Impact Journal 2017

I M PAC T excellence in faculty scholarship VOLUME 2, 2017

soccer under the swastika dr. kevin simpson explores the surprisingly powerful role of soccer during the holocaust

A PA S S I O N F O R P L AY

I N WA R D FA I T H , O U T WA R D FA I T H

New area of research, play therapy, offered as part of JBU’s Graduate Counseling Program

Dr. Aminta Arrington travels, discusses the faith of the Lisu people

SCIENCE & SPIRIT Dr. Frank Blume’s new book explores the integration of Western science and philosophy john brown university | 1

2 | impact

a pa s s io n f o r p l ay New area of research, play therapy, offered as part of JBU’s graduate counseling program.

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t h e s e a r c h f o r inf l u enc e Dr. Jessica Wilson publishes two books: “The Search for Influence” & “Giving the Devil His Due”

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s c ie nc e & s p ir it Dr. Frank Blume’s new book explores the integration of Western science and philosophy

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s o c c e r u nde r t h e s wastik a Dr. Kevin Simpson explores the surprisingly powerful role of soccer during the Holocaust

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g iv e & ta k e Dr. Paul Whitley collaborates and performs with Bulgarian violinist Bojidara Kouzmanova

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t h e c o lo r o f h o m e Charles Peer explores the interaction of light and color across Northwest Arkansas

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RESEARCH & TEACHNG IMPACT

t h e pa s t & t h e p r e s e n t Dr. Trisha Posey explores the responsibility in shaping a narrative

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RESEARCH & STUDENT IMPACT

s e e ing ne e d JBU faculty and students develop biogas food digester in both Ethiopia and Guatemala

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RESEARCH & COMMUNITY IMPACT

g lo b a l g r o u ndwo r k Jim Caldwell delivers construction and civil engineering to the Horn of Africa

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RESEARCH & FAITH IMPACT

inwa r d fa it h, o u t wa r d faith Dr. Aminta Arrington travels and discusses the faith of the Lisu people

28 “esther’s field” charles peer, Professor of Visual Arts

im itat io n, inc a r nat io n , & c hr is t ia n l it e r at u re Q & A with Dr. Jessica Wilson about her work on literature and Christianity

CONTENTS

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john brown university | 3

Your stories can inspire their stories...

Share yours and refer a student (or two) to JBU!

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4 | impact

COME VISIT: we’ll reimburse the gas for vehicles of 4+ prospective students!

I M PAC T A Publication Highlighting Excellence in John Brown University Faculty Scholarship

administration Dr. Charles Pollard President Dr. Ed Ericson Vice President for Academic Affairs lucas roebuck ’97 Chief Communications Officer publisher Dr. Carla Swearingen Dean of Faculty Development editor Dr. jacob stratman Chair of Humanities creative director andrew brott ’18 Editorial Support

Julie Gumm ’95 Tarah Thomas ’16 Contributors

Jamie Walt, Matt Snyder, Jessica Mains, Nichole Genheimer, Anthony Reiners, Samuel Cross-Meredith, Charles Peer, Trisha Posey, Valerie McArthur, Joe Walenciak, Jim Caldwell, Aminta Arrington Impact, a publication highlighting excellence in JBU faculty scholarship, is published once a year by John Brown University jointly by University Communications and the Office of Faculty Development. Correspondence and feedback can be mailed to Dr. Jacob Stratman, John Brown University, 2000 W. University, Siloam Springs, AR 72761. This publication can be found online at jbu.edu/impact-magazine.

www.jbu.edu

celebrating faculty scholarship

O

n behalf of the Office for Advancement of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (ATLAS), it is my pleasure to introduce the second issue of Impact, a publication that highlights excellent faculty scholarship at John Brown

University. We are truly blessed with individuals who are passionate about their disciplines, as evidenced by the work you will find in these pages.

As I write this, students and most faculty are gone for the summer.

Though part of me misses the meetings with students, committee work, and impromptu hallway conversations, I do relish the quiet, for the quiet means one thing: more time to read. First on my summer list was a re-read of Andy Crouch’s “Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling,” which I have realized serves as the perfect backdrop for Impact.

Crouch says, “[Culture] is what human beings make of the world. It always bears the stamp of our creativity, our God-given desire to make something more than we were given.” From writing about the influence of soccer on concentration camp prisoners in WWII to collaborating on a violin and piano performance, JBU faculty are creating culture that

“ w e ar e t r u ly b l es s ed wit h individual s wh o ar e pa ssi o n at e a b o u t t h ei r di sci p l i n es, as evidenc ed by t h e wor k you w il l f ind in t h es e pages .”

honors God and showing by example how our students can do the same.

We live in a time when criticism of culture is the norm, and religion and education are prime targets. However, as Crouch points out, “the only way to change culture is to create more of it.” I am proud of and inspired by the achievements of our very own culture makers here at JBU, and I hope that you enjoy reading their stories.

Blessings, Dr. Carla Swearingen Dean of Faculty Development Director of ATLAS Professor of Chemistry john brown university | 5

play a passion for

new area of research, Play therapy, offered as part of JBU’s graduate counseling program by

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Jamie Walt ’13

Play therapy is both a relatively new area of research and a relatively new area of study offered in John Brown University’s graduate counseling program.

Dr. Nick Cornett, assistant professor of counseling at JBU, offers a definition of play therapy from Virginia Axline, a pioneer in the field: “Play therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child’s natural medium of self-expression. It is an opportunity which is given to the child to ‘play out’ his feelings and problems just as, in certain types of adult therapy, an individual ‘talks out’ his difficulties.” Cornett adds that in counseling with adults, essentially all you are doing is talking through

Nick Cornett is an Assistant Professor of Counseling, a registered play therapist with the Association for Play Therapy and a certified facilitator of the premarital and marriage enrichment program, PREPARE/ ENRICH. He aspires to engage others through teaching that is practical and meaningful, incorporating real-life stories, illustrations, exercises, and the latest research in order to inform and to inspire.

their problems. Kids, though, lack those linguistic skills.

In Play therapy, rather than talk, you play through kids’ problems.

Chuck Romig is a professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Arkansas, a Registered Play Therapist, and a clinical member and Approved Supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Play is a way to add to the communication between the counselor and the client. They may not have the words to share what they are experiencing, but they will act out, through their behavior, things that they are experiencing.

Play therapy provides a modality that has heretofore not been widely available to mental health professionals, even though people in the field have long recognized that children experience the same kinds of problems and life stressors that lead adults to seek counseling.

Until this point, the primary counseling approach has been built toward adults because counseling relies so heavily on talk. Cornett says, “We carry this assumption that until you are able to talk about it, we can’t address it. By relying so heavily on talk in therapy, we, in effect, create a prerequisite that children must meet before we can help them. We require that they have a certain developmental ability to be able to think abstractly and talk easily about their problems, as an adult might, in order to receive therapy. Because children are not readily able to achieve this standard, our choices are either to provide therapy that is not developmentally appropriate or wait until they are older to address the problems, which means that we are being reactive rather than john brown university | 7

proactive.” Play therapy attempts to address developing

their inner world with their counselors and families,

issues as they occur and help shape the way children

and, hopefully, those confidants are able to listen to

grow in order to prevent problems from getting worse

them, really hear what they are saying, and help them

while there is still the window of opportunity to do so.

walk away feeling understood, accepted, and loved.

