Gather Here. Go Far

NSU is where success begins. Here professors know their subjects and how to get you ready for a career after you graduate. We empower individuals to become socially responsible global citizens by creating and sustaining a culture of learning and discovery.

Gather Here. Go Far

NSU is where success begins. Here professors know their subjects and how to get you ready for a career after you graduate. We empower individuals to become socially responsible global citizens by creating and sustaining a culture of learning and discovery.

Gather Here. Go Far

NSU is where success begins. Here professors know their subjects and how to get you ready for a career after you graduate. We empower individuals to become socially responsible global citizens by creating and sustaining a culture of learning and discovery.

Gather Here. Go Far

NSU is where success begins. Here professors know their subjects and how to get you ready for a career after you graduate. We empower individuals to become socially responsible global citizens by creating and sustaining a culture of learning and discovery.

Gather Here. Go Far

NSU is where success begins. Here professors know their subjects and how to get you ready for a career after you graduate. We empower individuals to become socially responsible global citizens by creating and sustaining a culture of learning and discovery.

Academic Times 2018

Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree in Alicante, Spain

Academic Times

The Academic Times is a monthly newsletter that has highlighted faculty and staff accomplishments since 2010. Check out past editions in the Academic Times Archives!

Academic Times January 2018

Dr. Keller-Dupree in Spain

International Programs
Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree participated in CIEE's Faculty Development Program in Alicante Spain.


Student practicing alternative fire building techniques

NSU's Health and Kinesiology Department collaborated with the United Keetoowah Bandand Tahlequah City Fire RepresentativeAaron Garrett, to provide instruction and experience in alternative fire building techniques to PED 2232 Outdoor Recreational Activities. Students received instruction about fire safety, fire prevention, and fire dynamics from Mr. Garrett. Students also had the opportunity to experiment with several of the methods demonstrated. Ignition methods included bow drill, magnification, flint and steel, flammable metals, and utilizing alternative fuels. The course met at The United Keetoowah Band Housing Authority cabin on Highway 10.

Seminole STEM Charter School

Six RACE Fellows were welcomed by Seminole STEM Charter School over the fall break. The fellows worked within the school with teachers from kindergarten to fourth grade, hosted a professional development for the teachers, and concluded with a parent workshop on robotics. Alumna Savanna Atchison-Weis, a Seminole 3rd grade teacher, served an mentor for the students. 

RACE Selected to House Seismograph for NE Oklahoma

Tabitha McIntyre, Molly Yunker, and Jefferson Chang, from the OU Geological Survey.

RACE's STEAM Maker Lab was selected by the OU Oklahoma Geological Survey to house the first seismograph in the Raspberry Shake Blossom Program (Bridging Local Outreach & Seismic Signal Monitory). The seismograph will monitor earthquakes and tremors and send data for research. The seismograph will also be used to explore earthquakes for lessons with the pre-service teachers and children who visit the lab. Pictured is RACE Fellow Tabitha McIntyre, Molly Yunker, and Jefferson Chang, from the OU Geological Survey.

Grandview Elementary Learns Motion and Gravity

Sixty-Six 3rd grade students from GrandView Elementary attended classes at the College of Education November 14. Students visited the Robotics Lab and the STEAM Maker Lab learning about motion and gravity while building rubber band race cars. The classes were led by RACE Fellows Tabitha McIntyre, Eden Fuller, Karen Wilson, and director of RACE, Barbara Fuller.

Maryetta 1st Graders Experiment with Simple Machine

Seventy-six first grade students from Maryetta Elementary explored robotics, gears, and simple machinery on November 15th at the RACE, STEAM Lab, and the College of Education hallways.
Dr. Susan Patrick and students from both ECED and ELED courses provided activities during recent Family Nights at Greenwood and Sequoyah Elementary Schools in Tahlequah. NSU students met with school faculty throughout the semester to plan, organize, and implement activities based on the specific needs of the school. This service learning opportunity provided a platform for students to put pedagogy into practice in a practical setting while having a fun and interactive experience with local school faculty, children, and families.

RACE Invited to Attend Governor Mary Fallin's STEM and Entrepreneurship Summit

On November 2, students from K-12, CareerTech, and higher education had the opportunity to showcase examples of entrepreneurship in STEM through booth exhibits. RACE was selected to represent NSU. RACE Fellow Tabitha McIntyre discusses the use of emerging technologies in preparation for her teaching career.
Dr. Baker and Dr. Carney, of Educational Leadership, hosted the Oklahoma School Library Educators Meeting on November 30, 2017, at NSU in Broken Arrow. Professors from library programs across the state were in attendance, with representation from ECU, OSU, OU, and UCO. Dr. Barbara Ray, AASL Affiliate for Oklahoma School Libraries, was the guest speaker, leading a discussion about the new, upcoming CAEP SPA standards for Library Media. Others in attendance were: Dr. Buffy Smith-Edwards (OU), Dr. Kyungwon Koh (OU), Ms. Michelle Robertson (UCO), Dr. Sheli Sharber (ECU), and Dr. Kathy Thomas (OSU). This was the first meeting of the group in several years, and we are encouraged to continue this collaborative relationship.
Dr. Melinda Smith, Dr. Allyson Watson and Dr. Meagan Moreland wrote a book chapter titled, "Realizing Their Potential, Shaping Their Greatness: Using Self-Efficacy in a Graduate Reading Program to Shape K-6 Student Success" which was published last month. The book is titled: Critical Assessment and Strategies for Increased Student Retention.
Dr. Linda Wilson, ELED and C&IED, worked with news anchor Dave Davis on two news broadcasts in October and November. The October segment featured edible color wheels. Dave and Dr. Wilson used colored cake icing to mix colors to create a six colored color wheel showing the primary and secondary colors.

In November, Dr. Wilson and Dave created a multi-generational turkey hand. Rather than using the traditional single hand turkey from primary school days, this art project could be made using the hands of every guest at the Thanksgiving table. The segments air on the third Thursday of each month on the News on Six.

Watch now! November Segment: Multi-Generational Twist On 'Turkey Hand'

Dr. Linda Wilson and Dave Davis

Watch Now! October Segment: Edible Color Wheel

Dr. Linda Wilson and Dave Davis

Dr. Suneeti Jog led a field trip to the Ouachita National Park with students from Field Botany at the Broken Arrow Campus and Tahlequah Campus.

Dr. Cindy Cisar, Department of Natural Sciences, reviewed 20+ abstracts for the Microbiology & Immunology and Biology sections for the 2018 National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo, Department of Natural Sciences, was invited to participate at the Booker T. Washington High School Career Panel on October 17, 2017. The panel included specialists from various areas of expertise.

The Biology and Chemistry Seminar series on the Broken Arrow campus hosted three speakers in the fall semester. The speakers were scientists from University of Tulsa, University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Sciences. Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo organized the seminar series. Dr. Nathan Green and Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo hosted the speakers for the fall semester.

Dr. John de Banzie served as reviewer for the National Conference of Undergraduate Research to be held at University of Central Oklahoma in 2018. He reviewed 20 abstracts in Biology and Microbiology and Immunology.

Dr. Jim Hicks was chosen to serve as the Vice President of the Arkansas-Oklahoma-Kansas section of the American Association of Physics Teachers.

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim attended the 2017 Technical Meeting of the Oklahoma Academy of Science at Rogers State University on November 3, 2017. His student, Casey Abernethy, presented her research work about the temperature effect of ionic liquid on enzymes.

Dr. Sung Kun (Sean) Kim along with his student, Kaylin Shackelford, submitted a manuscript, titled Inhibition of anthrax lethal factor by ssDNA aptamers in the peer-reviewed journal, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Dr. Sung Kun (Sean) Kim and his research student, Casey Abernethy, attended the Annual Technical Meeting of the Oklahoma Academy of Science, presenting a poster about the temperature effect of ionic liquid on enzymes.

Dr. Suneeti Jog conducted a workshop on "Identification of Oak species" at the Tahlequah Garden Club.

Dr. Michael Shaughnessy completed a proposal to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's State Wildlife Grant competition. Dr. Shaughnessy proposed to monitor bats in northeastern Oklahoma.

Dr. Michael Shaughnessy applied to the ODWC State Wildlife Grant competition with a proposal to study habitat usage in northeastern Oklahoma bat species.

Brenda Bradford completes the Heritage Emergency and Response Training in Washington, D.C.

NSU John Vaughan Libraries, Head of Special Collections & Archives Brenda Kaye Bradford completed the Heritage Emergency and Response Training (HEART) program held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, on November 17, 2017.

Organized by the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, the training prepares cultural stewards, first responders, and emergency managers to work together to address emergencies and disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods that affect cultural institutions and historic sites. The sessions offered realistic, hands-on training in damage assessment, emergency evacuation and salvage of museum objects, crisis communication, leadership, and team building.

Selected through a competitive nation-wide application process, the 25 participants came from a wide variety of museum specialties and emergency management fields. They represented 21 states and the Territory of Puerto Rico.

The Heritage Emergency National Task Force is a public- private partnership of 58 federal agencies and service organizations that protect our nation's cultural heritage from the damaging effects of natural disasters and other emergencies. It is co-chaired by the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and FEMA's Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation.

2018 marks the birth centennial of composer, conductor, educator, and television personality, Leonard Bernstein, one of the most significant musical figures of the 20th century. In January, Dr. Erica K. Argyropoulos, a musicological specialist in both popular music and the career of Leonard Bernstein, is presenting her research at a centennial celebration conference hosted by the University of Kansas. Her presentation is titled "Breaking New Ground: Leonard Bernstein, West Side Story, and the Opening of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's Mann Auditorium."

Dr. Pamela Louderback, Associate Professor and Library Director, provided a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador Workshop on November 30 at Mayville State University, in North Dakota. In this workshop, Dr. Louderback shared her experiences as a Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom (2010/2011), highlighted reasons to apply for grants, and provided information about Fulbright Scholar programs and how to get involved. The Fulbright Alumni Ambassador Program trains and utilizes a select group of Fulbright Scholar alumni to serve as representatives for the Fulbright Scholar Program at campus workshops and academic conferences across the United States. This is the third year Dr. Louderback has been nominated to serve in this capacity.

Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree, associate professor of psychology at NSU, visited Alicante, Spain, participating in CIEE's Faculty Development Program on grants from NSU and CIEE.

December 2017

Award Name: Immersive & Innovative Mentoring for Novice Teachers: Grades K-5
Award Dates: 12/07/2017 - 05/31/2019
Award Amount: $35,000
Project Director: Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Pamela Christol, Ms. Barbara Fuller
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education/Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Purpose of Award: To provide novice teachers who have subject matter knowledge in science a high-quality professional development opportunity. This professional development training will be offered to Muskogee Public Schools and Tahlequah Public Schools-Grades K-5.

November 2017

Award Name: Child Welfare Specialization Training Program II, 2017-2018, Year 5/5
Award Dates: September 30, 2017 - September 29, 2018
Award Amount: Total = $735,000 in increments of $147,000/year for 5 years
Annual Award Amount: $147,000
Project Director: Dr. Virginia Whitekiller
Funding Agency: Department of Health & Human Services for Children and Families through The Research Foundation for the State University of New York, Albany, New York.
Purpose of Award: Development of a program of diverse child welfare workforce, namely Native Americans. It highlights a formal agency partnership with the Cherokee Nation Indian Welfare with the desired outcome that a more effective and efficient bridge will be built between both organizations that will support and enhance tribal child welfare services. This collaboration will include ongoing workforce training as well as a workforce entry and retention plan. It will include (8) BSW traineeships per year for a total of (40) awards over the 5 year period.

Parchment eTranscripts

Northeastern State University has partnered with Parchment to offer electronic delivery of official NSU transcripts for current students and former students who have attended NSU during the Summer 1994 semester or later. The cost is $3.00 per recipient and transcripts are normally delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Since going live with eTranscripts in late June 2017, over 1,600 orders have been processed, saving the university both time and money while generating a small revenue of $.50 per eTranscript.

Find out more at the NSU Registrar's Office.

Academic Times February 2018

NSU University Singers performing

College of Liberal Arts
The NSU University Singers were selected to perform as an honor group for the Oklahoma Music Educators Association conference in Tulsa.


