BU nursing named Top 5 program in PA

Bloomsburg University’s nursing program has been recently ranked fourth in Pennsylvania — and 51st nationally — by RNCareers.org with an overall score of 97.29 percent. BU was the highest ranked school from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Programs were ranked by their accumulated NCLEX-RN passing rates for the last three years as reported by their state board of nursing. Those accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), such as BU’s, were also given a higher weighting.

BU Nursing Programs 
Nursing (B.S.N.) — This rigorous and demanding program requires students to have exceptional leadership and time management skills, self-assurance and critical thinking.

RN-BSN — The 100% online RN-BSN program is a perfect fit for those RNs seeking to continue their education. This progressive curriculum provides vital knowledge and skills for multifaceted roles of a professional nurse.

Nursing (M.S.N.) — The challenging program vital knowledge and skills for multifaceted roles of advanced nursing practice.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) — This program prepares nurse leaders to apply advanced practice skills at the highest level of clinical practice. Students will be prepared to assume a higher level of responsibility and leadership in nursing and health care.
~ from https://bloomsburgu.tumblr.com

IT intern helps create eLearning lessons for NASA

As the NASA crew on the International Space Station become increasingly better at their jobs, a recent Bloomsburg University instructional technology graduate can take pride in knowing he played a role in that.

Patrick Berridge ’17, who recently earned a master’s degree in instructional technology, spent the past academic year as an intern with the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, working in the Flight Operations Directorate with the Distance Learning Lab. There he helped create eLearning lessons for the International Space Station and crew.

“Honestly, it’s been incredible experience,” says Berridge, who graduated from BU two years ago with a business administration management degree. “My favorite moments come from touring the facility and getting an up-close look at things like the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility and Mission Control. I’m grateful to have met a ton of brilliant people who aspire to advance our knowledge of space.”

According to Berridge, one major lesson he’s taken away from this experience is the value of being opening minded and asking for help.

“Being at NASA I felt the pressure to prove myself, but I quickly realized I didn’t need to know it all,” Berridge says. “I simply had to be willing to ask the people who did have the answers.”
Bloomsburg to Houston to Mars was a journey Berridge thought about for quite some time.

“My heart has always held a deep fascination for space, plus all signs indicate that humans will reach Mars in my lifetime,” Berridge says. “To play even a minor role in that pursuit is extremely attractive. This opportunity aligns with my career aspirations, because I use the skills I learned in class to contribute to something that matters to me.”

In just nine months, Berridge says he has seen a dramatic change in himself. “I learn something new every single day here,” Berridge says. “It’s refreshing to be in place where everyone is highly curious and ambitious. We’re encouraged to ‘reach for the stars’ (pun intended) and constantly push our abilities.”

According to Berridge, every challenge is a new opportunity to learn. “My skills benefitted from having to figure out clever work arounds for specific projects or learning entirely new software on my own,” Berridge says. “The Instructional Technology program did an excellent job preparing me on a technical level.

My mentors at NASA were genuinely impressed I knew how use eLearning software, such as Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate.” He adds, “I’m also really grateful the IT professors taught us solid instructional design concepts. Remembering those principles came in handy once I began working on projects independently.”
~from https://bloomsburgu.tumblr.com

Polinski awarded 2019 Provost's Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity

Dr. Matthew Polinski

Dr. Matthew Polinski, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was presented with the 2019 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activity. The award was established in 2006 to recognize and encourage continuing scholarly achievements of probationary Bloomsburg University faculty.

Dr. Polinski’s research is in the areas of nuclear and synthetic solid-state inorganic chemistry, which bridges between inorganic, physical, engineering, and materials science. His primary focus is to expand upon the fundamental chemistry deep within the periodic table on some of the heaviest known elements. These f-block elements, such as Berkelium (Bk), Californium (Cf), and Einsteinium (Es), all must be prepared and obtained from nuclear reactors, often times requiring Congressional approval. Very little chemical information is known regarding these elements due to their intense radioactivity, short half-lives, and zero natural abundance. The ability to predict and understand the chemical and physical properties of these exotic elements depends on a better understanding of their fundamental chemistry, much of which is currently unknown and what little is known is often in opposition to what is observed elsewhere on the periodic table.

