The College of Arts and Science Teaching Awards Committee has announced this year's Outstanding College Teachers: Julie Jung, Department of English; Margaret Nauta, Department of Psychology; and Lisa Szczepura, Department of Chemistry. Winners of the awards are eligible to be nominated for the Outstanding University Teacher Award in future years. “The recipients of this year's Outstanding Teaching Awards are extraordinarily gifted teachers,” said Associate Dean Sally Parry. “They are dedicated to providing their students with excellent educational experiences, and the College is fortunate to count them among its faculty.” 

Dr. Al Bowman, President of Illinois State University and faculty member in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, was inducted into the College of Applied Health Sciences inaugural Class of Distinguished Alumni at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on October 26. A Gala was held celebrating the College’s 50th anniversary, at which Dr. Bowman was an honored guest. Flanking Dr. Bowman are John O’Neil  and Ron Chambers, both former chairs of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois.

Professor Joseph Zompetti, associate professor in the School of Communication, conducted a lecture and workshop on international civic engagement in Kauanas, Lithuania, on November 7. The lecture and workshop focused on the use of public debating as a means of fostering civic engagement.  “The life-long skills that debate teaches, which are so difficult to locate in the classroom or in other activities, are vital for the initiation and sustenance of a vibrant civil society and, by extension, civic engagement,” Zompetti said. The event was hosted by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA).

A member of the Board of Directors for IDEA, Zompetti works with the international organization to foster debate-related activities and skills in Open Societies throughout the world.  Currently, IDEA has over 60 member countries.

Eight graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of History have published articles in Recounting the Past, a scholarly journal of historical studies at Illinois State University. Their essays, based on primary source work and informed by historical methodologies, represent the high quality of graduate and undergraduate student work in the Department of History. “The articles in this volume of Recounting the Past endeavor to define or at least describe the American Experience as it has been shaped by the fundamental building blocks of American society: race, capitalism, gender, and class,” said Professor Raymond Clemens, who serves as Editor-in-Chief. “While each student had his or her own take on these issues, each has addressed his or her topic in a meaningful and sometimes provocative way.”

Gary Lewis joins ISU as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He earned an M.S. in Mathematics and an M.Ed. in Mathematics Education from Ohio State University. He also earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Teacher Education. Gary’s dissertation investigated the challenges novice teachers face as they attempt to enact elements of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Professional Standards in their teaching practice. He is also interested in how teachers acquire these types of teaching skills and what forms of professional development support teachers’ learning trajectories as they attempt innovative, student-centered teaching strategies that engage students in the mathematical discourse of the classroom. “For mathematics education reforms to have an impact, teachers need to demonstrate that they truly value students’ ideas and perspectives,” said Lewis. “A discourse-centered classroom where students share ideas and subject them to mathematical verification and scrutiny is a place where students create mathematics that has greater meaning for them and is more likely to be valued and remembered.”