Academic Accomplishments

Drs. DeBoer, Gentzler and Johnson-Wysocki are taking ten students to NUSS (Nebraska Undergraduate Sociological Symposium) at Midland University. Five students will be doing paper presentations. Several other students will participate in poster sessions and roundtable discussions. NUSS is a yearly symposium that celebrates undergraduate research and scholarship in sociology across the state of Nebraska.

Kari Gentzler, Associate Professor of Sociology, was recently appointed by Governor Jim Pillen to serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission for County Court Judge in the Third Judicial District. The judicial vacancy arose in Lancaster County upon the retirement of Judge Laurie J. Yardley. The commission was a bipartisan body (consisting of four attorney members and four laypeople) responsible for recruiting, evaluating, and recommending qualified candidates for judicial appointment. The commission reviewed applicant materials, conducted a public hearing with judicial candidates, and held confidential deliberations to identify individuals who demonstrate integrity, competence, and a commitment to impartial justice. The commission advanced four candidates for further consideration by Governor Pillen. This service supported the state’s merit-based process for judicial selection and contributed to maintaining public trust in Nebraska’s courts.

Dr. Kurt Runestad conducted the "Heartland Honor Choir" in Estherville, Iowa, on October 16, 2025. 150 students from 12 Iowa high schools and one Iowa community college sang in an honor choir under his direction, rehearsing during the day and giving an evening concert. The festival is hosted by Iowa Lakes Community College. Included in the repertoire was one of Runestad's Soweto Gospel Choir arrangements.

I'm helping Crete High School with a project their administration and staff are working on: ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science staff are all working on creating common assessments that they will all use to check in about student knowledge/skills at the beginning and end of courses (or specific units within courses). I did a presentation earlier in the year about classroom assessment research and principles. On Oct. 13, I visited the groups again to help them use those principles to start creating their own common assessments. The goal at Crete High School is for each department to have a series of common assessments that all staff will use and analyze the resulting assessment data to make teaching choices as their students move on to other classes in their subject area (and the data will help teachers change their pacing charts and curriculum materials/lesson plans to help alleviate misconceptions and work on tricky concepts).

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MGxsDbsDTRPXsiLG0_EkiFGBEJ3rVrAeTeUoYGNgA-M/edit?usp=sharing "Crete HS Assessment Development Advice Sep 2025"

Led a 'Bio Blitz' walk at Homestead National Historical Park documenting insect biodiversity for National Public Lands Day.

Tracy Corr was appointed to the Arts and Culture Task Force by City of Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. The task force is commissioned to identify opportunities to strengthen and expand Lincoln's creative economy, foster collaboration across sectors, and ensure that the arts continue to enrich the lives of all residents. Policies and initiatives that support artists, venues, and cultural programming will be explored.

Amanda Irions was named a member of Civic Nebraska's 2025-2026 Apiary cohort. The Apiary is an initiative that brings community leaders together to gain skills, share knowledge, and design and implement a civic-engagement project in their communities. Amanda was selected for proposing a project that, based on her research about faith and climate change, encourages local faith leaders to make climate change a greater part of their talk and equips them with the messages, evidence and story-telling skills to do so.

https://civicnebraska.org/voting-rights-initiatives/apiary/

Amanda Irions, an assistant Communication professor, recorded an hour-long interview about misinformation and disinformation with Lincoln community radio station KZUM. Irions discussed the difference between misinformation and disinformation, the harms of each, how the structure of social networks makes spreading mis- and disinformation so easy, and some strategies for correcting mis- and disinformation. The interview is part of KZUM's second biennial media literacy series and marks the second time Irions participated in it.

Reichert, A. N., Riddle, C. A., & Quinn, J. J. (2025). Social Buffering of Acute Early Life Stress Sex-Dependently Ameliorates Fear Incubation in Adulthood. Developmental psychobiology, 67(5), e70082. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70082

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dev.70082

Blake presented two separate sessions at the 2025 Education Opportunity Association's annual Student Leadership Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The first session, "Embodying Wellness: Unlocking Creativity through Movement & Breath" guided high school and college TRIO students through a variety of theatrical exercises and practices designed to complete the stress cycle, allowing them to move past creative blocks. In the second session, "The Great Game of Power: Creative Problem-Solving through Theatre", Blake facilitated one of Augosto Boal's most famous "Theatre of the Oppressed" games.

Selected by the Doane COB A.R. Kinney Endowed Professor Committee as the 2025-26 A.R. Kinney Endowed Professor of Business and Economics. Developing and implementing a specific project is part of this role, and my project is a COB student-led event in Spring 2026. This event will serve to connect business students with industry mentors, engage local high school business students and teachers, and generate visibility for Doane’s evolving business programs. This event embodies the A. R. Kinney intention to “enhance Doane’s business programs and prepare students to be in the forefront of the business field.” It also delivers on Doane’s commitment to create transformative educational experiences that bridge classroom learning with real-world application. By bringing together Doane students, high school teachers and students, faculty, and industry professionals, we will create a vibrant community of practice that celebrates innovation, fosters mentorship, prepares the next generation of business leaders, and delivers meaningful career outcomes.

Selected as 1 of 18 global teacher/scholars to serve as a Yale Faculty Fellow, which included a financial award of $15,000, plus a fellowship retreat at Yale, travel, accommodations, and coverage for other expenses to research and develop a new course for students at my institution, Doane University. This course design was completed and submitted to Yale on Oct 1, 2025. The course has been approved and is supported by Doane's COB Dean Daniel Bothe and LAR Director J.L. Vertin, and will be offered both terms in 2026-27 and annually thereafter as an LAR 303 course. After teaching the course the first time, my work and syllabus will be published on Yale's website for other educators to access. This course is unique within the Yale fellowship in that it is the only one focusing on what makes life meaningful and purposeful in the age of AI. In the course, students engage with philosophy, theology, literature, and other disciplines in examining existential questions, including what is worth wanting, how should they live, who are they responsible to, and what does it mean to be human in the era of AI.

1. My Yale website profile page: https://lifeworthliving.yale.edu/people/charlena-miller.

2. My course site on Yale website: https://lifeworthliving.yale.edu/course/life-worth-living-in-the-age-of-ai

Presented my research on career shock in the public sector at the global Academy of Management in Copenhagen.

https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMPROC.2025.23522poster

Presented "Teaching Responsible AI Through Student-Developed Customized AI Assistants for Faculty Clients" at the Academy of Management's Teaching and Learning Conference in Copehagen, Denmark.

https://cdmcd.co/8Yp4zj

Selected with my co-presenter, Cheney Luttich, to give a pre-conference workshop "Developing Tools and Skills for Innovative Change and Resilience in Uncertain Times" to attendees at the EDUCAUSE annual conference in Nashville, TN. EDUCAUSE is a global association of higher ed CIOs and CTOs and other leadership team members.

https://events.educause.edu/annual-conference/2025/agenda/developing-tools-and-skills-for-innovative-change-and-resilience-in-uncertain-timesnbspseparate-regi

Invited to serve as a faculty mentor for the American Association of Colleges and Universities Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum, which is a paid professional and scholarship appointment. My role entails providing consulting and guidance to leadership teams selected to participate in the 2025-26 Institute. I also provide two presentations to the 196 universities. My presentation delivered on Oct 1, 2025 was "Innovating AI-Integrated Curriculum: Creative Pilots for Workforce Readiness." I am the only Nebraskan and Doane is the only Nebraska university represented among my faculty mentor colleagues, which includes José Bowen and other leading voices in AI and higher education.

https://www.aacu.org/people/charlena-miller

Presented "Generative Listening and Conflict: Developing Crucial Workplace Skills" to business faculty and administrators from 5-state region at the annual ACBSP Region 5 Conference. The session focused on guiding faculty in how to combine theory and experience in developing students competencies in listening and conflict that prepares them for leadership in the workplace.

