News from Henderson State University
Dr. May-Tsao Lim, professor of music at Henderson State University, will perform on piano with cellist Stephen Feldman and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Kiril Laskarov as they present Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A Minor Jan. 29 in Little Rock.
The recital begins at 7 p.m. and will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 West 17th St. Tickets are $15 at the door, but is free for active military and students with ID.
Dr. Haroon Khan, professor of political science at Henderson State University, has published a book entitled Globalization and the Challenges of Public Administration. The book uniquely combines research on human resources development with globalization.
“This book is an attempt to understand the challenges of globalization and governance in the public sector,” Khan said.
The book is published by Palgrave/Macmillan.
Cathy Reynolds, nursing office coordinator at Henderson State, received the Staff Award of Excellence for the second quarter. Reynolds has been a Henderson employee for 43 years. Her co-workers in the nursing department describe her as “dependable and loyal with superb people skills.” Reynolds is eligible for the President’s Staff Excellence Award. She received several gifts and will be presented a plaque at the staff awards luncheon.
Kathy Taylor, who has served as Henderson State’s director of human resources for the past 13 years, was honored at a retirement reception Dec. 11 in the Garrison Center. Taylor taught as an adjunct professor for several years before becoming human resources director.
The holiday spirit in Womack Hall was in full swing Dec. 8 as Henderson employees decorated their offices and themselves for a friendly competition judged by a select group of students. After each area was judged, everyone gathered in the lobby to hear the results. Residence Life/Student and External Affairs won the overall award for department, and Angela Bobus won the award for best decorated employee. Provost Steve Adkison edged out President Glen Jones for the administrative “Festive-est” award.
An article by Dr. Judi Jenkins, assistant professor and coordinator of Educational Leadership at Henderson State University, was published recently in the bulletin of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society whose members are outstanding women educators.
Entitled “Engagement: Not Just Hands-On but Minds On,” the article was based on work done by Jenkins while serving as assistant superintendent for De Queen Public Schools.
“A literacy consultant, Mary Anne Lock, facilitated training throughout the district to impact teacher growth with literacy across the curriculum,” Jenkins said. “Her emphasis on questioning in the training had a significant impact on the rigor of the literacy curriculum in the district. She taught us that it really is all about the questions you ask.”
Jenkins said the article is about engaging students’ minds through good questioning techniques.
“Really nothing new, but good reminders for effective instructional practice,” she said.
Dr. Malcolm Rigsby, associate professor of sociology and coordinator of criminal justice degrees at Henderson State University, participated in a panel discussion on prison gang disengagement at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) held Nov. 14-18 in Philadelphia.
A longtime member of the ASC, Rigsby has presented research at previous meetings. This year’s author panel centered on research examining the role of religion and spirituality in the negotiated process of gang disengagement.
Rigsby presented a paper entitled Prison Narrative on Leaving the Gang for Religion.
The ASC is one of the oldest and largest annual meeting in the fields of criminology and criminal justice.
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Rigsby also contributed a chapter in a new book entitled Finding Freedom in Confinement: The Role of Religion in Prison Life.
The book examines the nature and impact of faith and religion in prison and summarizes contemporary and cutting-edge research on religion in correctional contexts. This enables a scientific understanding of how prisoners use faith, religion and spirituality in their everyday lives.
Rigsby’s contribution extends his research and study of the conversion process, transformative characteristics in self and social identity, and how these qualities may assist in desistance from crime, thereby reducing recidivism rates.
A Henderson State psychology professor has proven to be popular on Twitter.
Dr. Travis Langley was recently named one of the “Top Psychology Professors on Twitter” by OnlineEducation.com, joining several colleagues from around the nation and Canada who have appeared on national and international media outlets, including TED and the BBC.
“These professors have prolific knowledge in areas ranging from the study of emotions, suicide and prejudice, to neuropathology and public policy,” according to OnlineEducation.com. “They all share their expertise on Twitter.”
Langley is known as a “superherologist” for his fascination with analyzing superheroes, which has resulted in his authority on the psychology of renowned fictional characters.
He is the author of several books, including Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Night, Doctor Who Psychology: A Madman with a Box, Star Trek Psychology: The Mental Frontier, and Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth.
Mary Beth D. Trubitt, archeologist at the Arkansas Archeological Survey’s Henderson State University Research Station, has been named editor of Southeastern Archaeology, the official journal of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference.
Trubitt was named editor for a three-year term at the business meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in Tulsa Nov. 10. She had served as editor-elect for the past year. Trubitt will be responsible for soliciting new manuscripts, managing the peer review process, and editing content for the journal’s three issues per year.
Southeastern Archaeology is a refereed journal that publishes articles on the archaeology of southeastern North America and surrounding regions.
“We are looking for articles that include theoretical insights or new ideas on topics of current interest and importance to our professional readers,” Trubitt said.
Trubitt teaches anthropology courses in Henderson’s departments of sociology, human services, and criminal justice.
Dr. Shari Valentine, assistant professor of sociology at Henderson State University, will attend the National Women’s Studies Conference Nov. 14-19 in Baltimore where she will chair and moderate two panels, as well as make a poster presentation.
The National Women’s Studies Conference is the only national conference dedicated to women’s studies with presentations that are cross disciplinary and cross cultural. Valentine has been involved with the conference for many years and served this year as a reviewer for conference submissions.
Valentine said she hopes to connect with others in the religion, arts and performance areas to discuss collaborative works on the nature of the arts and religion in resistance movements.
Valentine’s ongoing research interest is in indigenous cultures.
