STUDENT UNION THANKSGIVING WEEK HOURS
The Student Union copy center will be closed during the university's fall break, Thanksgiving week.
The Student Union will be providing the following services during the break, Saturday, Nov. 20-Sunday, Nov. 28:
* Subway will be open in the lower level of the Union.
* Vending machines are available outside the office supply store.
* Radina's Coffeehouse and Roastery will be open in the School of Leadership Studies
* Einstein Brothers Bagels will be open in Hale Library.
* Our Union bookstore partner, Varney's, will be open at its Aggieville location.
* Union Recreation will be open.
* Organizations that need meeting space are to contact Loleta Sump, Facilities, at 785-532-1718 for reservations at other campus locations.
* The north and south entrances will be open for access to Union Recreation during this time. The Union will reopen for normal business hours Monday, Nov. 29. For further information and a complete list of operating hours, visit http://union.k-state.edu/.
FACULTY MEMBERS IN AVIONICS PROGRAM EARN INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION
Two K-State Salina instructors have earned industry certifications from the National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technology.
Evan Beckman, instructor of aviation maintenance, earned the Aircraft Electronics Technician certificate. He already has the Foreign Object Elimination certificate.
Raylene Alexander, assistant professor of aviation maintenance, earned the Foreign Object Elimination certification and added a third endorsement in Onboard Communication and Safety Systems to her Aircraft Electronics Technician certification. She also has endorsements in Dependent Navigation Systems and Radio Communication Systems.
"It is important that the K-State avionics faculty stay current with technology and with industry-endorsed certificates," Alexander said.
The Aircraft Electronics Technician certification recognizes the core knowledge of an aircraft electronics/avionics technician that is common across the industry in fields that include air carriers, cargo transportation, corporate flight departments, fixed-based operators, manufacturers, the military and repair stations.
The Foreign Object Elimination certification demonstrates an understanding of standardized safety practices in the aerospace industry. The certification can apply to all areas of the aerospace industry, including personnel outside of the technical field. Damage from foreign objects costs the industry $4 billion to $6 billion each year.
According to the National Center for Aerospace and Transportation Technology, the certifications demonstrate an advanced aerospace technician's ability to promote integrity, safety and professionalism in the work force.
BUSINESS ETHICS PROFESSORS TO RELEASE NEW BOOK
Since the Enron scandal, questions have continually been raised about the business sector's ethics and its influence on future business executives.
Two business professors recruited nationally and internationally recognized experts in business ethics to address these concerns in their soon-to-be-released book, "Toward Assessing Business Ethics Education."
Diane Swanson, professor of management and von Waaden business administration professor, and Dann Fisher, associate professor of accounting, edited the book. It's the sequel to their book "Advancing Business Ethics Education" from the "Ethics in Practice" series from Information Age Publishing.
"This book, in particular, is a timely response to the urgent search by business schools to find ways to teach and assess ethics," Swanson said. "It comes at a time when the public's faith in corporations and business schools has been undermined by the widespread corruption and scandals in the business sector."
The book is for anybody interested in business ethics education, but specifically for experts in the field, business school deans, university administrators and faculty, business students, and perspective employers. Swanson said she believes it will encourage a much-needed conversation among these groups.
For this installment in the series Swanson and Fisher focus on ways educators can teach and assess business ethics. The book details theoretical approaches, and also offers many empirical studies -- something that is unique in current publications about this topic, Swanson said.
"In this book we provide evidence about the effectiveness of ethics course work; the transfer of knowledge; the recognition of ethical dilemmas; and possible solutions for our future managers," she said.
"There's this worn out argument whether ethics can be taught, which is ridiculous," Swanson said. "The way we go about it in the book is ethics material can be taught in the same way you teach a course in leadership skills or conflict management. There's an existing body of knowledge. You deliver that knowledge in a classroom so students recognize it, learn the concepts and know some applications."
As one of the book's co-editors, Swanson was able to recruit several European and U.S. experts, including from the Aspen Institute, for the book's 20 chapters.
Swanson, a recognized expert in the field, also co-authored three chapters in the book. One chapter with Fisher details a pilot study conducted in her classes over three semesters. Swanson and Fisher document the ethics knowledge the students came in with and what knowledge they left with.
Swanson said studies are showing an increase in business students who want to know how their values match those of their employers and how their companies give back to the community.
