Faculty Excellence
April 2022
Dr. Martha Paterson was accepted into the NEH Summer Institute and will receive a $2,850 stipend to cover
the cost of expenses. Entitled Making Modernism: Literature, Dance, and Visual Culture
in Chicago, 1893-1955, this Summer Institute will run from July 18 to August 5, 2022.
It is a residential, three-week summer institute for twenty-five higher education
faculty, including advanced graduate students, that will explore Chicago’s vital contribution
to the modernist movement. Directed by Dr. Liesl Olson (Newberry Library) and Dr.
Susan Manning (Northwestern University), the summer institute will offer an expansive
look at creative expression in Chicago across the arts from the turn of the century
through the aftermath of the Second World War.
Tami Eggleston, Provost and Professor of Psychology, presented to the regional Pony Club in Columbia,
Illinois on the sport psychology topic, "Getting Back in the Saddle" on April 7, 2022.
Dr. Eggleston also presented "Assessing Team Projects" to the University of Delaware
faculty and staff on Aprill 8, 2022.
An honors course in world politics taught by Dr. Brian Frederking this spring did a simulation of a global climate change summit. Each student represented
a country, and they negotiated an agreement to strengthen the Paris Accords.
Dr. Richelle Rennegarbe, Nursing Division Chair, Professor of Nursing, MHA and DNP Director presented “The
Impact of Farm Safety in the Community” for 2022 Safety Day for 6th grades residing
in Marion County for the Marion County Farm Bureau, in Salem, IL on April 28, 2022
Additionally, she presented “Engaging in partnerships to enhance an organization’s
financial bottom line” for the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network Rural Leadership
Fellows on April 21, 2022.
Dr. Timothy Richards research titled: Teacher Preparation and Strategies for Supporting Students with
Mental Health Issues, was published in the 2021 issue of Critical Issues In Teacher
Education. The paper was also presented at the 35th Annual Midwest Association of
Teacher Educators Spring Conference held at Illinois State University on April 8,
2022.
Dr. Shelly Lemons (History) presented “By Use of Ingenuity and Ambition: Oklahoma Farm Women and Home
Demonstration Clubs in Cimarron County in the 1930s" at the 101st Annual Meeting of
the Southwestern Social Sciences Association in San Antonio, Texas.
Dr. Brian Frederking is publishing a book titled, The Security Council and the Liberal Order.
Dr. Michael Louison was named a faculty research fellow by the National Great Rivers Research and Education
Center in Alton, IL. This summer fellowship will include collaborating with staff
biologists and researchers to conduct studies on local fish species, with a special
focus on the impacts of microplastic pollution on fish behavior and physiology.
Dr. Guy Boysen will give an invited talk at the Lilly Conference.http://celt.miamioh.edu/lillycon/presenters.php?presenter=Boysen%2C+Guy+A.&year=2022
March 2022
Dr. Darryn Diuguid was selected to attend teh National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute
at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL for three weeks in June. Here's more
information about NEH and the specifc Institute: https://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/history/revolution-in-books/apply/
Dr. Brian Frederking has been the 'word guy' for the St. Louis regional Scripps Spelling Bee for the past
seven years. On Saturday, March 12th Frederking gave definitions, alternate pronunciations,
and sentences to the spelling bee contestants. The winner each year goes to the national
spelling bee in Washington DC televised on ESPN.
For the second time, Dr. Stephen Hagan was awarded the National Speech Champion Service Award.
Dr. Juli Smirl and three of her McKendree MA students will present a webinar "Stress-Related Disorders
Impacting Children through College-Aged Students: Strategies for Promoting Reconnction
& Resiliency in Clientele" during the Illinois Counseling Association Conference in
April.
Dr. Jean Sampson presented a paper titled ‘The Role of the Bystander in e- Complaint Behavior’ at
the Management Marketing Association spring conference in St. Louis. This paper was
written by Halamin Herjanto, Jean Sampson, and Sanjaya Gaur. This paper will also
be published in the MMA spring journal.
Dr. Kian Pokorny published the following articles:
Pokorny, K. (2022), “Integrating Data Science into a Computer Science Curriculum,” The Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges. Vol. 37, No. 6, p. 5 - 13.
Pokorny, K. (2021), “A Machine Learning Approach to Understanding the Viability of
Private 4-Year Higher-Education Institutions,” The Journal of Computing Sciences in
Colleges. Vol. 37, No. 4, p. 50 – 57.