Through a collaboration between the College of Education and the College of Science and Health Professions, Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Pam Christol and Ms. Barbara Fuller, received a teacher quality grant from OSRHE for $35,000. They have partnered with multiple school districts to offer mentoring in STEAM to area novice teachers (one - three years teaching experience). The grant includes on campus professional development, off campus and online mentoring, and online instruction through modules developed by the team with the help of Dr. Kathy Hixon. Participants have spent the last two Saturdays working in the STEAM Maker Lab on the Tahlequah campus.

Dr. Vanessa Anton at National Press Club

On January 17, 2018 the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's (AACTE) Clinical Practice Commission (CPC) held a press conference for the release of their report, A Pivot Toward Clinical Practice, Its Lexicon, and the Renewal of Educator Preparation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Over the last two years, the commission developed the report that draws on foundational research from the field to define essential proclamations and tenets for effective clinical preparation. Multiple supporting documents and a summary brief also accompany the report release. Dr. Vanessa Anton, a member of the CPC, worked with the team to write the report and attended the event. You can view the report and summary brief on the AACTE website or click on the link below.

Read the Report!

Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Samantha Benn-Duke, and Ms. Barbara Fuller worked with NETSTAR (Native Educated Teachers Successfully Taught Academic Rigor) scholars on February 17, 2018 during a seminar. The COE is a sub-awardee of a grant awarded to the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) as they partner to provide targeted support for American Indian teacher candidates in teacher shortage areas. At the current time, there are 20 teacher candidates in the program (at various stages in their degree) and 4 graduates. The grant also provides induction/mentoring for one year for its graduates. Dr. Anton, as PI of the project, put together a task force to advise and consult as the COE implements the grant. The task force is interdisciplinary, and in addition to Dr. Benn-Duke and Ms. Fuller, includes Dr. Rachel Green (COE), Dr. Tiffanie Hardbarger(COLA), Sara Barnett (CTS), Alisa Douglas (CTS), and Ms. Darla Chewey (COE). The group is working closely with AIRC's Pam Iron and Gwen Shunatona.

Sheep brain dissection was implemented this year in Mrs. Beth Bowin's Physiological Psychology 4043 class. Although many differences exist between humans and sheep, the basic brain plans are similar. By studying the brain anatomy of sheep, one will have a better understanding of the human brain systems. As the semester progresses, and disorders and diseases of the nervous system are discussed, the students will have a better understanding exactly where in the human brain the problem originates or manifests.

The College of Education received notification from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) that the Special Education Mild/Moderate program is Nationally Recognized until 8/1/2026.

The College of Education just received notification from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) that the Health and Physical Education program is Nationally Recognized With Conditions.

The College of Education received notification from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) that the Special Education Mild/Moderate program is Nationally Recognized until 8/1/2026.

NSU University Singers performing

Under the direction of Dr. Jeffery Wall, the University Singers were selected to perform as an honor group for the Oklahoma Music Educators Association conference in Tulsa on Jan. 18 at Trinity Episcopal Church. The University Singers were hailed as the outstanding group of the two-day series.

Mr. Troy Bender, newly appointed program director of Physician Assistant Studies, and Dr. Wes DeRosier, associate dean of Gregg Wadley College of Science and Health Professions, attended Entering the ARC-PA Provisional Accreditation Pathway Conference on January 19th in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference presented information on the physician assistant accreditation process.

Dr. Cindy Cisar, Department of Natural Sciences, served on a National Science Foundation, Directorate for Education and Human Resources Graduate Research Fellowship Program review panel in January. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

Dr. John de Banzie served as an accuracy checker for Norton Publisher's SmartWork adaptive online learning environment for use with a new Biochemistry textbook. He reviewed a set of questions that make use of manipulable three-dimensional representations of biological molecules.

Dr. John de Banzie attended the Arkansas/Oklahoma Pathway to Calculus meeting held at University of Arkansas - Fort Smith on February 1.

Dr. John Diamantopoulos, Professor of Mathematics, attended the joint national meetings of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America, January 2018, in San Diego, CA. While there, he presented a talk Proofs Without Words...Animated Gif Style! and judged two poster competitions. He published an article in Plus Magazine.

CHECK IT OUT!

Sydney Dorrough, in partnership with a local non-profit organization My Friends and Me, provided trainings to teachers at Grandview Schools, Sequoyah Elementary, and Greenwood Elementary in Tahlequah. The trainings provided information regarding the utilization of sensory tools in the classroom. The sensory kits were purchased and donated to the schools by My Friends and Me. Eleven other local schools are scheduled to receive the trainings and sensory kits over the course of the next few months.

Dr. Janaki K Iyer published a study on using nanodiamonds to treat bladder infections caused by Escherichia coli in the journal PLoS ONE.

Dr. Suneeti Jog and her undergraduate student Stacey Murray co-authored a manuscript titled "Could the adult dragonflies ecophysiology hypothesis extend to the emergence phase?" by Bried et al. which was submitted to Ecological Entomology for review.

Dr. Martha Parrott, Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Sallie Ruskoski, Assistant Professor of Medical Laboratory Science, presented an integrated math-science session for the Sonia Kovalevsky Girls' STEM Day, a STEM support initiative in the greater Tulsa area, on February 2, 2018.

Dr. Mark Paulissen participated in the third annual STEM night at Grandview event February 6. This event attempts to build interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among Grandview students by exposing them to a variety of demonstrations and displays of science in action. Dr. Paulissen attended with his leopard gecko and showed videos of previously undiscovered lizard behaviors recorded by former NSU student and current Grandview Science teacher Ms. Laura Myers.

Dr. Elizabeth Escobedo by presentation poster

Dr. Elizabeth Escobedo attended the Global Specialty Lens Symposium on January 26-29 in Las Vegas, NV. She is currently in the Cornea & Contact Lens residency program supervised by Dr. Latricia Pack. Dr. Escobedo had her poster selected for this conference, which is an outstanding accomplishment. Her poster is entitled: Managing Keratoconus 2-Years Post-Crosslinking with Semi-Scleral Lenses.

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important holiday in China. In 2018, Chinese New Year began on February 16 and marked the beginning of the Year of the Dog. The annual Lunar New Year celebration is the International Program Office's main event of the year. The event included dragon dances, fan dances, a martial arts performance by international students, and a group dance by the Hmong students. The theme of this year's event was a tour of China. On display were famous Chinese historical sites models, with some fun facts about each site. Attendees could also use virtual reality equipment to take a real tour of China.

Award Name: Confucius Institute 2018
Award Dates: 01/01/2018 - 05/31/2018
Award Amount: $9,000
Project Director: Dr. Eloy Chavez
Funding Agency: Beijing Normal University through the University of Oklahoma-Confucius Classroom
Purpose of Award: This project will provide four non-credit, Chinese Art/Culture workshops which will be open to the public. These workshops will be offered through the College of Extended Learning and held in the Broken Arrow Campus Confucius Classroom.

Alyssa Simmons

Alyssa Simmons is the new Administrative Assistant for the Office of Academic Affairs. She efficiently & effectively provides administrative support for the office by assisting in the coordination of conferences, programs, and special events, managing calendars for the Vice Presidents & Provost, updating electronic data bases, and ensuring faculty, staff, and students receive proper assistance.

Alyssa graduated with her bachelor's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in August 2017 from NSU. While pursing her degree, she worked in IT Client Services where she grew accustomed to a fast-paced environment. She also completed two internships with the Walt Disney Company where she continued to grow her communication and customer service skills.

What do you like about NSU?
The sense of community & family on campus.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Spending time with my family & friends, playing with my dogs, watching movies, and doing home improvement projects.

What is your favorite quote?
"Stay afraid, but do it anyways. What's important is the action. You don't have to wait to be confident. Just do it, and eventually the confidence will follow." - Carrie Fisher

Academic Times March 2018

University Singers

College of Liberal Arts
Under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Wall, the University Singers embarked on a 6 day tour through the Dallas area.


Interim Provost, Dr. Debbie Landry; Dr. Sophia Sweeney, Assistant Dean for the College of Education; Interim Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Vanessa Anton, Director of the RACE Program, Ms. Barbara Fuller; and Assistant Dean for the College of Education, Dr. Lisa Bisogno.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education selected the Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement to showcase their program in Baltimore, Maryland where over 3,000 higher education participants attended.

Pictured: Interim Provost, Dr. Debbie Landry; Dr. Sophia Sweeney, Assistant Dean for the College of Education; Interim Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Vanessa Anton, Director of the RACE Program, Ms. Barbara Fuller; and Assistant Dean for the College of Education, Dr. Lisa Bisogno.

30 students from the Tahlequah Middle and High School after school programs experimented with Google Expeditions on a virtual field trip in the RACE STEAM Maker Lab. The STEAM Maker Lab is open to all faculty and staff, teachers, classes, and students from higher education, public schools, and home schools.

Twelve students from the Emerging Technologies class collaborated with RACE for the Cappi Wadley Reading and Technology Literacy Night. Nearly 200 area children and families were able to explore how robotics and emerging technologies in the integration of technology and reading are used.

arbara Fuller is NSU alum and Fuller's former student, Kirk Norrid, REC and VEX regional manager for Oklahoma.

Barbara Fuller, Director of RACE, received an invitation to lead the judging teams in the Oklahoma VEX Robotics Championship. Her team of four teacher candidates also received an invitation to accompany her. Twenty-nine judges from different areas in Oklahoma, business leaders and industry engineers volunteered for the two-day championship to determine the advancement of Oklahoma teams to the World Championship in April.

Pictured: Barbara Fuller is NSU alum and Fuller's former student, Kirk Norrid, REC and VEX regional manager for Oklahoma.

Under the direction of Dr. Jeffery Wall, the University Singers embarked on a 6 day tour through the Dallas area February 1-6. They made recruiting stops to sing for several high schools including Durant High School (Durant, OK), Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas, TX), Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, TX), and Booker T. Washington Fine Arts High School (Dallas, TX). The tour was the result of an invitation to sing as Prelude Choir for the North Texas Children's Choir at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas where they sang to great acclaim for 2,000 or more audience members. They also performed a full concert of their own at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Allen, TX. The University Singers were immediately invited back for a future performance. Plans are underway for 2021.

Students and faculty from the Department of Criminology, Justice Studies, and Global Security

Students and faculty from the Department of Criminology, Justice Studies, and Global Security attended the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Annual Meeting in New Orleans this past month. Fernandezpresented his research, The Brazilian Police Experience: Phenomenological Evaluation of Perceptions of Procedural Justice among Brazilian Police Officers. Neal and Dias presented Becoming a U.S. Citizen: International College Student's Perceptions on Undocumented Immigration and the Pathway to Citizenship. Heersche andCreason-Parker, presented "Employer Attitudes towards Hiring Female Offenders in Oklahoma." Creason-Parker also presented her work on Native American Attitudes towards Police: Uncertainty and Contradiction in a Research Age", "Cruel and Unusual Punishment: An Age-Old Debate in a Modern Era," and the Hot Topic in American Policing: Understanding Perceptions of Police by Minorities and the Majority."

Dr. Clark Gibson, Assistant Professor of Music and head of Jazz Studies, hosted the 51st annual Green Country Jazz Festival on March 4 and 5, where he and students had an opportunity to work with world-renowned organist Pat Bianchi.

Students practicing in Jazz Lab

Dr. Christine Hallman, Associate Professor of Geography, spoke at the United Nations Association of Eastern Oklahoma's Global Conversation on Women's Rights at the Raindrop Turkish House in Tulsa on March 8. Dr. Hallman's presentation was titled Warrior Women in the Community.

Professor of Art, Lance Hunter s piece Toxic Beauty II was awarded First Place in the Rockies West National Exhibition held in Grand Junction, Colorado for the month of March. Last fall, this painting also received an award in the 68th National Exhibition of the Texas Watercolor Society.

In November, Lance Hunter received the Best in Show Award for Net Worth in the 23rd Annual Artist's of Northwest Arkansas Regional Exhibition in Fayetteville. The ANA annual exhibition is open to artists in a nine state region. December NSU graduate, Amanda Lamberson, received a Merit Award in the ANA exhibit for her charcoal drawing, Practice. Both artists work were featured prominently in the ANA exhibition catalog.

drawing of broken piano keys

Dr. Ben Kracht, Professor of Anthropology's book Kiowa Belief and Ritual (2017), has been nominated for the Clifford Geertz Prize in the Anthropology of Religion, sponsored by the Society for the Anthropology of Religion (a section of the American Anthropological Association). Kracht's most recent book, Religious Revitalization Among the Kiowas, examines changes in Kiowa belief and ritual in the final decades of the nineteenth century and has been featured in Nebraska University Press.

