Kathleen Schulman, interim chair of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, completed her Ph.D. requirements at Capella University in August. Her degree is in education with a specialization in instructional design for online learning.
Her dissertation is entitled, “A Qualitative Case Study of Instructional Support for Web-Based Simulated Laboratory Exercises in Online college Chemistry Laboratory Courses.”
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Schulman
An East Carolina University biology professor was named the first recipient of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council Distinguished Professor in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
The recipient, Dr. Kyle Summers, has worked at ECU for 15 years. He has taught courses including evolutionary ecology, infectious disease, genetics and tropical ecology. Summers has also mentored students by serving as committee chair for 13 graduate students and as a faculty member on 24 graduate student thesis and dissertation committees.
Dr. Kyle Summers
His research on poison frogs has garnered international recognition, including highlights in National Geographic magazine, BBC Wildlife and Scientific American. He has also attracted attention for his research on the evolution of monogamy and for his research in evolutionary medicine. Summers has received nearly 20 grants that total more than $740,000 and co-authored more than 70 journal articles and 50 scientific papers.
“I am extremely pleased and grateful to be the first recipient of this award,” said Summers.
“My research interests are broad, and I hope to use the professorship as a platform to connect my main field of interest (evolution) to many threads of research that are pursued on this campus, including animal behavior, ecology, speciation, systematics, tropical biology, molecular genetics and genomics, infectious disease and medical science.”
Summers is a member of the Animal Behavior Society, American Society of Naturalists, International Society of Behavioral Ecology, Society for the Study of Evolution, Research and Analysis Network for Neotropical Amphibians, National Center for Science Education and the Sigma Xi Society. In 2008, he was appointed to the editorial board of the journal, Ideas in Ecology and Evolution.
Summers holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Following postdoctoral research appointments at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Queen’s University, Cambridge University and the University of California at Davis, Summers joined the faculty of ECU in 1996 as an assistant professor of biology.
Established by the Harriot College’s Advancement Council, the professorship requires active engagement in research and publication, teaching at least one course per term, communication of research results to the university through lectures and/or presentations and leadership in helping the university community understand more fully the importance of science and mathematics in higher education and day-to-day life.
“The establishment of this award will go a long way toward highlighting and promoting the importance of scientific research on this campus,” Summers said.
For additional information, contact Summers at 252-328-6304 or summersk@ecu.edu.
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Three East Carolina University students were recognized for their creative design skills in a regional “Steal This Idea” design competition. The competition was part of the Association of College Unions International Region 5 conference held Oct. 21-23 in Charlotte.
The ECU student winners were senior Richard Griffis, senior Patrick Schrader and Zachary Boslau, who graduated in May 2011. The Pirate trio collected six awards in the nine categories, which included student logo/brands, student posters and student advertisements.
Griffis, from Burlington, N.C., racked up three awards: 1st place for a poster design for a sushi rolling class, 3rd place for the Kinesiology Graduate Student Organization logo, and 1st place for the student advertisement category for his design of a Pre-Veterinary Medical Association advertisement.
Schrader, from Fairfax, Va., claimed two honorable mention awards, one in the student logo/brand category for his Student Government Association design and one in the student poster category for the Murder Mystery Dinner poster design.
Boslau, from Elizabeth City, won an honorable mention award for a Construction Management Association design in the student logo/brand category.
All three students are graphic design student workers with ECU Student Activities and Organizations, which supports the more than 320 ECU student organizations with a variety of marketing materials and graphic art designs.
To view the designs, visit the conference website at www.acui5.uncc.edu, then click on “Steal This Idea.”
For more information, contact Emily McLamb, associate director of ECU Student Activities and Organizations at (252) 737-2003 or via email at mclambe@ecu.edu.
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Dr. Rick Bamberg, former chair of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, died Oct. 24. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 28.
Read obituary at Wilkerson’s Funeral Home site.