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Volume XXIII No.
43 • Nov. 5, 1999
The Campus Currents is distributed every Friday. If
you would like to include an item in the newsletter send
it to Campus Currents, Unit 9512 or by e-mail to Campus Currents.
Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.
Friday after Thanksgiving is a holiday for
employees
The day after Thanksgiving - Friday, Nov. 26 - has been designated
as administrative leave for employees of Black Hills State University.
Governor's Technology award
winners will present their projects - Top
The 1999 recipients of the Governor's Technology
Awards will present their projects to BHSU faculty,
students and staff today, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
in the multipurpose room of the Student Union.
This year there are 11 recipients:
- Thomas Cox, College of Arts & Sciences
- Pat Fallbeck, College of Education
- Amy Fuqua, College of Arts & Sciences
- Carol Hess, College of Education
- James Hess, College of Arts & Sciences
- James Knutson, College of Arts & Sciences
- Roger Miller, College of Arts & Sciences
- Roger Ochse, College of Arts & Sciences
- Sandee Schamber, College of Education
- Betsy Silva, College of Education
- Larry Tentinger, College of Education
BH professor receives
regional award - Top
 Dr.
Patricia Fallbeck, Black Hills State University College
of Education professor, recently received an American
Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) Region VIII
award for her contributions to the lives of individuals
with mental retardation.
Fallbeck was presented with the Mildred C. Thompson
Memorial Award during the fall AAMR conference in
Spearfish. The region chose Fallbeck as this year's
recipient by recognizing her efforts in advising the BHSU
student chapter of AAMR and serving in an advisory
capacity to other student chapters in the six
state/province region. The award was presented to her by
Dr. Dann Laramore, Waterloo, Iowa.
Story
BHSU professor publishes
chapter in volcano encyclopedia - Top
 A chapter
titled “Lava Domes and Coulees” co-authored by
Dr. Steve Anderson, associate professor of geology at
Black Hills State, will appear in the latest edition of
the 1,400-page Encyclopedia of Volcanoes.
Written in collaboration with Dr. John Fink, Arizona
State University, the chapter focuses on recent and
historic eruptions that have formed a variety of thick,
viscous lava flows that typically accompanied large-scale
explosive eruptions, including flows at Mount St. Helens,
Soufriere Hills (Monserrat), Mount Unzen (Japan) and
Mount Merapi (Indonesia).
Story
Hesson presents at
physical education conference - Top
 Dr. James
Hesson, division of physical education and health, gave a
presentation Oct. 20 at the 44th Annual Conference of the
Western College Physical Education Society (WCPES) in
Reno, Nevada.
The title of the presentation was "Personality
and Career Choices."
The presentation started with each person in
attendance completing a very brief personality inventory
to help them identify consistent character traits.
Story
College graduates earn
$700,000 more in a lifetime than nongrads - Top
The $700,000 decision: learn more to earn more.
 That's the
simple message Black Hills State University President
Thomas Flickema will be spreading across the state in a
new information campaign funded by BHSU alumni and
scheduled to begin Nov. 15 in statewide television
broadcasts.
Armed with data from the South Dakota Department of
Labor, Flickema said a college degree means $700,000 to
$1,000,000 more in career earnings versus a high school
diploma and $200,000 to nearly $700,000 versus a two-year
vocational-technical applied science degree.
Story
Students of Higbee
Scholarship presented to BHSU president - Top
 A
scholarship fund created by special-education majors in
1991 was fully funded this fall and presented to Black
Hills State University president Thomas Flickema.
At the fall conference of the American Association on
Mental Retardation (AAMR), Dr. Patricia Fallbeck and
Walter Higbee (the scholarship's namesake) presented the
"Students of Higbee Scholarship Fund" monies to
the university president.
Story
NSF grant funds
aquisition of electron microscope at BHSU - Top
 Area
scientists and university students are the benefactors of
a recent National Science Foundation grant that helped
fund a $164,000 scanning electron microscope at Black
Hills State University.
