Sue Baldwin, assistant professor of health and wellness, published her third article this year, "Professional Development Through Planning for and/or Participating in an Accreditation/Approval Review." This article featured Baldwin and five other key leaders in the health education/promotion field and was published in the field's top-rated journal: Health Promotion Practice 13 (5): 591–598.
Maria Ceprano, professor of literacy and research methods in the Elementary Education and Reading Department, has been appointed as the new executive editor of the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education (JIAE). Ceprano’s line of inquiry and action over the past several years has centered on children’s literacy development and teacher preparation. JIAE is a peer-reviewed online journal that provides a forum for collaborative research undertaken by college faculty, students, and partner school teachers of Buffalo State as well as other colleges and universities around the country.
Continuing in her role as managing editor, Tamara Horstman-Riphahn, executive assistant to the dean of the School of Education, recently designed an attractive new look for JIAE, developing the new website on which all six previous volumes have been transferred.
In collaboration with Buffalo State psychology professor Howard Reid, Karen O'Quin, associate dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences, presented "Measurement of Attitudes Toward the Liberal Arts: Major Choice and Degree Completion" at the Association for General and Liberal Studies annual conference in Portland, Oregon, September 20–22. The session focused on the development of the Appreciation of Liberal Arts Scale (ALAS-R) and its possible applications in higher education.
Working with grant support from the Center for Development of Human Resources (CDHS), Maria Ceprano, professor of elementary education and reading, and Kaylene Waite, computer graphics specialist in Instructional Resources, joined efforts in developing a new website called Foster Parent Forum.
The purpose of the website is to support foster and adoptive parents by providing them with an array of resources that can benefit children developmentally. Links to ideas for enhancing language and social development, children’s literature with foster and adoptive main characters, and educational books and games, as well as summaries of professional materials specific to foster and adoptive children’s needs, are some of the areas highlighted on the website.
Jill Gradwell, associate professor and coordinator of the social studies education program, and Lorrei DiCamillo, assistant professor of teacher education at Canisius College, recently published "Using Simulations to Teach Middle School U.S. History in an Age of Accountability" in Research in Middle Level Education Online 35 (7), 1–16.
Carol Townsend, associate professor of design and coordinator of design foundations, has been elected to the board of directors of the Chautauqua Literary Arts Friends. The CLAF supports the Chautauqua Institution's Writers' Center prose and poetry workshops, the Writer's Festival, the Chautauqua literary journal, the Sunday readings, and weekly lectures by visiting poets and prose writers. One of her first missions as board member was to help host Ted Kooser, former poet laureate of the United States.
Awilda Ramos Zagarrigo, assistant professor of exceptional education, was officially sworn in as president of the New York State Association for Bilingual Education (NYSABE) on September 22. NYSABE is a multilingual and multicultural association fostering the awareness and appreciation of bilingualism and biculturalism as an integral part of cultural pluralism in our society. As co-director of the bilingual special education program within the Exceptional Education Department at Buffalo State, she is extremely proud to intertwine both roles and collaborate with faculty of higher education and public education in grades pre-K through 12 to ensure that English language learners are afforded the opportunity to the best education possible.
Sue McMillen, director of faculty development and professor of mathematics, presented "Engaging Students in General Education through Active Learning" at the Association for General and Liberal Studies annual conference in Portland, Oregon, September 20–22. The participants experienced a number of active learning strategies while examining the research on effective implementation of active learning strategies.
Lisa Hunter, assistant dean of intellectual foundations and first-year programs and associate professor of music, and Sue McMillen, director of faculty development and professor of mathematics, presented "Collaboration to Strengthen General Education" at the Association for General and Liberal Studies annual conference in Portland, Oregon, September 20–22. The session focused on the collaboration of the offices of Professional Development, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and Intellectual Foundations and the impact on teaching and learning in general education.
Kimberly Kline, associate professor of the higher education administration, has been named a Fulbright scholar for spring 2013. She will be hosted by the School of Journalism and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Social Technologies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her project is titled "Student Learning and Developmental Outcomes Assessment in Ukraine: Exploring Grass Roots Efforts and Collaborative Dialogue."