ESU Faculty and Students in the News

East Stroudsburg University is honored to recognize the following faculty and student for their recent accomplishments in their fields of study.

Richard A. Ruck, Jr., Ed.D., instructor of criminal justice, is one of the recipients of a 2021 Sage Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Junior Faculty Professional Development Teaching Award. The award recognizes significant promise as an educator for those who have completed their most recent graduate degree within the previous five years. With the award comes a plaque, and recognition at the ACJS Annual Meeting. In addition, a travel grant is awarded to offset expenses to attend professional development teaching workshops for criminal justice faculty at the 2022 ACJS Annual Meeting. This annual award was developed in partnership between SAGE, ACJS, and participating SAGE authors in 2008.

Moshen Jabali, a graduate student studying instructional technology, along with Carol Walker, Ph.D., assistant professor of digital media technologies, presented at the virtual Pennsylvania Education Technology Expo & Conference in February. Jabali’s study, An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study: FlipQuiz as a Digital Tool for  Learning English Vocabulary in Language Classroom, has recently be accepted for publication in the International Journal of Technology Information. The study investigates the impact that a digital review tool had on students’ grades, learning motivation, and engagement. Findings indicated that there was a strong relationship regarding the importance of including technology in the classroom as well as the overall experience of utilizing FlipQuiz in learning English vocabulary.

Margaret Mullan, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication, published a book, Seeking Communion as Healing Dialogue: Gabriel Marcel’s Philosophy for Today.  The book is published by Rowman & Littlefield. According to their website, the book discusses society’s problems with interpersonal communication, arguing that these issues are more deeply rooted in problems in being. Dr. Mullan draws on the work of Gabriel Marcel to explore the meaning of body, of being with, and of being at all in today’s world, answering questions about why we are often unable to dialogue with the people around us, why we feel disconnected and alone even in an increasingly technological world, and how these changing technologies expose and sometimes exacerbate our weak connections to others. Engaging Marcel’s reflective method and theory of communion, Mullan explores how we seek communion amid technology and proposes that Marcel’s reflections are generative contributions to the understanding and study of communication, offering a way to seek healing dialogue in present day. Scholars of communication, philosophy, conflict studies, and media studies will find this book particularly useful.

Gina Scala, Ed.D., professor and department chair of special education and rehabilitation, was awarded the Harrie M. Selznick Distinguished Service Award by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). The Harrie M. Selznick CASE Distinguished Service Award was instituted for recognition of individuals who have been career-long leaders in the administration of special education programs. The intended recipients of the award are individuals who have made significant contributions to the field over extended professional careers. The Harrie M. Selznick Award is the highest CASE honor, and it is accompanied by a cash award. Dr. Scala teaches, or has taught, almost every special education course in the undergraduate and graduate program. More information about the award and Dr. Scala can be found on the CASE website.

Elizabeth Azukas, Ed.D., assistant professor of professional and secondary education, presented her study, The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and Virtual School Leadership Competencies: Do They Align, at the international American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in April. The purpose of the study was to develop an understanding of the competencies required for virtual school leadership as they relate to the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (P-SEL). Results indicated that while the P-SEL Standards were categorically aligned to their work, there were distinctive differences in the ways in which virtual school leaders engaged their work across various leadership domains that required unique competencies. Research has indicated that very few educational leadership programs provide any administrator preparation for leading in virtual learning environments, but as the COVID-19 crisis has made clear, it is imperative that all school leaders have an understanding of the competencies required for virtual leadership. Dr. Azukas’s study will be published in a special edition of Tech Trends this spring. She is currently working on the development of a certificate program in virtual leadership.

Search

Recent Posts