PETREE DISH Petree College of Arts & Sciences • oklahoma city university
c r e at i v e m i n d s at wo r k
From the Dean’s Desk In the Petree College of Arts and Sciences, the creative minds of students, faculty, and staff are at work through dynamic forms of scholarship, teaching, community engagement, and service. This work is being done in the context of one of the most creative universities in the world, Oklahoma City University, which we often aptly refer to as “Oklahoma’s Creative University.”
Creative Scholarship
The Petree College of Arts and Sciences is enjoying an unprecedented period of excellent scholarship production by our faculty. The quality of this scholarship is being recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally. Petree College faculty are authoring cutting-edge books, creating acclaimed artwork and films, editing journals, and publishing articles in refereed journals. Our faculty are presenting papers at national and international conferences and in some cases are being invited to give prestigious endowed lectures at other colleges and universities around the world. Our faculty are indeed creative scholars, and they often find ways
for our students to collaborate in this work through undergraduate research opportunities.
Creative Teaching
Petree College has always been and will always be best known for its commitment to teaching. The creative scholarship of our faculty has served to enhance the quality of teaching in the classroom. In fact, over the past ten years, five Arts & Sciences faculty have received Oklahoma City University’s premiere Outstanding Faculty Award. Not only does the teaching excellence of Petree College faculty benefit our students, but some of our faculty have worked with high school teachers in the state and across the nation to help develop more effective pedagogical practices. Our number one priority in the Petree College is the learning experience of students.
to engage the community that both benefit the community and enhance the learning experience of our students. We have consistently received regional and national recognition for our service learning programs and our community partnerships. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association recognized community engagement as one of the key strengths of the university and the Petree College of Arts and Sciences. Our work in interfaith service learning, teacher education service learning, and our initiatives for social and ecological responsibility are becoming national models. As dean of Petree College, it is both an honor and a personally enriching experience to be in the midst of so much creativity and energy at Oklahoma City University: Oklahoma’s Creative University.
Creative Community Engagement and Service Petree College and Oklahoma City University have found creative ways
Mark Y. A. Davies Dean, Petree College of Arts & Sciences
see inside Arts and Sciences......................... 2 humanities....................................... 4 s o c i a l sc i e n c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 e d u c at i o n.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 m at h & sc i e n c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
a r t s & sc i e n c e s
arts & sciences SCHOLARSHIP FUND benefits high school students
The Gary M. Moore, MD Great Plan Scholarship Fund with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation helps outstanding high school seniors in need of financial assistance to experience the educational opportunities offered by the Oklahoma City University Petree College of Arts and Sciences. Scholarship recipients will be chosen by a scholarship selection committee comprised of the dean and the associate dean, at least four faculty members of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences, the director of financial aid, and a former Great Plan Scholar. To be eligible for consideration, the applicant must be in the upper 10 percent of his or
her graduating class from an accredited Oklahoma high school, obtained a minimum score of 30 on the ACT, be a non-smoker, and pursue a major within the Petree College of Arts and Sciences. Besides academic excellence, other consideration factors include citizenship, leadership, and altruistic activities. Only students enrolled full-time in degree programs in the Petree College of Arts and Sciences are eligible, and the scholarship is renewable for a maximum of four years if requirements are met. The scholarship is for tuition and textbooks and may not exceed a recipient’s tuition and textbook expenses.
LAW AND NONPROFIT programs offer joint degree The OCU School of Law, in conjunction with Oklahoma City University’s Petree College of Arts and Sciences, offers a JD/ MA joint degree program designed to provide a meaningful combined experience for students with an interest in law and nonprofit organizations. The
Petree alumni celebrate Homecoming Three different groups from Petree College of Arts and Sciences held receptions for alumni over the Homecoming weekend Nov. 1-3. Petree College alumni gathered in Walker Center, math and sciences alumni met at Belle Isle Brewery, and Dr. Lisa Wolfe and her Hebrew students presented “Coffee, Rolls, and Dead Sea Scrolls” in Watson Lounge.
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program culminates in the award of both the Juris Doctor degree and the Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology – Nonprofit Leadership. The joint degree program allows candidates to earn the JD and MA degrees in less time than would be required to earn each degree separately.