When asked for an example of what play therapy

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The key, Cornett believes, is learning how to give

looks like in practice, Cornett spoke about a professor

a child the experience of being heard and cared for.

in graduate school at the University of North Texas

Hearing the words “I care about you” is not enough. The

who traveled to New York City after the 9/11 attacks

child needs to experience this care through everyday

to begin crisis counseling with children. He reflected

interactions and relationships in order for them to

on her explanation of how often kids would come in,

flourish. Cornett shares that students in the play therapy

build towers with blocks, and destroy them, over and

program are taught how to effectively convey acceptance

over again, with toy airplanes. Other kids would draw

and care for children through their attitudes, which

buildings in flames. These kids, explained Cornett, were

are manifested in their responses. Conveying a caring

doing the very same thing adults who experienced the

attitude begins at the very beginning of a session. “When

same event were doing. “They [the children] were just

I walk a child back to the play therapy room, and kids

doing their best to wrap their minds and hearts around

see that they have a whole playroom full of things they

what just happened, doing their best to share with other

like and things that were designed for them, that says

people what they were thinking and feeling about.” The

something. It communicates to them in a concrete way

crux of play therapy is sharing. Cornett continued, “Part

that they were thought of, that they matter,” reflects

of how you heal from the pain you’ve experienced in

Cornett. He tells children at the beginning of the first

your life is giving part of that pain to someone else—

session that everything there is meant for them to play

sharing your story.” Cornett confirms that kids share

with however they like. He allows the children complete

freedom to be themselves and lets them have ownership

to play therapy known as filial therapy or Child-Parent

over what takes place in a counseling session just as

Relationship Therapy (CPRT). In these filial therapy

adults in counseling would. Play therapy students are

sessions, playtime is supervised by a counselor who gives

taught to allow the children to guide the process of

feedback and helps parents learn the attitudes and skills

therapy and to work on nurturing a strong relationship

they need to learn how to offer their children reflective

with children.

“I’m hearing what you’re communicating” statements

Play Therapy at JBU does not just want to focus on the child alone, though, but the whole family. They want their play therapy program to reflect who the university is and who the counseling program is as a whole. JBU recognizes that individuals do not stand alone; they are all part of family networks. Cornett says, “We have a strong belief in the importance of family relationships with regards to an individual.” If you want to effectively work with a child, you need to nurture their relationships with others, particularly with their family, as they are critical to the ultimate wellbeing of the child. Strengthen the family relationships and you strengthen overall health.

One way the play therapy program at JBU focuses on strengthening family relationships is through training play therapy students in a particular approach

and give esteem-building statements, continuing to strengthen the connection between child and parent.

Play therapy counselors help teach parents that they are not meant to walk into those sessions ready to “teach” the child. Rather, you go in on an equal playing field. In order to best be supportive of a child, counselors and families must learn through relationships, getting to know one another over time. While research supports the effectiveness of play therapists who work with children individually, research has also supported that parents trained in an approach like CPRT tend to achieve even greater outcomes with children, likely due to the preexisting bond between the family member and the child. It is empowering because, rather than relying entirely on a play therapist to work with the child, family members themselves can be therapeutic agents in the lives of their own children.

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Dr. Cornett’s passion for play therapy is relatively

of a community with so much interest and willingness

new. After graduating with his master’s degree from the

to develop and put money behind the play therapy

JBU counseling program, Cornett began searching for

program and its connection to family therapy.

doctoral programs in counseling. He remarks, “it wasn’t even on my radar to get into play therapy, to be honest.”

Through providence, Cornett entered the doctoral program in counseling at the University of North Texas, an institution that specializes in play therapy. He says jokingly that they “sucked him in” through his natural inclination toward family health. After seeing how kids “really do open up if you can find the means to reach them,” he realized that play therapy was something he could devote his life to. It was through providence again that Cornett connected with Dr. Chuck Romig, professor of marriage and family therapy and director of the JBU Play Therapy Institute, who had also discovered play therapy later in his career. Cornett says, “It seemed like God’s sovereignty was really all over the development of play therapy at JBU.” Cornett and his family followed the call and moved back to Northwest Arkansas to help

He laughs when he remembers how he “found” Cornett. “I was at a wellness exam, and my nurse and I got to talking about the new faculty position and our interest in finding someone with a play therapy background.” His nurse was a friend of Cornett’s and was the one who dropped his name to Romig and encouraged Cornett to apply. Romig says that hiring Cornett has been one of the best decisions the program has made. Since bringing him to JBU, the Play Therapy program has blossomed, with 30% or more students wanting to take the play therapy courses.

Romig and Cornett have presented together at professional development workshops as well as professional conferences like the Association of Play Therapy. Both professors spoke at that conference, “which is a pretty big deal to get on that program. It’s

continue to develop the play therapy program at JBU. Romig finished his doctoral work in marriage and family therapy in 1982 from Purdue University, then worked for Catholic Social Services in Central Illinois before becoming a faculty member at Wichita State University. His introduction to play therapy came from a friend who taught courses on the topic as an adjunct professor in their counseling program and catalyzed development of the program at WSU after

God’s sovereignty was really all over the development of play therapy at JBU

the counseling requirements for school counselors in Kansas changed to include a requirement for being able

very competitive,” Romig remarks. Currently, Romig

to work with preschool-age children. Romig decided

is working on a paper about a particular model of

to attend one of these courses and got a small taste for

play therapy: schema-based play therapy. “Basically,”

play therapy. He began working two mornings a week in

he explains, “this approach is about the development

a local preschool with “a lot of aggressive and troubled

of a healthy self-concept and core beliefs, which has

kids.” He said, “It was just perfect and so hard to leave

long been an effective model of therapy for adults, but

behind.” After taking more courses in play therapy,

hasn’t yet been adapted for working with children.” He

he provided the leadership to develop a play therapy

co-authors this work with Tessa Hastings, a former JBU

specialization at Wichita State.

adjunct professor and current doctoral student at the

When asked why he would move to Arkansas if Kansas was so great, he said, “God said so.” At the

University of North Texas.

When asked about his own current ventures and

time he applied, he had no desire or intention to leave

research, Cornett excitedly spoke about two projects in

Wichita. “I literally saw an advertisement for a position

particular that have captured his heart and the spirit of

at JBU to teach marriage and family therapy, and they

the program. Spring 2016 marked the start of the Early

were interested in Play Therapy…I was bored that night

Connections program in the Bentonville public schools,

and didn’t have anything to do…filled out the online

where JBU play therapy interns are facilitating play

application thinking that they’d never even consider

therapy sessions with children who may be struggling

me,” Romig reflects. When he came for his interview,

emotionally, behaviorally, and socially. The best part,

it was the enthusiasm and kindness of his interviewers

Cornett says, is that the school district contacted JBU’s

and the potential for the fledgling play therapy program

program directly to request the partnership. “Other

that won him over. He has truly enjoyed getting back to

people are starting to recognize that there’s something to

his roots in marriage and family therapy and being part

this play therapy thing,” he says.

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In terms of personal research, Cornett is excited

ten years ago, the playroom was “a very large closet

about a project he will begin in the spring focused on

basically,” and, while it was wonderful they had anything

family play therapy. Typically, families who are seeking

at all, the construction of an entire wing of play therapy

play therapy for a child will attend an initial intake

suites in the clinic affiliated with the counseling

session so that the therapist can gather information

program, the CARE Clinic, allows so much more space

about the concerns they are experiencing with their

for research and therapy. “It’s a great training site and

child. Through his research, Cornett will ask families

service opportunity to reach out to the community

to spend time in a play therapy room with one another

and provide as many services as we can, especially for

after the standard intake while the therapist observes.

low-income families,” Romig says. Cornett attributes

The research will focus on the possible benefits of

the recent connections to organizations like Bentonville

including an observational assessment of the family as

Public Schools, to be, in large part, due to the facilities

part of the play therapy process. It allows the counselor

which have helped the program gain the reputation it

to observe what the family environment is actually like,

has in the area.

rather than hearing word-of-mouth from them about what they are observing in their child. And, since there has yet to be much research done in family play therapy, “it’ll be a little bit of a frontier,” says Cornett.

