Welcome to the spring edition of the College of Arts and Sciences newsletter! Scroll down to read about what's happened in the College, and mark your calendars for some future events!
The Office of the Dean hosted a reception immediately following commencement to honor the Class of 2017. The purpose of the celebration was for graduates and their families to take photos together, meet with faculty and enjoy this milestone in their life.
Dr. Joe Domino, longtime professor of criminology and sociology, retired after 46 years of service. He was honored with a reception Monday, April 17. Dr. Steven Tallant, university president and former president, Dr. Rumaldo Juarez, were present to recognize him for his exemplary service. Dr. Dolores Guerrero, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and former dean Dr. Sonny Davis also were in attendance.
Domino was recognized for his service on the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee and the Faculty Senate. Dr. Richard Miller, chair of the psychology and sociology department, said Domino was a guiding light in the development of the undergraduate major in criminology as well as the new graduate program.
Domino’s contributions to teaching at Texas A&M-Kingsville were abundant and include building an infrastructure to support new degree programs for students, innovative teaching practices in the classroom and experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom.
For many years he was advisor to the Criminology Club and arranged for field trips to prisons, substance abuse centers and jails in order to enhance the educational experience of every student. He was a considerate teacher who always went out of his way to help students succeed.
The College of Arts and Sciences held a morning of de-stressing on May 3 for students who were preparing for final exams. The relaxation time featured modeling clay, bubbles, piñatas and sensory bottles.
The Sigma Tau Delta English Honor society collected books and made bookshelves to help promote literacy in Kingsville. Watch video about their incredible gift to the city by clicking the link below.
Representatives from Arts & Sciences newest academic unit, Dual Enrollment, visited with incoming high school students from Raymondville ISD on April 12, 2017. Miranda Joiner spoke with interested students, and their parents, about the Dual Enrollment program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. We look forward to having these future Javelinas as students! For more information about the A&M-Kingsville Dual Enrollment program, please email kodep000@tamuk.edu
KRIS TV in Corpus Christi featured a story about the social worker shortage facing the nation and mentioned Texas A&M University-Kingsville's two new social work programs which, will include entry-level training. The goal of these programs is to help fill the gaps where social workers are needed around the Coastal Bend, and across the country.
On April 21, 2017, the Department of Mathematics at Texas A&M University-Kingsville hosted its Sixth Annual Statistics Day to increase awareness among students and faculty about the important role that Statistics play in life, and in a variety of disciplines. The celebration was attended by a total of 165 participants; including high school students and graduate/undergraduate students. The event also featured short talks given by professors from universities such as Kettering University, Cornell University, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Undergraduate and graduate students, along with faculty who missed the 2017 Statistics Day celebration will be able to celebrate again during the 7th Annual Statistics Day event in April 2018!
Two new statistics minors were recently added:
The Department of Mathematics held its JavALAB Algebra Competition this spring and awarded $250, $150 and $100 to its first, second and third place winners. The contest was open to all students enrolled in MATH 1314 and consisted of a college algebra comprehensive assessment in the ALEKS program. Congratulations to the winners!
Great news! Construction for the new state-of-the-art music building is set to begin in June! Several features to this new campus addition will be 48 student practice rooms, a recording studio, two student study areas and storage facilities.
The A&M-Kingsville Trumpet Ensemble was invited to perform at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania in May. Check out images from their adventure below!
Congratulations to Dr. Dolores Guerrero, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, on being a recipient of the 2017 Y Women in Careers award. Incredible honor for an incredible woman, colleague, leader, and mentor. Congratulations Dr. Guerrero!
Dr. Matthew Hulbert, history lecturer, at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was honored recently with the C. Vann Woodward Dissertation Prize given by the Southern Historical Association. Hulbert’s dissertation was Guerrilla Memory: Irregular Recollections from the Civil War Borderlands written under the director of John Inscoe at University of Georgia.
Dr. Richard Miller, professor and chair of the psychology and sociology department, received the inaugural Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (American Psychological Association, Division 8).
The award was in recognition of his exemplary dedication to teaching and mentoring over 300 undergraduate students in social psychological research projects resulting in presentations at state, regional and national conferences. Miller has co-authored over 70 publications with undergraduate students, mentoring another 35 published journal articles sole-authored by undergraduates. He also was honored for his contributions to the scholarship of teaching and mentorship by publishing resources on student engagement, research mentorship, advising and the teaching of psychology.
Miller was one of the founders of the undergraduate research journal, Journal of Psychological Inquiry, and also was active in helping organize a regional undergraduate research conference, the Great Plaines Students’ Psychology Convention, both of which have been in operation for over 20 years. He also is the founding editor of the Javelina Undergraduate Research Journal.
Texas A&M-Kingsville celebrated PhUn Week Nov. 7-18, 2016, as the main event of a service learning initiative. Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn) is a K-12 community outreach activity coordinated by the American Physiological Society.
This past fall semester, 11 undergraduate students from enrolled in the course, Understanding Human Physiology through Service Learning, taught by Dr. Maria E. Velez-Hernandez, assistant professor of biology.
