Congratulations to Dr. Justin Castro (left), associate professor of history and department chair, and undergrad student Nathan Grimes. They wrote an article recently accepted by the national double-blind peer-reviewed journal The Historian. "The Less Imperial Path: The Mississippi Valley, U.S. Expansionism, and Engineer James B. Eads's Failure to Build a Ship Railway across Mexico in the 1880s" grew out of Grimes' SURF grant in 2016.

Congratulations to Dr. Maurice Gipson, vice chancellor for diversity and community engagement, for leading A-State's efforts that resulted in the second consecutive Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from Insight Into Diversity, the largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The national honor recognizes U.S. institutions that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Recipients will be featured in the November issue.

Dr. Christopher S. Peters, associate professor of psychology; Dr. John D. Hall, professor of psychology and counseling; Dr. Philip Tew, associate professor of finance; Cathy P. Hall, associate professor of nursing; and Sarah A. Hall, undergraduate psychology student, presented a peer-reviewed research poster on using therapy dogs to decrease witness anxiety during court testimony, at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Chicago. Dr. Peters and Jalisa Damron, undergraduate psychology student, also had a peer-reviewed research poster, "Race and Gender Difference in Statutory Sex Offenders’ Punishments," accepted at the conference.

Congratulations to Dr. Ash Bowen, assistant professor of English at A-State Campus Queretaro, whose new poem, "Molestation Epithalamion," will appear in print soon.  The literary journal Rust + Moth is featuring the poem on its website as a teaser for its upcoming issue. Bowen, whose first book of poems won the 2012 Orphic Prize, teaches contemporary U.S. literature, composition and creative writing at A-State CQ.

Dylan Herekamp, coordinator in Residence Life, at Kays Hall, was recently honored with an award through the National Residence Hall Honorary’s recognition program. His nomination advanced from the campus and regional levels to the national level where he was eventually selected as the national winner. Herekamp was NACURH (National Association of College and University Residence Halls) Staff Member of the Month in July.