Dr. Polinski, his research students, and his collaborators from other major research institutions and National Laboratories, seek to probe the electronic structure by preparing and studying materials containing these scarce elements. The overall goal is a better understanding of the complex and esoteric chemistry observed at the end of the periodic table so that materials with tailor and designed properties can be produced. This work has marked the beginning of one of the largest studies on all these elements in the many decades since their original discoveries. His work has been published in well-respected journals including Science, Nature Chemistry, and a recent article in Inorganic Chemistry that featured a BU graduate as first author.

TALE Award Winners

Dr. Jeff Brunskill

On April 29th, Dr. James Krause, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President, hosted the Provost's Awards Dinner which included Teaching and Learning Enhancement Center (TALE) awards.  At that dinner, Dr. Jeff Brunskill was awarded one of three "Tale Outstanding Teacher Awards". Dr. Jeff Brunskill is an associate professor of Meteorology and GIS in the College of Science and Technology.  The faculty were nominated by graduating seniors and selected by a committee of the Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TALE) Center for 2018-2019.

Dr. Jeff Brunskill’s nominees describe him as “knowledgeable,” “meticulous,” “with a reputation as difficult but great.” One nominee credited Dr. Brunskill for acquiring a skill set proving essential for their first job in the field that encouraged inquisitiveness. The rigor that Dr. Brunskill maintains in all of his classes is a theme repeated across nominations, and his ability to push them to improve leads him to tailor his teaching to students’ needs. Dr. Brunskill’s demanding nature is softened by his wit, respect for his students, availability, and willingness to mentor students. He demands no less from himself by seeking feedback from students on his teaching effectiveness and ensuring that he is up-to date on the evolving technology in GPS and mapping. Finally, Dr. Brunskill is applauded for the career advice that he gives students.

In addition, Dr. Debra Minzola, assistant professor in the nursing department, was recognized with a "Tale Teacher Scholar Award".  Dr. Jennifer Haney, assistant professor in the EGGS department and Dr. Abby Hare-Harris, assistant professor of Biological and Allied Heath Sciences, were awarded "Tale New and Junior Awards".

Recent Publications, Presentations, and Awards

Publications
Marianna Wood, associate professor of BAHS, and Jessa Wood, BU Writing Center assessment coordinator prior to her 2017 graduation (BA Philosophy and BA Political Science), published a paper in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching entitled, "Saving time, increasing learning: Using checklists to help students perform disciplinary writing conventions."

Sean Hartzell, adjunct faculty member in BAHS, published a paper entitled, "Sexual dichromatism of "rusty" spots in a population of Faxonius rusticus (Girard)", in Freshwater Crayfish.

Debra Minzola, assistant professor of Nursing, recently had a paper accepted entitled, "Damage Control Resuscitation of the Traumatic Aortic Rupture: A Case Report" accepted in the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Journal.  This work was a collaboration with her nurse anesthesia student, Chris Heiss

Lynn Hummel, assistant professor in Instructional Technology, recently published a paper entitled, "Gamification playtest of Zombie Ed Tech Apocalypse-For Educational Technology Leaders" in the Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Luke Haile, assistant professor of Exercise Sciences, and Joe Andreacci, professor of Exercise Science recently published a paper entitled, "Affective and metabolic responses to self-selected intensity cycle exercise inyoung men" in Physiology & Behavior.  This work was a collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh.

Nathaniel Greene, professor of Physics and Engineering, recently published a paper entitled, "A simple measurement of the relative efficiency of human locomotion" in Physics Education. This work was a collaboration with the physics department at the US Naval Academy.

