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Youngstown State University
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Spring 2014
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH
Preparing Future Counselors
Students are prepared through advanced technology,
rigorous curriculum and hands-on experience.
B
y providing a mixture of academic scholarship and
hands-on experience, as well as four different tracks
for students to choose from, the counseling program
in Beeghley College of Education leaves students
well prepared for the professional field or for doctoral work.
Natalia Fenton
When obtaining a master’s degree in counseling, students
can choose to focus on clinical mental health counseling,
addiction counseling, school counseling or student affairs
and college counseling. Dr. Matthew Paylo, director of the
counseling program and coordinator of the student affairs
and college counseling program, explained that while
students have a specific focus, they still leave the program
as well-rounded professionals.
“A lot of our students will specialize in a certain area, but when
I think of our program it’s kind of like one track that diverges
into different areas,” Dr. Paylo explained. “The students all
walk out with the same training and basic knowledge, and
then they have specialized knowledge in some of these
settings and areas.”
Continued on page 6
Neurobiology: It’s a Rat Race
A psychology and a biology professor lead the
way in neurobiological research at YSU.
A
partnership between a psychology professor, Dr.
Melanie Shoup-Knox, and a biology professor, Dr.
Jill Tall, was born when both realized their mutual
passion for neurobiology and rodent research.
When looking through past studies conducted with rodents,
Dr. Tall recognized a need for systematizing the constants
in the lab. In 2008 she put together data and displayed it in
the hallway across from her office. Dr. Shoup-Knox looked
over the poster in the fall of 2012 and became immediately
intrigued.
“She had done an examination on the literature to see how
detailed the methods sections of animal preclinical research
were because it’s really important to account for a lot of
environmental variables when you’re working with animals,
particularly in the pain area,” explained Dr. Shoup-Knox. “It’s
a problem across the board in animal research, that one lab
is getting different findings than another lab.”
Because there is a push to have more accurate lab reporting,
especially to decrease the number of animals needed for
Dr. Matthew Paylo supervises a mock counseling session using
“Bug in the Eye” technology.
In this Edition:
Preparting Future Counselors.................................................. 1
Neurobiology: It’s a Rat Race.................................................. 1
New Interdisciplinary MA...................................................... 3
Continued on page 2
WCBA: Leading the Way in Professional Development........ 1
Growing with the Job Market................................................. 8
Research Award Recipients..................................................... 11
Quest Update.......................................................................... 12
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Neurobiology Continued from page 1
testing, Dr. Tall and Dr. Shoup-Knox, along with two students,
looked to see if authors recorded all of their constants in the
methods section.
Dr. Tall described some typical problems. “They call the
food a ‘standard rodent chow.’ There’s no such thing as a
standard rodent chow,” she explained. “Or not even reporting
if the animals were male or female. We also looked at major
things like strain of the rat, sex of the rat-”
“Whether enrichment was provided,” added Dr. Shoup-Knox.
Unfortunately, out of 300 papers, they did not find any
constant that was reported 100% of the time. Also, they
found that the authors who took the time to include all of
their constants were cited less frequently than those who
didn’t. They are currently in the process of submitting their
first publication together that highlights this research.
Biology and psychology go hand-in-hand when discussing
neurobiology. Because of this, Dr. Tall and Dr. Shoup-Knox
have also been working on a proposal for a pilot course
together, tailored to both graduate and undergraduate
students. Like their research, this course will emphasize
the importance of understanding the literature that is out
there and writing clearly when showcasing research to the
scientific community.
“We come in every week and talk about this. And so we’re
making steps to set ourselves up for the long term goal of
having this minor in neuroscience,” Tall said when explaining
their vision.
On top of conducting research, producing their first
publication and preparing a proposal for an interdisciplinary
neuroscience course, they also have master’s students
working under their supervision. Jillian Armentrout will
graduate in May of 2014, with an MA in Biology, and will be
the first student to have completed her thesis under Dr. Tall
and Dr. Shoup-Knox. She has found both of their expertise
very useful.
“Working with both Dr. Tall and Dr. Shoup-Knox gives you a
more broad perspective,” Armentrout explained. “Dr. Tall’s
more of the microscopic, so she is very good at explaining
if I have questions about what is going on in a pathway and
how it’s changing throughout the whole system. Dr. ShoupKnox is more of the macroscopic, so she can explain how
exactly the hypothalamus is changed by something or what
the thalamus is doing during the whole process, while Dr.
Tall can do more of the specific part.”
Armentrout is grateful to have the opportunity to work under
both professors and believes the experience is a huge asset
that will benefit her in the future.
“I want to work in research,” Armentrout explained. “So I’m
hoping to go on [to further education]. I now have experience
with rodents, and I’m hoping to work with more rodents in the
neurobiological field.”
Not only has this experience been beneficial to her, but she
believes many other students could gain valuable knowledge
from Dr. Tall and Dr. Shoup-Knox.
