Five professors tapped for top College of Human Ecology awards
Monday, March 9, 2015
MANHATTAN — Dean John Buckwalter has announced the recipients of the four top faculty awards in Kansas State University's College of Human Ecology.
The awardees:
• Amber Vennum, Dawley-Scholer Award for Faculty Excellence in Student Development.
• Gayle Doll, Myers-Alford Teaching Award.
• Elizabeth Kiss, Faculty Extension Excellence Award.
• Kevin Roberts, Faculty Research Excellence Award.
• Migette Kaup, Faculty Research Excellence Award.
"The College of Human Ecology's entire faculty is dedicated to producing quality research and providing an excellent education to our undergraduate and graduate students. I am especially proud of the accomplishments of these five family members who have excelled in giving students transformational educational experiences, supporting the university's research goals and disseminating research-based knowledge at the local, national and international levels," Buckwalter said.
Vennum is an assistant professor in the School of Family Studies and Human Services and a licensed marriage and family therapist. The Dawley-Scholer award recognizes her outstanding achievements for the personal/professional/educational growth of students.
As a mentor and a teacher, Vennum said her goal is to help students find their sense of worth, hope, acceptance of self, empowerment and the ability to be responsible and make choices. Working to be collaborative and transparent with students, she tries to give them the tools that enable them to reaching their potential.
Working with students is an incredibly rewarding journey, Vennum said.
She earned a doctorate from Florida State University, a master's degree in marriage and family therapy from the University of Houston, Clear Lake and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Rice University, Houston.
The Myers-Alford Teaching Award was established to honor a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding ability not only in teaching undergraduate and graduate students, but also in providing valuable information to colleagues, peers and other practitioners in the field.
Doll, associate professor and director of the Center on Aging, teaches gerontology course at the graduate and undergraduate levels both on campus and online. One aspect of her undergraduate teaching is experiential learning through direct contact with older mentors assigned for the semester to each student. They attend class and do assignments together.
She says her teaching philosophy focuses on providing programs relevant to students and community, giving students and her faculty tools to excel, and respecting each student.
Doll received a doctorate in life span human development and a master's degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University, and a bachelor's degree in art education from McPherson College. Her research interests are culture change in nursing homes, physical functioning in older adults and end-of-life issues.
Kiss, assistant professor in the School of Family Studies and Human Services, was selected for the Extension excellence award for her work in Prepare Kansas, an online challenge designed to help individuals and families be better prepared for disasters.
"If families are prepared — by creating a financial grab-and-go kit, developing emergency communications plans and more — they will recover faster from disasters such as tornadoes and floods," she said.
Kiss received a doctorate and a master's degree in human resources and family studies and a bachelor's degree in foods in business, all from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also has a bachelor's degree in history from Iowa State University.
Her areas of specialization are family resource management, family and consumer economics and personal financial planning. In her Extension work, Kiss applies research-based knowledge to practical situations that will improve the lives of Kansans.
Kaup, associate professor of interior design, and Roberts, associate professor of hospitality management, received Faculty Research Excellence Awards for superior accomplishment in scholarship, including research and creative activities.
Roberts is recognized for his work in food safety research in food service operations that includes commercial food service, long-term care and child nutrition programs.
His research and resulting service and leadership roles have allowed him to play an essential role in addressing critical food safety issues across the United States, he said.
He earned a doctorate in food service and hospitality management from Kansas State University and master's and bachelor's degrees from Iowa State University. He is director of the undergraduate hospitality management program and director of the Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs.
Kaup is honored for her work in environmental and organizational design strategies to support person-centered practices in long-term care.
"Long-term care services in America are undergoing extreme pressures to reconceptualize institutional settings for frail senior citizens," she said.
Her work and collaborative partnerships focused on achieving significant and positive impact for people who live and work in long-term care setting. Kaup has reported on the work to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Gerontological Society of America, the World Congress on Gerontology & Health Issues and others.
Kaup received a doctorate in architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where she also earned a certificate in applied gerontology. She has a Master of Architecture and a bachelor's degree in interior design degrees from Kansas State University.
The College of Human Ecology mission is to discover, disseminate and apply knowledge to meet basic human needs and improve the human condition through a wide variety of programs that also includes dietetics, human nutrition, kinesiology, textiles and apparel, personal financial planning, early childhood education, communication sciences and disorders and consumer behavior.
