2018-19 Faculty Accomplishments

(Listed in the order as received)

Summer 2018  

Dr. Patricia Kline completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Indiana University in May. Dr. Kline’s DNP  project involved extensive education and application within Interprofessional Collaborative Education (IPE).  

Dr. Sarah Neal completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Indiana University in May. Dr. Neal’s  dissertation topic was Affecting Health Equity Through Transformative Pedagogy.  

Dr. Dan Ippolito presented “C.S. Lewis’ Moral Law Apologetic in Light of Modern Evolutionary Biology” at the  11th Frances White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Friends held at Taylor University May 31-June 3. The  paper has been accepted for publication in the Colloquium proceedings. 

Prof. Heather Myers was selected by PALNI (Private Academic Library Network of Indiana) as a System Leader  for its PALSave (PALNI Affordable Learning) program.  

Dr. Justin Lambright co-authored a paper titled “Bases of the quantum matrix bialgebra and induced sign  characters of the Hecke algebra” which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics.  

Dr. Abigail Post’s paper titled “Flying to Fail: Costly Signals and Air Power in Crisis Bargaining” was published in  the [online] Journal of Conflict Resolution.  

Dr. D. Maria Scott announced the publication of volume 7 of the InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese  Diaspora Studies, titled “Goans on the Move.” This ground-breaking, monumental volume contains over 600 pages  and had collaborators from several continents. Dr. Scott is an executive editor of IJPDS.  

Prof. Jeff Siemon presented a session entitled “Tips for fixing OCLC Knowledge Base broken links” at the annual  conference of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) held June 13-16 in Indianapolis. The content is  accessible at slideshare.net/jsiemon/presentations.  

Prof. Gert Kumi was one of 20 faculty members invited from all over the world to teach and perform at the  InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, in July. Prof. Kumi taught a master class and  performed in two faculty recitals. Also this summer, Prof. Kumi was invited by the Open Art Tree Music Academy  in Zhengzhou, China, to teach and perform with their students, where he also had the opportunity to conduct the  Open Art Tree Orchestra in a concert held at the convention and exhibition center in Zhengzhou.  

Dr. Jennifer Coy was awarded a grant from the Indiana Space Grant Consortium (INSGC) for “Women in  Computing: Outreach and Leadership” and Dr. Kyle Tarplee was awarded an INSGC grant for “Connecting High  School Students with STEM Careers.” Anderson University was awarded 100 percent of the grants applied for with  the INSGC, with information forthcoming about AU student scholarship awards.

Dr. D. Maria Scott served as panel moderator at the Inaugural Portuguese-American National Conference held  Saturday, June 23, in Washington, DC. Her role included presenting historical and contextual framework as well as  designing questions for the panelists, included two congressmen, a chief justice, and two state politicians. The  keynote speaker was H. E. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Scott also attended a  dinner reception and concert at the Portuguese Ambassador’s residence. 

Dr. Joani Brandon presented “Sing, Say, Dance, Play… First Steps in Music and Orff Schulwerk” at the 2018  Feierabend Association for Music Education [FAME] Biennial Conference held July 20-22 in Chicago, Illinois. She  also serves on the national board as past-president. 

Dr. Katelyn Butler successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “Investigating soybean cyst nematode  resistance: efficacy of Rhg1 in diverse plant species and the identification of novel resistance mechanisms from  wild soybean” and was conferred a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji presented “This Isn’t a writing Problem: Responding to Students Seeking Emotional  Support” at the 2018 Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference held July 26-29 in Sacramento,  California. 

Dr. Melanie Peddicord successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled, “The Retail Industry: Investigating  the Impact of Accounting Performance Metrics and the Impacts of CEO Compensation and Political Affiliation on  Corporate Social Performance” and was conferred a Doctor of Business Administration from Falls School of  Business, Anderson University.  

Dr. Brock Vaughters successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “An Examination of Alternative  Trading Techniques Using Intraday EUR/USD Currency Prices” and was conferred a Doctor of Business  Administration from Liberty University (Virginia). 

Dr. Caroline Ahn won the prestigious Christine Clark/Theodore Front award in the 2018 Search for New Music  Competition by the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM). The prize-winning composition “Summer  Sketches” for orchestra was played by the Anderson Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dr. Richard Sowers. 

Dr. Gary Agee’s book, Daniel Rudd: Calling a Church to Justice recently received third place honors in the  biography category from the Association of Catholic Publishers 2018 Excellence in Publishing Awards. The volume  is a part of the People of God Books series published by Liturgical Press. 

