Academe welcomes news from WSU faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of our current and former colleagues.

Mara Alagic, associate professor, graduate school dean’s office, Sherry Goodvin, Senior Fellow for Education Leadership, and Fuchang Liu, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, participated in the 7th Intercultural Communication Competence Conference in Khabarovsk, Russia, Sept. 14-16.

Alagic facilitated a Global Learning Cafe workshop and gave two collaborative research presentations: “Frames as a Model for Understanding Cultural Sensitivity” (with Tatiana Orel, York University, Toronto and Glyn Rimmington, WSU) and “World Cafe: A Structure for Dialogue” (with Lisa Lutz, Wichita Public Schools).

Goodvin made a virtual presentation, “The Digital Learner: An Educator’s Disorienting Dilemma,” focused on cultural/generational differences in the digital learning environment.

Liu made the virtual presentation “Foreign language acquisition in the context of global learning and multicultural communication.”

Ted Ayres, vice president and general counsel, was selected as Person of the Year by the Wichita Branch of the NAACP for his work on the Gordon Parks collection of papers and artwork. Ayres was honored at the Wichita NAACP’s 91st Legacy Award Dinner on Oct. 30.

Kristi Carlson Goering, education specialist, presented “Women in Radio in Wichita, Kansas: 1922-1960” at the Great Plains Radio History Symposium hosted by Kansas State University on Oct. 22.

Dan Close, associate professor, Elliott School of Communication, made two presentations at the National College Media Advisers/ Associated Collegiate Press conference Oct. 27-31 in Louisville, Ky.: “Multi-Sourcing Your Stories” and “Your First Time: Publishing Sexy Stories and Images.” He assisted in two other presentations. Six Sunflower students attended the conference.

Dan Close won second place in free verse and an honorable mention in songwriting at the Kansas Authors Club convention Oct. 1-3 in Lawrence. Close is in charge of publicity for the District 5 chapter based in Wichita.

Alicia Huckstadt, professor, nursing, director, graduate nursing program, received the 2010 Education Nurse of the Year award from the Kansas State Nurses Association.  The award was presented Oct. 7 at the annual statewide conference.

Linda Mitchell, professor, curriculum and instruction, presented “Child development and early learning: Laying down lifelong foundations for literacy” at a Sept. 15 parent workshop for St. Thomas Aquinas School in Wichita.

Jeremy Patterson, director, Human Performance Lab, was interviewed by KSN news about the lab’s partnership with the Center for Breast Cancer Survivorship, screening patients in the lab before, during and after cancer treatments to analyze bone density, body fat, balance and stability. See the video at http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/KSN-Dreamhouse-funds-open-Center-for-Breast/IMyJZgkgZkaw3A-PU4jdzg.cspx.

Carolyn Shaw, associate professor and chair, political science, is the recipient of the 2010 Howard and Jeanne Johnston Award for Global Citizenship awarded by the Global Learning Center of Wichita. In January 2011, she will go to Lublin, Poland, for six months as a Fulbright Scholar.

Virginia Kay Williams, assistant professor and acquisitions librarian, and Kathy A. Downes, senior associate dean, University Libraries, published “Assessing Your Vendors' Viability.” The Serials Librarian, Volume 59, Issues 3 & 4, 2010.

IN MEMORIAM
June S. Allen, 78, retired coordinator and instructor, cooperative education, died Sept. 28 in Wichita. She is survived by her husband, Phillip Allen. Memorial services have been held.

David R. Ellis, 75, former associate professor, aerospace engineering, died Oct. 26 in Wichita. He is survived by his wife, Eunice; son David Jr. (Michelle); daughter Katie (Karl); grandchildren Channing, Madeleine, Jordyn and Kristian; brother Richard Ellis; sister Jean Gorsuch; nieces and nephews. A private family memorial was planned. Donations may be sent to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita or The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Va.

Rachel Mateel Knox Harrison Johnson, 95, former faculty records clerk, academic affairs and comptroller’s office, died Oct. 25 in Lake Oswego, Ore. She was preceded in death by her second husband, Jim Johnson, in 2005 and first husband, William Harrison, in 1983. She is survived by daughter, Linda Ellis of Lake Oswego, Ore.; step-daughter Nancy (Joe) Leake of Bella Vista, Ark.; grandsons Steve (Donna) Ellis of Seattle, Wash., and Mark (Marcie) Ellis of Kansas City, Kan.; great-grandchildren, Jessica, Merritt, Stevie, Addison and Sophia Ellis; dear friend, Melba Soule of Bella Vista. A private family service was planned in Lake Oswego. Memorial donations can be made to The Salvation Army.