Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Faculty, Staff and Students in the News

The university's Faculty Development and Research Committee recently announced that seven members of the chemistry department were recently awarded grants for student related projects.

Dr. Conrad Bergo, received funding to purchase chemicals to conduct Green Chemistry lab experiments. The experiments involve the use of less energy, nontoxic chemicals, and no waste products.

Dr. Sharmaine Cady's proposal to obtain legal samples of ecstasy and cocaine mixtures to make it possible to conduct substance analysis of mixtures in a manner that is acceptable in a court of law, was approved.

Dr. Michael Doherty will receive funding to attend workshops on fiber-optic, computer-based devices for the general chemistry laboratory.

Dr. John Freeman will be able to study proteins that use iron to mimic biological systems that use hydrogen as an energy source.

Dr. Jon Gold was granted funds to develop projects that study phenols in wine in a collaborative effort with Prof. Pierre-Louis Teissedre at the University of Bordeaux in France.

Dr. Richard Kelly received funds to attend workshops held by Analytical Sciences Digital Library. The workshops focused on problem-based curricular materials for use in the analytical chemistry laboratory courses.

Dr. William Loffredo's funded project was approved to initiate inquiry-based lessons in courses and to assess the effectiveness of the lessons.

In other faculty news Dr. Edith F. Miller and Dr. Julianne Albiero-Walton, in the Office of Disability Services, have presented awards to faculty, staff and administrators who were nominated by students due to their sensitivity to disability issues since 1997. Dr. Ralph Vitello, professor of foreign languages, who passed away in September 2007, was among the first to receive a Disabilities Service Award and had been nominated every year from 1997 to 2007. In his honor, the award was renamed the Ralph Vitello Award for Disability Services. The 2008 recipients were: Dr. Joyce Burgener, special education & rehabilitation; Mr. Sean Donnelly, professional tutor; Dr. Sandra Eckard, English; Dr. John Elwood, physics; Prof. dian fitzpatrick, sociology; Dr. Shannon Frystak, history; and Dr. Paula Parker, sport studies; Dr. Daniel Steere, special education & rehabilitation; Ms. Susan Watach, administrative assistant in Office of Field Experience and Partnerships; and Mr. Syed Zaidi, director of facilities management.

On April 23, the faculty and staff in the Office of Disability Services held the fifth annual initiation ceremony for the Alpha Chapter of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society. Students who were initiated included: Ernest Abicht, Hawley, Pa.; Mollie Ammirato, Effort, Pa.; Tara Lindsay, Sellersville, Pa.; George Lousos, Allentown, Pa.; Eric March, Eynon, Pa.; Kristal Nemeroff, Effort, Pa.; Amanda Pearson, Upper Darby, Pa.; Danielle Santucci, Broomall, Pa.; Jamie Seelig, Stewartsville, N.J.; William Terry, Plainfield, N.J.; and graduate student, Suzanne Schmidt, Easton, Pa.

Other graduating senior members recognized were: Mary Ann Durkin, Carbondale, Pa.; Samantha Emdur, Cherry Hill, N.J.; Elizabeth Ernst, Langhorne, Pa.; Christian Martin, Tobyhanna, Pa.; Robert Ruiz, Ridgefield Park, N.J.; Danielle Santucci, Broomall, Pa.; Laura Strasle, Roselle Park, N.J.; and Katherine Vroom, East Windsor, N.J.; as well as graduate students, Micah Ash, Beachlake, Pa., and Susan Bohus-Beck, Greentown, Pa. Recipients for the freshmen award for successful completion of College Achievement Training Seminars (CATS) were Lauren Hooghuis, Metuchen, N.J., and Molly O'Neil, Easton, Pa. Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society was founded at ESU in 2004 and is the only honor society in the country dedicated to recognizing the academic accomplishments of college and university students with disabilities.

Invited guest Richard Grucela, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Northampton), and also an ESU alumnus earned his M.A. degree in political science in '74, gave a speech to praise the students for their academic achievements at the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society Award Ceremony. Twelve ESU students were inducted into the Political Science Department Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha: Jenna Becker, Allentown, Pa.; Brian Bustin, Williamsport, Pa.; Michelle Chmieleski, Stroudsburg, Pa.; Marea Feinberg, Shawnee on Delaware, Pa.; Rachel Herbst, Forest City, Pa.; Kayla Jennings, Scranton, Pa.; James Maurath, Stroudsburg, Pa.; Sarah Miller, Old Forge, Pa.; and Tom Opiyo, East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Three other students were also inducted and received scholarship awards. Shelby Skeabeck of Pottstown, Pa., and Samantha Thomas of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., were awarded the Dr. Anthony Gaglione Scholarship and Christina Squires of East Stroudsburg, Pa., was awarded the Joseph McGee Scholarship.

Adjunct Professor Przemyslaw J. Moskal (P.J.) of ESU's media communication and technology department has been invited to exhibit his latest interactive artwork, titled "Reflections: Painting With Pixels," at the Media Art Gallery located in the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, Poland. Moskal's work will be on display from June 12 through July 31, 2008, and the artist will deliver a lecture titled "Interactive Art in the U.S." at the gallery on June 13. Samples of Moskal's interactive pieces are available at his website, www.laksom.com.

Dr. Pamela Kramer Ertel and Dr. Linda Rogers, faculty members in the ESU College of Education, along with education majors Dan Garcia, a senior from Fountain Hill, Pa., and Dan Pauklovits, a senior from Northampton, Pa., recently made a presentation at the national Professional Development Schools (PDS) conference in Orlando, Fla. The presentation, titled "From Orientation to Celebration" reviewed how the orientation and celebration events in the ESU PDS program are planned and implemented to help develop common understandings among all participants.

Professional Development Schools are innovative institutions formed through partnerships between professional education programs and K-12 schools. PDS partnerships have a four-fold mission: the preparation of new teachers, development of faculty, inquiry directed at the improvement of practice, and enhanced student achievement. Often compared to teaching hospitals, Professional Development Schools are designed to provide clinical preparation for teacher candidates and in-service faculty. Both settings provide support for professional learning in a real-world setting in which practice takes place.

Dr. Glenn Geiser-Getz, professor of communication studies was given a President's Research Fund award this year for a scholarly proposal titled "The American Presidential Farewell." His research will examine the farewell addresses of all the U.S. presidents who delivered them, identify the most significant speeches, and analyze these
speeches to better understand their historical, political, rhetorical, and artistic meaning and significance. The goal of the research is to develop a book prospectus and create educational materials for college courses and for the general public.

Dr. Rob McKenzie, professor of communication studies, presented a paper April 17 at the Broadcast Education Association convention in Las Vegas. McKenzie's paper, which was competitively selected, was titled "Broadcast Regulation in the United Kingdom."

Dr. Alan A. Shaffer, associate professor of chemistry, received the Professor of the Year Award from the Honors Program at ESU. This is the first such award given by the Honors Program. The award is determined by vote from students enrolled in the ESU's honors program.