Dan Clanton was recently a guest on Friendly Fire, a podcast hosted by Rev. Jim Keck, Senior Minister at First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln. Clanton and Keck chatted about Clanton's past research and upcoming course on Death and the Afterlife. Clanton has been teaching adult education classes at First-Plymouth since January 2010.

https://p.ftur.io/klinam/10884

Dan Clanton published an article in Religious Studies Review titled "Violence, Film, and Nordic Bible(s)." The article was based on a presentation Clanton was invited to deliver at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature. It includes work that Clanton addresses in his LAR 303 class on Religion and Violence.

https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.17982

Dan Clanton (along with his daughter Hannah) published a case study on Taylor Swift and the Humanities in the second edition of Jeffrey H. Mahan and James H. Thrall's book "Media, Religion, and Culture: An Introduction" (Routledge Books). Clanton used material he prepared for his own case study on Taylor Swift for his course on Religion and Popular Culture (EIS 325).

https://www.routledge.com/Media-Religion-and-Culture-An-Introduction/Mahan-Thrall/p/book/9781032360119?srsltid=AfmBOordd_XCp1d2ThTpQOE2P1q65hcT4FpT9cG7K_cJTl7Bn2Wj2CE7

Drs. Doyle and Durham Brooks presented a talk and workshop entitled "Computer Vision and Image Processing: Building computational skills through image analysis in the DIVAS Alliance" at the 2025 Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Women in Computing (MINK-WIC) Conference. The talk described the NSF-funded project "Digital Imaging and Vision Applications in Science (DIVAS) Alliance" (award no. 2142238, co-PI Durham Brooks). Attendees were also introduced to some basic image processing tools developed by the project. DIVAS scholar Sophia Zurita-Amberg (University of Nebraska-Omaha) was a co-presenter.

J.B’’s short film, “At Peace” received an Honorable Mention” at the Be Epic London International Film Festival. As part of the Honourable Mentions BELIFF will be looking to create a Special Certificate to highlight the reason why your project stood out and although they could not include it in the Official Selection (mostly due to programming reasons and limited resources overall) they also could not just pass it by without giving it a chance to be viewed and promoted online. As part of the online Version of BELIFF 2025, the Honourable Mentions will also be up for the possibility of winning the Public Award (which every year is selected entirely by the audience and public).

Longlisted (top 3% of submissions) for Palette Poetry's Nature Poetry Prize, judged by New York Times bestselling author Aimee Nezhukumatathil.

Visit here to view the winners: https://www.palettepoetry.com/2025/11/05/2025-nature-poetry-prize-winners-finalists

Jody gave a presentation at the American College Health Association's Annual Meeting in late May 2025. The presentation was entitled "Advanced Contraception Management" and covered recent developments in the provision of contraception in the child-bearing population as well as use of medical apps as a resource for this information. The session was a continuing education offering for health professionals.

Dr. Mark Orsag was specifically invited to apply to a competition sponsored by the top national journal in the discipline, American Historical Review (AHR), which is associated with the American Historical Association (AHA). The theme/purpose of the competition is the publication of a special edition of AHR (with winning entries published in Spring 2027) dealing with the issue of "Methods for Archival Silence in Early History." First round proposal decisions will be announced in November 2025.

Mark Orsag, Amanda McKinney and DeeAnn M. Reeder, “The Plague of Cyprian: Holistic Analysis and Modern Relevance of an Ancient Pandemic” Seminar Presentation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Virology (Morrison Center).

Mark Orsag, Giovanni Meledandri, Amanda McKinney and Melissa Clouse, “A Long View of Zoonotic and Mosquito-Vector Diseases–Contexts, Etiologies, Mitigations and Societal Impacts: A Historical Comparative and Predictive Analysis” Zoonotic Diseases Fall 2025.

Mark Orsag, with interdisciplinary co-authors Giovanni Meledandri, Amanda McKinney and Melissa Clouse, had the following article published: Mark Orsag, Giovanni Meledandri, Amanda McKinney and Melissa Clouse, “Enduring Warning: A Holistic Comparison of the Establishment and Spread of P.falciparum Evolutionary Lineage Malaria in Ancient Rome and the Threat of Zoonotic P.knowlesi Malaria in Modern Southeast Asia,” Zoonotic Diseases Issue 34 Vol 5 MDPI 12 November 2025 https://doi.org/10.3390/zoonoticdis5040034 The interdisciplinary team wrote the article at the journal's specific request and was granted free open access as a result.

https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0227/5/4/34

Dr. Mark Orsag was chosen as a remunerated Interdisciplinary Scholarship Peer Reviewer for the Swiss-based MDPI Journals Group (which publishes around 400 journals worldwide) for 2025-2026.

As part of the Boodlebox Collaborative AI Accelerator Series, Philip presented "Everything old is new again: telling a new story about the Humanities in the age of AI" as part of the "Using AI to Support Planning for Next Semester" webinar. The session examined the Doane English Department's recent program innovations as a template for using AI as a means to forge interdisciplinary partnerships and strengthen the foundation of Liberal Arts programs during a time of unprecedented disruption in higher education.

Directed "Legally Blonde the Musical" at Crane River Theater, a professional regional theatre located in Kearney, Nebraska.

Published a short article/blog post in Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/simple-slide-tips-teachers-save-time-deepen-learning

Hancock, T. L., Dahedl, E. K., & Urakawa, H. (2025). Microcystis bloom control using hydrogen peroxide and floating sodium percarbonate algaecide Lake Guard Oxy in Florida. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, e01950-25.

https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01950-25

Co-authored book chapter 'Quanti-Tray-Based Amplicon Sequencing (QT-AMP) Application for Fecal Indicator Bacteria Identification After Hurricane Ian' in "Urban Watershed Microbiology, Volume 1: Metagenomic Insights and Resistance Patterns, and Monitoring Approaches".

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-89071-0_7

Published two book chapters: 'Cyanobacterial Blooms and Associated Hydrogen Peroxide Dynamics' and ''Hydrogen Peroxide Production in Freshwater Environments: A Minireview' in "Urban Watershed Microbiology, Volume 2: Environmental Indicators, Regional Case Studies, and Bioremediation Strategies".

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-05809-6_3 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-05809-6_17

Co-authored publication 'Influence of dissolved organic matter origin on hydrogen peroxide concentration in aquatic environments of southern Florida' in Environmental Chemistry.

https://doi.org/10.1071/EN25005

Co-authored publication 'Transcriptomic Responses of Toxic and Non-toxic Microcystis aeruginosa to Hydrogen Peroxide and L-Lysine Treatments' in Harmful Algae.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2025.102992

Chautauqua Presentation as Andrew Carnegie September 4, 2025, 7pm. 
Lincoln County Historical Society Museum North Platte, Nebraska

https://humanitiesnebraska.org/event/andrew-carnegie-9

Living History Day Saline County Historical Museum Dorchester, NE Saturday, September 6, 2025 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. This is a free family event with interactive demonstrations of historical skills going on during the day on the grounds. 11:00 President Ulysses S. Grant presentation, Dr. Tom King

https://www.facebook.com/vil.dweller.of.dorchester

Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau Colonel Thomas Doane: Massachusetts Engineer to Nebraska Civic and Educational Leader Step back to 1872 and listen to a chautauqua portrayal of the chief engineer of the B & M Railroad and famous Hoosac Tunnel Project. Doane was responsible for 240 miles of railroad and telegraph from Plattsmouth to Kearney. He was the co-founder of the town of Crete, Nebraska, founder of the first bank in Crete and with the association of the Congregational church, and founder of Doane College in 1872, so named in his honor. Weeping Water Academy 206 W H St. Weeping Water, NE 68463

William Whipple was the invited guest artist for the 2025 University of Iowa Summer Music Camp. He offered two special topic presentations (The Prepared Piano and The Golden Mean Section in Music). William taught daily masterclasses, individual piano lessons, and performed in recital (featuring solo piano works by Indonesian composer, Levi Gunardi).

https://iowasummermusiccamps.uiowa.edu/ismc-faculty

Dr. Andrew Feyes led the Grand Island All-City Honor Band featuring student performers from GI Senior, GI Northwest, GI Catholic, and GI Lutheran band programs. The day of rehearsal culminated with an evening performance at Northwest High School.

Dr. Feyes guest conducted the Pioneer Conference Honor Band hosted at HTRS High School. The honor band was comprised of students from Pawnee City, Johnson-Brock, Falls City Sacred Heart, HTRS, Lourdes Catholic, Exeter-Milligan, Friend, Lewiston, Southern, Sterling, and Diller-Odell high school bands, and culminated in a final concert that evening.

Dr. Andy Feyes led one of three bands of young musicians at the week long Kansas State University Summer Music Camp. As a part of the camp, Dr. Feyes conducted the combined summer camp musicians and Manhattan (KS) Municipal Band.

Dr. Tessa Durham Brooks, Dr. Erin Doyle, and Dr. Mark Meysenburg taught a four-day image processing workshop during the week of 5/28/2024. The workshop is part of the DIVAS Alliance, an NSF-funded program that is a community of students, staff, and faculty, most of whom are in the natural sciences, who support each other in developing computational problem-solving skills that are in high demand in medicine, agriculture, basic research, and industry. During the workshop, they taught eighteen students from Doane, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Nebraska Kearney, the University of Michigan, and Trinity University. After the workshop, the DIVAS student scholars spend four weeks applying their newly acquired image processing skills to various real-world research problems.

https://web.doane.edu/Colleges-Divisions-Programs/College-of-arts-scien…

William Whipple, music department, was the invited guest artist at the 2024 University of Iowa Summer Music Piano Camp where he performed in recital (prepared piano works by Aphex Twin, Hauschka, and Gunardi) and taught applied piano lessons.