Both professors spoke enthusiastically about how

All in all, this burgeoning program is filled with energy and hope for children and families in ways that other areas of the counseling programs at JBU have not previously been able to provide. John Brown University is proud of this new extension and the ways that it

thankful they are to work for a university that really

is strengthening their call as a university to care and

“puts its money where its mouth is.” Romig says that

provide for families in our community.

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I

n Self-Reliance and Other Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are

great, not what you were never made for.” He is a model of a self-made man, the foundation of the American dream. In her new books Giving the Devil His Due and The Search for Influence, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson explores imitative human nature and whether or not anyone can actually be self-made.

Dr. Wilson, Associate Professor of English, began teaching at JBU in 2013. Since then, she has begun work on four books, two of which will

the search for influence

&

giving the devil his due Dr. Jessica Wilson publishes two books

by Jessica Mains ’19

be published in early 2017. The first, Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky, began as her dissertation. The book studies theology through fiction, particularly examining human nature through O’Connor’s and Dostoevsky’s characters.

“When we intentionally imitate anybody else,” Dr. Wilson explains, “Or when we think that we ourselves are our own autonomous dictators of our actions—that we are individuals, we didn’t have parents, we didn’t have any teachers, we didn’t have writers that we read, and we have no other role models except ourselves—that in fact is a demonic imitation.” Human nature, the book explains, is to imitate others. It goes on to argue that O’Connor’s and Dostoevsky’s writings explore the cost of imitating demonic influences. In each author’s works, readers witness the characters beginning to follow literal devils and becoming violent and demonic as a result. “The authors don’t allow for any middle ground,” Wilson explains. “If you do not imitate Christ, who created you to imitate Him, you will become the devil.”

In her search for connections between Dostoevsky and southern writers like O’Connor, Wilson came across Walker Percy. Percy was initially a physician rather than a writer, but he encountered Dostoevsky’s writing when Percy contracted tuberculosis from cadavers during his residency and faced possible death. Percy converted to Christianity after reading Dostoevsky’s work and became convinced that the only life worth living was one in which he could write the same types of stories and convert others. He gave up his medical practice and, having no better example, began to imitate Dostoevsky’s work as a Christian, writing for non-Christians in a non-Christian culture.

Her discovery of these connections between Percy and Dostoevsky became The Search for Influence, a case study in Christian imitation. The book examines the way Percy imitates Dostoevsky in order to learn how to write for the glory of God and works through the implications of intentionally choosing a Christ-centered influence. “It wasn’t a matter of being an original autonomous voice,” Wilson explained, “but actually bringing out the good things.” She calls autonomous individualism an “impossibility and illusion.

Either you’re going to be a slave to an influence that you don’t want, or you’re going to say ‘You know what, this is the influence I do want.’” She concludes in The Search for Influence that the only good life is one in which one intentionally chooses to model Christ.

While Wilson’s books contain distinct examples, both follow similar themes. Human nature is to imitate, and the thing that an individual models themselves after carries a tremendous impact. Giving the Devil His Due explores the implications of demonic imitation as seen through Dostoevsky’s and O’Connor’s fiction. Likewise, The Search for Influence examines the results of modeling one’s self after a Christ-like model or, better yet, after Christ himself. Rather than chasing after the façade of self-reliance, Wilson, Dostoevsky, O’Connor, and Percy argue for a life spent imitating Christ—the only life worth living.

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Jessica Wilson is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing and an Associate Director of the JBU Honors Scholars Program. She has authored three books: “Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov”, “Walker Percy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the Search for Influence,” and “A Guide to Walker Percy’s Novels”

SCIENCE & SPIRIT Dr. Frank Blume’s new book explores the integration of Western science and philosophy

by Jessica Mains ’19

Western culture is dominated by a worldview that says that only the material world exists.

meaning or purpose for life,” he explains. “There is little you can

All of reality is composed of matter, which can be tested,

he found his solution. In 2005, he decided to invite others along

measured, experienced, and described by the laws of physics, mathematics, and chemistry. This view, materialism, excludes acknowledgment of any spiritual or metaphysical components

do in life in terms of acts of kindness or anything that has any meaning because ultimately they’ll just be forgotten, your body will disintegrate, and there’s nothing left.” Through Christianity, that journey with him. Science and Spirit became a way for him to describe and spread the things he had learned.

The book weaves together dialogue and prose, discussing

to the world. Dr. Frank Blume, professor of Mathematics at JBU

points of view subjectively through characters and facts

since 1995, challenges this idea in his new book Science and

objectively through text. The characters, Philonous and Sophie,

Spirit: Why Matter Isn’t All That Really Matters. His book explores

inject a sense of actual human experience and a contemporary

Western science and philosophy from the Greeks through

context. A broad array of topics and insights give life to new

present day, delving into a wide array of topics including ancient

perspectives and approaches to the integration of faith and

philosophy, Kantian ethics, Freudian psychoanalysis, Darwin’s

science. Blume says, “I hope it means something to them as

Theory of Evolution, and quantum physics.

human beings, that maybe it enriches a person and they would

Blume cites his own experiences with materialism and

Frank Blume is a professor of Mathematics and teaches Probability and Statistics, Faith and Science, and all classes for math majors. The integration of faith and science has always been a major component of Dr. Blume’s personal spiritual journey, and he enjoys exploring it further in the classroom.

feel that, if they had faith in God, it’s more on a certain footing

Christianity as a driving force behind the book. “My own

because you can integrate it better. Or if you don’t have faith, you

personal life is closely linked to this attempt to overcome the

feel it’s something you’d think about.” The thought-provoking

materialistic worldview,” he says. As a teenager, he had adopted

exploration through materialism and Christianity invites readers

materialism, but found that it gave little hope. The idea of

to reconsider the views and assumptions that taint everyday life.

religion was attractive, but biblical accounts of miracles and

Blume’s main advice for his readers: “Read the last chapter. It

supernatural events were scientifically impossible. Several

sort of summarizes what might be a hopeful future. Hopefully,

influences including his cousin’s struggle with a severe illness

if things eventually turn for the better, there will be a new time

and a desire for purpose led him to pursue a Christian worldview

where people feel that science and faith are at odds with each

instead. “The materialistic worldview just doesn’t give much

other.”

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soccer under the swastika dr. kevin simpson explores the surprisingly powerful role of soccer during the holocaust by

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Nichole Genheimer ’16

Kevin Simpson is the Department Head and a Professor of Psychology, teaching courses in Social, Personality, and Abnormal Psychology; Counseling Theory; the Psychology and History of the Holocaust; Sport and Exercise Psychology; and the Integration of Faith and Psychology.

the cracking blast of a gun sent Kevin Simpson and his companions under their desks midway through a conference session at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. The shot was the sound of African American museum security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns losing his life.

James W. von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist and Holocaust denier, was gunned down by additional security guards seconds after shooting Johns. Simpson felt the irony in the moments later as he watched paramedics—African Americans among them—work to save the lives of both men just feet apart from one another.

T

hat experience in 2009 solidified Simpson’s belief in the urgent need to tell stories of Holocaust survivors and understand the mentality behind the racial hate

and intolerance that still exists in pockets of society today—pushing men like von Brunn to murder people like Johns. The conviction sent him on a journey that eventually resulted in “Soccer Under the Swastika,” a 315-page narration of soccer’s role in the Holocaust.

john brown university | 15

The book began as a single academic paper that Simpson, a John Brown University psychology professor, presented at Hofstra University in 2014. Simpson’s paper told the story of soccer in Terezin, an unconventional concentration camp created by the Nazis that included schooling, athletic competitions, and an ample amount of food and protection.

“The Nazis wanted to fool the world that the Jews were being treated well,” Simpson said of the camp. “The tragedy was that for many, this was often the last stop before Auschwitz.”