Associate Professor of Drama, Christopher Miller, directed John Pielmeir's play Agnes of God in February. Dr. Robyn Pursley, Associate Professor of Drama, designed costumes for the production and Assistant Professor of Drama, Scott Pursley, designed lighting and sound for the production.

Dr. Suneeti Jog led a field trip to a local organic farm in Jay, OK for the special topics course "Plants and People." Colby Roof, an undergraduate research student from BA accompanied the class as part of his research project "Documenting the farming practices and diets of Hmong farmers in Oklahoma."
Ms. Kelley Sky-Eagle and Ms. Lindsey Ince attended the 10th Annual Advocacy Day at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. Four Nutritional Sciences Dietetics Students also attended the event. Advocacy Day promotes evidence based nutrition practices and Registered Dietitians as the Nutrition Experts!
Dr. Diana Mashburn, Dr. Judy Melvin, Scott Wengerd and Troy Bender served as judges at the Muskogee Regional Science Fair on March 6, 2018.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo attended and presented research at the South Eastern Regional Yeast meeting at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee from March 9-11, 2018. This travel was funded by her INBRE Research Project Investigator award.

Dr. Jim Hicks and five NSU students (Dan Bonser, Lisa Bonser, William Grovenburg, Katie Smith-Easter, Tucker Mastin, including majors from biology and physics) volunteered as science fair judges for the Woodall Science Fair Night at Woodall Public Schools.

Dr. Kyeorda Kemp was awarded an American Association of Immunologist Undergraduate Faculty Travel Grant to attend the 2018 American Association of Immunologist conference in Austin, Texas in May. This award will provide funds for Dr. Kemp and her student CheyAnne Youngblood to attend the annual meeting. In addition, Dr. Kemp had been invited to present data at the meeting.

Dr. Mark Paulissen was invited to review manuscripts for two different scientific journals this month: North American Journal of Aquaculture and Animal Behaviour.

The 57th Heart of America Eye Care Congress was held February 9-11 in Kansas City, Missouri. We had a number of residents that had posters accepted this year. Posters were chosen based on their uniqueness, complexity, and outstanding overall presentation.
Dr. Erelda Gene beside presentation poster
Dr. Erelda Gene is a Family Practice/Ocular Disease resident under the leadership of Dr. Alissa Proctor and her poster was entitled A Case Report of endogenous endophthalmitis secondary to MRSA.
Dr. Elizabeth Escobedo beside presentation poster
Dr. Elizabeth Escobedo is the Cornea & Contact Lens resident under the leadership of Dr. Latricia Pack and her poster was entitled Management of 19D of Corneal Astigmatism with Scleral Lenses.
Dr. Charles Ronan beside presentation poster
Dr. Charles Ronan is the Refractive & Ocular Surgery/Ocular Disease resident under the leadership of Dr. Larry Henry at BVA Edmond and Joy Oklahoma City. His poster was entitled Acute Retinal Necrosis: an Atypical Presentation."
Dr. Anita Jacob beside presentation poster
Dr. Anita Jacob is a Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease resident at the Fayetteville VAMC under the leadership of Dr. Marcus Cooke. Her poster was entitled Scleral Necrosis secondary to Plaque Brachytherapy of Uveal Melanoma.
Dr. Kaitlin Spikes beside presentation poster
Dr. Kaitlin Spikes is a Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease resident at the Fayetteville VAMC under the leadership of Dr. Marcus Cooke. Her poster was entitled Bilateral Complete Third Nerve Palsy Secondary to Cavernous Malformation.
Dr. Stephanie Stanley beside presentation poster
Dr. Stephanie Stanley is a Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease resident at the Fayetteville VAMC under the leadership of Dr. Marcus Cooke. Her poster was entitled Atypical Bilateral Panuveitis Secondary to Toxoplasmosis.
Dr. Casey Wilgenbusch beside presentation poster
Dr. Casey Wilgenbusch is the Primary Eye Care resident at Womack Army Medical Center under the leadership of Dr. Steven Gutierrez. His poster was entitled Atypical Herpesviral Keratitis with Associated Uveitis and Ocular Hypertension.
Dr. Nicholas Green beside presentation poster
Dr. Nicholas Green is a Family Practice/Ocular Disease resident under the leadership of Dr. Alissa Proctor. His poster was entitled Impetigo Gone Wild: Bacterial conjunctivitis Secondary to Cellulitis.
Dr. Pamela Martin beside presentation poster
Dr. Pamela Martin is a Family Practice/Ocular Disease resident under the leadership of Dr. Alissa Proctor. Her poster was entitled MRSA Preseptal Cellulitis in a Pediatric Patient.
Dr. Kelsey Haugen beside presentation poster
Dr. Kelsey Haugen is a Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease resident at the Fayetteville VAMC under the leadership of Dr. Marcus Cook. Her poster was entitled Suspicious Conjunctival Intraepithelial Neoplasia.
Dr. Latricia Pack attended the Alcon Contact Lens Educator Meeting in Atlanta, GA from February 26-28, 2018. One contact lens faculty member from each of the 25 optometry schools in North America were invited to attend. Educators interacted with the contact lens marketing team at Alcon, providing feedback on materials and initiatives that would aid with educational efforts in the various schools/colleges of optometry. The group also had the opportunity to go on a manufacturing tour to see how DAILIES Aqua Comfort Plus and Dailies Total1 contact lenses are made.

Award Name: Robotics Summer Academy 2018 Yr 3 of 3 Award Dates: 01/01/2018 - 09/30/2018
Award Amount: $17,775
Project Director: Mrs. Barbara Fuller
Purpose of Award" This project will hold a summer robotics academy for students entering 8th-12th grades. The goals will be: to provide supplemental learning beyond the STEM standards; provide students with a learning and living experience on a college campus; prepare students for college admission by providing students with resources and support for college preparation; introduce students to career awareness in STEM fields; teach life skills such as: studying, note-taking, prioritizing, planning, and setting timelines. In addition, the program will establish a follow-up connection for ACT support.
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Award Name: Get Green for Blue Summer Academy 2018 Yr 3 of 3
Award Dates: 01/01/2018 - 09/30/2018
Award Amount: $5,381
Project Director: Dr. Pamela Christol
Co-Director: Dr. Martha Parrott
Purpose of Award: This project will continue a summer academy for high school students at the NSU Broken Arrow campus. The academy will connect students to possible STEM career paths, to their relationship with the local and global environmental communities, and to their roles as responsible stewards of the planet that may ultimately inspire personal action to address community needs.
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Award Name: INBRE-Equipment 2018
Award Dates: 01/01/2018 - 04/30/2018
Award Amount: $19,992
Project Director: Dr. Jessica Martin
Purpose of Award: To purchase the following equipment:

  • Safe Imager blue trans-illuminator - $1,525
  • T100 Thermal Cycler - $2,495
  • ELx808 Ultra Absorbance Reader - $5,634
  • Rotavapor R-300 Rotary Evaporator Standalone - $4,777
  • VeeMAX II silicon attenuated-total-reflection (ATR) plate - $1,750
  • Eppendorf Multi-channel Pipettors $2,238
  • Polyethylene windows for IR - $778
  • Disruptor Geni - $584
  • Shipping & Handling - $211

Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education through INBRE-NIH

NSU gained recognition from Complete College America for progress in the 15 to Finish initiative which promotes on-time degree completion. NSU promotes the initiative both to students and parents to help students save time, money and fast track their career.
Find out more about NSU's 15 to Finish initiative at OK Higher Ed and on the NSU University Advising webpage.

Academic Times April 2018

AACTE-AwardCarousel

College of Education
Robotics Academy wins the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology.


Robotics Academy at Northeastern State to Win AACTE Technology Award

By Arlene Borthwick

Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement accept award

On behalf of the AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology, I am delighted to announce the winner of the 2018 AACTE Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology: the College of Education at Oklahoma's Northeastern State University (NSU), for its Robotics Academy of Critical Engagement (RACE) program. Representatives from NSU will receive the award on Saturday, March 3, during the Closing Keynote at the AACTE Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.

This annual award celebrates and recognizes the innovative use of educational technologies in a school, college, or department of education in ways that stretch beyond established practice to enable change in teacher education programs.

The RACE program uses robotics to facilitate critical thinking and problem solving on the part of preservice candidates, in-service professionals, and PK-12 students. It grew out of a partnership between the Cherokee Nation and NSU that began in 2012. It started small, by implementing robotics in just one Technology in Education class, then expanded to include a required Emerging Technologies course with a service-learning component that enables candidates to design cross-curricular lessons using a variety of robotics technologies. The program also has added robotics summer camps, afterschool programs, and a partnership with the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation that fuels STEM curriculum development and training for practicing teachers as well as preservice candidates.

The RACE program is an outstanding example of NSU's overall commitment to an immersive learning approach that allows our graduates to be career ready in a variety of fields, said Steve Turner, president of Northeastern State University. We are very proud that, since the program's inception, over 700 preservice teachers have tutored and/or mentored more than 3,500 students in the United States and internationally.

Indeed, the program was recognized in part due the significant number and diversity of educators and learners it has reached. As of the time of its entry for this award, the program reported that candidates had tutored 500 PK-12 students in NSU labs, worked in classrooms and afterschool programs with 600 students, and mentored over 2,000 students in robotics competitions and over 1,000 students in robotics summer camps. In addition, the College has hosted the VEXPo Robotics Competition with the Cherokee Nation for the last 3 years, with participation of over 2,000 elementary and secondary students from across the state of Oklahoma; faculty from programs across the campus assist with organizing the event and judging entries. At the annual summer academy hosted by the College, preservice candidates take leadership roles in designing curriculum and teaching.

The AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology commends NSU for its leadership in the preparation of preservice and in-service teachers and PK-12 students to fully utilize and integrate technology to achieve 21st-century learning.

On April 20, Dr. Beth Melles and Dr. J. M. Kirk had the pleasure of taking a number of students to the Oklahoma Psychological Society Conference. The students presented four projects, two posters and two research paper talks. One of the posters and one of the talks were entered into the presentation competitions. Both projects garnered third place finishes, recognition at the conference and cash prizes.

Amber Anderson, Randilyn Thompson and Schuylir Armstrong's poster, "Mediation of Physiological Responses to Pain with Meditation" placed third, and Jacki Epps, a first year graduate student in school counseling and her research partner, Dylan Kinser, also received a third-place prize for their presentation, "A Walk to Remember: Examining the Effectiveness of the Privilege Walk." In addition, Amber Anderson was voted Outstanding Undergraduate Student by OPS! Other students, Madalyn Rogers,Geoff Metcalf, Erin Hearn and Chad Seratt, attended and represented NSU in a professional and scholarly manner. Our students were competing against OU, OSU, UCO and numerous other regional universities.

Positive Psychology Promotes Gratitude in Community

Psychology and Counseling adjunct instructor, Jaymie van Meter's, Positive Psychology class collaborated to bring joy to the world through creativity and art! The students of Positive Psychology were encouraged to bring their children, grandchildren, and anyone being cared for during the teacher walkout. Positive messages and pictures were painted on rocks and placed around the NSU campus and the cities of Tulsa and Broken Arrow. The rocks represent the gratitude and flourishing that is taking place in each student and the purposeful contribution to create a better and brighter world. This class is taking strides to encourage gratitude and work toward an altruistic greater good!
Dr. Sophia Sweeney and Dr. Roxanne Fillmore published an article in the March 2018 issue of Young Children, titled "The Birds, the Children, and the Big Black Dog: Reflecting on Emergent Curriculum."
 
On Thursday, March 15, 2018, The Cappi Wadley Reading and Technology Center hosted a Family Literacy Night themed as Camp Cappi Wadley. The staff at the Cappi Wadley Center, along with volunteers from FEYC, Emerging Tech, and Robotics, created literacy activities for parents and students in our community. These activities were designed to incorporate every type of learner, from kinesthetic, to visual, to auditory. The event included special guest author, Brad Wagnon, and illustrator, Alex Stephenson, debuting their newest book The Land of the Great Turtles. The event was a huge success and the center was able to reach nearly 200 children and parents.
 