Natalia Fenton
“I feel like if there is a student who feels
like they know the brain pretty well,
adding Dr. Shoup-Knox can give them
a whole new perspective, or vice versa,”
she explained. “If they feel like they’re
really good in the psychological aspect,
adding Dr. Tall kind of gets them to think
of how it actually works inside.”
Armentrout also believes that a
neurobiology course could be very
beneficial.
“I feel like having a class that
incorporates both aspects could be very
beneficial,” she said. “I feel like a whole
class could be developed around both
areas of interests.”
Dr. Melanie Shoup-Knox (left) and Dr. Jill Tall (right) supervise Jillian Armentrout, ‘14,
while she conducts research trials in the lab
Dr. Tall and Dr. Shoup-Knox will continue
to meet weekly to plan their long-term
goals of having a stronger neurobiology
presence on the YSU campus, as well
as further their research together.
“Academically, we both want to see a minor in behavioral
neuroscience that incorporates faculty members from
psychology, teaching the behavioral aspects of it, like
behavioral testing, and faculty from biology teaching how
hormones influence it,” explained Dr. Shoup-Knox. “Also, we
want students doing independent research in both areas and
answering their own questions using behavior and biological
methods. Professionally, I envision us actually starting to
collaborate on projects more proactively and thinking of
ways we can do research together rather than doing data
analysis together. Now I see us actually proposing new
ideas together and sharing with students almost in this
interdisciplinary way.”
New Interdisciplinary MA
Three colleges at YSU have partnered to create
a new MA in Interdisciplinary Communication
T
he working world requires well-rounded individuals
to enter the workforce, and while many degrees
provide students with a large skill set for their field,
the curriculum is often very specialized. Taking
this into consideration, Youngstown State University has
encouraged cooperation between three of the colleges
to develop a Master of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary
Communication (MIC) that will help students develop skills
in multiple disciplines.
“We just don’t necessarily categorize the same way the world
beyond the campus categorizes things,” explained George
McCloud, a professor of communication arts and director of
the new MA track. “The interdisciplinary opportunity takes
that into account.”
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“There is the English side, which involves the languagerelated issues.” explained Dr. Bruce Keillor, business
professor and a member of the advisory council for the MA
program. “There’s the communication side, which involves
delivering messages. The Williamson component is helping
students see the strategic level of integrated communications
through marketing coursework.”
Some students will benefit by finding their correct career
paths, while other students will use the degree to advance in
their professions.
“They’ll find different directions for themselves because a lot
of them are super talented and really smart, but they’re still
trying to figure out their best pathway,” explained Dr. Gergits.
“Some of our students have already been working for 20
years, and this may lock in a promotion that they want or
maybe help them move into managerial positions.”
Students will also benefit by interacting with students from
different academic areas.
“There are benefits to MBA students interacting with the MIC
students because of the different perspectives,” explained
Dr. Keillor. “In my strategic marketing management class,
it’s all focused on building a strategic plan for business,
and those groups really benefit from having folks outside of
Williamson. It’s really pretty cool. Different ideas. Different
skills. Different ways of seeing things. That’s really what
education is supposed to be. When we train people at a
master’s level, we’re training them at a high level so they can
go out and be decision makers and apply what they have
learned.”
Continued on page 10
Bruce Palmer
“It will be an interdisciplinary course called Recitations in
Neuroscience,” explained Tall. “We can cross list it between
biology and psychology, and we’ll teach students to critically
evaluate the literature. It doesn’t matter what discipline
you’re in; you need to be reading the literature, and you
need to know what makes a good paper versus a bad paper.
We’ll be giving them instruction, but the best way of learning
is doing.”
They hope their work will eventually lead to a minor in
neuroscience.
This MA program was developed for
students who want an advanced degree,
but who may not benefit from coursework
in a single department because they
have a multitude of interests.
“You have an opportunity for kids who
have a more eclectic kind of ability,”
explained Dr. Julia Gergits, department
chair of English and a member of the
advisory council for the MA program.
“They’re interested in broadcasting,
television, advertising and PR. They’re
less intensely focused on writing and
the kind of page design that we would
do, and they don’t neatly fit in the
MBA program, where writing skills are
relevant but your focus is on developing
your business skills and being an
entrepreneur. This track develops an
important niche for them.”
The program is able to provide these
different skills sets by having each
department provide coursework in its
Two graduate students enrolled in the new interdisciplinary communication degree
specialty for the MA students.
watch Communication chair Adam Earnheardt using new video conferencing equipment.
