Insight Online
Welcome to a new semester and to a revamped edition of Insight, the newsletter for Pittsburg State University faculty and staff.
This issue of Insight is the latest iteration of a publication that has gone through a number of changes over the years. For most of its life, Insight has been a print publication, requiring considerable investments in both time and paper. In recent years, we adapted the print publication to the Web, but it remained essentially a print publication that was available for download online -- still more paper, but it was your paper, should you choose to print it out, and not ours. With the beginning of the spring semester, Insight becomes truly an online newsletter. We hope you find the online Insight more timely and more interesting and that any trade offs between print and online are more than made up for in timeliness and newsworthiness.
The new Insight will be simpler and it will be more frequent. Every other Friday during the academic year you will get an e-mail to notify you that the new Insight has been posted. If there is breaking news between publications, we'll let you know about that, too.
Some of the content, such as faculty news about presentations, meetings and conferences, research, publications, performances, achievements and awards, will remain the same. We hope to add some new things, as well, such as faculty, students and alumni in the news.
We understand that the transition from one technology to a new one can be difficult, especially when it involves something as fundamental as how we get information. Although we hope and believe you will like Insight online, our office will monitor the campus response to determine whether a printed publication of some kind is still needed.
We welcome your suggestions, your contributions and your story ideas. Please send them to kwomble@pittstate.edu and be sure to put the word "Insight" in the subject line. The next issue of Insight is scheduled for Feb. 9.
Ron Womble
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Inside:
- Lee Christensen retirement
- Junior Jungle Day rescheduled
- Toward a greener future
- Pool Hours
- Richards, Polston are calendar girls
- Class Act
- Campus Shots
- Faculty, staff news
- Faculty, staff & students in the news
- Alumni in the news
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Christensen ‘blessed’ by PSU experience
When Lee Christensen thinks about his 39 years at PSU, the word “blessed” comes to mind. Christensen has announced his intention to retire at the end of the fiscal year and he believes he is very fortunate to have spent nearly his entire academic career at Pittsburg State.
“I feel blessed to have had the privilege of working with young people and with such good and talented staff,” Christensen said.
Christensen, a native Iowan, earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Before coming to Pittsburg as the director of admissions in 1968, Christensen taught ninth grade biology for a year and was assistant to the dean of students at ISU for a year.
“I was offered the position the day I interviewed on campus,” Christensen recalled, noting that the search process was very different in those times.
In 1971, Christensen became registrar and was succeeded as director of admission by Jim Parker. In 2004, he was named associate vice president for academic programs.
Over the years, Christensen said, he has had the pleasure of knowing many memorable people at PSU. Most notable on that list is Christensen’s wife, Sandra Greer.
“Sandra came here in ’71,” Christensen said. “She came that fall and we were married a year and a half later. She came out of Georgia and I came out of Iowa and we made a life in Kansas.”
Among the others on Christensen’s long list of memorable colleagues are people like long-time administrator Ray Baird.
“Dr. Baird became a good friend and mentor,” Christensen said. “He is the epitome of a good registrar and a good, solid academic person.”
Much at the university has changed over Christensen’s 39 years, including its name. It was Kansas State College of Pittsburg when he arrived.
“The physical campus has changed dramatically,” Christensen said. “Several new buildings have been built in the time I have been here. Some have gone away, as well, and several have been renovated. The campus is a much more beautiful place today.”
Christensen said he believes the university is stronger academically and has a better reputation among its peers and in the state and region.
The biggest change that Christensen has seen involves the use of technology to serve students. Christensen recalled that during enrollment, lines of students would snake from the second floor of Porter Library, down the stairs, out the front door and all the way back to the front door of the student center.
“We had rapid growth and the old systems that had worked for so long just weren’t working anymore,” Christensen said.
He noted that Pittsburg State University has been a leader in the state in adopting technology to serve the students. He pointed to online enrollment, student advisement, automated transcripts and automated degree auditing as areas in which Pittsburg State has been a leader in the state.
While he has seen a great deal of change, Christensen said some core things remain constant.