February 2022
Dr. Shelly Lemons gave a presentation on Thursday, February 24th at the No Man's Land Museum in Goodwell,
OK. The presentation was called, “Oasis in No Man’s Land: Researching the Dust Bowl
Using Local Museum Collections.” Virtual Presentation for the No Man’s Land Museum,
Goodwell, Oklahoma. February, 2022.You can view the recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4z86Ohv3I
Dr. Jenny Mueller received writing residency awards for summer 2022 at three nationally known artist
residency programs: Centrum (WA), PLAYA (OR), and Wildacres (NC). She will travel
to pursue writing projects in residence at each site during the summer.
Dr. Heather A. Dye and Dr. J. Alan Alewine will accompany three McKendree students to England after graduation in May. The trip
will be part of STA 380-Study Abroad. The adventure will focus on London with excursions
to Bath and Stonehenge.
The Marketing Club, sponsored by Dr. Brittany Dobill & Dr. Allie Helfrich had their first meeting of the semester on Monday, February 14th. Michael Embrich, MCK Director of Web Communications and Digital Assets came to speak
to their group about his journey to his current role and the importance of digital
and social media marketing today, especially for upcoming graduates in marketing.
It was well attended by McK students with over 20 in attendance. They are excited
to host a new guest speaker next semester and continue to grow their marketing club
on campus!
Dr. Guy Boysen published a blog detailing his research with McKendree students. The blog is published
by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/boysen-mental-illness-exploitation
Dr. Alan Alewine was reappointed for another four-year term as a peer corps member for the Higher Learning
Commission.
January 2022
Dr. Tim Ros and Dr. Jean Sampson are working with Anahuac University in Mexico, on a COIL project (Collaborative Online
International Learning). Their classes will be working with students from Mexico.
Dr. Guy Boysen was featured on an educational podcast. The interview was about his recent publication
on Universal Design for Learning.https://twopintplc.com/podcast-episode/059-studying-udl-science-discourse/
https://twitter.com/MichaelCRalph/status/1481392483212922881
Dr. Mike Louison recently published a review article in the peer reviewed journal Transactions of
the American Fisheries Society. This article, written with a team of Canadian and
American colleagues, focuses in on the current status of research into how sportfish
handle ice-angling from a physiological perspective.The full citation is: Lawrence MJ, Jeffries KM, Cooke SJ, Enders EC, Hasler CT, Somers
CM, Suski CD, and MJ Louison. 2022. Catch and Release Ice Fishing: Status, Issues,
and Research Needs. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10349 https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tafs.10349
Dr. Katie Alford‘s article titled “Explicitly Teaching Listening in the ELA Curriculum: Why and How.”
was picked up by The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) blog and an excerpt
was posted 1/12/22.
https://ncte.org/blog/2022/01/practices-support-listening/
2021 Faculty Highlights
Psychology Course Finishes Semester with a Campus Service Project
December 7th, students in PSY 375 Psychology Testing and Measurement completed a campus service project. In the course, students learned how to create,
interpret, and evaluate psychological measures. To provide a service to the university,
they consulted with the Counseling Service to solve an assessment problem. The students
formed teams to research ways that the Counseling Service could screen clients for
trauma. They presented their final recommendations to the Counseling Service staff
during finals week, and the staff will select the measure that best fits their needs.
Representative Rodney Davis Visits via Zoom
Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL 13th District) visited with Dr. Ann Collins' Congress class and Dr. Neil Quisenberry's Juvenile Delinquency class. via Zoom on Tuesday, November 23.
Timothy Richards Ph.D authored an article titled "Teacher Preparation and Strategies for Supporting Students
with Mental Health Issues." The manuscript is being published in the forthcoming edition
of Critical Issues in Teacher Education. Research in this area provides many practices
teachers can use to assist students with issues, plus understand the correct strategies
they and school personnel can use to assist students.
Ann V. Collins, Ph.D. published an article titled “Red Summer and Early 20th Century Race Massacres.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. Oxford University Press. The article was published on November 29, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.842
Successful Mathematics Preview Day
Dr. Heather Dye and Dr. Alan Alewine held their first Mathematics Preview Day on November 5, 2021. The day began with
breakfast, followed by attending three mathematics major classes, lunch, a campus
tour, and then pics with Bogey.