His paper focused on soccer’s role in the camp and the inspiration the sport imparted to those who played and watched the game. Simpson told the story of how, despite the Nazis’ intention to use soccer as a means of propaganda, prisoners found in the sport a means of resistance against the Nazi regime.

A book representative from the Rowman & Littlefield publishing company approached Simpson at the conference and mentioned the possibility of expanding his paper into a book, an idea Simpson never previously considered.

Simpson kept the suggestion in mind and, upon returning home, outlined four potential chapters based on research he had already completed. He quickly realized he had more than enough information to fill a book, and a vision began to take place of creating a work that would ultimately expand his teaching on a topic he viewed as vitally important.

“To write about this history that’s now fading from memory—the survivors themselves are going away—is a way for me to teach about the Holocaust,” Simpson said.

From the beginning, soccer was the theme used to compile different Holocaust experiences into one cohesive narrative.

Simpson played for the university soccer team during his time as an undergraduate at John Brown and continued to coach the sport in later years. He has a passion for the game and, beyond that, an intrigue with its popularity around the word and the sport’s ability to break down barriers between people groups.

“As soon as you roll out a ball you can bring people together,” Simpson said of the sport. “This game has the power to connect people. That may sound nostalgic or romantic, but I’ve seen it work.”

Photographs, however, ultimately drove Simpson to specifically study the story of soccer in the Holocaust.

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“As soon as you roll out a ball you can bring people together.

This game has the power to connect people.”

john brown university | 17

“It’s the gravity of being in these places that stays with you.

You’re walking these same places that led to death, and in some places, you see how they survived.”

Simpson has taught numerous classes in the past

His book took 2.5 years in all to complete, the

translated into English, and Simpson enlisted the help

several years covering the psychology of the Holocaust.

project taking place in Simpson’s free time between

of bilingual John Brown faculty and students to help in

In his preparation for teaching, he continued to come

classes and time with family. Fridays were composition

translating the documents.

across pictures of barefoot camp prisoners playing

days as he managed to schedule several semesters

soccer in dusty squares. While many of the photos were

without Friday classes, enabling him to work from

taken as Nazi propaganda, Simpson saw in the pictures a

home.

means of defiance against Nazi dehumanization.

“The more I saw the more I realized this was an act

Simpson dedicated the first six months of the

Visits to Holocaust memorials and past concentration camps played a key role in the book’s creation. Simpson has led several study abroad trips to Europe, and his past trips to key Holocaust sites where

writing project to researching and sketching out

the events he covered took place enriched his writing by

of survival, an act of humanity, a way to resist the Nazi

chapters. He used primary sources, contacting archives

giving him a depth of understanding he would not have

captors,” Simpson said.

across Europe to compile copies of first and second-

otherwise had.

The fortitude presented by the soccer players in those photographs captured bits of a greater story Simpson felt needed to be told.

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hand accounts of soccer being played in the war.

In response, Simpson received an influx of memoirs

“It’s the gravity of being in these places that stays with you,” Simpson said. “You’re walking these same

and testimonies written in Polish, Czech, Dutch, and

places that led to death, and in some places, you see how

German. Many of these sources had never before been

they survived.”

Writing does not come easily to Simpson, a process he describes as “arduous.” His months of outlining paid off, however, and enabled him to develop momentum as his writing progressed.

The book follows a linear chronology, beginning with Nazi domination, continuing onto its defeat, and ending with the aftermath of the tragedy and wreckage of Europe.

In his book Simpson describes haunting accounts of soccer in the concentration camps, including games between SS guards and prisoners that took place a mere few meters of the gas chambers in which prisoners were mass-murdered.

While the story as a whole was difficult to write, the chapter on Poland took the greatest toll on his emotions.

“The brutality, the cruelty, was the greatest there,” Simpson said, noting that he felt more “gloomy” and “blue” than normal while writing this section. With his wife teaching and his children in school, he was frequently home alone with the material. In those times Simpson found it necessary to pause and schedule outside activities into his day to ensure he did not get lost in the heaviness of a work covering one of the darkest periods in modern history.

Simpson originally began the book with the idea of writing for a purely academic audience. After editors reviewed the manuscript, however, they realized the book could publish as a common reader written for a general audience.

The switch in target market excited Simpson. His objective from the beginning consisted of sharing stories that capture the truth of an era few now remember first-hand. Writing for a general audience promised to expand the book’s distribution and enable Soccer Under the Swastika to connect with readers Simpson would not otherwise have reached.

Soccer Under the Swastika printed on September 23, 2016. Simon Kuper, a Financial Times journalist and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller “Soccernomics,” wrote the book’s forward. He writes, “The distance between [victims of the Holocaust] and us grows inexorably, and their faces begin to fade, and a book like this helps to restore their humanity.”

The hope, Simpson said, is for his book to connect with all kinds of readers—even those with no interest in history—but who might be captivated by the soccer and, through his narrative, learn the stories of prisoners and the role soccer played in their fight to survive.

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john brown university | 19

GIVE & TA K E Dr. Paul Whitley collaborates, performs with Bulgarian violinist Bojidara Kouzmanova

by Samuel Cross-Meredith ’18

20 | impact

P

aul Whitley met his

The concert presented pieces from

co-performer for the first

around the world, including renditions

time the day before they

composed by Austrian, Spanish,

played together in concert.

American, Russian, British, Hungarian

Bulgarian violinist Bojidara

Kouzmanova had set out on her

and French musicians to reflect the global aspect of Kouzmanova’s tour.

worldwide musical tour and wanted to

Whitley spent several hours a day

partner with a pianist for a recital in

practicing the duets in the weeks leading

Northwest Arkansas. Whitley has taught

up to the concert. Two solos that he had

music at JBU for the past five years and

worked on for roughly 15 hours a week

was recommended to Kouzmanova for

over the course of nine months were also

the collaboration. Six weeks prior to

included in the program.

her arrival Kouzmanova’s agent called Whitley asking if he would consider performing with her on May 14, 2015 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Ark.

The afternoon before the concert the two musicians met to practice together for the first time. At Kouzmanova’s suggestion, they began their rehearsal with Edward Elgar’s “Salut d’Amour.”

With only a few weeks to learn the pieces Kouzmanova had chosen, Whitley researched the violinist online and watched YouTube videos of her performances with other orchestras in order to gain an understanding of what she expected of him. Unlike solo concerts in which Whitley planned the format and tone of his own recitals, his job in this performance was to match Kouzmanova’s style and pace.

“That has its own set of challenges,” Whitley said of the preparation. Music must be interpreted, and Whitley strove to anticipate how Kouzmanova’s interpretation of the music would sound.

“So much could be different as far as what tempos you take, where you swell, where you come back, how short or how long young phrases are,” Whitley explained. “It all works together to create a mood. You hope you have similar ideas of what a piece should mean.”

Paul Whitley is an Assistant Professor of Music and a private piano instructor. He has served as a soloist for several orchestras and ensembles (including Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, NU Saxophone Ensemble, Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra), and has won various competitions (including the Thaivu-Isaac Competition, the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation of Chicago Competition, and Illinois State MTNA Piano Competition.)

“After three seconds we looked at each other. Something was obviously off,” Whitley recalled, laughing. “I had printed my version of the music off online, and it was in a different key.”

Whitley quickly changed the key and the rest of the practice proceeded without any surprises.

He found that the two musicians did have complementary understandings of the music, and mixes of ethereal, romantic and aggressive tones came across in various pieces the following day.

“The most fun thing about working with [Kouzmanova] is this constant give and take musically. You’re always adapting,” Whitley explained, describing how the two musicians learned to play off of each other. “Kouzmanova listens and follows as much as she leads. I’m hoping that we will do more in the future together.”