“When I meet alumni,” Christensen said, “I am struck by the strong affection they have for this university. There are many loyal and strong alumni across the country who have done very well in no small part because of the education they received at Pittsburg State University. The children of southeast Kansas have benefited greatly because of this university.”
Although he will be leaving the university after June 15, Christensen said he and Sandra plan to continue to live in the Pittsburg home where they raised their children, Henrik and Greer. Christensen said he is keeping his options open as to his plans following retirement, but he knows that travel will be on the list.
“Sandra (who retired as chairperson of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction four years ago) and I both love to travel and I am looking forward to having the freedom to do so,” Christensen said. “It will be nice not having to schedule our trips around the university calendar.”
Planning for a greener future
A campuswide group is helping point the university toward a greener future. The University Committee on Energy and Resource Conservation (UCERC) has begun working on a plan to help Pittsburg State reduce energy usage, conserve resources, maintain a safe and healthy campus environment and establish the practice of energy and resource conservation in individuals as a personal way of life.
That’s a pretty tall order, acknowledges Steve Erwin, Campus Life and Auxiliary Services. Erwin, along with Jim Triplett, Biology, chairs the committee.
“We recently had a half-day retreat to begin looking at the issues and planning how we might begin addressing them,” Erwin said.
Erwin said the list of issues is very broad. The committee recognized immediately, he said, that one thing that could be implemented rapidly would be a campuswide recycling effort. The group is working on that plan now and expects to be able to launch it later this spring.
While recycling may seem like a relatively straightforward plan, the committee quickly determined that the ‘devil is in the details.’ For example, What materials could and should be recycled? How should recyclable materials be collected on campus and who should be responsible? Why kind of space will need to be allocated for recycling and what equipment will need to be acquired?
Recycling is just the beginning, Erwin said. There are a host of other, even more complicated issues that the committee will be examining in the future. A Web site has been created to keep the campus updated. Click on http://www.pittstate.edu/erc/ for the latest.
When Lee Christensen thinks about his 39 years at PSU, the word “blessed” comes to mind. Christensen has announced his intention to retire at the end of the fiscal year and he believes he is very fortunate to have spent nearly his entire academic career at Pittsburg State.
“I feel blessed to have had the privilege of working with young people and with such good and talented staff,” Christensen said.
Christensen, a native Iowan, earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. Before coming to Pittsburg as the director of admissions in 1968, Christensen taught ninth grade biology for a year and was assistant to the dean of students at ISU for a year.
“I was offered the position the day I interviewed on campus,” Christensen recalled, noting that the search process was very different in those times.
In 1971, Christensen became registrar and was succeeded as director of admission by Jim Parker. In 2004, he was named associate vice president for academic programs.
Over the years, Christensen said, he has had the pleasure of knowing many memorable people at PSU. Most notable on that list is Christensen’s wife, Sandra Greer.
“Sandra came here in ’71,” Christensen said. “She came that fall and we were married a year and a half later. She came out of Georgia and I came out of Iowa and we made a life in Kansas.”
Among the others on Christensen’s long list of memorable colleagues are people like long-time administrator Ray Baird.
“Dr. Baird became a good friend and mentor,” Christensen said. “He is the epitome of a good registrar and a good, solid academic person.”
Much at the university has changed over Christensen’s 39 years, including its name. It was Kansas State College of Pittsburg when he arrived.
“The physical campus has changed dramatically,” Christensen said. “Several new buildings have been built in the time I have been here. Some have gone away, as well, and several have been renovated. The campus is a much more beautiful place today.”
Christensen said he believes the university is stronger academically and has a better reputation among its peers and in the state and region.
The biggest change that Christensen has seen involves the use of technology to serve students. Christensen recalled that during enrollment, lines of students would snake from the second floor of Porter Library, down the stairs, out the front door and all the way back to the front door of the student center.
“We had rapid growth and the old systems that had worked for so long just weren’t working anymore,” Christensen said.
He noted that Pittsburg State University has been a leader in the state in adopting technology to serve the students. He pointed to online enrollment, student advisement, automated transcripts and automated degree auditing as areas in which Pittsburg State has been a leader in the state.