Dr. Kevin Radaker offered the following summer performances: On June 12, two performances as Henry David  Thoreau at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton, California. On July 12 (Thoreau’s birthday), Dr. Radaker was  remotely interviewed by TRT World, Turkey’s first international English-language news network and was featured on “Showcase” (TRT World’s flagship arts and culture program). On August 25, he offered his World War I Winston  Churchill performance for the Bishop Hill (Illinois) Historical Association. 

September 2018  

Dr. Samantha Miller received a grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Theology and Religion  to work on her fall semester pedagogical project, “Earthy, En-placed Spirituality for Undergraduates” 

Dr. Diana Jones received the Pathfinder Award from the Indiana Society for Health and Physical Educators  [INSHAPE] as part of its 2018 state Teacher of the Year awards. The Pathfinder Award was “established to honor  members who have and/or continue to advocate, recruit, and enhance opportunities for girls and women in sport  and sport leadership.” 

Prof. Jeff Siemon’s article, “You May Own It… But Can They Find It? A Panel Discussion: Part 3 of Panel  Presentation on Collection-Level Cooperative Cataloging” was published in What’s past is prologue: Charleston  Conference Proceedings 2017. Charleston, SC, Against the Grain, 2018.  

October 2018  

Dr. Melanie Peddicord was elected by the Christian Business Faculty Association (CBFA) membership during its  annual conference Oct. 4-6 in Chattanooga, Tenn., to serve a three-year term on its board of directors. The mission  of the CBFA is “to empower Christian business faculty to transform the world for the glory of God.” 

Dr. Jack Lugar published the third book in his Katz Pajamas series entitled The Catastic Carnival Caper. He was  a presenter at the York Children’s Literature Festival held Oct. 6 on the AU campus. 

Dr. Chris Hamlyn successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Debriefing in Athletic Training Clinical  Education” to complete his Doctorate of Education from Ball State University.  

Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji presented “How Can I Know Enough about Grammar to Teach It? The Role of Grammar  Pedagogy in English Teacher Training Programs” at the Indiana College English Association Conference in  Indianapolis on October 19.  

Dr. Kevin Radaker presented his World War I dramatic program as Winston Churchill at the Porter County  Public Library in Valaraiso, Ind., on Oct. 16, and at the Murphysboro Chautauqua in Murphysboro, Ill., on Oct. 21. 

Dr. Jay Hochstetler served on a three-person site visit team reviewing the 10-year self-study of a New Jersey  school on behalf of the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). 

Prof. Lisa Pay presented a workshop entitled “‘Oops, I Did It Again’: The Fall, The Curse, and Restoring  Sexuality” at the 2018 Convention of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work in Hartford,  Connecticut, on October 27. 

November 2018  

Dr. Joani Brandon is slated to present at the American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Conference in  Cincinnati, Ohio: on Nov. 8 with the “Midnight Historical Society: Music of Tossi Aaron, Arnold Burkart, Shirley  McCrae, and Lillian Yaross” (along with Peggy McCreary), and on Nov. 9 a research session entitled, “In the  Beginning: The First Orff-Schulwerk Conferences.” Dr. Brandon has served as the historian on the national SOSA  50th Anniversary Committee as the organization celebrates this event at the Cincinnati conference, and also serves  on the national history committee. 

Dr. Jason Parks and Dr. Courtney Taylor, along with Anna Mukamal (Stanford University), presented on a  research panel entitled “Translating the Image in Transition” at the Modernist Studies Association Conference held  Nov. 8-10 in Columbus, Ohio. 

Prof. Earlene Masi presented (with Cassandra Ledman from Purdue University) “Multifaceted Roles of an  Exercise Professional: The Current and Future Trends” at the Midwest Chapter of the American College of Sports  Medicine (MWACSM) conference held Nov. 9-10 in Grand Rapids, Mich. 

Dr. Melanie Peddicord co-authored a paper with Dr. Greg Kaufinger (Kutztown University) and Dr. Chris  Neuenschwander (Anderson University SC) titled, “The economic consequences of the retail inventory method”  which was accepted for publication in the Journal of Finance and Accountancy

Two AU applicants have received competitive grant awards from the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the  Arts: Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji was awarded a $3,000 grant to support the creation of a booklet on “Orienting Part Time Faculty to the Mission and Religious History of Anderson University.” Dr. Joel Schrock was awarded a  $12,000 grant to support a campus Mentoring Program.  

Dr. Laura Stull presented a session entitled “Attitudes and preparation of clergy-in-training for helping persons  with mental illness” at the Healthier Longer Lives for People with Serious Mental Illness International Conference  held Nov. 8-9 in New York City. The conference was created by Fountain House in partnership with World Health  Organization and others.  