The Cappi Wadley Reading and Technology Center is now offering English Second Language (ESL) Courses for the community. Classes are held on Thursdays at 5:30.The instructor, Kyndra Johnson, gained her certification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in January 2018. Since then, the class continues to grow week by week. NSU and/or COE students who are in search of English language tutoring and community service are welcome to join or contact Kyndra at (918)444-3313 for further information on how they can be a part of ESL.

Art

Rayna, a watercolor nude by Professor Lance Hunter recently received the Silver Award in the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Exhibition. The exhibition is on display March 9th until June 30th at the Butler Arts Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. In past years, this large watercolor by Hunter has also received awards in exhibitions of the Kansas Watercolor Society and the Adirondacks Watercolor Society and it was featured in the 135th International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society in NYC.
Watches in Gold painting
Denver Pinkston, senior Studio Art major received the Best in Show Award in the annual Muskogee Art Guild Judged Art Exhibition for his watercolor painting titled "Watches in Gold." Pinkston also won First Place in the Mixed Media category and an Honorable mention in the Watercolor category. NSU art major, Bethie Seay, received First Place and an Honorable Mention in the Drawing category.

History

National History Day: Oklahoma attracted 147 students from seven regional middle and high schools to NSU, which hosted the Region 6 competition for the thirty seventh consecutive year on March 30. Participants showcased their individual and group exhibits, documentaries, performances, and websites, and individual papers, on the theme of Conflict and Compromise in History. The top three junior and senior entries in each category, as determined by groups of volunteer judges from NSU and the community, go on to compete in the state finals on May 2-3 at the Oklahoma History center in Oklahoma City. Winners advance to the national finals at the University of Maryland-College Park in June.

Languages and Literature

Lara Searcy, English Education Specialist, successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation: "How Do English Teacher Educators in Oklahoma Utilize the Secondary English Methods Course to Prepare Teacher Candidates for Today's Classroom?" at the University of Arkansas on April 13th, 2018.

Dr. Chris Malone presented "All the Who's in Howlville: Teaching Cultural Diversity in Beat Literature" at the Society for Higher Education Interdisciplinary Learning and Discovery Conference, March 30, 2018. Rogers State University, Claremore, OK. Dr. Malone also presented on the panel "Trauma and Healing in Literature: A Pedagogical Approach." Big Read Event: Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl (NEA-funded grant). Invited and collaborated with four area high school English teachers, all graduates of NSU BA/MA in English programs. April 12, 2018. NSU-BA. Broken Arrow, OK.

Dr. Irina Strout attended an annual Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies conference at University of California at Santa Barbara on March 23, 2018. She presented a paper Finding the holy grail of manhood in Martin Chuzzlewit and The Cossacks on March 24, 2018. The paper discussed the gender issues, specifically looking at the construction of masculinity and manhood in Dickens and Tolstoy in their two respective novels. Dr. Strout is researching these writers for her current book project, which focuses on the manifestations of disability and illness in the works of the 19th century writers (including Dickens and Tolstoy).

Dr. Beth Green-Nagle has had her paper "The Journey of Maternal Grief in Concha M ndez's Ni o y sombras accepted for the panel on 20th and 21st Peninsular Literature at the South Central Modern Languages Association conference which will be held October 11-14, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. She will also be serving as the secretary for the 20th and 21st Peninsular Literature session.

Dr. Green-Nagle presented two of her poems "Pillows" and "The Blood Orange" to the creative writing panel on inspiration for the Visions Conference, April 6, 2018. She also presented "'Yo's a nadie le importa:' Concha Mendez's Defiant Declaration of her maternal Creative Subject in Poem 26, 'Yo's ' from Ni o y sombras" and moderated the Spanish Language panel at the Visions Conference.

The annual Visions conference is open for all undergraduate and graduate Languages and Literature majors or minors, as well as students in allied or supported programs, in good standing. The conference promotes scholarly research opportunities for students as well as faculty. Work on any aspect of languages, literature, creative writing, teaching, and popular culture is usually welcome. Finished essays should be presented in around 20 minutes. (8 pages). All submissions are blind reviewed. This year's conference took place on April 7, 2018. The event was organized by Dr. Strout, Dr. Farmer and Dr. Flavin. There were 7 panels, ranging from language, writing and pedagogy to British and American fiction, including one faculty research panel (included Lara Searcy, Dr. Scott and Dr. Lowman) and well as a Spanish panel (included Dr. Green-Nagle). The keynote speaker for this year's event was Chris Murphy whose talk was titles The Craft of Flash Fiction: A Lecture and Reading . Chris received his MFA from The University of Arkansas and currently teaches creative writing at Northeastern State University. His work has been published in Gulf Coast, This Land, The Jellyfish Review, Five Quarterly, and decomP, among others. The flash fiction published in decomP was nominated for Best Short Fictions 2018. He was recently interviewed for OSU's Deep Roots: Oklahoma Authors Oral History Project and will read his work on an upcoming episode of KOSU's Dear Oklahoma. At the end of the conference, the students received awards for best in each section and best overall for the conference, this year's winner was Brittany Seay for her paper Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth: A reminder of femininity."

Media Studies

Terran English, communication and media studies major, talks to students at Sequoyah High School about NSU

Terran English, communication and media studies major, talks to students at Sequoyah High School about NSU. Students in advanced advertising are recruiting at four different high schools in the area.

Media Studies students volunteering at Tahlequah Backpacks program

Media Studies students participated in the Tahlequah Backpacks program by volunteering their time to learn about the daily inner-workings of this philanthropic Tahlequah organization.

Music

Dr. Ronald Chioldi adjudicated the first national Steinway Competition on April 21. The prestigious piano company Steinway and Sons Corporation sponsored the competition, and Saeid Music of Tulsa, OK hosted it. The competition was open to pianists from Oklahoma and Arkansas, aged 18 years old and under.

Dr. Jeff Wall adjudicated the Oklahoma State Choral Festival for E-class groups in Norman on March 28th and the Arkansas State Choral Festival in Conway, AR at University of Central Arkansas, April 10-13.

Dr. Brett Fitzgerald, Criminal Justice, is the faculty sponsor for the NSU Fishing Team. Blake Haggard, Cody Metzger, Tyler Winn and Caleb Gibson qualified for the 2019 National Championship.

READ MORE!

Tyler Winn and Caleb Gibson

Tyler Winn and Caleb Gibson

Blake Haggard and Cody Metzger with awards

Blake Haggard and Cody Metzger

Dr. Chris Burba published a paper in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Dr. Chris Burba presented a paper at the 255th American Chemical Society National Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Cindy Cisar, Department of Natural Sciences, attended the Joint Meeting of the Missouri and Missouri Valley Branches of the American Society for Microbiology on March 9-10, 2018 at Kansas City Kansas Community College. She served as a judge for the undergraduate student oral presentations at the conference.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo attended and presented research at the Gordon conference on DNA Damage, Mutation and Cancer at Ventura, California from March 25 to 29, 2018. Dr. Das-Bradoo was awarded Gordon Research Conferences Predominantly Undergraduate Institution (PUI) Fund to attend this conference.

Steven Shirley with Sen. Dewayne Pemberton of Tahlequah.

Dr. Das-Bradoo's student, Steven Shirley represented NSU at the Research Day at the State Capitol on March 26-27, 2018.

Steven Shirley with Sen. Dewayne Pemberton of Tahlequah.

Steven Shirley with Rep. Matt Meredith of Tahlequah.

Steven Shirley with Rep. Matt Meredith of Tahlequah.

Steven Shirley with Rep. Ross Ford of Broken Arrow.

Steven Shirley with Rep. Ross Ford of Broken Arrow.

Dr. Das-Bradoo attended the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held at University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) from April 5-6, 2018. Three of her students, Sarah Woller, Batuel Okda and Bryan Wright presented their research posters at the conference.

Dr. John Diamantopoulos, Professor of Mathematics, attended the 2018 International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics in Washington, D.C. He presented a workshop entitled Get Down and Dirty with Doceri... and Amaze your Students with Your Responses! and he delivered a talk Math + Students + YouTube = Fun."

Dr. Richard Hasenauer, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, presented a talk at Karl-Franzens-Universitat Graz in Graz, Austria Factorization in Pr fer domains. Attendance at the conference was partially funded by the Karl-Franzens-Universitat Graz, February 2018.

Dr. Richard Hasenauer presented Factorization properties in Pr fer domains at a special session on multiplicative ideal theory at the Midwest Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, March 2018.

Dr. Hasenauer refereed three papers for the Journal of Commutative Algebra in March and has accepted a position with the American Mathematical Society to serve as a reviewer for Mathematical Reviews.

Dr. Suneeti Jog gave an invited talk titled "Towards rapid assessment of wetland biological condition at the Biology Department in the University of Central Oklahoma.

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim, associate professor of chemistry, along with his student Kaylin Shackelfordpublished the article Inhibition of anthrax lethal factor by ssDNA aptamers in the peer-reviewed journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (ABB).

Dr. Karl Kruczek, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, presented his paper Factors that Predict Academic Achievement and Retention of First-time Freshmen at the Annual Research Council of Mathematics Learning, Baton Rouge, LA, February 2018.

Senior Fish and Wildlife major Eddy Wild and Dr. Michael Shaughnessy submitted a poster presentation to the 2018 Undergraduate Research Day entitled, "An examination of Bergmann's Rule in the Southern Redbelly Dace." The poster represents the culmination of Mr. Wild's senior research project.

Dr. Neal Xiong and Dr. Patrick Harrington, both Associate Professors of Computer Science, have published with three coauthors Data Fusion-based Multi-Object Tracking for Unconstrained Visual Sensor Networks, IEEE Access, March 2018.

Dr. Neal Xiong and Dr. Ernst Bekkering, both Associate Professors of Computer Science, have published with two coauthors Design and Analysis of a Data Fusion Scheme in Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Multi-Protocol Mobile Agents, Sensors (Basel), November 2017.

Dr. Neal Xiong, with four coauthors, has published A Services Routing based Caching Scheme for Cloud Assisted CRNs, IEEE Access, March 2018.

Dr. Neal Xiong, with two coauthors, has published An Intelligent Adaptive Algorithm for Environment Parameter Estimation in Smart Cities, IEEE Access, on page(s): 1-13, Print ISSN: 2169-3536,DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2810891.

Dr. Neal Xiong, with two coauthors, has published "Intelligent Impulsive Synchronization of Nonlinear Interconnected Neural Networks for Image Protection," IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/TII.2018.2808966.

Richard Castillo, OD, DO, NSUOCO's director of surgical care and assistant Dean for surgical training, conducted an 8-hour continuing medical education seminar for the Optometric Association of Louisiana in March. Louisiana, like Oklahoma and Kentucky, has a broad scope of practice where optometrists perform office-based surgical procedures. Topics presented included laser procedures, office surgery, and surgical pathology.

Dr. Castillo also traveled to the Illinois College of Optometry, as he has every year for over a decade now, to promote advanced practice optometry by lecturing and holding workshops on optometric surgery and advanced diagnostics. While in Chicago, Dr. Castillo met with Illinois Optometric Association state leaders and advocates to discuss optometry's role as an established primary health care profession that includes vision, medical and surgical care.

NSU recognized for emergency management, MCAT test prep programs

Northeastern State University was presented with two exceptional program awards by the Association for Continuing Higher Education Great Plains Region on March 9.

NSU was recognized for its Certificate of Emergency Management and Planning certificate program in the credit category and for its MCAT Test Prep program in the noncredit category.

The Certificate of Emergency Management and Planning certificate program for undergraduate credit is the first of its kind in Oklahoma, said Eloy Chavez, dean of the NSU College of Extended Learning. The program, which can be part of NSU's criminal justice degree program, prepares emergency managers for a variety of situations. Federal officials have recommended there be a college-credit emergency management program in every state. There is general consensus the field is evolving into a professional area requiring advanced education.

