Faculty in the News

Posted by: admin on November 28, 2012, No Comments

Sandy Miller, head field hockey coach at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU), delivers an overview of the key concepts, drills and skills that has made her program so successful in a recently released DVD. In Dynamic Practice Drills for Field Hockey, Miller shares her positive and fun coaching strategy that can be adapted for any age level. She discusses how to conduct a competitive practice session, explain drills, set goals and motivate players. The drills are diagrammed in a classroom and then demonstrated on the field during an ESU Warriors field hockey practice.

Miller, who has coached ESU to 10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament and six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament appearances, completed her 28th season as head field hockey coach in 2011. She is one of four coaches in Division II with at least 300 wins and has a career record of 332-224-11. Miller was honored as the PSAC Coach of the Year in 1996 and was the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 2001 after leading ESU to the NCAA Division II championship game. Miller has produced All-American players in 23 of the last 26 years, including 19 straight from 1992 through 2010. Overall, Miller has coached 39 individual All-Americans in her 28 seasons at ESU. Miller has been involved in the development of ESU student-athletes for more than two decades in three different sports – field hockey, women’s lacrosse and women’s basketball. In addition to being the head field hockey coach since 1984, Miller also coached the women’s lacrosse team for 20 years from 1985-2004 and was an assistant women’s basketball coach from 1984-95. An outstanding athlete at Lock Haven University, Miller earned 11 varsity letters in four sports and was chosen as the school’s outstanding senior female athlete in 1983. In field hockey, she was an All-American and a two-time All-PSAC first team selection while playing on two national championship squads.

Marcia L Gasper, Ph.D., ESU associate professor of nursing, has co-authored with Patricia Dillon, Clinical Simulations for Nursing Education, published by the F.A. Davis Company. This book of 51 structured simulation scenarios, 34 in print and 17 online, are intended for use throughout the nursing curriculum, and can be used with or without computerized patient simulators. Each unique simulation experience focuses on a defined clinical domain and incorporates critical knowledge and skills, levels of competency, evidenced-based practice guidelines, National Patient Safety Goals, and research-based design characteristics. Selected scenarios from this publication have been licensed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing as part of a standardized simulation curriculum in their two-year National Simulation Study, examining the use of simulation in nursing education and potential incorporation into the licensing exam.

Sheila A. Handy, Ph.D., CPA, and an ESU associate professor and chair of the department of business management, was a presenter at a program titled Money and Life, The Fiscal Cliff, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). The PICPA is a professional association of more than 20,000 members working together to improve the profession and serve the public interest. During the program, held on November 13 at the Eastern Monroe Public Library in Stroudsburg, Handy discussed establishing financial priorities and budgeting. “Fiscal cliff” is a phrase coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben  Bernanke. The phrase summarizes the possible impact of large tax increases, spending cuts and expiring tax breaks.

Glenn Geiser-Getz, Ph.D.,  professor of communication studies at ESU, received a grant that was used to fund his observation of WFMZ-TV operations to better understand the television industry and to better teach and advise students who seek careers in that industry. Dr. Geiser-Getz received a competitive Faculty Development Grant from the National Association of Television Production Executives. WFMZ-TV is an independent television station located in Allentown, Pa.

Kathleen Barnes, Ph.D., associate professor of business management at ESU, and Madeline Constantine, director of Stony Acres, a 119-acre wildlife sanctuary owned by ESU students located in Marshalls Creek, Pa., and George Smith, professor at Albright College, collaborated for a presentation at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Academy of Management in Philadelphia, Pa. The conference theme was “Implications of Technology for Today’s Managers: Opportunities and Challenges.” The workshop, titled “What Did You Say? Teaching Effective Communication Through Experiential Learning,” explored the use of some common challenge course activities that could be used to teach about the subject of effective communication to college students. Stony Acres offers recreational activities for ESU students, staff and faculty throughout the year as well as the general public. Facilities include a challenge course, a series of outdoor elements requiring groups to solve problems by working together and sharing ideas. The elements of the course are constructed from cables stretched between trees, suspended tires, logs and/or ropes that necessitate creative solutions.

Kimberly S. Adams, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at ESU, attended the “Capitol Hill Workshop: Legislative Politics in a Time of Austerity and Deficits” in Washington, D.C. The workshop was sponsored by by Alan L. Freed Associates. Through a series of 12 high-level presentations, policy experts provided a wide range of perspectives on issues such as the domestic policy goals of the U.S., an institutional evaluation of the effects of budgetary cuts on government agencies, congressional leadership and foreign policy issues. The workshop also offered attendees the unique opportunity to discuss current issues of interest in an off-the-record setting, with a group of speakers of national stature who have personal experience in critical aspects of the national policy making process.Adams gained a more intimate knowledge of the inter-workings of the U.S. Congress in a time of austerity and deficits. Adams gleaned invaluable information that greatly enhances her ability to provide students with an insider’s perspective on matters pertaining to legislative agenda-setting during tough economic times.

In June, Adams attended the “Euro-American Conference for Academic Disciplines & Creativity,” in Prague, Czech Republic. Invited to serve as co-chair of the panel, she gave a presentation titled “Female Representation in Latin American Parliaments: The Influence of Legislative Quotas, Education, Women in the Workforce and Democratic Development.” Adams said that as countries in Latin America have moved away from long-standing dictatorships toward more democratic institutions and regimes, the positioning of women within the region has sparked considerable inquiry. Adams said this retests old hypotheses and refines variables in determining political, socio-economic, and cultural factors that influence female representation in the parliaments of Latin America.

Alla L. Wilson, Ph.D., dean of the ESU College of Business and Management, early this year facilitated the strategic planning retreat for Women Administrators in Higher Education (WAHE), a network of women professionals from national higher education associations and Washington, D.C. metropolitan area colleges and universities. WAHE supports the professional and personal development of members through conferences, networking opportunities, cultural and educational events, and topical discussions with guest speakers. Wilson was also asked to serve as the chair of the steering committee for WAHE and represented the organization at the American Council on Education (ACE) annual meeting in March in Los Angeles, Calif. ACE  is a higher education organization that supports initiatives related to key higher education issues and higher education leadership development. As chair, she serves on ACE’s state network executive board, which supports a national system of state networks for women in higher education by serving as liaisons to state planning boards and mentoring state coordinators. The executive board also advises ACE’s Office of Women in Higher Education on issues relating to developing, advancing and supporting women in higher education administrative careers.