Students Honor the Wampanoag and Their Own Ancestors
Dr. Lauren (LT) Thompson's Minorities in America courses hosted a "Green Corn Ceremony" on Monday, November 22nd. Many Indigenous Peoples celebrated the first corn harvest of the season in August. This is loosely translated to become known as the "Green Corn Ceremony." One of these nations were the Wampanoag. They are known as the "people of first light" because they lived (and some remain) on what is now Cape Cod. In 1620, the Wampanoag people saved the starving, sickly Pilgrims and aided them in developing homes, food, and a settlement that became known as Plymouth. To celebrate their survival, the Wampanoag invited the Pilgrims to celebrate the "Green Corn Ceremony" with them in the Fall of 1621. That was exactly 400 years ago. Once European settlements became stronger, Indigenous Peoples, including the Wampanoag, were forced to convert, wiped out by disease, driven off their homelands, or murdered.
Dr. Thompson's classes began with Indigenous Peoples history in August and worked their way to present day, covering the history and experiences of all ethnic and racial minorities in the US. For the Thanksgiving holiday, students' celebrated by cooking & bringing in food from their ancestors. Since we all come from elsewhere but are living on Indigenous land, the class dedicated their feast to those who once lived on the land we now stand: the Mississippian, Miami, Osage, Kaskaskia, and Peoria.
Fall Faculty Showcase
On November 18th, the Faculty Colloquium Committee hosted an Inagural Fall Facutly Showcase to highlight the excellent research of our MCK faculty. Twelve McKendree faculty presented their research including published works, current works in progress, and dissertation research. Below is a list of our twelve faculty members and their presentation titles.
Dr. Brittany Dobill
Thematic Atmospherics Within Small Coffee Shops: A Study
Paul Worrell
Creativity and Wonderment: Applying Waldorf Education to Information Literacy Instruction
Dr. Martha Patterson
The New Negro, A History, 1887-1965
Dr. Mike Louison
The Science of Fishing: Minimizing Physiological Stress for Fish Caught by Catch and Release Anglers
Dr. Robyn S. Swink
Feminism, Gender, and Race in Women's Comedy: The Political Potentialities of Pleasure
Dr. Jill Parsons
Fear of Falling in Long-Term Care Residents: A Mixed Methods Approach
Dr. Jessica Campbell
Enjoying the Moment: Queer Delight in Victorian Fiction
Dr. Katie Alford
Explicitly Teaching Listening in the Classroom
Dr. Jenny Mueller
Bathers, A Researched Essay
Dr. Brian Frederking
The Security Council and the Liberal Order
Dr. Shelly Lemons
How Word Got Around: An Examination of the Little Blue Books and Public Discourse on VD in Modern America
Dr. Heather Dye
Knot Groups
The Model UN Experience
On November 15th and 16th, under the leadership of Dr. Brian Frederking, McKendree hosted the Model United Nations conference. For the last 52 years, McKendree has been a host site for this conference. This year, 13 schools joined the experience on campus. Model UN provides students with an opportunity to learn how the UN operates and to practice their public speaking, debate, negotiation and team leadership skills. The Model UN program has grown to play a vital role in building relationships with local high schools and recruiting new students.
A Visit with The History Guy
On Wednesday, November 10th, Dr. Allie Helfrich, Dr. Brittany Dobill, and Dr. Rich Murphy's business and communication classes attended a masterclass discussion with Lance Geiger: the History Guy on YouTube, Lance discussed the marketing and communication side of his business addresssing how he got his start and became a YouTube sensation.
Dr. Katherine Alford authored an article called, Teaching listening as a form of empathy building. Voices from the Middle, 29(1) 36-39 (2021).
The article is about how middle school teachers can and should explicitly teach listening in their English Language Arts classrooms as a means of developing more empathetic and engaged students.
Remembering Dr. Frank Spreng
The annual Frank Spreng Memorial BBQ was held on October 22, 2021 by the School of
Business faculty. Dr. Frank Spreng was an emeritus professor of Economics at McKendree
for 30 years. In his 30 years, he was a Professor of Economics, Chair of the School
of Business, and started the MBA program.
Frank had MBA, Ph.D., and J.D. degrees and enjoyed teaching students very much. He would impart knowledge on numerous subjects in all of his courses.
Frank had hundreds of ties and wore a different tie almost every day to commemorate a sporting event, holiday, or other special event. Therefore, during the Memorial BBQ, School of Business Faculty give away ties and scarves to students to honor Frank.
Dr. Spreng retired in 2017 and passed away in 2018.
