Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Dr. Doug Ross, Program Chair of the Master of Science in Marketing and Communication(MCM) and MBA Programs, has been named the 2010 Outstanding Marketing Educator by the Central Ohio Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Each year, the Columbus AMA honors one individual as Marketing Educator of the Year, based upon nominations submitted from the community. The award is given to the nominee that has done the most to further marketing education in Central Ohio. Dr. Ross championed efforts to modernize the MCM curriculum to provide a level of innovation that would position marketing and communication students as thought leaders in their fields. In addition to being named the 2010 recipient, Dr. Ross is the only person to be given this award more than once, having been honored a record four times 1999, 2005, 2008, and 2010.

Dr. Jan Lyddon, Kris Coble, and Paul Rusinko offered a presentation titled "The First Step is a DEWZ: Using Data in a Way That Informs Strategic Decisions and Actions and Encourages Interdepartmental Cooperation" at the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Forum in Chicago. The presentation featured the process of creating the DEWZ report by the Retention Data Team (which includes Christopher Fields, Jason Howard, and Dr. Yuerong Sweetland) and the discussions and positive responses to it by Dr. Christopher Washington, Dr. Pam Shay, and members of Franklin’s faculty. Dr. Lyddon also co-presented a day-long workshop at the Forum of Balanced Scorecards in Higher Education: Developing and Using Them in Strategy Execution.

Dr. John Carruthers, Public Safety Management Program Chair, and Redd Branner, Adjunct Faculty, made a presentation to the regional meeting of the Contingency Planners of Ohio (CPO). The topic of the presentation was Franklin’s degree programs in Public Safety Management and Safety, Security, & Emergency Management.

Dr. John DeSando, Adjunct Faculty, was again recognized when Cinema Classics, a program he co-hosts on WCBE-FM, won a 2010 Communicator Award of Excellence in the Audio category. The Communicator Awards is the leading international award program honoring creative excellence for Communications Professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, the Communicator Awards receives over 9,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind.

As part of Franklin’s 2010 Operation Feed Drive, 18 Franklin employees were part of a volunteer project that spent three hours working at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank warehouse inspecting, sanitizing, and sorting food items donated from local stores. Volunteer Franklin employees includes: Becky Gragg, Sara Moser, Cheryl Fries, Samantha Miller, Holly Englert, and Chi Nguyen; Sally Rieser, Pat Weekley, Kris Pokorny, Cathy Quinn, Laura Coulter, Lorna Russell, Sheri Wing, Jessica Gerschutz, Yolonda Simmons, Bruce Ramsey, Christina Skoch, and Julie Souder.

Phyllis Duryee, Global Issues Lead Faculty, offered a presentation on the topic of “Transnational Crime” to the Columbus Council on World Affairs. She made another presentation to the Council with Dr. Eunice Luyegu, Instructional Design Faculty, titled “Kenya: R2P (Right to Protect)” related to the election violence of 2007.

Mark Marino, Mathematics Adjunct Faculty, who is also a full-time faculty member at Erie Community College, has been elected President of the University of Buffalo Graduate School of Education Alumni Association.

Dr. Jan Lyddon, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, had a response to a post on the topic of the possibility of community colleges outsourcing institutional research published in the May issue of e-Parameters , the monthly newsletter of the National Community College Council for Research and Planning (NCCCRP).

Dr. Belal Kaifi, Global Issues Adjunct Faculty, has published a book titled Managing Your Future: An Educational Guide .

Dr. Kody Kuehnl, Natural Sciences Lead Faculty, was awarded a grant by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The title of the grant is “Conservation genetics of the endangered clubshell (pleurobema clava) and rayed bean (villosa fabalis), host-fish identification of the rayed bean, and an investigation into potentially causative factors for absence of recruitment in the East Fork West Brand St. Joseph River population of clubshell.” Dr. Kuehnl will conduct the conservation genetics assessment for both freshwater mussel species.

Dr. Kuehnl was also appointed to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Teacher Advisory Committee (STEM-TAC) by the Ohio Academy of Science. In this capacity Dr. Kuehnl will review Ohio's draft science and mathematics education standards and advise the Academy on evidence-based educational policy.

Dr. Isidoro Talavera, Philosophy Lead Faculty, has been invited to attend an Oxford Round Table session devoted to the topic “Religion and Science: Shaping the Modern World” in July at the University of Oxford in England. Dr. Talavera will present his paper: "Science Contra Religion: Experiential, Epistemic, and Modal Limitations."

