To:
Graceland University Board of Trustees
From: Steve Anders, Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Date: November 8, 2014
RE: Report on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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Division of Health and Movement Science (report prepared by Dr. Diane Bartholomew)
 Mr. John Bartholomew and Dr. Jay Hoffman completed the KinesoTape ® faculty
training in August 2014. John will offer the Kinesiotaping class during spring semester
2015. Graceland University will be one of three athletic training programs to offer this
course and one of two to offer both Kinesiotaping and Graston Technique.
 Several personnel changes occurred over the summer. Mr. Tommy Lewis and Dr.
Brandy Schneider resigned effective the end of the 2013-14 academic year. Mr. Bryan
Gatzke joined Graceland University and HMS in August. Mr. Chad McDole and Mrs.
Jessica Wallace took on more teaching responsibilities. Dr. Alan Dykens and Mrs. Katie
Persall also joined HMS on a part-time basis.
 Mr. Bryan Gatzke, earned the Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) certification. All
three primary instructors of the Corrective Exercise and Performance Enhancement
(CEPE) major now hold either the CES or the PES credential.
 Health and Movement Science will be participating in the program review process. Each
unit is asked to complete the comprehensive review every five years. Several
departments have been reviewing curriculum over the past year. These reviews will be
meshed into the larger review.
Division of Humanities (report prepared by Dr. Brian White)
 Brittany Beckner and Raquel Moreira, our two new Communication faculty members,
have finished authoring progressive changes to the existing Communication degree,
including courses on “Social and Emerging Media,” “Gender and Communication,”
and “Health Communication.” The changes strengthen and diversify the already strong
Communication major.
 Brittany Beckner will be attending the National Communication Association's annual
conference in Chicago in November to present a paper. Beckner, B. N., Record, R. A., &
Kiernicki, K. (2014, November). "Navigating the thin-ideal in an athletic world:
Influence of coach communication on female athletes’ body image and health choices.”
 Brittany Beckner has also received notification that two articles have been accepted for
publication:
1. Beckner, B. N., & Record, R. A. (In Press). Navigating the thin-ideal in an athletic
world: Influence of coach communication on female athletes’ body image and health
choices. Health Communication.
2. Kaufmann, R., Simpson, S., & Beckner, B. N. (2014). “We’ve got a situation here:”
Portrayal and discussion of sexual behaviors on Jersey Shore. The Texas Speech
Communication Journal, 38(1).
 Isaac Pressnell has had five poems accepted for publication by Carrier Pigeon. The
poems, co-authored with Maggie Glover, are titled, "A Kiss Good-Bye," "Femme
Maison," "What Does a Human Body Do," "Dictionary of Misunderstood Words," and
"Only He Can Dig It Up.” As part of the publication, the poems will be given to an artist
who will create artwork to accompany/converse with the poems, and these projects will
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premiere in a New York City gallery upon the release of the issue. These poems come
from their book-length, intersubjective project, YOU ASKED WHY WE COULDN'T
JUST WORK OUT AND BE HAPPY TOGETHER TO WHICH I SAID.
Brian White and two co-authors have been awarded funding by the National Collegiate
Honors Council to develop a pilot issue of a new, national undergraduate research
journal. The journal is tentatively titled The Journal of Undergraduate Research and
Creative Activity. A pilot issue will be developed in 2015.
Brian White will present a peer-reviewed paper titled “Citizen Science and the Role of
Service Learning in Experiential Education,” with Johnny MacLean, at the 49th Annual
National Collegiate Honors Council conference, November 6-9, Denver, CO.
As with prior summers, Brian was a co-leader for experiential learning seminars
sponsored by the National Collegiate Honors Council and the National Park Service. He
lead a seminar in Glacier National Park from August 8-16. This program, called Partners
in the Parks, is the only congressionally funded higher-education partnership with the
national park service for their upcoming centennial. Brian is one of a dozen faculty
nationally who lead these summer seminars.
Jerry DeNuccio’s essay "The Transcendental Poodle" was published in "Fictionique.”
Jerry DeNuccio's essay "Language Abuse: Three Takes” was published at "Our
Salon." It was subsequently chosen to be featured on a "Passionate Justice" radio
broadcast.
Jerry DeNuccio published the following essays at "Open Salon”: "The Ceremony,” "The
Afterglow,” "The Candyman,” "The Sorcerer's Apprentice,” and "Tonic of
Wildness."August 19, in the Faculty Development portion of faculty fall conference I
made a presentation on "China, Education, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Ecological
Civilization: Can philosophy save the world?"
Bob Mesle Skyped with a class using his book, Process Relational Philosophy, at
Hendrix College, in Arkansas on August 19, taught by Jay McDaniel, creator of the
"Jesus, Jazz, and Buddhism" website, and one of the key personnel in the Institute for the
Postmodern Development of China. In advance of the Skype chat I answered emails
from his students.
On Sept 19-21, Bob Mesle took 37 students on the annual HONORS CHICAGO
TRIP: They saw King Lear at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier, the Shedd
Aquarium, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra seasonopening ball.
On Sept 24, Bob Mesle taught a workshop at Graceland on "Interfaith Dialogue: Ways
of Thinking About Religious Pluralism." About 50 students attended.
Bob Mesle attended the meeting of the John Whitmer Historical Association held at
Graceland, Sept. 25-28.
