Archive for the ‘Faculty’ Category

Activities

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Luis Belaustegui is UMKC’s Language Resource Center Director and first and second Year Spanish Coordinator in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. During the first two weeks of 2011, Belaustegui raced his motorcycle in The Dakar, an international, off-road endurance race. Originally called the Paris-to-Dakar rally, the event has been staged in various locations around the world since its beginning in 1979. Belaustegui, who uses his racing experience as an educational tool, wrote an account of the 15-day race for UMatters which is the source of this story. See:

 

Clancy Martin’s (Philosophy) review of The Immortalization Commission by John Gray appeared in the New York Times Sunday Review of Books, May 8, 2011. For more see:

 

Kathleen Kilway (Chair, Chemistry) reports that one of the new faculty who will be joining their department in September, Xiaobo Chen, was involved in the research group that led to the invention of the “Nanostructured Antifogging Coating” technology.  The group was led by Samuel Mao, and members of his research group, Vasileia Zormpa and Xiaobo Chen, all with Berkeley Lab’s Energy and Environmental Technologies Division (EETD).  This technology is designed to provide a durable, nontoxic, antifogging and self-cleaning coating for architectural glass, windshields, eyewear and solar panels.”  For more see:

 

Barry Anderson (Art and Art History) will have a selection of new and recent single-channel video animations on view in a solo exhibition at  Walter Maciel Gallery in Los Angeles July 16-August 14. For more see:

He has a new video, Spice Tower, that will be featured in the exhibition Between Thee and Me at the Kansas City Jewish Museum July 24 – September 4.  For more see:

 

Jie Chen, Tom Fisher and Yong Zeng (Mathematics and Statistics) hosted the Kearney High School AP Statistics class field trip on May 11, 2011 to visit the department and the UMKC campus.  During the visit, Chen, Fisher, and Zeng shared their experiences with the high school students about how one can advance his/her career in Statistics.   To see what the AP Statistics students must do, go to:

 

Linda Voigts (Curators’ Professor of English Emerita) and Patricia Kurtz of William Jewell College had an article published in a book titled Communicating Early English Manuscripts, edited by Andreas Jucker and Paivi Pahta (Cambridge University Press, January 2011).  The publication follows from their research into a manuscript in a digitized collection at the University of Pennsylvania that proved to be a translation of a 1539 Latin treatise, a copy of which was available to them to compare in Linda Hall Library. For more on this publication, see:

For other work by Voigts and Kurtz, see:

 

Michael Frisch (Architecture, Urban Planning +Design) was interviewed by NBC Action News on June 6, 2011 on the rebuilding of Joplin in the aftermath of its devastating tornado. See:

 

Jacob Wagner (Architecture, Urban Planning +Design) and guest instructor Daniel Dermitzel, with many other community guest lecturers, recently taught a course on “Urban Agriculture” for students in many different urban-related majors. The students also had to work on a community farm as part of the course. For more see:

 

Jacob Wagner (Architecture, Urban Planning +Design) and two senior AUP+D students appeared on KCUR’s Central Standard show dealing with Revitalizing Eastern Kansas City’s Urban Core May 11, 2011.  To listen to the program, go here:

 

Joy Swallow (Chair, Architecture, Urban Planning +Design) reports that the Department’s efforts to help the KCMO school Board “repurpose” its many vacant schools was extensively covered on KCPT’s The Local Show on June 23 For more see:

 

Kathy Goggin (Psychology) sent us this report from the Heartland Health Network (the NIH funded grant program associated with the Psychology Depart.) See:

 

Bill Black (Economics) had his essay on the lawyers defending California’s Proposition 8 “spinning out of control” published in the on-line journal HuffPost Politics, June 15, 2011. See:

Transitions in Retirement

Friday, July 29th, 2011

A number of A&S faculty have chosen to retire this year. In this issue of the E-Zine, we report what they or their departments have sent us to reflect on how we are to remember their UMKC careers and plans for retirement.  Since some were not available to respond in time for this issue, we will post theirs in subsequent Zines.

