Faculty & Staff News

Shari Valentine, assistant professor of sociology, human services, and criminal justice, has been named Henderson State’s new Institutional Review Board (IRB) coordinator. Her office will be located in the Smith-Garner House.

Henderson’s IRB reviews research protocols to ensure that individuals who volunteer for or are compensated for their participation in research are treated with dignity and care for their welfare. The IRB helps the university to be confident that research conducted here is ethical, fair, and safe for participants. It also helps researchers be confident that their research has been reviewed for issues that they may not have considered.

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• Aaron Calvert, Art, was included in UALR High Lights from the Permanent Collection catalog and exhibit, was a juror of the Virgina P. Weaver Spring Art Show at the Malvern National Bank, and had his work, bio, and statement included in The Idle Class magazine.

Calvert also had his work chosen for display at the 60th Annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. Calvert received an honorable-mention award with his glazed stoneware sculpture Always Facing South Bear. He was featured  in the Tri-Lakes edition of Arkansas Democrat Gazette: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jun/17/area-artists-show-works-annual-delta-exhibit/  After the show, the Arkansas Arts Center purchased the piece for their permanent collection.

• Paul Glover, Communication, will receive the Distinguished 4-year Broadcast Adviser award from the College Media Association at its convention in October. Michael Taylor, Communication, will receive the Distinguished 4-year Newspaper Adviser award. “It is very rare for two faculty members from the same university to win awards in the same year,” said Dr. Angela Boswell, dean of Ellis College.

Taylor has also received a prestigious award from the National Speleological Society. The 2018 National Speleological Society’s “Spelean Arts and Letters Award” was presented to Taylor Aug. 3 at the NSS annual convention in recognition of his many contributions to the society. The annual convention, held this year in Helena, Montana, is the premier annual gathering of cave explorers in the U.S. In addition to receiving the award, Taylor ran an all-day writers workshop on Friday for those wanting to write about caves, talked with cavers about his book in progress, Hidden Nature, to be published next year by Vanderbilt University Press, and attended some microbiology sessions to seek advice on a joint cave research project he is conducting with Dr. James Engman and his students.

• The paintings of Katherine Strause, Art, were the focus of The Avenue — Art & Wine Dinner in Hot Springs. Strause discussed her work and inspiration with guests who enjoyed both her art and a five-course dinner with wine pairings from Executive Chef Casey Copeland.

Strause has been chosen to exhibit in Woman Made Gallery’s “21st International Open,” an exciting exhibition in Chicago which includes 44 works of art by 40 artists, spanning six countries. These artists explore conceptual and material boundaries through video, photography, mixed medium assemblage, collage, painting and sculpture. 

Strause is also the painter behind the the cover of  the Little Rock magazine, Soiree, “Bow & Arrow.” [Read more…] about An update on Ellis College faculty activities

Don Benton, assistant professor in educational leadership at Henderson State University, has been named the new assistant commissioner for research and technology for the Arkansas Department of Education. Benton will assume the role on Sept. 17.

As assistant commissioner, according to a news release, Benton will oversee technology initiatives and resources such as ADE’s Ambassador Academy, Arkansas Digital Sandbox and Student GPS dashboards. He also will oversee the Arkansas Public School Computer Network, which includes eSchoolPlus.

Benton has been the director of the Hot Springs Technology Institute since 1998 and founded Schools Without Walls, which provides professional development for technology leaders and educators.

He previously served as the director of technology and information, information technology security officer/disaster recovery, technology plan developer and E-Rate coordinator at the Hot Springs School District.

Benton has a Bachelor of Science in Education (Vocational Business Education), a Master of Science in Education (P-12 Building Level Leadership) and an Education Specialist in District Level Leadership from Henderson. He currently is pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Technology from Boise State University in Idaho.

Henderson State University welcomed 22 new faculty members for the 2018 fall term, which begins Aug. 21.

The new faculty includes:

• Cheryl Bates, assistant professor of elementary music education
• Andrew Burt, instructor of English
• Kevin Coker, director of choral activities
• Wanda Dardenne, assistant professor of Educational Leadership
• Carrie Flora, assistant professor of nursing
• Leah Hasley, instructor of business
• Margaret Hoskins, professor of accounting
• Don Kelly, assistant professor of social work
• Brad Launius, STEM Center mathematics specialist
• Kelsey Malone, assistant professor of art history
• Tamara Ogden, assistant professor of nursing
• Jiyoung Park, assistant professor of sports management
• Markum Reed, associate professor of data analytics
• Susan Santiago-Turner, assistant professor of counselor education
• Drew Smith, assistant professor of English
• Lim Tchoi, assistant professor of applied music
• Heather Thayer, assistant professor of horn/aural skills
• Trae Warner, instructor of mathematics
• Orven Williams, STEM Center science specialist
• Zahra Zamanipour, assistant professor of engineering
• Matt Herndon, instructor of aviation

Michael Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts, has received a prestigious award from the National Speleological Society. The 2018 National Speleological Society’s “Spelean Arts and Letters Award” was presented to Taylor Aug. 3 at the NSS annual convention in recognition of his many contributions to the society.

