Staff at Offsite Library Location Takes on Extensive - Blogs ...

March 15, 2012ExchangePrior to his evening lecture, Quirk will be speaking to Didier’s “Human Sexuality” class andLiffick’s “Cognitive Science” class.“The Science of Love, Sex and Rel<strong>at</strong>ionships,” a PIXAR-illustr<strong>at</strong>ed present<strong>at</strong>ion, will answerquestions such as: Is monogamy n<strong>at</strong>ural? Why do we bother falling in love? Why are somepeople homosexual?Quirk’s talk is being sponsored by the Scholars in the Classroom project (awarded to Didier andLiffick), the MU Allies, the President’s Commission on Cultural Diversity, the Office of SocialEquity and the Biology Department Weirich Fund.This event is free and open to the public. For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, contact Didier <strong>at</strong> 717-872-3420.Artists Captures the “Human Condition”Utilizing unique m<strong>at</strong>erials like chocol<strong>at</strong>e and soap, contemporary artist Janine Antoni will blurthe line between performance art and sculpture as part of the 2012Conrad Nelson Lecture. The lecture is set for April 4 <strong>at</strong> 7 p.m. <strong>at</strong>The Ware Center, Millersville University Lancaster.Antoni’s primary tool for making sculpture has been her ownbody, through which she transforms everyday activities likee<strong>at</strong>ing, b<strong>at</strong>hing and sleeping into ways of making art. In the past,she has chiseled cubes of lard and chocol<strong>at</strong>e with her teeth andrecorded her own brainwave signals while dreaming to use as ap<strong>at</strong>tern for the blanket she made the following morning.Antoni’s work has been fe<strong>at</strong>ured in exhibitions all over the world including the Venice Biennial,Johannesburg Biennial, Istanbul Biennial and the Prospect One Biennial in New Orleans.In 2011, she was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Found<strong>at</strong>ion Fellowship.Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have demonstr<strong>at</strong>ed exceptionalcapacity for a productive scholarship or exceptional cre<strong>at</strong>ive ability in the arts.This event is free and open to the public; however, tickets are required. Tickets are availableonline, <strong>at</strong> MUTicketsOnline.com, <strong>at</strong> the Student Memorial Center Office (room 103), by callingthe Ticket Office <strong>at</strong> 717-872-3811 or <strong>at</strong> The Ware Center, Millersville University Lancaster BoxOffice, 42 N. Prince St., Lancaster. Ticket Offices are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30p.m.For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, contact Line Bruntse, art and design, <strong>at</strong> 717-872-3302 orLine.Bruntse@millersville.edu.Photo caption: Mortar and Pestle, 1999. C-print.6

March 15, 2012ExchangeStudents Particip<strong>at</strong>e in the 10 th Annual Model African UnionFive members of Millersville University’s African Student Associ<strong>at</strong>ion (MUASA) joined theirpeers from 48 different institutions across the country to particip<strong>at</strong>e in the 10 th annual ModelAfrican Union hosted by Howard University in Washington, D.C., on February 23-26. TheModel African Union is a simul<strong>at</strong>ion of the Organiz<strong>at</strong>ion of African Unity and its successor, theAfrican Union. Representing the country of Benin,the deleg<strong>at</strong>ion from Millersville consisted of NsimaUmana, senior and president of MUASA, BintuSherif, freshman, Maekenzi Vern<strong>at</strong>, senior, KofiAdutwum, gradu<strong>at</strong>e student in psychology, WongelHeramo, senior, Dr. Doyin Coker-Kolo, facultyadvisor and Dr. Onek Adyanga, faculty consultant.The “Model” provides a unique opportunity foruniversity and college students to study Africa andthe African Union through simul<strong>at</strong>ion augmented by briefings <strong>at</strong> African embassies inWashington, D.C. More specifically, the N<strong>at</strong>ional Model African Union is designed to increaseawareness of the role, organiz<strong>at</strong>ion and performance of the African Union; highlight keyeconomic, social and political-security issues facing the African continent and to demonstr<strong>at</strong>e theneed for effective diplom<strong>at</strong>ic, economic and military cooper<strong>at</strong>ive action in an unfolding crisissitu<strong>at</strong>ion.Adutwum won the Committee Leadership Award for the Committee on Union Government. Thisaward is given to the individual who has made the most significant contribution to fosteringconsensus, capturing the essence of complex issues and leading the respective committees andcouncil toward effective action.MUASA students were able to particip<strong>at</strong>e in this event because of funding from the School