February 2002                                                                                                             Volume 3    No. 6

The Council of Faculty Senate Presidents (COFSP) is a council of the Kansas Board of Regents.  Its purpose is to enhance communications with faculties, students, university administrators, the Kansas Board of Regents and legislators regarding issues that may have an impact on the faculty at universities in the Regents system.

Last month in Topeka COFSP was presented with a proposal addressing possible changes in the Regent’s Policy on Graduate Credit for Short Courses. Proposed language failed for lack of a majority vote. Extensive discussion revolved around the 54-hour rule passed by the Board of Regents with data forth coming in the spring.

This issue of COFSP Update contains highlights of events on the campuses of ESU, FHSU, PSU.  Information is in alphabetical order by institution.

Dwight Moore, Emporia State University: Philip Heldrich (English) and Andrea Piper (Art) were awarded a five thousand-dollar fellowship each from the Kansas Arts Commission.  Philip’s award was for fiction writing and Andrea’s award was for 2-D visual art. Joyce Thierer (History) was recently appointed to the Kansas Territorial Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee by Governor Bill Graves. James Wenger (Computer Information Systems) was elected Secretary of the Mid America Association for Computers in Education. He has held several other positions in that organization, including president.  Elizabeth Locey (French) was elected to the Executive Committee of Women in French, an international organization dedicated to Francophone Women Writers. Rebekah Sheely (Accounting) won Best Research Paper at the Southwest American Accounting Association Conference. Harvey C. Foyle (Instructional Design and Technology) received the  Excellence in Teaching Award for University Level Educators from the Kansas Council for the Social Studies. Sharon Karr and Michelle Rees (Psychology) received the Edna Harrison Innovative Practice Award at the Kansas Association of School Psychologists Convention.

Paul Adams, Fort Hays State University: As always, the students and faculty at Fort Hays State Univeristy are showing how dedication and commitment to education can pay off.  An FHSU interdisciplinary team, (P. Adams, Physics; G. Taggart, Education; K. Hickman, Biology; E. Eltze, Math; J. Hohman, Chemistry; J. Heinrichs, Geosciences), received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.  The purpose of the grant is to develop mathematics and science courses for future and current middle school science teachers.  Dr. Janice Unruh Davidson, Nursing, was the only Kansas nurse to be named a Distinguished Lecturer by the International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Steve Sedbrook, Human Health & Performance was honored as 2002 Educator of the Year from the Central District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.  Also impressive are the statistics from the 2000-2001 school year, which state that 99% of the 841 graduates in the 2000-2001 school year are either employed or seeking advanced education.

Khamis Siam, Pittsburg State University: At Pittsburg State University several faculty have received honors. Chuck Fischer (EFB) and Jim Harris (CSIS) were named University Professors. Dean Cortes (EFB) is on a one-year research/teaching sabbatical in Japan. Connie Shum (EFB) obtained became a Certified Financial Analyst. Cynthia Woodburn, Mathematics, was presented a Certificate of Meritorious Service by the Mathematical Association of America in recognition of outstanding contributions to collegiate mathematics, especially for service in the Kansas Section at the 2002 Joint Mathematics Meetings.

In addition, several student accomplishments should be noted: Matt Clarke, Plastics Student, will be presenting a poster entitled “Life Cycle Analysis of Thermoset Materials" at the 8th annual Global Plastics Environmental Conference (GPEC) in Detroit, Michigan, Feb. 13-14th. Chuck Killingsworth, HPER, is a recipient of the Central District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Professional of the Year Award. Scott Gorman, HPER, is a recipient of the AAHPERD Honor Award and is a finalist for office of President-Elect of the Association.