David Atkinson (Political Science) came to UMKC in 1967 as an Assistant Professor and retired in 2011 as Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Political Science. He also held a joint appoint in the UMKC School of Law, where he was Curators’ Professor of Political Science and Law. Over his 44 years he taught courses on Public Law, including Constitutional Law, Judicial Process, and Jurisprudence.  David received the Shelby Storck Award and the Alumni Reunion Fellowship Award for outstanding teaching. He was also honored for his teaching by the American Political Science Association with their teaching award for Outstanding Teaching in Political Science. In additional to many articles in professional journals, he was the author of Leaving the Bench: Supreme Court Justices at the End. This book was reviewed favorably in the Wall Street Journal along with many professional journals and was discussed by Brian Lamb and the author on C-SPAN’s Booknotes.  Atkinson has now been awarded emeritus status and has also been appointed a James C. Olson Professor.

Jennifer Martin (Hall Family Foundation Professor of Theatre) will be retiring September 1st and has accepted a James C. Olson professorship to continue limited teaching in the graduate acting program. Beyond theatre, she will continue to apply the nonverbal techniques that actors use on stage to professional communication in medicine, law, business and higher education.  She wants to expand those trainings and conduct further research that measures how nonverbal techniques effect perception and therefore professional evaluations. Jennifer has been awarded Emeritus status.  Her garden also beckons and she looks forward to happy hours with dirt under her fingernails.

Philip Olson (Sociology) will retire and become Professor Emeritus as of August 31.  He will also be a James C. Olson Professor.  He came to UMKC in 1969 from Clark University as Professor of Sociology to chair the department.  His research has focused most prominently on urban neighborhoods, especially in Kansas City, but his work has extended as far away as China where he visited a number of times in the 1980s and studied the status and care of older adults during the period of rapid modernization. He is a past-president of the Midwest Sociological Society.  He will continue to teach one course per semester in the department and work on his book which links sociological theory to conspiracy theories.

Peter Singelmann (Sociology) is retiring and becoming Professor Emeritus as of August 31.  He was recently honored as part of the first class of James C. Olson Professors.  Singelmann has been a part of the department since 1971 and has been a distinguished scholar on the sugar cane industry in the state of Morelos in Mexico where he does research nearly every year.  He plans to complete a book on his recent work there over the next two years.  He will continue to teach one course per semester in the department for the next two years.

Charles Wurrey (Chemistry) After obtaining his PhD from MIT in Physical Chemistry in 1973, Charlie came to UMKC as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in 1974 after a year of post-doctoral research at the University of South Carolina. Originally hired to teach at the Truman Campus in Independence, he also taught courses at all levels on campus and started research into molecular spectroscopy and molecular structure which led to many publications and research grants.  He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 1980.  After a sabbatical and development leave at the University of California, San Diego, and serving as a Distinguished Visiting Scientist with the US Environmental Protection Agency, he was promoted to Professor in 1988 and became Department Chair in 1989.  From 1994-1996, he served as Faculty Fellow in the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs for the UM System.  In 1996, he was appointed Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was promoted to Executive Associate Dean in 2001, serving in that role until December of 2008, and also served as Interim Dean of the College in 2005.  Wurrey received the Amoco Outstanding Teaching Award, 1986; the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2001; was appointed Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Chemistry in 2002 and won the University of Missouri Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2003. He has been awarded Emeritus status and will become a James C. Olson Professor.

Mary Ann Wynkoop, (History) began her career at UMKC in 1992 the same year she received her Ph.D. in American History from Indiana University.   Wynkoop was appointed Associate Director of the American Studies Program in 1997, with her appointment as Director following in 2002. In addition to her invaluable work as an Associate Teaching Professor with the American Studies Program, Mary Ann helped develop and taught two of UMKC’s most popular cluster courses: “Introduction to Women’s Studies” and “American Social Film.”  In recent years, she served as coordinator and one of the key players in organizing and conducting the 2008 and 2010 week-long NEH summer workshops for high school teachers from across the country – “Crossroads of Conflict: Contested Visions of Freedom During the Kansas and Missouri Border Wars.”  A native Kansas Citian, Wynkoop plans to remain in the Kansas City area.

