New Name
Emporia State’s new residence hall will be named for Dr. Kay Schallenkamp, our pioneering 14th president. The name Schallenkamp Hall was announced during the Founders’ Day celebration that marks 155 years of excellence for the public university.
In Good Company
Emporia State is now home to two programs for practicing educators included in the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse. This month the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was included in the WWC. The Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification mentors teachers through the process of working towards their national board certification. In 2007, Reading Recovery was first included in WWC, and it has maintained its standing there.
Scholarship Winners
Colin Dallimore, senior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Paola, and Kalliope Craft, junior elementary education major from Lane, received scholarships during our annual Founders’ Day celebration. The two students won the sixth annual $1863 Scholarship Essay Contest.
Research
Five undergraduates from ESU traveled to Topeka on February 14 to present their work at the State Capitol in Topeka. The event showcases the research being conducted by students at the state’s four-year institutions. Around 40 undergraduate student projects were presented. Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol is an opportunity for state legislators and other guests visiting the Capitol to see first-hand the quality of research being performed by undergraduates of the state’s Regents Universities. The following students represented ESU:
- Brooke Bailey, Senior, Communication, Valley Center, “Rhetorical Strategies Utilized by Female Leaders around the World.” Mentor: Dr. Heidi Hamilton;
- Grayce McAllister, Junior, Business Administration, Americus, “Current Higher Education Funding Models and Possible Enhanced Solution.” Mentor: Dr. Steven Lovett;
- Josué Mejia, Senior, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Junction City, “A New Tool for Understanding Bipolar Disorder: Toward the Formation of a Fluorescent Probe to Detect Intracellular Lithium.” Mentor: Dr. Diane Nutbrown;
- Colin Dallimore, Senior, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Overland Park, “Determination of Nicotine in Soil.” Mentor: Dr. Qiyang Zhang;
- Franziska Willenbuecher, Senior, Business Administration, Limburgerhof, Germany, “Could Financial Trouble be Avoided by Cooking at Home? An Examination of the Relationship Between Fast Food Spending and Payday Loans.” Mentor: Dr. Marc Fusaro.
Associated Student Government
Ten student representatives from Emporia State University traveled to Topeka to meet with Legislators to rally for Higher Education in Kansas. Nearly every legislator in the state got to meet with students from our Kansas universities. The three points of focus included Funding for Higher Education, Local Control of Concealed Carry, and Affirmative Consent. The following students represented Emporia State University: Sawyer Barragan, Christina Brunton, Kristian Gilmore, Taylor Lee, Megan McReynolds, Jacob Miller, Dylan Schneider, Drake Rapue, Nick Wathke and Michael Webb.
Arts and Sciences
Senior nursing students recently completed their public health community projects. These included a scholarship poster presentation at the Kansas State Nurses Association Legislative Day on February 14. On February 21, the students in Public Health Practicum presented at Emporia High School about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Amy Cox, Nicklaus Mathias and Henry Weiner spent the week of February 8 analyzing 50 years of data from four states’ energy usage to come up with a mathematical model to better inform the governors of those states how to set their goals for a new interstate energy compact. At the end of the five days, the team submitted their answers to the Mathematical Contest in Modeling to be judged. The MCM is an international contest for undergraduates.
Seventy young women from 17 area high schools participated in the 24th annual Sonia Kovalevsky Mathematics Day on February 15. The students, in their junior year of high school, were selected to attend by their high school mathematics teachers. Students listened to women professionals from ESU and outside companies tell how they use mathematics in their careers.
Athletics
Emporia State will have five athletes competing at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pittsburg next weekend. The Hornets will be competing in three individual events and one relay.
The Emporia State men earned a total of seven All-Region honors for Indoor Track & Field as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The top-5 individuals in each event from each region earned All-Region distinction, in addition to each of the members of the regions’ top-3 relay teams.
Business
Brad and Craig Clark presented their fourth Executive Hour to another packed room. They discussed ”Social Responsibility & Company Targeting Strategies.” Their next Executive Hour will be on March 29.
The Emporia Entrepreneur Challenge has advance one stage further. We’ve named the top 19 teams to go on to the next phase, oral pitches, on March 6 and 7. The finale will be on March 13 when the winners are announced.
The Teachers College
Dr. Zeni Colorado-Resa received the Graduate Faculty Mentor Award from the Center for Student Involvement for giving students unique opportunities to learn about themselves, develop and practice the skills necessary to be positive and productive leaders.
Joan Hayden and Kimberly Hett, 2017 Kansas Master Teachers, were in residence February 12-14, leading physical education and instructional technology classes as guest instructors.
Presentations
Dr. Antonina Bauman (School of Business) presented her paper “Competency Based Education - say what?” at the 16th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education in Honolulu in January 2018.
Conferences
Six Hornets and their advisor, Rochelle Rowley, attended the Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference in Omaha, February 16 through 18. Keynote speakers were Cece McDonald, Dylan Marron, and Blair Imani with workshops on 50 Bills 50 States, Trans in Media, Archiving Your Campus Pride Events and many more. Next year MBLGTACC is in Wichita, February 17 through 20 with the theme of “Beyond the Rainbow and to the Stars.”