The MCAT Test Prep program was created in collaboration with three other universities: Oral Roberts University, University of Tulsa and Rogers State University. The course includes seven sessions covering Critical Analysis and Reasoning, Physics, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Psychology and Sociology. Professors from various universities teach the different session topics and work with the students.

These awards are a positive reflection of NSU, said Chavez.

"These two awards are great because they recognize NSU as a full service institution that not only offers quality for credit academic programs but also non-credit continuing education programs."

For more information, please contact the NSU College of Extended Learning at 918-449-6527.

NSU Press Release

Academic Times May 2018

Great Wall China AntonKeller with CIBT reps March 2018

College of Education
Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Cari Keller and Xuan Li traveled to China on a recruitment trip.


China Recruitment Trip for COE Graduate Programs

Great Wall China AntonKeller with CIBT reps March 2018

Dr. Vanessa Anton, COE Interim Dean, Dr. Cari Keller, Graduate Dean and Xuan Li, International Programs, traveled to China on March 20 April 1, 2018. Dr. Anton and Xuan Li presented at the U.S. Embassy, and then attended an Expo recruitment event for two days in Beijing. While Xuan Li flew to a recruitment event in Singapore, Dr. Anton and Dr. Keller met with school leaders at universities in Wuhan, Jinhua, and Hangzhou. Xuan Li then joined them in Shanghai for further recruitment meetings. The plan is for four of the COE's master's programs to start a bridge program in China in the fall (Early Childhood, Instructional Leadership, Health & Kinesiology, and Higher Education Leadership). Dr. Roger Collier has also been working with the group. The plan includes COE Instructional Leadership faculty members Dr. Renee Cambiano and Dr. Maria Christian traveling to China to work with graduate students in the fall. The students will then be coming to NSU to complete their degrees.

American Sign Language

ASL students at the Green Country Cinemas theater

Who would have thought that a horror movie could be so educational? On April 10th, American Sign Language students ranging from Sign I-IV gathered at Green Country Cinemas in Tahlequah to watch A Quiet Place. A Quiet Place is a movie starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe, as a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters with hypersensitive hearing allows them track and kill anything that makes a sound. The movie features Deaf actress Millicent Simmonds as the Deaf daughter in a hearing family. The family use sign language, the primary form of communication throughout the film, to not only communicate with their Deaf daughter, but to also hide from the monsters. The movie, which had done amazingly well at the box office, has allowed ASL to come to the front of storytelling. It also exposed ASL to people who otherwise might not have ever had a chance to interact with it. Between movies such as The Shape of Water and A Quiet Place, the class sizes and interest in ASL is sure to grow within the coming years.

On April 7th, American Sign Language students were given the chance to experience being DeafBlind and to experience leading the DeafBlind around. The class was hosted by Jeri Cooper, who started by sharing her own personal story about her life as a DeafBlind person, while her Support Service Provider (SSP) signed on her back, allowing her to, in a sense see what students reactions were. If a student yawned, smiled, laughed, or even rolled their eyes, Jeri knew about it, just like anyone else. Students were then tasked with leading around a fellow classmate and given three different jobs, including describing something on a wall, assisting them with getting a drink of water, and assisting them in getting down the stairs and up the elevator. After accomplishing these tasks it was time for lunch, where the students then partnered up again and assisted each other in getting the correct amount and flavor of pizza. Students who did well in this class were encouraged to take the test to become a SSP themselves and assist during the DeafBlind camp later this year.

Educational Leadership

On April 13, 2018, Dr. Maria Christian served as a panelist for the OK Learning Innovation Summit presentation Live Panel Discussion on Online Education Innovation. Dr. Christian participated in the panel as the 2017 OSHRE Council for Online Learning Excellence (COLE) Online Excellence Award winner. She joined educators from other Oklahoma universities and colleges to discuss challenges to online education and offer advice for providing successful online learning experiences for students and teachers.

On April 4, 2018, Dr. Jim Ferrell and Dr. Ken Hancock (Professor Emeritus) made two presentations at the National Education Finance Conference. Dr. Ferrell made the presentation Considering Recapture to Help Solve Oklahoma Public Education Finance and Dr. Hancock made the presentation Charter School Funding Compared to the Public School Funding in Oklahoma. Both Dr. Ferrell and Dr. Hancock are in the School Administration Program in the College of Education.

Dr. Alesha Baker and Dr. Jim Ferrell will be traveling to Jinja, Uganda, this summer to continue working with the Nyanga Christian School located just outside the city. Both have made several trips to Uganda to work with the school and have seen tremendous growth in enrollment and progress student achievement over the past four years. Activities this summer will concentrate on professional development for faculty on mathematics instruction and professional development for the administration on monitoring classroom instruction. While on-site, Dr. Baker and Dr. Ferrell will be conducting research with the faculty and administration doing qualitative work on perceptions of the changes over the previous four years.

Early Childhood

Diana Barr volunteering

Each semester, for the past several years, teacher candidates enrolled in the Birth to Two class and graduate students enrolled in the Infant Toddler course were involved in a service-learning project at Emergency Infant Services. A special shout out to Diana Barr, who volunteered as a graduate student three years ago continues to volunteer monthly often accompanied by her daughters. Students are given a choice to either creatively represent their experience or donate much-needed items. Most prefer to contribute. This semester, students were especially generous due to social media, and personal contacts, which provided over 650 much needed size 5 diapers.

Psychology and Counseling

On April 20, Dr. Beth Melles and Dr. J. M. Kirk had the pleasure of taking a number of students to the Oklahoma Psychological Society Conference. The students presented four projects, two posters and two research paper talks. One of the posters and one of the talks were entered into the presentation competitions. Both projects garnered third place finishes, recognition at the conference and cash prizes. Amber Anderson, Randilyn Thompson and Schuylir Armstrong's poster, Mediation of Physiological Responses to Pain with Meditation" placed third. Jacki Epps, a first year graduate student in school counseling, and her research partner, Dylan Kinser, also received a third-place prize for their presentation, "A Walk to Remember: Examining the Effectiveness of the Privilege Walk."

In addition, Amber Anderson, was voted Outstanding Undergraduate Student by OPS! Other students, Madalyn Rogers,Geoff Metcalf, Erin Hearn and Chad Seratt, attended and represented NSU in a professional and scholarly manner. Our students were competing against OU, OSU, UCO and numerous other regional universities.

Peggy Glen Director of Development; Dr. Gary Wing, coordinator; Jeff Reagan

Spring Outstanding Intern Award goes to Jeff Reagan (right).

Pictured: (Left to right) Peggy Glen Director of Development; Dr. Gary Wing, coordinator; Jeff Reagan.

Tahlequah Induction of Teacher Candidates

Tahlequah Induction of Teacher Candidates - Spring 2018

Broken Arrow Induction of Teacher Candidates

Broken Arrow Induction of Teacher Candidates - Spring 2018

Dr. Samantha Benn-Duke, Dr. Stephan Sargent and Dr. Jericho Hobson each received one of the Top Ten RiverHawk Recognition Awards

College of Education Faculty Dr. Samantha Benn-Duke, Dr. Stephan Sargent and Dr. Jericho Hobson each received one of the Top Ten RiverHawk Recognition Awards.

Dr. Tobi Thompson

NSU College of Education congratulates Dr. Tobi Fillman Thompson who has been named a 2018 DaVinci Institute Fellow!

Federal Grant Training in DC

Dr. Vanessa Anton, COE Interim Dean, Ms. Barbara Fuller, RACE Director (Robotics Academy for Critical Engagement) and Dr. Pamela Christol, Science Education faculty, traveled to Washington, DC, May 8-11, 2018. The state regents hosted the group for the training as a part of an Improving Teacher Quality Grant that they received. The grant supports novice science teachers with immersive and innovative mentoring. The group received in-depth training on managing federal grants, which included administrative processes and requirements, audit information and resolution, and new federal regulations.

Dr. Kyeorda Kemp attended the annual American Association of Immunologists meeting in Austin, Texas this month. She received a travel award to present research from her lab. She was also awarded funds to take her undergraduate student, who contributed to the work, as a guest.

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim, Associate Professor of Chemistry, attended the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) held at University of Central Oklahoma from April 4-7, 2018. His students, Kaylin Shackleford, Jarrett Wingfield, and Luke Bayless presented their research posters at the conference.

Dr. Mark Paulissen was asked to review a manuscript by the journal ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR.

Toxic Beauty: Fish Tales V received Second Place in the 2018 National Exhibition of the Georgia Watercolor Society. The large painting by Lance Hunter, Professor of Art, was displayed at the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art in Atlanta through April 29.

Toxic Beauty watercolor

Dr. Erica K. Argyropoulos, Instructor of Library Services, was recently interviewed by a reporter representing the Times of Israel for the occasion of Leonard Bernstein's 2018 birth centennial. Her PhD dissertation, "Conducting Culture: Leonard Bernstein, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Negotiation of Jewish American Musical Identity, 1947-1967" proved a significant resource for the newspaper in their discussion of Bernstein's Jewish identity and his deep relationship with Israel. Dr. Argyropoulos's work supported an article that personalized an ongoing exhibit in Philadelphia on one of America's most significant musical figures, putting the artifacts into a more detailed biographical context.

Tom Rink of the BA Library was presented with a Presidential Citation from President Dee Magnoni of the Special Libraries Association (SLA), "for his boundless support of SLA and unceasing efforts to ensure its success and increase its value." Tom was the President of SLA in 2016 and the Past President of SLA in 2017. President Magnoni further stated, "SLA is blessed with members who give generously of their time and talents to help move our association forward and open new doors to engaging, educating, and connecting with information professionals. I am proud and honored to present presidential citations to the many members who went above and beyond in 2017."

Sarah Burkhead Whittle, Instructor of Library Services, was invited to speak on a panel at the Bartlesville Public Library addressing media literacy entitled "News or Nonsense." The event was sponsored by the Bartlesville League of Women Voters on April 23 at the Bartlesville Public Library. In her portion of the panel, Ms. Whittle shared insights into the fundamentals and importance of information literacy, as well as effective online researching tips and evaluation skills, including ways to limit searches by using Boolean operators. She also shared lesser known methods of searching Google, including the Google advanced search and Google Scholar when seeking information for personal, social, occupational, or educational purposes.

Award Name: American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES Spring 2018)
Award Amount: $500
Project Director: Alisa Douglas
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State University Oklahoma EPSCoR through the National Science Foundation
Purpose: To assist students with admittance fees to the Annual Symposium on the American Indian luncheon.

Award Name: TABERC Summer 2018
Award Amount: $1,500
Project Director: Dr. Kyeorda Kemp
Funding Agency: Tulsa Area Bio-science Education & Research Consortium (TABERC)
Purpose of Award: To develop bioscience research in Tulsa and surrounding communities by providing summer internships at local universities and community colleges.

Award Name: Summer Mentor: Kinetic Analysis of the Biofilm-releasing Glycoside Hydrolase Dispersin B 2018
Award Amount: $2,200
Project Director: Dr. Sung Kun (Sean) Kim
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health through OUHSC
Purpose: Funding is provided to cover summer wages for student researcher through OUHSC and to provide laboratory supplies for the NSU faculty mentor.

Award Name: Summer Mentor 2018 - Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo
Award Amount: $2,200
Project Director: Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/OK INBRE through OUHSC
Purpose: Funding is provided to cover summer wages for a student researcher through OUHSC and to provide laboratory supplies for the NSU faculty mentor.

Award Name: SMART Determine if Mcm10 and Mrc1 interaction is altered in the present of DNA damaging agents
Award Amount: $5,497
Project Director: Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE)
Purpose of Award: To provide the opportunity for faculty to mentor students engaged research

Award Name: NSU: Reducing the Post-secondary GAP-Native Americans
Award Amount: $9,371
Project Director: Sara Barnett
Funding Agency: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Purpose of Award: The program will assist to bridge the gap left by the loss of the Cherokee Program by creating a University Strategies section for American Indian students, creation of a Native Scholars LLC, and implementation of Common Intellectual Experiences.

Award Name: INBRE Travel 2018-American Chemical Society
Award Amount: $2,000
Project Director: Dr. Sung Kun (Sean) Kim
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE)
Purpose of Award: Funding to assist with travel to attend and present findings on Enzymatic Inhibition Studies of Histone Deacetylases by Dihydroxamic Acid Derivative.

