Heart Soul College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Corner Volume 9 No. 1 Northern State University Spring 2011 Lisa Rempp-LaBau For others, goals are defined before the journey begins. Such was the case of Lisa Rempp-LaBau, who enrolled at NSU in the fall of 1984 with the goal of pursuing a degree in Medical Technology. Her decision to focus on the medical field was based on both personal reasons and pragmatic considerations: she had a family doctor she admired, and she found healthcare intriguing; and she recognized that it is an industry that offers some degree of job security since there will always be people that need medical care. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1989, and embarked on a successful career in the medical field in which she has just reached an important milestone by being appointed the chief operating officer of API Healthcare, one of the leaders in healthcarespecific workforce management technology. In reflecting on her education at Northern, Rempp-LaBau points to NSU science courses as key to her professional career: the Genetics class with Professor John Naughten, and the Chemistry classes with Professor Samuel Gingerich. She names Professor Lynn Hodgson and Etta Bassinger, Program Director at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital, as “great mentors.” It was during her internship at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen that the laboratory team recognized that she might want to pursue the business side of healthcare after she had explored the medical side, and encouraged her to take her first job in Maui, Hawaii as a Medical Technologist, which turned out to be “the perfect way to launch [her] career.” She also acknowledges the value of the general education courses – from the writing classes to the computer courses – as key to building a foundation for career success. “While the technology from my FORTRAN class has been replaced with newer programming languages, I still use the logic lessons I learned there,” she says. In the formal announcement of her appointment as the chief operating officer of API Healthcare, the company president and CEO praises Rempp-LaBau for her commitment, passion, and leadership. Asked for advice she would give to young men and women who aspire to develop similar qualities in their future professional lives, Rempp-LaBau offers a few simple suggestions for the road to success: “Do work that you love. Be the driver of your own career, and plan for your own success. Never give up on your dreams even when you hit a road block.” “Do work that you love. Be the driver of your own career, and plan for your own success. Never give up on your dreams even when you hit a road block.” Dr. Elizabeth Haller has been an Assistant Professor of English at Northern since August 2009, teaching courses in literature, composition, and journalism. She received her Ph.D. in English from Kent State University with an emphasis in nineteenth-century British literature and trauma theory, and her M.A. in English Language and Literature from Central Michigan University. She completed her B.A. in English at the University of Northern Colorado while working as a legal assistant at one of the top environmental law firms in Denver. Aside from her academic career, Dr. Haller enjoys spending time outside with her son biking, playing catch, shooting hoops, or hiking with their two dogs. She also loves taking road trips throughout the United States, visiting places with historical significance. Dr. Jon Mitchell joined the NSU faculty as an Assistant Professor of Biology in August of 2010. Prior to that appointment, he spent twenty years working as a research scientist with Dow AgroSciences and The Dow Chemical Company in the areas of plant, fungal, bacterial, and insect molecular biology and biochemistry. His research interests range from plant pathology and bacterial protein expression to insect genetics and all aspects of biotechnology. After beginning his academic career at the University of Illinois, Dr. Mitchell New Faculty at NSU For some individuals, college education is a journey of discovery: they embark on it without a clearly defined goal, and adjust the itinerary as they go, searching for the right destination. continued on the following page…
Honors Program The campus now boasts brand new labs with cutting-edge technology in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Geography. NSU now offers a new Biotechnology Program and hired a new faculty member in Chemistry from Scripps Labs, and to lead the new Biotechnology Program, a new biologist who has had extensive experience in industry, working for over ten years at Dow Chemical. The hallmark of the new focus on Health Sciences is the Medical Laboratory Science Program, which evolved out of the Medical Technology Program.The new program is headed by Dr. Landon-Arnold, one of NSU’s outstanding cell/molecular and micro-biologists. It features affiliation with the Western College Alliance of Clinical Laboratory Sciences through the University of North Dakota and provides access to sixty internship sites in twelve states, enabling students to conduct their clinical training in a variety of settings during the summer prior to and during their senior year. New course offerings in the MLS Program include courses in Hematology, Immunology, and Medical Microbiology.The school is engaged in an aggressive recruitment program and in nurturing current students by establishing a forum and a career advising program focused on bringing speakers and practitioners in the field to campus, and creating opportunities for students to visit hospitals and research labs to learn about the discipline and the profession. With the current national debate concerning the healthcare reform, and the growing emphasis on medical technology in the profession, NSU is well positioned to contribute to shaping the future of the nation’s health services. The Program offers students a chance to challenge themselves