Michael Borland, associate professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, recently published a review article entitled, "Regulatory mechanisms mediated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor - beta/gamma in skin cancer" in Molecular Carcinogenesis. This work was a collaboration with The Pennsylvania State University, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, University of Pittsburgh, and the National Institutes of Health.

Presentations

Melinda Barrett, assistant professor of nursing, recently presented a poster at the Pennsylvania Associate of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP) annual conference entitled, "Caring for School-Age Populations: School Nurse Preparation to Practice."

Cynthia Venn, professor of EGGS, recently presented a paper at the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico entitled, "Evolution of an Undergraduate Course in Aqueious Geochemistry: Successes and Challenges."  This paper was  coauthored with Chris Hallen, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Steven Rier, professor of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, recently presented a seminar at Central Michigan University at the invitation of the Institute for Great Lakes Research.  His seminar was entitled, "Understanding the functional roles of algal-dominated biofilms in natural and disturbed streams."

Peggy Shipley, assistant professor of nursing, and her honors student, Kelly Garman, recently presented a poster entitled, "Compassionate Love: A Concept Analysis" at the Beta Sigma Research Day at the Pennsylvania State University campus.

Awards

Pam Smith, professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, will be awarded the “Honors of the Association” from the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association (PSHA) this week.  She is honored for her extensive and varied experience and contribution in the field of speech-language pathology.

 

 

COST Grant Recipients

The following  grants were awarded to COST faculty by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education  (PASSHE) Faculty Professional Development Council.  Bloomsburg University faculty received 9 of the 48 awards given.  The following are the recipients from COST.

Lauri Green, BAHS: "Differences in the nest success and foraging behavior of Tree Swallows (Tachycienta bicolor) across natural and artificial wetland sites", $9999

Angela Hess, BAHS: "Connecting human melanoma tumor cell plasticity with resistance to the clinically relevant drugs: vemurafenib, dabrafenib, and trametinib", $8000

John Hranitz, BAHS: "Faculty Research and Development of Insect Pollen Load DNA Analysis Techniques to Investigate Plant-Pollinator Interactions", $9578 

Ellen Kehres and Co-PI Michael Borland, Chemistry and Biochemistry: "Evaluating Selenium Replacement within a PPARB/D Activator Towards the Development of Novel Malignant Melanoma Therapeutics", $10,000

Philip Osburn, Chemistry and Biochemistry: "Catalytic alchemy: coaxing platinum-level rewards from Earth-abundant base metals", $10,000

Mohsin Shaikh and Co-PI Shelley Scarpino, Communication Sciences and Disorders: "Contralateral Suppression of Stimulus Frequency Otoacoustic Emissions in Children with Language Impairment", $9967

Adrian Van Rythoven, EGGS: "Establishment of an Introductory Field Course Situated in the Black Hills", $6438
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following Research and Scholarship Grants were awarded to COST faculty from the Bloomsburg University Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for the Spring 2019 cycle. 


Cindy Surmacz and co-applicant John Hranitz, BAHS : "Assessing Sublethal Stress in Honey Bees Exposed to "Bee-friendly" Neoniciotinoid Pesticides", $3500

Kristen Brubaker, BAHS: "Expression study of acute alcohol tolerance-associated genes jwa and hangover in Apis mellifera (Western honey bee)", $2680

Lauri Green, BAHS: "Differences in the foraging and reproductive success of Tree Swallows (Tachycienta bicolor) across natural and artificial wetlands", $3132

Jennifer Venditti-Roadarmel, BAHS: "Evaluating alpha-L-fucosidase Activity and its Potential Role in Reproduction Using Zebrafish (Danio rerio)", $3500


Daniel McCurry, Chemistry and Biochemistry: "High Surface Area Electrodes for Interrogation of Droplet Microfluidics", $10,000


Erik Larsen, Chemistry and Biochemistry: "Synthesis and Design of Novel Enzyme Probes for Mycobacterial Hydrolases", $10,000