Honors & Awards
Dr. Regena Aye, Assistant Professor of Education and Chair of IDPT, was selected as the CAP’s National Vice Commander and promoted to Brigadier General. Her primary duties as National Vice Commander are to help General Phelka lead the CAP’s 56,000 volunteers in fulfillment of the organization’s three primary missions of emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet programs.
Dr. Alan Grant, Professor of Economics, won a 2022 Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association for his book Principles of Economics.
Dr. Tim Hodges, Counseling Center Director, was selected as the 2021 Kansas Counselor of the Year by the Kansas Counseling Association.
Dr. Frank Perez, Director of Bands, was the recipient of the United Methodist Women’s Service Mission Recognition Award (United Methodist Women National Office) for his volunteer work providing weekly audio engineering and streaming during the pandemic.
Publications & Presentations
Dr. Regena Aye, Assistant Professor of Education and Chair of IDPT, served as keynote speaker at the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Annual Conference on a panel with Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author. The panel focused on the importance of history, the role of revisionist history, and leadership. She also served on a panel with Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s Chief X-box Officer, on the topic of innovation, strategic planning, and priorities.
Dr. Verneda Edwards, Interim Dean of School of Education, has been involved in several initiatives:
- Published the journal article “Make It Last a Lifetime” in the KAPHERD Journal. The article explored the knowledge gained by using heart rate monitors and featured Baker’s physical education majors.
- Presented the session “I to Us: Movement Strategies to Develop Pre-K Social Skills” at the 2021 SHAPE America Virtual National Convention and Expo with Dr. Bill Stinson.
- Presented in a poster session “Navigating Kansas Physical Education Together Through an Epidemic” at the 2021 SHAPE America Virtual National Convention and Expo with Dr. Tiffany Dirks and Dr. Ross Freisen. The session included research about the impact of the pandemic on local physical educators.
Dr. Wendy Gentry, Assistant Professor for School of Education, served as the keynote speaker for the spring 2021 Sigma Beta Delta induction at Baker University. Her presentation was titled “Seeking Significance Over Success.”
Dr. Stephanie Hill, Master’s Director of Academics for School of Education, presented “Fueling Passion and Purpose: Reclaiming the Joy of Teaching” and facilitated discussion for Baker’s April 2021 virtual networking event.
Dr. Lowell Jacobsen, Rhodes Professor of International Business, published a book chapter called “David Hutchison Macgregor (1887-1953)” in R.A. Cord (Ed) The Palgrave Companion to Oxford Economics, edited by R. A. Cord (Ch. 12, pp. 283-307). He also gave an invited presentation, “Looking to a Post-Pandemic Economy,” to the International Relations Council of Greater Kansas City.
Dr. Kyunghwa Cho, Assistant Professor and Research Analyst for the School of Education, has been involved in several educational activities:
- Presented the paper “Elements to Support Effective Digital Learning” at the Korean-American Educational Research Association Annual Conference.
- Was accepted to present the session “The Role of Moderators in Math Learning Games: A Meta-Analysis” at the Association for Educational Communication and Technology Annual Convention.
Dr. Tes Mehring, Professor for School of Education, published the book chapter “Relationship Building” in Thriving as Women in Leadership in Higher Education. Academic Impressions published the book in 2021.
Dr. Charlsie Prosser, Assistant Professor and Chair for undergraduate programs at School of Education, was a speaker at the 2021 Baker University Convocation. She shared her experience of working through a grant proposal along with an overview of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Grant promoting STEM education. Prosser also participated in a diversity and inclusion panel to address faculty concerns from Faculty Professional Development Day.
Grants
Dr. William Duncan, ’12, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, received a RASTA (Research for Social Transformation and Advancement) grant from the Pakistani Institute for Development Economics. This will fund research on the trade imbalance in Pakistan, the source of its continual emergency bailouts from the International Monetary Fund, with the goal of developing policy proposals that might address the imbalance. Duncan has also shared his research through two presentations. In March he presented to OPEC (Oil Producing and Exporting Countries) researchers in Vienna an analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. oil markets. Then, in April, he presented commissioned policy analysis to the Kansas Board of Regents examining paths to success for community college students who began at one of Kansas’ 19 community colleges with the intention to obtain a baccalaureate degree.
Dr. Charlsie Prosser, Assistant Professor and Chair for undergraduate programs at School of Education, Molly Anderson, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Instruction, Dr. Erin Morris, Professor and Chair of Biology, Dr. Jamin Perry, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Dr. Amy Wintermantel, Associate Professor for undergraduate programs at School of Education, resubmitted a proposal to the Robert Noyce Program that biology, chemistry, and mathematics jointly submitted with the School of Education and were awarded an amount of $1,013,000 over five years. This project will help Baker recruit and support 24 new STEM teachers in biology, chemistry, and mathematics to teach in two high-need school districts in urban areas over the next five years. Baker will help prepare these teacher candidates for the classroom by providing preservice teaching experiences, professional development opportunities, and an innovative mentorship program with in-service teachers.
Notable Mentions
Christina Barker, MSN, RN, Assistant Professor for School of Nursing, has facilitated the integration of Swift River into the curriculum across all levels. The program will allow for continual practice in critical thinking, medication administration, and NCLEX-style questioning across all levels of the nursing program.
Dr. William Duncan, ’12, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, along with Lauren Breithaupt Langston, ’13, are offering the first two classes in the Harvard Med School Pipeline Program and are actively working with senior Emma Howard to prepare her grant applications for the NIH Diversity Enhancement grant. This would fund her time at HMS for up to two years after graduation to work with one of the PIs on an NIH grant there. The classes underway are CS110, where students are introduced to data analysis in R, and HN301, where students are learning about grant applications.
Dr. Harold Frye, Associate Professor for School of Education, established an endowed scholarship beginning with the 2022-23 academic year to support Baker music education.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Wendy Gentry, Assistant Professor for School of Education, a small team of instructional design and performance technology (IDPT) students, launched the IDPT Student Association. The executive board includes both master’s and doctoral students. The team has already executed several successful initiatives, including a website, social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn, logo contest, and guest speakers.
Dr. Scott Kimball, Associate Professor of Biology, Dr. Randy Miller, Director of Research, and Dr. Robert Schukei, Associate Professor of Computer Science, welcomed their first cohort of student researchers to their NSF-funded project “Automated Slide-Making and Species Identification System for Tardigrades Found on Birds.” The cross-departmental collaboration now includes Dr. Matthew Spenko, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology as a co-PI to replace Dr. Mahmoud Al-Kofahi, Emeritus Professor of Physics, who retired spring 2020. Dr. Spenko has contributed a novel and welcomed addition to the project through his robotics lab in Chicago, while also bringing IIT student researchers to the program.
Endowed Professorships
At an August 13 celebration of faculty, the following individuals were named to endowed professorships:
- Narbeli Galindo, William Everett and Mary Ellen Mealman Endowed Chair of Business Leadership
- Dr. Joanne Janssen, Swogger Humanities Professorship
- Dr. Scott Kimball, Dr. Roger Boyd Professorship
- Dr. Jamin Perry, R. Milford White Chair of Chemistry
- John Richards, Walt Bailey Chair of Humanities
- Dr. Tamara Slankard, Miriam Markham Fetherolf Chair of Written Composition