During the Los Angeles Press Club’s third annual National Entertainment Journalism Awards ceremony, Franklin adjunct faculty member Dr. John Desando and his co-host Kristin Kramer were recognized for excellence in radio film criticism for their weekly shows It’s Movie Time and On the Marquee on WCBE-FM in Columbus, Ohio.  The pair’s hour-long 2009 year-in-review special received the award for the year’s Best Radio Feature/Series.  Dr. Desando and Kramer were also awarded an honorable mention in the Radio Critic of the Year category.

Dr. Dawn Snyder presented "Principles & Practices of Performance Improvement," at the Performance Improvement Institute, International Society for Performance Improvement, San Francisco, California.

During the April meeting of the Franklin Faculty Senate, Dr. Brian Gregory (Operations & Supply Chain Mgmt. Program Chair) was elected to the post of Vice President, and Dr. Brenda Jones (Organizational Communication Program Chair) was elected to the post of Secretary.  They will each serve a two-year term.

Dr. Brenda Jones (Organizational Communication Program Chair) offered a presentation titled “Presentation Speaking:  The Use of Presentations in International and ESL Curriculum” at the NAFSA Region VI Ohio Drive-In Conference hosted at Franklin University.

Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy Lead Faculty) presented “A Philosophy Looks at Cultural Adjustment to Life in Another Country:  The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” at the NAFSA Region VI Ohio Drive-In Conference hosted at Franklin University

Nichole Hyer, Cathy Quinn, and Diane Spencer (student services staff) each received a Culture of Success award certificate in recognition for demonstrating outstanding service to a member or members of the Franklin community.

Patrick Kemmer (Director of University Project Support Services) and member of the Board of the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club, was appointed Chairman of the group’s annual wintertime fundraising event that raises money to benefit children’s charities in central Ohio - the Wendy’s Chili Open.  The annual one-day winter fundraising event, was held at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and featured cuisine from over 30 local restaurants, live entertainment, children’s activities, live auctions, silent auctions, and raffles.  The event raised over $80,000 for Central Ohio children’s charities, including the Dave Thomas Foundation for adoption, The Children’s Hunger Alliance, The Children’s Special Care Nursery at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s, The Ohio Troopers Caring Fund, W.A.R.M., Flying Horse Farms, and numerous other children’s betterment programs endorsed by the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club.

David Vasquez, a member of the Franklin Computer Science Advisory Board and Associate VP/Application Owner for Nationwide Insurance was nominated as one of the Top 25 Information Managers by Information Management magazine.

Dr. Gary Stroud (Human Resources Management Program Chair) offered a presentation on motivating employees to roughly 60 members of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).

Dr. Garry McDaniel, Associate Dean for Professional Training & Development, offered his presentation “Conflict to Cooperation” at an Administrative Professionals Week Seminar held at Franklin on April 20. At the same seminar, Dr. Gary Stroud, Human Resources Management Program Chair, presented on the topic of “Career Planning.”  

Dr. Ronald Hartung (Computer & Information Sciences Program Chair) offered a presentation titled “Ontology, Ontologies, or Just Description Logic?” to Ph.D. students at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Adjunct faculty member Gary L. Sigrist, Jr., who also serves as the Safety Project Director for South-Western City Schools, offered a presentation on “Readiness and Emergency Management in Schools” at the Campus Safety Conference in Long Beach, California.

Dr. Brenda Jones (Organizational Communication Program Chair) offered her presentation “Communication Trend-Watch: 2012” to the Central Ohio Organization of Public Purchasers (CO-OPP).  Adjunct faculty member Ray Waite followed with his “Tales From the Field” presentation.

Lead Faculty, Phyllis Duryee and Design Faculty Eunice Luyegu gave a presentation to the Columbus Council on World Affairs entitled “Kenya & R2P (Responsibility to Protect).”  The topic is the post-election rioting in Kenya in December 2007.  

Dr. Doug Ross (MBA Program Chair) spoke to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce presenting on the topic of “The Unbeatable Brand.”

Franklin online adjunct faculty Dr. Timothy Wise and Dr. Patricia Wise, co-presented a paper entitled "Leadership Challenges for the 21^st Century: Factors that Influence Social Responsibility in developing Countries" at Argosy University's 8th Annual Business Conference entitled Leadership in Crisis.

Dr. Gary Stroud (Human Resources Management Program Chair) offered his presentation on “Career Planning” during a session of a Job Help Day hosted by the Worthington Libraries.