To participate in the program, students must be admitted to both schools. All of the usual entrance requirements apply. There is no required sequence for admission. Students may apply and matriculate at either school first.
oCU attends INTERFAITH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE Rev. Rodney Newman, university chaplain, and two students attended the Interfaith Leadership Institute at Loyola University in Chicago recently. Three such events sponsored by the Interfaith Youth Core are held around the country each year. Their goal is to equip undergraduate students, staff, and faculty with the skills to engage diverse religious and non-religious identities to build the interfaith movement on their campuses. Students and sponsors from universities across the U.S., representing a number of different faith communities, learned how to tell one’s own story and to hear other’s stories of faith with respect for traditions. The event also provided guidance on how to create more interfaith interaction and service
projects on individual campuses. Junior religion major Matt Patrick, a United Methodist student, along with Samer Abdelkader, a Muslim student and biology senior, participated in the event. Samer noted, “Throughout the weekend we met people coming from a diverse array of religious backgrounds—some of which I had only heard about for the first time— and took time to understand one another.” Interfaith Youth Core was founded by Eboo Patel, an American Muslim and a member of President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith Based Neighborhood Partnerships. Patel visited the OCU campus on Oct. 23 as part of the Distinguished Speakers series.
Alumni
Accomplishments Dr. Christopher Conrady, (BA and BS ’07) was awarded a national 2013 Love of Learning Award from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Hailey Holloway (BA ’13) started a new job as a broadcast journalist in Gainsville, Fla. She is an on-air reporter for the GTN News, the local NBC/ CBS affiliate. Lena Khader (BS ’13) was accepted into Johns Hopkins University. Lance McDaniel’s (MLA ’07) latest film is “Light from the Darkroom,” a religious thriller set in China and Panama. The producer, Nathan Gardocki, (BA ’10) is also an OCU Film graduate. Kelly (Williams) Meredith (BS ’10) is now the Director of Institutional Research at OCU. Rene (Rachel) Gutteridge (BA ’95 and JD ’02) is featured on the cover of Family Fiction magazine. Gutteridge has published 18 novels, two of which are set for film adaptation. Jeff Riles (BA ’09) is pictured here with Vice President of the United States Joe Biden at a reception for emerging LGBT leaders. Emily Noel Sanders (BS ’13) was awarded a $5,000 fellowship by the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The national fellowships are awarded to members entering their first year of graduate or professional studies. Emily is currently studying at OU College of Medicine.
Faculty Accomplishments Dr. Marc DiPaolo recently edited three books: “Devised and Directed” by Mike Leigh (with Bryan Cardinale-Powell), “Unruly Catholics from Dante to Madonna: Faith, Heresy, & Politics in Cultural Studies,” and “Godly Heretics: Essays on Alternative Christianity in Literature & Popular Culture.” The Applied Behavioral Science Program collaborated with the Law School, resulting in a co-authored article by Dr. Andy Glenn and Dr. Chris Tumminia (Law School) regarding the legality of Duty To Warn for mental health professionals: “The Duty to Warn in Oklahoma: A Survey of Law Across Licensed or Certified Psychotherapists.” Published in Oklahoma City University Law Review, Spring 2013, the article examines the 1976 landmark case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California. The case subsequently led to some states making it the duty of a psychotherapist to break confidentiality in the event of a client inflicting harm on self or others, as it applies to those mental health professionals allowed to practice mental health counseling in Oklahoma. Extensive analysis revealed inconsistencies and significant shortcomings in statutory language, having potential life-threatening consequences and prompting a need for legislative reform to provide uniform language. Dr. Robin Meyers gave a series of three lectures at Yale Divinity School Oct. 23, 24, and 25 in New Haven, Conn. By invitation of the Yale faculty, Dr. Meyers delivered the 2013-2014 Lyman Beecher Lectures. Although for over a century the Beecher Lectures have centered on preaching, they may be given on “any topic appropriate to the practice of ministry.” Meyers discussed the concept of faith as resistance to ego, to orthodoxy, and to empire.
distinguished speaker Eboo Patel Author and activist Eboo Patel visited campus as a Distinguished Speaker on Oct. 23. Named by US News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based organization building the interfaith movement on college campuses. To see upcoming Distinguished Speakers, please visit www.okcu.edu/speakers.
