Iowa Board of Regents Efficiency and Transformation Study

Departmental Information Regarding Academic Programs

Name of College Social and Behavioral Sciences_

Dean Brenda Bass

Use academic year 2013-2014

Program Achievements

31. Awards and Recognitions

Applied Human Science

ID Top National Recognition for Students: Two students received top honors at the national Durkan D*scover Design competition and traveled to the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada to receive their awards. One was the Grand prize winner of a $2000 tuition scholarship and another was a Third Place winner.

ID Graduates from the ID program at UNI are appreciated and sought out by employers in Iowa and beyond, for their level of preparedness, empathetic approach to design, technological expertise and strong business sense.

TAPP Proven success in getting external federal and corporate funding to support curriculum development and enhancement. The program currently is supported by a National Science Foundation funded Textile Materials Testing lab and a corporate computer design software donation of over 2.5 million dollars.

The TAPP program is distinguished among its peer programs by its strong science and technology base, leading to student placements in quality assurance, textile testing, technical design, and sourcing.

TAPP Ability to place students in high career tracks in the industry, with rapid advancement often linked to the strong technical and science core of the program.

UNI's Gerontology program has a pass rate of over 95% on the licensure exam for long term care administration.

Gerontology and Family Services students have presented research at local and regional conferences, such as Research Day at the Capitol.

Geography

1)Two Geography undergraduate students won first place in the student research competition at the Iowa Water Center annual conference

2)A Geography student team won second place in the student research competition at the Iowa Geographic Information Association conference

3)Andrey Petrov received the CSBS Tenure-Track Faculty Award for Scholarship & Creative Activity

4)Dennis Dahms was awarded for his on-line curriculum module titled “Red Canyon Terrace Project” submitted as part of the ‘On the Cutting Edge’ program to provide teaching materials for geoscience professionals

5)Dennis Dahms was bestowed with a Geological Society of America Fellowship in recognition of distinguished contributions to the geosciences

6)Active External Grants: 24 grants / $2,221,100

7)Active Internal Awards: 13 awards / $34,345

8)Peer Reviewed Publications: 19

9)Professional Presentation: 29

10)Professional Presentations by students: 24

11)Professional Editorships: 2

History

Much of the strength of the Department of History’s undergraduate and graduate programs lies in the quality of its faculty. That quality is evident, in part, in the fact that the instructional and scholarly accomplishments of department members have been recognized in a variety of ways. Among current faculty there are seven recipients of the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, three who have received the University Book and Supply Outstanding Teaching Award for Untenured Faculty, and one recipient of the “Class of 1943 Teaching Award,” the University’s highest commendation for teaching. The CSBS Senate has selected one other as a winner of the College’s annual “Teaching Award.” At least three faculty have been nominated for the recently-established “Above and Beyond Award: Excellence in Teaching,” which will be awarded later in the spring.

As with teaching, the scholarship of those in the History programs has brought recognition for several colleagues. Among those currently on the faculty, two historians have received the UNI “Distinguished Scholar Award,” two have received the University’s “Donald N. McKay Award,” seven have won the “Regents Award for Faculty Excellence” (which recognizes scholarship as well as teaching), and the books of several individuals have received awards, while those of others have been very favorably reviewed by peers in their field. The result of the scholarly efforts of the department has been the production of a substantial number of books, chapters, articles, and essays. Nineteen of the current twenty-four faculty have produced one or more books, for a total of 36, eight of which have been published in the last seven years. Several colleagues have book manuscripts in press, under review, or in preparation. Meanwhile, historians have produced numerous articles, book chapters, encyclopedia essays, and other publications.

Political Science

Nominations

  • Dhirendra K. Vajpeyi was nominated to be a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
  • Ana Kogl was the CSBS nominee for the UNI Class of 1943 teaching award
  • Three faculty (Ana Kogl, Christopher Larimer, Scott Peters) were nominated for “Above and Beyond: Excellence in Teaching Award” sponsored by Northern Iowa Student Government and Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
  • Christopher Larimer was nominated for MWOne Unique Academic Advising Award.
  • Christopher Larimer had a conference paper (co-authored with Costas Panagopoulos and Meghan Condon) nominated for the best paper award for the Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior section at the American Political Science Association’s 2013 annual conference.

Awards

  • Scott Peters was awarded the Certificate of Merit of the Outstanding Advising Award-Faculty Academic Advising from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).
  • Ana Kogl received the CSBS Outstanding Teaching award
  • Lindsay Cohn is serving as an International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Grants

  • Pita Agbese was awarded a Summer Fellowship from the Graduate College for research on Terrorism and Conspiracy Theories in Nigeria ($3,253).
  • Christopher Larimer received a research grant for “A Stranglehold on Power: Explaining Gubernatorial Power in Iowa” from the Center on the American Governor, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University ($1,120).
  • Justin Holmes received a CSBS project grant for research on the processing of partisan political messages ($500).
  • Ramona McNeal received a Pre-Tenure Summer Fellowship award from the Provost’s office ($4,500).

Recognitions

  • Christopher Larimer serves as communications director for the Political Psychology Section of the American Political Science Association
  • Christopher Larimer serves as past president of the Iowa Association of Political Scientists.