Preparing for the Future! Political Science Department Hosts Law School Panel
On Wednesday, October 20th, Dr. Brian Frederking and Dr. Ann Collins, Professors of
Political Science hosted a Zoom panel of recent McKendree graduates. The panel consisted
of alum, Caden Owens '20, SLU Law School; Katherine Gemmingen '20, Pitt Law School;
Taylor Ganz '20, SLU Law School (Marines/JAG); Jared Jones '17, SLU Law School, Hinshaw
and Culbertson Law Firm. The former students offered advice to McKendree's current
students for how to prepare for the LSAT and shared their experiences in law school.
Busting Psychological Myths
Students in Dr. Boysen’s Honors Introduction to Psychology course are writing blogs this semester busting psychological myths. Two myths have
been busted so far, nine more myths will be busted during the second half of the fall
semester.Check out these mythbusters:https://populardelusionblog.wordpress.com/
Dr. Guy Boysen is an author on three chapters in a new book from the American Psychological Association
that came out in August outlining professional suggestions for how to teach an Introductory
Psychology course. Dr. Boysen authored a chapter that discussed teaching the course
in a setting like McKendree (which is also named in the title of the chapter).
https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/transforming-introductory-psychology?tab=2
Additionally, his work on the chapter stemmed from his previous involvement on a national working group that met in Washington DC to set a national agenda for the course.
https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/undergrad/introductory-psychology-initiative
Dr. Shelly Lemons' Research Reminds Us the Journey is Just as Sweet as the Destination
Dr. Lemon's has a new article coming out in the next issue of Kansas History, but the story behind the article reminds us that sometimes the journey is just as sweet as the destination! Please take some time to read Dr. Lemon's story:
This piece actually has a pretty interesting "McKendree story" behind it. While the initial research was a grad school "rabbit hole," I picked it up again in Fall 2019. I was teaching HIS 110: Historical Methods, and I made a deal with my students that I would work on a professional research project while they did their research projects. (the whole point? The historical research process is the same--no matter where you are in your career. Intro students and professional historians all follow the same steps.)
That got me back into the project.
Then in Spring 2020, I was part of a faculty writing group with Martha Patterson, Rich Murphy, and Katie Alford. We agreed to work on a professional project and hold each other accountable. I picked this one. My colleagues read some drafts and helped me to refocus the piece. Then COVID hit. But I didn't stop working. I continued to refine the narrative and build upon my earlier research. I submitted the draft to Kansas History for consideration in July, 2020 and got a revise/resubmit! Success!!
I actually even used the piece again for a unit on professional writing and feedback for the HIS 110 class in Fall 2020. That group of students read the draft and the reviewers' comments as part of our class assignments.
THEN Blamo!! November 18, 2020: I was in a terrible car accident.
Once I was back home and starting my recovery (January 2021), I worked with the journal editor, Kristen Epps, to move forward with the article revisions. The anticipated publication date was for Winter 2021/2022. But after she saw the revisions, the editor asked to move the publication date up to Autumn 2021 instead.
And now here we are! I should have the proof pages next week, and the article will appear in the Autumn 2021 issue as one of three academic pieces.
I am very proud of this work, and I am so pleased to be able to share its publication with my McKendree family. It really is a part of my McKendree Story.
Make sure to check out Dr. Lemon's article in press in Kansas History's Autumn 2021 issue!
McKendree's ALL IN Continues to Shine
On Tuesday, September 28th, to honor National Voter Registration Day, our ALL IN Committee
registered eleven students to vote!
For the second year in a row, McKendree University was recognized on Washington Monthly's
list for America's Best Colleges for Student Voting! A special thank you to McKendree's ALL IN committee for their work on increasing responsible citizenship through voter registration
on our campus! Check out the list of schools recognized here. 
Dr. LaMora and Dr. Schutzenhofer hosted a biology booth at a STEM event on Thursday, September 16th. The STEM event
was for all third-graders in the Collinsville School District (approximately 400 students).
The third grade students worked with the professors and several McKendree students
during their visit to the booth to learn about infected and healthy lungs and had
opportunity to build their own model of a healthy lung to take with them. Dr. Dunlap also hosted a booth with several chemistry students.
On September 9th, Biology students got their feet wet by assisting professional biologists
from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Dr. Michael Louison and Vertebrate Anatomy students participated in research concerning fish populations
in Richland Creek (Belleville, Illinois).
Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
Engaging in research activities with faculty is a remarkable way to learn outside of the classroom. Take a look at a few highlights from our many outstanding faculty and student research projects, read or print the 2019-2020 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report, or visit the Faculty Directory to learn even more. At McKendree University our faculty are the R-E-A-L deal.
Archive
2018-2019 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2017-2018 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2016-2017 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2015-2016 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2014-2015 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2013-2014 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
2012-2013 Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Report