"Our students are going out into that world where Enron, Arthur Anderson and other scandals have happened. We want to arm them with the reality, which is that you have to recognize ethical dilemmas and possible solutions to those problems," Swanson said. "The best way to do that is through prior education."
Of the 1,680 business schools and colleges in the nation, K-State's College of Business Administration is among the nearly 30 percent to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Of these accredited schools, just a minority requires business students to take a stand-alone course in business ethics.
YAR EBADI FIRST TO SERVE IN EDGERLEY FAMILY ENDOWED DEANSHIP
Yar Ebadi, dean of the College of Business Administration, will be the first to serve in the new Edgerley Family Endowed Deanship in the College of Business Administration.
The endowed deanship -- the first at K-State -- was established by Paul and Sandra Edgerley, Brookline, Mass. Ebadi's appointment was made by Kirk Schulz, K-State president, and April Mason, provost and senior vice president.
The Edgerleys have been longtime supporters of K-State, contributing to a number of scholarships, funds and faculty chairs in the past 10 years, including the Paul B. and Sandra M. Edgerley Business Administration Scholarship; the Paul B. Edgerley Chair in Business Administration; the Edgerley-Franklin Urban Leadership Scholarship, in honor of friends Bernard and Elsia Franklin; the Robert M. Edgerley Chair in International Business, in honor of his father; the Edgerley Family Chair in the College of Business Administration; and the President Wefald Leadership Chair in Business Administration.
"The Edgerleys' generous support for the endowed deanship ensures K-State's College of Business Administration will continue to enjoy only top-notch leadership now and in the future," Schulz said. "This will be essential as the university works to become a top 50 public research university."
Ebadi served a year as interim dean of the college before becoming dean in 1996. Mason said Ebadi's leadership has earned the college national recognition and is why he was selected to serve in the Edgerley Family Endowed Deanship.
"Under Dean Ebadi's leadership the College of Business Administration's enrollment has increased by more than 40 percent, and student scholarships have more than quadrupled," Mason said. "Nationally, the college has been included in BusinessWeek's list of the top undergraduate business programs, and its master of business administration program has been ranked among the best by the Aspen Institute's Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey."
Mason said Ebadi also has helped the college, with support from the Edgerleys and others, to establish several endowed faculty chairs and fellowships that have been filled by professors who are regarded nationally and internationally as among the best in their fields.
"It is a special privilege to be the inaugural holder of this prestigious endowed deanship that reflects the generosity and continued support of one of the college's most illustrious alumni," Ebadi said. "The contributions of Paul and Sandra Edgerley have been instrumental to enhancing the recognition and reputation of the college at a national level, and we deeply appreciate their investment in the future of K-State and the College of Business Administration.
"In my case, this honor is especially rewarding because of the esteem in which I hold Paul and his family," Ebadi said. "I also want to thank President Schulz and Provost Mason for appointing me as the first recipient of this distinguished chair."
Paul Edgerley is a 1978 K-State graduate, earning a bachelor's in accounting. He went on to earn a master of business administration from Harvard Business School. He serves as a managing director of Bain Capital LLC in Boston, one of the leading alternative asset management firms in the world. Sandra Edgerley earned a bachelor's in biology from Harvard, as well as a master of business administration from Harvard Business School. She is an active volunteer in the Boston area and serves on the boards of several community service organizations.
"K-State has had a huge impact on my life, both in preparing me for a career in business and as a source of lifetime friendships," Paul Edgerley said. "Sandy and I are pleased to support the business college's mission to be the business school of choice in the region by providing excellence in the advancement and dissemination of knowledge consistent with the needs of students, business, faculty and society. We are thrilled that Dean Ebadi will be the first recipient of the Edgerley Family Endowed Chair. The business college has significantly benefited from Yar's leadership over the past 15 years."
The Edgerleys' $5 million commitment to the endowed deanship provides perpetual funding for advancing excellence in the mission and vision of the college. It also provides assistance for equipment, operating support and travel. The gift qualifies for the state's Faculty of Distinction Program, which augments the fund with additional support once it is funded at the $500,000 level.
A reception recognizing the Edgerleys' gift and honoring Ebadi as the first recipient of the endowed deanship will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, in Tadtman Board Room at the K-State Alumni Center.
KONZA PRAIRIE RESEARCH TO BENEFIT GRASSLANDS WORLDWIDE
Scientists at Konza Prairie Biological Station have received major funding for research on critical questions about the underlying decisions made by grazing animals and the effects on grassland dynamics.
