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The Fairmount College newsletter is published two times a year. For information, contact Cheryl K. Miller, writer and coordinating editor, at 316-978-6659 or cheryl.miller@wichita.edu.

Photo credits: Cheryl K. Miller; courtesy photos; 麻豆传媒 Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives

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Innovative Intermittent Stream Research Dean's Message  Faculty Spotlight: Tom Luhring Graduation Competencies Sunflower Staff Earns National Awards  Hugo Wall Selects New Director Faculty and Staff Accolades  

Innovative intermittent stream research supported by prestigious NSF grant

As Kansas experiences continuing drought, Tom Luhring ponders how rain may change the composition of the soil in intermittent streams and ponds, ones which dry and refill regularly, affecting their ecosystem inhabitants.

Photo by Dexter Mardis.

To pursue this research, Luhring is using a prestigious CAREER grant of almost $1 million from the National Science Foundation for the project 鈥淒rying and warming interactions between organisms and ionomes.鈥�

鈥淭he research we鈥檙e doing is in a completely new area,鈥� Luhring, an assistant professor of biological sciences, said. 鈥淭he ionomics component of the project is something that鈥檚 only just really started to be used in ecology. The ionome is basically all of the ions within an individual organism, body of water, et cetera. What influences the relative composition of that body of water for all the elements?鈥�

Traditionally, studies such as Luhring鈥檚 have focused on three major elements: nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. The primary focus of the grant is to understand how the dry-refill cycle influences the ionome, which is comprised of 20-some elements known to have important functions for living organisms.

鈥淎 lot of the arguments in the literature are about ways that nitrogen or phosphorus is more important,鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淭he process the cell goes through to regulate one element is controlled by the presence and abundance of other elements within the cell. So, it鈥檚 not just phosphorus by itself that does stuff. All elements are inherently linked to each other and there are no processes where you have just one element that鈥檚 doing something independent of all the others.鈥�

A healthy body of water can host life: microscopic organisms, aquatic plants, and animals in varying stages of metamorphosis or life span. However, a healthy stream or pond only exists when a balance is achieved in the interaction of the water with the ionome.

"All of the elements that are in the water column after water comes back鈥攈ow does that affect the organisms that are in there, and how do the organisms affect the elements?鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淔or example, the presence of tadpoles completely changes the elemental composition of the water. Tadpoles bring it back to what it would have been. They accelerate the recovery of that whole water ionome.鈥�

Drying changes everything in aquatic systems and especially the water when it returns, Luhring said.

鈥淭he different chemicals within that soil react differently when they鈥檙e oxidized, or exposed to air, than when they鈥檙e under water," Luhring said. 鈥淲hen you take sediment that鈥檚 been exposed to air for a long time, and then you cover it with water, the elemental composition of that water is very different than the water that would have been there if it had been full the whole time.鈥�

Approximately 70% of natural aquatic bodies in Kansas are intermittent. Luhring is studying first and second order intermittent streams such as those feeding Grouse Creek and the Elk River in the Flint Hills, which eventually feed into the Walnut and Verdigris rivers.

鈥淥f these systems that are feeding into these streams and rivers and lakes, the first place where that water really starts to originate is in all these upper reaches,鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淎nd the chemical processes that are happening in those upper reaches could have downstream impacts.鈥�

More streams and rivers around the world are becoming intermittent, Luhring said, presenting the opportunity to understand the impacts of climate change.

Developing the talent pipeline

Luhring includes a unique outreach aspect in this research project. Students enrolled in field ecology at four of Wichita鈥檚 public high schools will engage in data gathering with Luhring at Youngmeyer Ranch in Elk County. Luhring is working closely with their teachers to prepare an appropriate curriculum that meets Kansas鈥檚 new Next Generation Science Standards.

"Skill development for students and workforce development, that鈥檚 another part of this grant,鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淪tudents are gaining skills with data literacy. If you go into any sort of business where you have to work with numbers or data to understand patterns, you have to be able to interpret and understand how to read a basic graph.鈥�

Laura Swanson, science curriculum specialist for Wichita Public Schools, is excited for the teachers and students who will take part in this project.