Academic Times August 2018

Dr. Keller-Dupree in Alicante, Spain

Academic Spotlight
Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree traveled to Alicante, Spain for faculty development.


Dr. Tobi Thompson and Dr. Ingrid Massey presented research findings at the 4th Annual Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18) conference in Valencia, Spain this summer. Their paper, Preparing Effective Literacy Educators Through Professional Development, was published in the conference's journal.

Dr. Tobi Thompson and Dr. Ingrid Massey by presentation poster

Awards

2017-2018 Dewberry Outstanding Faculty in Teaching Award - Dr. Rachel Green

Dr. Anton, Dr. Green and other presentors

2017-2018 Dewberry Outstanding Faculty in Research Award - Dr. Johnny Mark Kirk

Dr. Anton, Dr. Johnny Mark Kirk with award and other presenters

2017-2018 College of Education Outstanding Faculty in Service Award - Dr. Ron Cambiano

Dr. Ron Cambiano with award and Dr. Anton

2017-2018 College of Education Outstanding Faculty in Advising Award - Dr. Ingrid Massey

Dr. Anton and Dr. Ingrid Massey with award

2017-2018 College of Education Outstanding Staff Award - Rhea Fears

Dr. Anton and Rhea Fears with award

Dr. Vanessa Anton and Dr. Kathy Hixon had their manuscript "Teaching Diversity Through Cherokee Stickball" accepted for publication in the September 2018 Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 89 (07) 16-22. The authors provide the historical background of stickball, along with suggestions and methods for introducing stickball in physical education.

Dr. Alesha Baker's article, Open Educational Resources in Teacher Preparation Programs: Teacher Candidates Perceptions of Open Textbooks, will be published in volume 2, issue 1 of the International Journal of Teacher Education and Professional Development (IJTEPD) this fall. The study examines whether the use of open educational resources (OER) in teacher preparation programs impacts the perception of the resource. P-12 schools are beginning to adopt OER; however, many teachers are unfamiliar with OER, which may slow diffusion throughout the institution. In this study, two groups of teacher candidates from two universities completed surveys evaluating their perceptions of OER. The first group used an open textbook in their course. The second group had no experience using OER.

Dr. Been was selected to attend the TOLI workshop in New York this summer. The workshop is for social justice and Holocaust education.

Dr. Benn-Duke and Barbara Fuller were awarded a Faculty Research Grant entitled STEM in South Dakota. They'll accompany six students to the Pine Ridge Reservation where students will conduct lessons that demonstrate cultural competences in addition to content knowledge and appropriate pedagogical skills.

Dr. Pam Christol, Barbara Fuller, and Dr. Vanessa Anton received an additional $20,500 (original grant funding was $35,000) from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education through an ESEA ITQ federal grant. The grant provides new teachers professional development and hands-on experience in STEAM using emerging technologies.

Dr. MooSong Kim's manuscript "Differences in University Student's Motivation between a Required and an Elective Physical Activity Education Policy" has been accepted by Journal of American College Health. The article provides an insight regarding university and college physical activity education policies in support of public health perspective. Also, Dr. Kim is conducting a research project, "The Effects of a Performative Exercise Interventions on Korean Immigrant Older Adults' Physical Function and Exercise Maintenance." The project proposal was awarded by 2018-2019 Faculty Research Committee (FRC). This innovative exercise program will expect to help older adults not only improve their physical functions (i.e., muscular strength, balance, flexibility, etc.) but also maintain their exercise behaviors after the program.

ELED welcomes new faculty member Susan Kirk. Susan will be on the BA campus.

Dr. Meagan Moreland, Dr. Tobi Thompson, and Dr. Ingrid Massey presented several workshops at the Cherokee Nation's "Teachers of Successful Students" (TOSS) conference hosted in June on the NSU Tahlequah campus. Presentations included reading strategies for struggling students, writing strategies for reluctant writers, and literacy centers to engage and motivate all learners. Several NSU graduate students and alumni presented workshops as well.

Drs. Moreland and Thompson conducted research and submitted a book chapter titled "Mentoring Female Leaders at Multiple Levels in One Higher Education Institution." The chapter will appear in the book Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Higher Education Leadership.

Dr. Moreland presents an educational segment on Channel 6 News at Noon every third Thursday. The segment usually airs around 12:45.

Dr. Thompson and Dr. Kim (H & K) presented at the SHAPE conference in Nashville in March. Their research studied the effects of physical activity on reading achievement.

Dr. Min Chi Yan has been awarded a Faculty Research grant for a proposed study that will take place this year. The SPED program has received approval for the advanced track program B.S. Mild/Moderate Disabilities to M. Ed. Special Education Autism Spectrum Disorders. They also submitted a Project DREAM Grant, which is a federal grant. They will know in September if it has been approved.

College of Education Book Discussion Group

Join us for a College of Education Book Discussion on September 19 from 11-1. Faculty and staff are all welcome to attend. We have chosen Carroll Dweck's Mindset for our first book discussion. The group will meet in Tahlequah in Bagley Hall 101 and in Broken Arrow in BAED 243.

The group will simply discuss books chosen and how they impact what we do as professionals and in our teaching and careers. The discussion will emerge from the readings and we will allow that to dictate our time together. The group plans to meet twice each semester. For questions, please contact Dr. Sherry Been been@nsuok.edu or Dr. Jim Ferrell ferrellj@nsuok.edu.

Faculty Research Group

Join us for a Faculty Research Group on September 6 from 11-1. Faculty from all colleges are encouraged to participate. The group will meet in Tahlequah in Bagley Hall 101 and in Broken Arrow in BAED 243.

The goal of this group is to simply talk about what research we are doing as faculty, collaborate on potential research for the future, and help hold each other accountable as we progress through the year. This group will meet monthly. For questions, please contact Dr. Alesha Baker bakera@nsuok.edu or Dr. Jim Ferrell ferrellj@nsuok.edu.

Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association Conference - to be held in Broken Arrow

NSU will be hosting the 50th Annual Rocky Mountain Education Research Association this fall on the BA campus from October 25-26. This is a regional conference with participants from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Florida. This is a safe place to present at a regional conference for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion. Please contact Dr. Jim Ferrell ferrellj@nsuok.edu for more information.

SNAG Golf Scholarship fundraiser

The College of Education will hold their annual SNAG golf scholarship fundraiser on September 7, 2018. The event is held at the SNAG Course at Burnt Cabin at Lake Tenkiller. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to an endowment for student scholarships. The first scholarships were given in 2017-18, and the 2018-19 recipients are being determined currently. Please contact Darla Chewey at chewey01@nsuok.edu if you would like more information.

July 2018

Tom Rink has spoken/presented (twice) at the Annual Conference of the Special Libraries Association in Baltimore, Maryland. On June 10, he served on a panel to help provide tips for having a successful conference experience at the First Timers and New Members Orientation. On June 12, Tom was invited to speak at the Secrets to Navigating Outside the Box Career Pathways session. The program description read: Tom Rink and Holly Lakatos have travelled opposite career paths, but they both found that creating opportunities for advancement required tenacity, creativity, and flexibility. Join us for a spirited discussion about moving in and out of various types of special libraries while building your career.

Tom has been appointed to serve on the Board of the University of Oklahoma's School of Library and Information Studies Alumni Association (3-year term, through June of 2021).

August 2018

Sarah Burkhead Whittle, Instructor of Library Services, attended the 2018 unCOILed Conference "Empowering Students Through Web Literacy and Sustainable Info-Environmentalism" on the OSU Stillwater Campus, August 3. The conference agenda included learning new instructional techniques for engaging students in identifying mis-information (or fake news) and group brainstorming and lesson planning centered around Mike Caulfield's term info-environmentalism (improving the online information environment). The Community of Oklahoma Instruction Librarians (COIL) is a professional organization that promotes information literacy in Oklahoma, is a special interest group of the Oklahoma chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries, and in which Ms. Whittle served as COIL Chair in 2016.

July 2018

Award Name: Oklahoma Arts Council - Performing Arts 2018-2019
Award Amount: $6,807
Project Director: Ms. Hannah Truitt
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Arts Council
Purpose of Award: Funding will be utilized to present a variety of artists with an emphasis on educational outreach that provide NSU campus and surrounding community with quality arts education.

Award Name: OHC 2019 47th Annual Symposium on the American Indian
Award Amount: $5,000 Outright Funds + $1,000 third Party Match Total = $6,000
Project Director: Ms. Sara Barnett
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Humanities Council
Purpose of Award: Funding will be utilized to assist with scholar fees, facilities, and other costs associated with the 2019 Symposium on the American Indian.

Award Name: NSU Chamber Music Series 2018-2019
Award Amount: $1,843
Project Director: Dr. Jeffery Wall
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Arts Council
Purpose of Award: The NSU Chamber Music Series will bring professional musicians to the Tahlequah area to provide both chamber music and solo performances. These artists will also provide master classes to area music students.

Award Name: Indigenous Arts 2018-2019
Award Amount: $2,850
Project Director: Ms. Sara Barnett
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Arts Council
Purpose of Award: This project will include both presentations and hands-on instruction by American Indian artists. Part 1: Learning Indigenous Art will focus on visual arts, pottery and the stomp dance tradition. Part 2: The NSU Powwow will focus on the traditional powwow dance.

Award Name: NSU 52nd Green Country Jazz Series 2018-2019
Award Amount: $3,500
Project Director: Clark Gibson-Resignation, New Project Director-TBD
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Arts Council
Purpose of Award: To cultivate the growth and development of jazz performance providing education for students, music educators, and audiences in the region.

Award Name: RPI Elucidating the 4u8c Type 2 Cytokines 2018-19, Year 2.5 of 2.5
Award Amount: $118,275
Project Director: Dr. Kyeorda Kemp
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH) through OUHSC
Purpose of Award: To research the overactive TH2 cells that play an important role in immune responses to external pathogens via the secretion of cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Overactive TH2 responses is associated with many pathological results. Research in drug therapies for these diseases that target cytokine IL-4 have been met with success in clinical trials. This research will use a commercially available drug specific to IRE1a to illuminate how unfolded protein response (UPR) promotes TH2 cytokine production and lends itself in the long-term to the development of a UPR specific drug for the treatment of TH2 mediated diseases.

Award Name: RPI Investigating the Role of Mcm10 2018-19, Year 2.5 of 2.5
Award Amount: $130,318
Project Director: Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health through Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center
Purpose of Award: Cells proliferate with remarkable fidelity. Defects in quality controls known as checkpoints are at the root cause of cancer, aging and many other diseases. The proposed project will uncover crucial insights in these mechanisms, thereby increasing the probability of developing new strategies for treating diseases caused by genome instability.

June 2018

Award Name: Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence 2018-2019
Award Amount: $46,000
Project Director: To Be Determined - Retirement of Mr. Curtis Evans
Funding Agency: Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence through the National Institute of Standards & Technology-U.S. Department of Commerce and OSRHE
Purpose of Award: A manufacturing extension agent working out of the NSU Broken Arrow campus who will assist local manufacturers in various ways to make their businesses more successful.

Award Name: Alternative Dispute Resolution- Early Settlement East Program 2018-2019
Award Amount: $79,937
Project Director: Ms. Stacey Stephens
Funding Agency: State of Oklahoma Supreme Court
Purpose of Award: To provide mediation services according to the Dispute Resolution Act and other directives and forms provided by the Administration Director of the Courts. Dispute mediation services shall be provided to northeast Oklahoma as determined by need.

May 2018

Award Name: Summer Mentor 2018
Award Amount: $2,200
Project Director: Dr. Nathan Green
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health/OK-INBRE through OUHSC
Purpose: Funding is provided to assist with lab supplies during the summer mentorship and to cover the cost of a student poster for each mentee.

Award Name: Student Stories of Intermountain School 2018
Award Amount: $1,600
Project Director: Dr. Farina King
Funding Agency: Utah Humanities/Utah Division of State History/National Endowment for the Humanities
Purpose: The Oral History Grant project aims to record, contextualize, and share student testimonies of the Intermountain Indian School and their creative works with Dine communities in Utah.