Publications (UNI faculty in BOLD)

  • Agbese, Pita Ogaba .2013. “Internal Military Deployment and Civi-Military Relations: The Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria.” In Dhirendra K. Vajpeyi and Glen Segell, eds., Civil-Military Relationships in Developing Countries. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  • Clopton, Andrew J. and C. Scott Peters. 2013. “Justices Denied: A County-Level Analysis of the 2010 Iowa Supreme Court Retention Election.” Justice System Journal 34 (3): 321-344.
  • Howard, Alison D. and Donna R. Hoffman, 2013. "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Building American National Identity through Art." Perspectives on Political Science 42 (3): 142-151.
  • Kieh, George Klay Jr. and Pita OgabaAgbese, eds. 2013. Reconstructing the Authoritarian State in Africa. New York: Routledge.
  • Martens, Allison M. and Jason Gainous. 2013. “Civic Education and Democratic Capacity: How do Teachers Teach and What Works?” Social Science Quarterly 94(4) 956-76.
  • Panagopoulos, Costas, Christopher W. Larimer, and Meghan Condon. 2014 (forthcoming). “Social Pressure, Descriptive Norms, and Voter Mobilization.” Political Behavior.
  • Schmeida, Mary and Ramona McNeal. 2013. “Children Mental Health Language Access Laws.” Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Service Research. 40: 364-370.
  • Schmeida, Mary and Ramona McNeal. 2014 (forthcoming). “Online Health Information: Home Caregiver Population Driving Cyberspace Searches in the United States.” In Social Media and Mobil Healthcare Technology. J. MowafaHouseh, Elizabeth Borycki and Andre Kushniruk, eds. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
  • Schmeida, Mary and Ramona McNeal. 2013. “Bridging the Inequality Gap to Searching Medicare and Medicaid Information Online: An Empirical Analysis of E-Government Success 2002-2010.” In E-Government Success around the World: Cases, Empirical Studies, and Practical Recommendations. J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, ed. Hershey, PA:IGI Global.
  • Smith, Kevin B. and Christopher W. Larimer. 2013. The Public Policy Theory Primer, 2nded. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
  • Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K., ed. 2013. Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Human Security: A Comparative Analysis. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  • Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K., and Glen Segell, eds. 2013. Civil-Military Relationships in Developing Countries. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  • Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K.2013 “Civil-Military Relations in India and Pakistan: Genesis of Two Models in South Asia.” In Dhirendra K. Vajpeyi and Glen Segell, eds., Civil-Military Relationships in Developing Countries. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Psychology

Psychology Faculty Awards and Recognitions:

Elizabeth Lefler received the Psychology Club Outstanding Teaching Award

Nick Schwab received the University Book and Supply Outstanding Teaching Award

Mike Gasser and Carolyn Hildebrandt received Apple Polisher Awards

DilburArsiwalla has received a pre-tenure summer fellowship to support her research on “Sleep patterns, academic success, and health outcomes”

Elizabeth Lefler has received an 8-week summer fellowship supporting her research on “ADHD stigma among college students"

Jack Yates was awarded a UNI 2013-2014 capacity building grant for his project "Determine Energy Change Behavior Persistence After Competitions End"

Helen Hartonreceived a CSBS Dean’s Challenge Grant Award for “Recruitment plan for Psychology graduate program”

A psychology department faculty member has been nominated by CSBS for the Lubker Award recognizing outstanding research (the outcome of this nomination has not been determined at this time)

Psychology Graduate Student Awards and Recognitions:

Jon Pedersen received the 2nd Place award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis for “Circulating and Organizational Testosterone and the Perception of Dominance”

Darrina Bledsoe received the 3rd Place award for Outstanding Master’s Thesisfor “Predicting commitment for those in military relationships.”

Social Work

Dr. Katherine van Wormer received the Distinguish Scholar Award in Spring 2013.

Dr. Jim McCullagh received the Class of 1943 Faculty Award for Excellent in Teaching.

Dr. Laura Kaplan received the Ross A. Nielsen Professional Service Award.

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

Richard Featherstone, Criminology

  • Recipient of the UNI Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award

Carissa Froyum, Sociology

  • Summer Fellowship, July 2013
  • 2013 UNI Capacity Building Grant. “Emotions in Volunteer Work.” Awarded by Provost. Spring term. $1000

Mark Grey, Anthropology:

  • 2013 Immigrant Champion Award, Iowa Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit
  • 2013 Friend of Iowa Civil Rights Award, Friends of Iowa Civil rights

Kristin Mack, Sociology

  • I received recognition for completing 15 years of service at UNI.

Matthew Makarios, Criminology

  • Designated as a Research Fellow at the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute.

Marybeth Stalp, Sociology

  • Promotion to Full Professor, Spring 2014 (effective 2014-2015)
  • External Grants Awarded:
  • 2014 Alpha Kappa Delta Initiation Speaker Grant ($500.00)
  • 2013 Meredith Scholar Fund, American Quilt Study Group ($500.00)
  • Internal Grants Awarded:
  • 2012-2013 CSBS Dean’s May Challenge Grant, UNI ($2000.00)
  • 2013 4 Week Summer Fellowship, Graduate College, UNI
  • Professional Development Assignment:
  • Gendered Cultural Production: Caring for the Self through Quilting and Knitting
  • Qualitative data collection in Ireland 12/2012 to 8/2013