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5
WCBA: Leading the Way in
Professional Development
Two accounting professors co-presented with
students at the 2013 annual AAA conference
T
he mission of the Williamson College of Business
Administration (WCBA) at YSU includes the creation
of a student-centered learning environment and
promotion of both the professional development
of students and scholarship among professors. Two WCBA
accounting professors, Drs. David Stout and Marsha Huber,
each from the Lariccia School of Accounting and Finance,
recently had the opportunity to contribute to this mission by
taking students to the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American
Accounting Association (AAA). The professors and students
presented at the first Faculty-Student Collaborations in
Accounting (FASTCA).
The AAA was established in 1916, and according to its
website, the mission of the organization is to “shape the future
of accounting through teaching, research and a powerful
network.” Because of the AAA’s prestige among accounting
academics worldwide, it is an honor to be a presenter at their
annual meeting. When Dr. David Stout, a well-published
academic and professor at YSU, saw an open call for the
2013 papers related to faculty-student collaborations (in
teaching, research or service) he immediately thought of an
independent study project he supervised recently with each
of two students in YSU’s MBA program, Joe Propri and Greg
Bedenis.
Dr. Stout explained, “After viewing the call for papers, I
contacted both Joe Propri and Greg Bedenis, and I said, ‘I
think we have a wonderful example of something each of
you did as part of your MBA studies here at YSU that could
be the focus of a presentation at the AAA national meeting.
In a real sense, these projects are consistent with the WCBA
mission statement and the need to engage students actively
in the learning process. In my mind, these are success
stories. Each of you got course credit, each conducted an
investigation that helped an area business, and for each
supervised study there was a resulting paper that was
published – something that is good for you, good for YSU,
and good for me.’”
When Greg Bedenis was an MBA student at YSU, he
requested Dr. Stout’s supervision on a project that led to a
publication in the summer volume of Management Accounting
Quarterly in 2007. Joe Propri was inspired by Bedenis’s
work as an MBA student and continued their research with
Dr. Stout, leading to a publication in the spring edition of
Management Accounting Quarterly in 2011. It received a
silver medal in the annual Lybrand manuscript competition.
While Propri was unable to attend the conference, Bedenis
agreed to present with Dr. Stout at the conference in
Anaheim, California.
The work they completed stemmed from Dr. Stout’s MBA
Management Accounting Systems course and specifically
dealt with the Activity Based Costing (ABC) model. Bedenis
worked for a company that was struggling financially, due to
a lack of business expertise, and he saw potential in applying
what Dr. Stout taught him.
“Near the end of that class, he approached me with the
following proposition,” Dr. Stout explained. “The focus of
an independent study would be to reexamine and make
recommendations for reengineering the company’s cost
accounting system. In short, to develop a rudimentary ABC
model. I was very excited with that prospect, principally
because part of the mission of the WCBA is a focus on
regional economic development.”
Dr. Stout agreed to assist Bedenis with the stipulation that
the independent study would end with a high quality paper
that would be submitted for publication. The study took a
year and a half to complete, and Bedenis attributes part of
his success to Dr. Stout’s emphasis on improving his written
communication skills and helping him through the drafting
process.
“Even though he was teaching accounting classes, he did
put emphasis on improving communication through your
Student Publications co-authored with
Dr. David Stout
Student
Article
Year Journal
Greg Bedenis “Cost-System Redesign at a Medium-Size Consumer 2007 Management Accounting Quarterly
Electronics Manufacturer: Getting the Right Numbers
to Drive Improvements in Business Performance”
Joe Propri Cost-System Redesign: Implementing Time-Driven 2011 Management Accounting Quarterly
Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) at a Medium-Sized
Electronics Company *
*This publication won a silver medal in the annual Lybrand manuscript competition
writing skills,” explained Bedenis. “He actually has a couple
of articles where he has worked with some other professors
in the business area in improving your business writing. Dr.
Stout is a very good writer and a really good editor, and there
were quite a few drafts. Dr. Stout gave me great assistance
on writing the article—what it should be written about, how
to write—and ultimately helped me draft it. I’m pretty proud
of it.”
Dr. Stout is nationally recognized for his scholarship in the
accounting field. He is currently serving his third term on the
AAA Board of Directors and has produced to date over 80
publications in refereed journals. Despite this, his number
one priority is his students.
“I appreciated the work Dr. Stout did because he’s a teacher
first,” explained Bedenis. “He’s well published and has a lot
of irons in the fire, but his first priority is teaching.”
That is why Bedenis took the opportunity to present with Dr.
Stout at the AAA annual meeting.
“He spent a lot of time with me to get the article written,
and I wanted to make sure I helped promote things that are
important to him,” explained Bedenis. “Also, the meeting
was focused on education, and that was also an important
area for me. I also have a degree in business education.”
Dr. Stout and Bedenis were not the only ones who had
the honor of representing YSU at the annual conference.
Dr. Huber had been working with Dominic Jackett, a YSU
senior and accounting major, on a study about “using one’s
strengths in everyday life.” They were also exploring writing
an article on gamification, the process of adding game
design concepts to non-game applications, for Strategic
Finance magazine.