Konza is jointly owned by Kansas State University and The Nature Conservancy and managed by the Division of Biology.
The National Science Foundation recently awarded Tony Joern, university distinguished professor in biology at K-State, and collaborators John Briggs, director of Konza Prairie Biological Station; Douglas Goodin, professor of geography; Adam Skibbe, information manager in biology; and Gene Towne, research associate in biology, $750,000 to study how and why grazing animals choose certain feeding locations, and the impact of the grazing on the tallgrass prairie ecology.
"Grazing animals are a major driving force for grasslands all over the world, but how they actually use space is poorly understood," Joern said. "Understanding how bison and cattle actually select areas to graze on native grasslands will provide new management opportunities for grassland conservation efforts, as well develop alternate grazing options for grassland managers."
The group will use comparative studies by Towne on the effects of bison and cattle as background for the current study, Joern said. Towne's studies have shown that cattle and bison do not feed uniformly, so the goal is to get a better idea of the decisions the animals are making to determine where they forage. Joern said there may be several factors that influence feeding choices, such as forage nutritional quality, height of vegetation, landscape position, weather conditions and the area's level of fire frequency.
"There are a lot of data out there that suggest herbivores prefer to graze on burned areas, but within those areas how do they finally decide which clump of grass to chomp on?" Briggs said.
American bison will be used as the model species for the experiment, and they will be given access to various areas on Konza with differing forage quality, burn frequency and landscape positions, thus allowing the animals the opportunity to choose which area they prefer to feed.
"Konza Prairie is the ideal site for this type of research because it is set up in a huge watershed level experiment, where we already manipulate grazing and fire frequency," Joern said. "When you burn the prairie at different intervals you get different kinds of grassland with different forage qualities. We are layering this new grazing experiment on top of all that."
To evaluate the nutritional quality of the prairie, the group will deploy a hyper-spectral remote imaging aircraft four times a year. This methodology, under the direction of Goodin, will measure the spatial distribution of the protein content of the grassland at a two-meter scale. Spatial distributions of nutritional quality of vegetation will be compared to data on bison movement, gathered using global positioning system collars that track the animals' movement as they feed. Geographic information system modeling, done under the direction of Skibbe, will correlate these two data sets. In addition to tracking bison movement, the group will also record vegetation responses to bison grazing activity.
A special component of the project is the involvement of Drew Ising, a high school biology teacher with the Geary County School District. Ising is interested in including ecology research in his classroom, and will be using real data from the grazing study to develop lesson plans in a multitude of subjects for use by other teachers.
"Having enthusiastic teachers like Drew participate in the project to make our results available to students is really exciting, and we plan to do some pretty exciting things with this opportunity," Joern said.
PETERSON AND GLASSCOCK SELECTED TO WORK ON BROWNBACK'S TRANSITION TEAM
The newly formed transition team announced by Governor-elect Sam Brownback includes two K-Staters.
Kent Glasscock, president of the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization, and Susan Peterson, director of governmental relations, will work on the governor's transition team. Both will retain their positions at K-State and return when the transition team responsibilities end this year.
K-State President Kirk Schulz said, "I am very proud that two key K-State staff members have been named by Governor-elect Brownback to shape his administration and plans for the future of Kansas."
"Creating broad prosperity from the midst of today's frustrating economic uncertainty is the first order of business for the new administration," Glasscock said. "I look forward to assisting the governor-elect in every possible way to initially advance his critically important 'grow Kansas' agenda."
"This is the second governor's transition team I have served on, and I am honored that Governor-elect Brownback has asked me to serve in this capacity as he plans for his administration," Peterson said.
A veteran of private business, Glasscock serves as chairman and CEO of the family retail lumber and construction businesses operating in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. Prior to joining K-State, Glasscock served for 16 years in local and state public service, as majority leader and then speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives before retiring in 2003 to become president of the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization, NISTAC. In that role he is focused on making the organization a national leader in knowledge-based economic development. NISTAC holds the world's largest portfolio of donated corporate patents. Nearly one-half of this portfolio is licensed into the private sector and now produces annual global sales surpassing $50 million.
Peterson serves as assistant to the president and director of governmental relations, a post she has held since August 1989. She holds a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, and a master's degree from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the Association of Public Universities Council on Government Relations and the Big 12 Council of University Governmental Relations Officers. At K-State she chairs the University Committee on Governmental Issues; and she is a member of the board of directors of NISTAC, Women of K-State Steering Committee and the Leadership Advancement Council.