George Gale’s (Philosophy) career was divided in three parts: Leibniz, cosmology, and viticulture. He added a little something to each of these fields along the way. In Leibniz studies, he provided some new insights into the connection between Leibniz’ physics and his metaphysics, particularly concerning the role of the Principle of Perfection. In cosmology, he wrote about the anthropic principle (beginning with an article in Scientific American),  and, with UMKC physicist John Urani, made sure that the history and philosophy of cosmology treated the 1930s and 40s properly. (This effort earned them a “Paper of the Decade” award from the American Journal of Physics, and George an article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.) Finally, in viticulture, he reports he is pleased and relieved to say that his book Dying on the Vine, a historico-philosophical analysis of the scientific, social, and cultural responses to the destruction of most of the world’s fine vineyards by a near-microscopic bug, is in the final throes of publication by the University of California Press.  He also has been a visiting professor at Oxford, Wuhan University in the PRC, and East Tennessee State.  He also was able to visit the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Philosophy of Science—the think tank at ground zero in his discipline—twice as a fellow, and several times as a resident visitor. In the end, he became adjunct in Pittsburgh’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science and adjunct in the Department of Philosophy, Concordia University, Montreal.

He spent twelve years as Executive Secretary, running the Philosophy of Science  Association; ten years as an associate editor at Metascience, and was a founding member and serves on the Steering Committee of HOPOS, the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, with its own journal (U. Chicago Press). He had been awarded the title of Emeritus and will be a James C. Olson Professor.

Louis Potts (History) reports that since his arrival at UMKC he discovered a venue – public history- that seemed appropriate for him and the institution although it was not positively sanctioned by the traditional triad of teaching/research/service. He soon thereafter got a grant from the NEH to finance a series of radio programs on KCUR_FM (in Sam Scott’s days) on growing up in Kansas City. Chancellor James Olson received phone calls questioning why he was at the Jackson County Jail or Wayne Miner Housing Project or Kelly’s Bar or Center High School. But Olson fended off the critics. In addition to being part of starting the McKinzie Symposium, Lou also brought a number of prominent historians to the area, most especially Bob Kelley, Stephen Ambrose, and David McCullough to pack Pierson Hall. His interest in regional history came to center on the Watkins Mill State Historic Site where he collaborated with Linna Place and teaching a History of Bridges with the late George Hauck.  At the former he did mundane things like whitewash fences, build chicken coops and worm sheep plus producing the orientation video for the Visitors Center. At the latter, they concluded the summer course with a Corps of Engineers’ barge trip on the Missouri. Currently, he is part of a History team funded by the U.S. Department of Education to improve the teaching of social studies/American History in metropolitan schools. He has been awarded emeritus status and will be a James C Olson Professor.

Peter Groner (Chemistry) began his career at UMKC in 1994 in a non-tenure-track position in the Department of Chemistry.  His retirement from his position as Lecturer and Director of Laboratories is effective September1, 2011.  He has agreed to come back at least for the next spring semester to teach two courses, and may do so in the near future depending on demand and other factors. This arrangement will give him more time to visit with his family (including grandchildren) in the US and in Switzerland as well as let him continue some unfunded research  in collaboration with professional colleagues  within the U.S. and in Europe.

Richard Murphy (Physics) got his doctorate in Physics (with a minor in mathematics) at the University of Minnesota in 1968 and was a Post-Doctoral physicist at the IBM Research Lab in San Jose, CA until 1970. He taught Physics at Memorial University at St. John’s, Newfoundland from 1970-74 and joined the UMKC faculty in 1974 as Associate Professor. He was promoted to Professor in 1978. Dick has taught most of the courses in the physics curriculum, as well as several in the PACE Program.  He has served as principal graduate advisor and Chair of Physics as well as Director of the UMKC Honors Program. He has also spent many summers doing research at Army, Navy and Air Force laboratories involving his several specialties, the unifying theme of which has been large scale scientific computation. His research has led to many publications and to key committee assignments for the University. He has been awarded Emeritus status and is a James C. Olson Professor.

Retired & Retiring Faculty as of September 1, 2011

Friday, July 29th, 2011


 Tenured Faculty
Years at
UMKC
 Harris Mirkin – Political Science 45
 David Atkinson – Political Science 44
 Geraldine Fowle – Art History 44
 Philip Olson – Sociology 42
 George Gale – Philosophy 40
 Louis Potts – History 40
 Richard Murphy – Physics 37
 Charles Wurrey –Chemistry 37
 Craig Subler – Art History 31
 Michael Neer – Communications 29
 Jennifer Martin – Theatre 28

 NTT Faculty:
 Peter Groner – Chemistry 17
 Pat Huyett – English 17
 Mary Ann Wynkoop – History 14
 Total years of completed service upon retirement 465  

UMKC Faculty Symposium on GIS Education and Research Held in March, 2011

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

The Advanced Certificate Program in GIS of the College hosted the UMKC Faculty Symposium on GIS Education and Research on March 25, 2011. More than 40 faculty, staff, administrators, students, and invited guests participated in this event at the Administrative Center of UMKC. Faculty from the College departments of Geosciences, Economics, AUP+D, Sociology, and Criminal Justice and Criminology, as well as from the School of Computing and Engineering, the Bloch School of Management, and UMKC Libraries presented their teaching, research, or application activities with geographic information systems (GIS) -related techniques.

