Dr. Andy Arsham, assistant professor of biology, traveled with seven undergraduate students from BSU and North Hennepin Community College to the Genetics Society of America’s annual Drosophila Research Conference, held in March in Dallas. Drosophila is a fruit fly commonly used in genetics and evolutionary research. Arsham and the students presented on the unique biology/theater partnership that has launched at North Hennepin Community College, and students participated in a workshop on equity in the research community.
Dr. Stephen Carlson, professor of music and chair of the Department of Music, and Dr. Cory Renbarger, associate professor of music, traveled to Arizona for a March 24 performance of Schubert’s “Winterreise” at the Dove of Peace Lutheran Church in Tucson, Ariz. “Winterreise,” based on 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller, explores death and love through the metaphor of winter.
Dr. Jessica Durgan, associate professor of English, published her first academic book entitled “Art, Race, and Fantastic Color Change in the Victorian Novel.” It explores the use of color in characterizations of Victorian-era characters, such as purple madwoman Bertha Mason in Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre.”
Dr. Season Ellison, assistant professor of history, was lead producer and one of three directors for BSU’s inaugural “Voices of the Earth” play festival in April. Co-hosted by Bemidji State and Red Lake Nation College, the festival featured readings of short plays written by national and local playwrights on topics ranging from sustainability to indigenous legends. It drew submissions from playwrights across the country, including four written by Red Lake Nation College students.
Dr. Eric Forsyth, professor of human performance, sport and health, co-wrote a peer-reviewed article entitled “Parents and Interscholastic Sport: A Mixed-Method Approach to Identify Salient Issues.” The article aimed to provide a research-backed review of issues related to parents that are of greatest interest to current athletics administrators. It appeared in the March 2019 edition of the international journal Managing Sport and Leisure.
Dr. Todd Frauenholtz, professor of mathematics, and Dr. Jenna O’Dell, assistant professor of mathematics, traveled to the Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, held in Duluth in April. There, they joined BSU grad student Kylie Higgins to present research on the development of students’ abilities to generalize solutions to unsolved math problems as they progress from 4th through 8th grades. O’Dell also presented with three graduate students on work done to incorporate mathematics visualization software called The Geometer’s Sketchpad into high school mathematics curricula.
Dr. Debbie Guelda, professor of biology, and Dr. Jill Stackhouse, associate professor of geography, presented at the 2019 Gateway Course Experience Conference held in Atlanta in March. They discussed how a partnership with the Gardner Institute and its Gateways to Completion program led to changes in several BSU courses, including five — two in biology and one each in geography, history and accounting — which were redesigned to include additional evidence-based learning techniques.
Dr. Andy Hafs, associate professor of biology, and former BSU grad student Jake Graham published “Does a Bioenergetics Model Accurately Predict Fish Consumption by American White Pelicans? A Case Study on Walleyes in the Tamarac River, Minnesota” in the April 2019 issue of North American Journal of Fisheries Management. The paper shared results of Graham’s research into the impact of American White Pelicans on Tamarac River walleye populations done for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Chuck MacLean, assistant professor of criminal justice, spent part of February 2019 as a guest instructor at the University of Tennessee’s National Forensic Academy in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The academy trains top law enforcement officers from across the United States in a 10-week residential program focusing on forensic practice and courtroom testimony.
Dr. Donna Pawlowski, professor of communication studies, was recently featured in two national publications. Her article, “From The Classroom to the Community: Best Practices in Service-Learning,” appeared in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Communication Pedagogy, a peer-reviewed open-access journal sponsored in part by the Central States Communication Association. She also authored a chapter in “Examining Millennials Reshaping Organizational Cultures: From Theory to Practice” entitled “Embracing Millennials in Higher Education: Examining Dialectics and Creating Pedagogical Strategies for Teaching Millennials.”
Dr. Carol Ann Russell, professor of English, performed at the Headwaters Open-Mic Coffeehouse in April in recognition of National Poetry Month. The coffeehouse is a volunteer-driven community event where artists and authors celebrate the arts and share their work in a welcoming community setting. Events are held on the first Friday of most months at Bemidji’s Headwaters Music & Arts.
Dr. Larry Swain, assistant professor of English, read his paper, “Aelfric of Eynsham,” at the Texas Medieval Association conference in October 2018. The paper analyzes political views during the reign of Aethelred II. Aelfric, one of the most prolific writers in Old English to survive the modern period, gave insight to the late Anglo-Saxon period between the 10th and 11th centuries. Swain’s paper sought to demonstrate writer’s thoughts on contemporary politics.
Dr. Gabriel Warren, assistant professor of business administration, Dr. Valerie Wallingford, professor of business administration, and Dr. Mary DuBois, adjunct instructor in accountancy, presented their research, “The Importance of Ethical Leadership in Business” at the International Academic Conference on Social Sciences, held in Sydney, Australia, in December.