Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Letter from the Provost
Thank you for your contributions to the Academic Affairs
newsletter, the Academic Times. Sharing the activities
and accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students
is critical for several reasons:
1. Public awareness concerning the value of our work
and its impact on residents of our local and regional
communities is vital to garnering support for that work.
2. We are in difcult economic times with a
huge turnover of political leadership, many
of whom know little about higher education.
3. NSU is a learning community where everyone should
be dedicated to intellectual development; to teaching
and learning. Sharing our work helps us realize that
we are all connected within that learning community.
Please keep the contributions coming. We promise to
continue spreading the word about what we do at NSU.
Dr. Jude Abia presented a poster at the Oklahoma Research
Day entitled, "Electrochemical Sensor Technology for Biolog-
ical Applications". He also attended the Creativity World Fo-
rum held in Oklahoma City. He now serves as a member of
the editorial team for the journals: International Journal of
Chemistry; Modern Applied Science. He has also reviewed two
manuscripts, one for each of the afore-mentioned journals.
Dr. Pamela Christol took 15 students to Lincoln Elemen-
tary School in Pryor to teach science inquiries to special
needs children. She had a Disney Planet Challenge booth
at the Science Teachers Association of Texas Conference in
Houston. Dr. Christol had a booth at the Oklahoma Science
Teachers Association in Edmond. She has been coordinating
the vendors/exhibitors and the presenters information for
the Northeastern OK Math and Science Teachers Association.
Dr. Cindy Cisar was invited to speak at the Oklahoma
Water Resources Research Institute (OWRRI) Water
Research Symposium in Norman, OK. The title of her
talk was "Multi-Year and -Season Study on Antibiotic
Resistance in Aeromonads Upstream and Downstream
of a Wastewater Treatment Plant". Dr. Cisar also served
as a judge for student poster awards. She was invited
to speak at the Oklahoma State University Center for
Health Sciences First Friday Seminar series. The title
of her talk was "Wastewater Treatment Plant Efu-
ent and Antibiotic Resistance: An Inconvenient Link?”
Dr. John de Banzie served as a judge for the post-
er session at the Arkansas INBRE Research Conference
Sarah Richardson, a student in Dr. Cindy Cisar's lab, pre-
sented a poster at Oklahoma Research Day at Cameron Uni-
versity. The title of the poster was "Characterization of Oox-
acin Resistance in Environmental Isolates of Escherichia coli".
Dr. Kathi McDowell attended the Oklahoma Academy of
Science meeting at the Broken Arrow Campus of NSU. She
was elected Vice Chair of the Science Education section. She
brought 38 genetics students to the meeting. She attended
Oklahoma Research Day at Cameron University. She brought
57 genetics students. They displayed 12 posters represent-
ing team projects on bioInformatic related analysis of disease
genes. She attended a meeting of the External Advisory
Committee and Campus Coordinators meting for the Oklaho-
ma NSF-STEP. She presented the report for NSU’s program.
Dr. Mark Paulissen chaired the Zoology Paper and
Poster session and the Biological Sciences Division
Meeting at the 99th Annual Oklahoma Academy of Sci-
ences Technical Meeting at NSU-Broken Arrow. Two
of his students presented posters at the meeting: (1)
Jordan Johnson: "Associative learning capabilities in
Sceloporus undulatus, the Eastern Fence Lizard"; (2)
Brian Becker: "Sexual dimorphism in the head size of
the Little Brown Skink, Scincella lateralis". Dr. Paulissen
and STEP student Emily DeMoss presented a poster at
Oklahoma Research Day at Cameron University in Law-
ton entitled: "Forebrain size, gender, and spatial learn-
ing in the Little Brown Skink lizard, Scincella lateralis".
Dr. Spence Pilcher attended the Outstanding Professors'
Academy on "Conict" in Norman on Nov. 19-20, 2010.
Dr. Dorothy Radin and Dr. Teresa Williams (ORU)
have an ongoing partnership with Chelsea Hamp-
ton of Tulsa's Job Corp to introduce students in
the transitions class to the ACT assessment tests.
These students are in the nal phases of vocation-
al training, completing GEDs, and preparing to en-
ter the work force or postsecondary institutions.
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Jason Dovel won an audition for a po-
sition in the trumpet section of the
Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.
Fountain, Runnels and Aman are in-
volved in a research project with four
other political science majors, Katie
Fallen, Dylan Ward, Melissa Weems
and Misty Grady. Under the guid-
ance of political science faculty mem-
bers Ron Becker, Dan Savage and
Jeonghum Min, the seven students
have constructed, and are conducting,
a survey of the ideological attitudes of
Democratic voters in Oklahoma’s 2nd
Congressional District. The presenta-
tion by Fountain, Runnels and Aman
was well received at the conference,
with several attendees asking for copies
of the research. The group also plans
to present its research at the National
Social Science Association Conference
in Las Vegas in the spring. In addition,
the group plans to submit one or two
papers based on an analysis of the sur-
vey’s results for publication in the OPSA’s
and the NSSA’s peer-reviewed journals.