and enhance their Northern experience by taking Honors courses and completing undergraduate research in the form of an Honors thesis or project. The NSU Honors Program held its first retreat in fall 2010.The Program teamed up with the Center of Excellence in International Business and shared a meeting space and several events over three days in Rapid City and the Black Hills.The highlights for the eleven Honors students who attended were meeting the founder of TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie, hearing Mycoskie speak, and crafting the Honors Program strategic plan. Recharged by Blake Mycoskie’s impassioned talk, members of the NSU Honors Program met with Provost Tom Hawley and Dean Tino Mendez to share their strategic plan, the five main topics of which are academics, undergraduate research and networking, civic engagement, admission, and social events. Once back on campus, NSU Honors Director Dr. Erin Fouberg and NSU Honors students met with administrators and staff in residence life and admissions, working on several goals: to promote university-wide academic opportunities outside of classes, to establish an Honors floor at a residence hall, to promote studyabroad opportunities for Honors students, to hold monthly Honors socials, and to reach out to incoming NSU students to encourage participation in the Honors Program. This year, the NSU Honors Program and President James Smith hosted participatory journalist Ted Conover on campus. An Evening with Ted Conover, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, was held on March 23 in the Johnson Fine Arts Center Theater.The event was open to the public. Mr. Conover spoke about his most recent book, The Routes of Man, and signed books after his interactive presentation. NSU Honors students had the opportunity to meet Mr. Conover at a reception. Health Sciences Programs received a doctorate from Purdue University where he researched the molecular and physiological mechanisms associated with programmed cell death of xylem elements in plants. When not preparing lectures, practicing labs, or researching science projects, Dr. Mitchell enjoys attending NSU sporting and artistic events, playing golf, mushroom hunting, playing the piano, backpacking, reading, watching movies, riding his Harley, listening to music, and generally being lazy. Dr. George Nora joined the faculty at NSU in August of 2010. He is originally from a small rural farming community in Illinois. After completing his master’s degree from Illinois State University, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame working on the synthesis and testing of novel antibacterial agents. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida making potential therapeutic agents for Chagas disease. In his personal life, he and his wife, Stephanie, are busy preparing for the birth of their first child, due in April. Left to right: Kim Anderson, Ethan Brown, Erin Fouberg, Jennifer Kilber, Ben Buckingham, Tiffany Veal, Blake Mycoskie, Maggie Gould, Nick Blazer, Liz Zappa, Mike Newman, Kelsey Luckhurst, Saundra Leichti The NSU Honors Program is designed to work with academically talented and highly motivated students. Over the last two years, NSU has been focusing on developing an up-to-date portfolio of academic programs in the Health Sciences. The process involved a restructuring of program offerings and a $2.7 million investment in renovating all of the sciences labs. continued from previous page…
Their work was focused on excavating the Gunderson Site, a prehistoric Plains Indians village located about twelve miles north of Aberdeen.The site is about 800 years old. It was discovered and described in 1886 by T. H. Lewis, who was charged with the task of surveying the Native American burial mounds in Minnesota and surrounding states.The site was surveyed again in 1970 by state archeologist Mick Zerr.The current excavation project involving NSU students and faculty began in 2008 and it is conducted in conjunction with the local chapter of the South Dakota Archeological Society, which gives students an opportunity to work with experienced volunteers. Students involved in the project did both lab and fieldwork. They learned the basics of all three levels of archaeological fieldwork: Phase I Testing (site identification and reconnaissance), Phase II Testing (site significance and limits), and Phase III Testing (data recovery excavations). Students learned to identify prehistoric artifacts including bone, stone tools, and pottery; to map their finds and to document their work in written and photographic forms; and they learned sampling strategies and methods of taking soil and radiocarbon samples. In the lab, students learned to process and catalog a full range of archaeological collections. They learned to identify faunal remains by species and to identify burnt bone, butchering marks and other evidence of prehistoric activity, and to enter site and artifact data into state databases. COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES There are currently more than twenty students engaged in research projects outside the classroom. Several of these projects are conducted under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which is committed to support undergraduate research. Evidence of this commitment includes a new Social Sciences Research Center, fully equipped undergraduate research lab in Biology, and new Geosciences labs. Undergraduate research conducted outside the classroom is often derived from capstone projects or honors theses. Research activities in the CAS range from languages and linguistics to biological sciences and social studies. Dr. Ginny Lewis is advising Chris Rieck in his undergraduate research project focused on transcribing, translating, and interpreting original documents from Germans-from-Russia. His research has shown that individuals from the late 1800s and early 1900s experienced many hardships. Chris showcased his research at the state poster session in