Names in the News . . . in June

June 19th, 2008

Mindy Markham has been hired for a one-year appointment for the new Family  Studies and Human Services program at K- State-Salina. Markham is finishing her dissertation at the University of Missouri. The position will be opened up for a tenure track position this fall. Depending on enrollment, the school may advertise for a second position in the fall, according to Bill Meredith, head of FSHS.

Laura Romig and Lauren Griffen are two of only 20 students chosen from across the country to attend the Society for Healthcare Foodservice Management annual meeting in September.

The dietetic students will have the opportunity to meet culinary and foodservice leaders and other key professionals in the healthcare foodservice industry as well as industry representatives from other … Continue reading…

Food Writing students debut webzine

June 19th, 2008

Students in K-State’s Food Writing course (above) have published Kansas Food Journal, a webzine devoted to food production, preparation and consumption in the state.

The web magazine, at www.KansasFoodJournal.com, is the only one of its kind in the state and one of the first class-produced webzines at K-State, according to Jane P. Marshall who teaches the course in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics (HRIMD).

Content includes features, restaurant listings, recipes, book reviews and food memoirs, all written by students. For example:

Kristin Hodges wrote about the Lazy Heart D Ranch near Westmoreland where Ed and Susan Dillinger raise bison for food and pleasure.
Maddie Ross chronicled … Continue reading…

Holcomb tackles retirement with same verve she tackled teaching

June 19th, 2008

Carol Ann Holcomb planned retirement the same way she planned the courses she taught – by being resourceful, inventive, effective and dedicated.

Her retirement syllabus focuses on three goals: travel, research then write church history and plunge into stained-glass artwork. Each step researched, practiced and reviewed with diligence. No lounge chairs on the beach for this professor.

Holcomb, who has been appointed professor emeritus, retires in August after 29 years at Kansas State University.

Her past includes a PhD from Oregon State University, a 2-year stint as a faculty member at the University of Missouri-Columbia and several years as a biology and chemistry teacher in an Alaskan high school.

A rich legacy

Holcomb was a founder and leader in … Continue reading…

Violence still begets violence in children, Murray says

May 28th, 2008

The actor had a balding pate and a bow tie.“I was hoping they would get Tom Cruise to play me,” laughed John Murray who is retiring this spring after 23 years in the School of Family Studies and Human Services.

The Murray-like character was an expert witness on episode No. 918 “Virtual Reality” of “Touched by an Angel,” a weekly television drama that aired for nine years.

An expert he is.

Murray and his art from “Children and Television: 50 Years of Research”

The professor of developmental psychology has written 14 books and 100 articles on the topic of children, media and violence.

The “Touched by an Angel” episode explored the influence of a video game on a two boys … Continue reading…

Ann Murray: trailblazer in on-line teaching

May 28th, 2008

Ann Murray confessed. Now and then, she teaches in her bedroom slippers. For all she knows, her students attend class in their bedroom slippers.

Dr. Murray teaches all her classes - assessment of young children, foundations of infant mental health, child development, and infant behavior and development – online. Most of her students do not live in Manhattan; most are non-traditional graduate students. Class discussions take place in chat rooms and on message boards. Students on a team project may live states apart.

This summer she moves to the retirement condominium she and spouse John P. Murray are building in Chestertown, Maryland. In the fall, she downsizes her teaching load and, in two years, fully retires.

Trailblazing secrets

Ann … Continue reading…

Bradshaw - Mr. ‘Walk Kansas’ - retires

May 28th, 2008

“I guess I’ll be remembered for seat belts and walking,” laughed Michael Bradshaw, who retires this summer after 37 years at K-State.

The Extension health and safety specialist in Family Studies and Human Services has spearheaded many projects. One of the first was convincing Kansans to wear seatbelts.

“In the ‘70s, only 11 percent of Kansas wore seatbelts,” he said. Extension got funds from the Kansas Department of Transportation to up that number. Today, Bradshaw said, the figure is 75 percent. Better but not good enough, he said.

Bradshaw may be best known for Walk Kansas, a fitness challenge in which 6-member teams collectively walk 423 miles, the distance across Kansas.

He developed the program for the Extension service … Continue reading…

Human Ecology honors, celebrates graduating seniors

May 16th, 2008

Melanie Miller, summa cum laude

Family, guests, seniors and their professors gathered on the lawn in front of Justin Hall this afternoon for the graduation honors and student awards ceremony. Graduation is Saturday afternoon in Bramlage Coliseum. Among those honored were those graduating summa cum laude (GPA 3.95 or higher), magna cum aude (3.850 to 3.949) and cum laude (3.75 to 3.849); students who participated in honors projects and those named Outstanding Seniors.

Associate Dean Briana Goff presents awards. Kali Stevens, right, was “outstanding student.”

Lauren Luhrs, left, outstanding student and summa … Continue reading…

Names in the News . . . in May

May 16th, 2008

Delores Chambers . . .serves green tea. Dr. Chambers won first place for her paper entitled “Descriptive Sensory Analysis of Green Tea Samples from around the World” in the Marketing and Industry category of the third International Conference on Tea Culture and Science (in Shizuoka Japan). While there she got an invitation from universities in both China and Turkey to conduct collaborative research. She and Dr. Edgar Chambers IV direct the internationally recognized Sensory Analysis Center in the Human Nutrition department.

Emily Taylor. . . will serve on the 2008 Homecoming Student Committee. The committee organizes Homecoming Week, which will be Oct. 19-25 and culminate with the football game against the University of Oklahoma Oct. 25. Emily is … Continue reading…

Outstanding seniors for 2008 are . . . outstanding!

May 16th, 2008

Twenty one graduating seniors - whose activities range from athletic training for university teams to diabetics counseling - have been named Outstanding Seniors.

Faculty selected the awardees based on academic achievements, leadership, participation in service on campus and in the community, and professional potential. They are:

Tiffany Hands, communication sciences and disorders, Garden City, plans to pursue a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders at K-State.

Jessica Ponnath, apparel design, Kansas City, Kan., designed a Web site about making environmentally responsible choices as part of her honors project.

Sarah Bishop, general family studies and human services, Leawood, plans to pursue a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy.

Claire Hemmendinger, hotel and restaurant management, Manhattan, coordinated the International Buddies program and chaired … Continue reading…

Theater workshop gives children of military a voice

May 14th, 2008

A dozen middle-school students take the stage this month, performing a play they created on a topic they know well: children of military families.

“Serving at Home” centers on Chloe, a teenage girl whose mother gets deployed. It also features Chloe’s younger sister and grandfather, creating a multi-generational focus. The play builds on the problems the family faces and the eventual breaking point.

The interactive theater workshop is the work of the School of Family Studies and Human Services, the Department of Speech Communication, Theater and Dance and members of the Manhattan community.

Giving youth a voice

“This project was done with great care,” said Sally Bailey, associate professor of speech communication, theater and dance.

“It has a strong but … Continue reading…