Monthly Archives: November 2015

Candice Mayer Receives Raphelson Prize

Candice Mayer of UM-Flint Psychology has been awarded the 2015 Raphelson Prize, a faculty-selected award that honors excellent research and writing by a psychology student. According to the department, “The prize honors the founding member of the psychology department, and one of the original faculty of the University of Michigan-Flint, Dr. Alfred C. Raphelson.” Mayer’s winning paper was titled, “Ethical Perceptions Regarding Research Participation.”

MayerPrize

Dr. McKibbin stands with Candice Mayer, winner of the 2015 Raphelson Prize

Says Assistant Professor William McKibbin, “The Raphelson prize is a very competitive award for the best paper submitted to the psychology department. The winners represent our highest achieving majors. It was no surprise to me that Candice won this award. The paper she submitted came from my principles of research design course, where students individually wrote up the results of a class study on research ethics. It was possibly the best paper I’ve ever seen come out of that course. Candice has continued to help with the research that started in the course, and we are now about to submit her paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. She will be first author, along with myself and another faculty member. This is a great achievement for an undergraduate. I commend Candice for her hard work. She has a bright future ahead of her.”

When asked about her experience in the department and in winning this award, Mayer said, “I am ecstatic to be named the 2015 winner of the Raphelson Prize in Psychology. The topic of student research participation requirements came up in one of my Psychology classes and its relevance immediately intrigued me. I believe that uncovering student perceptions here at UM-Flint would lead to important insight regarding how students feel about participating along with the potential to shape future policies. I have consistently been working on this research for over a year now and have presented my findings at the UM-Flint student research conference and the annual Meeting of the Minds that took place at UM-Dearborn. Researching an ethical question fulfills my personal interest in governing policies and winning the Raphelson Prize will be beneficial to me when applying to law school later in the year. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work closely with Psychology faculty members, as it has helped me further develop my research and writing skills while gaining hands on experience in the field of Psychology. My experiences at UM-Flint have been very rewarding and I look forward to making contributions and continuing my research.”

To learn more about the Department of Psychology, visit their website: umflint.edu/psychology

Meet Brian Schrader, Lecturer of Communication and Director of Debate at UM-Flint

SchraderName: Brian Schrader
Title: Lecturer and Director of Debate
Department: Communication Studies

Classes I teach: Public Speaking, Advanced Public Speaking, and Argumentation & Debate.

Research or Specific Areas of Interest:
I study argumentation theory and sports communication.

Degree(s)/Education:

  • MA in Communication (Rhetoric and Communication Ethics)
  • Doctoral Candidate in Communication

How I fell in love with my field:
My background is in academic debate and communication is a natural fit with that activity.

What I hope for my time at UM-Flint:
I hope to continue to pursue my research interests as well as cultivate a successful debate program.

What I hope for students in my field:
I hope my students feel challenged in a meaningful and rewarding way.

Three things you should know about me:

  • I really love sports.
  • I am originally from Colorado and love skiing.
  • I was a competitive high school and college debater and have been involved in competitive debate for nearly 20 years.

 

Heather Laube Announced as TCLT Faculty Fellow

Chris Waters, Associate Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies made the following announcement today:

Dear Campus Community,

On behalf of the Office of the Provost, Associate Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Heather Laube as the TCLT Faculty Fellow for the Faculty Mentoring Program re-design. Dr. Laube is Associate Professor of Sociology and serves as Director of the Women’s & Gender Studies program. She has been at UM-Flint since 2003. Heather recently returned from a Fulbright in Graz, Austria. While there, she was able to travel to Vienna for a full-day conference on mentoring to learn about new developments and challenges of mentoring programs in a range of universities in several countries. She also gave two invited lectures in which she discussed mentoring as a way to improve equity in higher education. Heather is excited to talk with faculty at all ranks to learn about their needs and goals, to continue to research mentoring models, and to develop a multi-faceted approach to mentoring that will benefit the most faculty and have the greatest positive effect on our university.

Heather Laube Sociology Associate Professor and Director of Women's and Gender Studies

Heather Laube, TCLT Faculty Fellow for the Faculty Mentoring Program re-design

As TCLT Faculty Fellow, Dr. Laube will identify promising FMP practices, design a dynamic and effective FMP, oversee the first year of implementation of the new FMP, and assess the first year and make recommendations for the future. She will be responsible for developing guidelines for mentees, mentors, chairs, and the institution at large.  We look forward to working with Heather to re-tool the Mentoring Program in a way that makes it as inclusive and effective as possible.

To learn more about the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching, visit their website: umflint.edu/tclt

Meet Jeffrey Livermore of Computer Science & Information Systems

Livermore2Name: Jeffrey Alan Livermore
Title: Lecturer III
Department: CSEP – Computer Science & Information Systems

Classes I teach:

  • CSC 570: Cyber Security
  • CSC 580: Advanced Software Engineering

Research or Specific Areas of Interest:

  • I am fascinated by the intersection of ethical values and teaching Information Assurance.
  • I have spent years researching the implementation of agile software development methodologies. I love learning about how different organizations have been able to implement agile methods and integrate them into their business practices. It is one thing to understand the model and another to make it work.
  • I love researching better methods of teaching new technologies

Awards:

  • 2008-2009 Walsh College Excellence in Scholarship Award
  • Best Paper Award, 9th Global Business Development Institute Conference
  • Upsilon Pi Epsilon (computer science honor society)
  • Wayne State University Dean’s List

Degree(s)/Education:

  • BS in psychology from Wayne State University
  • MSA in Software Engineering Administration from Central Michigan
  • D. in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University
  • I completed a post-doc fellowship in Information Assurance at the University of Maryland University College

Memberships:

  • Association for Computing Machinery
  • IEEE Computer Society
  • Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
  • Upsilon Pi Epsilon

How I fell in love with my field:

I was a business student at Wayne State when I was forced to take an introduction to computing course. I knew the moment that I got the first programming assignment to work that I was hooked.