Pierre in February. Dr. Alyssa Kiesow is advising Ambra Premo in her undergraduate research project, which is also going to serve as her honors thesis. Ambra is characterizing and isolating microsatellite loci for false map turtles. She has isolated eleven loci, and is currently working on genotyping turtle samples from above and below Gavins Point dam.These data will help determine genetic structure of recently divided turtle populations. Another research project involved students enrolled in Dr. Teresa Stallings’ SOC 410 Methods of Social Research. In the spring of 2009 the students used face-to-face structured interviews to collect data from 156 randomly selected small businesses located in Aberdeen to assess the extent to which employers of small businesses in Aberdeen provide health and wellness benefits to their employees. In the spring of 2010, the students analyzed the data and presented the results of the study to local business community in a public presentation.They did so in coordination with the Brown County Extension Office and the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. Much of the undergraduate research conducted in the CAS is done through volunteer activities or course credits. Faculty dedicate their time to engage undergraduates in research and scholarly work. One of CAS and NSU’s new strategic plan priorities is to promote research by increasing our portfolio of research grants and creating corresponding opportunities and funding support to enhance our students’ academic experience at NSU. Undergraduate Research Digging the Gunderson Site Dr. Guangwei Ding collaborated on two articles: “Soil Degradation: A Problem Threatening the Sustainable Development of Agriculture in Northeast China,” co-authored with X. B. Liu, X. Y. Zhang, Y. X. Wang, Y. Y. Sui, S. L. Zhang, and S. J. Herbert, was published in Plant Soil Environ; and “Predicting Grain Yield of Irrigation-Land and Dry-Land Winter Based on Remote Sensing Data and Meteorological Data,” co-authored with M. C. Feng, L. J. Xiao, and W. D. Yang, was published in Transactions of the CSAE. Dr. Ding also gave two conference presentations during the International Symposium on Black Soil Quality and Management in Harbin, China, in July 2010: “The Influence of Cow Manure on the Distribution Pattern of the Water Stable Aggregates and Carbon Content in the Eroded Black Soil,” in collaboration with Y. Sui, X. Liu, and X. Zhang; and “Biological Activities of Black Soil Farmland with Different Soil Organic Matter Contents,” in collaboration with Y. Sui, X. Zhang, and X. Liu. Left to right: Megan Bertaccini, Kevin Nakajima One of the hallmarks of NSU academic programs is research conducted by undergraduate students. In the middle of South Dakota summer, when most people searched for relief from the scorching sun in water, shade, or air-conditioned space, Dr. David Grettler and students enrolled in ANTH 431: Field Methods in Archeology braved the heat in search of artifacts from the past.
Northern State University 1200 S. Jay St. Aberdeen, SD 57401-7198 www.northern.edu Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Aberdeen, South Dakota Permit No. 77 COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Dr. Elizabeth Haller published an article titled “Perception and the Suppression of Identity in Villette” in the July 2010 issue of Brontë Studies and was invited by the editor of LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory to join the journal’s review board as a Charlotte Brontë scholar. She also published four entries on Willa Cather’s O Pioneers (vol. 1) and four entries on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll ’s House (vol. 2) in the threevolume Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature published by Facts on File, Inc., 2010. Dr. Haller completed a requested honorarium review of LIT Anthology for the publishers Wadsworth/Cengage Learning and an honorarium review of The Online Editor’s Handbook for the publishers Pearson, Ally & Bacon. She was also invited by the Editorial Assistant for the Communication, Film and Theatre list at Pearson Publishing to review their upcoming first edition of The Online Editor’s Handbook. Dr. Jon Schaff published three articles: “Alexis de Tocqueville, Willa Cather’s My Antonia and the Tragedy of American Progress” in Alexis de Tocqueville and the Art of Democratic Statesmanship, Brian Danoff and Joe Herbert eds. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books), and “Lincoln Symposium Introduction” and “Technology, Slavery, and Labor: Lincoln’s Lectures on Discoveries and Inventions” in Perspectives on Political Science. He also presented a paper titled “Woodrow Wilson and the Politics of Self-Interest” at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Political Science Association. Dr. Steven Usitalo published a book review of Robert Collis’s The Petrine Instauration: Religion, Esotericism, and Science at the Court of Peter the Great, 1689-1725 (University of Turku Press, 2007) in Eighteenth-Century Studies. His article “Lomonosov: Patronage and Reputation at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences” is scheduled for publication this year in Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. In November 2010, Dr. Usitalo attended the conference of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies in Los Angeles, where he delivered a paper titled “Electricity and Scientific Sainthood: The Case of Georg Wilhelm Richmann”; and in January 2011, he attended the conference of the American Historical Association in Boston, where he was the discussant for the panel on “The Occult and Court Politics in Russia and Central Europe, Sixteenth through the Eighteenth Centuries.” Dr. Usitalo was the recipient of the Nora Staael Evert Award for 2010/2011. NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY Aberdeen, South Dakota Stay in touch with your school visit www.northern.edu/alumni/
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