best of luck in their future careers. We know they are ready!
Congratulations to Dr. Joyce Zhou who was the recipient of 2019 Faculty Mentor Award of the Year, and also to the Chinese Students and Scholars Association for receiving the Outstanding RSO of the Year.
The new Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization (CEO) hosted Jim McGraw, founder of the LEAPP Ahead Skill Building Program and Kauffman business legend. He spoke about empathy and kindness in the business world and how it can set you apart and set you up for success.
Alumni
The ESU Alumni Association and Emporia State University had their first Hornet Scholars Programto celebrate prospective Presidential Scholarship students and Hornet Educators for Valley Center High School and Eisenhower High School in Goddard. The delegation also delivered classroom kits to alumni teaching in the buildings.
Marketing
Congratulations to University Photographer Dustin Michelson whose photograph of sophomore track and field athlete Tanner Raubenstine was voted Best in Show in the April 2019 Monthly Image Competition of the University Photographers’ Association of America.
The Teachers College
Seventy-five students and four retiring members of the college received special recognition at The Teachers College 35th Annual Honors Banquet on May 3. Twenty-three students received outstanding student awards and 52 students were honored for achievement of a 3.8 grade point average or higher. The four retiring members of The Teachers College recognized were Dr. Ken Weaver, dean, and retiring faculty members Dr. James Costello, Dr. Deb Larson, and Dr. Nancy Smith.
Damara Paris, Associate Professor for Counselor Education, was elected president of American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, the oldest national organization for rehabilitation, mental health and deafness since the 1960s. She begins her two-year term July 1.
Jessica LaFollette (BS, 2001; MS 2003) completed her Ph.D. studies at University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her dissertation is “Narrative Exploration of Teacher Experiences in Culturally Responsive Gifted Education.”
Dr. Damara Paris, who manages the Rehabilitation Counseling long-term training grant, worked successfully with the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration to provide several more scholarship opportunities for students interested in rehabilitation counseling coursework this summer and fall. The nearly $1 million training grant is nearing the end of its five-year cycle.
The Department of Counselor Education is now an Approved Continuing Education Provider with the National Board of Certified Counselors.
In Counselor Education, the B.S. in Rehabilitation Services Education is now Rehabilitation & Disability Studies after updates to the curriculum.
Counselor Education is excited to announce that instructors Libby Schmanke and Carrie Boettcher have moved into tenure track assistant professorships. Libby has been with Art Therapy for nearly 20 years and recently published the premier text on Art Therapy and Substance Abuse. Carrie was formerly the campus Emergency Manager. She completed her Ph.D. in Library Science and Information this spring, and will serve as program coordinator for undergraduate Rehabilitation & Disability Studies.
Information Technology
ESU Information Technology’s nationally recognized blog was highlighted in an article from University Business, a print and digital magazine catering to the higher education market. The blog is updated weekly and features news and commentary on technology-related topics relevant to ESU students, faculty and staff.
Student Affairs
On May 1, GAMMA, Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol, hosted its second annual fundraiser at Pizza Ranch supporting Cornerhouse Inc., an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center in Emporia. Members raised $321.
Athletics
Emporia State’s Tanner Cairns earned first-team honors to highlight nine Hornets on the All-MIAA baseball team. He was joined by two players on the second-team, two on the third-team and three honorable mention selections as well as three on the Gold Glove Team.
Emporia State qualified six athletes for the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Four men and two women will represent the Hornets in four events May 23-25 in Kingsville, Texas.
Emporia State pitcher Tanner Cairns earned CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District honors for his work in the classroom and on the baseball field. He is now eligible to earn Academic All-America honors.
The Emporia State men’s 4x400m relay ended competition at the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in style, setting a meet in the final event of the day. The foursome of Brandon Rhone, Hayden Goodpaster, Parker Evans, and Luke Stenzel ran an MIAA meet record 3:09.56 in capturing the 4x400m relay title for the third time in the last four years.
Also at the MIAA Championships, Brianna Schmitz became just the second Hornet to eclipse the 5,000-point barrier as she won the women’s heptathlon. Schmitz’s 5,003 points are the most scored by a Hornet since Deandra Doubrava scored 5,394 points in winning the 1999 National Championship in the event.
School record holders and All-Americans were honored during the inaugural Corkys — A Student-Athlete Celebration on May 1. Over 90 Hornet senior student-athletes and support staff were recognized for their contributions to Emporia State and the Hornet Athletic program.
Emporia State’s Gabby Biondo earned second-team honors to highlight five Hornets on the All-MIAA softball team. She was joined on the honorable mention team by Cassidy Beem, Kenzie Garvin, Valerie Kinney and Hannah Steeby.
Presentations
Cynthia Kane, Professor, and Megan Mahoney, Assistant Professor, presented “Assessing Physical Spaces to Maximize Student Learning Success” at the Assessment Matters Conference, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park on April 26.
Cynthia Kane, Professor, presented “Opportunities of Evidence: Using Best Practices of Data-Driven Assessment in Evaluating Serials Subscriptions” at the Illinois Online Users Group Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 10.
Dr. Emily Vardell presented her poster “Assessing and Addressing Health Insurance Literacy Skills” at the annual IHA Health Literacy Conference in Costa Mesa, California, on May 2.
Two alumni from Oregon’s SLIM program presented at the annual Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, in April:
- Anne-Marie Deitering (Oregon MLS 2003) presented “Reading critically, thinking critically: Challenging assumptions about the role of reading in academic research.”
- Colleen Sanders (Oregon MLS 2015) was part of a panel that discussed “Getting Uncomfortable is Good for You: Turning Narrative into Action with Allyship and Advocacy.”