ART socials set for new school year Tap into your creativity at upcoming art social events open to alumni, students, staff, faculty, the public and artists of all ages. Free pizza, beverages, and music by OCU students will be provided. Live models in costumes from the theater department will provide inspiration. Attendees need to bring their own art supplies, canvas or paper, charcoal pencils or paints, etc. Easels are supplied. Art Social calendar for 2013-14 (last Monday of every month): Aug. 26, Sept. 30, Oct. 28, Nov. 25, Jan. 27, 2014, Feb. 24, March 31, April 28
a r t s & sc i e n c e s
arts & sciences
Humanities
Humanities ralph ELLISON CENTENNIAL celebrated Poet and Red Earth MFA faculty member Quraysh Ali Lansana read from his book “Mystic Turf ” to open the state’s Ralph Ellison Centennial celebration on Feb. 15. The performance also featured New Growth Jazz Quartet and was the first in a series of events to honor Ellison, the internationally known, award-winning author who was born and raised in Oklahoma City. On Oct. 29, humanities scholar John F. Callahan, PhD, discussed the life and work of Ralph Ellison during a free public lecture at Oklahoma City University titled, “Ralph Ellison: A Meditation for His
RELIGION EVENTS
archives that will live on beyond the year-long celebration, which runs through March 2014. For more information, please visit www.ralphellisoncentennial. com. Tribute to Ralph Ellison by Mike Hoffman
FACULTY PRESENTATIONS
Willson Lecture November 14, 2013 OCU Chapel at 1, 3, and 7 pm
Dr. Regina Clemens Fox, assistant professor of English, presented a poster of her transfer research at Elon University’s “Critical Transitions and the Question of Transfer” conference and research seminar June 25.
Dr. Joerg Rieger, Wendland-Cook Professor of Constructive Theology Perkins School of Theology
The research presentation was entitled, “Boundary-Crossing for Effective Learning: Engaging High School and College Students in Collaborative Community Outreach.” This was the culminating project of research started in June 2011 in a seminar of 40 writing scholars from around the nation and world. Her specific area of study was the critical transition from high school to college. She gathered and analyzed data from Harding Fine Arts Academy high school and from OCU students.
Does it Liberate? The Relevance of Religion in a World of Inequality Neustadt Lecture February 20, 2014 OCU Chapel at 1, 3, and 7 pm Dr. Alan T. Levenson, Schusterman/Josey Professor of Jewish Intellectual History University of Oklahoma Joseph in Scripture & Tradition: Writing Biblical Biography Martha Jean Lemon Lecture March 27, 2014 OCU Chapel at 1 pm and Church of the Servant at 4 and 7 pm
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Centennial.” Callahan, the Morgan S. Odell Professor of Humanities at Lewis & Clark College and Ellison’s literary executor, is a specialist in 20th century American literature who has overseen the inclusion of Ellison’s papers in the Library of Congress and has fostered much of Ellison’s unpublished work into publication. The focus of the Ralph Ellison Centennial Celebration is to ensure Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma recognize Ellison through public events and the establishment of other Ellison-related entities such as memorials and
Rev. Mike Slaughter, Lead Pastor Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church
West Ohio Annual Conference
RELIEF FROM THE STORM Armand McCoy (BA ’10) volunteered his services during the aftermath of the May 31 storm as a public information officer for the City of Moore. McCoy is the business development director for Trifecta Communications in Moore, and the city is one of Trifecta’s video production and marketing clients. McCoy helped prepare city staff for daily internationally televised press conferences and oversaw hundreds of interview requests from news outlets around the world including CNN, NBC News, and the BBC. He also assisted the U.S. Secret Service and other staff for visits to Moore by President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Photo provided by the White House Photo Office.
Oklahoma Humanities council grant
The Center for Interpersonal Studies earned a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council to help present the “Conversations With Poet Tracy K. Smith” talks and readings April 2, 2014. The Pulitzer Prize winning poet will lead the 16th annual Thatcher Hoffman Smith Poetry Series with a discussion, an open mic poetry presentation, and a poetry reading by the poet. Professor Harbor Winn is the grant director for the center. For more information, contact hwinn@okcu.edu.
Social Sciences
Social Sciences THREE STUDENTS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY ABROAD Three Oklahoma City University students recently earned scholarships to study overseas. MaryAnn Grover, who just completed her first year at OCU, received a scholarship valued at approximately $1,500 from the University of Exeter’s international summer school. She will participate in the International Relations: Conflict, Security, and Peace program. Grover is majoring in economics and finance with minors in history and Spanish. She also received a $200 travel scholarship from STA Travel, a student travel agency. STA Travel offered Grover the scholarship upon learning that her family’s home was damaged by the May tornado in Moore. Grover is a member of the University Honors program, the Oikos Scholars program, and is a Chesapeake Scholar in the Meinders School of Business. Mariah Nonnemacher, an acting major and Chinese minor, will spend 10 weeks this summer in Shanghai, China, where she will study Mandarin and complete an internship with the award-winning filmmaking company, Lost Pensivos. Nonnemacher received an
$8,000 Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, the highest award level available to students through the program. Her scholarship includes a $3,000 critical language supplement for her Mandarin language studies. Her internship with Lost Pensivos requires her to assist with the filmmaking and film-editing processes and participate in brainstorming creative ideas with the company’s production team. Named for former Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman, who served in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee, the Gilman Scholarship program is funded by the U.S. Department of State. It aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they travel. Congressman Gilman stated, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity
to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.” Kelsey Ricks, a junior majoring in history and political science with a minor in Spanish, will spend the fall semester at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Spain. Ricks was awarded a $1,000 study abroad scholarship from Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest, largest, and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines in the U.S. The Phi Kappa Phi study abroad scholarship requires students to have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.75 and attend an institution that has an active Phi Kappa Phi chapter. Fifty scholarships are awarded to students from across the U.S. Oklahoma City University’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter was chartered in 2004. Ricks also received a $1,000 Affiliate Scholarship from Academic Programs International, the university’s program provider for the Pablo de Olavide University program.