Dr. Feyes assisted in the organization and execution of the Nebraska Music Education Association's Collegiate Hill Day where 20 Doane University Music Education Students learned how to communicate and advocate with Nebraska State Senators. This was done in part with Dr. Feyes' role as the Director of Collegiate Affairs for the Nebraska Music Education Association where he oversees all Collegiate Music Education Chapters in the state.

Dr. Andrew Feyes served the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association as an adjudicator at the NSBA State Marching Band Contest. At this event, Feyes provided critical feedback to over 20 high school marching bands from across the state of Nebraska.

Dr. Feyes served as a guest clinician and adjudicator at the Central States Marching Festival hosted by Kansas State University. At this event Feyes led clinics, adjudicated performances, and provided post-performance video critiques with many of the over 40 high school marching bands in attendance from Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

https://www.k-state.edu/band/festivals/csmf.html

Blake Tobey was selected to present a professional development session at the 2025 Nebraska Thespian Festival in Omaha, Nebraska. The session, titled "Just Kiss! - A Crash Course on Intimacy Choreography for High School Theatre Programs", introduced theatre directors to industry-standard tools used to safely and ethically stage intimacy with high school performers.

https://docs.google.com/presentation

Blake Tobey presented at Mourning Hope's annual child and teen Camp Erin, a free a free bereavement camp for youth ages 6-17 grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. The session, titled "Improvising Grief", implemented research-based theatrical skills and games that can address and manage emotions like sadness and grief. Each session was tailored to groups of students ages 6-8, 9-11, and 12-15. Through breathing exercises, grounding exercises, and improvisational theatre games, Tobey taught students how they could use these exercises at home and at school.

Mourning Hope's annual Child & Teen Camp Erin website: https://www.mourninghope.org/programs/camperin.html

Dr. Dan Clanton and a team including Wendy Huntsmann (DEI) and three students (Litzy Lima, Ashlee Palimo'o, and Evan Rocha) traveled to the Interfaith Leadership Summit, sponsored by Interfaith America. Our Doane team spent three days in Chicago learning new skills to facilitate interfaith collaboration and pedagogies, as well as making connections with other faculty, staff, and students.

https://www.interfaithamerica.org/events/summit-2024

J.B. Tyson in conjunction with Next Generation Storytellers acted as mentor to Boy's Town students in early April. He worked along side students and other industry professionals who helped the students learn what it takes to create a film in a real world and professional setting. Two films were shot that the students wrote and directed with both films shot entirely in Omaha, NE. After post-production, both films will be submitted to film festivals. Students will also receive a credit on IMDb and will be able to put their practical experience on their CV. Next Generation Storytellers is a organization that amplify the voices of young creators by providing access to transformative storytelling opportunities. Through immersive programs and guidance from industry professionals, they empower students from underrepresented communities to explore their unique perspectives, develop their creative potential, and share their stories with the world.

Kathleen Rathje Zumpfe represented Doane University at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Marketing Educators Association. MEA is the premier international organization for faculty development of the marketing professoriate. The organization’s mission is to provide worldwide leadership in promoting the development and sharing of scholarship that enhances marketing education and advances marketing knowledge and practice. Zumpfe is an Associate Professor of Practice in the College of Business.

Peggy Hart, Associate Professor of Math & Data Analytics, served as a judge at the First National Bank of Omaha Datathon on November 14, 2024. Twenty teams of graduate and undergraduate students from Creighton University, Doane University, and University of Nebraska-Omaha competed.

Rachel facilitated a workshop at ESU 10 for the ELA Cadre, guiding teachers through the research-based best-practices of the College, Career, Community Writer's Program. The workshop focused on reading, writing, and literacy, connected to the Nebraska Writing Project practices of teacher collaboration and professional expertise sharing.

Dr. Russ Souchek, Professor of Environmental Science, is a selected participant in the Pathways Towards Sustainability Accreditation Working Group. This is a multi-year initiative of the Global Council for Science and the Environment. As part of the process he was invited to attend the invitation-only NSF-funded workshop on “Key Competencies and Best Practices for Sustainability Degree Programs” at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The goal of this meeting was to finalize development of standards related to accreditation in sustainability. These competencies are used as program-level accreditation standards for sustainability and sustainability-related programs in higher education. The standards will provide colleges and universities with the opportunity to become accredited in the employment-ready area of Sustainability Education.

Russ Souchek, Professor of Environmental Science, has been elected to a three year term as President of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation. NEWF is one of 50 state affiliates of the National Wildlife Federation. The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization.

Scott Vicroy, Doane Jazz Band director, will be performing in the pit orchestras for touring Broadway shows, “Back To The Future” at the Lied Center in Lincoln 10/8-10/13, “Funny Girl” 11/12-11/17, “Some Like It Hot” 3/25-3/30, and “MJ The Musical “ 6/10-6/15 at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha.

Dr. Feyes presented a clinic session at the Nebraska State Band Masters Association's annual conference entitled, "Rethinking Your Warm Up Routine" with over 50 band directors from the state in attendance.

https://nsbma.org/Content/Media/File/NSBA_Convention_Program_25_Ver__4.pdf

Dr. Andy Feyes led one of three bands of young musicians at the week long Kansas State University Summer Music Camp. As a part of the camp, Dr. Feyes conducted the combined summer camp musicians and Manhattan (KS) Municipal Band.

Dr. Feyes guest conducted the Central Conference Honor Band, hosted at Grand Island Northwest High School. The band was comprised by high school musicians from Crete, Seward, Lakeview, York, Adams Central, Schuyler, Northwest, Aurora, and Lexington High Schools.

Together with J.L. Vertin and Quint Geis, Blake Tobey co-presented a session entitled "Leveraging Peer Mentors to Increase Sense of Belonging & Persistence" at the annual First Year Experience Conference in New Orleans, LA. The presentation outlined how strategic us of Tiger Peer Mentors, Peer Leaders, Orientation Leaders, and Directions Mentors provide overlapping supports for first year students through the first year and the resulting retention increase year after year. The presentation also highlighted how these programs will more purposefully overlap in training and coordination to provide an even stronger peer-mentorship support system moving forward.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AdUSQYA_Ip6LRD5_u1-akPXNCjsiDzb-lisX8s7FTo8/edit?usp=sharing

Together with Ally Bray (CA) and Madison Niederhauser (OK), Blake Tobey co-wrote trauma-informed theatre curriculum that is being piloted at the Lincoln Youth Rehabilitation & Treatment Center and other juvenile justice schools across the country. Tobey was interviewed on the "Books over Bars" podcast to explore the question, "Can theatre-based practices help unlock the potential of confined youth? Discover how theatre-based therapeutic practices can be brought into the classroom, the impact it can have on students, and the valuable skills these activities foster."

You can listen to the podcast here: https://rss.com/podcasts/breakfree-ed/1995765

Chris Wentworth published a web-based version of his book Computational Science: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers, which can be found at https://cdwentworth.github.io/CSBook/ This makes the book available as an open educational resource that has been accepted into the Open Education Resources Commons collection (https://oercommons.org/)

https://cdwentworth.github.io/CSBook/

https://oercommons.org/courses/computational-science-an-introduction-for-scientists-and-engineers

Courtney Buchkoski published an essay, "Imagining a Northern Kansas" in Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains. Volume 47, no. 4 (Winter 2024-2025): 214-231.

https://www.kansashistory.gov/p/kansas-history-winter-2024-2025/21011

Dan Clanton recently attended the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion & Society of Biblical Literature, where he participated in two panel discussions. One was a book review session focused on his new book "God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories," in which three scholars offered critiques and Clanton responded. In the second session, Clanton presented his response to two chapters from the book "The Nordic Bible: Bible Reception in Contemporary Nordic Societies." His response, along with the responses of three other scholars, will be published in "Religious Studies News" in the coming months.