Mr. Chris Gar-
land and the
department of
Social Work re-
ceived a $24,467
grant from Okla-
homa Depart-
ment of Human
Services through
The University of
Oklahoma. This
is Year 17 of a
contract to pro-
vide services to enhance the well-being of
children and families in Oklahoma through
professional education and training pro-
grams focused on developing and improving
future child welfare services providers. Edu-
cational allowances to students selected to
participate will be awarded on a semester
basis. Students will be under contract for the
required commitments of the award. This
will be the nal award year of this program
Brent Huggins presented his re-
search on “Revaluation of the Chi-
nese Yuan.” Three other students,
Megan Fountain, Mitch Runnels, and
Johnny Aman presented their re-
search on “Voter Attitudes in Okla-
homa’s Second Congressional District.”
As an award-winning member of the Wa-
tercolor USA Honor Society, associate pro-
fessor of art, Lance Hunter was invited to
exhibit in Rhode Island in Watercolor NOW
2011. The exhibition will be held Jan. 9-28
at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society's
Slater Memorial Park Gallery in Pawtucket.
Dr. Dan Savage brought four students
to the Oklahoma Political Science Asso-
ciation’s Nov. 2010 conference at Rogers
State University in Claremore. Three of
those students made a presentation on
the preliminary results of a survey be-
ing conducted by several political sci-
ence students, Dr. Ron Becker, Dr.
Jeonghum Min, and Dr. Savage.
The survey is of Democratic voters in
Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District
and is designed to measure ideological
attitudes. The 2nd District is one of the
few in the southern United States, and
the only one in Oklahoma, that has not
realigned with the Republican Party. Po-
litical Science majors Megan Fountain,
Johnny Aman and Mitch Runnels accom-
panied Dr. Savage to the conference and
made the presentation. A fourth student,
Brent Huggins, also attended the con-
ference and presented a paper he wrote
for Professor Cheryl Van Den Handel
on the valuation of Chinese currency.
Dr. Donna Shelton gave a presentation ti-
tled "Introducing Personal Learning Networks
to Future World Language Teachers" at the
annual conference of the American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Languages in Boston.
Amy Aldridge Sanford, Cari Keller,
and Amber Fite presented a work-
shop on recommendation letters at the
Oklahoma Women in Higher Educa-
tion conference at UCO in November.
Dr. Anne Watson spent a week in
Tampa, FL recording new works for
wind instruments for Carl Fischer, LLC.
Kristopher Copeland was accepted
to present "Assessing the Basic Speech
Course" at the Central States Communi-
cation Association Conference this April.
Shannon Unger’s proposal to offer
a lecture/recital on "The Deepest De-
sire" (Jake Heggie with lyrics by Sister
Helen Prejean) with autist Patricia Sur-
mon and pianist Ron Chioldi was accepted
for CMS Little Rock conference in March.
Seven students were selected for the
2011 Oklahoma Intercollegiate Honor
Band which will take place as part of
the OMEA convention in January. The
guest conductor is Michael Haithcock,
who is the Director of Bands at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. Their performance
was on Jan. 20 at the International
Ballroom of the Downtown Doubletree.
Amanda Jesperson, ute
Jonathan Rice, bassoon
Kandis Bardell, clarinet
Timothy Moore, trumpet
Trevor Moore, trombone
Ryunosuke Hamada, trombone
Eric Schmidt, string bass
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The rst week of November was a good one
for students in the political science program be-
cause of their performances at two state events:
1. At the state capitol in Oklahoma City the Okla-
homa Intercollegiate Legislature met for its bian-
nual mock legislative session on Nov. 4-8. NSU’s
contingent of twenty-seven students competed with
over twenty Oklahoma colleges and universities.
NSU’s chapter of OIL meets every Thursday evening
in the UC at 8:00. Led by Dustin Woods, the weekly
meetings are used to train students to write, debate,
and pass legislation. Some students also play executive,
judicial, and journalism roles. All training is designed
to prepare students for the ve-day mock legislative
sessions held once per semester at the state capitol.
The training proved to be effective as the NSU contingent
was awarded the trophy for being the Best House Dele-
gation. In addition, political science majors Katie Fallen
and Tyler Keen won personal honors. Fallen was chosen
Second Runner Up for best legislation for her proposed
reforms for the Department of Human Services, and Keen
was chosen First Runner Up for Best Freshman Delegate.