She is a Leadership Kansas alumna and has been selected for the 2010-2011 Dwight D. Eisenhower Excellence in Public Service Series.
PIANIST JON NAKAMATSU AND CLARINETIST JON MANASSE TO PRESENT CONCERT
Making a return to K-State, award-winning pianist Jon Nakamatsu will present a concert with world-renowned clarinetist Jon Manasse as part of the 2010-2011 McCain Performance Series.
The Manasse-Nakamatsu duo will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, in K-State's All Faiths Chapel.
The concert will feature chamber music selections from the artists' extensive repertoires and discographies.
Compositions will include Brahms' Sonata in F Minor for clarinet and piano, Mendelssohn's "Rondo Capriccioso" in E Major and D'Rivera's "Lecuonerias" from "The Cape Cod Files."
Both highly successful artists, Nakamatsu is the gold medalist of the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and Manasse served as principal clarinetist for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Their hundreds of performances include concerto engagements, solo recitals and chamber music collaborations with orchestras, universities and music festivals. Performing these recitals with solo pieces and chamber music written for clarinet and piano, they have entertained audiences around the world.
Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting at $13.50 for students and $27 for the general public. Discounts for faculty and staff, military, and children are also available. Tickets can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or by calling 785-532-6428. More information is available online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.
A McCain Conversation will precede the evening's performance at 6:30 p.m. in Danforth Chapel. The discussion is free and open to all ticket holders. McCain Conversations are informal, pre-performance discussions designed to inform, educate and engage audience members before some McCain Performance Series events. Discussions sometimes feature a guest appearance by one of the evening's performers.
This event's conversation will feature host lecturer Tod Kerstetter, associate professor of clarinet. He will discuss the roles of composers Weber and Brahms in the development of the clarinet's repertoire, and how their landmark works were typically written with a specific performer in mind. Kerstetter will focus on how this performer-composer interaction resulted in some of the finest music ever written for clarinet and piano.
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS MAKE APPEARANCE IN 'LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS' AND AT CAMPUS HERBARIUM
When the production of "Little Shop of Horrors" hits McCain Auditorium Nov. 11-14, the show will feature the character Audrey II, a carnivorous plant with an insatiable appetite for people.
But Audrey II isn't the only carnivorous plant on campus, and McCain Auditorium isn't the only place to find such hungry vegetation.
The K-State Herbarium, on the third floor of Bushnell Hall, has several specimens of different species of carnivorous and insectivorous plants. From pitcher plants to the more familiar Venus flytraps, the herbarium has specimens dating as far back as the 1800s.
Carnivorous plants are interesting because they have evolved several times, according to Carolyn Ferguson, K-State associate professor of biology and curator of the herbarium.
"These plants usually grow in nutrient-poor areas, like acidic bogs," said Ferguson. "They trap insects to draw nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous from them."
The largest pitcher plants can grow to nearly a foot in diameter and can trap small rodents. There are no carnivorous plants nearly that large in Kansas; however, the herbarium does have a specimen of an insectivorous, aquatic plant that was collected from Crawford County.
"The type of plant that was found in Kansas has a bladder trap," said Ferguson. "It forms a small, bulbous bladder with a flap-like door, and then it creates a vacuum that it uses to trap aquatic insects or crustaceans inside."
The carnivorous plant specimens make up just a small part of the herbarium's nearly 200,000 specimens.
The herbarium is open to the public. Appointments, which are encouraged, can be scheduled by contacting herbarium@k-state.edu. The herbarium also has digitized its entire collection of North American plants, a process that took nearly five years. The collection can be found online at http://biodis.k-state.edu/.
More information on K-State's production of "Little Shop of Horrors" is available at http://cstd.k-state.edu/Theatre/.
'I CAN SEE ME' WEBCAM RESEARCH HELPS KIDS IMPROVE READING FLUENCY
An interest in technology and a desire to help elementary school students prompted a K-State professor and two graduate students to turn to webcams to improve students' reading fluency.
Timothy Frey, assistant professor of special education, counseling and student affairs, wanted to help elementary-age students reduce the number of errors they make when reading out loud. He worked with two K-State master's graduates.
The project aimed to improve reading fluency, which involves processing words in a meaningful way. When fluency improves, usually comprehension also improves.
