Faculty and staff sketches
Writing faculty member Sasha Debevec-McKenney earned the Dylan Thomas Prize from Swansea University for her poetry collection, "Joy is My Middle Name!"
June 16, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 18)
Faculty and staff sketches
November 29, 2022 (Volume 46, Number 7)
Students present their senior projects at the Shape Corp. Innovation Design Center in August. The Padnos College of Engineering and Computing was highlighted for its high-impact learning opportunities in a post by industry partner DornerWorks.
Photo Credit: Kendra Stanley-Mills
In the News
The Padnos College of Engineering and Computing and its co-op program and senior projects were highlighted in a blog post by DornerWorks, a longtime PCEC industry partner.
Michael Moody, Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy, Johnson Center for Philanthropy, was interviewed by WalletHub for a story about challenges to charitable giving.
Sketches
Faculty and staff members who have given presentations, were recognized for outstanding contributions or had their research published are detailed below. The campus community can submit a sketch online for future publication.
Joel Stillerman, professor of sociology, received the Charles Horton Cooley Award for distinguished scholarship in sociology from the Michigan Sociological Association.
Corey Anton, professor of communications, wrote an article, "Cultivating Meta-Cognition: Exploring Relations Between Literacy and Modes of Thinking," published in ETC: A Review of General Semantics.
Eric Ramsson, associate professor of biomedical sciences, gave an invited research seminar, "Melatonin Reduces Dopamine Release both In Vivo and Ex Vivo, Verified through Four Different Electrochemical Methods," for the Cell Biology and Physiology Department at Brigham Young University.
Al Steinman, the Allen and Helen Hunting Research professor at AWRI, received a $30,000 grant from the Council of Great Lakes Region Foundation for Great Lakes plastic clean up. Steinman was the lead author of a paper, "Coordinated Experiments across the Great Lakes Basin: Great Lakes Integrated Mesocosm Research. A White Paper for the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research."
Amanda Syers, AWRI science specialist, hosted and presented to a group of teachers participating in professional development through a NOAA B-WET grant, "Mid-Michigan Watershed Connections," which included a trip on the research vessel W.G. Jackson.
Annis Water Resources Institute faculty members, staff and students delivered presentations at the Great Lakes Beach Association Conference, hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
- Rick Rediske: Conference Opening, Welcome to Muskegon
- Lexy Porter, Renee Tardani, Tyler Chlystek and Katelyn Anderson: Sanitary Survey Workshop
- Rick Rediske: Molecular Source Tracking Workshop; Using MST Markers to Determine the Source of Fecal Indicator Bacteria at 3 Great Lakes Beaches; Cyanobacteria: New Problems from Old Organisms
- Brian Scull: Implementing Molecular Testing Methods in a Water Quality Laboratory
- James McNair: Validity Assessment of Michigan’s Proposed qPCR Threshold Value for Monitoring E. coli Contamination
- Lexy Porter: Muskegon County Beach Monitoring: A Review and Application of Beach Closure Decision Matrix Utility
- Renee Tardani: Algal Bloom Impacts on Beach Monitoring: Exploring 2018-2022 Trends in Climate and Harmful Algal Bloom Presence on Public Beaches in Muskegon County, Michigan
- John Hart: Using Watershed Characteristics for Improving Fecal Source Identification; Pathogens in Water: A New Conceptual Fecal Impairment Framework; Improving Recreational Water Quality Monitoring Through Microbial Source Tracking Normalization
- Katelyn Anderson: Developing and Using Image Flow Cytometry to Detect E. coli along Coastal Beaches of Lake Michigan.
- Kevin Strychar: Image Flow Cytometry used to Identify E. coli on Fruit, Foliar and Soil Samples from Blueberry Trees Grown near Coastal Habitats in Michigan
- Tyler Chlystek: The Utilization of the ArcGIS Survey123 App for Sanitary Surveys among Muskegon County, MI Beaches in 2021-2022
- Hava Topolski: Public Health Beach Standards and Predictive Models
Faculty members from the School of Interdisciplinary Health and Recreational Therapy gave presentations at the American Therapeutic Recreation Association conference in Birmingham, Alabama:
- Teresa Beck, senior associate dean: "Preparing the CAAHEP/CARTE Self-Study for Academic Accreditation in Recreational Therapy" and "Validating Competencies for Academic Accreditation in Recreational Therapy."
- Randy Wyble, director of the School of Interdisciplinary Health and associate professor of recreational therapy: "Evaluating Your Assessment."
- Susan Sunden, associate professor of recreational therapy, and Dawn DeVries, program director and associate professor of recreational therapy: "Flipping the Pages: Exploring Bibliotherapy Approaches for Recreational Therapy Practice."
- Sarah Bradley, placement coordinator for recreational therapy, and DeVries: "Let's Write about It: Journaling as a Recreational Therapy Intervention."
Categories
This article was last edited on November 28, 2022 at 2:56 p.m.
Related Articles
Faculty and staff sketches
Adam Harris, director of TRIO Upward Bound Detroit, received an award from the YMCA of Metro Detroit that recognizes people who build inclusive communities. Joel Schut and music students were interviewed about the song they recorded for the Acrisure Amphitheater.
May 19, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 17)
Faculty and staff sketches
The Office of Student Support and Belonging participated in a fundraising gala for Fostering Futures scholarships.
April 28, 2026 (Volume 49, Number 16)