“It's the only one of its kind in the
state,” says Dr. Mark Gabel, professor of biology at
BHSU, who authored the grant for the JEOL 5600 LV. The
NSF grant provided two-thirds of the cost for the
microscope with the university picking up the remainder.
Story
Military vets at BHSU will
present POW/MIA flag to university - Top
Military veterans at Black Hills State University will
present a POW/MIA flag to the university Nov. 6 during
halftime of the men's basketball season opener against
Carroll College at the Young Center.
Dr. Larry Tentinger, assistant professor of physical
education, and several other veterans will be making the
presentation to President Tom Flickema and athletic
director Dave Little.
The 5- by 8-foot flag is given in recognition of
Veteran's Day. The flag was purchased by John Hazucha, a
Vietnam veteran, and donated to BHSU.
Participating in the ceremony will be representatives
from the university's ROTC program, Sturgis high school
ROTC program, members of the 842nd Engineering
Company of the South Dakota National Guard,
representatives from Ellsworth Air Force Base, and
members of the local American Legion and VFW
organizations.
Tentinger said, “The presentation is best summed
up as someone else explained the other day; `It
represents all colors, all wars and Black Hills State
veterans.'”
Thank you - Top
A big thank you to all who attended the retirement
coffee and/or dinner for me. Your words of encouragement
mean a lot to me. A special thank you to facilities
services and food services. You are great.
Ellen Koan
BHSU student receives AAMR
award - Top
Andrea Ellwanger, a Black Hills State University
senior from Rapid City, received the Irene Dunn Student
Award this fall during the regional American Association
on Mental Retardation (AAMR) conference in Spearfish.
Story
Green and Gold Club social
planned - Top
The Green and Gold Club will sponsor a pre-game
tip-off social Saturday, Nov. 6 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. at the
Stadium Sports Grill. Burgers, bratwurst, and beverages
will be served for $3.
The Yellow Jackets season opener against Carroll
College begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Sports
and Fitness Center.
Funds
available through instructional improvement committee
- Top
The instructional improvement committee (IIC)
encourages, through monetary grants, the application of
existing knowledge to specific teaching situations to
improve the quality of instruction at BHSU.
Any full-time faculty member, full-time adjunct
faculty or other full-time staff member engaged in
student instruction may apply for grant funds
administered by the committee. Grant funding will
normally be available up to a maximum of $1,000 per
project. Priority will be given to projects that will
have a broad-based, visible, continuing impact on
instruction across faculty members and/or disciplines.
Funds are available for development of materials and
methods to improve teaching and learning, equipment to
enhance teaching and learning, travel to conferences or
workshops which enhance teaching and learning, and
bringing consulting lecturers and teaching specialists to
campus to offer presentations to and/or with faculty and
teaching-support staff at BHSU. Faculty members who apply
for grants to support travel to a conference or workshop
are limited to receiving no more than one grant every
three years.
Proposals for grant funding will be reviewed by the
IIC on a monthly basis. The deadline for submission will
be the last Friday of each month; a decision will be made
as soon as practical on each proposal. Ten copies of the
proposals should be submitted to the Grants and Special
Projects Office, W220, or to the chair of the committee,
Sharon Strand. Proposals will consist of proposal and
budget outlines following the specified format available
at the grants and special projects web page.
Faculty-research committee has
funds available - Top
The faculty-research committee has funds available for
the current fiscal year. Write a short (about three-page)
proposal. Proposal forms are available at the academic
affairs office. Proposals are due Nov. 12.
It is anticipated that successful applicants will
request support for faculty release time, research
equipment, travel to research sites, research support for
the production of creative work. Preference is given to
new applicants particularly in the areas of education,
business, social sciences and humanities.Two three-hour
release times are available for fall 2000 and spring of
2001.