Jackett develop professionally as he worked alongside of Dr.
Huber and presented at conferences.
“Prior to the trip I was petrified of speaking in front of anyone,
even in a classroom,” said Jackett. “Now I’ve become a lot
more comfortable. I had one professor at the AAA say he
was very impressed that I was there as an undergraduate
and that I was able to be confident in my speaking in front of
everyone. It was gratifying for him to come up to me and tell
me that I did a good job.”
Presenting at the national conference was not only gratifying
for Jackett but also for his mentor, Dr. Huber. It was easy to
see the true passion of an educator as she spoke of Jackett’s
progress under her supervision.
“At the conference he told me, ‘I sent my parents a picture
of the gamification flyer and they were blown away happy,’”
Dr. Huber recalled. “It’s little things like that that just help the
whole family. It’s more than just a student; it’s a family. If he
is excited about education and finds it to be rewarding, when
he has children he’ll talk to them about it. So a little thing I did
affects more than one person. It affects future generations.
It’s amazing.”
Dr. Stout and Dr. Huber are not only changing the lives of
their students, but they’re also increasing the awareness of
YSU and the WCBA.
“It’s just fabulous for a university of YSU’s size to have
multiple representatives. It’s just great for public relations,”
Bedenis said. “It speaks well for having the professors there
and their desire to improve the students and the status of
YSU.”
Jackett was the only undergraduate in
attendance and presented twice at the
conference.
“During the FASTCA workshop, Dr.
Huber explained the case using
strengths a little bit, where the research
came from and how we got started on
it,” Jacket said. “Then I explained what
we did in Chicago for Beta Alpha Psi,
where we received second place.”
“We then had another presentation on
gamification. I was on a panel with four
other individuals: a senior manager at
a big accounting firm, a developer at
a videogame company, Dr. Huber, and
a CEO who implemented gamification
into his business,” said Jackett.
“It’s really cool to be able to present
to faculty and to other students,” said
Dr. Huber. “Dominic presented to an
audience about gamification, so for me
he brought a lot of energy to it, and a (Left to Right): Greg Bedenis, Dr. David Stout, Dr. Marsha Huber and Dominic Jackett, ‘13,
at the Annual AAA conference held in Anaheim, CA, in August 2013
younger perspective.”
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Counseling Continued from page 1
Producing well-rounded, yet specialized students can be
credited to the program’s balanced curriculum. Students
must not only take a list of core classes and specialized
courses pertaining to their field, but must have a minimum
of 700 hours field experience from mandatory internships by
graduation. While they may have the same foundation and
all provide the opportunity for licensure to practice, all tracks
have their own benefits.
For school counseling, professors give instruction on how
to be proactive in helping students with everyday struggles.
“The school counseling program focuses on students
providing direct service in the school setting, academic and
career counseling, and personal and social counseling.” said
Dr. Jake Protivnak, chair of the Department of Counseling,
Special Education & School Psychology. “We want our
school counselors looking for problems. If students are
bullied, we want our counselors out there uncovering that.”
The student affairs track also has an angle that distinguishes
itself from other programs throughout the state.
“What is unique about this program is that we’re currently
the only program in Ohio that has a counseling focus,” Dr.
Protivnak explained. “If you take all 40 areas of student
affairs, they are quite diverse and include areas across
campus, like college counseling, residence life, dining
services and recycling. Those are all under student affairs.
However, we primarily train students who want to work in
the areas of student affairs that will incorporate the use of
counseling related skills.”
The counseling program prepares students, not just through
coursework, but by partnering with local organizations to
provide hands-on experience.
“When talking about the clinical or school track, we have
handbooks to show students where others have been
7
placed before and who we’ve had really good relationships
with,” explained Dr. Paylo. “In the student affairs track, we
not only call upon a number of individuals at YSU, but also in
neighboring schools. Essentially, we could probably list any
school within a 60-mile radius of YSU, and we have worked
with them with the student affairs college counseling.”
YSU’s National Counseling Test Pass
Rates Over the Past Three Years
First Time Pass Rate
Praxis................................................... 100%
“Through the clinical counseling track, I discovered a passion
I never knew I had: addiction counseling,” Makoski said.
“The part of counseling that has impacted me the most is the
ability to celebrate small victories with my clients.”
In addition to the internship opportunities, YSU also has a
clinic in the college with “bug in the eye technology” that
they use to prepare students before they complete their
internship hours.
“We have screens where licensed supervisors can talk to
the counselors in training during mid-session,” explained Dr.
Paylo. “So it’s a really wonderful facility. We’ve had people in
the state, even nationally, say ‘Wow, this is really wonderful
cutting-edge technology in counselor training.’”
NCE.....................................................91%*
Dr. Protivnak added that the facility is also beneficial to the
local community.