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john brown university | 21

the color of home Charles Peer’s painting inspired by the interaction of light and color across northwest arkansas

by

Samuel Cross-Meredith ’18

“headed south” charles peer, Professor of Visual Arts Winner of the merit award, Arkansas Pastel Society

when charles peer sits down to paint, he brings his home with him.

To him, the Ozark hills are a perfect backdrop for a continued study of light, shadow, and color.

Charles Peer is a Professor of Visual Arts and teaches Color Theory, Art History and occasionally a drawing class.

Peer is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and the Ozark Pastel Society. His paintings are currently represented by the Willowbrush Gallery in Tulsa.

“I grew up in Northwest Arkansas, so I spent a lot of time outside camping, hiking, and other things like that, and, you know, I travel around, and there are a lot of places in the United States and around the world that are just gorgeous, but this is the place that I’m really connected to, so most of what I deal with are these local landscapes,” Peer said.

Working mostly as a pastel artist, Peer started learning how to make art at the age of twelve. His works explore the interaction of light and color across the rural landscapes of Northwest Arkansas.

“The landscape is just what I hang my investigation of color

in the art community. His painting, Kings River Bridge, won the Virginia Cammack Award for Pastel and Drawing at the Artists of Northwest Arkansas 2016 Regional Exhibition, and his painting Headed South was awarded a merit award in the 6th National Exhibition sponsored by the Arkansas Pastel Society, Little Rock, Arkansas. His painting, Backyard Fences, was accepted into the Pastel Society of America’s exhibit, Enduring Brilliance. The exhibition opened the September of 2016 at the National Art Club in New York City.

“Just Past Union Church”, “Hidden Away” and “Idle Field” have all been accepted into the 2015 Illinois River Salon Art Exhibit, which ran in the fall of 2015, and in the November of 2016, Peer was selected by Pratique des Arts, an art magazine published in France, to be featured as one of three artists to

on. What I’m really interested in is this interplay of color, so it has

be discovered, and his works, End of the Workday and October

this layered interest. I want it to look recognizable and regional,

Backroad, juried into the 2016 IAPS (International Association of

but I’m most interested in the interaction of color, and that mostly

Pastel Societies) Web Show.

happens in light and shadow passages,” Peer said.

Peer labels the impressionist period as a major inspiration for his work. “The idea of looking at color interaction has to go back to concepts of the impressionists, whether you’re going to them for inspiration, for subject matter, or just the idea of looking at things in a new way and recording and interpreting those observations.”

22 | impact

Charles Peer’s works have received acclaim and recognition

In 2015, JBU announced an anonymous $2 million gift to establish the Charles Peer Endowed Chair in Visual Arts and a $1 million matching challenge for endowed art scholarships.

Most of Charles Peer’s work can be found on his website, www.charlespeer.com/.

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RESEARCH & TEACHNG IMPACT

THE THE

PA S T & PRESENT Dr. Trisha Posey explores the responsibility in shaping a narrative

by Dr. Trisha Posey

Trisha Poser is an Associate Professor of History and the director of the JBU Honors Scholars Program. Her primary interest is in the relationship between religion and reform, and she is passionate about teaching American history, the history of poverty in the United States, American slavery, and African history.

I

first met Jacob Brown about twenty years ago. Jacob was a troubled kid (he was on the verge of being kicked out of school), and his mom Sarah was at her wits’ end trying to figure out what to do with her little “rogue.” I know this

because his mom wrote a letter to the director of a new school for troubled kids. I came across this letter, and Jacob’s story, about one hundred and fifty years after Sarah wrote it. I had the distinct privilege of reading Sarah’s letter as part of my research into the Boston Asylum and Farm School for Indigent Boys (BAFS), a nineteenth-century institution that was meant to train city boys in the ways of farming and to offer them settled lives in the Massachusetts countryside. Letters like Sarah’s are a rare find for historians—it is not often that we are able to hear about the experiences of the most vulnerable members of society in their own words. And yet, sitting in the archives of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, I was able to read hundreds of letters from nineteenth-century Bostonians sharing their deepest struggles and longings with men who had power to make a difference in their lives.

As I was working on shaping the narrative about the lives of the boys who lived at the BAFS, for an article I eventually published for the Massachusetts Historical Review, I couldn’t help but be keenly aware of my own power over them as a historian. I have the ability to shape how people remember these young men, and my responsibility to tell their story faithfully is a burden I do not take lightly. These boys were not simply numbers in a school entry log—they had names, hopes, and aspirations, and they experienced enormous triumphs and tragedies in their lives.

It’s easy for me when I’m teaching about poverty in US History to slip into sharing the numbers with my students— how many people live above or below the poverty threshold; how many blacks were denied Social Security after the passage of the Social Security Act; how many women and children receive welfare assistance. But my ultimate duty, as Jacob Brown and others taught me, is to give my students a sense of the real lives of the people they study—the widows and orphans Jesus puts before us both in the past and the present.

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john brown university | 23

RESEARCH & STUDENT IMPACT

seeing need jbu faculty and students develop biogas food digester, impacts communities in ethiopia, guatemala

by Valerie McArthur ’19

D

r. Susan Newton, associate professor of chemistry, and four JBU undergraduate students were awarded a $15,000 grant as part of Environmental Protection

Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet Program (P3P) to begin building a biogas food digester for their project titled “Development of an Affordable ShockResistant Biogas Digester for Fueling Cooking Stoves in Rural Ethiopia.”

“It started with an orphanage in Ethiopia,” Dr. Newton said. “The orphanage was having a huge expense for cooking fuel. Some of the options weren’t clean, and they had a lot of food refuse. So we had the idea, well how about a biogas food digester.”

A biogas food digester turns food scraps or organic waste into a clean, renewable source like biogas that can be used for up to four hours of cooking or lighting per day. The digester not only removes health problems derived from cooking with wood such as asthma, but can also reduce the cost of cooking fuel by utilizing the orphanage’s own resources.

Dr. Newton spoke with Dr. Joe Walenciak, dean and professor for JBU’s Soderquist College of Business, about the project, and the two quickly realized that there is a similar need for clean cooking fuel in Guatemala City, Guatemala, specifically in the communities near the city dump.

“People spend most of their money for fuel for cooking, and they’re next to a dump with all sorts of food scraps that can be used for the digester,” Dr. Newton said. “That just kind of breaks my heart.”

Past biogas digesters haven’t been successful in Ethiopia, often dying quickly or not starting up. One of the main reasons for past failures on the field is temperature and pH levels that need to be monitored

24 | impact

“i have a heart for these communities. seeing pictures of some of the kids and hearing their stories is enough for me to know that there’s a need and i want to help.” and balanced using bases such as lime. This process requires a deeper understanding of the digester.

With the grant, Dr. Newton’s team was not only able to build a pH and temperature monitor, but to draft models for a “shock resistant” biogas digester system that not only works but lasts.

“There’s going to be LED lights that alert the user of when the pH needs to change,” Dr. Newton said.

“For how to change it, there will be either reference numbers to a specific biodegradable waste in the manual or on the side of the tank.”

On May 15-16, Dr. Newton and her team traveled to Washington D.C. to showcase their

accomplishments on their project and compete for phase 2 part of the grant, which is valued at $75,000 and will be used to create a business plan so that the digester can be implemented in the real world.

Dr. Newton’s team pitched their plan to form a team of chemistry, engineering and business students who will develop a shippable biogas digester, provide a manual including specific food scraps widely available in Guatemala, train agencies in Guatemala on how to use the digester and create a business model that will be given to local nonprofit organizations to implement and empower local residents.

“For example—chopped pineapple—what pH

Susan Newton is an Associate Professor of Chemistry, teaching Organic Chemistry, Earth Science, Physical Science, Inorganic Chemistry and Biochemistry.

