UIS assistant professor of English awarded AAUW fellowship

AAUW Awards American Fellowship has awarded a 2010–11 American Fellowship to University of Illinois Springfield Assistant Professor of English Donna Bussell. She was the Summer/Short-Term Research Publication Grant candidate in English.

Bussell was surprised and delighted to receive the AAUW grant, which places her among the 2010–11 American Fellows. This award will further her study of Barking Abbey, a women’s religious community in medieval England. This work includes articles and a book of essays (which she is co-editing with Jennifer N. Brown, Marymount Manhattan College) that will be the first volume devoted to the poetry and literary life of this important Benedictine nunnery. Bussell earned her doctorate in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

The oldest and largest of AAUW’s fellowship and grant programs, the American Fellowships program dates from 1888, when Vassar graduate Ida Street, a pioneer in the field of early American Indian history, received $350 to pursue a graduate degree in education at the University of Michigan. The fellowships are given to women scholars completing doctoral dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research, or finishing research for publication.

Over the years, AAUW has become one of the largest sources of funding for graduate education for women. Since 1888, AAUW has provided more than $80 million to 11,000 fellows and grantees.

To view a directory of fellowship and grant recipients, visit www.aauw.org/education/fga/fellows_directory/index.cfm.

Management Department announces award winners

Three students majoring in Management at the University of Illinois Springfield have received awards for excellence.

Douglas S. Hartman, of Omaha, Nebraska has been awarded the 2010 James C. Worthy Award for writing the best senior paper in the program. This honor, which includes a monetary award, pays tribute to the late James C. Worthy, a charter member of the management faculty. Each year's winner is selected by the faculty who teach the course Strategic Management: The Capstone. Hartman is an A.M. Supervisor for Embassy Suites.

Kerstin E. McGowan, of Peoria, Illinois, is the 2010 recipient of The Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award, presented annually to a student who best exemplifies managerial competence, both in the classroom and professionally. She received a year's subscription to The Wall Street Journal. McGowan is a Sales Operation Manager at CEFCU in Bloomington, Illinois.

Richard L. Smith, of Peoria, Illinois, is the recipient of the Management department's 2010 Highest Academic Achievement Award. This honor, which includes a monetary award, recognizes Smith for his academic excellence. Smith graduated Summa Cum Laude from UIS and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society for AACSB accredited Business Colleges. He is a Product Manager—Mechanical Drive Marketing Equipment for Komatsu America Corp. in Peoria, Illinois.

Housed within UIS' College of Business and Management, the baccalaureate Management program prepares students to become leaders in all types of organizations through a curriculum designed to develop critical conceptual and interpersonal skills.

Karen Kirkendall appointed Director of the Capital Scholars Honors Program

Karen Kirkendall has been appointed Director of the Capital Scholars Honors Program, pending Board of Trustees approval at its July meeting.

For the past three years, Karen has served admirably as interim director of the program, stepping in when Dr. Karen Moranski became Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education.

“Karen’s tenure as interim director has been marked by her high level of dedication to the students and increasing the reputation of the program throughout the state,” said Harry Berman, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Kirkendall is an Associate Professor of Liberal & Integrative Studies. Her teaching and scholarly focus is in development psychology. She is an expert on autism and related disorders. Her prior administrative experience includes serving as Chair of the Psychology Program and Director of the Office of Undergraduate Assessment. She has provided strong leadership over the years for the Faculty Personnel Policies Committee and the UIS Chapter of AAUP.

The Capital Scholars Honors Program, open to a small number of highly qualified college students, is a four-year baccalaureate experience combining an integrated core of honors-level, lower-and upper-division courses, UIS general education requirements, and any of the 23 undergraduate majors offered by UIS.