MUG SHOT FACULTY PRESENTATIONS Psychology professor and department chair Melissa Hakman’s presentation proposal was accepted for presentation at the 47th Annual National Convention for The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, which will be held in Nashville, Tenn., in November. Her presentation is titled “Cognitive and Emotional Correlates of Self-Harm in Older Adolescents.” Alumnus Doug Knutson (MED ’12) was a research assistant on the project and will help present. Hakman was also invited to present a training workshop on differential diagnosis and psychological assessment for the University of Oklahoma Juvenile Personnel Training Program, a part of the National Resource Center for Youth Services. That presentation is also scheduled for November.
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E d u c at i o n
Education FIRST-YEAR TEACHER featured in the oklahoman Katie Alsup (BA ’13) was featured on the front page of The Oklahoman in a story about being a first-year teacher in Oklahoma City Public Schools this fall. She said she’s drawing inspiration from the woman she’s replacing, sixth-grade social studies teacher Kristie Heald and Alsup’s former teacher. “She put a lot of faith in us,” Alsup said in The Oklahoman. “If we messed up, it was OK. Helping me grow was something that really stuck with me.” Heald, who retired from Belle Isle, said she remembers teaching Alsup. Katie was shy and
call for entries THE ENVIRONMENTOR NEWSLETTER The Internet Site for Environmental Education in Oklahoma The new issue is now up! View it at www.okcu.edu/ environmentor Please contribute to the calendar and newsletter by emailing contributions to environmentor@okcu.edu. The editor of The Environmentor Newsletter is Beth Landon, Lab Technician at OCU.
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quiet, but she was driven, Heald told The Oklahoman. “It’s just such an honor for her to come in and fall in love with the subject,” Heald said. Alsup will teach topics like geography, ancient civilizations, and immigration. “All other subjects fit into history, and history fits into all other subjects,” Alsup said. Alsup graduated from Oklahoma City University in May with degrees in teaching and in history/political science.
Oklahoma teacher of the year Alumnus Peter Markes (BME ’01) has been named the 2014 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. He teaches 8th - 12th grade string orchestra and Advanced Placement music theory at Edmond North High School. Recent graduates of OCU to be awarded the honor include Heather Sparks (BS ’91 and ME ’97) for 2009 and Robyn Hilger (BME ’99) for 2006.
FACULTY PRESENTATIONS Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Willner worked with colleagues from the University of Oklahoma, Mid-America Christian University, the University of Central Oklahoma, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma to present a peer-reviewed session at the European Reading Conference in Jonkoping, Sweden in August. The session was titled “Active Learning in the University Classroom.” Willner and her colleagues offered a model for teaching future teachers at the university. Because a goal of teacher education programs is to develop critically-thinking flexible practitioners, the model stresses that teacher candidates become engaged in critically evaluating both content and pedagogy as active participants who are developing their identities as literacy teachers. Willner and her colleagues presented their model for university teaching that supports teacher candidates as they read and respond, participate in applying the knowledge from the readings, analyze the theory, and practice from a learner’s perspective, then transfer the knowledge into their teaching practices. The conference in Sweden, which is affiliated with the International Reading Association, included more than 400 university teacher educators from more than 20 European countries, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada. “It was invigorating to discuss literacy instruction issues with my peers from other countries and to realize that we share many of the same challenges and joys. We all endeavor to educate excellent teachers in environments that aren’t always friendly for doing what the research and our hearts tell us is necessary,” Willner said.