 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion & Society of Biblical Literature - https://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/AnnualMeeting.aspx                                  

God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories -  https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/god-and-the-little-grey-cells                                         

The Nordic Bible: Bible Reception in Contemporary Nordic Societies - https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110686005/html

Dr. Dan Clanton and his recent book "God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories" were recently featured on the Christmas episode of the podcast "ABitOfAChristie." Host Hazel Jones interviewed Clanton about the book and his interest in Christie's work.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/god-and-the-little-grey-cells-9780567696076/

https://pod.link/1693117686/episode/7227

Dan Clanton's seventh book was published on 13 June 2024. Titled "God and the Little Grey Cells: Religion in Agatha Christie's Poirot Stories," the book examines the presence and use of religion and Bible in Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novels and stories, as well as their later interpretations in radio and film.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/god-and-the-little-grey-cells-9780567696076

Dan Clanton was interviewed for and quoted in an Associated Press article titled "Is he Christ? Is he Moses? Superman’s religious and ethical undertones add to his mystique." The article was published ahead of the release of the new film "Superman," slated to be released on 11 July 2025. Clanton was asked about the various religious influences on Superman's creation, origins, and meanings based on his work in religion and popular culture, and on comics and graphic novels (including Superman) more specifically.

https://apnews.com/article/superman-comics-religion-morals-movie-fans-828f16fb956c487368d94676b04fa2c3

Dan Clanton recently published a chapter titled “Wait, Did Paul Know Homer? A Reflection on Reflecting on Paul’s Reflections,” in the book A New Era of Comparison in Biblical Studies: Case Studies in Applied Methodology (Lexington Books, 2025).

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666964196/A-New-Era-of-Comparison-in-Biblical-Studies-Case-Studies-in-Applied-Methodology

Drs.Tessa Durham Brooks and Erin Doyle were coauthors on the publication "Voices from Graduate School and the Workforce: Identified Student Outcomes from Completing a Multi-Semester Undergraduate Research Experience Capstone." Colclasure, B.C.; Alai, A.; Quinn, K.; Granberry, T.; Doyle, E.L.; Durham Brooks, T. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 598. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060598 The manuscript describes the experiences of 16 Doane STEM graduates and their perceptions of how participation in their required senior research capstone experiences have benefited them in graduate school or the workforce. Former Doane professor Dr. Blake Coclasure was the lead author on the publication and two Doane students were also included as authors.

Jen Bossard and Pete Poppert presented at the annual Nebraska Career Education Conference held in Kearney, NE on June 6, 2024. Their presentation was titled, "Reshaping Higher Education for a New Generation."

https://nceconference2024.sched.com/event/1asta/reshaping-higher-education-for-a-new-generation

Presentation at the International Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges (AILACTE) National Conference, Long Beach, CA with Dr. Trina Pettit titled, "Fostering Real-World Learning: Building School & Community Partnerships in Special Education.

Presentation at the International Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education National Conference, Long Beach, CA, with Dr. Griesch and Dr. Pettit, titled, "Building the Next Generation of Educators: Enhancing Recruitment Through Partnerships and Outreach. Presentation at International."

Joel TerMaat (PI) and Chris Wentworth (co-PI) were awarded an NSF grant (Award 2407003) entitled “RUI: Research Initiation: Investigating the impact of the liberal arts on the ethical development of engineers.” The 2-year, $200K project will initiate research into the complex network of factors predominantly associated with a liberal arts education that promotes the ethical development of undergraduates. The grant supports the PI’s professional development in conducting educational research, and Joel TerMaat is supported by the mentoring team of Chris Wentworth, Kristopher Williams, Peggy Hart, Brian Pauwels, and Carla Zoltowski (Purdue). As part of the project, Joel TerMaat also attended the NSF’s Engineering Education Centers (EEC) Grantees Conference near Washington, DC in September 2024. 

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2407003&HistoricalAwards=false

Dr. Josh Pope, along with Dr. Melanie D'Amico of Indiana State University, wrote "Making the Most of Study Abroad: A Guide to a Top-Notch Experience" (Rowman & Littlefield/Bloomsbury Publishing). It is a guidebook written with any international traveler in mind, but particularly for undergraduate students studying abroad. It gives them things to consider to maximize their experiences during study abroad and other adventures.

Julianna Grabianowski presented a poster entitled "How to Make Good on the Promise of the Liberal Arts" at the 5th International Academic Forum Conference on Arts & Humanities.

Kim Jarvis and Cali Biaggi received a Digital Preservation Grant from the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Humanities Research for the Public Good program for the Fall 2024 semester. This grant provided funding for two History majors, Erin Landkamer and Veronica Reynolds, to digitally preserve botanical watercolors painted by Mary Doane (1829-1894), sister of Doane University founder Thomas Doane. These watercolors are in Mary Doane's copy of the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States (1867). This book is very fragile, so scanning the pages allows the watercolors to be preserved and accessible. The grant provided funding for supplies to organize and protect the book as well. This project completes the digital preservation of Mary Doane's botanical watercolors in the Doane University Archives.

For an overview of the Council of Independent Colleges Humanities Research for the Public Good program (2019-2023), see https://cic.edu/opportunity/public-humanities

The Blue River Arts Council commissioned Doane faculty member Dr. Kurt Runestad to arrange a piece for choir to be premiered at the Isis Theatre's grand opening on Saturday-Sunday, October 26-27, 2024. Doane's jazzchoir Jazz Unlimited (Missy Noonan, director) and singers from Crete HIgh School (Doane alum Alex Wooten, director) will collaborate in the performance of the world premiere, an acappella arrangement of the jazz standard "Centerpiece."

Dr. Mark Orsag will be making a series of presentations as part of a course for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), January-March 2025 Public Presentation Series on the Role of Pandemics in History 1.Galen’s “Great Pestilence”; The Antonine Plague of the Second Century, CE 2.“More Intolerable Than Any Other Calamity”: The Third Century, CE Plague of Cyprian 3.“Near to Annihilating the Human Race”: The Justinianic Plague of the Sixth Century, CE 4.‘Martyrdom and Mercy”: The Fourteenth Century “Black Death” 5. “A Very Sudden and Very Marked Rise in the General Death Rate”; The Great Influenza [“Spanish Flu”] Epidemic of the Early Twentieth Century 6.“The Great Disruptor”: The Covid-19 Pandemic of the Globalized Twenty-First Century.

Mark Orsag will be a part of the following interdisciplinary conference presentation: Giovanni Meledandri, Mark Orsag, Amanda McKinney, Melissa Clouse, “A Long View of Infectious Disease–Contexts, Etiologies, Mitigations and Impacts: An Ancient/Modern Comparative Analysis (...with an Eye to the Future), Global Experts Conference on Infectious Disease (GECID), Paris, May 2025. (Scheduled)

Mark Orsag had the following published in April 2025 Giovanni Meledandri and Mark Orsag, “Clues to the Origins of the Latin Language: An Epigraphic and Cultural Approach” Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol 12, No 4. April 2025 pp.158-174.

https://journals.scholarpublishing.org/index.php/ASSRJ/article/view/18691

Mark Orsag has had an article published, "History, Science and Prophecy?” included in “What is Scholarship Today: 12 Historians Share How They Do History” [Article features a dozen nationally selected historians whose research is contributing to a broadening of the definition of historical scholarship in line with the relevant January 2023 American Historical Association (AHA) resolution on the subject.] Perspectives on History: The News Magazine of the American Historical Association, January 2025. Article is accessible below.

https://www.historians.org/perspectives-issue/january-2025

Mark Orsag has had the following co-authored article published... Mark Orsag and Amanda McKinney, “The Mother of All Collapses’: Complex Systems, Crises and Modern Analogues,” Journal of Applied History (Volume 6/Issue 1) July 2024, pp.66-105. A link to the article is here: https://brill.com/view/journals/joah/6/1/article-p66_3.xml

Mark Orsag had the following recent publication... The 37th International RAIS Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities was held at The Erdman Center, 20 Library Place, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA, on August 8-9, 2024, and was organized by the Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies. RAIS Conference Proceedings are published with ISSN 2578-8574, and will be indexed in IDEAS/RePEc, Econpapers, Google Scholar, and CEEOL. Proceedings of the 37th International RAIS Conference, Volume 2 PDF It Is All Interconnected – A Brief, Comparative Planetary Limits and Lifestyle Medicine Analysis of Production, Diet and Lifestyle During Three Stages of Human History 13-22 Mark Orsag, Amanda E. McKinney.

 https://rais.education/proceedings-of-the-37th-rais-conference-vol2

As part of the Boodlebox Collaborative AI Accelerator Series, Peggy presented "AIAI-Oh. Activity in a Proof-Writing Class" as part of the "Using AI to Support Students Preparing for Class" webinar.

Tessa and Becca presented at the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science (NATS) conference in Kearney. Their presentation, titled "Reimagining Learning Outcomes in Anatomy and Physiology "gave other educators feedback regarding choosing content relevant for student learning goals in the disciplines of anatomy and physiology. Being the most content-heavy courses students will take, long-term retention relies on applying content to relevant phenomena. Being prepared to navigate the sea of growing information requires developing relevant competencies. Therefore, they presented ways they have adjusted their courses at the introductory and advanced levels.