ofEduc<strong>at</strong>ion, President’s Commission for Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness, Office of SocialEquity and Diversity, Black Student Union, Society on L<strong>at</strong>ino Affairs and the NoonanEndowment Fund grant.For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, contact Coker-Kolo, <strong>at</strong> Doyin.Coker-Kolo@millersville.edu or 717-872-3816.Photo caption: MUASA students (L-R): Kofi Adutwum, Nsima Umana, president of MUASA; Dr.Hector Posset, minister-counselor, Benin Embassy; Wongel Heramo, Maekenzi Vern<strong>at</strong> and BintuSherif.MESO Students Earn Honorable Mentions <strong>at</strong> Regional CompetitionSix members of Millersville University’s Middle Eastern Studies Organiz<strong>at</strong>ion (MESO),representing the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, competed against nine other colleges and universities<strong>at</strong> the 2012 Ohio Valley Regional Model Arab League simul<strong>at</strong>ion, held <strong>at</strong> Miami University ofOhio, February 16-18. The Millersville deleg<strong>at</strong>ion earned five awards for its represent<strong>at</strong>ion.7

March 15, 2012ExchangeDuring the simul<strong>at</strong>ion, participants were required to remain in character as members of thediplom<strong>at</strong>ic deleg<strong>at</strong>ions from the countries they represented. The objective for each deleg<strong>at</strong>ionwas to pass resolutions th<strong>at</strong> reflect the actualinterests of the countries they represented.Awards were given to participants based onperformance in academic, procedural andbehavioral terms. Millersville students whoreceived rewards included Bjorn Bolte, whoearned Honorable Mention for his role in theSocial Affairs Council; Derek Smith and DannonStewart, who each earned Honorable Mention fortheir role in the Palestinian Affairs Council andAlyssa Anderson and Barney Cannon, who eachreceived outstanding deleg<strong>at</strong>e awards, the highest <strong>at</strong>tainable award, for their role in the PoliticalAffairs Council.Cannon was also was elected by particip<strong>at</strong>ing students to the position of assistant secretarygeneral of the Ohio Valley Model Arab League for next year’s simul<strong>at</strong>ion, a first for anyMillersville MESO member.“These students should be admired even if they did not earn awards given the intellectualand academic tasks they face to effectively particip<strong>at</strong>e in a model. I gre<strong>at</strong>ly appreci<strong>at</strong>e them and Iam very proud of them. They have provided me with some of the gre<strong>at</strong>est rewards of myacademic career,” said Dr. Craig Ilgenfritz, instructor of political and government affairs andMillersville’s MESO advisor.For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, contact Ilgenfritz, <strong>at</strong> Craig.Ilgenfritz@millersville.edu or 717-372-3550.Photo caption: MESO members (L-R): Bernard Cannon, Dr. Craig Ilgenfritz, Bjorn Bolte, DerekSmith, Alyssa Anderson and Dannon Stewart.5 th Annual Science OlympiadStudents in middle school and high school will have the opportunity to use their knowledge andskills of science <strong>at</strong> the fourth annual Science Olympiad. Millersville University of Pennsylvaniawill host the PA Central Region Science Olympiad competition on S<strong>at</strong>urday, March 24, 2012.Winners of the local competition will then compete <strong>at</strong> st<strong>at</strong>e and n<strong>at</strong>ional levels.Currently, more than 41 schools are registered to particip<strong>at</strong>e in the competition which consists of23 team events. The events are separ<strong>at</strong>ed by two divisions: Division B is middle school andDivision C is high school. Each school brings 15 students who compete in various eventsthrough the day on topics including biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, engineering andtechnology.8

March 15, 2012ExchangeScience Olympiad is a n<strong>at</strong>ional nonprofit organiz<strong>at</strong>ion devoted to improving the quality ofscience educ<strong>at</strong>ion, increasing student interest in science and providing recognition foroutstanding achievement in science educ<strong>at</strong>ion by both students and teachers.