2020-21 Faculty Accomplishments
(Listed in the order as received)
Summer 2020
Prof. Stefanie Leiter presented a webinar June 17 on the topic “A Strategic Approach to Crisis Communication” as part of the Madison County Chamber’s Adaptive Reopening Series.
Prof. Jonathan Craton completed his Master of Science in Computer Science degree from Dakota State University and was promoted to Assistant Professor.
Dr. Jason Parks published Ari’s Poetics, a 150-page poetry guidebook/mystery novel for ages 11-16. (8.21.2020)
September 2020
Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji was selected to serve on the review board for the 2021 Conference on College Composition and Communication. (9/9/2020)
Prof. Elizabeth Ranfeld’s essay titled “I want to tell you” was published in the Whale Road Review (Issue 20/Fall 2020), a journal of poetry and short prose. (9.12.2020)
October 2020
Prof. Jeff Siemon was inducted into the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana’s “PALNI Hall of Fame for providing “significant contributions to the PALNI through presentations and communities, identifying and advocating for collaborative solutions, and offering librarians individual assistance.” Siemon has served on the KnowledgeBase/License Manager group, where he has contributed to increasing OCLC KnowledgeBase accuracy, and also served as one of the two liaisons to the INSPIRE advisory group, receiving a commendation from State Librarian Jake Speer for his knowledge, expertise, and dedication to libraries of all types in the state of Indiana. Siemon’s fellow PALNI Collection Management Team members commended him for his group work and the work he has put in to improve the next RFP cycle for INSPIRE. (10/2/2020)
Prof. Elizabeth Ranfeld published an essay titled “49 Bells” in the inaugural volume of This Present Former Glory: An Anthology of Honest Spiritual Literature. The collection examines a wide spectrum of both spiritual and practical concerns. (10.24.2020)
Dr. Janet Brewer, Director of Libraries, received the “Lifetime Visionary Award for Leadership in Deep Collaboration” from the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI). Dr. Brewer was recognized as being “the strong, exemplary leader… needed in the time of COVID.” Further, she “has helped PALNI fully realize deep collaboration through communication with administrators, new ways of partnering within PALNI to retain key talent during financial exigency, and through the partnership between Anderson and PALNI to provide consortium cataloging services.” Dr. Brewer also is honored “for her persistence in telling the deep collaboration story, mentoring several new directors, and her countless PALNI leadership positions in the last eight years.” (10/2/2020)
November 2020
Dr. Kevin Radaker served as one of four Chautauqua scholars featured in a videotaped panel presentation titled “Living History Pioneers,” the first of seven virtual events in a series called “Ashland Chautauqua Conversations” sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Arts Council. Dr. Radaker and the other three scholars will be participating in a real-time Q&A session on November 19 at 7pm. (11/5/2020)
Dr. Jay Hochstetler received his Project Manager Professional (PMP) Certification from the Project Management Institute. (11/6/2020)
Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji published “Emotions and Writing Program Administration in Religiously-Affiliated Institutions” in the edited collection The Things We Carry: Strategies for Recognizing and Negotiating Emotional Labor in Writing Program Administration. Utah State University Press, 2020. (11/6/2020)
Dr. Janell Blunt presented “Retrieval practice consistently benefits student learning: A systematic review of applied research in schools and classrooms,” at the Psychonomic Society’s 2020 Annual Meeting held onli.
Dr. Kimberly Majeski served as a panelist for the Nov. 30 “Status of Women in the Profession” virtual session during the 2020 annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature/American Academy of Religion. (1/23/21)
December 2020
Dr. Jason Parks’ 2019 children’s fantasy novel, The Wondercurrent (with audio narration recorded and performed by Anderson University musical theatre student Brady Day) is set to be released through Tantor Media on March 3, 2021. (12.3.2020)
Dr. Jason Parks has been invited to participate on an international panel (via zoom) for the ASAP/J (Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present) on Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune. Panelists include Min Song (Boston College), Debra Rae Cohen (Univ. of South Carolina), James Gifford (Farleigh Dickinson University), and Lee Konstantinou (Univ. of Maryland, College Park). From the abstract: “We are confident that focusing on Dune in this original, collaborative manner will engage the public in critical discussions about popular story-telling, the business of entertainment, the joy of reading together, and the ways in which science fiction can speak to a moment of dramatic environmental disruption.” (12.3.2020)
Dr. David Murphy published a review of Gary Clayton Anderson’s “Massacre in Minnesota: The Dakota War of 1862, the Most Violent Ethnic Conflict in American History” in The American Historical Review, Volume 125, Issue 5, December 2020, Pages 1884–1885, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhaa394
January 2021
Dr. Janell Blunt’s manuscript, “Retrieval Practice Consistently Benefits Student Learning: A Systematic Review of Applied Research in Schools and Classrooms,” was accepted for publication in Educational Psychology Review. Dr. Blunt partnered with Pooja K. Agarwal (Berklee) and Ludmila D. Nunes (Purdue) on the project, and appreciates the support of her department and the students who assisted. (1/12/21)
February 2021
Dr. Laura Stull co-authored (with Johnson-Kwochka, A. V. & Salyers, M. P.) a journal article titled “The impact of diagnosis and religious orientation on mental illness stigma” which has been published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, a quarterly publication of the American Psychological Association (APA). Advance Online Publication (2020) https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000384. (2/19/21)
Dr. Laura Stull and Dr. Lee Griffith, along with AU Interpersonal Trainers, are invited each year by the Indiana Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) programs of Madison, Tippecanoe, and Boone Counties to present interpersonal skill development training workshops on “Parenting the Teen Brain.” The group, which has presented annually since 2018, conducted four virtual workshops last fall and currently has two scheduled for this spring. (2/19/21)
Dr. Ben McPheron was elevated to Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the highest professional grade for which a member may apply. According to their website, IEEE reports that “only 10% of our more than 400,000 members have achieved this level,” which “requires extensive experience, and reflects professional accomplishment and maturity.” (2/25/21)
Dr. Willis Troy co-authored (with the department of kinesiology at Ball State University) a journal article, “Radar Technology as a Mechanism for Clinical Gait Analysis: A Review” which was published in the Journal of Annals of Bioengineering. The review highlights the current limitations of using radar for clinical gait analysis. This article is part of the ongoing research being done with Ball State under INSGC funding. (2/24/21)
Dr. Rebekah Baker presented “Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices” as part of a professional development panel for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis Feb. 23.
