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The Campus Currents is distributed every Friday. To submit an item send it to Campus Currents, Unit 9512 or by e-mail to Campus Currents. Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.

Welcome to BHSU - Top  

• John Rockey, custodial worker, facilities services

Music professor to present a paper in Norway - Top

Dr. Susan Hove-Pabst, associate professor of music at Black Hills State University, has been invited to present a paper at the International Society for Music Education (ISME), a world conference on music education that will be held this summer in Norway.

The theme of the conference is “Samspel,” a Norwegian word for working together in music and in other human endeavors. The three-prong focus will be on interacting and working across borders and musical cultures, across music education and other disciplines, and across virtualities and realities. The biennial conference will be held in Bergen, Norway, Aug. 11-16. 

Hove-Pabst’s paper, entitled “Children’s original opera in a rural American schoolhouse:  

Integration and relevance in discovery learning music education,” will be the topic of her speech as well as part of the published conference proceedings.  Her study on which the paper is based documented the process that occurred during the creation and production of original student opera by elementary students in a one-room rural school. The researcher concluded that original student opera can be used as an effective tool for learning about self, others, and the world and subsequently for communicating what one knows through an integrated, relevant form.

Hove-Pabst joined the BHSU faculty in 1988 and teaches music education methods classes, sight singing and ear training, voice, and music appreciation. She earned a bachelor's degree from the  University of Montana and master's degree and doctorate degrees from Montana State University.

O’Connor-Salomon publishes - Top

Kelly A. O'Connor-Salomon, adjunct lecturer in English and circulation librarian at Black Hills State University, has published a review article of three recent works and has also had an article accepted for inclusion in the encyclopedia of fantasy and science fiction writers.

The long review article of three recent works on Arthurian literature and film is published in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 12.2 (2001): 223-29.

O'Connor-Salomon has also had an article on 

Katherine Kurtz accepted for inclusion in the new edition of Supernatural Fiction Writers, a extensive encyclopedia on fantasy and science fiction writers to be published by Scribner's. Kurtz is the author of many volumes of fantasy fiction and is perhaps one of the most important authors of fantasy literature currently writing. The inclusion of the article is Kurtz's first appearance in this important encyclopedia.

O'Connor-Salomon holds two master's degrees - one in medieval studies from the University of Connecticut and one in English from Trinity College. She began teaching at BHSU in 1999. 

Michelle Hoffman is new admission counselor - Top  

Experience with the admissions process at Black Hills State University gave Michelle Hoffman the opportunity for a promotion as admissions counselor in the university’s enrollment center.

Hoffman has worked in the enrollment center since 1997 as a senior secretary and has been actively involved in the student recruitment process for the past couple of years. She is filling a position vacated by Judy Berry, assistant director of admissions, who retired last month.

“Just the fact that I worked with Judy the past several years and my background in admissions helped me move into this new position,” said Hoffman. “I like the travel and the experience of working with new students.”

She indicated she would miss working with the current students and the interaction she has had with them during their collegiate careers.

The new admission counselor began her career at BHSU in 1990 as a student and was employed by the admissions office as a work-study student during her undergraduate years. She graduated from BHSU in 1994 with a degree in business administration. She went to work for the university’s records office in 1994 and remained there for the next three years before moving to the enrollment center.

During the next several weeks, Hoffman will be holding down two jobs until a replacement is found for her senior secretary position. She will also be planning a travel schedule for follow-up visits to eastern South Dakota high schools and helping organize fall registration for currently enrolled students. The next item on her busy schedule is assisting with summer prep days when new groups of students and their parents visit the BH campus.

Her schedule appears to be full but then, it’s basically what she’s be doing for some time and her familiarity with the process will make the overall task easier.

Sayler is national evaluator of K-12 math science programs - Top

Dr. Ben Sayler, director of the Center for the Advancement of Mathematics and Science Education (CAMSE) at Black Hills State University, is one of 30 researchers from across the country participating in a national study of classroom science and math practices.

The National Science Foundation, Horizon Research, Inc., based in Chapel Hill, N.C, supports the study entitled “Inside the Classroom.” The study is designed to gather information about classroom procedures, the physical environment, and the policy environment within a random sample of mathematics and science classrooms throughout the United States.

Forty middle schools have been selected at random from the national survey.  For each of the 40 middle schools, one elementary school and one high school in the middle school’s feeder pattern have also been selected, giving a total of three schools per district.  From each school, two science and two mathematics teachers are chosen randomly for classroom observations and interviews (elementary teachers are assigned to one subject or the other). When complete, the study will include 480 observations of science and mathematics teaching in grades K-12 and 480 interviews.

The BHSU CAMSE director has completed six observations to date and is scheduled to complete his second and final site visit this

month. Results from this important project will be used to inform national policy makers about the state of K-12 math and science education.  

“I will have conducted very few observations compared to the total 480 being collected through this study,” said Sayler. “What I find so exciting is the in-depth analysis of instruction and policy by 30 independent researchers visiting 40 randomly selected districts. It will be fascinating to see what trends emerge from the complete set of data.”

During his early observations, Sayler notes “students are well-behaved, though not particularly excited about what they are learning. Teachers appear conscientious, but burdened with large teaching loads and extracurricular responsibilities. Instruction tends to follow a textbook quite closely with a few hands-on activities as supplements. Teachers report that the hands-on activities increase student interest and understanding. Unfortunately, the level of intellectual engagement and rigor associated with the hands-on activities has tended to be low.”

Sayler came to BHSU as director of CAMSE in the fall of 1999 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle. He was involved with research in elementary school science and science education reform. The BHSU CAMSE director earned his Ph.D. in atmospheric science at the University of Washington. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees were earned at Yale University in geology and geophysics.

Meier performs at fundraiser

Johanna Meier, vocal arts and opera theatre artistic director for the BHSU Summer Institute of the Arts, sang folk and love songs last weekend at a special  fundraising event "From the Heart of Spain." Meier was accompanied by Janeen Larsen. 

Banner Health recognized as Green and Gold Club Booster of the Year - Top

Banner Health System of Spearfish was recognized recently as the Green and Gold Club booster of the year for 2001 at half time during last Friday’s men’s basketball game at BHSU. Presenting the award to Bryan Lessly, Lookout Memorial Hospital media relations director and Angie Leonard, director of the Family Medical Center Clinic, were Myles Kennedy, right, Green and Gold Club president and Dr. Thomas Flickema, left, university president. Banner Health donated $7,000 in scholarship support to the university.

BHSU to host information night - Top  

Black Hills State University will host an information session Sunday, March 3 from 2-4 p.m. at the Rapid City Civic Center room 102.

High students and their parents as well as other workers seeking additional training or desiring a career change are encouraged to meet with representatives from the enrollment center, extended services and the Ellsworth base campus. Information about admissions procedures, financial aid, academic programs and distance learning will be available.

Black Hills State University, the third largest state university offers several new courses of study with a total of more than 90 majors and minors. 

Classes are offered at the main campus in Spearfish and at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City. Select classes are also available over the Internet or by correspondence which allows students an opportunity to continue working while earning a degree. The education master’s degree in curriculum and instruction is now available entirely online. Many graduate and undergraduate business classes are also offered online.

Minutes of the University Assessment Committee meeting - Top

Minutes of University Assessment Committee Meeting Feb. 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Woodburn Conference Room 1. Present: Earley, Siewert, L. Turner, J. Miller, Pearce. Absent:  Altmyer, Cook, Haislett, Valades, Calhoon, Schamber, Olson.

The committee considered and acted on the following reports:

1. Biology - Accepted as is.

2. Music - Rejected. Sent back for rewrite.

3. English - Accepted as is.

4. Human Services - Accepted as is.

5. Environmental Physical Science - Accepted as is.

The committee decided that to not review the composite physical-science report since the faculty in science had recommended elimination of that major.

The next meeting of the committee will be on Feb. 19th at 3:30 p.m. in Woodburn Conference Room 1.  The following reports will be considered: technology, theatre, business administration, business education.

Instructional improvement grants available - 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 of 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.  In the other categories, priority will be given to those who have not received an IIC grant in the last academic year.  

Faculty research funds available - Top  

It is anticipated that successful applicants will request support for faculty release time, research equipment, travel to research sites or research support for the production of creative work. Preference is given to new applicants, particularly in the areas of education, business, social sciences 

The applicants are encouraged to contact the committee members for advice prior to completing their proposals. The members are John Alsup, Steve Anderson, Lyle Cook, Tom Cox, Abdollah Farrokhi, chair; Jim Hess, Kathleen Parrow, Shane Sarver, and Rob Schurrer. 

Grant opportunities announced - Top  

Below are the program materials received Jan. 31-Feb. 13 in the grants office, Woodburn 218. For copies of the information, contact our office at 642-6627 or e-mail requests to us at grants@bhsu.edu.  Fellowship information will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin board near the information desk.

• National Science Foundation.  Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB).  This program is designed to enable academic institutions and their partners, as well as professional societies, to enhance access to careers in environmental biology (broadly defined) for undergraduate students.  Three types of projects may be supported:  (1) research-mentoring grants; (2) planning activities for research-mentoring projects; and (3) travel to meetings of professional societies by undergraduate students.  Deadline June 15, 2002.

• Department of Education.  FIPSE Comprehensive Grant (ED).  The Education Department’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education is inviting applications to ensure access to and reform of higher education, including via school-college partnerships aimed at improving K-12 teaching.  Deadlines:  March 13 for preapplications; May 24 for final applications.

This week at Black Hills State University - Top

Campus Calendar

This calendar is also available on the BHSU homepage quick links.