Noteworthy

Nursing Professor Barbara Patterson, director of the nursing science PhD program, and Alumna Brenda Elliott (center and right) were among the recipients of the 2021 International Awards for Nursing Excellence from the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma). Patterson and Elliott, along with Katie Chargualaf, received the Capstone International Nursing Book Award for their co-authored book Veteran-centered Care in Education and Practice: An Essential Guide for Nursing Faculty. The award recognizes Patterson and Elliott's collaborative research to provide nurse educators with the resources to understand the veteran experience and their  transferable skills that can contribute to the classroom, the clinical setting and within higher education. Sigma’s International Awards for Nursing Excellence are based on the society’s dedication to fostering high professional nursing standards, recognizing superior achievement, developing leadership, and encouraging creative work.

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Sagine Bien-Aime, a nursing doctoral student, is a recipient of the National League for Nursing (NLN) Nursing Education Research Grants program. Bien-Aime received $5,000 as part of the NLN/Sigma Foundation for Nursing Diane Billings Research Award to support her research titled "The Effect of Same Gender and Same Race Coaching Intervention of the Resilience of Black Baccalaureate Nursing Students."

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Associate Professor of Biology Janice Krumm has been awarded nearly $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to lead and expand a national network that increases access to undergraduate research opportunities in ecology and evolution. 

Krumm secured the grant in collaboration with Associate Professor Carly Jordan at The George Washington University and curators Jean Woods and Elizabeth Shea at the Delaware Museum of Natural History.

The grant supports the expansion of the Biological Collections in Ecology and Evolution Network (BCEENET), a community of undergraduate educators, pedagogy experts, and natural history collections professionals who collaborate to support the development and implementation of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences, or CUREs, using digitized natural history collections data.

CUREs engage undergraduates in authentic research experiences and are known to increase engagement, retention, and long-term success in undergraduates, particularly in students from underrepresented populations in STEM fields.

The courses provide educators and students opportunities to collaborate on research projects using the millions of specimen records on publicly available data portals, resulting in unique and innovative opportunities for research in ecology and evolution.

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School of Business Administration Dean and Professor of Management Anthony Wheeler co-authored a newly published book, titled "HR Without People? Industrial Evolution in the Age of Automation, AI, and Machine Learning (Future of Work)". 

Wheeler co-authored the book with M. Ronald Buckley, the JC Penney Company Chair of Business Leadership and a Professor of Management and Psychology at the University of Oklahoma.

The book traces provocative and challenging timelines for future developments in ten, thirty and fifty years' time, to interrogate how modern human resources practices need to respond to far reaching technological and industrial change. As artificial intelligence and machine learning practices grow, entire industries and jobs could become more automated or cease to exist altogether. 

Focusing on the role these technologies are playing in changing the human resources profession and how they could and should develop industry practices in the future, Wheeler and Buckley explored how this profession has a vital role in responding to these changes and how it can adapt to meet the new challenges faced by both employers and employees.

The book is available on Amazon.

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The Journal of Solution Chemistry recently published an article, titled "Volumetric and Acoustic Properties of Phenylboronic Acid in Water at Selected Temperatures", by Professor Ismail Kul, Associate Professors Krishna Bhat and Shirley G. Fischer-Drowos, and alum Alyssa Knox. 

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Taziah Kenney, a doctoral student in the Higher Education program, recently had an essay, titled "Only One in the Room: How to Support Black Students as an Educator", published in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice. The essay urged educators to recognize the battle many Black students face, especially in STEM fields, and to provide culturally responsive teaching that helps Black students succeed.

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The Journal of Solution Chemistry recently published an article, titled "Volumetric and Acoustic Properties of Trans-Resveratrol in Ethanol", by Professors Ismail Kul and Alexis Nagengast, Associate Professor Krishna Bhat, and alumna Julianne Azarewicz '13.

The article states that several thermodynamic parameters for trans-resveratrol have been experimentally determined or calculated at different temperatures. The capability of trans-resveratrol to have strong solute–solvent interactions and weak solute–solute interactions in ethanol solution has been demonstrated using density and speed of sound data. Furthermore, its ability to have structure breaking tendencies and the absence of caging effects are shown. The results of this investigation are consistent with molecular model images generated using Spartan 04 modeling.

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Diane Sanders, a graduate student in the Higher Education Leadership program at Widener University, recently had an essay, titled Supporting Black and Latina Single Mother College Students, published in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice. The essay called for higher education administrators to focus on the development of an effective system of support for Black and Latina single mother college students.

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Widener University professors in the Center for Education’s Community Engaged Teacher Education (CETE) program collaborated to write Chapter 4 Shared Power in Teacher Preparation: University, School, and Community in a recently published book, titled The Power of Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation. 
 
The chapter was written by Professor Nadine McHenry, who coordinates the CETE program, as well as Director of the Widener Child Development Center Essence Allen-Presley, Associate Professor Bretton Alvaré, retired Stetser Elementary Principal Janet Baldwin, alumna Rev. Hilda Campbell, and alumna Taylor Borgstrom.
 
The book focuses on how and why community-engaged teacher preparation is a vital approach to address an educational system that his historically deficient, discriminatory, and inequitable.

