The scholars were accompanied by Calvin Masilela, Director, IUP Trio Programs and professor, Geography and Regional Planning, and Hilary Staples, assistant director of the McNair Program.
Seventeen scholars presented their research, including Brandon Bobbitt, Nursing; Nicholas Brock, Political Science; Michelle Dufford, Anthropology; Amber Fishel, Criminology; Anthony Flowers, Business; Robin Fulmer, Nutrition; Jawanda Jackson, Regional Planning; Laurin Jefferson, English Education; Lisa McCann, Anthropology (formerly Business); Dan O’Hara, Geoscience; Jovana Ramos, Spanish; Nicole Reinaker, Art History; Joshua Riffe, Exercise Science; Thobani Shaba, Natural Science; Christina Sponsky, Nutrition; Michele Troutman, Anthropology; and Naporje Washington, Sociology. Altagracia Moquette, Criminology, participated as an attendee.
The McNair Program would like to thank the following faculty mentors who have guided these scholars in their original research projects: Theresa Shellenbarger, Susan Martin, Victor Garcia, John Lewis, James Rodger, Nathan McElroy, Whit Watts, Judith Villa, Joette Wisnieski, Jon Lewis, Laura Delbrugge, Irene Kabala, Madeline Pasternostro Bayles, Jonathan Southard, Nicole Clark, Beverly Chiarulli, and Melanie Hildebrandt.
Congratulations, McNair scholars, on a job well done!
]]>Allman, an Exercise Science major, presented her research project, “The Effects of a Program of Aerobic Exercise versus Yoga on Physiological Parameters and Quality of Life Indicators for Breast Cancer Survivors,” a research proposal guided by Dr. Madeleine Paternoster-Bayles.
Drew’s research project, “Love Can Be Colorblind, but Can You? College Students’ Attitudes toward Interracial Dating,” was guided by faculty mentor Dr. Melanie Hildebrandt. Drew is a Child and Family Studies major.
Lastly, Santi, a Psychology major, presented her work, “He Can; Why Can’t I?: The Sexual Double Standard and Gender Roles of College Students,” a research project completed under the direction of Dr. Maureen McHugh.
The scholars where accompanied by Hilary Staples, assistant director, McNair Scholars Program. Both Allman and Drew’s travel expenses were supplemented by travel grants they secured through the undergraduate research travel fund administered through the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Congratulations, McNair Scholars, on a job well done!
]]>OSU sponsors students for the two-day event at the University Plaza and Conference Center, and provides panels of graduate students and faculty to familiarize participants with OSU’s graduate programs, funding opportunities, housing information and so on. On the second day of the program, participants visit with departments of interest at OSU as well as with university administrators.
]]>SACNAS is a national organization that promotes Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in science. The conference provides mentoring and training sessions, research presentations, cultural enrichment opportunities, and nationally renowned keynote speakers to motivate and inspire students to persist in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.
This is the second time Jennifer has been selected to attend.
]]>Out of a competitive pool of more than twenty-five applicants, the nineteen new scholars will join six continuing ’09 scholars to participate in the 2010 McNair Summer Research Experience to be held May 17–June 25 on campus. This is a high-caliber group of students academically that represents diverse disciplines at IUP.
The new scholars by college are:
During the summer research program, scholars receive a research stipend and room and board while taking a research methods course as they develop their research project under the direction of a faculty mentor. On June 24–25, each scholar will have the opportunity to present their research proposal in a local symposium sponsored by the McNair Scholars program. Scholars will also enjoy cultural enrichment activities, graduate school visits in the Washington, D.C., area, and workshops/seminars on graduate school culture, GRE preparation, and other events.
]]>The schedule of presentations is below. Faculty mentors and interested observers are invited to attend as schedules allow!