Cris Karmas attended The 50th Annual Conference of The Iowa Communication
Association: “Bridging Disciplines/Differences/Decades,” Des Moines Area Community
College (DMACC) (Ankeny, Iowa; September 19-20, 2014)
Division of Science and Mathematics (report prepared by Dr. Dan Pratt)
 Jacob Belmore a 2012 GU graduate has replaced Jim Jones in our CSIT program and is
doing a great job. One of the new additions to our course offerings will be a class
entitled “Current Issues and Technologies: Game Development and Design.”
 Jesse Rincon started work on his masters at the Kansas City University of Medicine and
Biosciences (KCUMB)
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The Division of Science and Math will be hosting an open house during
homecoming. The open house is geared towards exciting the next generation of kids
about science and math.
Dan Pratt is co-chairing the search for a new CLAS Dean.
The science and math division continues to do a great job of preparing students for the
future.
Division of Social Sciences (report prepared by Dr. Brian Smith)
 Steve Glazer attended the annual conference of the Midwest World History Association,
held at Governors State University, University Park, Illinois on September 26-27, 2014.
He gave a paper on “The Textbook and Beyond: Choosing and Using Texts in the World
History Classroom” and shared ideas with other panelists from 2-year and 4-year
institutions.
 David Devonis’ book History of Psychology 101 was well-reviewed in PsycCritiques,
which suggested the volume could serve as either an adjunct text in either History of
Psychology or Introductory Psychology.
 Joseph Breshears, 2014 graduate in Psychology, will attend the Intentional Communities
History Conference at the Amana Colonies Friday October 10. Joseph is working with
Dave Devonis on a project examining the sources of B. F. Skinner's conceptions of
architecture as these are expressed in his Utopian novel Walden II.
 Amy Salmeto-Johnson joined the psychology faculty. Amy earned her doctorate at the
University of Mississippi. Her research and teaching interests focus on the brain.
 Brad Brewster will fill our Sociology needs for the coming year. Brad earned his
doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is particularly interested in
environmental sociology.
Division of Visual and Performing Arts (report prepared by Zane Vredenburg)
 Frank Perez resigned in May. Rob Stephens and Leonardo Lebas resigned late in the
Summer. Erin Bodnar, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands;
Tiffany Sinnott, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Sara Blessing Visiting Instructor
of Music and Director of Choirs have filled these vacancies.
Art Department
 Julia Franklin will be exhibiting all new works in "Wander/wonder," a solo exhibition
at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa. The show runs from October 4November 16.
 Julia is also presenting "Lost and Found: Found Object Art that Preserves and
Redeems" at the Mid-America College Art Association conference in San Antonio,
Texas. It is part of an inquiry on "Mash-Up: Navigating Art and Academia in this
Millennium."
 Zane Vredenburg attended the AIGA Design Educators Conference//New Ventures:
Intersections in Design Education in Portland, OR, Sept. 11-13, 2014.
Music Department
 Adam Groh was invited to participate in the 2014 Roots and Rhizomes percussion
festival at The Banff Centre in Alberta held August 10-16, 2014.
 Adam also has these events on his calendar:
1. September 27 & 28 - Performing with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra
2. October 17 - Performing at Electronic Music Midwest at Lewis University outside
of Chicago, IL
3. October 25 & 26 - Performing with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra
4. November 22 - Presenting at Iowa Music Educator's Conference in Ames, IA
Theatre Department:
 The Theatre Department has announced its season for the 2014-2015 academic year.
The four productions this year will be:
1. Into the Woods, October 16-19, 2014
2. Sylvia, November 20-23, 2014
3. Spot Kiss, March 5-8, 2015
4. My Name is Asher Lev, April 23-26, 2015
 Plans continue to be developed for a theatre trip to New York during spring break.
The trip will include roundtrip airfare, transport to and from NYC airport, 5 day
subway pass, four nights in hotel, four breakfasts, two dinners, city tour, backstage
tour of Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Art Museum tour, NBC Studios Tour, United
Nations Tour, Radio City Music Hall tour, trip to Chinatown and the 9/11 Memorial,
5 New York theatre productions, and at least one Master Theatre class.
 The theatre department opened its season with the Homecoming musical Into the
Woods. This was one of the most elaborate productions ever staged at Graceland. It
included a cast of 22, an orchestra of 9, and dozens of people working behind the
scenes.
 The theatre department welcomes Dr. David Shelton, guest director for our second
play, Sylvia. Dr. Shelton is Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida where for
over thirty years he taught, acted, and directed as a faculty member in the School of
Theatre and Dance. He has acted and/or directed with summer and regional theatre
companies throughout the country, most recently at the Hippodrome Theatre
(Gainesville, FL), Heritage Repertory Theatre (Charlottesville, VA), and
Pennsylvania Centre Stage.
Interdisciplinary – Sustainability (report prepared by Jen Abraham-White)
 The campus Hoop House garden was featured in the summer 2014 issue of the Southwest
Iowa Ag Mag. The article can be viewed at http://issuu.com/shawmedia/docs/cam-08-212014.
 Aronia berries, raspberries and strawberries were transplanted east of the Hoop House in
late summer as part of phase one of the orchard. Future plans for the orchard might
include the planting of serviceberries, elderberries, paw paw, pear and persimmon fruit
trees. Nut trees that will likely be included in the final design are hazelnuts, walnuts,
chestnuts, and oaks that produce edible acorns.
 The completion date for the newly updated sustainability public webpage has been set for
mid-November.