Dr. Jeffrey Wright gave two conference presentations in November. The first, “In Search of Beauty: An  Aesthetically Tuned Life,” was presented Nov. 10 to research fellows and alumni of The Center for the Study of  Education and the Musical Experience at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The second, “Establishing the  Roles and Implementing the Responsibilities of the Music Administrator,” was presented to new music  administrators at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Schools of Music held Nov. 16-20 in  Washington, D.C. 

Prof. Stefanie Leiter was invited to join the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Hoosier Chapter Communications Committee. 

Prof. Rosa Felix-Jester completed a certification from the Teachers College of Columbia University for  “EDSCI1x: The Science of Learning—What Every Teacher Should Know.”  

December 2018  

Prof. Kari Miller, has been formally recognized by the Society of Simulation in Healthcare as a Certified  Healthcare Simulation Educator. This certification distinguishes her as a simulation expert and leader in healthcare  simulation education. 

Dr. D. Maria Scott was elected vice-president of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences (IASS) and will  become its president next year. IASS celebrates its 90th anniversary this coming year.  

Prof. Mary Beth Coolidge presented three days of “Community Constructive Rest” at the annual Alexander  Technique Workshop held Dec. 27-31 at The Ohio State University. Mary Beth has developed the practice of  “Community Constructive Rest” at Anderson University over the last three years. She was able to share this process  so other universities can use AU as a model for building “Community Constructive Rest” on campuses across the  country.  

January 2019  

Dr. Anna Stumpf, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “Social Media Engagement Strategies in  Higher Education: An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry” to complete her Doctor of Business Administration from  Northcentral University.  

Prof. David Coolidge co-presented with Valerie Maze (AU alumna and music director at Elon University) a  session entitled “Bridging the Gap: Academic Curriculum and the Realities of the Entertainment Industry” at the  annual conference of Musical Theatre Educators Alliance (MTEA) held Jan. 3-5 in New York City. The panel  included David Chase (Broadway Music Director), Marc Bruni (Director, Beautiful on Broadway), Ryan Stana  (President and CEO of RWS Entertainment Group). 

Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji taught an invited lecture, “Using English Transitional Words,” at Itami City High School in  Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on Jan. 8.  

Dr. Carolyn Ahn, wrote an article, “Help Students Find Their Creative Voice with a Modeling Approach,” that was  published on coursehero.com Jan. 9. 

Dr. Samantha Miller taught a History of Christianity course at Wesley Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,  Jan. 7-11. 

Prof. Joyce Wehneman was selected by the Indiana Department of Education to be a member of their Initial  Licensure/Post-Baccalaureate (IL/IB) Program Review Team. In that role, she will help review program  submissions for IL/IB programs such as Transition to Teaching. 

Dr. Kimberly Majeski is among “a diverse group of scholars, faith leaders and theologians” consulting with  A+E’s HISTORY Network on “Jesus: His Life.” The eight-part series, told “from the perspective of different biblical  figures, all of whom played a pivotal role in Jesus’ life,” premieres two episodes back-to-back weekly beginning  March 25, with the final airing just before Easter. 

February 2019  

Dr. Katelyn Butler’s grant application to the ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists), PUI (Primarily  Undergraduate Institutions) Section, has been awarded pending additional funding from the National Science  Foundation. The grant will support travel and expenses to attend a special workshop for PUI research and teaching  in conjunction with the Plant Biology 2019 conference in San Jose, Calif, this August.  

March 2019  

Prof. Cara Miller served on a Pedagogy and Active Learning Panel at the College English Association’s Annual  Conference in New Orleans held March 28-30. The panel’s theme, “Media Culture: Killer Classes, Smart Photos &  Student Surveillance,” included Prof. Miller’s topic “The Problem with Student Surveillance.” 

April 2019  

Dr. Jason Parks reports that his essay, “Wyndham Lewis, The Enemy, and ‘The Trouble of Translation’” (which  passed peer review and accepted for publication in 2017-18) has now been published in the peer reviewed Journal  of Wyndham Lewis Studies (Volume 8), a print journal available in academic libraries across the UK. 

Dr. Jason Parks submitted a peer reviewed essay scheduled to be included in the book, Shell Shock and World  War I American Literature, which will be published next month by the University of North Georgia Press. The  collection includes contributions from scholars at research institutions worldwide, including Harvard. Dr. Parks’  chapter is entitled “Reporting from the Neuropathic Ward: Eugène Jolas, Transition, and Psychological Refuge.” 

Dr. Brian Dirck presented at a Social Design Conference in Seoul, South Korea, on April 12, where he spoke on  Lincoln’s values of humility and reconciliation as seen in his second Inaugural Address. The conference was a joint  project of the Korean Abraham Lincoln Society and IIPAC, an organization involved in dispute resolution in  business and law. While he was there, Dr. Dirck delivered a lecture on Lincoln to students at Seoul National  University.