College Highlights April/May 2017
In the College of Arts and Sciences, there are always big things happening. Take a look at some of our highlights from April/May 2017, including a special section on university-level awards:
Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Johnson Cancer Research Center
Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Awards
Faculty, professional staff, and students in the college received numerous awards from K-State.
Big Twelve Faculty Fellowship
The Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Award was created to stimulate scholarly activities in the areas of teaching, research and service. A mentoring and networking component was added to facilitate the establishment of contacts and networks for new faculty with outstanding individuals in their disciplines at other Big 12 universities. The program offers faculty the opportunity to participate in cross-mentoring among universities, develop working relationships and exchange ideas with others.
- Cydney Alexis, assistant professor of English and director of the Writing Center. Alexis observed and was mentored by Cheryl Ball, associate professor of digital publishing studies at West Virginia University. Alexis also observed WVU’s Eberly Writing Studio to compare the structure, hiring and training practices, and resource utilization of a writing center outside of K-State. Alexis plans to integrate the pedagogical and technological tools she learned about in her courses at K-State.
- Carla Martinez Machain and Sam Bell, assistant professor of political science and associate professor of political science, respectively. Martinez Machain and Bell are using their joint fellowship to collaborate with assistant professors of political science Olga Chyzh and Mark Neiman at Iowa State University. They are examining the logic behind the placement of international military deployments in response to the military deployment placements of global competitors. They found that states may respond to the deployment of troops by a rival state by either competing for influence in the same region or by trying to maintain their own, separate, sphere of influence. Martinez Machain and Bell plan to continue expanding on this project in future work.
- Alissandra Stoyan, assistant professor of political science. Stoyan collaborated with Farida Jalalzai, associate professor of political science and Hannah Atkins endowed chair at Oklahoma State University, in research analyzing women’s presidential campaigns in Latin America. Stoyan and Jalalzai’s research focused on successful and unsuccessful women’s presidential candidacies, and analyzed factors that possibly affected their electoral success, including individual traits like political party, personal and professional experiences, and family ties, as well as system-level institutional characteristics like the quality of democracy in the candidate’s country. Stoyan and Jalalzai just presented the working paper of this research at the Latin American Studies Association’s International Congress in Lima, Peru.
Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award
The Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Distinguished Graduate Faculty Awards are an opportunity to showcase faculty members who excel in teaching, research and the mentoring of students. The Commerce Bancshares Foundation and the William T. Kemper Foundation support these awards to help the university honor its exceptional graduate faculty.
- Zongzhu Lin, professor of mathematics. Lin researches representation theory of algebraic groups, quantum groups and Lie algebras, a branch of pure mathematics with deep connections to mathematical physics and quantum computing. A Kansas State University faculty member since 1993, Lin’s research has been supported by numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency. He was a member of Mathematical Science Research Institute and served as program director at the National Science Foundation from 2008-2011. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, serving on the society’s Human Rights Committee. He has supervised and co-advised 10 doctoral students in mathematics at K-State.
Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Presidential Student Award for Distinguished Services in Enhancing Multiculturalism
The Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Presidential Student Award for Distinguished Services in Enhancing Multiculturalism was established in spring 1997 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to diversity enhancement within the student sector.
- Yubisela Toledo, Bachelor’s candidate in biology and pre-optometry. Through her involvement with diverse groups on campus, including Circle K, and Developing Scholars, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO) Toledo has worked to enhance and expand multiculturalism at Kansas State University. She is also a resident assistant for Jardine Apartments, an Edgerely-Franklin Urban Scholar, and a member of Dr. Stefan Bossmans’ laboratory. Toledo was also recently recognized with a Robinson Family Multicultural Leadership Award from the K-State Alumni Association.
Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award
For nearly two decades, Commerce Bank and William T. Kemper Foundation have partnered with Kansas State University to promote and support excellence in undergraduate teaching. These recipients are committed to having a positive effect on students.
- Sabri Ciftci, associate professor of political science and Michael W. Suleiman chair. Ciftci hopes to increase students’ understanding of how the Middle East is relevant to everyday life in the U.S. and how it has contributed to human civilization worldwide. He is the founder of the Middle East Speaker Series and has recently organized the Public Opinion, Gender and Conflict in the Middle East Conference. He teaches Middle East Politics, Comparative Politics, Advanced Research Methods and Political Islam, which he is revising through a Curriculum Development Grant from the Global Religion Research Initiative. Ciftci has received the College of Arts and Sciences’ William L. Stamey Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, and he was appointed the Michael W. Suleiman chair in Arab and Arab-American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2015. He participates in the Muslim Student Association, the Egyptian Student Association and other international student organizations at Kansas State University.
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching recognize compassion, dedication and creativity in undergraduate teaching.
- Ashley Rhodes, teaching associate professor of biology. Rhodes enjoys discovering the best ways to help undergraduates understand and use new information. She teaches Structure and Function of the Human Body and Physiology of Adaptations. She specializes in multimedia development in undergraduate physiology courses and the effects of instructional media on learners with little prior subject knowledge. She has received the Commerce Bank Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, the K-State Panhellenic Professor of the Month, National Residence Hall Honorary University and Regional Faculty of the Month, Mortar Board National Honor Society Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Haymaker Teaching Excellence Award and the William L. Stamey Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.
- Craig Spencer, associate professor of mathematics. Spencer appreciates the hardworking and positive attitudes of K-State undergraduates and especially enjoys teaching topics that are completely new to them. He has taught 10 different courses in his nine years at the university, and is currently teaching Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers and Analytic Geometry and Calculus I. He is a co-principal investigator for math education grants from the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Board of Regents. He was the principal investigator for three grants from the National Security Agency. He has received the William L. Stamey Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and an Open Textbook Initiative Award.