*NCE second time pass rate is 100%
“The clinic provides that experience for our counseling
students, but the clinic also gives back to the community by
providing counseling for a dollar or two,” he explained.
NCMHCE.............................................90%
There are also partnerships with local school districts to
provide field experience for those interested in serving
students from pre-kindergarten to their senior year of high
school. Nicole Adamson, ‘10, a graduate of the counseling
program and a current doctoral student at the University of
North Carolina, found this experience to be very valuable for
a multitude of reasons.
Not only are students prepared to enter the workforce, but
heavy emphasis is also placed on passing the licensure
examinations.
“I completed my school counseling internship at the
Youngstown Early College and Kirkmere Elementary School.
It was amazing to split my time between these two schools
so I could gain experience working with a full age range. My
supervisors took care to teach me about the actual duties of
school counseling and the way the school counselor interacts
with the rest of the school system. I was able to reach many
students in the school setting who probably would not visit a
clinical counselor, but who very much needed mental health
services.”
“Our pass rates are exceeding state and national averages.”
added Dr. Paylo. “Looking at the past three years, our
pass rate for the praxis is 100% and 91% for the NCE. Our
second time pass rate is 100% for the NCE exam. With
these examinations there’s a lot of anxiety. It’s three years
of your life that you’ve put into this, and so I think sometimes
that has something to do with it. But I think the second time
pass rate is important to show that we do put out students
who pass the examination.”
Completing both the school counseling and
clinical track, Adamson also found her second
internship equally rewarding.
“I spent the majority of my time providing
clinical mental health services within the school
setting, which blended my interest for school
and clinical counseling,” explained Adamson.
“I also had the opportunity to provide intensive
home-based services. The best part of this
internship was the comprehensive nature of
my work; I was able to work with students in
their schools, in their homes and in a clinical
setting, which allowed me to gain a full
understanding of their resources and needs.”
Left to Right: Both graduates of the counseling program, Cynthia Audia and Maria
Wright Ceraolo, consulting one another on clinical paperwork
Calie Makoski, ‘14, a graduate student in both
the clinical and school counseling track, found
nternship opportunities helped students find
passions that they otherwise may not have
realized they had.
“Students in the program have to pass a comprehensive
exam that is modeled after the licensure exams before they
go into their field experience,” explained Dr. Protivnak.
by encouraging me to present at conferences, become
chapter president of our national counseling honors
society, Chi Sigma Iota, and participate in research and
writing opportunities. His influence and guidance has aided
immensely in my growth and development as a young
professional. I can honestly say I would not have found my
passion if it were not for Dr. Protivnak.”
Another key element to the program’s success is that it is
specifically geared toward master’s students.
“The greatest benefit of the counseling program at YSU
is that it is a master’s-only program,” Adamson explained.
“So the master’s students receive the benefits that doctoral
students tend to receive at other programs. This includes
everything from graduate assistantships to opportunities to
write and present with the professors.”
She found this beneficial because it allowed her to have
opportunities that prepared her for work as a doctoral
student.
“I was fully prepared to enter my doctoral work after graduating
with my master’s degree from the YSU counseling program,”
Adamson explained. “I already had a firm understanding of
the publication process and have helped my peers publish
additional articles with me. I also organized a regional and
national cohort conference presentation to help my peers
gain experience with presentations, and I have presented
with additional master’s and doctoral students over the past
three years.”
By providing a strong foundation with a 10:1 student to faculty
ratio, Adamson is confident that the counseling program
prepares students of all interests to succeed in the field.
“Through coursework, internships, conference presentations
and research endeavors, students at YSU are fully prepared
to work as effective counselors and contribute meaningfully
to the counseling field.”
Beyond the pass rates and internship
experience, Makoski explained that
pushing students to go beyond their
preconceived boundaries is a strength of
the program.
“My experience at YSU has been
beneficial because it has pushed
me outside a comfort zone I never
thought I’d leave,” Makoski said. “As an
undergraduate student, I was content
with mediocrity. I knew I had more
potential that I wasn’t displaying. When
I got to YSU and started my graduate
program, faculty and students pushed
me to my full potential.”
Makoski explained that this was made
possible through the mentorship of her
professors.
“Dr. Protivnak has challenged me to
expand my personal professionalism
Counseling students receiving group clinical supervision
8
9
Growing with the Job Market
A number of departments in the College of
Health and Human Services are growing with
their respective career fields
R
ecently the Bitonte College of Health and Human
Services has been experiencing growth in a
number of its programs to meet the demands of
the health professions.
Nancy Landgraff, department chair of physical therapy, said
YSU has answered the national call to increase its doctoral
program in physical therapy to full capacity.
“The profession has a great outlook, but there’s a shortage
of faculty, leaders and department chairs,” she explained.
“Instead of new programs popping up all over the country,
our academic council for physical therapy education is
recommending that current programs expand and take more
students. Last year we decided that was appropriate for us
here at YSU, and so we increased our enrollment from 24 to
30, which is the number we’re prepared to take in terms of
our space and faculty ratios.”