"With testing and assessments, we know that generally the earlier you can catch things and find potential problems, the better off a student will be," Frey said. "This really can help students pick up on error patterns and help prevent them from having further reading problems."
The researchers turned to webcams, instead of audio recorders, to help students improve reading fluency. With webcams the students could both see and hear themselves read, which the researchers called the "I can see me" procedure.
During a 16-week period the researchers worked with teachers at Brookridge Elementary School to observe 27 second-, third-, and fourth-graders who tested on-grade level. The research actively involved the students. During designated reading time in class, the students went to the computers and read a selected reading sample in front of the webcams. Afterward, they could watch the video and pick out any mistakes.
"The video really seemed to change how students were engaged," Frey said. "They didn't just hear themselves read anymore, but they could see themselves reading, which they really liked."
All three student groups improved reading fluency in impressive ways. After only three to five weeks of using the webcams, the second-graders improved from averaging seven errors per minute to four errors per minute. Third-graders went from averaging six errors to four errors per minute. The group of fourth-graders improved from an average of four errors to two and a half errors per minute.
"We were really interested in interventions that students can do themselves or that build metacognitive skills," Frey said. "Having the students build skills and learn to detect their own errors rather than teachers trying to fix them over and over again is really important for students."
When one student excitedly said, "I can see me!" the researchers adopted the name for the principle of improvement using the webcams. Researchers said the students seemed to enjoy reading in front of cameras, and even students who disliked reading would read with the cameras.
The researchers plan to use the webcams with other groups of students, such as students who are learning the English language, students with cognitive disabilities or students reading at a lower reading level. They are preparing their research for publication and recently presented their project at the conference for the International Society for Technology in Education. Their research will also be published in the society's November magazine, Learning & Leading with Technology.
YOUNG TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT OF MID-AMERICA UNIVERSITIES INTERNATIONAL
Kristine Young, assistant provost with the office of international programs, has been elected president of Mid-America Universities International.
Young will serve a two-year term starting in January 2011. She was elected to the post at the organization's recent fall conference at K-State.
"Mid-America Universities International is a consortium of 15 universities in the Midwest that work together to actively promote overseas educational opportunities for students and international teaching, consultation and research opportunities for faculty," Young said.
Participating consortium institutions include K-State, Baylor, University of Kansas, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Nebraska-Kearney, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska-Omaha, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Texas Tech University and Texas State University-San Marcos.
The consortium partners with the Utrecht Network Exchange Program, a network of 31 European universities in 29 countries that promotes scholarly exchange of students and faculty between the U.S. and Europe.
K-State was instrumental in getting the consortium established in 1975, which has existed under various names until becoming Mid-America University International in 1995. The consortium was created under a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education grant, most notably resulting in the Maui-Utrecht network, Young said.
As president Young will provide leadership in developing new relationships; facilitate effective institutional dialogue about issues related to the internationalization of higher education of member institutions; call and lead the biannual meeting of the consortium members to share information; facilitate collaboration on external joint grant opportunities with member institutions; and establish formal site visits with international partners to promote study abroad.
Young has been with the office of international programs since 2007, although she has served in multiple roles with the university on and off since 1978. She has a bachelor's in history from K-State, a master's in human resources from Ottawa University in Kansas, and a doctor of education from Spalding University, Louisville, Ky.
RESEARCH TEAM RECEIVES PATENT FOR METHOD OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERING SOYBEAN PLANTS TO CONTROL DESTRUCTIVE PARASITE
A recently patented invention from a K-State research team aims to control a devastating parasite that causes millions of dollars in crop damage each year.
The invention, "Compositions and Methods for Controlling Plant Parasitic Nematodes," was developed by four researchers: Harold Trick, professor of plant pathology; Timothy Todd, an instructor of plant pathology; Michael Herman, associate professor of biology; and Judith Roe, former assistant professor of biology.
The researchers focused their work on the soybean cyst nematode, a destructive parasite that attacks the roots of soybean plants. Farmers across the country lose nearly $860 million every year because of the nematode. Kansas isn't exempt from the parasite: Todd said that every eastern and south central Kansas county that produces soybeans has soybean cyst nematodes.
"Trying to solve the problems with soybean cyst nematodes would be huge and very beneficial to U.S. farmers," Trick said. "Getting a handle on it is important."
Through genetic engineering, the team engineered soybean plants with specific traits, so that when nematodes feed on the roots they ingest these traits that turn off specific nematode genes.
