NORTHERN TODAY 16 FALL 2021 ORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY’S Dr. Amber Henderson has won a Sanford Faculty Professional Development Award for her research project, “Perceptions of Entrepreneurship: An Exploratory Study Applied to Lakota Cultures.” Henderson said her research aims to identify the perception of entrepreneurship among people of the Oceti Sakowin (People of Seven Council Fires, known to some as the Great Sioux Nation). She virtually presented the conceptual framework for the project at the International Conference on Ethnic Entrepreneurship and Ethnic Identity (London) on Nov. 18-19, 2021. Henderson, NSU Associate Professor of Marketing/Management, said she has been interested in this topic for many years, but has only just begun the process of data collection and analysis. “I’m a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (located in northern North Dakota), and have always been interested what theories/textbooks state versus how things play out in different contexts…specifically through an Indigenous lens,” she said. “However, after going through a program with the Native Governance Center a few years ago, I began to really rethink standard approaches to Native Nation Rebuilding. In particular, I took a direct interest in the consideration of Indigenous culture and values as a fundamental role and key asset of topics such as Tribal government systems/ processes and economic development.” Her long-term, overall goal of the project, she said, is to identify how cultural values and entrepreneurship education might affect entrepreneurship intentions of the Oceti Sakowin. Henderson came to Northern in August 2015 and is now in her seventh academic year with the NSU School of Business. For others looking to get started in research, Henderson has this advice: “Research something you’re passionate about that might bring worth to someone else. Talk about your research ideas with other people, especially those who won’t necessarily agree with you. Seek experts in the field and solicit their feedback. For my particular interest, there are experts in organizations such as Native CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions), which have exceptional first-hand experience working with entrepreneurs.” Faculty | NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSI TY N R. RICARDO ROJAS, associate professor of mathematics at Northern State University, won a Sanford Faculty Professional Development Award for his project, “A Short Geometry Problem Book.” Rojas, who is in his 14th year at NSU, said the idea for his book came about because he was having trouble finding an appropriate geometry textbook for the course he wanted to teach. His book is not going to be a full-length textbook, however; it’s a shorter book of problems, essentially a workbook, which could be used as a supplement by educators. Rojas said the book is divided into chapters, with each chapter having different prerequisites. For example, one has college algebra as a prerequisite, another has trigonometry, and so on. “One way to think about it is a video game with different levels, and as you level up your character or acquire certain abilities or items, various portions of the map unlock that were locked,” Rojas said. Submitted Articles for Publication When he submitted the application for the Sanford award, Rojas originally intended to work only on the book. However, while doing so, he also got some ideas for research on geometric topics. This resulted in Rojas writing and submitting three scholarly articles to the peer-reviewed College Math Journal over the summer. The first article, “When Triangles are Similar,” has already been accepted, and he’s awaiting the publication date. For the second article, “A Twofor-One Deal on Rational Triangles,” revisions were requested. Rojas has revised and resubmitted, and he is waiting to hear back. The third article, “More Rational Points Associated With the Unit Circle,” has been submitted, but Rojas hasn’t yet heard back on its status. ‘Never Know When an Idea Will Strike’ For others considering research, especially students, Rojas shared advice. “You never know when an idea will strike; you never know when an idea will come together,” he said. “It helps if you have to force yourself to stop doing the subject rather than force yourself to do the subject.” Rojas said he likes to paraphrase a quote attributed to Albert Einstein as follows, “If you know what you’re doing, it’s not research.” Henderson wins Sanford Faculty Professional Development Award Rojas wins Sanford Faculty Professional Development Award for geometry book Dr. Amber Henderson Associate Professor of Marketing/Management Dr. Ricardo Rojas Associate Professor of Mathematics “Research something you’re passionate about that might bring worth to someone else.” “You never know when an idea will strike; you never know when an idea will come together.” “ “ D
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