CUS UNDERGRADUATE LEARNERS

Patrick Giambalvo, Florida Academic Center, was honored in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, December 2004

Kelly Guzman, Florida Academic Center, is currently serving as a teacher’s aide with Broward County schools. She was quoted in the Sun-Sentinel, Delray Beach, Florida, September 2003, regarding teachers’ aides seeking a higher degree of job security.

Luann Kole, Cincinnati Academic Center, assisted a citizen engagement effort in Itasca County, Grand Rapids, MI in September 2003. The effort was geared to empower citizens and increase their input into public policy discussions. The experience was invaluable in completing her B.A. degree with a concentration in public policy, law and health care issues.

Susan E. Mandel, Cincinnati Academic Center, co-authored “The Effects of Music Therapy in Cardiac Healthcare” a chapter in Complementary and Integrative Therapies for Cardiovascular Disease (Elsevier Mosby 2004). She also published “An Integral Component of Cardiac Healthcare,” an article in Cardiac Illness: Interactive Treatment and Prevention (Elsevier Mosby 2005).

Robin Rankin, Cincinnati Academic Center, received a scholarship from the McCall Educational Fund of the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation, in September 2004.

UI&U PHD LEARNERS

Michael Faulkner, a learner in the doctoral program’s American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) initiative, published a peer review article "The Future of Membership in the Third Sector: Tyranny or Triumph?” in the Journal of Association Leadership, published by the Center for Association Leadership, Washington, D.C. in January 2005. Other recent publications include "People Join Associations, Why do We Continue to Marketing to Organizations?" in NYSAE magazine, Association Executive, (March-April 2005); “The Faces and Places of Telemarketing,” published by the Direct Marketing Association; and “The Impact of Data Restrictions On Consumer Distance Shopping.” See www.the-dma.org.

Katherine Finley, a learner in the doctoral program’s American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) initiative, was appointed the first research director for the William E. Smith Institute for Association Research, sponsored by SmithBucklin, an association management and professional services company, May 2004, with responsibility for overseeing projects and ensuring the integrity of the underlying research processes. Finley is executive director of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).

Joan E. Kole received the Blanche Ellis Starr Award for the Arts at the Rockford, Illinois YWCA Leader Luncheon on March 7, 2005, and the Rockford Area Arts Council’s 2005 Individual Arts Advocate Award, presented during the annual Mayor's Arts Awards in June. Both awards recognize outstanding contributions to and support of local arts events and organizations. Kole has acted in, directed and/or produced more than 50 professional or community theater productions in six states. She was president of Main Street Players of Boone County and has served on the national board of directors for the Education Theatre Association, representing the Senior Theatre League of America. She currently is artistic director for AgeQuake Theatre. Kole recently received a Certificate of Adjudication after completing the American Association of Community Theatre Adjudication Master Class at the 2005 national festival held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kole’s UI&U doctoral studies focus on theater and aging with an emphasis in directing senior theater productions in community settings.

Joan Forest Mage, a shamanic practitioner, educator, and performing artist, is a certified expressive arts therapist and certified Laban Movement analyst. She is founder and director of Creative Community Institute in Chicago. Mage is founder and director of Life Force Ensemble, a group of singers, dancers and musicians dedicated to creating healing ritual through World Music and contemporary dance. She studied shamanism, energy work, and healing ritual with numerous teachers, including the Foundation for Shamanic Studies; and produced and directed 14 original concert works in the Chicago area, including her solo CD, “Season Songs,” a compilation of 34 original songs composed to celebrate Nature and the cycle of the seasons. See:  www.magelife.com

Isaac Romano led a workshop for parents and child care providers titled, “Discipline Without Punishments or Rewards,” in Ottawa, Ontario on Jan. 29, 2005. Romano leads “Building Community/Welcoming Diversity” workshops, a prejudice-reduction training model of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), Canada. He is founder and director of Insight Parenting and Child Care Support Services and one of the first certified parenting instructors with the Aware Parenting Institute, Nelson, British Columbia. Romano was recently featured in the New York Times for his participation and organization of the “Our Way Home National Reunion Weekend,” scheduled for July 2006. The reunion marks the contributions made to Canadian life by U.S. immigrants who came to Canada during the Vietnam War.

Alice Skirtz was a panelist invited to participate in the symposium “Religious Perceptions of Poverty and Welfare Policy on May 7-9, 2005, presented by the Hebrew Union College-University of Cincinnati Center for the Study of Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems and UI&U. Skirtz contributed to the “Poverty, Welfare, and Religion: Contemporary Issues” panel along with Dr. Christopher M. Duncan, University of Dayton; and Dr. Andrew D. Walsh, Culver-Stockton College. At the same symposium, President Roger Sublett delivered an address in a session titled “Religion and Welfare Policy Present and Future,” along with Professor Peter Edelman of Georgetown University Law Center, Dr. Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and Dr. David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion. Skirtz was the featured in an op ed piece, “Ordinance won’t allow ‘zero budget,’” in the Cincinnati Enquirer, December 7, 2004. Skirtz is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers, and is an Ohio Licensed independent social worker and is a co-founder of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, a past president of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC), and presently chairs the Community Development Advisory Board for the City of Cincinnati. Currently she is the casework supervisor for the six family shelters of the HUD-funded Family Shelter Partnership Program.

David C. Smith, who is also an alumnus of Vermont College, M.F.A 2000, was a member of the installation crew of Christo’s Gates project in Central Park, New York, NY in Feb. 2005. Smith is assistant professor of graphic design and art at Schreiner University, Kerrville, TX and working on his Ph.D. in communication design at UI&U.