Lori Quigley, associate dean, School of Education, received the Community Leader Education Award from the National Federation for Just Communities (NFJC) of Western New York on January 17. The NFJC is a human relations organization dedicated to overcoming racism, bias, and discrimination by building understanding, respect, and trust through education, advocacy, and community involvement. Quigley was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the community.

Stephen Phelps, professor, Elementary Education and Reading, chaired the session “Examining Culturally Responsive Teaching Possibilities Using International, Global, and/or Multicultural Children’s and Young Adult Literature” at the National Reading Conference held in Austin, Texas, November 27–December 1. As part of this session, he presented his own research paper on “Resources for Teaching about Islam in Middle and High School.”

Pixita del Prado Hill, assistant professor; Stephen Phelps, professor; and Ellen Friedland, associate professor, Elementary Education and Reading, published a research article titled “Pre-Service Educators’ Perceptions of Teaching in an Urban Middle School Setting: A Lesson from the Amistad” in the Fall 2007 edition of Multicultural Education 15 (1): 33–37.

A contributed paper by Jane Cushman, assistant professor, Mathematics, was discussed during the Assessment of Student Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics session at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, California, January 6–9. The title of her talk was “Developing a Survey to Assess Pre-Service Teachers’ Views and Uses of Problem-Solving in Mathematics.” Cushman was also invited to take part in the panel discussion “Vibrant Math Clubs.”

Susan Baldwin, assistant professor, Health and Wellness, was one of 11 health educators selected from across the country to be a trainer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). In October, Baldwin received extensive training over two days to train others in conducting needs assessments that involve schools and their surrounding communities. The needs assessment tool is called the School Health Index (SHI) and is used across the country as well as internationally. Baldwin has used this tool in local schools and community agencies such as Gateway Longview Inc., the Holland Central Schools, and the Buffalo Public Schools. She was invited by the Hawaii Department of Health and Department of Education to conduct an extensive eight-hour training on the SHI tool.

Susan McMillen, associate professor, Mathematics, is a contributing editor for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) new book, “Cartoon Corner: Humor-Based Mathematics Activities.” McMillen authored more than 20 percent of the activities in the book and involved four local teachers in field-testing the activities.

Dan MacIsaac, associate professor, Physics, andKathleen Falconer, lecturer, Elementary Education and Reading, presented a two-day workshop on classroom evaluation using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, on December 14 and 15. MacIsaac and Falconer are consultants to and members of the advisory board for the NSF 06-537 REESE project, “The Role of Graduate Student Teaching Experiences in the Development of Scientific Research Skills,” whose principal investigator is David Feldon, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Studies at USC.

Amitra Hodge, associate professor, Sociology, has been elected 2008 board chair of Erie County’s Commission on the Status of Women. Hodge was initially appointed to the board by Joel Giambra in June 2006. Over the past year, she served as chair of the Research Committee. Established by a unanimous vote of the Erie County Legislature in 1987, the commission works to remove gender-based inequities for women and to ensure that the women of Erie County have full participation in the issues that have an impact on their lives. In 1988, the commission became a department of Erie County government. The commission conducts policy studies; analyzes current legislation, programs, and trends affecting women; develops collaborative programs with local and regional organizations and public officials; provides educational awareness; and recommends measures to coordinate, consolidate, or expand the resources and services available to women in Erie County. The commission also works to ensure that (1) a proportionate number of women, including women of color, are appointed to public, private, and not-for-profit boards; (2) there is public awareness and an effective system of response for victims of domestic violence; (3) the economic self-sufficiency of women is no less than that of men; (4) women have access to pertinent health information; and (5) community leaders are educated on issues affecting women.

Saziye Bayram, assistant professor, Mathematics, supervised the independent study of two undergraduate students, Christopher J. Milazzo and Lee A. Canning, throughout the fall 2007 semester on “A Mathematical Model on a Colony Collapse Disorder of the Honeybee.” The students presented their research at the annual Joint Mathematics Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America in San Diego, California, January 6–9. At the conference, Bayram also presented a preliminary report from her current research on kidney, cholesterol, and hypertension at a special session on mathematical biology.

Dermot Coffey, associate professor, Physics, published a paper titled “Calculations of Optical Conductivity in a Two-Band Superconductor: Pb” in the November 15, 2007, issue of Physical Review B, with Nicholas Bock, staff member in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. The paper was also selected to appear in the Virtual Journal of Superconductivity, which is “an edited compilation of links to articles covering a focused area of frontier research.”