To:
Graceland University Board of Trustees
From: Steve Anders, Interim Dean
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Date: November 9, 2013
RE: Report on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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Division of Visual and Performing Arts
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Our newest faculty member Adam Groh, Professor of Percussion, has had several solo
performances during his first months of employment and was also able to showcase
Drumline during Homecoming.
Zane Vredenburg attended the AIGA (the National Association of Graphic Designers)
national conference titled "Head, Hand & Heart" October 10-13 in Minneapolis, MN. The
first day of the conference was specifically for design educators.
Rob Stephens attended and displayed work at San Francisco's Zine Fest. His zine "Good
Kid Rob" was selected for distribution by Alchemist's Closet, a GLBT zine distribution
center.
Leonardo Lebas is busy planning publicity and activities for the Morten Lauridsen
Residency that will be held in May.
Gary Heisserer served as a reader in the final round for the National New Play Network’s
Annual Showcase. The six plays that were selected by the reading committee will be
given staged readings for representatives of over fifty professional theatres around the
country this December in San Diego.
Julia Franklin showed work in "Why Houses Matter," at Hillyard in Urbandale, Iowa.
The show was curated by Rachel Buse and an interview about the show aired on NPR.
Tracy Salter directed "Little Shop of Horrors" which showed during Homecoming
weekend.
Jack Ergo and Frank Perez have conducted multiple concerts during this semester and
were continually busy with symphonic concerts and jazz concerts during Homecoming as
well.
Fine Arts has already featured three senior shows this year by Felicia Williams, Kaila
Leipard and Sofia Jaramillo.
Division of Health and Movement Science
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The newly named and revised Corrective Exercise and Performance Enhancement
(CEPE) is continuing to make progress on the strategic plan. Recently an agreement
was reached with the National Association of Sports Medicine that provides additional
learning resources for students and reduced costs for those who wish to earn
certifications.
Health and Movement Science was the first division to present a “super section” and
follow-up unit for the INTD1100: Critical Thinking in the Liberal Arts and Sciences
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classes. Each unit of CLAS is scheduled to do so this semester as students explore the
theme “Identity.”
For the first time in several years there were no personnel changes in the division.
Division of Humanities
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Jerry DeNuccio had 4 essays published in “Fictionique”: Essays published in
Fictionique: “Nesterdom” (7/27/13), "The Waiting” (8/17/13), "Knighted" (9/15/13),
"Bearing Threads" (9/29/13).
Isaac Pressnell had three poems, "Limina," "Gold Star Pedophile," and "Some Things
Are Unpredictable," accepted for publication in Pank, a literary journal, in October 2013.
A Portuguese translation of Bob Mesle’s book, Process Theology: A Basic Introduction,
has been published by Paulus in Sao Paulo, Brazil under the title Teologia do Processo.
Bob Mesle had his essay “Creative Transformation: The Application of Process
Philosophy in Curriculum and Classroom,” published in the Chinese journal Modern
Education Management (2013).
Bob Mesle has been invited to serve as a featured writer for the website, Jesus, Jazz, and
Buddhism, and the website currently features many of his previously written essays.
Brian White served as a co-leader at a seminar for the National Collegiate Honors
Council and the National Park Service. “Partners in the Parks: Sequoia and Kings
Canyon,” 4-11 August 2013.
Brian White is traveling to New Orleans on November 6 to give a presentation at the
National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference.
Brian White had a Peer-Reviewed article published: “Assessing Rigor in Experiential
Education: A Working model from Partners in the Parks,” with John S. Maclean, The
Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Spring/Summer 2013, pp100-110.
Katie Burnett presented, “A Tale of the Alamo: Mapping the Nineteenth-Century Global
Economy through August Jane Evans’s Inez,” to the Society for the History of
Authorship, Reading, and Publishing in Philadelphia, PA, July 2013.
Katie Burnett’s, “The Proslavery Social Problem Novel: Maria J. McIntosh’s Narrative of
Reform in the Global South,” is under consideration with American Literature, July
2013.
Katie Burnett attended, “Getting Published,” a seminar for first-time academic book
authors lead by Jerome Singerman at the University of Pennsylvania Press. Society for
the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. Philadelphia, PA, July 2013.