Dr. David Baird’s collection of videos produced in recent years (some about AU faculty/staff members) were featured in a “faculty show” in the Wilson Gallery.
March 2021
Dr. Joani Brandon will be co-presenting “Orff Schulwerk and Conversational Solfege in Action: Sing, Say, Dance, Play” at the Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) national (virtual) conference in July 2021. Dr. Brandon serves in the national executive board and is a past-president of the organization. (3/12/21)
Dr. Joani Brandon will be co-presenting “Midnight Historical Society: Celebrating the 100th birthday of Carl Orff” at the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) national professional development conference to be held in November, 2021, in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Brandon serves as the co-chair of the AOSA History Research Interest Group. (3/12/21)
Dr. Justin Lambright was a panelist along with Dr. Eric Reyes (Ruse-Hulman Institute of Technology) at the Spring Indiana Section meeting of the Mathematical Association of America held March 27. The topic was “The Reflections on Pandemic Teaching Innovations: A discussion of some lessons learned by us during these unprecedented times.” (4/23/21)
April 2021
Dr. Janell Blunt’s dissertation titled, “Animacy and animate imagery improve retention in the method of loci among novice users” was published April 9 in the Memory & Cognition Journal, and can be accessed at https://rdcu.be/ciqfa.
Dr. Lee Van Groningen recently passed the Society of Actuaries P Examination, which assesses knowledge of the fundamental probability tools for quantitatively assessing risk. The exam pass rate is typically around 40%. (4/23/21)
Dr. D. Maria Scott organized the annual conference of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences, held virtually April 9-10, in conjunction with Beyond Boundaries – Indiana Academies Symposium.
Dr. Ben McPheron had the following papers published and presented both at the 2021 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Illinois-Indiana Section Conference (April 16-17): ● B.D. McPheron, K.M. Parson, M.R. Stein. “Development of a Mechatronics System Design Course.”
- B.D. McPheron, R.H. Stuthers, B.A. Thompson, K.M. Parson. “Using Guitar Pedals to Introduce Amplifier Design and Printed Circuit Board Lay0out in an Electronics Course.”
Dr. Laura Stull organized a successful in-person conference experience on campus for her 15 capstone research students, despite the 40th Annual MAUPRC (Mid-America Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference) being held virtually April 17.
Dr. Janet Brewer reported that several AU faculty members were recently awarded PALNI (Private Academic Library Network of Indiana) grants through PALSave Affordable Learning, which is an initiative to improve student success and retention by supporting the use of course materials that are free to students.
Grant recipients through the PALSave Course Redesign Program are:
- Fall 2020: Dr. Jennifer Coy, Prof. Jon Craton, Dr. Hyeon Joon Shin, Dr. Cara Miller ● Spring 2021: Dr. Caroline Baker, Dr. Jay Hochstetler, Prof. Jason Lowmiller, Dr. Willis Troy
- Fall 2021: Dr. Janell Blunt, Dr. Jay Hochstetler, Prof. Victoria Shaw, Dr. Laura Stull ● Spring 2022: Dr. Alan Overstreet, Dr. Laura Stull
Recipient of the PALSave Textbook Creation Grant was Dr. Nathan Willowby (Morality for Professionals: Developing a Moral Conscience through Christian Virtue Ethics).
Dr. Kevin Radaker will be leading a virtual book discussion on the New York Times bestseller by Erik Larson entitled, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz. This is a preliminary event leading into the week-long Ashland (Ohio) Chautauqua (themed “In Times of
War”), where Dr. Radaker will be presenting his Winston Churchill portrayal on stage July 17. On September 10, Dr. Radaker will be offering an online performance as Churchill for History at Play LLC (based in Boston).
Dr. D. Maria Scott was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Luso-American Development Foundation towards the publication of two co-edited books: American Studies Over_Seas: Narrating Multiple America(s), and American Studies Over_Seas: (Multi) Vocal Exchanges Across the Atlantic.
Congratulations to Dr. Caroline Baker, who successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Particle Mechanics Approach to Modeling Impact Response and Wave Propagation in Bonded Particulate Systems.” Dr. Baker completed her PhD from Purdue University.
Congratulations to Dr. Adam Waller, who successfully defended his dissertation titled, “Winning Sounds: How Competition Defined the Instrumentation, Membership, and Our Understanding of Excellence in the American Wind Band.” Dr. Waller completed the Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.
May 2021
Dr. Janell Blunt served as peer reviewer for the academic journal, Translational Issues in Psychological Science.
Dr. Anna Epperly is serving on the Public Relations Committee of the Indiana Council for Administrators of Special Education.
Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji has been contracted for “Writing Rhetorically” to run 2021 in Digitally Mediated Writing and You. Kendall Hunt Publishing. Hedge, Stephanie and Courtney Cox, eds.
Dr. Elizabeth Imafuji is serving as peer reviewer for the 2022 National Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Dr. Rebekah Baker earned a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace” certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business as part of continuing education training which took place March 24 through May 5.