Podcast: PsychSessions: AI - Artificial "Intelligence"? An interview with Robert McEntarffer (S1E3) In this episode, Dr. Robert McEntarffer, a former high school teacher and current college educator, discusses the cognitive offloading potential offered by AI and on those types of thinking it would be wise not to let AI replace. Rob offers a critique of the term artificial “intelligence”, suggesting that “large language model” may be a more appropriate term given that AI doesn't truly understand or derive meaning from text. Rob highlights both the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in education and the need for a deeper understanding of cognitive processes in learning. References: David, L., Vassena, E., & Bijleveld, E. (2024). The unpleasantness of thinking: A meta-analytic review of the association between mental effort and negative affect. Psychological Bulletin, 150(9), 1070–1093. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000443 Hicks, M. T., Humphries, J., & Slater, J. (2024). ChatGPT is bullshit. Ethics and Information Technology, 26(2), 38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5

https://psychsessionspodcast.libsyn.com/psychsessions-ai-artificial-intelligence-an-interview-with-robert-mcentarffer-s1e3

Scott Vicroy, Doane Jazz Band director, will be performing in the pit orchestras for touring Broadway shows, “Back To The Future” at the Lied Center in Lincoln 10/8-10/13, “Funny Girl” 11/12-11/17, “Some Like It Hot” 3/25-3/30, and “MJ The Musical “ 6/10-6/15 at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha.

Dr. Terri Deems presented at the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum (SEAC) annual conference at Clemson University: Integrating Ethical Reasoning and Civil Discourse Through Immerse Role Play.

Terri Deems has two chapters--one on ethical leadership and one on coaching skills for leaders--in the recently released text, Workplace Leadership. This text examines core leadership constructs and provides students and emerging leaders with insight into practical leadership skills and capabilities. Chapters include applied exercises to enhance understanding and the practical adoption of leadership competencies. Lindbeck, R., & Nix, V. (Eds.). (2025). Workplace leadership. Cognella Academic Publishing. 

https://titles.cognella.com/workplace-leadership-9781793568861?srsltid=AfmBOoqNugoNX_RXlqeLMy4YTNZ256E4kQECyVms6TOTxFN6kiFXibN-

Tessa Durham Brooks presented a poster entitled, "Plant phenotyping as computation by undergraduates in the DIVAS Alliance program" at the 8th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium. Raychelle Burks (American University), Erin Doyle, and Mark Meysenburg were co-authors.

Tessa Durham Brooks was a panelist in the session "From K-12 to College - A Conversation to Help Students Thrive" at the 2024 Fall Conference of the Nebraska Association of Teachers in Science meeting.

Fall Guest Recital at Wayne State Featuring Art Song, Operatic, and Musical Theatre Repertoire in collaboration with Professors; Dr. Suna Gunther from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and pianist Shelly Armstrong from Wayne State.

https://www.wsc.edu/news/article/1031/fall_2024_guest_recital

As part of the Enid, Oklahoma, Winter Chautauqua, 2025, at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Enid Campus, I presented as President Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States of America.

Portrayed Andrew Carnegie, Richest Man in the World, on June 11, 2024 as part of events leading up to the Humanities Nebraska Chautauqua event in August at Norfolk Public Library Norfolk, Nebraska. 

https://norfolk-ne.libcal.com/event/12387353

Griesch, E., Timmons, J., & Pettit, T. (2025). Building the Next Generation of Educators: Enhancing Recruitment Through Partnerships and Outreach. Presented at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Conference (AILACTE) in Long Beach, CA.

Pettit, T. & Timmons, J. (2025). Fostering Real-World Learning: Building School and Community Partnerships in Special Education. Presented at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Conference (AILACTE) in Long Beach, CA.

William Whipple, music department, was invited to give a presentation alongside his wife, Christina Whipple (board certified music therapist) at the Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA) State Conference at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Their presentation topic was, “Neurodiversity Awareness: Multimodal Music Teaching for ALL Students.”

Scenic Designer for The Omaha Theater Company’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” which ran through the end June.

Nathaniel Wilson's CMM 371: Audio & Video Production of Live Events class traveled to Eau Claire, WI to film the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament's final rounds. Filming in four separate locations simultaneously, the students captured over 16 hours of performance footage. Students then compiled and edited the audio & video content for each of the 66 speakers. Final productions will be archived in Minnesota State University-Mankato's academic digital repository and the Digital Commons Network™.

Dr. Russ Souchek, Professor of Environmental Science, has completed Climate Interactive’s En-ROADS Climate Ambassador training. This training qualifies Ambassadors to teach with En-ROADS online climate simulation software, developed in collaboration with the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and experienced by over 200,000 participants worldwide. En-ROADS training spans topics of climate science, systems thinking, climate equity, and climate solutions. Ambassador status must be renewed each year. Renewal consists of attending two En-ROADS continuing education sessions and teaching at least two En-ROADS events.

Dr. Andrew Feyes was elected to the Nebraska Music Education Association's (NMEA) Board of Directors and will serve a three-year term as the statewide Director of College & University Affairs. In this capacity, Dr. Feyes will oversee the College and University student tracks at the annual NMEA convention and will work closely with the various Collegiate chapters of the National Association for Music Education across our state.

Dr. Andrew Feyes served as an adjudicator and clinician at Kansas State University's Central States Marching Festival. The event featured 40 high school bands from Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In addition, 23 Doane University Music Education students also participated as observers of practicing music educators and as managers of the event, providing much needed logistical assistance to a festival that saw over 10,000 attendees.

Dr. Andrew Feyes represented Doane University as the Music Performance - Ensemble judge for the Nebraska State Bandmaster's Association's State Marching Band Contest held at Kearney High School on Saturday, October 21st. In this role, Feyes adjudicated and provided critical feedback to 24 high school marching bands from Nebraska at the culmination of their performance season.

Dr. Andrew Feyes and the members of the Doane Concert Band performed at Lincoln's Lied Center in conjunction with the Nebraska Music Education Association's annual professional development concert. The Doane Concert Band was one of only two collegiate bands across Nebraska to be selected to perform via peer review of previous concert recordings.

Cali Biaggi planned the Nebraska Library Association College & University Section spring meeting as the C&U Chair. The meeting was held at Central Community College in Columbus, NE on May 19, 2023. 

After attending the Interfaith Leadership Summit in Chicago and completing online coursework, Dan Clanton earned a professional certificate in Interfaith Leadership from Interfaith America, in partnership with ReligionAndPublicLife.org.

The certificate and its description can be found at this link.

Dan Clanton recently taught a 4-week class at First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln, titled "Peace, Love and Religion in the 1960s." Clanton has been offering two adult education classes every year at First-Plymouth since 2010.

Dr. Erin Doyle was the conference chair for the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Women in Computing (MINK-WIC) conference, held October 27-28, 2023, in Lenexa, KS. The conference theme was "Community, Computing, Connections". The conference brought together approximately 200 students, faculty, and industry leaders from the four state area for panels, workshops, research presentations, and a career/graduate school fair. The goal of the conference is to discuss the experiences of women in technology and computing fields, to explore the issues and challenges these women face, and to celebrate and support each other. Dr. Doyle also served as a panel moderator for the panel "Is grad school right for me?" and was a panelist on the panel "Bioinformatics".

For 2023, Jared List has served as the president of the Nebraska International Languages Association (NILA). On November 3rd and 4th, NILA held its annual conference for world language teachers and professors at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Jen led a workshop titled, "Hand in Hand" for I've Got A Name, an organization that fights sex trafficking in Nebraska. The purpose of the workshop was to raise awareness and let people know what they can do to help.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper was Hastings College’s 2024 Dr Martin Luther King Jr keynote speaker.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper was the guest clinician for Hastings College Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Reverend Dr Karla J Cooper currently serves as Presiding Elder of the Midwest South District in the Midwest Annual Conference with 22 congregations in her district.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Eden Theological Seminary and chairs its faculty and curriculum committee.

Dr. Mark Orsag has been chosen to serve on the Scientific Committee of the international scholarly organization RAIS (Research Association of Interdisciplinary Studies) for 2024-2025.

Dr. Mark Orsag is one of nine academics chosen to serve in the Philosophy [planning] Group of the international scholarship and advocacy organization PLAN (Planetary Limits Academic Network).

As the '23-'24 National Speech Tournament Director for the American Forensic Association (AFA), Nathaniel successfully organized, coordinated, and executed the AFA's 2024 national collegiate speech tournament in Eau Claire, WI. The event brought ≈60 schools, with 1,150 individual speech event entries.