While he has seen a great deal of change, Christensen said some core things remain constant.
“When I meet alumni,” Christensen said, “I am struck by the strong affection they have for this university. There are many loyal and strong alumni across the country who have done very well in no small part because of the education they received at Pittsburg State University. The children of southeast Kansas have benefited greatly because of this university.”
Although he will be leaving the university after June 15, Christensen said he and Sandra plan to continue to live in the Pittsburg home where they raised their children, Henrik and Greer. Christensen said he is keeping his options open as to his plans following retirement, but he knows that travel will be on the list.
“Sandra (who retired as chairperson of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction four years ago) and I both love to travel and I am looking forward to having the freedom to do so,” Christensen said. “It will be nice not having to schedule our trips around the university calendar.”
---------------
Planning for a greener future
A campuswide group is helping point the university toward a greener future. The University Committee on Energy and Resource Conservation (UCERC) has begun working on a plan to help Pittsburg State reduce energy usage, conserve resources, maintain a safe and healthy campus environment and establish the practice of energy and resource conservation in individuals as a personal way of life.
That’s a pretty tall order, acknowledges Steve Erwin, Campus Life and Auxiliary Services. Erwin, along with Jim Triplett, Biology, chairs the committee.
“We recently had a half-day retreat to begin looking at the issues and planning how we might begin addressing them,” Erwin said.
Erwin said the list of issues is very broad. The committee recognized immediately, he said, that one thing that could be implemented rapidly would be a campuswide recycling effort. The group is working on that plan now and expects to be able to launch it later this spring.
While recycling may seem like a relatively straightforward plan, the committee quickly determined that the ‘devil is in the details.’ For example, What materials could and should be recycled? How should recyclable materials be collected on campus and who should be responsible? Why kind of space will need to be allocated for recycling and what equipment will need to be acquired?
Recycling is just the beginning, Erwin said. There are a host of other, even more complicated issues that the committee will be examining in the future. A Web site has been created to keep the campus updated. Click on http://www.pittstate.edu/erc/ for the latest.
---------------
Junior Jungle Day rescheduled
The average high temperature for March 10 in Pittsburg is 56 degrees. That may be one reason the Office of Admission has rescheduled Junior Jungle Day for March 10. Massive amounts of ice, sleet and snow caused the office to cancel the event on Jan. 15, which several hundred high school juniors and their families had plannedd to attend.
Heather Eckstein, Admission, said a hardy family from Olathe and another from Ohio actually made it to campus. The Ohioans arrived on Sunday, Eckstein said, and were able to tag along with some of the international orientation groups. They were impressed with the extra effort that people on campus made to accommodate them, particularly in the KTC where their son is thinking of a major.
The schedule for Junior Jungle Day on March 10 will be the same as was planned for Jan. 15. For the Junior Jungle Day schedule, go to http://www.pittstate.edu/admit/JuniorJungleDay.html on the Admission Office Web site.
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Help with your New Year’s resolution
For all of us still clinging to the hope of keeping our New Year’s resolution, Aquatics Director Jenny Layden reminds us that the swimming pool in the Weede PE Building is available to the campus community.
Hours are:
Monday - Fridays
6:30 - 7:30 a.m.
12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
3:30 - 5:30 pm
Mondays & Thursdays
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Saturdays & Sundays
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
The pool is closed for all home volleyball, football, & basketball games. The pool is also closed during severe weather. If you have any questions about the hours or the swimming pool in general, please contact Jenny Layden at Ext. 4987.
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Richard, Polston are calendar girls
Kathryn Richard, SBDC; and Diana Polston, Intercollegiate Athletics, are “calendar girls.” Richard and Polston are featured in the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Women of Distinction” 2007 calendar, which is now available at the Chamber of Commerce office, 117 W. Fourth.
The calendar honors women for both their professional and community accomplishments. In addition to photos and biographies of the 12 women selected, the calendar includes events scheduled throughout the year.