In addition, led by Lynne Clawson-Day, Director of High School/ College Partnerships (HSCP), high school representatives of HCSP also participated in the symposium and presented their dual-credit teaching projects. Currently, Columbia Area Career Center/Columbia Public Schools have adopted Geosciences’ GIS course as part of their dual-credit programs with UMKC. Prior to the symposium, Prof. Wei “Wayne” Ji of Geosciences, Director of Advanced Certificate Program in GIS, visited Columbia Area Career Center and talked to the students there. (See photo).

The Advanced Certificate Program in GIS of the College was established in 2006 and has been growing rapidly. It has enrolled over 90 students including many working professionals. Through related teaching and student research activities, the program supports many academic programs of UMKC.  For more see: http://cas.umkc.edu/Geosciences/advGis.asp

Two A&S Faculty Host UMKC Conference

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

UMKC hosted The Mid-America Medieval Association’s 35th Annual Conference, Feb. 25-26, 2011 at the University Center. Organized by Kathy Krause, (Foreign Languages and Literatures) and Shona Kelly Wray, (History), the theme of this year’s conference was “Medieval Recycling.”  Some 50 medievalists presented papers on topics in liter­ary studies, history, art history, and religious studies.   The key-note speaker was Dr. Sarah Kay, Professor of French at Princeton University, who spoke on “Recycling the Trou­badours: Quotation and the Development of European Poetry.”

See:
 http://www.midamericamedievalassociation.org

Faculty Retirements:

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

David Atkinson, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Profes­sor of Political Science and Law retired effective March 1, 2011 after 44 years of service at UMKC.

Michael Neer, Professor of Communications Studies retired effective March 1, 2011 after 29 years of service at UMKC.

Professors Visit Same Spot —20 Years Apart

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Jerry Dias (Curators’ Professor, Chemistry) provided these photos from his lecture visit in 1990 and from the sabbatical leave visit of David VanHorn (Chemistry) to the same site in China.

VanHorn 2010

 

Diaz 1990

Missouri Research Board Awards Made to A&S Faculty

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Five A&S faculty were awarded grants by the Missouri Research Board in July, 2010. They are: Keith Buszek (Chemistry); Ekaterina Kadnikova (Chemistry); Jejung Lee (Geosciences); James Murochick (Geosciences) and Nathan Oyler (Chemistry). We congratulate them.

Meet the New A&S Faculty

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Carla Noack (Theatre)

Carla Noack teaches acting for the MFA Professional Actor Training Program. She recently enjoyed her fourth year as member of the Great River Shakespeare Festival acting company, where recent roles include Rosalind in As You Like It, Katherine in Taming of the Shrew and the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. For ten years she was a co-artistic director of the Commonweal Theatre Company in Lanesboro, MN. She has also worked regularly with Minneapolis-based companies Ten Thousand Things and Theatre Latte Da. Most recently, she played Helen in Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of The Borderland, Queen Elizabeth in the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s production of Richard III, and a whistling, drumming, Irish ping-pong champ named Josie Horgan in “Boom! An International Lost and Found Family Marching Band”, created by her colleague, Stephanie Roberts. Carla earned her MFA from UMKC in 1992, and first came back to Kansas City in 1997 to play “C” in Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s acclaimed production of Three Tall Women. She is thrilled to back now in the training grounds that provided the foundation for her career.