Dr. Yi Yang (Accounting & Finance Design Faculty) and Dr. Michelle Buchberger (Interdisciplinary Studies Program Chair) had a chapter proposal accepted for publication in the upcoming book The Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments, to be published by IGI Global in late 2010.  The title of the chapter is “Using an Innovative Multimedia Tool for Online Programs” and was written in collaboration with Dr. Harrison Yang from the State University of New York.

Jason Gonzales, Web Developer; Bradd Birmingham, Senior Multimedia Designer; and Paul Meeker, Business Analyst, offered a presentation titled “Improving the Learning Experience Through Digital Media” at the Digital Media in a Social World Conference at The Ohio State University.

Provost Dr. Christopher Washington was invited to participate in his Alma Mater's (Western Illinois University) Department of Communication Career Preparation Day 2010.  He made a presentation titled "Extreme Makeover WIU Edition: From College Experiences to Career Ready."  

Dr. Michael Posey (College of Arts, Sciences & Technology Division Chair) and Dr. Brenda Jones (Organizational Communication Program Chair) were featured in an article in Business First focusing on Franklin MBA student Jaclynn Yocum as she transitions from the field of journalism.

George Redmond (Business Administration Lead Faculty) and Dr. Ross Wirth, (Business
Administration Program Chair) each offered a presentation at the 21^st Century Management Second Annual Conference at Wilmington College.  Redmond presented “Making Tough Decisions in the Judgment Age” and Dr. Wirth presented “Transformation Networking for Organizational and Community Change.”

Cecil Jones (Adjunct Faculty and MIS Advisory Board Member) presented “State of Education Technology in Higher Education” at a regional session of THATCamp, the Humanities and Technology Camp coordinated by George Mason University.

MBA adjunct faculty member Donald Slobodien earned the Grant Professional Certified designation from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI).  Slobodien is one of only 15 grant writers in Ohio to earn this certification.

Dr. Christopher Washington (Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs) had a letter to the editor published in the Jan. 3 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. It responded to a Chronicle article examining the topic of whether too many students are attending college.

Ray Waite (Adjunct Faculty) offered his presentation “Tales From the Field” to the Government Chapter of International Accountants Payable Professionals.

Dr. Gary Stroud (Human Resources Management Program Chair) spoke to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) presenting on the topic of “Career Planning.”

Klaus Fricke and Perry Maughmer (Adjunct Faculty) were honored with the Robert L. Bailey
Teaching Award during Franklin’s 133^rd Commencement Ceremony.  The Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award is determined each trimester by Franklin’s graduating class. Students select a faculty member who challenged them intellectually and guided them in finding the significance of course content as it related to them both professionally and personally. The graduate and undergraduate faculty members receiving the most nominations are identified for this honor.  Robert L. Bailey, retired CEO and Chairman of State Auto Insurance Companies, is a past Chairman of Franklin’s Board of Trustees.

Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Division of Computer and Information Sciences Lead Faculty) had an article accepted for publication in The Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics.  The article is titled “Selection of Minimal Variable Subsets With the Help of Genetic Algorithms in Economic Analysis.”

Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Division of Computer and Information Sciences Lead Faculty), Todd Whittaker (Information Technology Program Chair), and Dr. Yi Yang, (Accounting & Finance
design faculty member), offered a presentation titled “Mixing It Up – More Experiments in Hybrid Learning” at the 21^st Annual Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges:  South Central Conference in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Michelle Buchberger (Interdisciplinary Studies Program Chair) had an article focusing on British author John Fowles approved for publication in the Yearbook of English Studies.

Dr. Chunbo Chu (Computer Science Lead Faculty) has had two papers he’s co-authored accepted for publication: “Eventually Perfect Predicate Detection in Crash-Affected Finite Average Response Time Systems” in The International Journal of Parallel, Emergent, and Distributed Systems; and “Mobile Agents and Eventually Perfect Predicate Detection: An Intelligent General Approach to Monitoring Distributed Systems” in Multi-Agent System Technology for Internet and Enterprise Systems.

Christopher Fields (Director of the Student Learning Center (SLC)), Jane Sieberth, (Computer Science Assistant Program Chair and Mathematics lead faculty member), and Mark Marino, (Adjunct Faculty), had a proposal accepted for presentation at the 2010 National Association for Developmental Education Conference in Columbus. The presentation is titled “Franklin University’s Online Fundamental Algebra Instructional Dynamics.”

Tyler Marinelli (SLC Operations Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty) will present her paper “An Examination of Family-Targeted Hurtful Messages Used in Romantic Relationships” accepted for a panel presentation at the Central States Communication Association Conference in Cincinnati in April.

