BSU Faculty Achievements — Spring/Summer 2017

 
 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Odeh, associate professor of technology, art & design, has published “Emphasis-Related Capstone Class: The Use of Real-Life Experience to Enhance Workforce Readiness” in the British Journal of Education. He also published an article, “The Viability of Residential Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems In the State of Indiana,” in the Journal of Business, Economics and Finance. Al-Odeh co-authored it with researchers from Indiana State University. The article recapped research that sought to measure the financial viability of installing and using a grid-connected residential solar energy system.
Erika Bailey-Johnson, sustainability coordinator, presented at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy’s annual Women’s Breakfast on April 27. Bailey-Johnson was a panelist for “Be Your Own Environmental Hero:  Fresh Strategies Without The Politics,” which focused on how women can be agents for positive social change outside the political process.
  Bill Blackwell, Jr., executive director of the American Indian Resource Center, was joined by Erika Bailey-Johnson and Dr. John Gonzalez, professor of psychology, for presentations at the Project Graduate “Helping Native Youth Find Success” conference for teachers and community leaders in Bemidji on March 24.
  Dr. Anna Carlson, assistant sustainability coordinator, and Erika Bailey-Johnson on Feb. 13-17 attended a leadership retreat hosted by the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation. The retreat is part of the foundation’s eight-day Blandin Community Leadership Program, which develops and trains local leaders to build healthy communities.
  Dr. Stephen Carlson, professor of music, performed on the grand piano Feb. 16 at the University of Minnesota Crookston’s Kiehle Auditorium. The concert, which included works by Beethoven, Chopin, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff, was sponsored by UMC Concerts and Lectures, Liberal Arts and Education Department and the Music/Theater Department.
  Dr. Season Ellison, assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies, co-authored a book chapter, “Performative Texts and the Pedagogical Theatre: Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home as Compositional Model,” in an upcoming edited collection, “Teaching Graphic Novels,” edited by Alissa Burger. She co-authored the chapter with Dr. William Cordeiro from Northern Arizona University’s Honors College. In March, Ellison also directed “Hedda Helmer: Ibsenite Heroine,” a 10-minute play by Joe Stollenwerk, for the Dramatists Lab for Mid-America Theatre Conference in Houston.
Four retiring BSU faculty members with a combined 91.5 years of service to the university were granted emeritus status in May: Dr. Dwight Fultz, professor emeritus of psychology, 28 years; Dr. Glen Richgels, professor emeritus of mathematics and computer science, 24 years; Ms. Patrice Conley, professor emerita of library and library services, 22.5 years; Dr. Blanca Rivera, professor emerita of languages and ethnic studies, 17 years.
Dr. Andrew Hafs, associate professor of biology, published “Seasonal Changes in Condition of Appalachian Brook Trout,” in the January issue of the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
Dr. Janice Haworth, professor of music, traveled to China from March 3 to April 8 as a participant in the Overseas Teaching Program. She visited Huaihua University, Shaoyang University and Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology. Her activities including delivering lectures, hosting academic forums on ethnic music in education, gathering folk music from neighboring communities and participating in rehearsals for an African djembe drum performance.
  Dr. Kelly La Venture, assistant professor of business, traveled to London Nov. 14–17 to present at the London International Conference on Education. She was accompanied by alumna Lisa Kittleson, who presented “The Student Perspective: An Exploratory Study to Understand the Skills Gap in a Midwestern Community,” recapping the results of a Marketing Assistance and Research Solutions project to examine Bemidji’s skills gap from the perspective of the city’s employers. Two more of LaVenture’s courses, Marketing Research and Marketing Management, have been certified.
Michael Lane, assistant professor of Indian studies, on March 7 presented “Indigenous Sovereignty: A Personal and Professional Reflection on the Journey” along with Sharon Heta during Bemidji’s spring Adventures in Lifelong Learning presentation series.
Dr. Michael Murray, associate professor of economics, edited “The Job Guarantee and Modern Money Theory: Realizing Keynes’s Labor Standard.” The book supports the theory that a flexible job-guarantee program able to react to a fluctuating economy would stabilize the labor standard, the value of employment in relation to money.
  Dr. Donna Pawlowski, professor of speech communication, published “Communication Civility Codes: Positive Communication Through the Students’ Eyes” in the Communication Teacher journal. The article demonstrates the importance of working with students to understand and appreciate respectful communication and civility in the classroom.
  Dr. Katie Peterson, assistant professor of chemistry, authored a paper, “Fe- and Ln-DOTAm-F12 Are Effective Paramagnetic Fluorine Contrast Agents for MRI in Water and Blood,” that was published in a recent issue of Inorganic Chemistry.
    Dr. Cory Renbarger (left), assistant professor of music, performed as a soloist with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra’s production of Handel’s Messiah in April. He was joined by Dr. Dwight Jilek and the Bemidji Choir, which Jilek directs. The choir was part of a 100-member combined chorus that included members of the Bemidji Chorale and Park Rapids Classic Chorale at the performance.
Two faculty members were honored April 27 at Bemidji State University’s annual Employee Recognition Celebration, where new Awards of Excellence were presented to faculty and staff. Dr. Glen Richgels, professor emeritus of mathematics, received the Excellence in Teaching Award, and Dr. Sandra Kranz, professor of accountancy, received the Distinguished Service Award.
  Dr. Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe, won the Denver Public Library’s Caroline Bancroft History Prize for his book, “Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe,” in December. The annual prize is awarded to the author of the “best book on Colorado or Western American History published during the current year.” Treuer also was training facilitator for a two-day “Healing the Racial Divide: Native American Color, Culture and Consciousness” session held May 10–11 at Bemidji’s Calvary Lutheran Church.
  Dr. Patrick Welle, professor emeritus of economics, presented at a March 23 forum on the value of clean water hosted by Central Lakes College in Brainerd. Welle presented on the economic impact of clean and healthy waters. The forum was hosted by the Gordon Rosenmeier Center for State and Local Government, Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation and Northern Water Alliance of Minnesota.
  Dr. James White, professor of human performance, sport and health, published “How to Plant a Food Plot the Happy Health Way” in the April 2017 edition of MidWest Outdoors magazine. The article explores the potential physical risks of planting wildlife food plots, including tips for minimizing the risk of poison ivy, tick and bug bites and becoming dehydrated while working in the woods.
  Dr. Misty Wilkie, assistant professor of nursing, attended Higher Learning Commission Peer Reviewer Training from Oct. 19-21 in Chicago. She is now able to visit other HLC-accredited institutions as a reviewer and will assist BSU’s accreditation as a member of its assessment committee. Wilkie also spoke Oct. 25 at the College of Pharmacy’s Convocation in St. Louis, Mo., about a documentary film she participated in titled “Essence of Healing: Journey of American Indian Nurses” and was keynote speaker at the Second Annual Native Nations Nursing Summit on Nov. 4 in Lac du Flambeau, Wis. Her presentation was titled “Capture the Future: Nurture the Spirit — Preparing Successful indigenous Nurses.”
Dr. Marty Wolf, professor of computer science, has written an article for Communications of the ACM, a monthly publication of the Association for Computing Machinery, describing the importance of the organization’s code of ethics. Wolf and three co-authors published “Making a Positive Impact: Updating the ACM Code of Ethics” in the same issue of the publication, describing proposed changes to the code and the motivation for those changes. Wolf also co-authored “Data, Signals and Information in Digital Computation“ with Nir Fresco in Logique et Analyse, an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research in logic, philosophy of logic and/or mathematics, argumentation-theory and analytical philosophy.