鈥淭eachers involved in the grant will have the opportunity to work as research assistants to Dr. Luhring during future summers,鈥� Swanson said. 鈥淲orking as research assistants provides the teachers with firsthand knowledge of field research and an understanding of the skills students need to pursue a career involving scientific research.鈥�

Another benefit is that teachers on the grant will be able to share their knowledge with other teachers at in-service training and professional development activities, Swanson said. In collaboration with Galactic Polymath, an education studio, the teachers will also create five open-access teaching modules on data literacy and interpretation that can be used by any teacher around the world.

However, Swanson believes the students have the most to gain.

The students who enroll in field ecology at Heights, North, Northwest and Southeast high schools will go out to Youngmeyer Ranch and collect data. They will learn data collection techniques and conduct fish and amphibian sampling in the streams. They will also receive both high school and college credit for the course.

鈥淕etting students out of the classroom and into the field is one of the best parts of the grant,鈥� Swanson said. 鈥淢any of our urban students do not have the opportunity to spend time in nature. This grant allows our students to explore the vast opportunities that exist in the world of scientific research.鈥�

Stream research grant details

CAREER grants, which NSF awards as part of its Faculty Early Career Development Program, are highly coveted by young faculty. The award is bestowed upon junior faculty recognized as having the potential for being role models in research and education in academic settings, and who will advance the mission of their academic department or university.

Luhring鈥檚 $995,327, five-year grant involves undergraduate and graduate students. Several Wichita State undergraduate students will hold paid positions or earn research credit for their involvement in the project. Six graduate students will have paid graduate assistantships. One lab manager position is also provided by the grant. 

Faculty Spotlight

Tom Luhring has always been in and around the water. Born in Michigan, he mostly grew up in Georgia where a small creek ran in his backyard.

Photo by Dexter Mardis

鈥淭here鈥檚 always been something about water that I鈥檝e enjoyed,鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淲e had a little pond across the road, and I鈥檇 go there and catch tadpoles or fish or other things. I鈥檇 keep them in an aquarium at home.鈥�

His time outdoors was reinforced by his experiences in Boy Scouts and later working as the ecology area director at a summer camp.

鈥淚t was just the area I was always kind of drawn to,鈥� Luhring said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been something I鈥檝e really enjoyed and also sharing with others. I think that鈥檚 why the teaching component鈥檚 always been there.鈥�

A first-generation college student, Luhring initially considered becoming a doctor, but his love for the outdoors prevailed. His undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate research experiences included studies on golden mice, amphibians, giant salamanders, and protists, which are single cell organisms found in all environments.

Outside of teaching and research, Luhring enjoys engaging in outdoor activities with his wife, Jen; daughter, Avery; and dog, Siren, a German Shorthaired Pointer.

Luhring double majored in biology and ecology as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, and also completed a master鈥檚 degree in ecology there. He earned his doctorate in biological sciences at the University of Missouri, and held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Michigan State University.

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Dean's Message

Dear Fairmount College alumni, faculty, staff and friends:

Dear Fairmount College faculty, staff, alumni and friends,

You will notice a new name and picture associated with this spot in our newsletter. Andrew Hippisley, dean of Fairmount College since 2018, recently left Wichita State to become associate provost at the University of Texas at Arlington. As Wichita State prepares a national search for his replacement, I am honored to serve as the interim dean of Fairmount College. I joined Wichita State 28 years ago as an assistant professor of chemistry, and most recently served as associate dean for faculty development and research for Fairmount College. I express my gratitude, personally and on behalf of the college, to Dean Hippisley for his six years of inspired leadership and advocacy for the liberal arts and sciences.

In addition to Dean Hippisley鈥檚 departure, Jean Griffith, associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, has chosen to return full-time to her faculty position in the Department of English; and Jill Fisher, our director of outreach, has left the university. I thank both of them for their service to the college. Along with Brien Bolin, senior associate dean for student success; Cheryl Miller, senior assistant dean for academic and staff operations; Jean-Pierre Fortin, budget manager; Debbie Neill, executive assistant and scholarship coordinator; and Joyce DalPorto-Ward, office coordinator, we continue to do our best to provide uninterrupted leadership and support for Fairmount College faculty, staff and students.

In August, at Wichita State鈥檚 new Shockfest orientation event, I had the pleasure to welcome our incoming first-year and returning students. Those students just starting their college careers in Fairmount College will see a new graduation requirement, the Fairmount College Graduation Competencies. These competencies are designed to complement the new general education requirements instituted by the university last year.

