April 19, 2023 - April 25, 2023


Midweek Round-Up


The Weekly Faculty and Staff Newsletter of the College of Education and Human Services at Murray State University



MCC Senior Center Garden-Planting || April 12, 2023

Adolescent, Career, and Special Education

MESSAGES & DEPARTMENT UPDATES

What's new in COEHS?

DEAN'S OFFICE

From Natalie Copeland:

Updated COEHS Faculty and Staff Directory

The most updated version of our COEHS directory is now available on the Intranet! If you notice anything that needs to be changed, please let me know. It will be updated regularly as people come and go, but the printed copies from the Dean's Office will only be distributed at the start of a new semester.


From Natalie Copeland and Katie Kriesky:

End of Year Celebration - RSVP now!

It’s that time of year - the time when we wrap up the academic year and start looking ahead at the next year to come! 

Let’s all join together once more before the semester ends to celebrate our COEHS family, yet another successful academic year, and all the good things to come!

We hope you will join us Thursday, May 11th from 12–2pm in the Alexander Hall Atrium for our End-of-Year Celebration! We'll serve a delicious lunch from Sirloin Stockade, honor our recent retirees, and present faculty and staff awards.

Please RSVP by clicking here or on the image in the "Upcoming Events" section!


From Melanie Brooks:

The passing of Imogene Hendon Monroe

One of Murray State University's oldest alumni has passed away. Mrs. Imogene Hendon Monroe, age 105, of Hickory, KY passed away on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. She was a member of Liberty Baptist Church, a member of Retired Teacher Association, a member of Graves County Homemakers, a former Pink Lady at Jackson Purchase Medical Center, and a retired teacher from Mayfield High School and the Graves County School System.

ECE

From Dr. Chhanda Islam:

Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers

Dr. Chhanda Islam has been invited to serve on the program committee for the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), a national organization that seeks to stimulate the self-development and professional growth of professors, teachers, reading specialists, and students at all educational levels. The Committee invites proposals from teachers, professors, graduate students, and other professionals interested in literacy education. Additionally, she will be presenting and networking at the 2023 annual ALER conference, which will be held November 2-4, in Santa Fe, New Mexico!

KATE

From Dr. Jennifer Earls:

Let's Chat about Chat GPT!

"Let's Chat about Chat GPT" will be this Friday, April 21st from 10-11:30 a.m. in AL 240. Please join us for an exclusive event about AI and Chat GPT in education. Don't miss this opportunity to chat with Holly Clark, a leading expert in educational technology, as she shares her knowledge about how AI is changing the landscape of education. AND there will be prizes for those COEHS faculty and staff members who attend in person! For those who cannot attend in-person, however, there will be a Zoom link available. This is the link; the Meeting ID is 817 3152 3605 and the passcode is 732037

See the flyer below in the "Upcoming Events" section!

TQI

From Debbie Bushart:

TQI Signing Day - Seeking Volunteers to help with National Signing Days in Local High Schools

Hello Faculty and Staff! Teacher Quality Institute is sponsoring a "Signing Day" for all high school seniors in our service area who are coming to Murray State in the Fall to major in Education. We will be going to 25 area high schools to take pictures of seniors signing their "letter of intent" to be an education major at MSU. We will then have those pictures published in their local papers, social media, etc. Our goal is to promote how important future educators are to us and to the future of the local school districts.

Do you have ties to any of our service-area high schools?  Would you be willing to be the MSU representative to go to a high school to represent MSU on signing day?  We are planning this event for Tuesday, May 2nd, which is the National Ed Rising Signing Day, but if that day doesn't work for you, we can try to schedule for another day! We have a grant from the Dean's Office to pay for your mileage from MSU to the school and back.

Please contact Debbie Bushart at dbushart@murraystate.edu or 270-809-3188 if you are willing to help.


Teaching and Technology Summit - Call for Proposals

The Summit will be taking place virtually on June 12th and 13th, and we would love to have faculty sign up to present. If you're interested, please fill out this form.

COEHS PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

RACER NATION ORIENTATIONS

April 14th and 15th were the first RNOs, and several amazing COEHS faculty and staff signed up to help out!

FACULTY AWARDS BANQUET

Last week, several faculty members were recognized at the annual Murray State Faculty Awards Banquet. Please give your congratulations to all who received recognition:

-University Distinguished Mentor: Dr. Miguel Gomez

-Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Award: Dr. Alison Brown

-Faculty Innovation Initiative: Dr. Kimberly Vigil

-30 years with MSU: Jeanie Robertson and Dr. Cindy Clemson

-15 years of service: Dr. Susana Bloomdahl and Ashley Ireland

-10 years of service: Dr. Randy Wilson, Dr. Ben Littlepage, Dr. Alison Brown, and Megan Smetana

Congratulations, everyone! We are so proud to have such fantastic faculty in our College!

