Faculty Members Share Successes in Research, Presentations, and National Honors
BVU's award-winning programs are feted while faculty members conduct research and collaborate on textbooks, publications, and more, contributing to educational, economic, and healthcare efforts that span the globe, from Iowa to Virginia to Mississippi to China.
Dr. Wind Goodfriend’s textbook earns national honor
Professor finishing second textbook soon
Dr. Wind Goodfriend, BVU professor of psychology and assistant dean of graduate programs, co-authored “Social Psychology,” which has won the Textbook & Academic Authors Association’s 2019 Most Promising New Textbook Award in the Social Sciences category. Goodfriend, who wrote the book with Tom Heinzen, professor of psychology at William Paterson University in New Jersey, will pick up the award at an awards ceremony in Philadelphia this summer.
The textbook, published by SAGE Publishing, one of the world’s most prestigious academic publishers, represents Goodfriend’s first effort in the genre. “By writing this, I think I became a better teacher,” she says.
Goodfriend, a 1998 BVU graduate, uses the textbook she wrote while teaching at BVU. She also uses an accompanying book she authored, “Case Studies in Social Psychology.”
Goodfriend previously co-authored another book, “Voices of Hope,” based on research she conducted on relationship violence. She has also edited two books and has written chapters appearing in 12 other books. She is currently working with SAGE to finish the last two chapters in a 13-chapter book, “Intimate Relationships,” a textbook she plans to use while teaching a BVU class in 2020.
Dr. Lanlan “Lacey” Chu presents paper at Midwest economics conference
Research examines health insurance investments for children in China
Dr. Lanlan “Lacey” Chu, BVU assistant professor of economics, presented a paper at the 83rd Midwest Economics Association annual meeting in St. Louis, March 15-17. Chu’s paper, “Does Health Insurance Coverage Lead to Better Child Health? Evidence from China,” was a collaborative effort featuring Dr. Lu Chen from the School of Finance at Nankai University in China.
According to Chu, the GDP per capita in China, based on World Bank data, reached $8,827 in 2017, from a record low of $1,526 in 1990. With rapid economic growth and rising income, Chinese people are becoming more aware of their health conditions and are willing to make more health investments. China has started to reform its health-care system because of pressures such as a rapidly aging population and growing demands on health services.
On the other side, Chu notes, children are regarded as a critical human resource contributing to the future of the country.
“In this context, we conducted research and attempted to show the empirical evidence of the positive insurance effect on child health and provide implications for policy makers in constructing and developing the supportive system of medical insurance for children in China,” Chu says.
Tiffany Wurth shares message on breaking barriers in music
Saxophonist to co-author publication on success in male-dominated music world
Tiffany Wurth, BVU director of athletic bands, was invited to speak at the North American Saxophone Association (NASA) Conference in Mississippi in March. Wurth was asked to share an address on, “Breaking Men’s Barriers/Being a Successful Music Woman in a Male Dominated Music World.” Additionally, Wurth is co-authoring a publication on the same subject and will present at the NASA conference at Troy University in Troy, Ala.in March 2020.
Wurth, an accomplished saxophonist, plays in the Dick Baumann Big Band of Okoboji, the Reggie Schive Big Band of Sioux City, and the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra of Ames.
Dr. Karin Strohmyer leads special education team in picking up national honor
ACRES cites BVU for high-quality pre-service programming
Dr. Karin Strohmyer, associate professor of education and special education, joined four BVU colleagues and one BVU student in accepting the ACRES Exemplary Preservice/Inservice Training Award for 2019 on behalf of the BVU special education team. The ACRES (American Council on Rural Special Education) national conference took place in March 6-9 in Alexandria, Va.
BVU, the only university in Iowa offering a special education major, was honored for implementing a high-quality pre-service special education program that recognizes and intentionally addresses the rewards and challenges of special education in rural schools.
Strohmyer, who joined BVU junior Brittany Boeset, a special education major, in presenting at the conference, said the award, the only one of its kind for rural special education programs, represented a first for BVU. She noted the plaque will travel throughout the year as it’s an honor shared by faculty members on the Storm Lake campus and in BVU sites at Council Bluffs, Denison, Marshalltown, and Ottumwa. BVU special education professors who shared in the award include Drs. Alissa Underfer, Robbie Ludy, Pamina Abkowitz, and Brittany Garling, and Professors Ivy Garmon, Heather Cary, and Erica Boettcher.