Katie Burnett is scheduled to present a draft of her article, “The Economics of Slave
Labor in Martin Delany’s Blake,” at an upcoming meeting of scholars from Midwestern
universities that focuses on the study of 19th-century literature.
Tony Chvala-Smith taught “Scripture in Community of Christ,” with Charmaine ChvalaSmith in Roxas, Isabella, Philippines August 5-9, 2013.
Tony Chvala-Smith gave a lecture in Kansas City titled, “Disentangling the Church:
Community of Christ Identity in the Shadow of Empire,” August 28, 2013.
Tony Chvala-Smith gave a lecture in Independence, MO titled, “Resistance, Love, Hope:
Journeying with Ambrose of Milan, Julian of Norwich, and Jürgen Moltmann,”
September 27, 2013.
Division of Science and Mathematics
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Dr. Mary Shawgo and Chris Chambers had an excellent experience in the FUTURE in
Biomedicine program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. FUTURE
represents the goal of Fostering Undergraduate Talent - Uniting Research and
Education. Chris may see his name on a future publication. I shall keep you posted. It
has been a great opportunity for Graceland to build this relationship with the University
of Iowa.
Brad Mercer Visited Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, August 4-9, 2013. He had
the opportunity to tour the laboratory facilities in Cornell’s West Science Hall. He also
met with members of the chemistry faculty to discuss chemistry curriculum, undergraduate research, teaching chemistry one-course-at-a-time, and the strategic place of
science in the liberal arts. Brad also used the Cornell library to research chemistry
literature on several potential Sr. Research topics, since Cornell has access to ACS
journals online.
We have record enrollments for many of our science and math classes this fall. There are
two additional sections of math concepts being offered by Jim Jones and MaryAnn
Manuel. This provides 50 additional seats per section. Ron Smith is also seeing a record
enrollment in Calculus I. He has 71 students in two sections of this class. There is also
an additional section of freshman level Fundamentals of Biology taught by Jennifer
Abraham White. Between Teri Foster and Jennifer there are 108 students. Organic
Chemistry taught by Dan Pratt has a record enrollment of 32. This is the largest Organic
Chemistry class in the past 14 years.
CSIT students have been working with the local Girl Scouts every Wednesday to help
them prepare to compete as a team in the First Lego League competition that will be held
for our region up in Iowa State this December.
Jim Jones may announce this in his comments about the Ackerley program. To ensure
that it is included after many years of wonderful service to Graceland Jim will be retiring
this spring. A search is underway for his replacement.
Division of Social Sciences
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Nancy Wallace served the community and refreshed her counseling skills by substituting
at Crossroads Behavioral Health Center September through October, 2013.
David Devonis’s manuscript History of Psychology 101 (part of the Psychology 101
series, Springer Publishing, New York) was accepted for publication September, 2013.
Steve Glazer attended the annual conference of the Midwest World History
Association, held at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, September 27-28,
2013.
Steve Glazer and Bill Juhnke were guest speakers at Wednesday night worship service in
Cheville Chapel on September 11, 2013. Steve spoke on the theme of “Why should I
care about 9/11? How does September 11th affect me today?”
Steve Glazer was invited to review Zionism and Free Enterprise: The Story of Private
Entrepreneurs in Citrus Plantations in Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s, by Irit AmitCohen (DeGruyter, 2012), for the journal Historia Agraria.
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Steve Glazer attended the 22nd annual conference of the World History Association,
held this year at North Hennepin Community College in suburban Minneapolis, June
26-29, 2013.
Adam Martin was guest preacher for Student Campus Ministries on Wednesday,
September 25, speaking on faith, war and peace.
Bill Russell gave a paper on “Civil Rights and the RLDS Church in the 1960s” at the
annual John Whitmer Historical Association conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa,
September 26-29. He also commented on a paper on Clifford Cole, a prominent RLDS
leader from the 1950s until the 1980s. Bill also serves on the Board of Directors and is
the book review editor for the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal.
Bill Russell also attended the Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City in early August and
presented two papers: one on the recent USA National Conference of the Community of
Christ. One dealt with the issue of homosexuality and the church, and the other was
entitled, “Hell and Satan: Faith-Promoting Rumors.”