Along with the awards won, NSU students also
played important leadership roles. Political sci-
ence major Amber Buker served as Attorney
General at the session and communications ma-
jor Stephen Rogers was Speaker of the House.
2. Four political science majors presented their research
at the annual Oklahoma Political Science Association
Conference at Rogers State University in Claremore.
The paper "Group Assessment of Learning: Test the
Class, Not the Students" authored by Ernst Bekker-
ing, Julia Kwok and David Kern, was recognized
as a meritorious paper at the Information System
Education Conference and was automatically accept-
ed for publication in the
Information Systems Educa-
tion Journal.
The paper describes the development
of a new methodology to demonstrate student perfor-
mance in higher education. Developing proper learn-
ing assessment methods is crucial to effective teaching.
Student Team led "Race for Life" 5K-10K run on the
NSU-BA campus with 126 participants. This was the
maiden event for the charity for One to the Other Min-
istries--medical missions to foreign countries. Student
Team also worked with John 3:16 Mission in Tulsa,
OK, and coordinated a canned food drive for the Min-
go Valley School. The student contest generated over
3200 cans of food for the Holiday Meals distribution.
Ken Jones and Dr. Michael Landry completed the pub-
lication of 22 electronic tests for Blackboard application in
coordination with the McGraw-Hill Publishers text: Supply
Management 8th Ed. by Burt, Petcavage, and Pinkerton.
The tests were triple-checked for accuracy and functional-
ity before being distributed. The Blackboard tests are now
authorized and being distributed by Richard Hercher, Execu-
tive Editor of Operations and Decision Sciences, McGraw-
Hill/Irwin, Burr Ridge, IL, to Instructors using the text.
The case, "Conict between Doing Well and Doing
Good? Capital Budgeting Case - Coors,” authored by
Julia Kwok and Elizabeth Rabe, was published
in the
2010 Nov./Dec. issue of Journal of Business
Case Studies (Volume 6, Number 6)
. The case de-
scribes how Coors, the rst major U.S. brewery to
produce an alternative fuel, created a bio-mass alter-
native fuel from waste. The ethanol project presents
Coors an opportunity to be an innovative, environ-
mentally friendly, and community-minded company.
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Dr. Castillo gave ve hours worth of lectures and con-
ducted a workshop on ofce-based surgical procedures at
the Multistate Surgical Procedures for Optometric Physi-
cian's course held at NSU-BA on Dec. 4-5. He attended
the National Board of Examiners in Optometry meeting in
Charlotte, NC Dec. 4 - 8, where he served as exam coun-
cil and chair on the systemic disease committee. He has
been invited to speak at the Oklahoma Osteopathic Associa-
tion Winter Seminar in January. He will be lecturing over
advances in eyecare technology to the D.O. colleagues.
David Lewerenz, OD, presented two lectures at the
annual meeting of the American Academy of Optom-
etry in San Francisco last November. The presenta-
tions were titled,“Determining Statutory Blindness
and Visual Disability” and “In the Middle: Helping Vi-
sually Impaired Patients with Their Mid-Range Needs”.
Grant Project: AISES
American Indian Sci-
ence & Engineer-
ing Society Spring
2011 Sponsor: Okla-
homa EPSCoR-Ex-
perimental Program
to Stimulate Com-
petitive Research.
Amount: $5,336.00
PI or Director: Dr.
Phyllis Fife
Goal of Project: Funds to assist AISES students with
travel and operating expenses for designated conferenc-
es and symposiums. This is the second award obtained
by Dr. Phyllis Fife for the AISES program this scal year.
Grant Project: ACT Preparation Program
Sponsor: AT&T Foundation
Amount: $10,000.00
PI or Director: Mr. Jerry Cook
Goal of Project: AT&T contributed $10,000 to Northeast-
ern State University (NSU) in Tahlequah to assist in the
funding of an ACT college preparation program for stu-
dents at Fort Gibson Public Schools. The contribution is
funded by the AT&T Foundation; the philanthropic arm
of AT&T. NSU is developing an enhanced program that
combines academic training and ACT test preparation
skills with ongoing tracking and analyzing of student
achievement levels to boost test scores and success at
the college level.
The program will be offered to 120 Fort Gibson seniors
who have taken the ACT test at least once. The stu-
dents’ test scores will be monitored and analyzed by
a team of NSU specialists who will work with the stu-
dents to maximize each student’s ACT scores. The ACT
initiative at Fort Gibson is part of NSU's Community
Outreach and Recruitment Effort. Faculty and staff join
CORE teams and assist the university with initiatives
to increase enrollment, alumni connection and parental
involvement.
CORE goals are to increase enrollment through connec-
tion with prospective students, recognize the achieve-
ments of students, alumni and community members,
increase institutional exposure and increase nancial
support and the engagement of alumni and parents
with the university.
