A 21-year ASU faculty member, Moreland is one of only 38 state winners chosen from more than 300 professors who were nominated by colleges and universities throughout the U.S. for the Carnegie Foundation’s U.S. Professors of the Year Awards Program. She was nominated for the award after winning the inaugural Texas Tech University System Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching Award for ASU in 2009. All the winners will be honored at an awards luncheon and an evening reception on Thursday, Nov. 19, in Washington, D.C.

“I am very pleased to have won for Angelo State because I think it is a way of getting our name out there,” Moreland said. “I think there are far too many people who don’t realize what a great university this really is. I’m very happy and proud to have received it.”

According to the Carnegie Foundation, the criterion for the award is extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching, which is demonstrated by excellence in the following areas: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contribution to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former students.

“The selection of Professor Moreland by the Carnegie Foundation for this national honor,” said ASU President Joseph C. Rallo, “is an affirmation of the caliber of instructor which has made Angelo State University such an exceptional institution over the past decades.”

Topping the list of Moreland’s accomplishments at ASU is the capstone course she teaches for mathematics majors in the secondary teacher certification program. Since she helped formulate the course, which reviews the entire mathematics curriculum, and began teaching it in 1997, every student who has completed the program has passed the teacher certification test on the first try. That compares to a statewide pass rate of about 60 percent.

“Ellen Moreland is the most dedicated teacher I know,” said Dr. Paul Swets, head of the ASU Mathematics Department. “She works very, very hard to get her students to work hard – and they all seem to really enjoy it and benefit from it. I think Ellen likes teaching, but I know for a fact that she loves to see student learning.”

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded in 1905 by Andrew Carnegie “to do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching.” The foundation is the only advanced-study center for teachers in the world and the third-oldest foundation in the nation. Its nonprofit research activities are conducted by a small group of distinguished scholars.

CASE is the largest international association of education institutions, serving nearly 3,400 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 59 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information and standards in the fields of educational fundraising, communications, marketing and alumni relations.

A renowned medievalist, Dr. Classen has been instrumental in building the Department of German Studies to some 200 majors and minors.  He will be speaking about the value of foreign language study in the professions at 7 p.m. Thursday November 19 in the UC 101/102.

Happily, Dr. Classen will remain on campus all day Friday and has expressed a real interest in interacting with the Angelo State faculty and our students about his research and his experiences.  Although he already has several engagements, if you would like to meet with him, please contact the Department of Modern Languages at (325) 942-2245 to arrange it.

As the ASU Physical Therapy Department’s academic coordinator of clinical education, Lewis finds facilities where PT students get their hands-on training and prepares them for the experience.  She has secured more than 100 clinical contracts with health care facilities throughout the U.S., where ASU physical therapy students now have the option of doing their clinical rotations.  Several of the contracted facilities are on the U.S. News and World Report list of best hospitals, including Mayo Clinic, Texas Children’s Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Houston, and the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J.

“I make sure that the sites are appropriate for our students,” Lewis said, “and that the sites have all the information they need in order to mentor our students well.  I also make sure the students are ready to go, including having all their records in place and having passed all their classes.  I also prepare them for those aspects of work in the clinic that are not directly related to patient care.”

That type of support for students led the ASU Alumni Association to name Lewis the first-ever Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award winner from the new College of Nursing and Allied Health in the fall of 2009.

But, it is not all about just helping the students.  Lewis also prepares the professional therapists who oversee the students in their clinical rotations.  In that capacity, she was appointed to the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) Clinical Instruction Education Board (CIEB) for a three-year term in July of 2009.

The CIEB oversees the APTA Clinical Instructor Education and Credentialing Program (CIECP) and the advanced version of the program.  Lewis is a credentialed clinical trainer for both programs, one of only two in Texas for the regular CIECP and the only one in the state for the advanced program.  There are only 49 credentialed trainers for the advanced program in the entire U.S.

On top of all that, Lewis is also an assistant clinical professor in the ASU Physical Therapy Department, where she teaches classes in documentation, clinical practice and practical skills.

“I enjoy interacting with the students and finding ways to engage them in different topics,” Lewis said.  “But, in our new doctoral program, I will have fewer responsibilities in classroom teaching, though I will still teach my Introduction to Clinical Practice course and the documentation.”

Prior to her 10 years on the ASU faculty, Lewis spent nearly three decades as a licensed physical therapist in a variety of settings, including acute care, outpatient orthopedic physical therapy, nursing home, long-term acute care and home health.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Baylor University and a certificate in physical therapy from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.  She received her Master of Science degree in exercise and sports science with a minor in industrial engineering from Texas Tech University.

Lewis’ husband, Preston, is director of the ASU Office of Communications and Marketing.  Their son Scott Lewis, daughter-in-law Celeste and granddaughter Hannah live in Anchorage.  Their daughter Melissa Kemp, son-in-law John and granddaughter Cora reside in Round Rock.

Interested in a career in physical therapy?

