Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Dean's Salute to Excellence 2013

Recently the College of Liberal Arts recognized five individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the life and students of Bloomsburg University.

Their teaching, scholarly/creative work, service and leadership have improved campus culture and enhanced the visibility and reputation of the university nationally and internationally.

In 1998 Dean Hsien-Tung Liu established the Dean’s Salute to Excellence award to recognize distinction in the areas of teaching and professional responsibilities, scholarship, and service. Since then, the college has recognized a few select faculty members each year for their achievements, presenting them with a glass apple, a traditional symbol of teaching and learning.

This year the College continued this tradition, but with a twist. Because of the retirement of Bill Wise, the artist/alumnus who supplied these glass apples, awardees were presented hand-crafted maroon and gold pens in presentation boxes that read “Dean’s Salute to Excellence” on one side, and the recipient’s name on the other.

With the unanimous support of the College’s elected chairpersons, the final glass apple was awarded to the leader who as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences instituted the Dean’s Salute to Excellence and served as a tireless advocate for the college, its students, and its faculty during his fourteen-plus years as dean: Dr. Hsien-Tung Liu.

Dr. Richard Ganahl, Dr. Neal Slone, Dean Jim Brown, Professor Meredith Grimsley, Dr. Timothy Rumbough

Four current Liberal Arts faculty were also recognized:

Dr. Richard Ganahl is a senior member of the Department of Mass Communications who recently celebrated his 20 year anniversary at Bloomsburg University. His areas of specialization include New Media, Media Use, Advertising, and Public Relations. He is the co-editor of Webcasting Worldwide: Business Models of an Emerging Global Medium.

Dr. Ganahl is a popular and well-respected instructor. His student evaluation scores are consistently high, and his colleagues praise the effective blend of theory and practice in his courses as well as the extracurricular field experiences he and his students have organized, including fundraising campaigns in excess of $10,000 for local organizations. He speaks eloquently of his view of teaching, scholarship and service as manifestations of a unified overall enterprise, and he clearly conveys that worldview to the next generation of public relations professionals.

Dr. Ganahl is the founding faculty advisor of BU Now, a multimedia student-managed media blog site. He is also active in service to the broader community, serving on the school board at St. Joseph School in Danville, PA and on the planning committee for the Collegiate Media Summit hosted by Bloomsburg University in Fall 2012.

Professor Meredith Grimsley is a member of the Department of Art and Art History, where she teaches Fabric Design and 3D Design. Her work includes wearable art, installation, performance, two-dimensional and three dimensional forms. Her student evaluations are superlative, and she is an active member of the department, taking a lead role in assessment and other initiatives. Her annual PADME event—that’s Personal Adornment Day and Makeup Extravaganza—has become a Bloomsburg tradition.

In the five years since she was tenured, she has maintained a challenging agenda of scholarly growth, including five highly competitive and international solo or two-person exhibits.

Professor Grimsley has demonstrated great potential as a faculty leader at the department level as well as within the college and the university as a whole. She and her students are highly visible at our annual Taste of the Arts, helping young patrons create projects in a hands-on way that often involves blow-dryers. She organizes the department’s Lunch Bag Lecture Series and Review Week, and she’s active in the broader community as well.

Dr. Timothy Rumbough recently completed his twentieth year in the department of Communication Studies. He teaches a wide range of courses for the department, including the general education and core classes as well as courses like Communication in Relationships and Computer Applications for Professional Communicators. His research focuses on computer-mediated communication and the effects of technology like cell phones and the internet on interpersonal communication. He’s published articles in several respected journals, and his research has been featured in national and international media.

Dr. Rumbough’s student and peer evaluations are consistently exemplary, and he is known as a leader in the department who serves on and leads several departmental committees. He has also served very effectively as a summer chairperson and is known as a knowledgeable and effective advisor.
Dr. Rumbough has also been very active in APSCUF serving recently on a Meet and Discuss working group reviewing promotion policies and practices. His commitment to the department, the college, and the university can be held up as a model to his colleagues.

Dr. Neal Slone has also recently completed his twentieth year at Bloomsburg University in the department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. He’s taught and advised in both the Criminal Justice and Sociology programs. He is a highly regarded instructor based on his student evaluations as well as the observations of his peers, who laud his passion for teaching and his natural rapport with students. One observer noted specifically his patience with students in Statistics. In one of his upper level courses students complete a research project where they develop and analyze a dataset in order to produce a scholarly paper.  Students who have gone on to grad school report that this experience has made them far more prepared than their peers from other institutions.

Perhaps Dr. Slone’s greatest strength is in the area of advising. He is an outstanding advisor who gets to know all of his advisees and offers the time, attention, and personalized advice they need.

In the area of scholarship, Dr. Slone has focused on projects that allow him to engage students in research, including a recent survey with a group of students that led to a local lawyer successfully arguing for a change of venue. He also worked closely with regional Criminal Justice professionals to help them develop an advisory board to help the region better collaborate.

The College of Liberal Arts is pleased to recognize these outstanding individuals!

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