MSU News

Thirteen students in the Dillard College of Business Administration scored in the top 10 percent of all business graduates across the United States on the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test. Major field tests are comprehensive assessments designed to gauge the critical knowledge and understanding obtained by students in their degree field.

 “We are indeed proud of our Dillard College students’ achievements on this test. It is unusual that a college of our size would have this number of students scoring in the top 10 percent nationally,” said Dr. Barbara Nemecek, Dean of Dillard College.

Undergraduate students are Frank Alexander (Finance), Caleb Carmichael (Management), Kyle Christian (Economics and Finance), Chad Downend (Management), Trung Hoang (Management), Kayla Hupp (Accounting), Chad Gore (Marketing), Shevonne Lewis (Accounting and Finance), Ebenezer Olaleye (Accounting and Management Information Systems), and Kimberly Titus (Accounting). Graduate students are Jim Harrison, Matthew Jaramillo, and Jessica Owens.

The Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education has proven its commitment to producing quality teachers for our nation’s children by achieving accreditation this month under the performance–oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education.

NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public. Teacher candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey it so that students learn. The college or university must carefully assess this knowledge and skill to determine that candidates may graduate. The institution must have partnerships with P-12 schools that enable candidates to develop the skills necessary to help students learn. Candidates must be prepared to understand and work with diverse student populations. College and university faculty must model effective teaching practices. And the school, college, or department of education must have the resources, including information technology resources, necessary to prepare candidates to meet new standards.

NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research in order to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today. In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focused on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered, to a data-driven performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do. The new system expects teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom. Multiple types of performance assessment are expected throughout the program of study. Candidate qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate competence is assessed throughout the program as well as prior to student teaching/internship work, and before completion of the program.

“The faculty and staff of the West College of Education have worked diligently over the last few years to make this accreditation a reality. Unless you go through something like accreditation, you cannot really appreciate just how difficult it is,” said Matthew Capps, Dean of the West College of Education. “I am appreciative to the faculty and administration of Midwestern State University and the local school districts in supporting the teacher education program.

“In particular, I want to thank the teachers and administrators of WFISD and Burkburnett ISD along with the staff of Hirschi High School, Wichita Falls High School, Cunningham Elementary, Alamo Elementary, John Tower Elementary, IC Evans, Hardin Elementary, and Burkburnett Middle School in their contributions as Professional Development Schools over the last few years,” said Capps.

The U. S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as a specialized accrediting body for schools, colleges, and departments of education. NCATE is composed of more than 30 professional and policymaker organizations representing millions of Americans committed to quality teaching. It was founded in 1954 by the teaching profession and the states. NCATE continues its mission today: the profession and the states working together for excellence in teacher preparation and development.

The Hardin and Clark Scholars, the top academic honors at Midwestern State University, and other outstanding students were named Friday night at the Honors Recognition Banquet held in D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Rebecca L. Cuba was named Hardin Scholar. This is the university’s highest award for academic excellence and was begun in 1961 by the Hardin Foundation. It is presented each spring to a student during his or her senior year and a $2,500 scholarship award is given with the honor.

Cuba plans to graduate in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies – Special Education. She is a member honor societies Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Eta Sigma, and Kappa Delta Pi; Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading, MSU Catholic Campus Center, and the Texas Council for Exceptional Children, where she serves as the public relations officer.

She recently helped to administer an anti-bullying survey at various Wichita Falls schools and judged Wichita Falls elementary UIL competitions.

Cuba is a volunteer for Special Olympics and is a member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, where she serves as a greeter and Vacation Bible School volunteer.

Sarah Jeannine Bradfield, a criminal justice major, was named Clark Scholar. The Clark award was established in 1976 to honor E.B. Clark, a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MSU Foundation, and carries with it a $1,500 scholarship award. It is presented each spring to a student in his or her junior year.

Bradfield is a member of honor society Texas Alpha Gamma Chapter of Alpha Chi, Association for Disability Advocacy, University Programming Board, and the Student Government Association.

Bradfield joined the United States Air Force in September 2001, where she was a top graduate in Washington, D.C., and was selected for early rank. She served a tour of voluntary deployment overseas and volunteered on the mortuary affairs unit. Locally, she is active with the Greater Wichita Falls Soccer Association, Relay for Life, and is a member of Lamar Baptist Church.

She plans on graduating with honors and aspires to work for the FBI’s Civil Rights Division.