What I hope for my time at UM-Flint:

I want to teach motivated students and continue my research. I am working on a book about applied encryption and would like to finish it within a year. I love living in Michigan and plan to retire here.

What I hope for students in my field:

  • I hope that they get jobs.
  • I hope that they love the field as much as I do.
  • I hope that they can make a contribution to the profession.

Three things you should know about me:

  • I have been happily married to the same woman since 1978
  • I have a love/hate relationship with Izzabella, our rescue greyhound
  • I love watching college lacrosse

Professional activities, interests, or publications: 

Juried Journals:

Livermore, J. (2014). Sustaining a Student Information Assurance Club.
Computer Security Education Journal. 1(1), 1-5.

Livermore, J. (2013). Create-your-own-Cipher Assignment to Return Creativity to Cryptography.
Business Education Innovation Journal. 5(2), 42-47.

Livermore, J., Scafe, M., Wiechowski, L., & Maier, D. (2013). Student Perceptions of Peer Credibility Based on E-mail Address.
Contemporary Issues in Educational Research. 6(4), 393-398.

Juried Conference Proceedings: 

Livermore, J., Scafe, M., Wiechowski, L., & Maier, D. (2013).
Student Perceptions of Peer Credibility Based on E-mail Address. Proceedings
the 2013 Paris International Academic Conference. Paris, France.

Livermore, J. (2012). Forming a Student Information Assurance Club.
Proceedings of the Information Security Curriculum Development
Conference. Kennesaw, GA. (nominated for best paper award)

Livermore, J., & Scafe, M. (2012). Should Schools Require Faculty to Use Branded E-mail?
Proceedings of the International Conference on Learning and Academic Administration in Higher Education. Nashville, TN.

Book Chapters:

Livermore, J. (2009). Factors that Significantly Impact the Implementation of an Agile Software Development Methodology.
In Agile Software Development and Management. Icfai University Press. (Co-Author)

Non-Juried Publications:

Livermore, J. (2008). Our Electronic Witness. Tidings. 71(9), 454-455.

Livermore, J. (2007). The Role of Gender in Agile Software Development.
Proceedings of the 2007 Michigan Celebration of Women in Computing Conference. Hickory Grove, MI.

As a part of a syndicated newspaper column authored by Walsh College faculty: 

(2010, February) Business Lessons from a Three-Legged Dog
(2010, January) Nerd Bling
(2009, December) Smile, You’re on Camera
(2009, November) Designed to be Addictive
(2009, October) Have You Tried Linux?
(2009, September) Tool or Toy?
(2009, August) It’s Not Your Father’s Lego Anymore
(2009, July) How Do You Backup Your Important Documents?
(2009, June) Taking Advantage of Internet Tools
(2009, May) If You Aren’t Twittering Now, You Will be Soon
(2009, April) Accepting New Technologies

Note: the above represents a small sample of Mr. Livermore’s publication history. Please contact him for more information. 

 

Paula Nas Named Interim Director of University Outreach

On Monday, November 2, Provost Douglas Knerr announced Paula Nas as the new Interim Director of University Outreach, effective November 1, 2015.

Read below for his comments:

NasI am delighted to announce that Paula Nas has accepted an appointment as Interim Director of University Outreach effective November 1, 2015.  Paula has served UM-Flint for over 20 years in various roles.  Currently a Lecturer in Economics, she is also Director of the Center for Economic Education in the Department of Economics.

Paula is a proud graduate of the Honors Program at UM-Flint where she received her B.A.  She also holds an M.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from Wayne State University.

Paula is passionate about community engagement, specifically in connecting our students with local business, education, civic, health care, and municipal leaders through a variety of initiatives.  Her students have worked collaboratively with colleagues from the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce and local municipalities on projects ranging from a seven-county wage and benefits survey to a county-wide broadband assessment analysis.

Paula’s work through the Center for Economic Education has connected her with numerous K-12 students and educators to provide financial literacy and economics programming and activities.  Most recently, she has worked with a colleague from the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce to assess and improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Flint and Genesee County, as well as ways in which the entire UM-Flint campus can integrate entrepreneurship across the curriculum.

Paula is a member of the Honors Council and serves as the Honors Program Advisor.  She is also a member of the Social Studies TCP Committee.

As an active volunteer with many civic organizations, she serves on the Grand Blanc City Council.  Paula is eager to continue to expand and broaden meaningful relationships between the campus and the community in ways that will benefit our community partners and our students, faculty, and staff alike.

Please join me in congratulating Paula!

Douglas Knerr
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs