Honors and Awards | COEHS | SIU

Dr. Christie McIntyre, Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Instruction, was elected as the 2013-14 President of the Illinois Association of Teacher Educators.

Dr. Cheng-Yao Lin, Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction, was an invited keynote speaker at the Fifth International Conference on Technology and Mathematics Education and Workshop.

Dr. Cathy Mogharreban, Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction, was named the Research Project Director for the U.S. by the World Organization for Early Childhood (OMEP-USA) for an eleven-country pilot project for education for sustainable development (ESD).

Dr. Mogharreban was appointed one of three editors for the international case studies book that will result from the multi- country trials. It is to be published by Springer Verlag. The research meeting was held at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden, November 15-17, 2012, and participants represented Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Chile, UK, Kenya, Turkey, Norway, Korea, China and the U.S.

Dr. Nancy Mundschenk is the principal investigator on a state-funded personnel development grant sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education. The title of the grant is, “IDEA: State Personnel Development Grant-IL IHE Partnership” and is financed for $35, 046.

Dr. Julia Champe received the 2012 Emerging Scholar Award from the Association for Specialists in Group Work.

Dr. Dimitris Anastasiou (SPED) was recently appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of International Special Needs Education. The journal is associated with the Division of International Special Education & Services of the Council for Exceptional Services.

Dr. Todd C. Headrick invited speakership: Continuous and Univariate and Multivariate Distributions. International Conference on Statistical Distribution and Applications, Central Michigan University.

Dr. Patricia Welch Saleeby, Assistant Professor in Social Work, was a keynote speaker at the 2013 Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity for her presentation "The Growing Importance of Disability and Public Health" and she conducted a specialized pre-conference workshop on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Dr. Patricia Welch Saleeby, Assistant Professor in Social Work, received a Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Award (2012-13) from University Women's Professional Advancement and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies for her project, Improving Breast Health Services for Women with Disabilities in Rural Illinois.

Dr. Paul Asunda was elected Vice President of the Engineering and Technology Education Division of the American Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE). The eTED helps promote and enhance secondary engineering and technology education throughout the United States and cooperates with other ACTE Divisions to advance career and technical education nationally.

Diane Mahinda, Specialist in Education for the Center for Workforce Development, was honored at the IACTE (Illinois Association for Career and Technical Education) State Conference as an IACTE Friend of CTE. The award recognizes individuals or organizations for their meritorious contributions to the improvement, promotion, development and progress of career and technical education.

Dr. Deborah Diffenauer (Academic Coordinator, NAS Oceana) was recognized for her highly valued service to the American Council on Education's Military Evaluations Program. This national program, in the Center for Lifelong Learning, helps adult learners obtain academic credit for learning acquired through military training.

Dr. Barbara Hagler, Associate Professor, received the Educator of the Year Award from the Illinois Association for Career and Technical Education on February 21, 2013, at the IACTE Conference in Bloomington, IL. This is the second such award she has received in several months. In November she was recognized by the North Central Business Education Association with the Outstanding Contributions to Business Education by a Senior College or University Teacher Award.

• Ms. Shannon Green received a grant from the Sustainability Green Fund to develop sustainable curriculum in the Child Development Laboratories on the SIU campus using the Environmental Rating Scale developed for the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP).
• Rebekah Nelson, a senior in special education, was awarded the Roscoe Pulliam Scholarship ($3,000), and Clyde and Bessie Brewster Endowed scholarship ($1000.00).
• Jill Winkleman, a junior in special education, was a recipient of the Lita Hindman Luebbers scholarship ($6,000)
• Christine Piha, a senior in special education, was one of four recipients of the SIUC Annuitants Association scholarship ($1000). Additionally, Christine received the Marion and Madelyn Scott Treece Elementary Education Scholarship, which pays full tuition and fees for two semesters ($11,000), the Special Education Leadership and Excellence award ($100.00), the University School Memorial ($500), and the Military Order of the Purple Heart ($700).
• Katherine Ancell, a doctoral student in Special Education, received the E. Lyle Sparks Special Education Scholarship ($100.00)
• Rebekah Nelson, a senior in special education, was awarded the Roscoe Pulliam Scholarship ($3,000), and Clyde and Bessie Brewster Endowed scholarship ($1000.00).
• Jill Winkleman, a junior in special education, was a recipient of the Lita Hindman Luebbers scholarship ($6,000)
• Christine Piha, a senior in special education, was one of four recipients of the SIUC Annuitants Association scholarship ($1000). Additionally, Christine received the Marion and Madelyn Scott Treece Elementary Education Scholarship, which pays full tuition and fees for two semesters ($11,000), the Special Education Leadership and Excellence award ($100.00), the University School Memorial ($500), and the Military Order of the Purple Heart ($700).
• Katherine Ancell, a doctoral student in Special Education, received the E. Lyle Sparks Special Education Scholarship ($100.00)
• Doctoral Student Siti Rozaina Kamsani ( COUN) received the  American Society for Group Work (AGSW)  Peg Carroll Scholarship  at  the American Counseling Association (ACA) Conference. The one year  scholarship will support Siti’s dissertation project.
• Nabisha Ibrahim , doctoral student in Counselor Education, Dissertation Research Award.
• Siti Rozaina Kamsani,  doctoral student in Counselor Education. Dissertation Research Award.
• Hapsah Md Yusof , doctoral student in Counselor Education, Dissertation Research Award.
• Kirsten Allen and Amanda Chahalis were awarded the Dean’s Fellowship award for the 2013-2014 academic year. Anjanette Tucker was awarded a PROMPT Fellowship and Ms. Mykel Wolfe was awarded an Underserved Minority Fellowship award.

