May 28, 2008

Dr. Julie Olson-Buchanan, (pictured at right) a professor of human resource management, has been awarded the top teaching honor at California State University, Fresno.

Dr. Jeri Echeverria, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, named Olson-Buchanan as recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Teaching Award. The Provost’s Awards also honored the following:

Dr. Mary “Cricket” Barakzai, associate professor of nursing, for the Technology in Education Award Dr. Saeed Attar, associate professor of chemistry, for the Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award Dr. Matthew Jendian, associate professor of sociology, for the Faculty Service Award Angelica Carpenter, librarian and curator of the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, for the Distinguished Achievement in Research, Scholarship or Creative Activities Award In addition, five faculty members were recognized with the Promising New Faculty award, which recognizes exemplary achievements in teaching, research/creative activities and/or service among nontenured, tenure-track faculty. Honorees are Thomas Attard, David Anthony Durham, Betsy Hays, Thomas Holyoke and Steven Rocca.

The awards include stipends of $5,500 for the Excellence in Teaching recipient and $3,000 each to the other awardees.

Dr. Julie Olson-Buchanan, a professor of human resource management and chair of the Department of Management, has been at Fresno State since 1992. She encourages her colleagues and students to engage in research and community services. She has distinguished herself through her high-quality research, scholarship and creative activities. Dr. Olson-Buchanan has made numerous presentations at regional and national conferences and published many articles in top-tier journals, including Mistreatment in the Workplace: Prevention and Resolution in 2008. She has been program chair of the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (2006), newsletter editor of the Academy of Management Conflict Division (1997-2000) and conference reviewer of the Academy of Management (1996-98). Dr. Olson-Buchanan received the Outstanding Faculty Publications Award at Fresno State in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005. She also received the 1996 Craig School of Business Kessler Award for Classroom Excellence and the 1992 Edwin E. Ghiselli Award for Research Design. She is director of the Craig Honors Program, the only thesis-based business honors program in the California State University system.

Dr. Mary “Cricket” Barakzai, Technology in Education Award. She is an associate professor of nursing, who joined the Fresno State faculty in 2003. Dr. Barakzai is a leader on campus in the creative use of technology to enhance learning. As director of the Center for Excellence in Nursing, she has coordinated classroom and television access for synchronous courses. Dr. Barakzai has served as a mentor on the use of Blackboard, Palm and iPod applications. She has made presentations on local, state and national levels on topics related to educational technology. Her awards and honors include a 2007 Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Teaching with Technology.

Dr. Saeed Attar, Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. He is an associate professor of chemistry. Dr. Attar follows a basic mentoring philosophy that there should be mutual respect and understanding between students and their teachers. Since coming to Fresno State in 1998, he has striven to help his students achieve their goals by mentoring through the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and the Faculty Mentoring programs. Dr. Attar received 2004 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award from the McNair Program and the 2004 Professor of the Year Award from the Chemistry Club.

Dr. Matthew Jendian, Faculty Service Award. An associate professor of sociology, Dr. Jendian has served on more than 25 university committees or projects since joining the faculty in 1998. Most notably, he chaired the College Curriculum Committee for three years. Since 2002, he also has participated in and provided leadership for 20 or more community events. He was a founding member of Faith in Community, a partnership of 20 congregations and nonprofit organizations, and helped launch the Fresno Housing Alliance to make housing safe, accessible and affordable. Dr. Jendian created the campus’ American Humanics National Certificate Program, which has garnered numerous awards and national recognition.

Angelica Carpenter, Distinguished Achievement in Research, Scholarship or Creative Activities Award. A librarian in the Henry Madden Library since 1999 and the founding curator of the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, Carpenter is considered to be a visionary. She has given the Arne Nixon Center an international presence through her creative approaches to public relations, including events hosting award-winning authors and illustrators. As a board member of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, she helped raise $150,000 to purchase Hilda Bohem’s 1,500-volume Lewis Carroll collection. She is president of the International Wizard of Oz Club and has written “Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass” (2003) and a chapter for “In the Garden: Essays in Honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett” (2006).
 

The Promising New Faculty winners:

Dr. Thomas Attard, an assistant professor of civil and geomatics engineering, has an outstanding record in teaching, scholarship and service. He joined the Fresno State faculty in 2006. A prolific researcher and writer, he has published three referred publications in prestigious journals, seven conference papers and various invited papers at conferences. As a thesis adviser, he also helps graduate students to publish their graduate work. Dr. Attard was voted 2007 Professor of the Year by the Fresno Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineering.

David Anthony Durham, as associate professor of English, taught for a semester at Fresno State as a Distinguished Writer-in-Residence and joined the faculty in 2007. His published works include “Gabriel’s Story,” a literary Western novel; “Walk through Darkness,” the story of an escaped slave; “Pride of Carthage,” a historical novel, and “Acacia” a literary sci-fi novel. He is an astute critic, whose book reviews have appeared in The Washington Post and the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer. He served as the fiction editor of the new university-sponsored journal, The Normal School.

Betsy Hays, an assistant professor of mass communication and journalism, is described by one of her peers as an organized, energetic and inventive instructor. She has been a faculty member since 1999. Each year, she organizes a Public Relations Boot Camp, for which industry specialists visit campus to deliver speeches and participate in panels on specific topics. She also advises the Public Relations Student Society of America and all public relations majors. Her awards include a $5,000 Coleman Fellowship grant from the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2006.

Dr. Thomas Holyoke, an assistant professor of political science, has specialized in American politics and quantitative methods since arriving on campus in 2005. He is a member of the Smittcamp Family Honors College faculty and belongs to Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals organization. His record of publication and research is considered exceptional by his peers. He has authored or co-authored six journal articles and book chapters, presented more than research papers at national and regional conferences, and has five more manuscripts under review at academic journals.

Dr. Steven Rocca, an assistant professor of animal sciences and agricultural education, is recognized by department faculty and students as an outstanding teacher. Since joining the faculty in 2003, he has assisted his colleague Dr. Rosco C. Vaughn in developing the California Agriscience Lesson Plan Library CD that has been distributed statewide to high schools. An active scholar, he is the first author of papers published in peer-reviewed journals and has co-authored additional articles published in scholarly journals. He received the 2007 Outstanding Research Paper Presentation Award at the Western Region American Association for Agricultural Education Conference.