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Class Act
In the fall, a new newsletter for classified employes was launched. Class Act will be published quarterly and a new issue will be coming out soon. These are available online at:
http://www.pittstate.edu/csen/ClassActnews.pdf
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Campus shots
Pictures this week from PSU Photographic Services (These shots are by GA Carla Wehmeyer)
Despite the ice and snow, there seemed to be plenty of smiles as students moved back into the residence halls and another spring semester got underway.
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Faculty, staff news:
Faculty and staff news has always been an important part of Insight. Send us your news for this section.
Conferences/Meetings
Publications/Research & Performance
Honors & Achievements
Faculty and staff news has always been an important part of Insight. Send us your news for this section.
Conferences/Meetings
Publications/Research & Performance
Honors & Achievements
---------------
Faculty, staff and students in the news:
Faculty, staff and students who have made recent headlines:
Student work makes magazine cover
The work of some PSU Wood Technology students made the cover of an important trade magazine recently. A unique wooden bench the students designed was featured on the cover of "Second Wave," a magazine published by the Composite Panel Association for architects, interior designers, builders, specifiers and fabricators of panel-based products.
A feature story in the magazine described the students' unique solution to a challenging design problem in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Janelia Farm Research Campus in historic Loudon County, Va.
To see a pdf version of the magazine, click on the link below.
http://www.pbmdf.com/CPA30/files/ccLibraryFiles/Filename/000000000615/2W19.pdf
Second Wave
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Alumni in the news
Wondering what your former students are up to these days? These PSU alumni recently rated headlines:
James Spigarelli
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City-based Alternative Energy Sources, Inc., has named James Spigarelli to its board of directors. Spigarelli, who is president and CEO Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City, has both bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from PSU. He has a doctorate in chemistry from Kansas State.
Spigarelli leads a staff of 1,800 scientists and other professionals at MRI who conduct research in nearly 50 disciplines of science and technology. He oversees renewable fuels energy research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., part of the U.S. Department of Energy. MRI has managed and operated the lab since its inception in 1977.
Alternative Energy Sources is in the process of raising $660 million to build three Midwestern ethanol plants.
Kansas City Business Journal
Jane Crane
SPOKANE, Wash.- Potlatch Corporation (NYSE:PCH) has announced the appointment of Jane Crane as vice president, human resources. Crane holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from PSU and an MBA from the University of South Dakota. Crane most recently served as the human resources vice president and general manager for UNOCAL's North American operations, and has held senior human resource positions at Sierra Pacific Resources and ARCO.
The Business Wire
Frank Elliott
OSAWATOMIE, Kan. – Frank Elliott, a retired counselor at Osawatomie High School, was named a Distinguished Kansan in the field of education for 2006 by the Topeka Capital-Journal. Elliott spent almost his entire career at Osawatomie High School and is credited with helping the school’s endowed scholarship fund grow to more than $1 million. Elliott received a bachelor’s degree in business education from Pitt State and master’s and education specialist degrees in counseling from Emporia State.
Topeka Capital-Journal
Doug Bleam
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Doug Bleam has joined COMDOC’s senior management team as chief financial officer (CFO) and vice president for finance and administration. Bleam has more than 24 years’ experience in accounting, auditing, operations, and management. A CPA, Bleam earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Pittsburg State.Headquartered in Savannah, COMDOC is one of the nation’s largest privately owned and managed document imaging and network services companies.
COMDOC
Lynn Stalnaker
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Lynn Stalnaker is the new dean at Laramie County Community College in Laramie, Wyo. Stalnaker received bachelor’s and master's degrees in education from Pittsburg State and a PhD from Kansas State. The LCCC satellite campus in Laramie opened at its present location in January 2006. LCCC has grown at a rate of about 10 to 12 percent per semester in recent years.
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Lynn Stalnaker is the new dean at Laramie County Community College in Laramie, Wyo. Stalnaker received bachelor’s and master's degrees in education from Pittsburg State and a PhD from Kansas State. The LCCC satellite campus in Laramie opened at its present location in January 2006. LCCC has grown at a rate of about 10 to 12 percent per semester in recent years.
Laramie Boomerang
Labels: 2007, Insight - Jan. 26
posted by Ron Womble @ 5:22 PM
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