Panelist, October 2023 Peggy Hart served on the "Data Science" panel at the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Women in Computing (MINK-WIC) conference, held October 27-28, 2023, in Lenexa, KS. The goal of the conference is to discuss the experiences of women in technology and computing fields, to explore the issues and challenges these women face, and to celebrate and support each other. Peggy also organized the travel for three students to attend, two of whom presented posters.

Rachel Jank presented "Financial Empowerment: a Path to Success" to the Inspire Girls Conference in Lincoln, NE

Dr. Russ Souchek, Professor of Environmental Science, has completed Climate Interactive’s En-ROADS Climate Ambassador training. This training qualifies Ambassadors to teach with En-ROADS online climate simulation software, developed in collaboration with the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and experienced by over 200,000 participants worldwide. En-ROADS training spans topics of climate science, systems thinking, climate equity, and climate solutions. Ambassador status must be renewed each year. Renewal consists of attending two En-ROADS continuing education sessions and teaching at least two En-ROADS events.

Dr. Russ Souchek, Professor of Environmental Science, has been reappointed to another three year term as Vice-President for Administration of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation.

Doane Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) students completed their second year of preparing tax returns under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Practice in Accounting Tracy Corr. The Doane site is staffed by students who receive internship credit. This filing season, three student volunteers assisted 65 taxpayers that resulted in over 95 thousand dollars being brought back into the local Crete community. The earned income tax credit represented $22,000 of that total. The site served an additional 20 clients this year compared to last year. VITA student preparers served the community Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 3 and 6 p.m. at the Crete Public Library during tax season. The Doane VITA team thanks the Crete Public Library staff for providing space, computers, printers, and paper, as well as administrative support for the VITA site every year. VITA is a program offered through the IRS that offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. Generally, these are people who make less than $64,000 a year, have disabilities or have limited English-speaking skills. All VITA volunteers who prepare returns must take and pass tax law training that meets or exceeds IRS standards. In addition, the IRS requires a quality review check for every return prepared at a VITA site prior to filing.

Scholarship of Application (Evaluation) William Whipple, music department, was invited to adjudicate the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Northwest Division Performance Competitions (Junior, Senior, and College/Young Artist categories). State piano winners from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming will be competing to represent the NW Division at the MTNA National Competitions. The latter will be held in March, 2024 at the MTNA National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Scholarship of Application (Evaluation) William Whipple, music department, was invited to adjudicate the Manhattan Area Music Teachers Association Pre-College District Auditions (Manhattan, KS). Students who received a “1” score advanced to the Kansas Music Teacher Association State Audition.

Andrea McGrath and Arden Szepe, with Amanda DeDiego (University of Wyoming) and Rakesh Maurya (University of North Florida) presented "Counselor educator workload, job satisfaction, and burnout in the era of COVID-19" at the ACES national conference in Denver, CO.

Andrea McGrath and Arden Szepe, with Amanda DeDiego (University of Wyoming) and Rakesh Maurya (University of North Florida) published an article titled "Counselor educator workload and burnout in the era of COVID-19" in the Counselor Education and Supervision Journal. DeDiego, A. C., McGrath, A. M., Maurya, R. K., & Szepe, A. A. (2023). Counselor educator workload and burnout in the era of COVID-19. Counselor Education and Supervision, 62(4), 368-383. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12276

Andrea McGrath received the "Outstanding Service Award" from the Wyoming Counseling Association at the annual conference in Casper, WY.

Andrea McGrath presented "Ethical considerations in substance use counseling" at the Nebraska Counseling Association annual conference in Bellevue, NE.

Andrea McGrath presented "Addictions counseling: Ethical and legal considerations" at the Law and Ethics in Counseling conference in New Orleans, LA.

Andrea McGrath and Arden Szepe presented "Addressing ethical issues with students serving rural communities" at the Law and Ethics in Counseling conference in New Orleans, LA.

Andrea McGrath, along with MAC student Jordan Henkel, presented at the Association for Humanistic Counseling annual conference. Their presentation was titled "Destigmatizing Addiction for Trainees in Recovery". Dr. McGrath also participated in a roundtable discussion with Andrew Southerland (Stephen F. Austin State University), titled "Breaking Silos and Stigma in Co-Occurring Care".

Andrea McGrath and Amanda DeDiego (University of Wyoming) engaged in a panel discussion "Professional identity development: Research and implications for inclusive counseling and counselor education" at the ACES national conference in Denver, CO.

Andrea McGrath presented "Ethical Decision-Making in Applied Cases" and "Ethical Considerations in Rural Practice" at the Wyoming Counseling Association annual conference in Casper, WY.

Andrea McGrath, with Elyssa Smith (Stockton University), Joshua Mangin (University of Southern Maine) and Nicole Altenberg (Stockton University) published a chapter "Traditional Psychoanalytic Approaches" in a textbook "Counseling Theories and Case Conceptualization". Smith, E. B., McGrath, A. M., Mangin, J., & Altenberg, N. (2023). Traditional psychoanalytic approaches. In S. Flynn & J. Castleberry (Eds.). Counseling theories and case conceptualization: A practice-based approach. Springer Publishing.

On Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 Dr. Andrew Feyes led the 2nd Annual Elkhorn, Nebraska All-City Honor Band in rehearsal and performance at Elkhorn North High School. In doing so, Dr. Feyes conducted some of Nebraska's finest high school musicians from all three Elkhorn High Schools. Dr. Feyes and the students rehearsed for 5 hours during the school day and gave a performance to the Elkhorn community that evening at 7:00pm.

Dr. Feyes and the Doane Concert Band gave a performance clinic at the annual Nebraska State Bandmasters Association conference entitled, "Significant Repertoire for Young Bands from the NSBA Recommended Music List." The performance clinic provided 5-12th grade band directors from across our state with an opportunity to hear and learn about the musical and educational merits of significant band literature for potential use in their own band programs.

Dr. Andrew Feyes and the members of the Doane Concert Band performed at Lincoln's Lied Center in conjunction with the Nebraska Music Education Association's annual professional development concert. The Doane Concert Band was one of only two collegiate bands across Nebraska to be selected to perform via peer review of previous concert recordings.

Blake Tobey and Violet Ahrens ('25) presented two student sessions and one director session at the Nebraska Thespian Festival in Omaha, Nebraska. The student session was titled "Completing the Stress Cycle for the Theatre Artist," which explored how the biology of stress uniquely affects performing artists and how they can use biology to complete the stress cycle. The director session was titled "Beating Burnout for Theatre Educators," which focused on how high school theatre directors can schedule their seasons and rehearsals with mental health and sustainability in mind, not only for the directors but the students as well.

Cali Biaggi & Jayne Germer, Faculty Librarians, presented a session called "Scaffolding Information Literacy Throughout a Liberal Arts Core Curriculum" at the Nebraska Library Association College & University Section spring meeting at Central Community College, Columbus, NE, on May 19, 2023 . Cali also planned the meeting as the C&U Section chair.

Faculty Librarian Cali Biaggi was accepted into the inaugural Transylvania University Digital Liberal Arts Institute in Lexington, KY in June 2023. She took part in three days of workshops and facilitated discussions on three focused topics: digital fluencies (led by Dr. Dànielle Nicole De Voss), wicked problems and design thinking (Dr. Paul Hanstedt), and human-technology interaction, specifically through the lens of Black Twitter (Dr. Meredith Clark).

Courtney Buchkoski published an essay titled, "Growing up American: The Children’s Aid Society and the American West" in Reconsidering Regions in an Era of New Nationalism published by University of Nebraska Press.

Emily Griesch, Trina Pettit, and Tiffany Young presented the findings of their collaborative research project focusing on ways to attend to the national teacher shortage at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Conference (AILACTE) in Aurora, CO. Specifically, they identified reasons in which education-interested individuals choose to pursue alternative career paths.

Dr. Erin Doyle was the conference chair for the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Women in Computing (MINK-WIC) conference, held October 27-28, 2023, in Lenexa, KS. The conference theme was "Community, Computing, Connections". The conference brought together approximately 200 students, faculty, and industry leaders from the four state area for panels, workshops, research presentations, and a career/graduate school fair. The goal of the conference is to discuss the experiences of women in technology and computing fields, to explore the issues and challenges these women face, and to celebrate and support each other. Dr. Doyle also served as a panel moderator for the panel "Is grad school right for me?" and was a panelist on the panel "Bioinformatics".

Jared List, with co-editor Mauricio Espinoza (University of Cincinnati), co-edited a volume over Central American film titled The Rise of Central American Film in the Twentieth-First Century (University Press of Florida, August 2023). More information about the book can be accessed here: https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9781683403715

Scenic Designer for The Omaha Theater Company’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” which ran through the end June.