The idea of the competencies is to emphasize skills such as textual analysis, civic awareness, and technological literacy, which are already developed in the classes that students take in our college. These are not the specific skills that correspond to the subject matter of the classes, but rather skills that will serve a student regardless of their ultimate career path. There are nine competencies, which are divided into three categories 鈥� Communication, Human Behavior and Diversity, and Scientific Interpretation and Application. While most of our classes naturally include at least one of the competencies, the faculty have identified specific classes which intentionally address the competencies.

Importantly, students in any of our 50+ bachelor鈥檚 degree programs can easily satisfy all of the competencies within courses they already take for their major and general education requirements. As long as they plan their courses carefully, they shouldn鈥檛 have to take any additional courses to complete the competencies requirements.

Our goal is that students graduating with a degree from the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences leave with a clear understanding that they have learned more than the 鈥渨hat,鈥� or even the 鈥渉ow鈥� or the 鈥渨hy,鈥� but that they have gained and developed skills that will help them face any situation and be more informed and engaged citizens of the world.

David Eichhorn

Interim dean of Fairmount College and professor of chemistry

Graduation competencies reinforce, express liberal arts and sciences education

By the time their university graduation occurs, first-year liberal arts and sciences students entering Fairmount College this fall will be able to tell potential employers about the nine competencies they developed while a student at Wichita State.

While articulating their competencies, students will not only reflect on their liberal arts and sciences education, but realize its value.

鈥淪tudents develop skills beyond the specific subject matter of their courses,鈥� David Eichhorn, interim dean, said. 鈥淭hese skills are highly valued by employers and will benefit students regardless of where their future paths lead them.鈥�

The competencies were created by a 14-member faculty committee representing majors across the three academic divisions within Fairmount College. The committee began meeting in November 2020 with a charge from Andrew Hippisley, then dean, to examine the the existing graduation requirements for Fairmount College students. The committee was to meet three goals in their work:

• To educate the whole student
• To prepare students to enter the job market
• To make a Fairmount College degree not overly burdensome, but an attractive prospect to students

It also meant reemphasizing what the liberal arts and sciences could offer to students.

鈥淭he liberal arts and sciences give us multiple lenses through which to try to understand the world around us and solve problems," Brien Bolin, senior associate dean for student success and committee member, said.

鈥淢y background's in sociology, psychology and social work. What makes me a better social worker is having had coursework in the humanities, in the social sciences, in the arts, and in natural sciences and mathematics, because I don't just look at a problem through the lens of my discipline,鈥� Bolin said. 鈥淚 try to solve it in a multidimensional way with an understanding of humanities and philosophy and literature, and what I've read and what I know. So, the liberal arts gives us breadth and depth of understanding of the types of issues and problems that we鈥檙e confronted with, and it makes us better at finding solutions.鈥�

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Patricia Phillips, director of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Advising Center and a committee member, said that the work to develop the competencies was related to the basis for higher education.

鈥淓arly on in the U.S., there was an understanding that all educated people have a certain understanding of themselves, society, and the natural world,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淭o be educated is to know what role you play and how you fit in. So, while you specialize in a field with your major, competencies allow you to understand how that profession, that field, fits into the larger society.鈥�

As is typical in American higher education, students at Wichita State must fulfill university, college, general education, and major requirements for graduation. This includes required courses, number of hours and grade point averages. Navigating these checklists is complex, and the committee sought to streamline where possible while maintaining the integrity of a liberal arts and sciences education.

To prepare for their work, committee members read many books, articles and publications about traditional higher education models. They also examined education requirements at several colleges and universities, including Ivy League schools, and then developed a model that fit liberal arts and sciences students at Wichita State.

Brian Hepburn, associate professor of philosophy and committee member, said that the committee believed the original college requirements were burdensome and complicated.

Using a thematic competency approach makes the requirements clearer and their value more obvious, Hepburn said. 鈥淚n satisfying the competencies requirements, students are going after skills, not just a checklist of courses.鈥�

Following more than three years of research and discussion, the committee moved from requiring 20 competencies to the final nine, which fall under three broad categories.