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The School of Nursing was awarded approximately $180,000 by the Health Resources and Services Administration to participate in the Nurse Faculty Loan Program for the third consecutive year. The federally funded program contributes to increasing the number of qualified nurse educators in higher education by offering loan assistance for students who enroll in Widener’s graduate nursing education degree programs for the purposes of starting careers as nurse faculty. This initiative was developed as a response to provide financial incentives for nursing students to continue on to an advanced nursing degree program and graduate into the role of a nurse faculty.

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The Widener Community Nursing Clinic earned a Gold Rating from the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics Quality Standards Program for its delivery of high-quality care to underinsured and uninsured members of the community. 
 
This is the second year that the clinic has received this national recognition for its continued delivery of reliable, pro bono health care to maintain both individual and community health.
 
Widener congratulates Ellen Boyda, clinic director, and the nursing student and alumni volunteers who contributed to this well-deserved achievement. 

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed its support of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) with a $17 million grant over 5 years to operate the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center. Dr. Paul Baker, an assistant professor of physics at Widener University, is partially funded by this award as a member of NANOGrav.

The NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center will address a transformational challenge in astrophysics: the detection and characterization of low-frequency gravitational waves. The most promising sources of low-frequency gravitational waves are supermassive binary black holes that form via the mergers of massive galaxies. 

NANOGrav was founded in 2007 and is now a highly-distributed collaboration with around 200 students and scientists at about 40 institutions around the world. Dr. Baker has been a member of NANOGrav since 2016.

For more information, visit NANOGrav’s website at: https://nanograv.org/

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Dr. Mark Nicosia, professor of mechanical engineering, was appointed to the position of associate dean of the School of Engineering. Dr. Nicosia, who previously chaired the department of mechanical engineering, will oversee academic affairs and external relations in this new role. A member of the engineering faculty since 2005, Professor Nicosia's research focuses on computational and experimental analysis of physiological systems, particularly the gastrointestinal system. In 2019, Professor Nicosia was named Distinguished University Professor, an award that recognizes faculty members of distinction and demonstrates how Widener is committed to recognizing excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.

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Widener University presented the William David Eckard, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to Michelle “Micki” Meekins-Davis ‘03, the chief diversity officer and director of multicultural affairs in the President’s Office, and Mary Anne Wood, an administrative assistant in the Office of Student Success.

This annual award, presented by President Julie E. Wollman, recognizes two longstanding employees for their commitment and outstanding service to the Widener community. William David Eckard III, former long-time vice president of administration and finance at Widener University and a 1966 graduate of Pennsylvania Military College, established the award in memory of his father, William David Eckard, Jr.

Micki Davis is a longtime, well-respected member of the Widener and broader regional communities. She has served as a leader for multicultural, cultural competence, social justice, equity, and diversity-related programs and workshops for students, faculty, and staff.

Mary Anne Wood has provided outstanding service to Widener students and employees since she first arrived on campus in 2007. She supports the work of all of the departments within the Office of Student Success and is a great proponent for each student’s success.

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The Board of Directors for the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) recently recognized Professor Jeff Lolli’s work with the Northeast/North America (NENA) Federation chapter of ICHRIE with the McCool Breakthrough Award. The McCool Breakthrough Award honors the spirit of astronaut Willie McCool and is given to an individual, group, program, school, college, association, or corporation that has made a significant breakthrough or introduced a unique approach in the spirit of ICHRIE’s mission. 

The award recognized the Eta Sigma Delta (ESD) Honor Society Board of Governors and Lolli as co-chair for creating a first ever virtual conference for ESD honor society students. The first-of-its-kind conference theme was ‘Hospitality Strong: Resetting the Industry’ and focused on professional development for students, as well as education on how the decimated hospitality and tourism industry is resilient and how the industry pivoted during the pandemic.

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Kandy Turner, director of International Student Services and Study Abroad Programs at Widener, has received a Fulbright Specialist Program award. She will share her knowledge to help Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Colombia become a model in Latin America for international, experience-based learning in teaching, research, and outreach.

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Sagine Bien-Aime, a student in the doctor of nursing science program, was named the recipient of the PhD Scholarship by the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania (NAP). Since 1991, the NAP, a statewide, non-profit organization, focused on recognizing exemplary nursing practice, and granting scholarships to students pursuing degrees in nursing at all levels, has been awarded scholarships to nurses across the state to recruit and retain nursing professionals. Bien-Aime will be honored with the award at the 32nd annual Awards Gala in October 2021. 

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Stephanie Jeffers, associate professor of nursing, was recognized in the 2021 Region’s Talented Top Nurses list by Main Line Today in the category of education. Jeffers, who serves as director the pre-licensure undergraduate programs, was nominated by her peers through an online ballot ahead of a thorough editorial vetting and confirmation process. 

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University Archivist and Librarian Jill Borin was named to the board of directors of the Philadelphia-Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL). The thirty-four member libraries and archives of PACSCL collect, care for, and share with a world-wide audience collections that, in their depth and variety, comprise an internationally important body of unique materials for students, scholars and lifelong learners at any level.

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Physical therapy graduate Michael Quintans '14 writes about his experience enduring the closures and hurdles caused by COVID-19 and how he used the pandemic to shift his mindset to grow as a clinician and leader in his practice. His article was published in the May 2021 issue of Impact, the private practice publication of the American Physical Therapy Association. 

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