Invited speaker at the Creighton University Fall Mathematics Colloquium. The title of the talk was "Mouse Mind Reading." Abstract

Jerome Roehm spoke at the American Mathematical Society Sectional Meeting. The title of the talk was "Discrete, combinatorial, and topological methods for analyzing stimulus spaces via neural activation sequences". Abstract and more details available here: https://meetings.ams.org/math/fall2023c/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/26422

J.L. Vertin was selected to present at the 43rd Annual Conference on the First Year Experience in February. The 60-minute presentation, entitled "Prepare for Takeoff! Using Dimensions of Wellness to Increase Self-Efficacy" highlights the effectiveness of the Tiger Takeoff Summer Bridge Program.

Joel TerMaat, Kristopher Williams, and Christopher Wentworth presented their conference paper "Work-in-progress: Comparison of the DIT2 and EERI instruments for assessing the development of ethical reasoning of engineering students" at the 2023 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Rocky Mountain Section Conference held in Golden, Colorado.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS: Comparison of the DIT2 and EERI instruments for assessing the development of ethical reasoning of engineering students
Measuring the ethical reasoning of engineering students, despite its importance to the profession and accreditation requirements, remains a challenge for many undergraduate programs. Incorporation of standardized instruments into program assessment is considered advantageous due to their reliability, validity, and ease of implementation. The well established Defining Issues Test (DIT2) is one such instrument with generalized moral dilemmas applicable to all, whereas the similarly structured Engineering Ethical Reasoning Instrument (EERI) provides discipline relevant scenarios to specifically probe the ethical understanding of engineers. Using a pre/postintervention methodology, both tests were administered in a semester-long, integrated design/ethics engineering course to facilitate direct comparisons by using the same set of respondents. The pre and post testing results for each test were analyzed using a pairwise, two tailed t-test for statistical significance. More pronounced differences were observed in the N2-scores and with the EERI for the engineering-specific course. Comparison between the two instruments indicated a positive, and hence somewhat transferable, relationship between the generic and specific instruments. The utility of both instruments for short-term interventional and longitudinal programmatic assessment is discussed.

Joel TerMaat, Kristopher Williams, and Christopher Wentworth presented their paper "A cross-sectional study of undergraduates’ ethical reasoning skills at a liberal arts institution" at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2023 Midwest Section Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. The study was supported by the Walt Olsen Endowment for Faculty Development.

A cross-sectional study of undergraduates’ ethical reasoning skills at a liberal arts institution
Liberal arts institutions, given their inherent purpose, are arguably well-positioned to promote the ethical development of science and engineering students. When assessed using the Defining Issues Test (DIT2) corresponding to the Neo-Kohlbergian model of moral development, other researchers have typically observed dramatic gains during college, particularly pronounced at liberal arts institutional types. A cross-sectional DIT2 study sampling across the residential student population was conducted to investigate the localized and modern impact at the home liberal arts institution. Other considerations due to gender, political identification, retention mortality, and major/division are discussed.
 

Josh attended and presented at the American Association of Applied Linguistics conference in Houston, TX. He talked ("Accommodation to local dialects during study abroad in Spain: Two case studies") highlighted experiences two students had while studying abroad.
 

Josh published the chapter "Individual differences in the adoption of dialectal features during study abroad" in the edited volume "Study Abroad and the Second Language Acquisition of Sociolinguistic Variation in Spanish." The volume was edited by Sara Zahler, Avizia Long, and Bret Linford.

Dr. Julianna Grabianowski and Jared List presented their research in a presentation titled “Why Ethics Matter in the Classroom and Beyond” at Great Plains Economic and Business Association Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Their research was supported by a Walt Olsen Endowment for Faculty Development grant.

Reverend Dr Karla J Cooper was one of more than 20 recipients of a $50,000 Lilly Endowment cohort formation grant in December 2023. The grant was a collaboration between California Lutheran University, Bethany Fellowship and the 5th District AME to work with the Thriving in Ministry program coordinated through Leadership Education at Duke University to strengthen pastoral leaders.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper spoke at the rally at the Nebraska State Capitol in support of public schools giving an historical overview of segregation, school choice and the equalization in access with public schools.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper was the guest clinician for Hastings College Compelling Preaching Initiative.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper also spoke about the importance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which gave black women the right to vote as a featured speaker at the Women’s March in Lincoln.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper delivered the morning meditation entitled, A Doxological Dilemma, at the MidYear Convocation held in Los Angeles.

Reverend Dr. Karla J Cooper presented a workshop at Emory University entitled: Navigating Moral Decision Making: Faith and Ethics for The Power of a Wholistic Church conference.

Kim Jarvis, Professor of History, gave a presentation about her research as part of the Museum of the White Mountains event series "An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain," in July 2023. This series celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the disappearance, due to erosion, of New Hampshire's state symbol, the granite profile known as the Old Man of the Mountain. Kim's talk, “The Old Man of the Mountain Would Be Pleased: Preserving Franconia Notch,” focused on the symbolic importance of the Old Man to the environmental history of Franconia Notch, a unique natural feature on the western slopes of the White Mountains. The Museum of the White Mountains is located on the campus of Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH.

Dr. Meysenburg ran his "Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and the Dawn of Computing," Reacting to the Past (RTTP) game at the 8th annual Reacting Winter Conference, an online event hosted by the University of Georgia, starting on Friday, January 12th. At the conference, Dr. Meysenburg was the "game master," and fourteen other university and high school faculty members played characters in the game. During the four online sessions, participants debated, while playing characters in early 19th century Britain, three issues: 1) whether reason or imagination should rule our lives; 2) whether science should be pursued by wealthy amateurs or as a profession; and 3) the extent to which the government should fund science and engineering projects. Dr. Meysenburg received positive feedback on the game from members of the RTTP editorial board. Additionally, several faculty members who played the game plan to use it in their classrooms in the future.

Dr. Meysenburg ran his "Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and the Dawn of Computing," Reacting to the Past (RTTP) game at the 8th annual Reacting Winter Conference, an online event hosted by the University of Georgia, starting on Friday, January 12th. At the conference, Dr. Meysenburg was the "game master," and fourteen other university and high school faculty members played characters in the game. During the four online sessions, participants debated, while playing characters in early 19th century Britain, three issues: 1) whether reason or imagination should rule our lives; 2) whether science should be pursued by wealthy amateurs or as a profession; and 3) the extent to which the government should fund science and engineering projects. Dr. Meysenburg received positive feedback on the game from members of the RTTP editorial board. Additionally, several faculty members who played the game plan to use it in their classrooms in the future.

Mark Orsag presented the paper “It is All Interconnected, — A Brief, Comparative, Planetary Limits and Lifestyle Medicine Analysis of Production, Diet and Lifestyle During Three Stages of Human History” at the Research Association of Interdisciplinary Studies (RAIS) international conference held at American University April 4-5, 2024.

Mark Orsag has begun (1/22) a series of six public history presentations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) [UNL East Campus]– January-March 2024 as part of an Osher course with approximately 90 enrollees on the Russo-Ukraine War. 1. Historical Background –Part I 2. Historical Background– Part II 3.The Soviet Legacy and the Post-Soviet Period 4. Analysis of Origins and Failed Diplomacy 5.Overall Military Analysis 6. Diplomatic, Political, and Economic Analyses. Predictions.

Dr. Orsag presented: “'The Alexander Moment': Complex Systems, Crises, Warnings and the Limitations of Historical Analogy" at the 48th European Studies Conference–University of Nebraska Omaha, (October 5-6, 2023).
Dr. Orsag was part of a team that presented at a national conference: Mark Orsag and Amanda McKinney, “An Approach to Engaging Undergraduate Students in Interdisciplinary Problem-Solving,” The Magna Teaching Professor Online Conference (October 24-26, 2023).

Palgrave-Macmillan has debuted (in addition to the existing hardcover and ebook versions) a softcover edition of the monograph Interdisciplinary Insights from the Plague of Cyprian: Pathology, Epidemiology, Ecology and History. Authors— Mark Orsag, Amanda McKinney and DeeAnn M. Reeder.

Interdisciplinary Insights from the Plague of Cyprian co-authors Amanda McKinney and Mark Orsag were interviewed (in July) and quoted (along with academics from Princeton University and the University of Oklahoma) by popular science journalist Dr. Jean-Baptiste Veyrieras for "La mort infernale d'une civilisation", which appeared in the August issue of the French popular science magazine Epsiloon.

Mark Orsag will be an author on the following forthcoming publication...Amy Lykins, Daniel Hoyer, Amanda McKinney and Mark Orsag, “Planetary Limits and Communities of Life,” [Chapter 3] in Understanding Planetary Limits. Ben McCall, Chelsea Schelly, Amanda McKinney, et al eds. [Cambridge University Press, 2024].

