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Faculty and Staff News (04-29-08)

Brown, Kelso, and Schilling receive ASC's first Presidential Teaching Awards

"Good students know good teaching when they see it," according to Adams State Provost, Dr. Michael Mumper. So last fall he appointed a group of outstanding undergraduate students to recognize professors who excel in undergraduate teaching, advising, and mentoring.

Following a thorough selection process, Adams State's first Presidential Teacher Awards were presented to Eva Brown, instructor and coordinator of distance degree program in sociology; Dr. Kim Kelso, chair of the psychology department; and Gene Schilling, professor of art.

Emeritus Professors

Four faculty retiring from the college this year were granted Emeritus Professor status: Julie Campbell, assistant professor of management; Carl Coolbaugh, assistant professor of accounting; Dr. Randall Newell, professor of accounting; and Dr. R. Neil Rudolph, professor of chemistry.

Faculty Tenure & Promotions

Faculty who recently earned tenure include: Dr. Stephen Aldrich, assistant professor of mathematics; Dr. Barbara Andrews, associate professor of counselor education; Dr. Joyce Centofanti, assistant professor of art; Roger Eriksen, assistant professor of art; Dr. Richard Goddard, assistant professor of social studies; Dr. Stephanie Gonzales, assistant professor of sociology; Dana Provence, assistant professor of art.

Faculty recently promoted to full professor include Dr. Tim Armstrong, biology; Dr. Matthew Ikle, mathematics; Dr. Joel Judd, teacher education; and Dr. John Taylor, theatre. Those promoted to associate professor include Dr. Stephen Aldrich, mathematics; Dr. Barbara Andrews, counselor education; Dr. Joyce Centofanti, art; Roger Eriksen, art; Dr. Richard Goddard, social studies; Dana Provence, art; and Dr. Steve Weiss, psychology.

Accomplishments

Bennie Chacon, Perkins Loan officer, received the Chris Halpin Distinguished Award at the 20th annual Colorado Association of Administrators of Student Loans and Accounts Receivable (CAASLAR) Conference in Beaver Creek, April 24-25. This award is presented to an individual whose past efforts within the collection profession exemplify the spirit and dedication of Chris Halpin,who was a driving force in the creation of CAASLAR. Bennie will complete a two-year term as CAASLAR President April, 2009.

Adams State was well represented on the conference agenda: Dr. Joel Shults, director of Public Safety, presented a session on Campus Safety, while Aftin Gillespie, technical records coordinator, presented a session on the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Dr. Melissa L. Freeman, assistant professor of government, was appointed to a two-year term on the New Scholar Board of Educational Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA). EPAA is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education at Arizona State University and the College of Education at the University of South Florida. Single article issues are published bi-monthly in three languages. EPAA focuses on education policy broadly speaking and is open to articles without regard to geography or period.

Freeman received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Policy in 2007 and her Master's in Political Science/Public Policy in 2000, both at Ohio University. At ASC she teaches Public Policy, Public and Nonprofit Management, Congress and the Presidency, and History/Contemporary Higher Education. Freeman's research interests include access to higher education, including the intersection between geography, gender, and race/ethnicity; vertical transitions from two-year to four-year institutions; and the K-16 educational pipeline. Freeman also recently volunteered to serve on the board of directors for Gingerbread House Early Learning Center.

Librarians Brooke Andrade, Mary Walsh and library assistant Paul Mascarenas will present the Mobile Learning Center and Laptop Loan program at the Mountain Plains Library Association conference, to be held in Salt Lake City April 29-May 2. The national conference is titled, "Where Paths Meet: Connecting Libraries and our Communities." MPLA is a 12-state librarian consortium including Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North & South Dakota, and Oklahoma.

The ASC librarians will be presenting on the recently implemented Mobile Learning Center and Laptop Loan program (MLC/LLP) that was part of an LSTA Grant written by Andrade and Mascarenas. The MLC/LLP is a two-part project that reaches out to the community of the San Luis Valley through technology classes taught by the librarians and to provide laptops for the students, staff, and faculty to check out in the library.

Also, Mascarenas will attend the National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., May 13-14. On this day, hundreds of librarians converge in Washington to speak with their legislatures on behalf of libraries, advocating on topics such as federal funding for libraries, Internet availability in rural communities, privacy and the Patriot Act, and copyright law. Those who cannot attend personally are encouraged to participate virtually. For more information, click here.

Kevin Wright, Director of the Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue (AVSAR) Team, will teach the ASC course, ID 179 Introduction to Search and Rescue, during the fall semester. He recently presented training on wilderness search and rescue operations at Sand Dunes National Park to park rangers and AVSAR team. For more details on the upcoming course, please contact Karen Lemke ext. 7969, or stop by Richardson Hall 217.

Karen Lemke, interim director of developmental education, will present teaching techniques using Universal Instructional Design (UID) and heuristics to faculty at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, IL, June 27. Seventy math, reading and writing instructors will participate in this hands-on workshop to help make course content more accessible to students and to reduce barriers to accessing higher education. The dean of Kennedy-King College invited Lemke to present based on feedback from faculty who had attended Lemke's session at the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) conference in Boston, Feb. 28.

New Faculty and Staff

Erik van de Boogaard began April 1 as ASC's Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction. He will direct $35 million dollars in new construction, as a result of the new capital fee, as well as the $12 million Plachy Hall project now underway. Van de Boogaard previously served as director of ASC Facilities Services from 1998-2002, overseeing $53 million dollars worth of campus construction projects. He served as assistant vice president for facilities services at Mesa State College from 2002-06, and for the last two years worked with the Kiewit Building Group in Grand Junction.