She was drawn to the study of Chemistry because of the incredible evidence of design. The classroom is not just a place of work for Dr. Newton, but a place to fulfill a calling in her life.

do you need to run it with,” Newton said. “Do you need to add lime regularly for chopped pineapple?

How long does it take chopped pineapple before it makes methane? How much water should you mix with it? Those are the types of questions that they’ll be answering next semester.”

The team will find out shortly after presenting in Washington D.C. whether they will receive the two-year phase two grant. If not accepted, Dr. Newton plans to continue development as a research project.

Within the last year, Dr. Newton has seen the impact the research project has had on the students.

They develop leadership skills, enrich each other through brainstorming, utilize their skills and talents, and become more aware of the needs within communities globally.

“It takes a lot of time, but I have a heart for these communities,” Dr. Newton said. “Seeing pictures of some of the kids and hearing their stories is enough for me to know that there’s a need and I want to help. This project is what the EPA P3P Grant is looking for. Ideas that could have an impact on the whole world.”

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john brown university | 25

RESEARCH & COMMUNITY IMPACT

global groundwork teaching and living in a closed context— Training engineers to improve their communities

T

by Jim Caldwell he construction management program at JBU has a long history of supporting education and medical work around the globe. Having led numerous JBU teams on construction projects in the developing world, I decided to pursue a year-long sabbatical to support the

expanding higher education effort in Africa. Groundwork had been laid to start construction training programs in Rwanda in 2010 and Zambia in 2013, but both of those doors closed. Soon after, I received an invitation to teach at a university in the Horn of Africa, providing a great framework for offering practical training to a nation rebuilding after years of military conflict.

My role was to establish a surveying lab experience for 180 civil engineering students and deliver the lectures for this two-semester course sequence. The civil engineering program has over 800 students, the largest major on campus.

The first task was to construct a secure instrument storage area in the civil building. I inspected and calibrated the few instruments that they had along with the ones I brought into the country.

The lab assignments that I have used here at JBU for many years were easily converted to metric units and the procedures modified to fit the more basic instruments that are available in the country. A big challenge was creating teams in lab sections with over 50 students enrolled. This necessitated splitting the classes in half with a student doing a field lab only once every two weeks.

Even though instruction was in English, I secured a local graduate assistant to help translate as well as to assist in setting up the field labs. Since there was no secure outdoor space on campus, we had to install survey stakes on a local soccer field and then remove them after each lab period, five times per week.

In conjunction with this surveying lab course, I was able to advise two different senior design projects in the use of surveying instruments. One involved designing a three kilometer water line for a remote village and the other was a profile survey for a bridge design. There is an endless supply of community development projects like this for students to gain experience before they graduate. It was a privilege to be able to train some of the next generation engineers to address the numerous infrastructure needs in this country.

â–

Jim Caldwell is the Department Head and a Professor of Construction Management at JBU. He is a Certified Professional Constructor, a Professional Land Surveyor, and a member of the American Association of Cost Engineers, and has been on construction service projects in central Africa, Haiti, Guatemala and Mexico.

26 | impact

RESEARCH & FAITH IMPACT

I N WA R D FA I T H , O U T WA R D FA I T H Dr. Aminta Arrington discusses the faith of the Lisu people

by Dr. Aminta Arrington

In a small hut high up in the mountains of Yunnan Province, China, the Lisu people taught me a new way to pray.

American Christian practice. Lisu Christians

The hosts of the intercessory prayer meeting

different definition of Christian discipleship:

—1 john 1:7

cognitive (interior) ideas of belief, and more around a series of (exterior) Christian practices that express that belief.

These various Lisu practices have led to a

laid out bowls of rice, meat, and boiled eggs for those they had invited over for prayer.

After eating, the ten of us moved to the fire in the middle of the dark room and sang three hymns, a capella, in four-part harmony. The family then laid out their concerns. Finally, they knelt in the center of the room, while we stood in a circle around them, everyone praying out loud all at once, until one last lone voice, knowing his responsibility to

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

have oriented their faith less around the

end the prayer well, finally said the Amen.

The family stood up and went around the circle thanking everyone and shaking hands, signifying that the prayer service was over.

The Lisu, one of China’s fifty-five minority groups, converted to Christianity in a people movement after evangelization by missionaries from the China Inland Mission in the 1910s and 1920s. Although much was known about this great missionary story, little was known about the faith of Lisu

as a rhythm of shared Christian practices that aim not just for the head but for the whole person. It is a visceral discipleship that involves interceding for others in prayer, singing together, line-dancing, attending church and festivals, keeping the Sabbath, evangelizing, working in each other’s fields, abstaining from practices that have historically been deemed harmful to the community, and, in this shared participation in practices, shaping a community of worship.

Lisu Christian practices are less personal and more communal, less inward and more outward, less emotional and more embodied.

My time with the Lisu caused me to re-examine my own Christian life, in light of Scripture. I am now more mindful of being an embodied Christian, one whose inner faith manifests itself outwardly in hospitality (1 Peter 4:9), in caring (1 Timothy 5:4), in fellowship (1 John 1:7).

■

Christianity today. Understanding this was my goal while I conducted ethnographic Aminta Arrington is an Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies.

Her greatest joys are found in worshiping God with Christians from the Global South, and in teaching her students to better understand and appreciate the depth, diversity, and beauty of what the Greek New Testament calls the pante ta ethne—the world’s peoples and cultures.

research among the Lisu from 2012-2014 in support of my dissertation.

The translated western hymns the Lisu sang during the intercessory prayer meeting were familiar from my own Christian upbringing, but there was little else about Lisu Christian life that resembled my own

john brown university | 27

balzer lecture 2016

I M I TAT I O N , I N C A R N AT I O N , & CHRISTIAN L I T E R AT U R E Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, Associate Professor of English

Interview conducted

by D r . J acob S tratman About the Lecture: The Lee Balzer Lecture was established by the JBU Faculty to honor Dr. Lee Balzer upon his retirement in June 2004 after serving JBU as President for ten years. During his tenure, Dr. Balzer not only modeled quality scholarship, but he vigorously promoted the academic enterprise of the university. The lecture is intended to showcase quality scholarship in a liberal arts or professional discipline by a faculty member at John Brown University, as well as to stimulate others in their scholarly pursuits. The Office of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development at John Brown University invite all full-time faculty to submit a proposal. The presentation should address a topic that advances the field of knowledge of the speaker’s discipline, promotes the interests of that specialty within the context of the evangelical Christian university, and is accessible to a wide audience.

Below is a brief interview with Dr. Wilson, this year’s lecturer, about her work on literature and Christianity.

28 | impact

For the thousands of JBU alumni and friends who were not able to attend the Balzer lecture, can you give us a brief synopsis of the argument you make about reading and Christianity?

Christ is the Word. The Bible is a Story. To follow Christ, we must live our story in imitation of his scandalous Incarnation. All stories ultimately imitate Christ, and we become more like Him the more well-versed we are in His story.

How has reading literature affected your Christian faith?

It has given me more eyes with which to see the world. I’ve learned empathy, forgiveness, and the necessity of beauty. Christ and his teachings are mysterious, as is so much of literature and poetry. Reading literature has made me more at home with mystery and more discerning, I hope, of truth.

What advice would you give any Christian that seems rather fearful of reading, especially modern/contemporary literature?

The truth has nothing to fear from investigation. Flannery O’Connor believed that she was telling biblical stories but to a deaf and blind readership, so she “shouted” with her work and drew starting caricatures.

While this style sometimes scandalizes unaccustomed readers, after the dust settles, the scandal may lead to a deeper understanding of the biblical truth.