Award Name: Oklahoma INBRE Travel Award 2018 Atlanta, Georgia
Award Amount: $2,000
Project Director: Dr. Sallie Ruskoski
Funding Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSHRE)
Purpose: Assistance with travel funds to present at the ASM Microbe 2018 conference in Atlanta, Georgia (June 2018)

Award Name: Great Expectations 2018-2019
Award Amount: $1,231,017.00
Project Director: Dr. Linda Dzialo
Funding Agency: Other Sources-Private Foundation
Purpose of Award: To teach innovative and inspirational education techniques to schoolteachers in order to help revolutionize the classroom educational experience of children.

Academic Spotlight: Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree

Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree traveled to Alicante, Spain for faculty development.

Academic Times September 2018

WendorfCarousel

Academic Spotlight
Dr. Arthur Wendorf share about gaming and Spanish in the classroom.


On August 7, 2018, Dr. Maria Christian co-presented with Kari Henry-Hulett, Communications Instructor at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, a presentation titled Lessons from Oz: Using Transformational Leadership to Advance Student Learning at the 2018 Lilly Conference on Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning in Asheville, NC.

On July 18, 2018, Dr. Maria Christian served as a panelist for the presentation The Rough (But Rewarding) Road from Green to Red then Back Again on Blackboard's Happiness Scale During our SaaS\Ultra Migration for the Blackboard World Conference held in Orlando, FL.

The NSU faculty in the Library Media and Information Technology Master of Science Program, Dr. Alesha Baker and Dr. Kelli Carney, are currently providing consulting services to the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) through an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant in the amount of $10,000. Students enrolled in Library Media graduate courses will work with faculty to catalog and evaluate the UKB educational library collection. Automation software, which will be utilized to improve the circulation process, was purchased through the grant. Faculty will assist in writing and developing policies including circulation and collection maintenance. In order to ensure sustainability, faculty will develop and deliver software training for the UKB library staff. The grant concludes in August 2019, at which time faculty will inventory the newly automated collection and recommend titles for future consideration. This partnership not only serves to benefit the citizens of the UKB but also provides NSU students a model for community collaboration and networking.

Dr. Alesha Baker and Dr. Kelli Carney in library

Dr. Ben Kracht, Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies was awarded the Phillips Fund grant from the American Philosophical Society to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in southwestern Oklahoma. Dr. Kracht is also currently in production of his third book, "Autobiography of a Kiowa Woman," which is an ongoing collaborative project with the subject's descendants.

Dr. James T. Lindroth, Associate Professor of Music, has been appointed to the Scholarly Research Committee for the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) as a committee member for a four-year term.

Dr. Suzanne Farmer, Associate Professor of History, and Dr. Jennifer Edwards, Professor of Sociology, co-hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Center for Women's Studies. The Center has now been officially established in its new location at the Woods House. NSU Alumnus Dr. Isabel Baker was the keynote speaker for the event and Chief Bill John Baker presented the Center with a framed print outlining notable Oklahoma female leaders.

Ribbon Cutting for the Center for Women's Studies

Splash 19: Illusion of Light, features a watercolor painting created by Professor of Art, Lance Hunter. Late July, North Light Books published his painting, Ephemeral , in the newest book in the Best of Watercolor series. This is the fourth consecutive year that Hunter has had work selected by the Splash editorial staff from international submissions. The current issue of Watercolor Artist magazine (October) also features Ephemeral in an ad promoting Splash 21.

"Ephemeral" watercolor by Lance Hunter

John Petrucelli, Director of Jazz Studies, was featured in All About Jazz with a review of his forthcoming album Presence.

Presence by John Petrucelli album cover

Dr. Robyn Pursley and the NSU Drama program presented a play for children, A Bagful of Fables, to over 1,000 elementary students at the NSU Center for Performing Arts during the first week of September.

NSU Drama students acting on stage

Dr. Stephan Sargent received the AdvancED Midwest Region's 2018 Servant Leadership Recognition award for the state of Oklahoma. Dr. Sargent was selected as a result of the many years he has contributed his time, talent, and expertise in service to AdvancED on behalf of their Improvement Network. Dr. Sargent will be recognized at an Awards Ceremony during the 2018 Midwest Region Fall Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Dr. Virginia Whitekiller, currently on sabbatical leave, was named Canada's Vancouver Island University Jarislowsky Visiting Research Chair and held audience with the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Canada's Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Dr. Whitekiller was asked to discuss how large historic institutions can become more amicable and inclusive to women and racial minorities.

Dr. Virgina Whitekiller visiting with Honourable Carolyn Bennett

Dr. Martha Parrott and Dr. Pamela Christol facilitated an OSRHE Summer Academy titled, Get Green for Blue: Outdoor STEM Investigations Connecting Water to You in June with high school students.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradooand two of her students performed hands-on demonstrations with 5th grade students at Andersen Elementary School, Broken Arrow on May 24, 2018.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo attended and presented a research poster at the NIGMS Seventh Biennial National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research conference at Washington D.C. from June 24 to June 26, 2018. Her undergraduate student, Sarah Woller, also attended and presented her research at the conference.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo was selected to mentor students through the INBRE summer mentor and SMaRT programs.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo attended the OK-INBRE summer undergraduate research program at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center on July 13, 2018. Her research student, Batuel Okda, gave a short talk and presented a poster at the meeting.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo s research student, Batuel Okda presented a research poster at the Tulsa Area Bioscience Education and Research Consortium (TABERC), Oklahoma Society of Physiologists (OSP) and Tulsa Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (T-SfN) symposium at OSU-Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa on July 23, 2018.

Dr. Sapna Das-Bradoo reviewed a manuscript for National Council of Undergraduate Research.

Dr. Nathan Green and NSU undergraduate researcher Michael Smith attended the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Summer Research conference at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (OUHSC) in Oklahoma City on July 13th. Michael presented a poster titled "Synthesis and Characterization of Oligonucleotide Conjugated Gold Nanorods for Theranostic Application" as part of his Summer Undergraduate Research Program scholarship work done in the Green Lab.

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim attended the 2018 OK INBRE summer research conference in Oklahoma City on July 12-13. His student, Kaylin Shackelford, presented her research work about the kinetic analysis of biofilm-related enzymes.

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim and Kaylin Shackelford beside presentation poster

Dr. Sung-Kun (Sean) Kim and his undergraduate research student, Luke Bayless, presented at the 256th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting & Exposition in Boston, MA on August 19-23, 2018.

Dr. Mark Paulissen presented " Does the Little Brown Skink, Scincella lateralis, Use Positional Cues for Spatial Learning? " at the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) at the Rochester Convention Center, Rochester, NY in July.

Dr. Mark Paulissen also moderated a paper session for the Stoye Student Award for Ecology and Evolution at the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) at the Rochester Convention Center, Rochester, NY in July.

Dr. Mark Paulissen reviewed a manuscript for the British Herpetological Society's Herpetological Bulletin.

Dr. Mia Revels was invited to present her Northern Saw-whet Owl research to the Inter-tribal Environmental Council (ITEC) Conference in Catoosa on July 25. The title of her talk was: Learning about Northern Saw-whet Owls in Oklahoma: Shifting the paradigm.

Richard Castillo, OD, DO (NSU's Ophthalmologist and Director of Surgical Services), traveled to Lexington, KY to speak on optometric surgery and lasers at the end of July. He then travelled to Little Rock, AR along with members of the NSU CE department to hold an Optometric Advanced Procedures course for Arkansas optometrists. At the end of August, Dr. Castillo traveled to Fairfield, CT to speak on laser procedures and complications. Dr. Castillo is also the founder of and faculty sponsor for the NSU-OCO Optometric Surgery Club, which held its first meeting of the semester in August. The Surgery Club, open to any NSU-OCO optometry student interested in advanced optometric procedures, also held a workshop where students received instruction on setting up a surgical office space as well as basic suturing techniques.

In July, Dr. Leland Carr presented six hours of Continuing Education to 215 OD's at the Annual Pacific University Victoria Conference in Victoria, B.C. 

NSU Faculty Members Attend International Faculty Development Seminars Abroad

One goal of the Office of International Programs is to help NSU faculty gain a more global perspective and a unique cultural understanding they can bring back to the university and incorporate into the classroom. Recently the OIP, in conjunction with CIEE and the NSU College of Education, helped provide funding for three NSU professors to travel abroad on international faculty development seminars this past spring and summer. Dr. Bea Keller-Dupree, associate professor of psychology, went to Alicante Spain, Dr. Jim Ferrell, associate professor of educational leadership, to Morocco, and Dr. Mary Waters-Bilbo, associate professor of psychology, to Cuba.

Ferrell said he had the opportunity to study the culture and language of Morocco during his program, which examined how people view and interact with those from other cultures and how people express culture through language. He said he also learned about his own interactions with different cultures and discovered some things he could incorporate into his own classes when dealing with other cultures.

Dr. Jim Ferrell in Morocco

Dr. Keller-Dupree appreciated the diversity of interest and skills among fellow participants, which made for a more dynamic and integrated learning experience. I'm thankful to work for an institution that values these experiences as well, she said.

Dr. Keller Dupree in Alicante, Spain

Waters-Bilbo said her fascination with Cuba began as far back as 1970, while studying Spanish and learning from tutors who were Cuban refugees from under the Castro regime. This trip to Cuba was so stimulating because of the eclectic nature of the lectures and varying disciplines represented by the colleagues on the trip, she said. This was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am still pondering. I am so grateful for the support I received from Northeastern State University to make this dream a reality.

Dr. Mary Waters-Bilbo in Cuba

Award Name: Immersive & Innovative Mentoring for Novice Teachers: Grades K-5
Total Additional Funding Amount: $20,520.86
Project Directors: Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Pamela Christol, Ms. Barbara Fuller

Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education/OSRHE
Purpose of Award: To provide novice teachers who have subject matter knowledge in science a high quality professional development opportunity. This professional development training will be offered to Muskogee Public Schools and Tahlequah Public Schools-Grades K-5.

Award Name: Student Support Services, Year 4 of 5 (2018-2019)
Award Amount: $317,730
Project Director: Lena Deere
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Purpose of Award: To provide student services to those who meet the federal eligibility criteria and demonstrate an academic need in order to successfully complete a program of study at NSU. Also, this program will provide a comprehensive system of support services such as counseling, tutoring and academic enrichment activities.

Award Name: Trio Upward Bound, Year 2 of 5 (2018-2019)
Award Amount: $275,154
Project Director: Ms. Lisa Johnson
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Purpose of Award: To provide services and projects that increase the likelihood that students will complete high school as well as earn post-secondary credits in high school with the ultimate goal of completing a program of post-secondary education.

Award Name: Native American Support Center (NASC), Year 3 of 5 (2018-2019)
Award Amount: $342,445
Project Director: Ms. Shelly Dreadfulwater
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Purpose of Award: NASC assists in the retention, intervention and referral services of at-risk native students as well as provide internal academic advising, personal and academic coaching, tutoring and mentoring. Primary goals of this center are:

  1. Increase Native American student retention;
  2. Develop a peer-to-peer college persistent mentoring program; and
  3. Provide a source of culture, connection, and care for Native American students on all three campuses.

Academic Spotlight: Dr. Arthur Wendorf II

Tulsa Transfer Project Update

NSU faculty and staff joined representatives from institutions across the Tulsa metro area on September 21 to participate in the official launch of the Tulsa Transfer Project. This collaborative effort is designed to improve the transfer experience and increase the number of bachelor's degrees in the metro area. In addition to NSU, other institutions participating in the project are Oklahoma State University, Rogers State University, Langston University, University of Tulsa, and of course, Tulsa Community College. Using the John N. Gardner Institute's Foundations of Excellence framework, NSU will complete a self-study reviewing the total transfer experience. During fall 2018, nine dimension committees will review survey data, policies, and practices. Each will write a report of their findings with recommendations for improvement. In late spring 2019, an institutional report and recommendations will be finalized with implementation during the next academic year. The Dimension Committees are led by the following faculty and staff. Anyone with an interest in participating in a committee can contact the co-chairs of that committee.