While there is little shortage of physical therapists in the
Mahoning Valley region, Dr. Landgraff receives three to four
recruitment emails daily from other states and says that
YSU students are well prepared to travel anywhere with
their degree.
“They have to take the state board, and that prepares them to
go everywhere,” she explained. “Licensure is maintained by
state, but the actual examination is a national examination.”
Not only is the program sustaining student growth while
maintaining a close relationship with the students, but the
professors continue to devote a substantial amount of time
to research.
hospital or a homeless shelter, probably. But because there
weren’t MSW students around, sometimes those people did
matriculate into some of those areas. However, now we’re
the legitimate and appropriate credentialed people meant to
be in that wider range of settings.”
Not only is the program beneficial to the community, but it
caters to the non-traditional students as well.
Dr. Wagner is excited to see the MSN program expand and
believes the growth can be sustained by the job market for
multiple reasons, one of them being the Affordable Care Act.
“As a result of the Affordable Care Act and upon the
recommendation of the Institute of Medicine, more advanced
practice nurses will be needed to meet health care and
employer needs in the community,” Dr. Wagner said.
“Every faculty member has their own research agenda.
That’s an expectation of our accrediting body,” Landgraff
explained. She then listed research projects from studying
balance measures on a virtual reality unit, manual therapy
research and stroke research, all the way to measuring
exercise programs that are being implemented in the
community.
“I’m proud that we have a program that can accommodate
working students who want to build a career,” Dr. Morawski
explained. “Our program is only in the evenings and on
weekends, and we do some employment based field
internships. It really allows people to be able to have access
to this program who may have to work to pay for tuition or
who have a family.”
The department of social work is also experiencing growth
in its program. Since 2004 the Master of Social Work (MSW)
has increased from five students to just over 70. The MSW
program is unique because it is an extremely flexible degree.
Dr. Morawski is also impressed with the caliber of students
that the MSW program attracts.
Robert L. Chatburn, MHHS, RRT-NPS, FAARC
“What I find unique about this major is it’s a service
occupation,” he explained. “People are driven to it for one of
two reasons, as I see. One is the mission. I think it attracts
people who want to do something in the world that has a
cause. It’s a mission to help people. And the other side of it
is that some people just feel inclined. They just want work
that involves direct work with people, and direct service, and
I’m really impressed, truly impressed with the students we
attract.”
John Komara, MBA, HCM, RRT
“Social work is a pretty agile profession,” explained Dr.
Dennis Morawski, chair of the social work department.
“We’re in schools, prisons, hospitals, mental health centers,
substance abuse agencies, safe houses and the juvenile
court. Also, we’re in family services agencies and some
religious organizations. We have a pretty expansive reach.”
He explained that growth of the social work program is very
beneficial to the surrounding community.
“For many years we didn’t have an MSW available here, and
the social services jobs that required more than a BA degree
were being filled by master’s students in counseling,” Dr.
Morawski explained. “Counseling is kind of a niche within
human services. You wouldn’t work as a counselor in a
“The majority of the classes
are taught by full time faculty
members, which I think is very
important,” explained Landgraff.
“We also have a 1:11 faculty to
student ratio, so we have a good
relationship with our students.”
There is also a heavy emphasis
placed on the professional
development of the students.
“If we don’t teach them how
to develop as professionals,
we’re not helping the profession
continue to grow, and this is a
doctoral profession,” Landgraff
explained. “We’ve been able to
facilitate this with the help of the
dean and the Provost’s office,
Dr. David Griswold, assistant professor of physical therapy, instructs Dr. Nancy Landgraff,
and the students fundraise to be department chair of physical therapy, on the Sit-to-Stand testing, using the Omni-Virtual reality
able to travel to some national unit on loan through ACP accelerated care.
Natalia Fenton
While there are 208 programs nationwide, Landgraff said
YSU draws in students from all
over the country for a number of
reasons.
conferences. To see faculty presenting, and to see some
of their own work getting presented, is all very important to
their professional growth.”
The department of nursing has been no stranger to growth
throughout the years. The MSN program, run by Dr. Valerie
O’Dell, is focused on filling the immediate need for advanced
nursing skills.
The Chronic Illness Clinical Nurse Specialist track was
created in 1997 and was recently changed to the AdultGerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist track. The new name
and curriculum reflect care needs of the aging population.
From 1997 to present the other programs were developed:
Nurse Anesthetist, School Nurse, Nursing Education and
Family Nurse Practitioner.
Recently, there has been a substantial amount of growth in
the Family Nurse Practitioner program.
“In 2011, eight students were accepted for enrollment,
followed by 13 in 2012,” said Dr. Nancy Wagner, department
chair of nursing. “In 2013, 27 students were accepted in the
program, offering students part-time and full-time enrollment
opportunities.”
