Faculty Notes
Gail Ament, Ph.D., professor of Spanish and chair of modern languages, gave a presentation on “Maya Prophesies of 2012” at the Betty Strong Encounter Center. The program explored popular culture predictions, including the end of the world, based on a system of calendars developed by the Maya more than 2,300 years ago.
Walter W. Benjamin, Ph.D., head of the religion department from 1957 to 1966, has written his third book, “A Long Dark Night.” In his book, Benjamin provides insight into his fight against cancer and what has given his life meaning, making the battle worth fighting. Benjamin also shares his thoughts on health care, education, religion, politics and the importance of family and friends. At one year cancer free, Benjamin celebrated by going skydiving in Baldwin, Wis. He also survived the “Arctic Plunge” a couple of years ago, as well as a trip to India where the temperature hit 117 degrees. Benjamin lives in Eden Prairie, Minn., and Hot Springs Village, Ark.
Patrick Blaine, Ph.D., assistant professor of Spanish, had an article published in the journal Latin American Perspectives, and he presented a paper at the Midwest Modern Language Association’s annual meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Blaine’s article in Latin American Perspectives was “Representing Absences in the Postdictatorial Documentary Cinema of Patricio Guzmán.” His paper presentation was about film adaptations of Chilean author Antonio Skármeta’s novels.
David Elder, Ph.D., assistant professor of writing and rhetoric, gave a poster presentation at the biennial International Writing Centers Association Conference in San Diego, Calif., with students Demi Dunn, Samantha Hansen and Cameron Oakley. The poster presentation was about the benefits of having peer writing consultants take a more active role in the administration of the writing center..
Tom Gilbert 1962, Ph.D., professor of philosophy; Heather Reid, Ph.D., professor of philosophy; and Alden Stout, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of philosophy, were presenters at the Third Annual South Dakota Philosophy Conference in Sioux Falls. Gilbert’s presentation was “The Formal Nature of Some Informal Fallacies.” Reid’s presentation was “Olympism: The Challenge of a Universal Philosophy.” Stout’s presentation was “Terrorism, Modern Warfare and the Permissibility of National Self-Defense.”
Marty (Steele) Knepper 1972, Ph.D., professor and chair of English and chapter advisor for the Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) freshman honor society, was a presenter at ALD’s national leadership workshop in San Antonio, Texas. She gave a presentation titled “Officers and Advisors: BFFs” with student Kelci Teut.
Doug Livermore , Ed.D., earned the rank of emeritus professor. Livermore retired from his position as professor of business administration and economics at the end of the 2011-2012 school year. He taught at Morningside for 32 years, serving as chair of the department of business administration and economics from 1984 to 2005.
Joan Nielsen, Ed. Spec., associate professor of education and project manager of Project Unlimited Proficiency (PUP), was a presenter at the Iowa Culture and Language Conference in Coralville, Iowa. Nielsen gave the presentation “Teacher Evaluation: Does Teacher Evaluation Impact Student Learning?” that examined traits of effective educators and methods used to evaluate classroom instruction. She also gave a presentation with Socorro Herrera, a Kansas State University professor of education, titled “Research: Your Role.” PUP is a federally funded program at Morningside College where area teachers receive scholarships for courses to become certified to work with English Language Learners.
Dick Owens, Ed.D., earned the rank of emeritus professor. Owens started the special education program at Morningside and served as director of special education for 20 years. He worked full time at Morningside for almost 30 years, and then continued to work part time for another 14 years. He continues to supervise internships at the graduate level.
Heather Reid, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, recently had a book published. She also gave an invited lecture in Ontario, Canada; presented a paper in New York; and was named to the editorial board for an international philosophy journal. The book, “Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport,” examines the history, significance, and philosophical dimensions of sport, and it incorporates specific concerns of today’s athletic world with a variety of philosophical issues. It was published by Rowman and Littlefield. In Ontario, Reid gave a lecture at Trent University in Peterborough called “Athletics and Philosophy in Ancient Greece: Olympics, Ethics, Education and Politics.” In New York, Reid presented her paper “Beautiful Virtue: Aristotle on Kalokagathia” at the annual meeting for the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy at Fordham University Lincoln Center. Reid also was named to the editorial board of the International Journal of Applied Philosophy, which publishes philosophical articles dealing with practical issues in business, education, the environment, government, health care, law, psychology and science.
Jessica Tinklenberg deVega, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious studies, authored the book “Guesses, Goofs & Prophetic Failures” that was recently published by Thomas Nelson Inc. The book examines what the Bible says about prophecy, and people predicting an end of the world that didn’t come to pass. It aims to help readers better understand where the idea of “the end of the world” comes from in Jewish and Christian traditions. The book may be purchased online through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Cathy Wilt 1998, M.A.T., assistant professor of education, participated in a multistate study to determine recommendations regarding what should be a passing score for the Praxis Academic Skills for Educators test. The study took place in Princeton, N.J., and was conducted by the Educational Testing Service, which writes and administers the teacher certification exam. Wilt was nominated to participate in the study by Iowa’s educator licensing agency.
Mary Zink, M.B.A., visiting instructor of business, offered a workshop at Morningside College on “How to Hire the Best Person Every Time.” The workshop taught how to identify skills needed for a job and how to formulate behaviorally-based interview questions based on that information. It provided tips on what interview questions to avoid, why to always use a job application and how to call references.
New Staff
Amy Baer, administrative assistant in the Walker Science Center, assists the chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, math and computer science departments. She graduated from Morningside College this spring with a double major in math and chemistry.
Stephen Gonshorowski, head men’s and women’s bowling coach, will help the Mustangs start their varsity program during the 2013-2014 school year. A longtime teacher and coach in South Sioux City, Neb., he helped start South Sioux City’s club bowling program in 2012. He has bowled three sanctioned 800 series and nine sanctioned 300 games. He has a bachelor’s degree from Mankato State University in Minnesota.
Bobbi (Eberly) Meister 1999, personal counselor, serves as a short-term personal counselor to all full-time students and provides mental health education to the campus community. She previously was a mental health therapist at Siouxland Mental Health Center in Sioux City. She has a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Kevin Pottebaum 2010, digital communications manager, develops and executes online, social media and mobile strategies to support the college’s communications and admissions initiatives. He manages, plans and contributes to the college’s website and social media channels, and he creates digital media such as emails and videos. Pottebaum previously was a sports writer for The Daily Republic in Mitchell, S.D. He has a bachelor’s degree from Morningside College.
Laura (Lindgren) Staber 1984, coordinator of central scheduling and administrative assistant, schedules, coordinates and supervises on- and off-campus events, and she assists the vice president for communications and marketing with general office management. She previously was a sales representative for Executive Technologies in Sioux City. She has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
Michelle Thornton, housekeeper, is responsible for the cleanliness of assigned areas and performance of duties established by the director of physical plant and the custodial manager. She worked most recently for Thornton Welding as co-owner, receptionist and bookkeeper.
New Staff Appointments
Jerrie Hanson is in a new position as business office associate. She assists the controller in the management of student accounts receivable and loan collections, and she assists the accountant with job duties.
Suzy (Monkelien) Turnquist 1990 is in a new position as copy center and mailroom coordinator. She coordinates production activities in the copy center, operates high-volume copy equipment and related production equipment; supervises student workers; and coordinates mailroom operations.