Ian Besse (Mathematics and Statistics)

Dr. Besse got his B.A. in Mathematics from Grinnell College and his M.S. in Mathematics and Ph.D. (2010) in Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences, both from the University of Iowa. HIs area of research is broadly mathematical biology, with particular emphasis on the mathematical modeling of the electrophysiology of electrophysiology cardiac cells and neurons. He has a background in teaching, having taught at the secondary level both domestically and overseas, directed a college mathematics tutoring center, served as a teaching assistant and worked as an adjunct mathematics instructor at a community college. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, the Society for Mathematical Biology, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Joan McDowd (Psychology)

Joan M. McDowd is a graduate of Washington University and received her doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Toronto with a specialization in cognition and aging. Her research interests are in attention and executive function in aging. She is recognized nationally for her work in attention in typical aging, and has expanded that work to include age-related neurological deficits such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Of particular interest is the relation between performance on measures of attention and functional outcome.

William Stadler (Criminal Justice and Criminology)

Professor Stadler earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati and his MS and BA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has served as an adjunct professor and undergraduate internship coordinator for the Criminal Justice Department at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Stadler has also worked closely with a local social service agency in Cincinnati, conducting research related to offender assessment and treatment. His research interests include offender risk/needs assessment and classification, correctional and community rehabilitation, gender-responsivity, correctional policy, crime theory, and white-collar crime.

Thomas Fisher (Mathematics and Statistics)

Dr.Fisher received his BS degree in Computer Science from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an MS and a Ph.D. (2009) in Mathematical Sciences from Clemson University. His research focuses on multivariate statistics and their applications in modern science; specifically in genetics and economics. His published findings include a recent article in the Journal of Multivariate Analysis He is currently investigating estimators for the covariance matrix for applications in biology and finance. He has been teaching for 5-years, most recently at Clemson University as a Visiting Assistant Professor.

Massimiliano Vitiello (History)

Dr. Vitiello is a Visiting Assistant Professor specializing in Roman history and Late Antiquity, particularly the Germanic Kingdoms and the history of Rome and Constantinople. He studied in Rome (“La Sapienza”) and in 2001 completed his Ph.D. at the University of Messina. Since then, he has been honored with postdoctoral scholarships in Europe and in Canada. As a fellow of the “Alexander von Humboldt” foundation, he continued his research activity at the University of Münster (Germany) between 2004 and 2006. Most recently he has been a research fellow at the “Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies” in Toronto (Canada), where he earned the License in Mediaeval Studies. Dr. Vitiello is the author of two books, Il principe, il filosofo, il guerriero: lineamenti di pensiero politico nell’Italia ostrogota (Stuttgart 2006) and Momenti di Roma ostrogota: aduentus, feste, politica (Stuttgart 2005) as well as numerous articles in international journals. His research interests include Roman historiography and Quellenforschung (History of Texts), as well as political, social and economic history. His current research project includes a third monograph on the Gothic King Theodatus and a study of the damnatio memoriae.

Pearlie M. Johnson (Black Studies)

Dr. Johnson has an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Art History and Sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (2008). Her dissertation African American Quilts: An Examination of Feminism, Identity, and Empowerment in the Fabric Arts of Kansas City Quilters, explores a complex system of symbols and encoded images that address theoretical issues related to African and African American studies. A current research project involving her work is the upcoming exhibition African American Quilts Today: A Celebration of Motherhood, Sisterhood, and the Matriarchs, scheduled for October 21 – December 31, 2010, at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Johnson joins the University as Visiting Assistant Professor of Black Studies.

Paul J. Schroeder (Psychology)

Professor Paul J. Schroeder received his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research interests include working memory, text comprehension, and changes in cognitive function that accompany healthy aging. He teaches introductory and advanced undergraduate psychology courses.

2010 Promotions & Tenure Awards

Monday, October 11th, 2010

UMKC celebrated the promotion and tenure of 24 members of its faculty on September 1st at Pierson Auditorium. Among them were seven from the College. We congratulate them here as well.

Rosalyn M. Bertram Awarded Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Rosalyn M. Bertram (School of Social Work)
Mona Lyne Awarded Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Mona Lyne (Political Science)
Diane Louise Mutti-Burke Awarded Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Diane Louise Mutti-Burke (History)
Keith Buszek Awarded Promotion to Professor
Keith Buszek (Chemistry)
Delwyn Catley Awarded Promotion to Professor
Delwyn Catley (Psychology)
Clancy Martin Awarded Promotion to Professor
Clancy Martin (Philosophy)
Kati Toivanen Awarded Promotion to Professor
Kati Toivanen/strong> (Art & Art History)

Jim Falls (History) Anticipates Retirement Travel

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Jim Falls both looks back over his years at UMKC and to the future in this interview.
Renowned History professor to retire

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