Leadership Awards

Leadership awards were presented to Man of the Year Kyle Kieron Christian, Woman of the Year Ashley Nicole Campana, Outstanding Graduate Man Jim Nathan Harrison, Outstanding Graduate Woman Joslyn Sha-Nee Johnson, Outstanding Senior Man Jason Allen Witte, Outstanding Senior Woman Kamila Arah Bell, Outstanding Junior Man Isaac John Davis, Outstanding Junior Woman Linh My Vo, Outstanding Sophomore Man Eric Blake Binnion, Outstanding Sophomore Woman Nichole Lee Matthews, Outstanding Freshman Man Joseph Andrew Hadwal, and Outstanding Freshman Woman Sara Suzanne Cuba.

The Viola Grady Leadership Award was presented to Kendall Rae Neu, and the James L. Stewart Service Award was presented to the Catholic Campus Ministry.

Academic Awards

Academic awards presented to students in the Dillard College of Business Administration were Outstanding Accounting Student Shevonne S. Lewis, Outstanding Economic Student Kyle K. Christian, Outstanding Finance Student Linda D. Watkins, Outstanding General Business Student Caitlin L. Niemann, Outstanding Management Student Chad D. Downend, Outstanding Management Information Systems Student Nicandro Delgado, Outstanding Marketing Student Anthony M. Carlson, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Business Administration Jim N. Harrison.

Students recognized from the Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education were Outstanding Kinesiology Student Sean M. Evers, Outstanding Sport and Fitness Management Student Jamir Claxton, Outstanding Elementary Education Student Jamie R. Tasker, Outstanding Secondary Education Student Jade A. Horn, Outstanding Special Education Student Megan E. Reynolds, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Education Angelina E. Chapa.

Travis and Evalyn White Student Teaching Awards were presented to elementary education students Maria C. Delgado and Lauren A. Cotton and secondary education students Jennifer L. Downing and Sarah M. Fields.

Awards presented to students in the Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts were Outstanding Art Student Sarah M. Fields, Outstanding Mass Communication Student Dimery R. Michaels, Outstanding Music Student Maria A. Souliotis, and Outstanding Theatre Student Laura A. Payne. The Vinson Award in Journalism was presented to Brittney N. Cottingham.

Students recognized from the College of Health Sciences and Human Services were Outstanding Athletic Training Student Keith W. Gates, Outstanding Criminal Justice Student Linda J. Aguilera, Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student Martha J. Rivera, Outstanding Exercise Physiology Student Whitney N. Frie, Outstanding Nursing Student  Ria Prakashbhai, Outstanding Radiologic Science Student Andrew J. Anderson, Outstanding Respiratory Care Student Alyssa D. Fairbanks, Outstanding Social Work Student Ramon L. Rios, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Health Sciences and Human Services Andrew J. Lindsey.

Students recognized from the Prothro-Yeager college of Humanities and Social Sciences were Outstanding BAAS Student Rachel A. Dehoyos, Outstanding English Student Lindsey C. Applegarth, Outstanding Student in a Foreign Language Mariette Smithen, Outstanding History Student Erik B. Lewis, Outstanding Student in Humanities Alyssa N. Smith, Outstanding International Studies Student Kamila A. Bell, Outstanding Political Science Student Casey E. O’Donnell, Outstanding Psychology Student Wakonda S. Lofland, Outstanding Sociology Student Emily S. Suhr, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Brittany J. Norman. The Vinson Award in Creative Writing was presented to Lindsey C. Applegarth.

Awards presented to students in the College of Science and Mathematics were Outstanding Biology Student Varayudh Keokhumcheng, Outstanding Chemistry Student Jared L. Dopp, Outstanding Clinical Laboratory Science Student Asher Auguiste, Outstanding Computer Science Student Kyle F. Francis, Outstanding Environmental Science Student Lauren F. Hudson, Outstanding Geosciences Student Matthew S. Farris, Outstanding Mathematics Student Joshua J. Yosten, Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Student Christopher S. Burdette, Outstanding Physics Student Kagan H. Love, and Outstanding Graduate Student in Science and Mathematics Sanjeev Mahabir.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Holly Allsup to serve as the Midwestern State University Student Regent for a one-year term effective June 1, 2012. She is currently pursuing a degree in marketing.