Not only have certain tracks experienced growth in
enrollment, but the department is looking to add tracks to
the MSN program.
“The department of nursing is in the process of developing
an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
program to care for adults in acute settings and to fulfill a
community need,” said Dr. Wagner. “The department is also
assessing the need for a Nursing Administration option and
the Doctorate of Nursing Practice program.”
Past graduates have successfully found jobs because of the
market demand.
Main Faculty for the New Online
Master of Respiratory Care
Lucy Kester, MBA, RRT, FAARC
Salvatore Sanders, PhD, RRT*
Louis Harris, PhD, RRT*
*YSU Faculty
“There is a need for the role of the advanced practice
nurse at Youngstown area hospitals and at other health
care facilities,” said Dr. Wagner. “Graduates of the master’s
degree programs have had great success at finding
employment opportunities immediately upon graduation.”
Although the demand for advanced nurses is high, Dr.
Wagner mostly attributes students’ success to the valuable
experience they gain while in the program.
“In the state of Ohio, the Family Nurse Practitioner and
the Adult-Geronotology Clinical Nurse Specialist have the
opportunity to acquire prescriptive authority, making their
expertise extremely valuable in the community,” Dr. Wagner
said. “The MSN School Nurse option is one of just a few
programs offered in the state for school nurse certification
plus the acquisition of a master’s degree. For all options,
the MSN students benefit from excellent clinical experiences
and graduate opportunities close to home.”
While the physical therapy program is expanding to meet the
needs of the profession, the MSW program is impacting the
local community, and the MSN program is doing a mixture
of both, the respiratory care program in the Department of
Health Professions is continuing to be a leader in its field
by providing an online program for a Master of Respiratory
Care (MRC).
“When we proposed the program two years ago, there
were only three other master’s programs in respiratory
care in the country,” explained Joseph Mistovich, chair of
the Department of Health Professions. “Our baccalaureate
program was recognized not too long before that as being
Continued on page 10
10
Growth Continued from page 9
the top program in the country out of 382 programs by
the national accrediting body. So we said, ‘Okay so we’re
already a leader there. Let’s move to the next step, and the
next step is to become a leader at the next level.’”
They did this by creating a leadership degree that was meant
for respiratory care therapists who were already practicing
and wanted to advance their career.
The MRC is focused primarily on leadership; however,
there are some advanced clinical courses in the program.
The program is primarily designed to develop the licensed
respiratory therapist who is currently practicing as a leader
in his or her profession.
When the program was put in place last year, classes were
split between a traditional classroom setting and online
courses. Since then, the Ohio Board of Regents approved a
new curriculum and, as of fall of 2013, the program has been
offered completely online.
“Our intention was always to attract students from all over
the country,” explained Mistovich. “You could be in Texas
and never walk on the YSU campus and complete this
degree program. Every single course is now offered in a true
web-based online format.”
Being available as a web-based program not only reaches
out to students from around the country, as well as nontraditional students who work various shifts, but it also allows
courses to be taught by recognized experts in the field, in
addition to the three highly qualified respiratory care faculty
members at YSU. When students enroll in the program, they
will realize that their courses are being taught by faculty who
are well published and recognized as authoritative in the
respiratory care profession.
11
Yacovone. “I really do see this next year as being our big
growth year. It’s not one of these programs where you’ll see
tremendous growth right away.”
The department, with support from Dean Mosca, has
launched an aggressive advertising campaign across
the nation. With the constant advancement of respiratory
care practice and the tremendous job outlook, there will
be continuous growth over the next few years and stable
enrollment long term.
Because the program is accessible to students nationwide
and is one of the very few programs of its kind, there has
been an outpouring of support from the local, regional and
national respiratory care community to include the national
professional organization, accrediting committee and
board examination agency. There have also been several
international inquires in regard to the program.
“I’m happy to say that YSU has emerged as a leader, not in
Youngstown, not in the region, not in Ohio, but in the United
States of America,” Mistovich proudly stated. “You can call
the NBRC, the National Board of Respiratory Care, and
mention Youngstown State and they know us because we’re
moving forward, and we’re moving the profession forward,
too.”
New MA Continued from page 3
Not only has Dr. Keillor watched his business students
benefit, but Dr. Gergits has really welcomed the benefits of
her English students working with students of business and
communication.
“There are people who were business undergrads, maybe,
and we get the advantages of having people in the class
who are business professionals and are heading off for their
MBAs,” explained Dr. Gergits. “It’s nice to have them in the
Since the program has
been advertised as a fully
web-based
program,
it
has received almost 100
inquiries. Mistovich and
Yacovone believe that many
of these inquiries will turn into
applicants by fall of 2014.
“The word is really getting The college recently had a name change to the “College of Creative Arts and Communication” to
out there now,” explained better reflect its mission.