“We consider this as a very important event th<strong>at</strong> stimul<strong>at</strong>es enthusiasm for science throughchallenging and motiv<strong>at</strong>ional competitions.” said Dr. Mehmet Goksu, coordin<strong>at</strong>or for theOlympiad and assistant professor of physics <strong>at</strong> Millersville. “Science Olympiad encourages awide cross-section of students to get involved in a day of fun and scientific competition.”For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, please contact Dr. Goksu <strong>at</strong> mehmet.goksu@millersville.edu or 717-872-3770.Need to Know: Spring Faculty Convoc<strong>at</strong>ionThe spring 2012 Faculty Convoc<strong>at</strong>ion, hosted by the Office of the Provost <strong>at</strong> MillersvilleUniversity, will be held on Wednesday, March 21, <strong>at</strong> 4 p.m. in Lehr Room, Bolger ConferenceCenter, Gordinier Hall. Refreshments will be available <strong>at</strong> 3:30 p.m., with the event beginningpromptly <strong>at</strong> 4 p.m. This year’s convoc<strong>at</strong>ion theme is “HowInnov<strong>at</strong>ions in Educ<strong>at</strong>ion Impact the Role of Faculty inPromoting Student Success.”At the University’s convoc<strong>at</strong>ion this past fall, PresidentMcNairy laid out the Case for Change th<strong>at</strong> challengedMillersville University to respond through a comprehensivetransform<strong>at</strong>ion leading to “a thorough or dram<strong>at</strong>ic change—ametamorphosis—of this University <strong>at</strong> the start of the 21st century.” One of the key driversidentified is competition, which has been the focus of a number of recent public<strong>at</strong>ions focusingon the future of higher educ<strong>at</strong>ion in America. Online resources (e.g., Khan Academy), opensourcepublishing (e.g., Washington St<strong>at</strong>e Open Course <strong>Library</strong>), open access courses from topinstitutions (e.g., MIT OpenCourseWare), prior learning assessment (e.g., Council for Adult andExperiential Learning), etc., are changing the landscape of higher educ<strong>at</strong>ion in the 21st century.These changes, driven by wh<strong>at</strong> Clayton Christensen, author of The Innov<strong>at</strong>ive University, calls“disruptive innov<strong>at</strong>ions,” will require universities to respond in unprecedented ways if, accordingto Christensen, they are to survive and prosper in the face of these challenges.Faculty will present some of their innov<strong>at</strong>ions and open the convers<strong>at</strong>ion about how theseinnov<strong>at</strong>ions are reshaping the faculty role. The program will culmin<strong>at</strong>e with break-out sessions todiscuss in gre<strong>at</strong>er detail the ways in which faculty have cre<strong>at</strong>ed opportunities out of thesechallenges. To help inform this discussion, a series of articles and suggested references areavailable <strong>at</strong> www.millersville.edu/iea/assessment/files/Faculty%20Convoc<strong>at</strong>ion.php. Several ofthe books referenced on this site are available for check-out through the Center for AcademicExcellence in Adams House.For more inform<strong>at</strong>ion, contact the provost’s office <strong>at</strong> 717-872-3772 orPstudent2@millersville.edu. Faculty should RSVP by March 13 through the followingregistr<strong>at</strong>ion form:9

March 15, 2012Exchangedocs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERpeVFDODNtV19ZTHFJR1VIdktMblE6MQ3/15/2012 ActivitiesHere are the faculty and staff activities for March 15, 2012.Faculty and <strong>Staff</strong> ActivitiesDr. Ralph Anttonen, academic & student development, and Dr. Michelle White, academicadvisement, recently had their article, “Reinvigor<strong>at</strong>ing Faculty Advising on Your Campus,”published in The Mentor <strong>at</strong> dus.psu.edu/mentor.Dr. Stephanie Elzer, computer science, Dr. Nancy M<strong>at</strong>a, art & design, and Dr. P<strong>at</strong>rickMcCaskey, management & marketing, met on February 27 with Raymond Wee, manager,Industry Development Group, and Tan Aik Bing, assistant director, Industry Development Groupof the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, a government agency underSingapore’s Ministry of Inform<strong>at</strong>ion, Communic<strong>at</strong>ions and the Arts (MICA). This meeting wasto assist IDA in the development of a program through Millersville University’s SoftwareProductiz<strong>at</strong>ion Center.Dr. Abdelhadi Halawa, wellness and sport sciences, has been selected by the Senior AdvisoryBoard (SAB) of Intellectbase Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Consortium to serve as a conference co-chair for theMulti-Disciplinary Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Academic Conference to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, fromMarch 15-17.Drs. Linda McDowell, educ<strong>at</strong>ional found<strong>at</strong>ions, Lynn Marquez, earth sciences, CalebCorkery, English, and Dan O’Neill, counseling & human development, presented <strong>at</strong> the 31 stAnnual Conference on the First-Year Experience in San Antonio, February 17-21. Marquez,McDowell and O’Neill presented Millersville’s work on the Freshman Year Experience in aworkshop titled “D<strong>at</strong>a is the Lesson, Experience is the Teacher: Keys to Building a SuccessfulFYE Program.” They also conducted a roundtable discussion, “We<strong>at</strong>hering the Storm: TheseTimes they are a Changing,” focused on challenges universities face in providing quality firstyear programming. Corkery and O’Neill presented their work in coordin<strong>at</strong>ing the One Book OneCampus and CHOICES Orient<strong>at</strong>ion programs in a workshop titled “Engaging First-YearStudents in Crucial Convers<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>at</strong> Orient<strong>at</strong>ion.”10

