higher education

I'm a Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award Winner!

I’m thrilled to share that I am a 2022 Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award honoree!

From Morningside University: “Thanks to the continued generosity and love for Morningside shared by Jim and Sharon Walker ‘70, three faculty members were honored with a Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award. The 2022 honorees are Dr. Kim Christopherson, educational technologist and a professor in the Sharon Walker School of Education; Dr. Tom Paulsen, a professor and department head for the Regina Roth Applied Ag and Food Studies program; and Shelby Prindaville, art department chair, director of the art galleries, and associate professor in the School of Visual & Performing Arts.

Established in 2003, recipients for the Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Awards are selected from a field of applicants by a panel of three outside evaluators. Each receive a $10,000 honorarium and $2,000 to use for faculty development. Several themes guide the Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Awards process:

  • The committee firmly believes that there must be a holistic approach to examining the criteria (teaching, scholarship, advising, and service) and no single item should be seen in opposition to another. Indeed, effective teaching is enhanced by quality advising, active scholarship, and dedicated service to the university.

  • These awards are meant to celebrate Morningside University’s extraordinary faculty by recognizing up to three exemplary recipients each year.

  • The committee takes its charge from the President and the donors very seriously and recognizes the difficulty of the selection process.”

The application requires a minimum of seven letter of recommendation writers, and I am really grateful for all of my letter writers’ time and support! I’m very happy both personally and because this is the first time anyone in the art department has received this honor, which feels like important representation.

The Problem with Guns and Toilets

As a professor, I have been a part of many discussions regarding campus security and active shooters. I just read this article about a problem related to gun ownership that I hadn't realized was happening, though: An Alarming Number of Guns Are Waiting to Be Found in Campus Restrooms

I have returned a couple cell phones that have been forgotten atop toilet tanks to their owners.  I myself accidentally left a plane ticket in an airport restroom stall and had to run back to get it around six minutes later when I discovered it was missing.  It makes complete sense to me that people forget their loaded guns as well, particularly because they aren't a frequently-used accessory.  I have no doubt that if the number of guns on campus increase, the number of accidentally abandoned, loaded guns will also increase.