Mark Orsag has had the following article accepted for publication in the (Brill-affiliated) Journal of Applied History: Mark Orsag and Amanda McKinney, “The Alexander Moment”: Complex Systems, Crises, Warnings and the Limitations of Historical Analogy,” Journal of Applied History [Forthcoming], 2024.

Dr. Mark Orsag and co-author Dr. Amanda McKinney have the following forthcoming publication: Mark Orsag and Amanda McKinney, “It is All Interconnected- A Brief Comparative, Planetary Limits and Lifestyle Medicine Analysis During Three Stages of Human History,” RAIS Conference Proceeding, (Atlantis Press [Springer]), [Forthcoming],2024.

Dr. Mark Orsag and co-author Dr. Amanda McKinney have the following forthcoming publication: Mark Orsag and Amanda McKinney, “It is All Interconnected- A Brief Comparative, Planetary Limits and Lifestyle Medicine Analysis During Three Stages of Human History,” RAIS Conference Proceeding, (Atlantis Press [Springer]), [Forthcoming],2024.

Interdisciplinary Insights from the Plague of Cyprian: Pathology, Epidemiology, Ecology and History (Mark Orsag, Amanda McKinney and DeeAnn M. Reeder) is one of a dozen recently or soon to be published scholarly monographs and edited volumes listed in the "News from and about Colleagues" section of the Association of Ancient Historians (AAH) Fall Newsletter. This international scholarly organization will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in April 2024, with the AAH Annual Meeting to be held at Harvard University.

A publishing contract has been signed for the forthcoming Planetary Limits Academic Network (PLAN) edited volume. Dr. Orsag has been chosen as the lead author for chapter two: Mark Orsag, Daniel Hoyer, Robert McLachlan, Graeme Lang, and Amanda McKinney, “What History Can Teach” [Chapter 2] in Understanding Planetary Limits. Ben McCall, Chelsea Schelly, Amanda McKinney, et al eds. [Forthcoming, Cambridge University Press, 2024].

Nathaniel Wilson (Dir. of Forensics and Asst. Professor of Practice in Communication) and Jennifer Torres (Asst. Dir. of Forensics) gave a panel presentation at the Nebraska Speech Communication & Theatre Association Convention. This annual convention brings together k-12 Speech and Theatre teachers from across the state of Nebraska to discuss pedagogy in the communication arts, provide support to educators, and evolve Speech and Theater activities at all academic levels.

Rachel Jank was invited to present at Educational Service Unit 11's Fall Conference in Holdrege, Nebraska. She attended as a representative of the Nebraska Writing Project, of which she is a co-director. Her presentations were titled "Building Social-Emotional Skills to Improve Classroom Collaboration" and "On-Demand Argument Writing: Developing Skills for 'Real Life'". The latter focused on the College, Community, and Career Writer's Program, in which Rachel participated as a facilitator of professional development for an i3 grant study.

Rachel presented at the 46th Annual TRIO MOKANNE conference, which pulls together TRIO Grant professionals to network and share best practices. Her presentation "Practices of Rest and Resistance" focused on the research and practices of Bessel van der Kolk, Aundi Kolberg, Emily and Amelia Nagoski, and Tricia Hersey. Rachel guided participants through restful practices in order to improve mental agility, physical capability, and emotional stability. Her presentation "Fun with Finances?!" asked participants to play "Choose your own Financial Adventure!", an interactive game she created for Tiger Takeoff's Financial Literacy session. After playing, participants imagined how innovation and gamification could help build engaging programming.

Rachel presented "Unlock Learning Potential with 'Wise' Feedback" at the Nebraska Educational Technology Association. The presentation focused on Rachel's 14 years of experience as an English Educator combined with Geoffrey Cohen's research on belonging.

Rachel Jank presented at the 2023 Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, a TRIO conference for students pursuing graduate school. The title of her presentation was "Beating Burnout with Boundaries: Mental Health Strategies to Positively Manage Stress."

Rob McKercher was the director of Crane River Company’s production of the musical, “SHREK” which ran through the month of July.

Rod Diercks, Trina Pettit, and Tiffany Young presented their work titled Pre-Service Teachers’ Dispositional Development: A Transformative and Humanizing Approach to Teacher Preparation at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Conference in Aurora, CO.

Ross Coudeyras (Doane Crete graduate 2011), Head of Security and Compliance & Data Protection Officer at Remesh and Adjunct Instructor of Cybersecurity and Privacy at Doane University, served as the keynote speaker at the cybersecurity conference FutureCon. His presentation, titled "Securing B2B SaaS: Brake for Success," addressed the critical integration of security within corporate strategies. Additionally, Ross contributed his expertise as a panelist on the "Securing the Future: Chief Information Security Officer Insights and Industry Leaders Discussing Current Cyber Threats and Strategic Defense Practices" panel, where he discussed evolving cybersecurity challenges and strategic responses in the industry.

Nominated by Broadway World as Best Performer in the region for her performance as Pam in "Hunter Gatherers" by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb for the OmniArts Nebraska production in 2022.

Tim presented with Dr. John Skretta at the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education national conference in Denver, Colorado. Along with Co-authors Dr. Josh McDowell and Dr. Brenda McNiff, they shared about the Educator Pipeline Collaborative Grant program. The presentation was entitled: "Educator Pipeline Collaborative: An EPiC Approach to Grow Your Own".

Living History, Chautauqua Presentation as President U.S. Grant for the First Nebraska Infantry Volunteers Social at General George Crook House, 5739 N 30th St, Omaha, Nebraska.

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Tiffany Young and Trina Pettit presented their research findings focusing on pre-service teachers' dispositional development at the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education Conference (AILACTE) in Aurora, CO.

William Whipple, music department, was invited to write a review for publication in the American Music Teacher (AMT) journal. William reviewed new intermediate piano music composed by Bruce Stark (To a Child’s Heart-vol. 1). The review will be available in the Feb/March 2024 issue of the AMT.

Blake Colclasure was selected from a large and competitive applicant pool to be a 2023 Early Career Workshop Fellow for the Nielsen Center for the Liberal Arts. Blake will join a cohort of educators teaching at small liberal arts institutions from across the country for three on-site teaching workshops held at Eckerd College in Florida. According to the center, “workshop fellows reflect on their vocation, context, and teaching practices and develop teaching strategies that nurture transformative student learning,” while “building their capacity to understand and articulate the goals of a liberal arts education.” The award provides all travel expenditures and an honorarium. More information on the Nielsen Center for the Liberal Arts can be found at https://nielsencenter.eckerd.edu

Cali Biaggi is one of 17 faculty members (and the only librarian) from around the country to be invited to participate in the Digital Liberal Arts Summer Institute, sponsored by Transylvania University’s Bingham Program for Excellence in Teaching. The institute will take place June 25-28 in Lexington, KY. From the institute website:

"Focusing on our three pillars of the Digital Liberal Arts—digital fluencies, design thinking, and human-technology interaction—the institute will convene faculty from a variety of disciplines and liberal arts institutions in a series of seminars and expert-led workshops. The goal of these sessions is to advance a broader conversation about the role of technology in pedagogy and liberal education. [...] Through these readings and conversations, faculty will explore the ways in which digital fluencies, design thinking, and human-technology interaction are already in play in liberal arts education; moreover, they will consider how these concepts will shape the future of our students’ learning and the world they will come to inhabit."

Cali is very excited to bring back her experiences and ideas to share with colleagues.

The Agribusiness Program is adding three new courses to the curriculum this academic year. Pete Poppert is developing the Introduction to Agribusiness course which will start in January and will be taught as both an online and in-person course. This is the first course from the Agribusiness Program to be offered in person on the Crete Campus. In addition, Pete is working with Adjunct Faculty, Ron Osborne, on the development of a cutting-edge course in Applied Agricultural Technology and Data Analytics. And lastly, Professor Julie Lee is developing an Agricultural Economics course. As part of the A.R. Kinney Endowed Fund for Business and Economics, Pete Poppert and undergraduate student, Sydney Erickson, researched the impact of student connectedness in online agribusiness courses. The research involved 18 months of data gathering, and during the summer Sydney analyzed the data and wrote a paper on the findings. Pete and Sydney will be presenting the results of the research in the coming months and will also submit the paper for publication.

Summer 2022
Dr. William Whipple was the invited guest artist at the 2022 University of Iowa Summer Music Camp where he performed in recital, taught applied piano lessons, and led a piano pedagogy special topics class. Pre-college students from surrounding states (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri) as well as international students (Panama) were in attendance.

Website: Iowa Summer Music Camp Faculty Listing