Allsup, who is from Wichita Falls, is the vice president of the MSU Student Government Association, where she presides as president of the Student Senate. Allsup serves as the chair of the Traffic Appeals Committee and serves on the Student Conduct Committee. She is active in several campus organizations including Alpha Phi, American Advertising Federation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Sigma Phi Lambda.

In addition to Allsup’s educational pursuits and volunteerism, her interests include politics, traveling, community service, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Allsup will replace MSU student Linda Aguilera whose term is expiring on May 31.

Back in 1978, Midwestern State University had one working computer. It was used for payroll and data, and by Dr. Stewart Carpenter, the new faculty member hired to develop a computer science curriculum. Over the past 34 years, a few changes have taken place in technology. Computers no longer take up a whole room. They sit on our desks and we hold them in our hands. MSU has gone through mountains of computers, and hundreds of students have since graduated with degrees from the program Carpenter started from scratch. At the end of the semester another change will take place when Carpenter retires from the department he began.

Carpenter is an Aggie “three times over,” receiving his bachelor’s degree from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas in 1962, and his master’s and doctorate from A&M in 1968 and 1972. Teaching was not the direction he pictured his career path taking. “I didn’t think about teaching. I didn’t even know what computer science was until I went for my master’s.” But he moved his family to Wichita Falls in 1978 for his new job at MSU as the director of the computer science center and first faculty member of the brand new computer science department. After one year of heading both the computer center and the department, he was given the choice to head one or the other. “I chose the better part, the education,” Carpenter said with a smile.

In 1978, MSU President Jesse Rogers was the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Carpenter is appreciative of Rogers’ support and faith in him as the leader of the new program. One of Carpenter’s first assignments was to find additional faculty. In those early days, he relied on the math department to help him out with teaching until he could find others, and by 1980, mathematicians Richard Simpson and Dr. Ranette Halverson had joined Carpenter to form the original computer science department. Both are still teaching at MSU. James Chalfant came to the department in 1981 and taught until his death in 1996. The faculty has grown to include Dr. Nelson Passos, Dr. Tim Donovan, Dr. Catherine Stringfellow, Dr. Tina Johnson, and Dr. Terry Griffin. Johnson and Griffin are products of the department, both receiving their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU, giving them a unique perspective on Carpenter.

“I was his student many years ago and am currently his colleague and friend,” Johnson said. “As a student, I always found Dr. Carpenter to be knowledgeable and fair. His assignments were challenging, but appropriate for the course; and he was always willing to help when I showed up at his office. He is as patient and understanding with his students today as he was when I was a student.”

Carpenter won’t want talk about the department’s success without naming his fellow educators and their roles, and those teachers return the respect, calling Carpenter their leader. “When we didn’t know anything we went to him,” Simpson said. “For almost 10 years he was our leader in guiding us in the direction we needed to go. Without Dr. Carpenter we couldn’t have pulled this off. He created the original program. He designed the master’s program. Then we really took off.” Carpenter directed both the bachelor’s and master’s programs until Donovan, then Halverson, took over the undergraduate program. Passos took over the graduate program three years ago.

Halverson has a tough time thinking about MSU without Carpenter. “A few sentences are simply inadequate in expressing the contribution that he has made to both the Department of Computer Science and to Midwestern State University,” she said. “In addition, his kindness and patience with both faculty and students alike helped in the development of the great reputation that this department enjoys. In all respects he has been both a gentleman and a scholar. In Dr. Carpenter’s approximately 10 years as chair, he not only led the way in the development of a viable department of students, but in the development of the two mathematicians into computer scientists,” Halverson said of herself and Simpson.

Carpenter believes that the faculty’s cohesiveness is part of the department’s success in turning out graduates who advance to successful careers in the high-tech computer world. “It’s more like a family than a business organization,” Carpenter said. That family atmosphere is also part of the reason Carpenter has stayed at MSU. “I might have made more money someplace else, but I wouldn’t have liked it as much,” he said. Along with his colleagues, the general college environment and the community spirit of Wichita Falls have also been factors in Carpenter’s longevity at MSU, even though within his first few years here, the city had its coldest winter on record, the 1979 tornado, and the 1981 flood. “Someone tried to drive us off,” he said laughing.

To encourage student development in the professional field, and for students to receive recognition for their research, Carpenter organized chapters of the Association for Computing Machinery and Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international honor society for computing sciences. To support student research presentations, Carpenter initiated the North Texas Area Student Conferences. At the 16th annual conference held March 31, more than 138 students attended, with 40 college students from 11 colleges and universities making presentations. Students from five area high schools attended.