Mark Marino (Adjunct Faculty) offered his presentation “Dynamics of Interactive Algebra Instruction” at the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges 2009 Conference in Las Vegas.

Douglas Ruml (MBA Faculty) recently published a paper in the Asia Insurance Review 2009 Singapore International Reinsurance Conference Supplement titled “Asian Vulnerability to Natural Catastrophes: A Comparative Study.”

Dr. Jo Hamilton (Director of Teaching Effectiveness) was featured in an article on the influence of online education in the fall issue of JWU: The Johnson & Wales University Magazine.

Dr. Jan Lyddon (Director of Institutional Effectiveness), Paul Rusinko (research associate), and Kris Coble (research associate), will offer a presentation titled “The First Step is a ‘DEWZ’: Using Data in a Way That Informs Strategic Decisions and Actions and Encourages Interdepartmental Collaboration” at the 2010 Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Forum in Chicago.

Holly McFarland (Director of Graduate Coaching) has been named President-Elect of Central Ohio Coaches, the central Ohio chapter of the International Coach Federation, which is the globally recognized association of professional, personal, and business coaches.

Linda Steele (Vice President of Marketing) serves on the Executive Board of the ACE Ohio Women's Network as Franklin's Institutional Representative for the organization.  In her capacity with ACE, she successfully managed the 11th Annual ACE Ohio Women's Network Conference.

Dr. John Brent (Psychology lead faculty member) was recognized by Ohio Magazine’s Excellence in Education Program as one of Ohio’s top college and university professors making a difference and contributing to Ohio’s commitment to excellence in education in the December issue of Ohio Magazine.

Patrick Kemmer (Director of University Project Support Services) has been appointed to the Board of the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club.  In this capacity, Kemmer will oversee the group’s annual wintertime fundraising event that raises money to benefit children’s charities in central Ohio.

Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy lead faculty member) will offer his presentation “Discovering Success Through Critical Thinking” at the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) Conference in Columbus in March 2010.

Carmen Byg (Instructional Resources Librarian) and Tiffany Hampel (Electronic Resources librarian) made a presentation titled “Branching Out: 20 Ideas in 20 Minutes” to the 35th annual Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Conference on Oct. 30 in Wilmington.

Dr. Garry McDaniel (Associate Dean for Professional Training & Development) offered his presentation “Conflict to Cooperation” to the Greater Columbus Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants.

Dr. Timothy Reymann (Business Administration lead faculty member) offered his presentation “Organizational Change Management” to the administrators of Mosaica Education, Inc. at Columbus Preparatory Academy.

Three Speakers Bureau representatives offered presentations at the Auditor of State Performance Audit Section’s training session on Nov. 6 at the Ohio Department of Agriculture facility in Reynoldsburg. Dr. Terry Boyd (Associate Dean of the College of Business) made his “Team Dynamics” presentation, followed by Dr. Garry McDaniel’s (Associate Dean for Professional Training & Development) “Leadership & Conflict” and Ray Waite’s (adjunct faculty member) “Better Decision Making.”

Dr. Kody Kuenl (Natural Sciences lead faculty member) was named by the Ohio Academy of Science to review Ohio’s draft science and mathematics education standards and advise on educational policy for the Ohio School Funding Advisory Council.

Dr. John DeSando (Arts & Sciences adjunct faculty member) has received a MarCom Gold Award for his radio program “It’s Movie Time,” which airs on WCBE-FM in Columbus. This is the third national honor for Dr. DeSando in 2009.

Phyllis Duryee (Global Issues lead faculty member) and Dr. Dawn Snyder (Learning & Instructional Design faculty member) offered a presentation titled “Optimizing the Relationship Between Instructional Designers and Faculty to Construct Effective Online Learning” at the Sloan-C Conference in Orlando, Fla., in October.

Dr. Ron Hartung (Computer & Information Sciences Division Chair) presented a paper he co-authored titled “Multi-Agent Systems to Handle Information in Multilingual Ontologies” at the 13th International Conference on Knowledge-Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems in Santiago, Chile.

Dr. Eunice Luyegu (adjunct faculty member) had her paper “Online Debates: Does Argumentation Diminish Over Time?” accepted for publication by The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Dr. Mike Posey (Public Relations Program Chair), and Cara Keithley (Organizational Communication/Public Relations adjunct faculty member) offered a presentation titled “A Strategic Focus for Social Media in Non-Traditional Businesses” for the Ohio Web Leaders Group (OWL) at TechColumbus.