Bruce Palmer
Another characteristic of
the MRC is that it provides
various tracks to meet
student interest. According
to Mary Yacovone, program
director of the MRC, in
addition to the core courses
there are three distinct tracks:
education, management, and
therapeutic and monitoring
applications.
classes, and I’ve really enjoyed it. In class we learned a
lot about LinkedIn. It became more meaningful because
we had someone in the class who worked in HR and that’s
what she does. It helps make our teaching richer.”
Attending classes with professors from multiple disciplines
also enriches the education of the students.
“Having professors from the different colleges helps
immensely because they have a different psychological
orientation,” explained Dr. McCloud. “Faculty come at
things differently in this discipline, and in English, and
in business. We approach the world differently, and that
helps students immensely as well.”
On top of having incredible benefits for the students, the
interdisciplinary approach has also had a positive impact
on the university.
“One of the problems you get in any university is structural,”
explained Dr. Gergits. “You are in a department that is
within a college that is within a university. And so you have
a really hard time knowing what your colleagues are doing
in your own college, much less across the university.”
Undergraduate Research Grants
Ashley Bowers, Mechanical Engineering
“Characterizing high-stain rate behavior of
stainless steel fabricated by additive
manufacturing.”
Thomas Fowler, Mechanical Engineering
“Modification and exposé of a hexapedal robot:
A multidisciplinary, bio-inspired study of stability
and control systems.”
Melissa James, Forensic Sciences
“Unresolved burning questions with fabric
dropdown patterns.”
Elizabeth Johnson & Jessie Keeler, Honors
“Environmental evaluation of submerged debris
on the reefs of San Salvador Island.”
Yet this program has opened doors of communication and
enables professors to collaborate with one another, even if
they’re across campus from one another.
Aaron Mrvelg, Biology
“You find a lot of bridges that you kind of knew were there
but that become clearer,” Dr. Gergits explained. “PR does
a lot of the same stuff that we do; we just approach it with
a different angle. And, of course, communications has
interesting angles that would help; it just pieces together
differently. So you get more cooperation and more ideas—
nice fertile ideas for research, new projects and new
classes.”
Joanna Peng, Biology
Because of these benefits, Dr. Keillor hopes to see more
interdisciplinary degrees developed.
Amanda Ruozzo, Biology
“I know the folks within Williamson believe this idea of
interdisciplinary degrees and working with our colleagues
across campus is just so beneficial for the students, for
the university,” Dr. Keillor explained. “We just really look
forward to this, and we’re hoping we can expand these
types of things, because I really think it’s going to help
YSU establish itself.”
He believes that interdisciplinary tracks such as the MA in
Interdisciplinary Communication will help put YSU on the
map.
“We need to carve out our own identity, and as President
Dunn has said, we need to establish who we are,”
explained Dr. Keillor. “We’re more than just a university
in Youngstown. We want to be a competitive university,
not just in Northeast Ohio but regionally, and then expand
that footprint. So this helps us establish an identity and be
unique next to some of our competitors.”
“Flouride’s effect on sleep and cognition.”
“Histological analysis of surgical wound healing.”
Sarah Ritchey, Computer Science and
Information Systems
“Classification algorithms for detecting duplicate
bugs reports in large open source repositories.”
“Predicting eastern bluebird reproductive
success using local and landscape variables.”
Ashley Wagner & Michael Weaver,
Computer Science and Information Systems
“Rasberry pi cluster website server.”
Justin Waldern, Biology
“The effects of dietary probiotics on distribution
and abudance of the LpxC gene (associated
with endotoxin production) in bacteria within the
gastrointestinal tract of rats.”
Joshua Weimer, Chemistry
“Evaluation of substrate specificity of
β-glucosidase BglX from E. coli.”
David Yash, Chemistry
“MALDI peptide fragment identification of
oxidized bovine serum albumin.”
12
Frontiers
Youngstown State University
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH
School of Graduate Studies and
Research
Quest is a forum hosted by Youngstown State University where both
undergraduate and graduate students present their research. This year
marks the 25th Anniversary and will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.
Submissions are being accepted from January 15 - March 21.
Dr. Jeff Coldren, the director of Quest, has worked diligently to increase
Quest’s outreach and has expanded the Quest/Undergraduate Research
Advisory Committee from nine faculty members to 29. These individuals will
encourage students to present their research and guide them through the
application process.
YSU encourages scholarship among students and is proud to provide a
forum for students to present their research to the campus community and
public.
For more information about Quest, you can visit the website at:
Dr. Salvatore Sanders,
Associate Dean, Graduate Studies
Writers and Editors
Writer and Editor
Natalia Fenton
Graduate Assistant, English
Editor
Angela Ireland
Marketing and Communications
Advisor
Advisor
Dr. Karen Lee
Department of English
www.ysu.edu/QUEST
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
Frontiers
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH
Youngstown State University