As the department grew from the one shared mainframe to personal computers, Carpenter said that they kept up as best as they could, making sure to teach fundamentals, making changes as the program matured, and accepting the fact that change will be the constant throughout the years of the program. “Changing the curriculum takes research because you have to live with it,” Carpenter said. He studies other schools and the industry to see what aspects may be beneficial to teach, and still sees some vestiges of the early curriculum such as introductory programming and foundations of software development. Another consideration is that students today have been using technology since their childhood in home computers, phones, and games.

Carpenter’s post-retirement plans include some quality time with his four children and his grandchildren, and maybe some continued consultation with MSU. Even though he won’t be present in his office each day, those still teaching will feel Carpenter’s presence. “The Department of Computer Science is the successful department it is today because of the strong leadership and dedication of Dr. Carpenter,” Halverson said. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Retiring MSU Faculty

Other retiring faculty members this year are Nancy Steele English, Art; Ann Estrada, Education; Michael Land, Education; Charles Ramser, Business; Robert Redmon, Education; Randy Pruitt, Mass Communication; Fred Stangl, Biology; and Friederike Wiedemann, Foreign Languages.

After a luncheon hosted by the Texas Association of College Teachers, the Student Government Association will honor faculty retirees with its annual tree planting ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, on the lawn south of the University Press Building.

A family tradition of altruism and loyalty to Midwestern State University continues with a gift made in memory of Mr. Robert L. Bolin. The gift will enable the university to expand its geosciences program to include petroleum geology. Funds will be used to establish the Robert L. Bolin Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Geology and to equip a geophysical laboratory and purchase research equipment. A portion of the gift also will be used to help in the construction of a field research station at the Dalquest Desert Research Station located in the Trans-Pecos region.

The establishment of the Robert L. Bolin Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Geology will allow the university to hire an additional faculty member in geology and offer new courses and field work experiences for students in the geosciences. “The goal is to expand the number of geology graduates and to prepare them to enter today’s sophisticated world of developing the nation’s petroleum resources,” said MSU President Jesse Rogers.

Bolin joined his father, D.H., in Bolin Oil Company in 1948. He later formed R.L. Bolin Properties. The family remains active in the oil business and continues to operate R.L. Bolin Properties, with offices in Wichita Falls and Midland.

In August 1977 the Board of Regents approved naming the science building Bolin Science Hall in recognition of the support provided to the university by Mr. and Mrs. D. Houston Bolin. Today, Bolin Science Hall houses programs in biology, chemistry, clinic laboratory science, computer science, geosciences, and mathematics.

Commenting on the gift, Rogers added, “The gift will benefit Midwestern State and generations of students and strengthen the geology program in a region with a rich tradition of oil and gas development.”

Mr. and Mrs. James N. McCoy along with the McCoy Foundation have pledged $3.3 million to the expansion of programs and building addition to the McCoy School of Engineering at Midwestern State University.

Through the McCoys’ gift, the university is now poised to introduce a master’s program in mechanical engineering and an interdisciplinary engineering program that will focus on general engineering. The program will include manufacturing engineering and sustainable energy systems, and it is intended to complement the existing undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.

“The Midwestern State University Engineering Department benefits not only engineering majors, but the entire MSU and Wichita Falls communities as well. In today’s competitive job market, an engineering degree provides the program’s graduates with opportunities that many other job seekers can only imagine,” said McCoy. “For me, my solid educational foundations in science and math opened numerous doors, and Vicki and I welcome the opportunity to help young future engineers, just like my parents, teachers, and mentors assisted me. Consequently, Vicki and I are happy to support the MSU Engineering Department expand its already successful program.”

In addition to the program expansions, the McCoy commitment will fund the construction of additional laboratories, classrooms, and office space for faculty members to meet the demands of a growing enrollment of engineering majors.

“We are proud of the response to our relatively young engineering program and are fortunate to have the support of Vicki and Jim,” said MSU President Jesse Rogers. “Their pledge to Midwestern not only shows their confidence in our institution but also their commitment to providing students, both current and future, with the resources they will need to compete as engineers in today’s industry.”

The first engineering technology program at MSU began in 1985 in response to the expressed needs of area manufacturers. The mechanical engineering program was implemented in Fall 2003 and was named in recognition of the McCoys’ gift to the university to support the program. Four years after implementation, the program received the highest level of accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).