The Texas Invitational will begin at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 21 and viewing is open free to the public. More than 60 contestants from ASU, New Mexico State University, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Oklahoma State University and Colorado State University will compete at the MIR Center. The ASU contest mainly serves as a tune-up for the spring wool judging season.

“It really helps to put the teams through a contest and get them battle-tested,” said Dr. Micheal Salisbury, ASU associate professor of animal science. “It gets them some exposure to contest conditions before heading into the spring season, and it also helps us decide which of our team members will get to travel to the other contests.”

The ASU Wool Judging Team will compete in national contests in Denver, Houston and San Antonio this spring. The ASU team regularly finishes among the leaders at the various contests, taking second place in San Antonio and fourth place in Denver last season competing against teams from much larger universities.

For more information on the Texas Invitational, call Dr. Salisbury at 325-942-2029, ext. 282.

The 7:30 p.m. performance, under the direction of Dr. Pamela Lee, is open free to the public. The concert will begin with Britten’s 1942 composition “Ceremony of Carols,” a 30-minute setting of medieval and renaissance poems for chorus and harp. The 12 movements of the piece include traditional stories surrounding the birth of Christ in the old English language of Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.”

“‘A Ceremony of Carols’ is one of the major pieces in the harp repertoire and is the most famous extended work for singers and harp,” said Lee, an ASU professor and director of choral activities.

The 75-voice chorale will also present three popular sacred pieces, Moses Hogan’s “I’m Gonna Sing ’til the Spirit Moves in My Heart,” John Rutter’s “Be Thou My Vision” for chorus and harp, and Mack Wilberg’s “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

The program will conclude with Bernstein’s earthy and energetic “Chichester Psalms,” which was commissioned for the Three Choirs Festival at England’s Chichester Cathedral in 1965. The 15-minute work features the rhythms that characterized his most popular score, “West Side Story.” The middle movement opens with a counter-tenor solo by junior business major Edwin Mayer.

Accompanying the performance will be new ASU staff accompanist, Dr. Michael Yenny, playing the organ, University of Texas-Austin doctoral student Jacqueline Ridder playing harp, Dr. Daniel McCloud, ASU assistant professor and director of bands, and James Bode, Irion County band director, both playing percussion.

The performance will be broadcast on KCSA radio, 95.7 FM.

For more information, call the Department of Art and Music at 325-942-2085.

Adult participants can run three miles or walk 1.5 miles, and children ages 10 and younger can run one mile. The course is a 1.5-mile loop around the ASU campus, with runners completing two laps for the three-mile run.

The three-mile run is free for ASU students, faculty and staff and costs $5 for adult non-ASU-affiliated runners. The walk and children’s run are free for everyone. The top three runners in each division will receive awards, and additional prizes will be presented during the awards ceremony.

Participants will register from 9-9:45 a.m. at the starting line in front of the University Center. In case of inclement weather, registration will be inside the UC front door. Each participant must sign a release form and those younger than 18 must have a parent or guardian’s signature.

The event is co-sponsored by the San Angelo Road Lizards running club.

For more information, view the Turkey Trot event flyer at TurkeyTrotFlyer2009.pdf. You can also contact Bill Cullins at 325-486-6293 or send an e-mail to bill.cullins@angelo.edu, if additional information is needed.

They will be joined in their session by Santa Rita third-grade teacher and ASU alumna Sandy Pedersen during the panel discussion, “Classic Literature Inspires Children’s Use of Knowledge, Ideas and Technology (CLICKIT): Learning Between and Beyond the Lines.” The session will address specific techniques for creating reading and writing projects using classical literature and technology, including field trial examples from elementary classrooms.

Teachers from the area, along with both graduate and undergraduate ASU students, have collected student samples in the field for years by doing lessons and projects related to classic literature and technology. Their findings will be included in the presentation for the convention.

The NCTE convention draws thousands of K-12 teachers, college faculty, administrators and other educational professionals from around the world. They hear a wide range of speakers, attend sessions addressing educational issues, share their best practices, participate in workshops and test the latest teaching materials.

Download complete game notes (pdf)

Courtesy of  Aggieathletics.com:

Angelo State will help open Division I Texas A&M’s 98th season of basketball at 7pm tonight at Reed Arena. The 12,500 seat facility  is heading into its 12th season as the home of Texas A&M basketball.

A&M leads the series, 5-0, with all five previous games played in College Station at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M won the last meeting, 77-66, in 1983-84.

Key Game Notes

1. The Aggies have won eight straight season-opening games and nine straight home openers.
2. The Aggies have won 56 straight regular-season non-conference home games. The last regular-season non-conference loss at Reed Arena was to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
3. The Aggies are 77-9 all-time in non-conference games at Reed Arena.
4. The Aggies posted an 89-65 win against A&M-Commerce in its only exhibition game on Nov. 5.
5. Angelo State dropped a 79-71 decision in a exhibition at Rice Monday night.
6. Commerce and Angelo State are both members of the Lone Star Conference.