"What we did was target genes that we thought would be vital for the nematode to survive," Trick said. "If we could turn these nematode genes off, we essentially can kill the nematode and provide the plant with protection."
For the patent, the research targeted three genes: MSP, or Major Sperm Protein, which causes nematode sperm to move; Chitin synthase, the gene that helps form the eggshell on nematode offspring; and RNA Polymerase II, which is vital for RNA production.
By controlling these three genes, researchers were able to halt the reproduction of the nematodes and saw a 68 to 70 percent reduction in the presence of soybean cyst nematode. The team was also careful to prevent any negative off-target effects, or ways that the altered genes could negatively affect the soybeans or animals and humans who ingest the soybeans.
While the patent is very valuable for soybean production, it has also opened the way for further beneficial research. Since the work on the patent, Trick and Todd have continued similar research on 20 different kinds of gene sequences in other plant and nematode species. They are taking the same method of destroying the soybean cyst nematode and applying it to nematodes that affect plants such as wheat, tomatoes and pineapples.
Trick and Todd have been supported in their research by funding from the Kansas Soybean Commission and the United Soybean Board. They are in the process of filing for additional patents for some of their inventions.
"With this technology -- it may not be the genes under the patent, and it may be other genes that we find or someone else finds -- we're hoping to produce plants with durable resistance to parasitic nematodes," Trick said.
The patent is the eighth patent that K-State has received this year. It was issued earlier this year to the Kansas State University Research Foundation, or KSURF. The foundation is a nonprofit corporation responsible for managing the technology transfer activities of the university.
The research foundation is working with the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization, known as NISTAC, to license the patent, said Marcia Molina, foundation vice president. NISTAC is involved with the expansion of technology-based, high growth enterprises and helps with the commercialization of intellectual property from K-State researchers.
MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT COMING TO CAMPUS
Monty Python's Spamalot is visiting the fair city of Manhattan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18. McCain Auditorium is offering ticket discounts for all faculty and staff.
Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and one legless knight. Monty Python's Spamalot is the winner of three 2005 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
To order tickets, visit or call the McCain box office at 785-532-6428. The McCain box office is open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
FETE HOLDS SECOND SWAP SESSION ON WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17
The Faculty Exchange for Teaching Excellence, or FETE, announces the second swap session of the 2010-2011 series, Teaching Unconventional Cartography: Using GIS to Map the Seven Deadly Sins. The swap session will be in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union from 1:30-3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17. Refreshments will be served. Come join the discussion.
Please RSVP to catl@k-state.edu or 785-532-7828 if you plan to attend.
The swap session format encourages active participation in a dynamic exchange of ideas. Faculty members learn about a variety of pedagogical approaches, share their own ideas on effective teaching and learning, and establish informal networks of support with other faculty across campus.
Tom Vought, Ryan Bergstrom and Mitch Stimers, doctoral candidates in the department of geography, will facilitate the second FETE swap session, which aims to provide insight into the trials, tribulations and rewards of the use of GIS (geographic information sciences) in the classroom and beyond.
As the focus of both praise and condemnation for their somewhat tongue-and-cheek mapping of the seven deadly sins, this dynamic trio will recount a two-year journey that has seen their work spotlighted in such prestigious venues as Wired magazine and National Public Radio, in addition to countless websites and blogs across the globe. They will share lessons they learned on how to better incorporate GIS, and spatial sciences in general, into academic investigations at all levels and throughout a broad range of disciplines.
Vought holds a bachelor's degree in geographic sciences from James Madison University and a master's degree from the K-State department of geography. His dissertation assesses the U.S. Army's current environmental sustainability policy. He has been commissioned by K-State faculty members from diverse disciplines to author GIS and digitally generated maps for publication in a variety of journals, books and websites.
Bergstrom holds bachelor's and master's degrees in earth sciences from Montana State University. His doctoral work focuses on the human-environment interactions of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The author of numerous articles and papers, Bergstrom consistently incorporates the spatial sciences into his teaching in order to impart and to model lessons on the importance of lifelong learning.
Stimers holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and K-State respectively. His dissertation topic is focused on constructing an index and category system to evaluate the impact of tornadoes on communities. Stimers has authored or co-authored five published articles and one book chapter. He is currently teaching a world geography course at Cloud County Community College.
You can also join the discussion afterward at: http://www.facebook.com/faculty.exchange.teaching.excellence