| Time | Scholar | Presentation Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | Helene Hurrey | Attitudes of Chinese Female Students at IUP Toward Gender Roles |
| 1:25 p.m. | Jerrod Foster | Laws, Virtues, or Sin: A Content Analysis of the Movie Animal House |
| 1:50 p.m. | Amber Byas | The Effect of Synaptic Zn2+ within the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus on the Light/Dark Cycle |
| 2:15 p.m. | Tiffany Williams | The Evolving "Juvenile Delinquent": A Content Analysis |
| 2:40 p.m. | Tiara Brock | Parent-child Relationships during the First Year of College |
| 3:00 p.m. | Walk to Cogswell Hall, Room 102 | |
| 3:05 p.m. | Matt Gemberling | Russian Trumpet Music |
| 3:30 p.m. | Nick Berninger | The Trombone Sonata: A History of the Sonata With an In-Depth Look at Several Impactful Sonatas |
| Time | Scholar | Presentation Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | Christina Santiago | Hispanic Females: Problems Faced In Minding Their Own Business |
| 9:25 a.m. | Belinda Arndt | Exploring Ideology: Ideological Jihadism is Not Jihad |
| 9:50 a.m. | Jonathan Yuhas | Pomegranate versus Potato: A Showdown Between Superfood and Dietary Staple |
| 10:15 a.m. | Olumayowa Azeez | Computational Characterization of Structural and pH-dependent Properties of Cellulases |
| 10:40 a.m. | Kimberly Siverling | Shot and Wounded: How Journalism’s Magic Bullet Theory is Crippling the Business |
| 11:05 a.m. | Sherita Banks | Can You Hear Me Now? The Inclusion of African American Voices in Criminology Theory Textbooks |
| 11:25 a.m. | Maria Robinson | Do You Have What I Want?: Factors that Determine Teacher Employment Preference |
| 11:50 a.m. | Jessica Beere | Sluts, Studs, and Sexual Double Standards: Responses to Male and Female Targets as a Function of Sexual Partners and Responsibility |
| 12:15–1:00 | Lunch break | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Rebecca Santi | He Can, Why Can’t I?: The Sexual Double Standard and Gender Roles of College Students |
| 1:25 p.m. | Jon Wylie | The History of the Tuba and its Solo Repertoire: The Importance of Commissioning New Works for the Solo Tuba |
| 1:50 p.m. | Mark Peterson | A Greener Understanding: The Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior Applied to Sustainability on College Campuses |
| 2:15 p.m. | Reed Ciotti | How Johnstown uses Federal Stimulus Money: the New Deal vs. the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act |
| 2:40 p.m. | Eric Nystrom | Landscape Morphology of Coal: How Deep Mining Changed the Surface and Subterranean Geography of Rural Indiana County, Pa. |
| 3:05 p.m. | Jay Harter | Great Job! The Effects of Teacher Attitudes and Expectations in Relation to Urban Student Achievement |
| 3:30 p.m. | Michael Lynch | Informationless Populous: Latest News Gathering Methods and Sudanese Genocide |
| 3:55 p.m. | Emmanuel Johnson | Prescription Drugs as the New Frontier in Recreational Drug Use: An Exploratory Study of College Students |
Approximately forty students between ninth and twelfth grades are participating in the Summer Residential Program that will end July 24. The six-week program is packed with enrichment courses in Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Writing Skills, and Financial literacy, taught by outstanding area high school teachers and IUP professors. The classroom experience will be complemented by an assortment of science application activities, including a field science course led by Dr. Holly Travis and a half-day CSI workshop at the College Lodge with Mike Baker, Indiana County Coroner. Students will also participate in cultural enrichment activities and social and health awareness workshops that address issues of tolerance, drugs and alcohol, community service, and college visits. The summer program will be capped with an overnight trip to Philadelphia to visit the Franklin National Science Center, Adventure Aquarium, Independence Hall , Chinatown, and Reading market.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the IUP Upward Bound Math and Science program is a federal TRIO program designed to strengthen the math and science skills of low-income and potentially first-generation college students, to develop their abilities to excel in math and science, and encourage them to pursue postsecondary degrees in these fields.
]]>Adding to his repertoire of recent achievements, he was also awarded this year’s “Distinguished Faculty Award for Service”, and also the graduate dean’s award for “Outstanding Commitment to Sponsored Programs”. The TRiO staff and McNair scholars are very proud of these accomplishments and to see Dr. M. receive well deserved recognition for his dedicated contributions to bettering the learning environment at IUP and helping students realize their dreams beyond the undergraduate experience.
]]>Aleya Crable - full assistantship - Roosevelt University in Chicago - Communications, M.A.
Michael Dooley - full assistantship - Texas Christian University in Fort Worth – Music, M.A.
Kalin McDannell - full assistantship – West Virginia University - Geology, M.S.
Candice Potts Henry – scholarship – University of Pittsburgh – Social Work, M.A.
Jasmine Peterson (Dec. '07) - University of Pittsburgh – Social Work, M.A.
]]>Bernadette Padilla-Donnelly: “Effective techniques of the English as a Second Language program in an urban school: an action research evaluation”, mentored by Dr. Monte Tidwell
Candice Potts Henry: “Exploring non-offending caregiver satisfaction with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Indiana County”, mentored by Dr. Kathryn Bonach
]]>Dr. Samuel Betances spoke at the McNair Scholars Summer Research Institute Closing Banquet on June 27, 2008.
The event was held at the Crimson Event Center in Folger Hall from 6:00–8:30 p.m.
Dr. Betances has merged eloquence and teaching skills to deliver his powerful message with conviction: "It matters less where we are from; what really matters is where we are going. Accept our diversity. Embrace it. Make it work for you. Harness the rainbow." This great motivator was not supposed to make it. Out of the bowels of inner city poverty, stigma of minority group status, violence, welfare and illiteracy in two languages, Samuel Betances arose. With strong spiritual convictions and a passion for reading, he has taken the hard lessons from the mean streets of life and reshaped them into his personal vision. Samuel Betances embarked on a journey from dropping out of school to a Doctorate from Harvard University. Today, America's foremost communicator on the challenge of casting away barriers to success is an honored Professor Emeritus, a consultant to U.S. Presidents, CEOs, managers,
community groups, clergy members, educators, and a role model for youth.