March 15, 2012ExchangeRetiredDr. Francis Bremer, professor emeritus of history, has been selected for a fellowship <strong>at</strong> TrinityCollege, Dublin, beginning April 1. He will be researching puritan conversion experiences in theearly modern Atlantic world. Also this spring, Bremer’s new book, First Founders: Puritans andPuritanism in the Atlantic World, will be published. The dedic<strong>at</strong>ion for the book is to Bremer’scolleagues, students and administr<strong>at</strong>ors of Millersville University.Dr. Dennis Denenberg, professor emeritus of elementary educ<strong>at</strong>ion, will present a “Hooray forHeroes” in Vineland, N.J., on March 21. The present<strong>at</strong>ion is through a Teaching AmericanHistory grant workshop.Dr. Karl E. Moyer, professor emeritus of music, played two of the series of Wednesday’s noonLenten Medit<strong>at</strong>ion events, organ music with printed but without spoken comment, in the UnitedMethodist Church. One more remains for him: Wednesday during Holy Week, 12:15 - 12:45p.m., with the theme “From Palm Sunday to Good Friday in Music.” He was consultant for therebuilding of the organ and played its opening re-dedic<strong>at</strong>ion in January 1972. Dr. Philip Wynn,professor emeritus of industrial arts educ<strong>at</strong>ion, was chair of the organ committee in th<strong>at</strong> project.The organ is one of the more significant in Lancaster County.Who Makes Millersville SpecialThis edition of the Exchange fe<strong>at</strong>ures Dr. Sandra Deemer, professor of educ<strong>at</strong>ional found<strong>at</strong>ions.Q: How long have you been working <strong>at</strong> Millersville?A: I am in my 12 th year <strong>at</strong> Millersville. I began workinghere in August of 2000.Q: Wh<strong>at</strong> classes do you teach here? Do you have anyfavorites?A: I regularly teach undergradu<strong>at</strong>e and gradu<strong>at</strong>e coursesin educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology. I have also taught afreshman inquiry course titled “Wh<strong>at</strong> Turns you on?Minds, Motiv<strong>at</strong>ion and Learning” and a gradu<strong>at</strong>e coursein educ<strong>at</strong>ional research. In 2004, I was also involved inour Philadelphia Immersion Seminar, which is a livinglearningexperience in Philadelphia. As for favorites, I am fortun<strong>at</strong>e in th<strong>at</strong> all of my courseassignments allow me to share my knowledge and enthusiasm rel<strong>at</strong>ed to the psychology behindteaching and learning. Cre<strong>at</strong>ing and teaching the freshman seminar has been an excitingchallenge as I <strong>at</strong>tempt to infuse research on motiv<strong>at</strong>ional theory with the practical learningstr<strong>at</strong>egies th<strong>at</strong> are often useful for incoming students.Q: Do your children or other family members influence your teaching style?A: This is such a timely question because my son, Joshua, began kindergarten last year. Iconstantly find myself thinking about the dynamics of his kindergarten classroom as I discusstheories in educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology with Millersville students. Amazingly, wh<strong>at</strong> I have11

March 15, 2012Exchangeexperienced in his kindergarten class as both a parent and a classroom volunteer mirrors the bestpractices espoused in educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology.If you remember your time in kindergarten, you may recall th<strong>at</strong> children are so curious, alwaysasking questions and exploring their environments inside and outside of school. I try to considerhow we as teachers can promote this questioning and explor<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>at</strong> various grade levels andwith different types of students when I am teaching my courses in educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology.Q: You had two public<strong>at</strong>ions fe<strong>at</strong>ured in the Educ<strong>at</strong>ional Psychology Reader: The Art andScience of How People Learn. How many other public<strong>at</strong>ions have you had?A: I really enjoy academic writing. My dissert<strong>at</strong>ion advisor, Dr. K<strong>at</strong>hy Minke, was an incrediblerole model for me with academic writing. Although it is challenging, I gain