Funds for two three-hour release times are available
for the spring and fall 1999 semesters. You can apply
now. The research committee will not provide salary. The
committee may approve payment to student or non-student
research assistants. Mail ten copies of your proposal to
unit 9550.
New Faculty Profile
by Dawn Taggart, media
relations student intern
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Dr. James F. Buell
 “I've always been interested in
science, ever since I was about seven years old.
I've had a few flirtations with other careers,
but I've always come back to science.”
Dr. James F. Buell teaches
physics and introductory astronomy classes at
Black Hills State. He said, “I find physics
to be the most rewarding (course to teach) in a
sense, it seems to be much more challenging, at
this level anyway.” Buell said astronomy can
be challenging too, and remarked, “I enjoy
astronomy; every time I teach it I get new ideas
in terms of research. It is a fast changing
field.”
Buell said his overall view on
teaching, since he became a teacher, has not
changed. But, he said, “My techniques have
changed. I've become a lot more savvy, my
experience has really wizened me as a teacher.
When I first started as a graduate student, I was
pretty much a fish out of water; I had no idea of
how to run a classroom. I've gained experience
over the years – very significant
experience.”
In terms of teaching style, Buell
said, “I'm very interactive. I try to get
them to actively participate in the learning
process and actively participate in their own
education. I try to do that by asking them
challenging questions in class.”
Buell thinks interaction is a
more practical approach at smaller colleges.
“I hardly ever interacted with my teachers,
other than office hours; I learned a lot more at
office hours than at class, sometimes.” He
commented that there's a slow movement toward
active learning at smaller colleges. However, in
the large schools it's not possible.
Technology has also been a useful
tool for Buell. He said, “It allows us to do
a lot more in the laboratory to demonstrate
things that were really not practical before.
Simulations in physics, I think, help students
out. This can be done on the computer where the
students can actually control the
simulations.”
“In astronomy you can get
access to all this knowledge now. It's no longer
dependent on going to the bookstore and finding
books, you can go to a NASA (web) site.”
Buell started his career at Black
Hills State in mid-August of this year. Prior to
this new position, he was an interim professor at
A & M University in Commerce, Texas, in 1998.
In 1997-98, he was visiting assistant professor
at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and also
a graduate teaching assistant for the University
of Oklahoma from 1988 to 1992, and from 1993 to
1997.
He has been a member of both the
American Physical Society and the American
Astronomical Society since 1991.
Buell earned his bachelor of
science in physics from Carnegie-Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, Penn. in 1987; his
master of science in physics from the University
of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., in 1992; and his
doctorate in physics, also at the University of
Oklahoma in 1997.
Buell said that his future plans
are to continue teaching. “I've found I
really enjoy teaching; it seems like I can make
somewhat of a difference.” He added that he
would like to make a difference in the physics
department at Black Hills State in terms of
expanding and improving the physics program.
His leisure activities include
caring for, and training, two cats and a dog,
stargazing, hiking, biking, and sightseeing.
Books are also important – he said, “I
love reading. I'm a bibliophile; I just devour
books.” Buell said one of the best things
he's done this fall was to watch the foliage
change in Spearfish Canyon.
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This week at
BHSU - Top
Friday, Nov. 5
- Governor's Technology Awards presentations , 11
a.m. to 1 p.m., multipurpose room of the Student
Union.
- Preregistration for juniors
Saturday, Nov. 6
- Men's Basketball vs. Carroll College,7:30 p.m.
Special Veteran's Day observance and presentation
of POW/MIA flag during halftime
Monday, Nov. 8
- Pre-registration for sophomores begins
Wednesday, Nov. 10
- Pre-registration for freshmen begins
Thursday, Nov. 11
- Veterans Day – No classes, CSA holiday
Friday, Nov. 12
- Travelogue, Steve Anderson, “Hot Lava in
Cool Places”, noon
Saturday, Nov. 13
- Men's Basketball vs. Rocky Mountain College, 7:30
p.m.
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