YSU faculty and staff accomplishments

Jessica Wallace, program director, Master of Athletic Training, and assistant professor, Kinesiology and Sport Science, has been selected as a recipient of the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association Outstanding Educator Award, presented to recognize those who have significantly contributed to the education of association members. GLATA is a professional membership association for athletic trainers and students. Wallace will receive the award in March at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Other faculty members presenting at breakout sessions, all from Counseling, School Psychology and Educational Leadership, and their topics were: Gail Saunders-Smith, associate professor, “Celebrate What Is and Teach What Is Next: Literacy for At-Risk Learners”; Kathleen Aspiranti, assistant professor, “Best Practices and Strategies for the Inclusively Served Student on the Autism Spectrum”; Victoria Kress, professor, “Self-Injury: What School Personnel Need to Know”; Don Martin, professor, with his wife, Magy Martin, a professor of Clinical Psychology at Walden University, “Generational Trauma: Difficult Children and their Parents.”

Becky Varian, director, Marion G. Resch Center for Student Progress, made presentations at two events sponsored by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators/Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, both in Orlando, Fla. Her presentation at the 2017 NASPA Region III Summer Symposium was entitled “Improve Assessment Data by Increasing Student Feedback Rates From 30 Percent To 90 Percent,” and her lecture at the 2017 NASPA Assessment and Persistence Conference was titled “How to get 93 Percent Student Response Rates.”

Christine Perunko, printing supervisor, Print Shop, was featured in an article published earlier this year in In-plant Graphics, a printing industry publication. Perunko discussed a slitter/cutter/creaser machine that YSU added recently to its printing plant and how the new equipment has allowed employees to improve efficiency, quality and productivity.

Nguyet Nguyen, assistant professor, Mathematics and Statistics, authored two papers published last fall. The first, titled “A Quasi-Monte Carlo Implementation of the Ziggurat Method," is a collaboration work with two Florida State University faculty members. It was submitted to the Monte Carlo Methods and Applications journal. Secondly, Nguyen authored “An Analysis and Implementation of the Hidden Markov Model to Technology Stock Prediction," which was published in Risks.

Mari Alschuler, associate professor, Social Work, presented a research poster last fall at the annual conference of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in Columbus. She spoke about a study she conducted, titled “The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Social Work Field Students.”

Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, distinguished professor, Philosophy and Religious Studies, was appointed to the Western Research Health Education Board of Directors at Northside Medical Center in Youngstown.

Candace Campana, administrative assistant, Engineering Technology, wrote a song titled “Pink Ink” that was released in mid-December by Nub Music of the United Kingdom. The song is about the hardships of battling cancer and finding hope through the process. Campana previously worked nearly three years in Undergraduate Admissions.

Rosemary D’Apolito, professor emeritus, Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology, and Maria Bleauhu, an instructor at Stark State College, displayed their exhibit of photos and profiles, titled “Women of the World: A Photographic Journey of New Americans in the Mahoning Valley,” recently on the Stark State campus. The exhibit featured photos of women from 15 countries around the world.

Kelley Ashby, academic ally, Office of Inclusion and Enrichment, authored a chapter that was published in Volume 156 of New Directions for Student Leadership. The chapter, titled “Building a competency-based leadership program with campus-wide implementation,” outlines a process used by a large, public, research institution to foster college students' leadership competency through a leadership development initiative.

Jake Protivnak, professor and chair, Counseling, School Psychology & Educational Leadership, receives the Outstanding Chapter Faculty Advisor Award by Chi Sigma Iota – International at the American Counseling Association national conference in Atlanta in April. He has served as advisor of the counseling honor society’s YSU chapter since 2009. The award honors members that mentor, lead and support the new leaders of the profession through their university chapters.

Fred Viehe, professor, History, recently published a review of Sex Workers, Psychics, and Numbers Runners: Black Women in New York City's Underground Economy, by LaShawn Harris, in the Journal of American History. Viehe also was recently interviewed by a freelance producer KCRW, the NPR station in Los Angeles, concerning the impact of oil on the historic development of Los Angeles. He also made a presentation titled "Fredericka Mandelbaum: The First Female Don in American Organized Crime," to the Learning In Retirement group in Tod Hall on campus.