Dr. Yi Yang (Accounting & Finance Design faculty member) had an article titled “Roles of Administrators in Ensuring the Quality of Online Programs” accepted for publication by Knowledge Management & E-Learning, an international journal.

Tom McClain (Faculty) was presented the University’s first Teaching Excellence Award, for which he was given an engraved crystal award along with a stipend of $750. His name will also be engraved on a plaque to be housed within the Division.

Dr. Dennis Cashman (Adjunct Faculty) presented his paper “Ethical Challenges in Organization Development” at the Association on Employment Practices and Principles Conference in Montreal.

The Center for Academic Integrity (CAI) has presented Franklin with its first Campus of Integrity Award, which recognizes a campus-wide effort to promote and/or maintain the values of academic integrity. Wayne Miller (Assistant Provost for Academic Services) accepted the award at the CAI’s annual international conference in St. Louis.

An article co-written by Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Computer Science Lead Faculty) titled “Selection of Minimal Variable Subsets With the Help of Genetic Algorithms in Economic Analysis” has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics.

Dr. Gary Stroud (Human Resource Management Program Chair) has been named a member of the National Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Performance Management Standards Development Task Force. The group will develop three standards (Goal Setting, Performance Reviews, and Performance Improvement Plans) that will help managers and leaders who assess talent to respond effectively and consistently to the resource demands of their organizations. Dr. Stroud has also been named to SHRM’s Staffing and Workforce Planning Task Force, which will define standards businesses can use for hiring costs, workforce planning, and the elements of the job description.

A paper written by Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy Lead Faculty) titled “Critical Thinking: Building Bridges Among International Education Programs” has been accepted for presentation at the Regional Association of International Educators/NAFSA Conference in Cincinnati.

Dr. Thomas Seiler (Accounting and Finance Division Chair) and Dr. David Welch (Accounting Lead Faculty) have each earned a Doctorate of Business  Administration (DBA) in Accounting through Argosy University.

Dr. David Welch (Accounting Lead Faculty) was featured in the third-quarter issue of Corporate Board Member magazine as the centerpiece of an article on corporate.

Jed Swift (Psychology Adjunct Faculty) has been appointed Chair of the Psychology Department at Columbus State Community College. He has agreed to continue on as an adjunct in Franklin’s new Applied Psychology major and will also serve on the major’s advisory board.

Kristin Mack Deuber, Vice President of Paul Werth Associates and Franklin adjunct faculty member was featured in the “People On the Move” section of Business First on Aug. 31. Deuber also earned her MBA from Franklin.

Bob Davenport, Manager of Master Data and Financial Compliance for Hexion Specialty Chemical and Franklin Accounting adjunct faculty member, recently presented a case study at the annual BlackLine Users Group Conference in San Diego. The presentation covered topics such as implementation, cost savings, and the advantages achieved by using BlackLine’s account reconciliation software in the company’s U.S. and European locations.

Dr. Karen Ferguson (Applied Management Program Chair) made a presentation titled “Creating Pathways in Higher Education for the Adult Student” to the Ohio Association of Career and Technical Education’s All-Ohio 2009 Conference.

Dr. Tom Hrubec (Business Forensics and Forensic Accounting Program Chair)participated as a judge for the 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year awards sponsored by Columbus Business First on July 23.

Dr. Doug Ross (MCM Program Chair) recently offered a presentation titled “The Unbeatable Brand” to more than 100 members of the Healthcare Marketing Network Organization, which consists of healthcare marketers and provides educational programs, speakers, and networking opportunities.

Dr. Thomas Seiler (Accounting and Finance Division Chair) was elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Central Ohio chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors for the period of June 2009 through May 2011. The chapter has more than 750 members covering central and southeastern Ohio. Dr. Seiler previously served as President of the Central Ohio Chapter during the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Michael Moeller (Adjunct Faculty) was featured in a cover story in The Register, the official publication of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC).

Glenn Beebe (Adjunct Faculty) has earned Professional Project Manager (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

As co-host of WCBE-FM program “It’s Movie Time,” Dr. John DeSando (adjunct faculty member)
was honored with an Award of Distinction at the 15^th Annual Communicator Awards. 

Matthew Kenney (adjunct faculty member) had a paper he co-authored titled “Antecedents of Repurchase Intention: Propositions Toward Using Marketing Strategy to Mitigate the Attrition of Online Students” published in Services Marketing Quarterly.