The contribution to NSU is one of 13 announced this
month by AT&T that are going to Oklahoma colleges
and schools to bolster higher education and student
programs.
Pictured from left to right are Jerry Cook, director of
community relations, Mark Kinders, vice president
for university relations, Bryan Gonterman, president
of AT&T Oklahoma, Dr. Martin Tadlock, provost and
vice president for academic affairs, and Craig Crom-
ley, director of external affairs for AT&T Oklahoma.
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Deans and Division & Department Chairs
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Paul Westbrook - Dean
Dr. Mike Chanslor - Associate Dean
Dr. Amy Aldridge Sanford - Communication, Art and
Theater
Dr. Mark Bighley - Music and Humanities
Dr. Les Hannah - Languages and Literature
Dr. Bill Corbett - Social Sciences
Dr. Kathlyn Shahan - Social Work
Dr. Cari Keller - Criminal Justice and Legal Studies
Major Jason Junkens - Military Science
College of Education
Dr. Kay Grant - Dean
Dr. Pamela Fly - Associate Dean
Dr. Louis White - Assistant Dean
Dr. Deborah Landry - Curriculum & Instruction
Dr. Mark Giese - Health & Kinesiology
Dr. Renee Cambiano - Educational Foundations & Leadership
Dr. Kathryn Sanders & Dr. Richard Williams - Psychology &
Counseling
College of Business & Technology
Dr. John Schleede - Dean
Dr. Dunn Faires - Associate Dean
Dr. John Yeutter - Accounting & Finance
Dr. Anne Davey - Business Admininstration
Dr. Michael Turner - IS & Technology
College of Science & Health Professions
Dr. Martin Venneman - Dean
Pam Hathorn - Associate Dean
Dr. April Adams - Natural Sciences
Dr. Darryl Linde - Mathematics & Computer Science
Dr. Joyce VanNostrand - Health Professions
College of Optometry
Dr. Doug Penisten - Dean
Dr. Michelle Welch - Associate Dean
Mary Stratton - Assistant Dean of Administration
Muskogee Campus
Dr. Tim McElroy - Dean
Broken Arrow Campus
Dr. Christee Jenlink - Dean
If you have any information that you would like to
have posted in the February issue of the Academic
Times newsletter, please work through your dean’s of-
ce. Please submit information in the form of a word
document. If you have any questions, contact Mon-
for the February issue is February 15. Any informa-
tion sent after that will be in the following newsletter.
Library
Dr.Sheila Collins - Dean
Jackie Schumaker gave a presentation on “Descrip-
tive Cataloging of Audiovisual Recordings” at "Catalog-
ing 101" - the Oklahoma Library Association Technical
Services Roundtable Fall 2010 Workshop in Midwest City.
During the fall 2010 semester, NSU was asked to support
the Tulsa Metro Chamber's Talent Dividend Program. One
focus of this program is the College Access Career Readiness
Coaching program (CACR). This program allows profession-
als within the Tulsa Metropolitan community to volunteer
two hours a month and serve as a resource coach to help
students in Tulsa Public Middle and High Schools better pre-
pare for their next step. An inaugural group received train-
ing in December and will began their sessions in January.
The goal is to increasing college going rates and degree
attainment thus positively impacting the economic forecast
for Tulsa. Currently, four NSU staff members are committed
to this program. Mrs. Nadia Hall, Mrs. Bonnie Dickson,
Mrs. Regina Portman and Mr. Jerrett Phillips, all from
the Broken Arrow Enrollment Management Center, are serv-
ing at East Central High School during the spring semester.
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Tom Rink has been asked to serve on two advisory boards:
The Vatterott College Program Advisory Council for the
Criminal Justice Program and the University of Oklahoma,
School of Library and Information Studies Advisory Board.
Linda West presented a poster presentation in Macon,
Ga. She presented "More is better: enhancing access to
classical music on CDs" at the OnLine AudioVisual Cata-
logers 2010 conference. She upgraded Library web pag-
es over the summer and edited over 400 pages including
content and design to conform to University standards.
Harriett Hobbs, Samantha Clifford, Jeanne Pry, Lou Ann
Rhea, and Jenifer Rodgers attended the Oklahoma Library
Association’s Technical Services Roundtable workshop on
Cataloging 101 which included sessions on Books, AV re-
cordings, E-resources, Realia, and Serials in Midwest City.
Vickie Shefer, Delores Sumner, Susan Woitte, Peggy Kaney,
and Sarah Burkhead were presenters at the Native American
Symposium at the University of Arkansas on Nov. 3, 2010.
Dr. Sheila Collins has been named to the Ameri-
can College and Research Libraries Advocacy Com-
mittee and the American College and Research Li-
braries Traditional Cultural Expressions Task Force.