• Dr. Jon Baker secured a 2-year grant with the Illinois Department on Aging for program evaluation of providing behavior analytic, evidence-based residential in-home services to assist senior adults with cognitive impairment in Southern Illinois maintain independence. This will involve a combination through direct clinical services provided by undergraduates, masters, and Ph.D. students in the Rehabilitation Institute, as well as staff training via in home care providers, as well as at adult day, assisted living, and supported living facilities. The grant involves students providing care through paid positions, practica, and internships.
• Jeanne Kitchens (Center for Workforce Development) was invited to write and submit proposals for the following four recently-awarded projects:
• Illinois Share Learning Environment (ISLE)--SIUC received a Letter of Intent to Fund the Illinois Shared Learning Environment (ISLE) project from project sponsors Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).  Funding for this project is $1,926,427 and extends through June 2014.  ISLE will empower educators with the tools they need in order to tailor content for students at every level, from pre-K classes through adult career exploration courses.
• ISLE will feature a comprehensive suite of student performance reports that allow teachers to track students’ progress not only between subjects, but also across grade levels.
• Disability Resources Upgrade--SIUC is the recipient of a project via the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce that will integrate the disabilityworks brand and content and enhance the Illinois workNet disability resources.  The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce’s disabilityworks program was awarded the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Disability Employment Initiative grant.  Project funding is $84,853.
• Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) 2013—The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) awarded the SYEP 2013 grant to SIUC at a funding level of $49,994.  This project will support the State of Illinois SYEP 2013 in providing eligible youth with age-appropriate job training, life skills, counseling, work-readiness skills and supervised meaningful work experience.
• Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF) Manufacturing Project—The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) awarded the WIF project to SIUC at a funding level of $400,000.  This project involves designing and implementing the online application and personalized training plan for the Advanced Training and Illinois Manufacturing Program.
• Dr. Ruth Anne Rehfeldt has secured a grant with Autism Speaks with colleagues in Wales to study communication interventions for nonverbal people with autism using tablet PC’s.
• The Center for Workforce Development (CWD), housed in the college’s Department of Workforce Education and Development, is in Year Three of a five-year contract with the College and Career Readiness Division of the Illinois State Board of Education to facilitate and coordinate career and technical education (CTE) programs in Illinois public secondary schools.  Specifically, the Curriculum Revitalization Project (CR) provides course-related resources at no cost for Illinois teachers and student teachers through MYcaert, a course management system that is available nationwide. These resources have been designed specifically to provide high quality materials aligned with a variety of standards, including the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Illinois Learning Standards, content-specific National Standards, Workplace Skills, and Occupational Skills Standards.

• The Chi Rho chapter of the Phil Alpha Social Work Honor Society inducted 41 members into the chapter on April 26th, 2013 at the Dunn Richmond Center. The Social Work Honor Society is a national organization which invites membership based upon academic excellence. SIUC’s School of Social Work
• Malar Hirudayaraj, WED Doctoral Candidate, was selected by the International Labour Organization to attend their International Academy on Youth Development Training Program conducted at their International Training Center in Turin, Italy.  She was selected from a pool of candidates from across the world, in the individual researcher category based on her prior work on employability of rural youth and her doctoral research on :  First-generation Graduates and Issues of Employability.
• Shannon Green, a PhD student in Early Childhood Education at COEHS, co-founedd the African International Foundation for Educational Excellence (AIFEE).  AIFEE is a not for profit organization committed to providing educational development in Africa through need based interventions, community development through service learning and outreach, research and assessment, education and training, and strategic consultancy.
• The Southern Illinois Alpha Alpha Chapter received the Chapter Excellence Award from the national university health education student honorary society, Eta Sigma Gamma (ESGry. The Chapter Excellence Award is is only given to one of the 85 active chapters in the U.S.
• SIU’s Student Recreation Society (SRS) received a $1,500 grant from Outdoor Nation for the purpose of encouraging youth to get outdoors. SRS was awarded the grant for their plan entitled “OY! – Outdoor Youth”, a proposal to create an outdoor adventure club in a local after-school program Outdoor Nation is a nationwide movement of millennials who are motivated to reconnect youth with the outdoors. SRS received the grant at Outdoor Nation’s Chicago Summit, held July 13-14, 2013.