MarKel Snyder (Director of Academic Information Sciences) was featured in TechColumbus’ official newsletter, published in Business First on June 26. It detailed his efforts as founder and CEO of GotGame Media, an Internet-based social network that connects prospective athletes with more than 20,000 coaches across the country. Last year, GotGame Media received a $50,000 TechGenesis grant from TechColumbus’ TechStart program.

 Dr. Thomas Seiler (Accounting and Finance Division Chair) was elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Central Ohio chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors for the period of June 2009 through May 2011. The chapter has more than 750 members covering central and southeastern Ohio. Dr. Seiler previously served as President of the Central Ohio Chapter during the 2008-09 fiscal year.   

Dr. Robert Curtis (Healthcare Management and Healthcare Information Systems Management Program Chair) will serve as an observer in the certification process for Texas Southern University at the annual meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. Along with Dr. Wenxia Wu (Instructional Design Faculty), he will also offer a presentation at the meeting titled “It Takes a Village (University) To Design a Course” and serve on a panel to discuss what students need to know relative to healthcare financial management and how it can be provided.

Dr. Bruce Campbell (Finance Program Chair) had six entries accepted for publication in The Encyclopedia of Business in Today’s World.

A paper written by Dr. Daniel Bell (Management Information Sciences and Computer Science Faculty), Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Division of Computer and Information Sciences Faculty), and Todd Whittaker (Information Technology Program Chair) titled “Merging Worlds: When Virtual Meets Physical – An Experiment With Hybrid Learning” was accepted for publication in The Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges and for presentation at the sixteenth annual Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) Midwest Conference.

Michelle Buchberger (Interdisciplinary Studies Program Chair) has earned her Ph.D. in English Literature from Brunel University in West London.

Dr. Michael Posey (College of Arts, Sciences and Technology Division Chair) spoke on the topic of motivating employees to a group of administrators at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Ross Wirth (Business Administration Program Chair) spoke on the topic of “The U.S. and Rising Powers” at Kensington Place, a retirement community in Columbus. The presentation was part of the Great Decision Speaker Series sponsored by the Columbus Council on World Affairs, through which presentations and discussions on world topics are held at retirement communities around central Ohio.

Phyllis Duryee (Global Issues Lead Faculty) spoke about human rights issues as part of the Columbus Council on World Affairs’ Great Decisions program at the Delaware Community Center.

James Marion (Adjunct Faculty) has published a book titled Product Development Decision-Making in the U.S. and Japan: The Role of Information Management and Decision-Making Process in a Western-Japanese Product Development Organization.

Shirley Boyd (Adjunct Faculty) has earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Ron Morgan (Dean of Academic Technology and Innovation) was profiled by TechLife Columbus, a blog focusing on technology in Columbus and central Ohio.

Wenxia Wu (Instructional Design Faculty) earned her Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

As the Safety Project Director with South-Western City Schools, Gary L. Sigrist, Jr. (Adjunct Faculty) conducted security and vulnerability assessments in every building in the school district and had his presentation published in Campus Safety magazine.

Brad Bradford (Adjunct Faculty) had a letter to the editor published in the New York Times on June 2 concerning an article on the value of re-reading books.

Dr. Bob Barrett (Adjunct Faculty) offered a presentation in Costa Rica on the topic of “Virtual Hiring and Recruiting of Business Faculty.” He will also be speaking at three conferences in Brazil and Spain.

Jana Highwart (Adjunct Faculty) has been named co-chair of the Women Build Steering Committee of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Columbus.

Dr. Jan Lyddon (Director of Institutional Effectiveness) was the co-presenter of a full-day workshop at the Association for Institutional Research Forum on May 31 titled “Balanced Scorecards in Higher Education – Developing Content and Using Them in Strategy Execution.”

An article written by Dr. Yi Yang (Accounting and Finance Design Faculty) titled “Investigation of Students’ Perceptions of Online Course Quality” will be published in the upcoming issue of the International Journal on E-Learning.

Dr. Mike Posey (College of Arts, Sciences and Technology Division Chair) facilitated the first of a three-part summer retreat series for the Finance Fund (a statewide nonprofit financial intermediary) on the topics of employee communication, motivation, and retention.

Dr. Ross Wirth (Business Administration Program Chair) spoke on the topic of “The U.S. and Rising Powers” at Kendall, a retirement community in Granville. The presentation was part of the Great Decision Speaker Series sponsored by the Columbus Council on World Affairs in which presentations and discussions on world topics are held at retirement communities around central Ohio.

The Academy of Management, the premier association for scholarship in management, has selected George Redmond (Business Administration Lead Faculty) to facilitate the academic sessions for its annual conference in Chicago in August.