The annual convention, held this year in Helena, Montana, is the premier annual gathering of cave explorers in the U.S. Many speakers at this event have been in the news in recent weeks, giving expert interviews to journalists covering the daring cave rescue in Thailand. One of the main speakers was Bill Steele, who wrote eloquently about the Thai rescue in the Washington Post.

In addition to receiving the award, Taylor ran an all-day writers workshop on Friday for those wanting to write about caves, talked with cavers about his book in progress, Hidden Nature, to be published next year by Vanderbilt University Press, and attended some microbiology sessions to seek advice on a joint cave research project he is conducting with Dr. James Engman and his students.

He also played his annual musical gig with the Terminal Syphons, an all caver rock band, at the convention party, which is often attended by 200-300 dancing cavers.

 

While at the conference, Taylor also learned that he will be receiving another award in October. The College Media Association has selected Taylor as the recipient for the Distinguished 4-year Newspaper Adviser award.

Dr. Michael Lloyd and Dr. Fred Worth represented Henderson earlier this year at the Oklahoma-Arkansas Section meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in Russellville. This is the regional level meeting of the association which is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts. Both professors have attended this annual meeting for 25 years.

Worth presented two papers, “One of baseball’s most dominant pitchers,” and “Some of the worst hitters in baseball history,” as well as served as a mentor for a high school student who presented, “An additive approach to squaring.” 

Lloyd presented a paper entitled “Assessing Statistical Models for a Stress Hormone in Saliva” in the applied mathematics session using data obtained with the assistance of Emily Belzer, Aneeq Ahmed, Holly Morado, David Bateman, and others.

The paper assessed various models for predicting cortisol concentration in psychology students’ saliva based on light absorbance values. Lloyd also participated in the executive officer meeting and business meeting, and was re-elected communications director for another three-year term.

Dr. Barbara Hansen, assistant professor of sociology, presented research at two international conferences this summer.

In mid-June, she presented a 25-minute talk based on her original research study on weight-loss surgery stigma. The paper was presented at an international sociology conference focusing on obesity stigma, the 6th Annual Weight Stigma Conference at Leeds Beckett University in Leeds, England.

Hansen had the opportunity to meet other health stigma researchers, including faculty from Stanford, Brown, and University of California-San Diego.

“This was their first time to hear of Henderson State University,” Hansen said.

In mid-July, Hansen presented at a round table on health and medical sociology focused on her research in affiliate stigma and caregiver burden in intractable epilepsy. This research was presented at the ISA World Congress if Sociology in Toronto, Ontario.

The international sociology conference is held once every four years and showcases sociological research from around the world. In addition to being accepted for presentations at these prestigious conferences, Hansen’s exceptional research has also been recognized by the American Sociological Association. Her dissertation has been nominated for best dissertation from original research in mental health.

Dr. Randy Duncan, professor of communication at Henderson State University, was featured in the July 20 edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Duncan is co-curator of the Marvel Universe of Super Heroes, a $3 million exhibit at the Museum of Popular Culture in Seattle. The exhibition includes interactive features, rare memorabilia, and life-size statues of characters many Marvel films and comics.

A comics fan since he was 8, Duncan started teaching comics classes at Henderson in the early 1990s. The university now offers comics studies as a minor.

Duncan is at Comic-Con in San Diego this week co-chairing the Comic Arts Conference he helped create there 26 years ago.

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Dr. Matthew Sutherlin has been named associate dean for Teachers College, Henderson.

Sutherlin came to Henderson State in 2014 from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Sutherlin is originally from El Dorado, Arkansas. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Central Arkansas, Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his Ph.D. in art education from the University of North Texas.

Dr. Nydia Jeffers, assistant professor of Spanish at Henderson State University, recently attended the Latin American Studies Association Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Jeffers presented a paper to show that Silvestre Balboa, in his colonial work Mirror Patience, reverses the social and moral roles of white and black protagonists in the Spanish empire.

The conference fostered other race in literature discussions valuable for Jeffers’ further research.

Jeffers joined the Henderson faculty in 2014. Read more about her.