  • Philosophy
    Dr. Pamela Fly and Dan Mabery
  • Organization
    Julia Carlo, Mark Shields, and Jeff Walker
  • Learning
    Dr. Jessica Martin and Dr. Ben Ofili
  • Faculty
    Dr. Renee Cambiano and Dr. Kat Shahan
  • Transitions
    Lori Riley and TBD
  • All Students & Roles/Purposes
    Lauren Condry and Dr. Sheila Self
  • Diversity
    Sara Barnett and Lena Deere
  • Improvement
    Dr. Cari Keller and Dr. Kelly Jo Larsen

Tulsa Transfer Project meeting

China Bridge Program

In December 2017, NSU entered into an agreement with Future Overseas Study, Inc., (FOS) of Weifang, China, to prepare Chinese students for graduate study in the US at NSU. The program is designed to serve the needs of students who have completed a baccalaureate degree and wish to earn a master's degree from a US institution. FOS is a fully licensed overseas study consulting service provider in China. Further, it is a subsidiary of CIBT with whom NSU has a long-standing relationship.

The International Bridge Program is designed for students who hold a baccalaureate degree and wish to pursue graduate studies in the US at NSU. It is planned as a four-semester (including summer) program. During the first semester, students will begin taking graduate courses in Weifang under NSU supervision. Then, the students will come to NSU and complete their graduate studies.

The International Bridge Program is a model that can be generalized to many NSU master's degree programs. However, due to strong growth in the Chinese education industry and generous investment by the Chinese government in its country's educational institutions, the Program has begun with a focus on the following NSU master's degrees in the College of Education:

  • M.S. in Higher Education Leadership
  • M.S. in Health and Kinesiology
  • M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education
  • M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership

The first cohort consists of six students who have begun their studies in China this semester (fall 2018). They are taking the following six hours of graduate coursework taught by Dr. Renee Cambiano and Dr. Maria Christian:

  • EDUC 5103 Educational Research
  • EDUC 5483 Trends, Issues, and Global Perspectives

Dr. Cambiano and Dr. Christian, along with graduate student Nikki Jones, are planning to travel to Weifang, departing November 1 and returning on November 20.

The International Bridge Program is a joint project of the Office of Academic Affairs, the Graduate College, the College of Education, and the Office of International Programs. Implementation of the program is the result of the work of a steering committee consisting of Dr. Roger Collier, committee coordinator, Dr. Vanessa Anton, Dr. Cari Keller, Dr. Jim Ferrell, Dr. Renee Cambiano, Dr. Maria Christian, Ms. Stephanie Goad, and Mr. Li Xuan.

For more information concerning the NSU International Bridge Program, contact:
Dr. Roger Collier
colliere@nsuok.edu
918-444-6521

Academic Times October 2018

COECarousel

College of Education
The Department of Health and Kinesiology now offering a minor in recreation.


Health and Kinesiology

H&K students outdoors

H&K students outdoors

The Department of Health and Kinesiology is now implementing a Minor in Recreation. This minor offers experiential learning courses presented in exciting and invigorating environments. Students take the required core of 14 hours then select four hours of electives related to the recreation field. The required core classes are:

  • HED 2212 First Aid/ Responding to Emergencies
  • HED 3313 Personal Fitness and Wellness
  • REC 2222 Rec Leadership
  • REC 3212 Camp Rec
  • REC 4212 Therapeutic Recreation
  • PED 2232 Outdoor Rec Activities
  • PED 1081 Beginning Ropes

Students then choose any 4 hours from the following electives:

  • REC 4500 Internship in Rec (up to 6 hours 4501, 4502, 4503)
  • PED 1081 Advanced Ropes
  • PED 1201 Aquatic Activities- Lifeguarding Skills
  • PED 4741- SEMINAR IN HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION- CPR Training

Courses focus on teaching students the hard skills needed to safely facilitate the hands on activities as well as the soft skills required to succeed in an ever-changing group dynamic. In a society that is increasingly dependent upon sedentary technological entertainment, outdoor recreation classes utilize NSU's unique geographical resources to refresh, renew, and recreate. Classes meet at NSU campus, Tenkiller Lake, Sparrowhawk Mountain, the Illinois River, Echota Village, Camp Seven star, and Lake Lincoln Arkansas. Cost to the student is minimized by partnerships with the Grand River Dam Authority Oklahoma Scenic River Commission, The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, The American Indian Resource Center, Oklahoma State Parks, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Conservations.

Dr. Vanessa Anton and Mrs. Barbara Fuller were interviewed on Education Talk Radio.

LISTEN NOW!

Teacher Induction Ceremony

The Teacher Induction Ceremony will be on November 15 in the Webb Auditorium from 6-7PM and November 16 in BAAS Auditorium from 6-7PM. The event recognizes our incoming Spring 2019 Full Intern candidates as they complete their final requirements for the COE Teacher Education Program prior to entering the teaching profession. Family, friends, and supporters of the teacher Education Spring 2019 graduates are invited to attend.

The Sequoyah Institute and NSU Drama hosted a workshop presented by The Reduced Shakespeare Company for NSU Drama students and Tahlequah High School students. The workshop instructed students on the use of physical comedy and improvisation.

Tahlequah High School students.

Dr. Robyn Pursley, Associate Professor of Drama, provided critiques and scene workshops at Muskogee and Edison high schools in preparation for their OSSAA One-Act Competitions. Muskogee will be presenting a cutting of The Diviners and Edison will be presenting Almost Maine at the 6A regional competitions in October.

Dr. Tiffanie Hardbarger is currently serving as the 2018/2019 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. NASI is a short-term research fellowships open to scholars at all stages of their careers, especially Native American scholars in training, tribal college and university faculty members, and other scholars working closely with Native communities on projects. Fellows are associated with the APS's new Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR), which aims to promote greater collaboration between scholars, archives, and indigenous communities. For more information about her specific project, please reach out to Dr. Hardbarger directly. Though you will receive an auto-reply stating she is away, she will respond to your inquiry.

Dr. Justin McBride, Assistant Professor of History, presented a brown bag discussion of his study At that time, the Cheyennes attacked us : A comparison of two accounts of a battle between the Kaws and Cheyennes on September 21, 2018 at Seminary Hall.

Dr. John Petrucelli, Assistant Professor of Music, presented a Masterclass with Keys, Tahlequah, and Wagoner High Schools in relation to the release of his CD "Presence" at the NSU Jazz Lab. Petrucelli also engaged in a fall tour of the album throughout the month of October.

Dr. John Petrucelli Presence Tour poster

Drs. Jeffery Wall, Whitney Myers, Christian Bester, and Mr. Farren Mayfield hosted two choral workshops at NSU, one for Junior High and the second for High School students. These workshops prepare students for their upcoming auditions at the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association and Oklahoma Music Educators Association All-State Choir auditions. 232 Junior High students participated on September 13 and 221 High School students from 16 different high schools participated on September 25.

Students on stage for choral workshop

On September 17, the Department of Political Science and Geography hosted Constitution Day at the University Center. One of the highlights of the event was the opportunity for students to ask questions about the political process and to register to vote.

Students sharing about Constitution Day at table in UC

Dr. Heather Fenton has been named one of the Great 100 Nurses in Oklahoma. These exemplary Nurses are selected based on their concern for humanity, their contributions to the profession of Nursing, and their mentoring of others. It is a great honor in the life of the Nurse to be selected as a Great 100 Honoree. The NSU nursing program is delighted to see one of our own honored this year!

Margaret Bates and Sydney Dorrough, instructors in the Occupational Therapy Program, presented Low Tech Solutions for Everyday Problems at the Oklahoma Occupational Therapy Association state conference on September 28, 2018. The presentation focused on adaptive equipment solutions for patients with limited resources or living in rural areas with limited access to commercially available equipment.

Dr. Mark Paulissen submitted a manuscript to the journal BEHAVIOUR entitled: "Are positional cues used to learn escape behavior in the little brown skink lizard (Scincella lateralis)?"

Dr. Mark Paulissen reviewed a manuscript for the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology.

Dr. Michael Shaughnessy had four graduate student abstracts accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Southeast Association of Naturalists in Mobile, AL from 21-24 October.

Brenda Bradford, Head of Special Collections and Archives won 1st and 2nd place in photography at the 66th Cherokee National Holiday Art show. On Labor Day weekend, more than 100,000 visitors traveled to Tahlequah, Oklahoma to experience the celebration of Cherokee heritage, culture, history and art.

Ashley Stoddard, the Special Collection's Historical Specialist at the John Vaughan Library, attended the 2018 Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums from October 8 to October 12. The International Conference was held in Prior Lake, Minnesota on historic Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux land. The conference sought to educate attendees on how they could advance and protect their Indigenous collections, and build their professional skills.

Dr. Erica K. Argyropoulos, a Leonard Bernstein scholar who has investigated his career for 16 years, took the lead in coordinating NSU's Bernstein birth centennial celebration, "Bernstein at 100," a joint collaboration between John Vaughan Library and the Department of Music. The events kicked off in July with a library exhibit showcasing his diverse career alongside Bernstein materials available for checkout; in October, music majors visited the library to hear a lecture by Dr. Argyropoulos on Bernstein's decades-long television and film career. The Department of Music will cap off the celebration with four evening concerts at the University Center for the Performing Arts showcasing the composer's works (with informational context provided by Dr. Argyropoulos): the Joint Voice Studio Recital (November 2), Wind Ensemble Concert (November 15), an Opera Workshop in which scenes from Bernstein's theatrical repertoire will be discussed and brought to life by musicians on the stage (November 16), and a Brass Area Recital featuring some lesser-known musical gems alongside classic works.

On October 21, Dr. Argyropoulos led a panel discussion moderated by film critic Jeff Huston at Circle Cinema in Tulsa. Following a screening of West Side Story, the panel will explore the musical in the broader context of Bernstein's life as a prominent Jewish American musician. The event is part of the Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival, jointly hosted by the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art and the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. Dr. Argyropoulos has greatly enjoyed working with both her colleagues here at NSU and in coordination with other local organizations to shed light on Bernstein's career in the region this year.

Dr. Roy Wood, Dean of the Broken Arrow campus, and Associate Professor of Business, authored a book chapter entitled Three Innovations for Defense Acquisition Reform, in the recently released Defense Innovation Handbook: Guidelines, Strategies, and Techniques. The chapter discusses ways to improve the acquisition process by competing requirements among the military services, improving technology transition into programs, and making improvements in managing the defense acquisition workforce. Prior to coming to NSU, Dr. Wood was a recognized expert in defense acquisition and served as the Vice President of the Defense Acquisition University. He has over 30 years of experience managing large, complex acquisition program and educating acquisition professionals.

Award Name: Educational Talent Search - Tahlequah (2018-19), Year 3 of 5
Award Amount: $256,455
Project Director: Ms. Diane Walker
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Purpose of Award: To identify disadvantaged youths with potential for post-secondary education, encourage them to complete secondary school and undertake post-secondary educational training. To publicize existing forms of student aid. To provide tutorial services for youths being encouraged to undertake or re-enter programs of post-secondary education. This program is part of TRIO.

Award Name: Using Ciprofloxacin Encapsulated Liposomes to Treat UTI's Caused by E. coli, 2018-19
Award Amount: $46,831
Project Director: Dr. Janaki Iyer
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health through OUHSC
Purpose of Award: The proposed project investigates the ability of ciprofloxacin-encapsulated liposomes to kill invasive E. coli in infected bladder cells. This study will allow the design of better therapies to treat bladder infections.

Award Name: National Voter Registration Day 2018
Award Amount: $500
Project Director: Shelly Dreadfulwater and Brian Barlow
Funding Agency: Non-Profit Vote
Purpose of Award: National Native Vote Action Week occurred Monday, September 14-28, 2018. During this time, the NASC team made a concerted effort to educate, inform, and increase NSU Native American Student engagement within the Election systems.

Award Name: Alliance for Minority Participation 2018-2019, Year 5 of 5
Award Amount: $43,357
Project Director: Dr. Jody Buckholtz
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation through Oklahoma State University
Purpose of Award: A subcontract to contribute to the national agenda to increase the number of underrepresented minorities receiving B.S. degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The NSU Center for Tribal Studies, Admissions and Recruitment, Graduate College and College of Science and Health Professions attended the 2018 American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Conference in Oklahoma City on October 4-6, 2018. The University was well represented at the College and Career Fair with two separate booths to highlight both general opportunities for American Indian students and more specifically, opportunities within science related fields. GRDA also sent two representatives to share information about research opportunities through the partnership with NSU. With the help of the Native American Support Center and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, nine students were also able to attend the conference.