Faculty and Student Spotlight

Undergraduate students at ACU regularly join with faculty in major research projects, which provide exceptional preparation for graduate school. Our faculty members also participate in research and conferences around the world, expanding their knowledge and expertise to share with our students. Here are a few highlights of the awards and research projects of ACU students and faculty.

• Dr. William Rankin, associate professor of English and director of educational innovation, has been named to the Apple Distinguished Educator Board. Rankin is one of a group of more than 1,500 professionals in K-12 and higher education who are passionate about the potential of educational technology to revolutionize learning.
• Dr. Carisse Berryhill, special collections librarian, presented a paper in August 2010 at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science in Borås, Sweden. Her presentation assessed the partnership between a professional library association and a graduate school of library science. The conference was part of the 76^th World Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations in Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Dr. Caron Gentry, associate professor of political science, attended a briefing at the White House in early September. She joined 40 evangelical leaders and academics in listening to a presentation by senior White House officials regarding the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. Dr. Mark Hamilton, associate dean of the Graduate School of Theology, also attended the briefing.
• Two ACU English majors won honors in the student writing contest as part of the 2010 Conference on Christianity and Literature. Sophomore Jordan Smith from Escondido, Calif., won second place in the poetry category for his poem “Bulverde.” Senior Grant Vickery from Atlanta, Ga., earned an honorable mention in the nonfiction category for his essay “Things Fall Down.”
• The Optimist, ACU’s award-winning student-run newspaper, was the first university newspaper to publish on Apple’s new iPad. A team of faculty and students from three academic departments across campus worked to adapt the newspaper to the new medium before the March 2010 release of the iPad. The Optimist also won first place as the Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper at this year’s Society of Professional Journalists Region 8 conference.
• Dr. Cynthia Powell, assistant professor of chemistry, was featured in the Feb. 8, 2010, issue of Chemical & Engineering News for her work with mobile-learning applications in the chemistry lab. Sophomore Erin Boyd, one of Powell’s students, also was quoted in the article.
• Members of ACU’s American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter, one of several student organizations in the College of Business Administration, conducted market research studies to help determine the demand for an Einstein Brothers bagel shop on campus. The shop opened this spring as a direct result of the students’ surveys and focus groups.
• Four students from ACU’s Honors College gave presentations at the 2010 Great Plains Honors Council in Tulsa, Okla. Seniors Joshua Alkire, Megan Faver Hartline and Katherine Sinclair and junior Margaret Moore presented their research papers. Alkire received the Boe Award, which recognizes outstanding scholarly work among undergraduate papers presented at the conference.
• For the last 10 years, ACU undergraduate physics students and physics faculty members have participated in the PHENIX project at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. Half a dozen faculty members and dozens of current and former students are listed as co-authors on papers published by PHENIX.
• Members of ACU’s Department of English received several awards in Spring 2010. Dr. Mikee Delony, assistant professor of English, was elected regional vice president of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. Dr. Shelly Sanders, assistant professor of English, attended a June workshop on young adult fiction at the Norman Mailer Writers’ Colony in Provincetown, Mass. Dr. Chris Willerton, professor of English, was elected executive secretary of the Council of College Teachers of English.
• Dr. Kim Pamplin, professor and chair of ACU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, worked with area K-12 teachers in summer 2010 to experiment with applications on the Apple iPad. Pamplin developed a three-week program using Teacher Quality Grants to give the teachers access to mobile technology.
• Twelve students from ACU’s College of Business Administration participated in a 2010 summer internship in China this year, under the direction of ACU business professors Dr. Darryl Jinkerson and Dr. Phil Vardiman. They explored Shanghai, studied international businesses and gave presentations based on the multicultural learning program of Guangzhou Auto College. GAC trains nearly 12,000 students each year for the enormous Chinese auto industry.
• Kyle Ferrell, junior agribusiness science major from Weatherford, Texas, is the 2010-11 national president of Delta Tau Alpha, the nationwide agricultural honor society.