PI KAPPA PHI INDUCTION

Pi Kappa Phi, the highest academic honor society at Murray State, inducted new members on April 11th, including our very own Dr. Katy Hancock! 

BUSINESS@BREAKFAST PANEL

Dr. Samir Patel sat on the Murray-Calloway Chamber of Commerce Business@Breakfast panel to discuss mental health. 

Dr. Kelly Rogers' PHE 205 (Lifetime Activities) class planted a garden at the Murray Calloway County Senior Citizens Center last Wednesday!

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COEHS CLASSES?

Check out these awesome professors and all the fun things their classes got to do recently!

Want someone to join in on your class to get photos? Reach out to Natalie Copeland!

Dr. Kim Vigil's HPE 175 (Foundations of Health and Physical Education) class hosted Matt Purdy from Career Services for a talk on Networking!

Dr. Miguel Gomez enjoyed his MID 391 (Pedagogy of Technology in Middle Grades Education) students' SAMR, or Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition, Model presentations.

Dr. Stephanie Schaaf demonstrated techniques for eliciting sounds when using a traditional approach for speech sound production disorders in CDI 620 (Speech Sound Disorders) with her student, Kat Burton!

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOUT-OUTS

ELIZABETH ABANATHY

Elizabeth received an anonymous shout-out!


"Elizabeth is the kindest, sweetest person. She is so dedicated to the work she does in KCSS. It’s a pleasure to work with her!"

DR. SUSANA BLOOMDAHL

"I want to send an anonymous shout-out to Dr. Susana Bloomdahl: She is an amazing person and deserves all the recognition! She is a great mentor."

KRISTEN OAKLEY

Kristen received an anonymous shout-out:


"I just wanted to take a moment to give a huge shout-out to Kristen. I know CDI is grateful to have you as their administrative assistant and your hardwork has made a huge difference! Your dedication to making sure all your work is done correctly does not go unnoticed! Keep up the fantastic work!"

SHELBY BAILEY

Tamela Darnell sent a shout-out:


"I would like to give a big shout-out to the Shelby Bailey, who unlocks the student kitchen each morning when she comes in! It's not part of her job duties, but it helps out the Dean's Office each morning and is greatly appreciated. thanks, Shelby! It doesn't go unnoticed!"

DR. KATY HANCOCK

Dee Gupton sent Dr. Hancock a shout-out!


"Katy has done a wonderful job this past year stepping in as both Interim and now Chair for the CLHS Dept. She is very supportive of our faculty, staff, and students, and always makes herself available to us even when we barge in her office unannounced (mostly me)...sorry Katy! She has a great sense of humor as well! I feel very fortunate to be her Administrative Assistant, and I am thankful to her and the other faculty in our department for making my work life enjoyable!"

DR. JENNIFER EARLS

Tamela Darnell sent a shout-out to Dr. Earls:


"Her advice and knowledge have been invaluable to me, and I feel so lucky to have her as a friend and colleague. Thank you for your willingness to help me search for answers to my many questions!"

HOLLY BLOODWORTH

Tamela Darnell also sent a shout-out to Holly:


"Holly’s dedication to her students shines, especially in her passion for the Belize Study Abroad program. She works tirelessly to make sure our students have an amazing student teaching abroad experience in Belize. With securing services to arranging housing, it has been especially challenging this year with new changes since Covid. Holly, thank you for all that you do and safe travels in April!"

DR. STEPHANIE FORD

Dr. Miguel Gomez sends a shout-out to Dr. Ford:


"Dr. Ford is an outstanding teacher educator who truly goes above and beyond to support and inspire her students. With her wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for education, she is able to provide her students with invaluable insights into teaching, learning, and professional development."    

TAMELA DARNELL

Tamela received an anonymous shout-out:


"I would like to send a shout-out to Tamela. She works tirelessly behind the scenes to support our college units and makes sure things in the college run smoothly. She is truly an asset to our college and thank you for all you do!"

NICOLE KENNEDY

Dr. Chanel Schwenck also sent a shout-out to Nicole:


"I'd love to give a shout-out to Nicole Kennedy in TES for her commitment to admitting students to Teacher Education quickly and efficiently. The turnaround has been so fast and she's good about catching things that might have been overlooked in the process. 