During this class, students learned major concepts on human anatomy and physiology, and then developed ways to teach these newly acquired concepts to middle school students. With the help of several volunteers, students showcased these approaches in two PhUn Week main events.
Seventh grade students from Bishop Middle School came to campus Nov. 11to participate in four hands-on interactive presentations, led by undergraduate students. They also had a campus tour. During these activities, 91 students and nine teachers, learned about the cardiovascular, immune, respiratory and nervous system as well as the human senses.
They monitored their heart rate before and after exercise and designed lung models using bottles and balloons. The middle school students also tested their sense of touch by guessing objects placed inside a mystery box.
During a second event, Nov. 18, our undergraduate students and Dr. Velez visited Solomon P. Ortiz Intermediate School in Robstown where they presented to 210 fifth graders and six teachers.
Both PhUn week activities allowed the university to build local partnerships between public school science teachers and university scientists. It was a great experience, not only for the schools, teachers and students visited, but for the Javelina students as well. These kinds of engaging activities served as a platform for students to reach out to communities and to the next generation of scientists.
Students in the psychology and sociology department have had a productive year when it comes to scholarships. In the fall, they presented papers at multiple conferences including the Javelina Research Symposium.
Britny Spencer placed first overall for her research on the Effects of Cardiovascular Fitness on Neural and Heart Rate Activity during Visual Selective Attention and Inhibition Task. Humberto Garcia was third overall for his research on the Impact of Contact Experience and Academic Major on Students’ Attitudes toward Persons with Disability.
Spencer and Garcia repeated their success at the annual Pathways conference. Spencer placed first overall and Garcia was second in the social sciences division.
Miguel Pontifis received an honorable mention for his work on Assessing Young Children’s Real Time Eye Movement Strategies on Matrix Reasoning Problems Using Eye Tracking Technology.
Other students who participated in the Javelina Research Symposium were Mallorie Gomez, Ileana Gonzalez, Megan Koepp, Matthew Krug, Christina Lopez, Isabel Mata, Anthony Martinez, Kaina Martinez, Danielle Montoya and Amy Viejo.
During the spring semester, several students presented their research at the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association conference in Salt Lake City. Sergio Garcia was a finalist for the Outstanding Student Research Award for his work on the Reverse MUM Effect. Other Javelinas who presented were Laurie Solis, Jorge Caballero, Cassie Gonzalez, Elizabeth Ramon and Anthony Martinez.
Students and faculty also attended the Southwest Psychological Association convention in San Antonio. Presenters were Isabel Mata, Christina Lopez, Cassie Gonzalez and Anthony Martinez.
Amy Viejo presented her work, Cultural Differences in Preferences for Conflict Resolution Strategies conducted in Mallorca, Spain, at the Southwest Council of Latin American Studies congress in Campeche, Mexico.
Megan Koepp and Humberto Garcia both presented papers co-authored with faculty at the Southwestern Social Sciences Meeting. Mallorie Gomez and Kaina Martinez both presented posters at the Javelina Research Symposium in April.
An article written by Dr. Christine Reiser-Robbins, assistant professor, and two former anthropology students, Jennifer Eiland and Christopher Martinez, received the Kenneth E. Hendrickson Jr. Award for the Outstanding 2016 Article in Sound Historian, the journal of the Texas Oral History Association. Their article was entitled The Open-Ended Potential of Oral History Research: The South Texas Hispanic Farm Labor Communities Oral History Project.
Dr. Guerrero hosted the College of Arts & Sciences MVP's at the Student Champions Week MVP Banquet. Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments!
Staff members from the College of Arts & Sciences attended the Staff Appreciation Month Kick-off Pep Rally on April 3, 2017.
The Texas A&M University-Kingsville chapter of Sigma Tau Delta celebrated the induction of four new members this semester: Daycie Ruiz, Lile Fraga, Kaina Martinez, and Kaitlin Ruiz. The group also honored current members Kristina Canales and Anthony Martinez, who graduated in December. Presiding over the festivities was their faculty advisor, Dr. Pamela Wright. Way to go, Javelinas!
Experiential learning is an important part of being a Criminology major. The Criminology Club, under the sponsorship of William McClendon, provides opportunities for a wide range of experiences out of the classroom and in contact with law enforcement personnel. Last fall, members of the club visited the William J. McConnell prison in Beeville. The students toured the facility, ate lunch in the prison dining room and talked with individuals who provide educational programs for inmates.
In addition to field trips, the club arranges for guest lectures by active duty law enforcement personnel. Recently, a local game warden visited with the club to talk about a day in the life of a game warden, as well as potential employment opportunities.
The John E. Conner Museum hosted an exhibit entitled Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape The Nation through October 8th, 2016. Items were contributed by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
The Facebook live series featured several departments; including Music, Chemistry and Biology, discussing the advantages and learning opportunities offered by their programs. Each segment was streamed once a week and gave students and parents the chance to interact with faculty and students of the A&M-Kingsville community. You may view all the videos from the series here:
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