gre<strong>at</strong> pride fromsharing ideas in this way especially when I collabor<strong>at</strong>e with others during the writing process.My most recent public<strong>at</strong>ion with Melissa Ostrowski in the journal American SecondaryEduc<strong>at</strong>ion is a highlight of my public<strong>at</strong>ions because it actually describes and theoreticallyanalyzes a current practice being used in a local high school.Q: We fe<strong>at</strong>ured your colleague, Laurie Hanich; she mentioned you were both co-editors ofTeaching Educ<strong>at</strong>ional Psychology. Can you tell us more about your personal involvement?A: Laurie and I were so fortun<strong>at</strong>e to be asked to serve in this role where we split the dutiesassoci<strong>at</strong>ed with this n<strong>at</strong>ional peer-reviewed journal. In this role, I communic<strong>at</strong>e with potentialauthors, solicit and coordin<strong>at</strong>e reviews of manuscripts, and oversee copy editing of manuscriptsuntil final public<strong>at</strong>ion. In addition, I have been involved in forging partnerships with leadingorganiz<strong>at</strong>ions in educ<strong>at</strong>ion, such as the American Educ<strong>at</strong>ional Research Associ<strong>at</strong>ion andAmerican Psychological Associ<strong>at</strong>ion, as we market the journal to others in our field.Q: Wh<strong>at</strong> is your involvement with Phi Eta Sigma?A: I have served as Phi Eta Sigma’s faculty advisor since fall 2000. Recently I turned thisadvising role over to one of our new faculty members, Dr. Tiffany Wright. I enjoyed assistingthe members of this honor society in organizing their annual induction ceremony and overseeingtheir financial accounts. My role was strictly advisory as the gre<strong>at</strong> students who compose thisorganiz<strong>at</strong>ion really do all the work.Q: Where are you from?A: I grew up in Easton, Pa. I still have family in th<strong>at</strong> area and enjoy visiting my good oldhometown.Q: Wh<strong>at</strong> college/university did you <strong>at</strong>tend? Major?A: I gradu<strong>at</strong>ed from Millersville in 1992. While here as a student, I majored in psychology andwas fortun<strong>at</strong>e enough to have been taught by gre<strong>at</strong> professors like Dr. Luek, Dr. Smith-Wade-Eland Dr. Woo, who helped develop my passion for psychology. I also was a part of the Universityhonors program. I received my master’s and doctoral degrees in educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology from theUniversity of Delaware.12

March 15, 2012ExchangeQ: Wh<strong>at</strong> was your dream job when you were growing up?A: Teacher – I was one of those kids who rallied (or maybe coerced) the neighborhood kids to letme “teach” them in my makeshift school in our basement. Even though I had this calling to teachearly in life, I actually steered away from it and focused on developmental psychology when Ifirst entered gradu<strong>at</strong>e school. But once I took an elective course in educ<strong>at</strong>ional psychology, I wasback to my childhood dream job.Q: Wh<strong>at</strong> is your favorite book?A: I am an avid reader (in fact, I often trade books with Laurie Hanich). One of my favoritebooks is still The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.Q: Wh<strong>at</strong> is your gre<strong>at</strong>est accomplishment?A: With no reserv<strong>at</strong>ion, my family and friends are my biggest accomplishment. As I mentionedabove, Joshua, who now is in first grade, challenges me each day with his inquisitive personality.Emma, my two year old, is so curious and really makes me stop and “look” <strong>at</strong> the world. Myhusband, Mike, is an amazing partner and truly dedic<strong>at</strong>ed f<strong>at</strong>her. I am fortun<strong>at</strong>e to have manygre<strong>at</strong> groups of friends from every aspect of my life-the high school gang, the Millersville gang,the University of Delaware gang and the Highcroft neighbors. Of course, I also take gre<strong>at</strong> pridein the work th<strong>at</strong> I do here <strong>at</strong> Millersville, which can only happen with the gre<strong>at</strong> support of familyand friends.Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?A: Being a Millersville University alum and now a Millersville University faculty member, I cansay with assurance th<strong>at</strong> Millersville has so much to offer to both students and faculty if you“seize the opportunity.” I felt th<strong>at</strong> I did this as a student by being involved in the University andpsychology honors programs. As a faculty member, I am fortun<strong>at</strong>e to exist in a communitywhere I am able to share my knowledge and passion rel<strong>at</strong>ed to teaching and learning withengaged students and colleagues every day.13