In March, adjunct professor Brad Bradford (Adjunct Faculty) spoke to the Upper Arlington Rotary club on the topic “Are the Liberal Arts Still Relevant?” He also spoke about Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to the Columbus Branch of the English Speaking Union.

Dr. Robert Curtis (Healthcare Management and Healthcare Information Systems Management Program Chair)and Wenxia Wu (Instructional Design Faculty) will be presenting at the Annual Meeting of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration in Chicago in July. The title of their presentation is “It Takes a Village (University) to Design a Courses-Layers of Negotiation Approach to Healthcare Management Design.” Dr. Curtis will also be serving as an observer with the review committee concerning the certification review of Texas Southern University’s program in Healthcare Management.

Each trimester, two faculty members are honored with the Robert L. Bailey Teaching Award. Graduating students are asked to identify one undergraduate and one graduate faculty member who had the most significant influence on them throughout their educational experience at Franklin University. The award recognizes those who have challenged students intellectually and guided them in finding the significance of the course content as it relates to them both personally and professionally. Congratulations to Dr. Charles Dygert and Nancy Fidler (Adjunct Faculty), this trimester’s recipients.

Thom Leiter (Director of Community College Relations) and David Kerr (Strategic Relationships Coordinator and Alumnus of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society) addressed the general assembly of
the 91^st Phi Theta Kappa International Convention in Grapevine, Texas. They spoke to more than 3,400 attendees about Franklin University and the benefits of the Community College Alliance (CCA).

Dr. Pam Shay (Associate Provost for Academic Quality) presented at The Higher Learning Commission’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, along with other members of the Transparency By Design Initiative. The presentation, titled “Maximizing the Transparency By Design Commitment,” focused on the involvement of Franklin University in the Transparency By Design consortia of online higher education institutions that serve working adult students and how the call for transparency has had a positive impact on the assessment and academic quality activities at Franklin.

Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy Lead Faculty) made a presentation titled “Critical Thinking: The Vital Connection Among Courses,” for the International Innovative Educators Webinar.

Dr. Tim Reymann (Business Administration Lead Faculty) gave a presentation on the topic of Organizational Change Management to the Central Ohio Association of Government Accountants at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Branch.

Four members of the Division of Arts and Sciences made presentations at the NAFSA Association of International Educators Region VI Conference. Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy Lead Faculty) offered a presentation titled “Critical Thinking: Building Bridges Among International Educational Programs,” while Phyllis Duryee (Global Issues Lead Faculty), Dr. Brenda Jones (Organizational Communication Program Chair), and Michael Klingler (ESL Lead Faculty) made a presentation titled “Cultural Communication in the International Arena.”

Dr. Colleen Perry Keith (Adjunct Faculty member) has been named the seventh president of the Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina, effective July 1.

Dr. Daniel Bell (Management Information Sciences and Computer Science lead faculty member), Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Division of Computer and Information Sciences Lead Faculty), Dr. Chunbo Chu (Computer Science Lead Faculty), Dr. William Hochstettler (Web Development Program Chair), and Jane Sieberth (Assistant Program Chair, Computer Science) recently attended the 40th Association for Computing Machinery Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in Chattanooga, Tenn. Drs. Bell, Bonakdarian, and Hochstettler led a session titled “Distance Education: Translating the Classroom Experience to Online Delivery.”  Additionally, Dr. Hochstettler served as chair for a session titled “Analysis and Promotion of Good CS Work Habit,” and Dr. Bonakdarian served as chair for a session titled “Games How-To.”

Denise Kestner (Adjunct Faculty) spoke on the topic of “Walking the Line Between Employer and Employee: A Human Resource Practitioner’s Assessment” at the National Veterinary Practice Management Conference in Florida in February.

Dr. Souren Soumbatiant (Business Economics Program Chair) presented his paper “Forecasting the Probability of Winning the U.S. Presidential Election Using State Polls” at the 73rd annual meeting of the Midwest Economics Association.

Dr. Jo Hamilton (Director of Teaching Effectiveness) had a letter to the editor published in the March 20 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her letter focused on faculty perceptions of online education revealed in recent surveys conducted by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Michelle Buchberger (Interdisciplinary Studies Program Chair) presented her paper “Confessions of an Atheist Misogynist: The Resurgence of Religious Ontological Frameworks After Postmodernism” to the Northeast Modern Languages Association in Boston.

An article by Dr. Ronald Hartung (Computer & Information Sciences Division Chair) titled “Ontology for Agents and the Web” is included in Intelligent Agents in the Evolution of the Web and Applications, the latest title in the “Studies in Computational Intelligence” series, released in March by the academic publishing house Springer.

