Kerrie Farkas and Tatiana Pashkova-Balkenhol co-edit The Engage for Change Journal, a digital, community-based journal. Thirteen students published eleven articles in the inaugural issue of Engage for Change. The Journal aims to contribute to public knowledge and public engagement by harnessing the collaborative potential and expert knowledge of MU faculty, students, and residents on social, political, and economic issues affecting the Lancaster County region. The first environmental justice issue launched in Spring 2022.
Professor Michele Santamaria was selected for the Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program. The yearlong fellowship aims to prepare mid-career librarians from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to take on leadership roles in their careers and in the profession at large.
Carrie Lee Smith, the coordinator of the Center for Public Scholarship & Social Change, was a recipient of the 2022 Eastern Sociological Society’s Public Sociology award. This is the inaugural year for the award. This award seeks to recognize sociologists who have both done cutting-edge sociological research and engaged in meaningful public work using that research. This award seeks to recognize sociological work that improves public welfare, broadly understood, or the lives of research participants.
Dr. Margaret Mbindyo and Dr. Ann Gaudino organized a variety of empowering and learning workshops for refugee students and parents facilitated by various Millersville University departments who shared their expertise and answered questions related to various issues related to transition. Each student received a study skills book to learn more about how to be academically successful in high school and college.
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Stacey Irwin (Communication and Theatre) was elected president of the national Broadcast Education Association.
Christy Banks (Music) was elected councilperson at-large on the College Music Society Board of Directors.
Carrie Smith (Criminology, Sociology, and Anthropology) received the inaugural award in public sociology from the Eastern Sociological Society.
Barry Atticks (Music) won the 2021 Educator of the Year award from the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame.
Clarence Maxwell (History) was awarded the Queen’s Badge of Honor for his work on the history of Bermuda.
Professor Becky McDonah (Art and Design) received the State of the Art: Pennsylvania 2021 Exhibition Award, and her work was bought for The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s permanent collection.
Susanne Nimmrichter (English and World Languages) was awarded the Nelson H. Brooks Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Profession by the Northeast Conference of Teaching Foreign Languages.
Jennifer Jester (Music) was elected a board member of the Northeast Chapter of the College Music Society.
Stacey Irwin’s (Communication and Theatre) movie Raising Faith: Stories about Dyslexia was named a finalist at the 2021 New York Inspirational Film Festival and an official selection at the Green Mountain Christian Film Festival.
Jennifer Jester (Music) was awarded the national Modern Band Higher Education Fellowship.
Justin García (Criminology, Sociology, and Anthropology) was selected to participate in the 2022 Summer Institute on Genocide at Keene State College in North Carolina.
Dr. Christine Filippone (Art and Design) served as the Terra Foundation Senior Fellow in American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
College of Science & Technology
Sepi Yalda (Earth Sciences) was elected as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society for “… outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years." New Fellows are elected each year by the Council at its fall meeting from a slate submitted by the Fellows Committee of not more than 0.2% of all AMS Members (7/20/2021).
Duane Hagelgans (Earth Sciences) was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society (11/19/2021).
Dawn Lambert (Wehrheim School of Nursing) received the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners Southeast Region "School Nurse Administrator of the Year" award (2/23/2022).
Scott Warner (Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology) along with co-authors Korbin Shearer, Garreth Heidt, and Korbin Shoemaker, was named recipient of the 2021-2022 Gerald F. Day award by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association for their work as co-authors on an article entitled Designerly Thinking: A Tool for Citizenship in a Democratic Society (3/26/2022).
College of Education and Human Services
Jennifer Burke was named “Millersville University Educator of the Year" for the 2021-22 school year. This highly selective award is based on student and peer recommendations and a detailed application process. This is the second year in a row that a member of the Early, Middle and Exceptional Education Department has been recognized. Dr. Beth Powers won in 2020-21.
Kazi Hossain delivered the keynote address entitled "Diversity & Multiculturalism as Pathways to Better Citizenship" to kick off the 12th International Conference on the Future of Education in Florence, Italy. A conference attended by educators and policy planners from nearly 40 countries.
Nakeiha Primus was awarded a grant from the PASSHE Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC) for an Innovation in Teaching and Improvement in Student Learning Outcomes RFP. The proposal entitled, "Improving MU Teacher Candidate Instruction and Success the 'Freedom Schools' Way" will provide Dr. Primus an opportunity to collaborate with teacher ed programs in Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Indiana who have successfully infused the equity-based and culturally responsive Children's Defense Fund Freedom School model into their clinical induction programs.
Ann Marie Licata was appointed by Governor Tom Wolf to the Pennsylvania Developmental Disability Council for a three-year term. The council meets four times per year to discuss how to provide systemic change for Pennsylvania residents regarding its citizens with developmental disabilities.
Nadine Garner, collaborated with undergraduate Psychology major, Ali Khan, in the founding of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), a new student organization sponsored by the Rita Smith Wade-El Intercultural Center's Identity-Based Organization (IBO)/Multicultural Student Organization (MSO).
Joe Behun was awarded the Outstanding Professional Teaching Award by the Pennsylvania Counseling Association on November 13, 2021.
Marc Felizzi was recently named as one of the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports' licensed clinicians. This will enable Dr. Felizzi to become a licensed clinician with the United States Olympic/Para-Olympic Committee.
Karen Rice was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Manheim Township Educational Foundation on June 2, 2022. Following the award ceremony, Dr. Rice addressed the 2022 graduating class.
Wanja Ogongi and Dr. Bertha DeJesus were recognized by Ms. Phyllis Muraguri, Chairperson for The Association of Social Work Educators in Kenya (ASWEK) for their invaluable support through expertise and time in planning the Inaugural International Social Work Conference.
Dr. Dan Keefer was elected as Chairperson of the Board for CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health of Lancaster.
Lombardo College of Business
Lexi Hutto guided the MarKryan Advertising team to place second overall in the CRS Collegiate Competition at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA on Oct. 29, 2021. CRS stands for "Council for Retail and Sales.”
Our business faculty continue to actively contribute to their fields in myriad ways. This includes scholarly research that provides new insights into pressing issues. Here are several of these publications:
DiRusso, David and Kassa, Abere (2021). “Rebranding Halloween”.Journal of Business Cases and Applications, 32, 1-8.
Mbindyo, Margaret, O'Connor, R. J., & Nandedkar, Ankur. (2021). Linking Transformational Leadership Theory to the Practice of Academic Advising-A Conceptual Paper. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, Vol. 21, No. 12.
Trout, Brian (2021). “Business Students’ Intentions to Change Majors Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic”. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Vol. 21, No. 7, 11-19.
Trout, Brian, and Ng, Cory (2021). “Upskilling for the next generation of CPAs”. Pennsylvania CPAJournal, Vol. 92, No. 1, 22-26.
Trout, Brian, and Blazer, Eric (2021). “A multi-college study of accounting students’ CPA exam intentions”. Journal of Finance and Accountancy, Vol. 28, 1-20.
Trout, Brian, and Ng Cory (2022). “Base Skills for CPAs Aren't Always Accounting Oriented”. Pennsylvania CPA Journal, Vol. 96, No. 1, 16-17.