What books are you buying for friends and family right now? Why? The World’s Largest Man by Harrison Scott Key because it is the funniest book I have ever read. Key is a friend of the Castlemans1, a Christian, and acclaimed nationally. He’s also the 2018 Giving Voice2 keynote. Also, Christian Wiman’s versions of Osip Mandelstam’s poems in the collection Stolen Air. This book calls us to live, love, and hope in the ruins.

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1Dr. Robbie Castleman is retired Professor of Biblical Studies at JBU. Rev. Breck Castleman is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Siloam Springs.

Jessica Wilson is an Assosiate Professor of Creative Writing and an Associate Director of the JBU Honors Scholars Program. She has written three books: “Giving the Devil His Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov,” “Walker Percy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the Search for Influence,” and “A Guide to Walker Percy’s Novels.”

2Giving Voice is the annual literature, writing, and arts festival at JBU. Dr. Wilson is the director.

Learn more at www.jbu.edu/givingvoice/

john brown university | 29

NOTEWORTHY FAC U LT Y AC H I E V E M E N T S

Published Works Books:

Bennett, Daniel (Political Science) Defending Faith: The Politics of the Christian Conservative Legal Movement Jones, Preston (History) Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?, 10th printing.

Simpson, Kevin (Psychology) Soccer under the Swastika Wilson, Jessica (English) A Guide to Walker Percy’s Novels

Chapters and Articles:

Arrington, Aminta (Intercultural Studies) “Becoming a World Christian: Hospitality as a Framework for Engaging Otherness,” International Journal of Christianity & Education Review of “Choosing the Jesus Way: American Indian Pentecostals and the Fight for the Indigenous Principle”, The Anthropology of Christianity Bibliography Blog Bruce, Jay (Philosophy) Review of John Knox, Anglican and Episcopal History Review of Institutes of the Christian Religion: A Biography, Anglican and Episcopal History “Officers of the church,” WORLD “Bulletin board,” WORLD “Faiths and freedoms,” WORLD “Blue law squabble,” WORLD “Points of dispute,” WORLD “Criticized critic,” WORLD “Prayers and perspective,” WORLD “Bulletin board,” WORLD “Killing creeds,” WORLD “Delayed justice,” WORLD

30 | impact

“Aid to orthodoxy,” WORLD “Fit to print,” WORLD “Does California Care about Students who Question their Sexuality?” Law and Liberty “Faith, Reason, and the Law,” review of Francis J. Beckwith’s Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith, Law and Liberty “Confessions and questions,” WORLD “Hymnal harmony,” WORLD “Should We Apologize for Sins We Did Not Commit?” The Gospel Coalition “Southern summit,” WORLD Caldwell, Jim (Construction Management) “Construction internships: A pathway to academic and professional success,” AGC Blueprint Cornelius, Patsy (Nursing) “A health policy faculty survey: Roads to competency” to the Journal of Professional Nursing “Policy and political advocacy: Comparison study of nursing faculty to determine current practices, perceptions and barriers to teaching health policy.” (Co-author) Journal of Professional Nursing Funk, Joel (Natural Sciences) “The Complete Genome Sequence of Plodia interpunctella Granulovirus: Evidence for Horizontal Gene Transfer and Discovery of an Unusual Inhibitor-of-Apoptosis Gene, “PLoS ONE Jones, Preston (History) “Women and Moral Culture”, Institute for Family Studies Lanker, Jason (Biblical Studies) “Large groups and learning,” T. Linehart Odell, Ellen (Nursing) “Nurse Practitioner Leadership in Promoting Access to Rural Primary Care” (co-author) Nursing Economic$ “The southern states: NPs make an impact in rural and health professional shortage areas” (co-author). Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner

Oliver, Gary (The Center for Healthy Relationships) “Harassed”, HomeLife magazine “Dinner’s Ready”, HomeLife magazine.

“Healthy Habits”, HomeLife magazine “Privacy, Please”, HomeLife magazine “More Than a Fairytale”, HomeLife magazine “The Difference,” HomeLife magazine “Words That Hurt”, HomeLife magazine “Handling Hurt”, HomeLife magazine “Overwhelmed!”, HomeLife magazine “Listening Ear”, HomeLife magazine Piston, Cal (Institutional Effectiveness) Article in the Tech Tips section of eAIR. Simpson, Kevin (Psychology) “Soccer in the shadow of death: Propaganda and survival in the Nazi ghetto-camp of Terezin,” in Football and the Boundaries of History: Critical Studies in Soccer Stratman, Jacob (English) “John Baptist de la Salle and Interior Prayer: Humility as an Antidote to Curiositas in the Hospitable Classroom,” International Journal of Christianity and Education Swearingen, Carla (ATLAS) “Flipping the syllabus: Using the first day of class to encourage student acceptance of a new pedagogical technique,” in The Flipped Classroom Volume 1: Background and Challenges.

Vila, David (Biblical Studies) “The Churches of Abila: From Byzantine to Muslim Rule.” ARAM, Journal of the ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies White, Abbey (Graduate Counseling) “College students’ prevalence of sleep hygiene awareness and practices,” Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal

Presentations

Phillips, Bonnie (Little Rock Graduate Counseling) Arkansas Mental Health Counselors Association

Froman, Rick (Psychology) Grant from the American College Counseling Association

Piston, Cal (Academic Affairs) Southern Association for Institutional Research.

Hadley, Kim (Finance and Administration) Completed her Doctorate of Business Administration in Marketing

Balzer, Cary (Biblical Studies) Hidden and Fantastic Conference

Posey, Jake (Library) 109th Oklahoma Library Association conference

Martin, Bobby (Visual Arts) Three-person exhibition at the Mullins Library, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville

Balzer, Tracy (Biblical Studies) Bethel University in Minnesota and Oklahoma Baptist University

Posey, Trisha (Honors) CCCU Diversity Conference Conference on Faith and History

Matchell, Connie (Education) Selected as at-large institutional representative to the Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (ArACTE) Board.

Reed, Rod (Chaplain/Biblical Studies) CCCU Multi-Academic Conference Centre for Spiritual Formation in Higher Education

Moore. Robert (History) Selected as a senior fellow at the Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg, University of Bonn

Arrington, Aminta (Biblical Studies) Yale-Edinburgh Group on the History of the Missionary Movement and World Christianity, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Association of Professors of Mission

Beers, Steve (Student Development) CCCU conference Bennett, Daniel (Political Science) Western Political Science Association Bruce, Jay (Philosophy) IHS/Templeton Foundation colloquium Institute for Humane Studies George Fox University Caldwell, Jim (Construction Management) NWACC Construction Technology Program Industry Advisory Board Carson, Elana (Business) ACBSP International Conference Carmack, John (Graduate Counseling) JBU Family Therapy Conference Cha, Lou (Biblical Studies) Hmong District Annual Conference Owasso Hmong Alliance Church Paris Hmong Alliance Church Warren Hmong Alliance Church Cornett, Nick (Graduate Counseling) Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) International Conference Northwest Center for Play Therapy Summer Institute at George Fox University Arkansas Association for Play Therapy’s annual conference International Conference of the Association for Play Therapy American Counseling Association’s annual conference Cunningham, Curtis (Teacher Education) Association of Christian Schools and Teachers 38th Annual conference of Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education Christian Educators Conference NW Arkansas Educational Cooperative Duke, Stacey (Degree Completion) 2017 Annual ACCESS Conference Ellis, Dick (Academic Affairs) Christian Adult Higher Education Association (CAHEA) Ericson, Ed (Academic Affairs) Stamats Webinar International Assn. of Management Spirituality and Religion Fast, Eva (Business) ACBSP International Conference Fisher, Amy (Human Resources) Ellucian Live Francis, Michael (Biblical Studies) Testing and Temptation in Second Temple Jewish and early Christian texts Funk, Joel (Biology) American Society for Microbiology Branch Meeting at the University of Kansas Medical Center Gatlin, Brad (Business) ACBSP International Conference Hall, Melissa (Family and Human Services) Nordic Family Therapy Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland 2017 International Association of Management, Spirituality, and Religion (IAMSR) Conference

