Increase Excellence: Youngstown State University faculty and staff achievements

From art exhibits in Valkenswaard, Sweden, to new textbooks and scholarly articles on human anatomy, Watergate Babies and Scottish poet Robert Burns, Youngstown State University faculty and staff are earning accolades and sharing their expertise, both inside and outside the classroom. Here are some of their most recent accomplishments:

 

 

Markers Joy Christiansen Erb of Poland, Ohio, an associate professor of Art, was a featured artist at the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Exchange Exhibition, titled “Markers” and on display at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia. Erb earned a BFA from Miami University and an MFA from Texas Woman’s University. She joined the YSU faculty in 2008.

 

Diabetes research Sara Michaliszyn of Canfield, an assistant professor of Human Performance and Exercise Science, co-authored an article that was published in Pediatric Diabetes, titled “Differences in β-cell function and insulin secretion in Black vs. White obese adolescents: Do incretin hormones play a role?,” and presented it at the American Diabetes Association’s 75th Annual Meeting in Boston. She also co-authored an article, titled “Distinguishing Characteristics of Metabolically Healthy Versus Metabolically Unhealthy Obese Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome,” that was accepted for publication by the journal Fertility and Sterility. Finally, Michaliszyn presented at the American College of Sports Medicine 63rd Annual Meeting in Boston on the subject “Longitudinal Patterns of Physical Activity Using a Personalized Intervention for Adolescents with Diabetes or Obesity." Michaliszyn joined the YSU faculty in 2013. She earned her BSAS from YSU, a master’s degree and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, and then completed two postdoctoral fellowships, one at the University of Arizona and a second at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

 

Papers and presentations Helen Han-Haas of Hudson, Ohio, an associate professor of Management, co-authored two papers that were accepted recently for publication. The first, entitled “Insecure followers need secure leaders: How adult attachment styles impact workplace outcomes,” was accepted for publication by the journal Human Relations. The paper reported on research that was funded by a YSU University Research Council Grant. The second paper, entitled “Nightmare Bosses: The Impact of abusive supervision on employees' sleep, emotions and creativity,” was accepted by the Journal of Business Ethics. Both articles were co-authored by management professors Peter Harms from the University of Alabama and Yuntao Bai from XiaMen University. Additionally, Han-Haas will present a paper, entitled “Having two conflicting minds? Examining the link among leaders’ cognitive thinking style, employee creativity self-efficacy and employee creative performance,” at the Annual Western Academy of Management Conference in Portland, Ore. She earned an MA from the University of Minnesota and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, joining the YSU faculty in 2007. Leadership Award Amy J. Plant of Wellsville, a part-time instructor of Gerontology and Certified Dementia Practitioner, was recently awarded the Student Leadership Award by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. Plant joined the YSU faculty last fall. This prestigious national award is given annually to individuals who have exemplified a commitment to service, scholarship and advancing the cause of gerontology and geriatrics among their peers. The award was presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education in Long Beach, Calif., where Plant will be conducting a workshop with Daniel J. Van Dussen of Boardman, coordinator of Gerontology and Long Term Care, regarding the need for increased marketing and competency based education in gerontology. As part of her award, Plant will also conduct a session to discuss breaking down barriers for emerging scholars and professionals in gerontology and geriatrics. Plant earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at YSU. Van Dussen, who joined the faculty in 2006, holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Union College, a master’s from the University of Akron and a PhD from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

 

Rain Garden Project Robert J. Korenic, associate professor, and Joseph Sanson, assistant professor, both in Civil and Construction Engineering Technology, presented research entitled “In-Situ Soil Composition Analysis of the Youngstown State University Gateway Project Rain Garden” at the American Society of Engineering Education Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration in Austin, Texas. Their research was funded by a grant from the American Society for Engineering Education. Korenic lives in Girard and practiced structural engineering and water resources planning and management before joining the YSU faculty in 2010. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering from YSU. Sanson, a McDonald resident, earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from YSU and joined the faculty in 2009.

 

San Diego presentation Birsen Karpak of Canfield, a distinguished professor of Management, presented “Just in Time Learning and Beyond with a Configuration Client” at the 19th SAP Academic Conference Americas in San Diego. Karpak shared her pedagogical, just-in-time learning approach with the faculty from all over the world. She holds a PhD in Business Administration from Istanbul University. Certification Dominic C. Marchionda of Youngstown, City/University planner for the Regional Economic Development Initiative, has received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council. The courses he completed to earn the credential provide him with expertise in credit analysis, real estate financing, loan packaging, deal structuring and negotiating and the creation and implementation of development programs. Marchionda joined the YSU staff in 2014. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from John Carroll University and two master’s degrees from The Ohio State University, one in City and Regional planning and one in Public Affairs. Intercultural arts research Lillian Lewis of Boardman, an assistant professor of Art Education, had her research included in a recently published book. The chapter she authored, titled “Calling critical work into question: a case of arts-based performance as public pedagogy, and participatory inquiry,” is part of The Routledge International Handbook of Intercultural Arts Research, published by Taylor & Francis in January. Lewis has a BS from Howard Payne University, a master’s degree from the University of North Texas and a PhD from Pennsylvania State University, all in Art Education. She joined the YSU faculty in 2015.  