鈥淣ine seemed to be the best compromise between having enough on the list to adequately represent the real value of a liberal arts and sciences education on the one hand,鈥� Hepburn said, 鈥渁nd having so many that it would actually do the opposite of what was wanted and end up increasing the apparent burden of the college requirements.鈥�

After the college faculty approved the competency requirements in May 2024, academic departments identified courses that met at least one, but no more than two of the competencies. The committee found they were successful in streamlining, as some courses, such as Chem 211, General Chemistry, fulfilled several requirements.

鈥淐hemistry 211 is a super course. It鈥檚 a science. You learn how to do lab work, but it鈥檚 also quantitative literacy because you can鈥檛 balance equations without math,鈥� Phillips, the advising center director, said. 鈥淚t fits the Kansas Board of Regents definition of a general education course. It鈥檚 an introductory major course. It covers the scientific method and quantitative literacy. It鈥檚 one course that does four things.鈥�

The Sunflower Staff Earns Two Years of National Awards

In November, the 2023-2024 Sunflower staff won two Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, the preeminent national award for student publications. The Sunflower was one of only 11 college media outlets in the country awarded a Multiplatform Pacemaker, where a team of judges evaluates all print, web, social media channels, email newsletters and audio/video pieces the outlet produces. The staff also claimed one of 21 Pacemakers awarded for print newspapers.  

 The 2024-2025 Sunflower staff also did well, earning first place for website (four-year schools with 15,000+ students); first place for advertising media kit (four-year schools); and fourth place for print newspaper (four-year schools with 15,000+ students). Allison Campbell, journalism and media production, and Mia Hennen, English, serve as editor-in-chief and managing editor, respectively. Kiona Brown, strategic communication, serves as advertising manager. The majority of students working for The Sunflower are liberal arts and sciences majors. Amy DeVault, senior educator in communication, is the advisor. 

HUGO WALL SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS SELECTS NEW DIRECTOR

Following a national search, Stephanie Newbold has been named professor and director of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. Newbold specializes in democratic governance, constitutional and administrative law, and the intellectual history of the American administrative state.

"I am deeply honored and incredibly excited to join the Hugo Wall School community as its next director,鈥� Newbold said. 鈥淭he Hugo Wall School is filled with vibrant energy focused on educating the next generation of public servants with the knowledge, skills, and capacities to make meaningful impacts in communities across Kansas and throughout the country. I look forward to building upon this most excellent legacy and working to advance the mission and values of this distinguished program."

Newbold was most recently professor and director of the master of public affairs programs at Rutgers University-Newark. She is the editor of The American Review of Public Administration, an elite scholarly journal in public administration and public affairs. Newbold served as a Supreme Court Fellow in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice during the 2012 term.

Wichita State鈥檚 public affairs program has been ranked near the top third of all graduate school programs of its kind in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for the 2024-2025 academic year, and is ranked second in Kansas. The program鈥檚 specialty area of public finance and budgeting has been ranked 27th in the country, also by U.S. News.

Faculty and Staff Accolades

Kaytie Brozek, academic advisor, received the 鈥淏est of KAAN鈥� award at the 2024 annual Kansas Academic Advising Network Conference in Lawrence, Kansas. Her presentation, 鈥淚n My Advising Era: Relating Taylor Swift Songs to Chickering鈥檚 Seven Vectors for Enhancing Academic Advising Practice,鈥� was selected as the most outstanding session by conference attendees. She will present her session again at the upcoming National Academic Advising Association Region 7 Conference in Memphis.

Twyla Hill, Jenny Pearson and Derek Wilson won the 2024 Issues in Aging National Council on Family Relations Focus Group Award for their paper 鈥淐omputers and Connectedness: Digital Technology and Relationships in Later Life.鈥� Hill and Pearson are professors of sociology; Wilson is an
assistant professor of sociology at Midland University.

Kerry Jones, teaching professor of English and Writing Center director, was the visiting author (fiction) for the 2024 Great Lakes Writers Festival, hosted by Lakeland University in November.

Cheryl Miller, senior assistant dean for academic and staff operations, won first place in the National Federation of Press Women鈥檚 2024 Communications Contest. Her national award was for the Fall 2023 Fairmount College newsletter, in the category of publications regularly written by entrant.

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