Roby, Warren (Language Studies) North-West University (Potschefstroom Campus) Romig, Chuck (Graduate Counseling) Counseling Association-Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Conference Christian Association for Psychological Studies Simpson, Kevin (Psychology) Arkansas Holocaust Education Committee’s 25th Annual Conference Temple B’nai Israel Fourteenth Biennial Lessons and Legacies Conference Midwest Christian Psychology Conference National Public Radio (NPR) Snediker, Steve (Visual Art/Digital Cinema) University Film and Video Association Annual

Pohle, Peter (Visual Arts) Painting accepted into the juried exhibition Heart of America Artists Association 2016 Illinois River Salon “The Journey” was a winning entry in the 46th annual of the creative quarterly magazine

Song, Ted (Engineering) American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference Siloam Springs Writers Guild

Song, Ted (Engineering) Appointed as a member of the Siloam Springs Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment Invited panelist on the National Science Foundation review panel

Stratman, Jacob (English) CIC NETVue conference

Wilson, Jessica (English) Received several grants: Christianity and Literature Conference Travel Grant, Lilly Endowment grant to attend Collegeville Institute, and Biola Center of Christian Thought Fellowship

Terrell, DeAnne (Graduate Counseling) Bautista Cristo es el Camino in Guatemala Terrell, Jeff (Counseling) Bautista Cristo es el Camino in Guatemala Christian Association of Psychological Studies International Conference HARK Community Collaborative Project Equip International Meeting of the Christian Association of Psychological Studies International Association of Management, Spirituality and Religion Presented “Cluster B Personality Disorders” in the following cities: Memphis, TN, Little Rock, AR, Dallas, TX, Duluth, MN, Roseville, MN, Bloomington, MN, Macon, GA, Decatur, GA, Marietta, GA, Presented “Rewiring the Brain” in the following cities: Kennewick, WA, Lynnwood, WA Timmons, Bob (Graduate Business) Arkansas College Teachers of Economics and Business (ACTEB) Conference Verdery, Tom (Business) ACBSP International Conference Vila, David (Biblical Studies) Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research Evangelical Theological Society and the American Schools of Oriental Research Southwest Regional Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan Wakefield, Tim (Biology) Arkansas Academy of Science Walenciak, Joe (Business) Western District of Arkansas’s Naturalization Proceedings Christian Adult Higher Education Association (CAHEA) ACBSP International Conference Walker, Lori (Academic Affairs) Christian Adult Higher Education Association (CAHEA) White, Abbey (Counseling Psychology) Christian Association for Psychological Studies

Himes, Jonathan (English) 19th Annual Conference of the C.S. Lewis & Inklings Society

Whitley, Paul (Music) Dallas Music Teachers Association

Houston, Nena (Education) National Association for Professional Development Schools Annual Conference

Wingfield, Barry (Little Rock Graduate Counseling) 2017 Arkansas Mental Health Counselors Association.

Arkansas Christian Counselors & Therapists 2016 State Conference

Hyde, Brian (Graduate Education) First annual Arkansas Dyslexia Conference Ladner, Ryan (Business) ACBSP International Conference Invigorate Seminar for Main Street Siloam

Martin, Bobby (Visual Arts) 44th Annual Symposium on the American Indian Hardesty Arts Center in Tulsa Philbrook Museum’s annual Print Action Matchell, Connie (Teacher Education) National Association for Professional Development Schools Morgan, Martha (Family and Human Services) AFTA Annual Conference Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS) Annual Conference Oliver, Gary (The Center for Healthy Relationships) 2016 AACC National Christian Counseling Conference Hume Lake Christian Conference for group of churches in North San Diego County 5th Annual conference of the Christian Counseling Professionals Weekend Growing Healthy Relationships (GHR) “Healthy Leaders, Healthy Churches” Pastors Retreat Mertes, Justin (University Communications) North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals Conference

Peer, Charles (Visual Arts) Painting accepted into the Pastel Society of America’s exhibit “Enduring Brilliance” Three pastel paintings accepted into the juried exhibition Heart of America Artists Association 2016 Illinois River Salon Two paintings were juried into the Artist of Northwest Arkansas’ 22nd Annual Regional Art Exhibition Selected by “Pratique des Arts,” to be featured as one of three artists Two paintings juried into the 2016 IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) Web Show Two paintings juried into the Richeson 75 Small Works Competition Painting “Scrap Metla, Precious Metal” was selected to be part of the International Association of Pastel Societies’ 30th Juried Exhibition

Wubbena, Jan (Music) Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

Honors

Andrus, David (Visual Arts) Three oil paintings accepted into the juried exhibition Heart of America Artists Association 2016 Illinois River Salon Plein air painting accepted into the 2017 Rice Gallery of Fine Art Juried Plein Air Show Armstrong, Joel (Visual Arts) 12 art pieces were accepted into the 2016 Third Annual Intersect Exhibition, Old Court House Art Center, Woodstock, Illinois 1 piece was accepted into Raining Cats and Dogs art show, Dairy Art Center in Boulder, Colorado Art commissioned for bG Gallery in Santa Monica, California for a show titled “Word Jumble Exhibition,” 3 works accepted in bG Gallery in Santa Monica, California for a show titled “Sea of Art.” Art pieces accepted into the 3rd Annual Collaborations and Mixed Media Exhibition in West Palm Installation “It’s time to Addresser Drawers” will be on display at Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts in Lubbock, Texas Installation “It’s time to Addresser Drawers,” won 1st Place at the international juried show “When Language Meets Art” Carmack, John (Grad Counseling) Appointment to the Board of Examiners in Counseling

Faculty Development Grants Faculty Development Scholars Grant Francis Umesiri (Chemistry) Marquita Smith (Communications) Summer Professional Development Grants Arrington, Aminta (Intercultural Studies) Bennett, Daniel (Political Science) Blume, Frank (Mathematics) Dromi, Liesl (Music and Theatre) Himes, Jonathan (English) Jones, Preston (History) Martin, Bobby (Visual Arts) Morgan, Martha (Family and Human Services) Pastoor, Charles (English) Peer, Charles (Visual Arts) Pohle, Peter (Visual Arts) Posey, Trisha (Honors) Smith, Marquita (Communications) Song, Ted (Engineering) Swearingen, Brent (Library) Wilson, Jessica (English) Supplemental Travel Grants Armstrong, Joel (Visual Arts) Bennett, Daniel (History) Cornelius, Patsy (Nursing) Gatlin, Brad (Business) Hahn, Kenneth (Physics) Hall, Melissa (Family and Human Services) Himes, Amanda (English) Himes, Jonathan (English) Ladner, Ryan (Business) Matchell, Connie (Education) Morgan, Martha (Family and Human Services) Posey, Trisha (Honors) Raith, Chad (Biblical Studies) Simpson, Kevin (Psychology) Terrell, Jeffrey (Education and Human Services) Trombley, Adria (Education) Varner, Gregory (Mathematics) Wilson, Jessica (English)

Office of Academic Affairs Grants and Honors Faculty Sabbaticals Jacob Stratman (English) Jessica Wilson (English)

Faculty Awards

McGee Chair Bruce, Jay (Biblical Studies) Summer Scholars Jill Ellenbarger (Chemistry) Preston Jones (History) Faculty Excellence Award Charles Peer (Visual Arts) 2016-2017 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant Smith, Marquita (Communication) Full Professorship Cary Balzer Neal Holland Carey Lampton Bobby Martin Carla Swearingen

Cunningham, Curtis (Education) Site reviewer for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

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