Faculty and Staff Achievements – April 2013

Mahmoud Al-Odeh, assistant professor of technology, art and design, has been selected to chair and coordinate the Distance and Online Learning track for the national Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering conference for 2013.

Anne Conaway, assistant professor of mass communication, published “Scholastic Journalism teacher Use of Digital Devices and Social Networking Tools in a Poor, Largely Rural State” in the spring, 2013, edition of “Journalism and Mass Communication Educator.” The paper was written with Bruce Plopper, professor emeritus from the University of Arkansas – Little Rock’s School of Mass Communication; he was Conaway’s co-researcher and master’s advisor. It is the third paper the two have authored together.

• Zak Johnson, interim director of the Advising Success Center, and Margie Giauque, director of Career Services, held a faculty workshop on March 27 called “Discovering Your Strengths: What the Strengths-Based Approach Can Do For Faculty.”

• Molly Aitken-Julin has joined Career Services to fill the newly created position of Internship and Employment Coordinator.

• Three Bemidji State faculty members have received awards for the 2013 Council on International Educational Exchange International Faculty Development Seminars. Dr. James McCracken, chair of the Department of Technology, Art and Design, and Dr. Michael Murray, assistant professor of economics, will present a seminar entitled “Economic Development and Urban Transformation,” June 10-19 in Shanghai, China. Dr. Thomas Beech, professor of political science, will present a seminar entitled “Germany and Poland: Modern Memory and Identity,” July 2-12 in Germany and Poland. Each award provides approximately $5,000 in funding for the seminars.

Susan Scrivner, professor of English, presented a paper at the College English Association Conference, April 4-6, in Savannah, Ga. Her paper, entitled “Nature As Inciter in the English Heritage Film,” examined how films such as “A Room with a View,” “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice,” show the natural world as not only reflecting the human world, but also initiating the activities of that world.

Mary Tosch, associate director of the Hobson Memorial Union, presented at the National Association for Student Personnel Administrations National Convention, March 17-20. Her presentation was titled “Jumping the Chasm: Obtaining a Director Position in Student Affairs.” She presented with colleagues from Illinois Central College and Northern Illinois University.