Patrick Bennett (Director of the Project Management Office) made a presentation titled “Project Portfolio Management in Higher Education: It's Not All About the Money” at the 2009 EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference in Chicago. 

Dr. Doug Ross (Master of Science in Marketing & Communication Program Chair) conducted a unique team building event for Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) employees. This event was developed to incorporate a number of different exercises along with a creative exercise led by Heidi Rozell, Executive Director of Glass Axis, in which individuals and teams created fused glass designs representing MORPC values and services. These beautiful designs will be displayed at MORPC headquarters.  “This type of creative activity is a great opportunity for businesses to build strong teams, enhance communication, and encourage employees and managers to think outside the box,” Dr. Ross said.

Dr. Thomas Seiler (Accounting & Finance Division Chair) has been appointed to the Institute of Internal Auditors Regional Conference Advisory Board for a three-year term, effective in April. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is a large international professional organization with headquarters in the Orlando, Fla., area. The Regional Conference Advisory Board (RCAB) provides assistance in planning, promoting, and conducting several regional conferences in the U.S. each year as well as providing assistance with the annual international conference.

Dr. Karen Ferguson (Applied Management Program Chair) has earned certification as a Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR). The certification, awarded by the HR Certification Institute, signifies that Dr. Ferguson possesses the theoretical knowledge and practical experience in international human resource management necessary to pass a rigorous examination demonstrating a mastery of the body of knowledge in the field.

Accounting Lead Faculty Dr. David Welch visited Stark State College of Technology on Feb. 17 and made a presentation concerning his experience as the first corporate whistle-blower after the passage of the groundbreaking Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. The event was sponsored by the Stark State Student Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

Dr. John Brent (Applied Psychology Program Chair) has been named Executive Director of the Graduate School Alliance for Executive Coaching (GSAEC). The mission of GSAEC is to establish and maintain standards for education and training provided by academic institutions for the discipline and practice of executive and organizational coaching.

Dr. Isidoro Talavera (Philosophy Lead Faculty) served as Session Chair at the 2009 Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Annual Meeting in Cincinnati.

Dr. Esmail Bonakdarian (Division of Computer and Information Sciences Lead Faculty) served as Session Chair during the 40th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Roger Engle, (Adjunct Faculty) had an article titled “Railfanning the Dry Folk Railroad (or The Top 10 Reasons Why the DF RR and the OCB & LC RR are Different)” in The Log Train, the quarterly journal of the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association.

Adjunct Faculty Dr. John DeSando was nominated in the category of Best Radio Critic for the second annual National Entertainment Journalism Awards sponsored by the Los Angeles Press Club. The award ceremony will be held March 26 in Hollywood. Dr. DeSando, who has won seven national awards, hosts a program titled “It’s Movie Time” on WCBE-FM in Columbus.

University Information Systems (UIS) Senior Business Analyst Gayle DeGennaro has successfully completed the required coursework and examinations to earn certification as a Certified Business Intelligence Professional through the Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI).

Christine Kurth (UIS Director), was recently selected in a national election to serve on the Datatel Users Group (DUG) Governing Board of Directors. Her three-year term begins in April at the DUG Annual Conference. She will represent Franklin and more than 760 other higher education institutions that use Datatel software to develop mutually beneficial software products and service offerings.

Dr. Terry Boyd (Associate Dean of Academic Programs) was one of several former members of the Columbus City School Board honored at a reception hosted by KidsOhio and the Columbus Urban League.

Christopher Fields and Heather Sherman of the Student Learning Center (SLC) made a presentation titled “Developing Online Adult Learners: A Comprehensive Academic Support Model” at the 33rd annual conference of the National Association for Developmental Education Conference in Greensboro, N.C.

Eric Sumners (Adjunct Faculty) contributed a chapter to the recently released book Computer Fraud Casebook: The Bytes That Bite, a collection of stories of computer fraud. Sumners’ chapter was titled “Keeping it in the Family” and outlines a case of fraud in a small Midwestern credit union.

A proposal by Dr. Robert Curtis (Healthcare Management and Healthcare Information Systems Management Program Chair) and Wenxia Wu (Instructional Design Faculty) titled “It Takes a Village to Design a Course – Layers of Negotiation Approach to Healthcare Management Course Design” was accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of University Programs in Healthcare Administration (AUPHA) in Chicago. The presentation describes a unique model to involve different stockholders at various course development stages through layers of negotiation.