The university community extends appreciation to the numerous individuals who continue to carry on with ongoing responsibilities, while most of us enjoy the holiday break. Members of the University Police Department, Emergency Management and Facilities Management staffs continue to keep the campus safe and functioning properly, while individuals in Athletics Administration, First National Bank Arena, and KASU are among those we know of who attend to ongoing duties during the break. We thank them all.

Dr. Lucy Barnhouse, assistant professor of history, was co-organizer of two panels on stereotypes and realities of medieval medicine for the International Society for the Study of Medievalism annual meeting. This work is linked to her forthcoming volume. Barnhouse also presented “Sex, Politics, Religion: Teaching Challenging Medievalisms with Becket and The Lion in Winter,” a version of which will be in a special collection from the Open Library of Humanities.

Dr. John D. Hall, Dr. Meagan B. Medley, Dr. Kristin N. Johnson, and Dr. Wayne W. Wilkinson, faculty in the Department of Psychology and Counseling, presented their peer-reviewed research, "Field Supervisor Ratings: Establishing Content Validity for a School Psychology Measure" at the Mid-South Educational Research Association annual meeting in New Orleans. This was a poster presentation focused on the process of establishing content validity of a rating scale, completed by school psychology supervisors, to rate graduate-level school psychology practicum students and interns across 10 domains, as required by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Dr. Timberly L. Baker, associate professor of educational leadership, and Amy Swain of East Carolina University co-authored an article in Theory & Practice in Rural Education. In the 600-plus counties across the rural Southern U.S. labeled as the Black Belt, they assert that equity work in rural schools cannot ignore the historical realities of plantations and the legacy of enslaved peoples. They also presented this work at three recent conferences.

Dr. Zahid Hossain, associate professor of civil engineering, has been appointed associate editor of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering (JMCE). In this role he will be dealing with publications related to the analysis and use of flexible and bituminous pavements. One of the field’s most prestigious professional journals, JMCE publishes 30-40 papers in each of its monthly editions.