Great job, Nicole!"

DR. KIM VIGIL

Dr. Vigil received an anonymous shout-out!

"Dr. Vigil is a prime example of a great colleague and instructor. Her focus on the wellness of our students and the rigor of the educational experiences in her classroom is outstanding. Not only that, she also dedicates much of her time to student support services that connect students with the college. You are amazing Dr. Vigil!"

DR. KAREN MACKEY

"Dr. Karen Mackey brings so much teaching and administrative experience to make her instruction to students be both effective and meaningful. Her passion for the teaching profession encourages many students to pursue this career path. Dr. Mackey’s respected reputation strengthens COEHS relationships with school districts to encourage schools to allow education students to complete practicum hours. She puts forth tremendous effort in her interactions with student teacher candidates to make them excited to become teachers."

ADAM BLAIR

"Mr. Adam Blair has done an exceptional job growing the MSU Henderson Education Program. His students consistently share that they choose teaching because of his passion for the profession. Students can always count on Mr. Blair to support them achieve their goal to become a teacher. Mr. Blair creates a positive learning environment to promote students entering the teaching profession."

DR. SAMIR PATEL

Dr. Patel got a shout-out from his administrative assistant, Libby Davis:


"Dr. Patel always keeps me on my toes and continues to make me laugh! He is a great leader and very caring to his faculty, staff and students."

DR. ANDREA WILLSON

"As a new-ish faculty member in the college, Andrea has been impressive with her leadership skills and honesty. Her understanding of higher education and awareness of program standards has made her a valuable addition to the college. I appreciate her conscientious and purposeful feedback for program improvement, and her dedication to student growth. On a personal note, I truly appreciate her matter-of-fact communication style, and her good sense of humor. Thank you for being a great colleague, Andrea!"

NATALIE COPELAND

Natalie got an anonymous shout-out:


"I want to shout-out Natalie for coming in to her temp position in the Dean's Office and just rocking it from the beginning."

MISSY TISH

Missy received an anonymous shout-out: 


"Missy is not only is a rockstar for the KATE department, but she also does so much more for the college. Missy does a lot of behind the scenes work for the college from running the TVs, paperwork for tech upgrades for the building, checking calendars and so much more. Thank you for being awesome Missy. You are very much appreciated by EVERYONE in the college."



To send your own shout-out, click on the button below to fill out the form. It's a great way to show colleagues how awesome they are!


It will appear in the Midweek Round-Up as well as on the Faculty and Staff Shout-Out Board by the Dean's Office! Be sure to check it out when you're walking by!



CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

*Dates are subject to change*

April 21st - Let's Chat about Chat GPT! - 10am - AL 240 and Zoom

April 21st - Distinguished Alumni Reception and Dinner - 5:30pm - CFSB Murray Room

April 25th - Campus Town Hall Meeting re: University budget - 3pm - Wrather Hall

April 25th - Sparks Lecture - 5:00 p.m. (Alexander Hall Atrium and Auditorium)

April 26th - Senior Breakfast - 8am - CFSB Center; Administrative Professionals Day

April 28th - Dissertations & Theses have signatures and routed to Provost Office for Spring Graduation

~~~ 

May 9th - National Teacher Appreciation Day

May 11th - COEHS End-of-Year Celebration - 12pm-2pm

May 12th - Honors Luncheon; CDI Senior Recognition; CDI Hooding Ceremony; ELC Hooding Ceremony

May 13th - Commencement - 9am & 1pm - CFSB Center

May 15th - 10am - All grades due for Full Term/2nd

May 29th - Memorial Day Observance - No Classes; University Closed

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June 1st - Racer Nation Orientation

June 2nd - BOR Meeting

June 3rd - Racer Nation Orientation

June 14th - Racer Nation Orientation

June 16th - Racer Nation Orientation

June 19th - Juneteenth Observance - No Classes; University Closed

~~~

July 6th - Racer Nation Orientation

July 31st - TENTATIVE - Spring/Winter Schedule Drafts sent to Departments

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August 3rd - Racer Nation Orientation

ALL ACADEMIC DEADLINES - murraystate.edu/deadlines

CELEBRITIES OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to our COEHS celebrities of the week:

Dianna Eldredge (Staff) and Rebecca Perry (Faculty)!

We applaud each of you for your outstanding contributions and appreciate all that you do for COEHS!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too."

-Mark Twain

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The mission of the College of Education and Human Services is to prepare future leaders, advocates, and practitioners through authentic, engaging, and student-centered academic programs for successful careers that positively impact communities.