M at h & S c i e n c e
Math & Science new Exercise & Sport Science graduate program created The Department of Exercise & Sport Science (ESS) has a new graduate program. Students interested in clinical exercise physiology, sport performance, or health promotion can obtain a Master of Science Degree in a four-semester, 36-credit hour program. All classes are held in the evenings to accommodate working students. The esteemed faculty and rigorous curriculum will challenge students to become
leaders and innovators in their current professions as well as prepare them for future career opportunities. Complimentary to the new ESS graduate program, a cancer control research apprenticeship program involving both undergraduate and graduate students is also offered. Research focuses on the role and significance of exercise as part of cancer prevention, care, and survivorship, with primary and secondary goals
grant awarded for biology
The CAIRS (Creative Activities/Inquiry/Research/ Scholarship) Undergraduate Research Scholarship Committee awarded a grant to a summer research project of biology professor Tony Stancampiano and student Sophie Hackney. The team is conducting small-mammal surveys at the John Nichols Scout Ranch in Canadian County.
COSTA RICA SUMMER COURSE
Biology professor Laurie Kauffman taught a course on Primate Behavior and Conservation in Costa Rica over the summer. Four Oklahoma City University students attended: Jeff Foster; Zack Mikan; Mike Newton; and Kaleb Oakleaf. Students collected data on squirrel monkeys, saw all four species of Costa Rican monkeys and a sea turtle, and helped plant trees, all for lab science and service learning course credits.
aP chemistry teacher workshop
Stephen Prilliman, associate professor and chair of chemistry, presented two workshops in July for high school Advanced Placement chemistry teachers. The first was at the University of Tulsa, and the other was at the national Advanced Placement Conference in Las Vegas.
of decreasing symptom severity and disease burden while enhancing quality of life. Both the ESS graduate program and the cancer control research apprenticeship program have begun for this academic year, but amazing scholars are always invited to join the team. Contact graduate director, Dr. Tom Darling, at tvdarling@ okcu.edu or (405) 208-5016, or visit www.okcu.edu/kinesiology for more information.
faculty spotlight
OCU physics professor Klaus Rossberg is the subject of a story in the most recent issue of the alumni magazine FOCUS. Originally from East Germany, Rossberg earned his doctorate at the University of Arizona. He took a teaching position at Michigan Technological University, then came to OCU in 1969. He became physics chair in 1978 and then mathematics chair. He has taught 35 different subject areas, including acoustics, astronomy, physics, and math. To read the full story, go to www. okcu.edu/alumni/focus and click on the Fall 2013 issue.
FOCUS alumni magazine of oKlaHoma CiT Y uniVeRSiT Y
fall 2013
Student Notes
The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine recently welcomed eight OCU alumni into its Class of 2017. OCU alumni make up nearly five percent of that medical school class, which places OCU third (behind only OU and OSU) for the number of alumni matriculating there this fall.
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Wimberly School of Religion Student and Professor Study at Oxford This June, religion major and Bishop’s Scholar Allison Bevers had a unique opportunity to visit and study at Oxford. The trip related to a Dead Sea Scrolls project she is working on with her professor, Dr. Lisa Wolfe. This fall, Wolfe and four of her Hebrew students, including Bevers, are researching a Dead Sea Scroll from the Green Collection. A portion of that collection was displayed in the “Passages” exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in the fall of 2011. The students in Wolfe’s class received the opportunity to apply for the trip, and when Bevers was selected, Wolfe was invited to participate in a shorter portion of the Oxford events, along with other professors.
Bevers writes, “My experience in Oxford was an incredible, unique educational experience that I am extremely thankful for. I was surrounded by many students who have had a lot more experience in reading and translating and transliterat-
ing texts than I have had, and I learned just as much from them as I did from our presenters. Students from all over the world came together, and it was amazing to see that all of us have this passion for bringing new textual discoveries to light. Our presenters gave us so many different viewpoints and theories to consider, and I really enjoyed hearing the thoughts and discoveries these men and women have made. My favorite part of the trip was probably making the trip to the Kilns, C.S. Lewis’ former home. Our guide for the trip, Jonathan Kirkpatrick, is very knowledgeable about the life of Lewis, and gave us such an in-depth tour. I stood in the study where Lewis wrote over half of ‘The Chronicles of
Narnia,’ and it was incredibly inspiring to know that such influential works were created there. I’m so thankful for the time I had to see all of the history that has happened in Oxford, and I hope I can go back soon.” Bevers, Wolfe, and others in the Hebrew class gave a presentation Nov. 2 as part of Homecoming weekend. The presentation was entitled, “Coffee, Rolls, and Dead Sea Scrolls.”
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