 

Geography article Bradley Shellito of Boardman, professor, Geography, published an invited guest author piece in the 12th edition of McKnight’s Physical Geography, published by Pearson, 2016. The article is titled “Global Environmental Change: Growing a City in the Dessert.” The textbook is widely adopted for introductory physical geography classes, including here at YSU. Shellito earned an undergraduate degree from YSU and a master’s degree from Ohio State University before completing his PhD at Michigan State University. He joined the YSU faculty in 2004. Editorial board Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez of Boardman, a distinguished professor in Philosophy and Religious Studies and director of the Dr. James Dale Ethics Center, has been appointed to the editorial board of a new book series, titled Springer Series on Public Administration and Public Policy. The series will publish monographs and collections of original essays on regional migration from victims of war and topics such as terrorism, police integrity, political corruption, the intersection between politics and public health, hunger, clean water and sanitation, global warming, issues of distributive justice and human rights. Palmer-Fernandez was also selected by the Regional Chamber as one of the Most Interesting People in the Mahoning Valley. His profile was among those featured in Valley Magazine. He has a PhD from Harvard University and joined the YSU faculty in 1992. Student retention Becky Varian of East Liverpool, director of the Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress, made a poster presentation at the National Symposium on Student Retention in Orlando. The poster, titled “Supporting At-Risk Population with Mandatory Academic Coaching,” used data to demonstrate the level of academic success that conditionally-admitted students experienced after mandatory academic coaching was implemented. Varian joined the YSU staff in 2008. She has a BS in Psychology from Kent State University and an MSEd from YSU.

Art in Sweden Joseph D’Uva of Canfield, associate professor and area coordinator, Printmaking, had his work included in an exhibit, titled “Intuitive Repetition,” that was displayed at the 7th International Lithographic Symposium in Valkenswaard, Sweden, and is now part of the permanent collection at the Dutch Museum of Lithography. D’Uva also participated in the Signs for the Public Sphere Project in Knoxville, Tenn., and is one of 100 printmaker/educators nationwide invited to participate in a traveling exhibit titled “East/West, A Survey of Contemporary Printmaking” at Arts Visalia in Visalia, Calif. He conducted visiting artist lectures, demonstrations and workshops at the University of Arkansas and Bowling Green State University while on a faculty improvement leave and he is continuing his research this spring as a visiting artist at Elgin Community College. D’Uva joined the faculty in 2009. He has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a master’s and an MFA from the University of Iowa, and a Tamarind Professional Printer Certificate from the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque. New textbook Mark D. Womble of Youngstown, a professor and graduate program director, Biological Sciences, has published a textbook entitled Introduction to Human Gross Anatomy: A Regional Guide. A 466-page volume published by Van-Griner Publishing in Cincinnati, the book is designed for pre-medical, pre-physical therapy, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, and forensic science students. Womble is using the new book in his class, “Introduction to Human Gross Anatomy,” for the first time. Womble has an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and a PhD in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of Michigan.

Watergate Babies William Binning of Poland, professor emeritus of Political Science, co-authored a paper entitled "Twenty-Twenty Vision: Public Service, Watergate Babies, GOP Revolutionaries," and presented the paper at a meeting of the Southern Political Science Association. Binning has a master’s degree from St. Anselm College and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. Text on Robert Burns Corey Andrews of Boardman, a professor of English and director of the Literature Program, has authored a textbook titled The Genius of Scotland: The Cultural Production of Robert Burns, 1785-1834. Published by Brill/Rodopi, the text is intended for an academic audience but also appeals to general readers interested in Robert Burns, Scotland, and/or British history. Andrews gave a presentation based on the book at the James Hogg Society Conference at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. Andrews joined the YSU faculty in 2005. He has a BA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, an MA and a PhD, both in English, from Ohio University. Stonewall award Christopher Barzak of Youngstown, associate professor, English, was presented a  Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award for his third novel, Wonders of the Invisible World, published in 2015 by Knopf Books. The awards were announced by the American Library Association’s Stonewall Book Awards Committee of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table. Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit for children and teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. Barzak joined the YSU faculty in 2008. He earned a BA and an MA, both in English, from YSU, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. Teaching Ethics Mark Vopat of Akron and Alan Tomhave of Boardman, both associate professors of Philosophy and Religious Studies, were chosen to serve as editors of Teaching Ethics, the journal of the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. They were selected to lead the publication after a national search and presented their first issue at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics conference. Vopat, who joined YSU in 2002, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cleveland State University and a PhD from the University of Western Ontario. Tomhave joined the YSU faculty in 2009. He has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin, an MA from St. John’s College and both a MA and a PhD from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Buddhist expertise Michael Jerryson of Niles, associate professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies, was quoted in Veja magazine, the largest weekly news magazine in Latin America with 1 million subscribers. The name of the article is, “Can you be a Buddhist and a terrorist at the same time?” Jerryson also had a chapter, titled "Buddhist and Islamic Coping Strategies: Resiliency in Thailand’s Deep South,” published in the book Ethnicity and Conflict in Buddhist Societies in South and Southeast Asia. The book was published in 2015 by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies and Vijitha Yapa Publications. Jerryson earned his undergraduate degree in Western Philosophy and an MA in Languages and Cultures of Asia, both from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He joined the YSU faculty in 2013.