About the Rams

1. The Rams went 20-9 last year and placed second in the Lone Star Conference with an 8-4 mark. They advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in seven years.
2. ASU is in its fourth year under Head Coach Fred Rike, a former assistant at Memphis, Georgia State and North Texas. He was an assistant at Georgia State under legendary coach Lefty Driesell.
3. The Rams are led by senior forward Shavar Burch (6-6), the preseason conference player of the year who averaged 11.9 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds last season. Junior guard LaMarshall Corbett (6-3), a transfer from Kilgore College, scored 25 points in the exhibition loss at Rice
4. ASU led Rice, 41-38, at halftime and had a 62-61 lead late in the game before a late Owls run.

Read more on RamPage

San Antonio Express News Coverage

ASU Student Government Association (SGA) President Jeff Harris

When he assumed the SGA post last spring, Harris looked at the projects that were already in effect to make sure they were running as efficiently as possible.

“We came in and looked at the committees and the student discount program,” he said.  “We are up to 48 or 49 businesses in the discount program with everything from electric companies, to food and entertainment entities, retail and pretty much anything you can look for.”

An issue that recently arose among ASU students and alumni is the lack of ASU-branded products available in the community.

“It’s one of those deals that has always been a small complaint, but it’s come up recently, especially with our shift to the Texas Tech system,” Harris said.  “People see a lot of Tech merchandise everywhere, but not ASU merchandise.”

The SGA started a push to increase available goods and, after meeting with administrators and local business owners, found out there was a perceived lack of demand.

“Apparently, licensing is available and ready to go, but the businesses didn’t think demand would justify carrying ASU products,” he said.  “We initiated the petition to get ASU products out and we’ve been seeing a lot of demand, not only from students signing the petitions, but from faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and community members who want to see that merchandise out there and to get support going.”

The mindset to “get things going” should serve the government major well when he pursues his goals for the future.

“I ultimately want to end up in politics,” Harris said.  “I’ve done a lot of work with the Republican Party, and I restarted the College Republicans here at ASU in fall 2007.  We also started a program that should keep the College Republicans running during off-election years.  When there are no elections, it’s more of an informational group bringing in speakers and helping people understand what’s going on in politics.”

The College Republicans recently sponsored a mayoral forum for the local November special election and previously sponsored a police chief forum in April 2008 before that election.

Harris, who graduated from Arlington High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex but spent most of his summers in San Angelo with relatives, is still active in the Texas Republican Party and the state College Republicans, where he serves on the executive board focusing on resolutions.

He sees those activities as important in his preparation for the future.

“In ten years, I see myself in some sort of elected state office,” Harris said.  “I can honestly see that within the next five years, I want to be in, not necessarily a state office, but some elected office.  I’ve got a lot of good ties with the state party and the state College Republicans.”
When he isn’t elbow-deep in politics, Harris likes to volunteer for worthy causes.

“I’ve done a lot of work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Cancer Society, Meals for the Elderly and Special Olympics, and I’ve gone out to Legend Oaks Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center to help out there.”

But for now, Harris focuses on ASU students’ concerns.

“You have things like the University Health Center that we are trying to work with on cost structure,” he said.  “The health clinic is going to cost students more in the long run and, unfortunately, we are going to have to ask the students where they would like to spend that money.”

The next big project the SGA will address is working with the city government to get more professional internships for students with city agencies.  Harris also sees the importance of student retention at ASU and in San Angelo.

“My two big words are investment and involvement,” he said, “because when you start involving people in a local field where they can stay here and get their credit or experience from it, they are becoming invested in this community.  Once people become more invested in the community, they are more likely to stay here to develop an identity with the community and be a part of it.”

Currently a junior, Harris will be invested in ASU and the community for awhile longer as he plans to get a Master of Public Administration degree through the ASU Government Department after getting his bachelor’s degree next year.  In the meantime, he will apply for the student regent position with the Texas Tech System Board of Regents to help support ASU’s positions.

“Really, politics is a matter of opinion on how things should be run,” he said.  “If you have office politics and you don’t agree on something, you have to agree to disagree and get on with the job.  Usually, you have an extreme option here and an extreme option there.  When you put them together and compromise, you usually get a pretty decent option that everybody can live with.”

Interested in Student Government?

ASU tutors are multi-disciplined, multi-talented peer students who come highly recommended from within academic departments across campus. ASU Tutoring offers broad-based study skills strategies and techniques to promote critical thinking and the development of time management skills. Refer to the tutor website for the schedule of subject tutors at both sites: www.angelo.edu/dept/tutoring

ASU Tutoring Hours:

Monday through Thursday — 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday — Closed
Sunday — 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Students are seen on a walk-in basis. No appointment is necessary. Students seeking help with writing or math should access the Writing Center (http://www.angelo.edu/dept/writing_center/) or Math Lab (http://www.angelo.edu/dept/mathematics/lab_hours.html). For information on modern language tutoring, contact the Modern Language Department  (325-942-2244).