Faculty Recognition / Spring 2025   

Faculty at Pittsburg State University are experts in their field who regularly take part in scholarship, research, and creative activity outside of their classrooms, and who earn recognitions for what they accomplish inside their classrooms.   

Congratulations to the following faculty for these awards and achievements!   

  • Excellence in Teaching Awards 

    Associate Professor Byron McKay (Technology and Workforce Learning)  
    Associate Professor Anuradha Ghosh (Biology) Kyule 
    Professor Alicia Mason (Communication) 
    Assistant Instructional Professor David Weaver (Business) 
    Assistant Professor Shelby Hutchens (Health, Human Performance, and Recreation) 
    Adjunct Instructor Jamie Brooksher (Business) 

    University Professors 

    Tim Dell (School of Automotive and Engineering Technology) 
    Greg Belcher (Kansas Center for Career and Technical Education)  
    Mark Johnson, reappointment (Kelce College of Business) 
    Doug Younger (Graphic Communications) 
    Siam Khamis, reappointment (Chemistry) 
    Casie Hermansson, reappointment (English & Modern Languages) 
    Cheryl Giefer, reappointment (Nursing) 
    Rebecca Butler (Math & Physics) 
    Todd Hastings (Music)

    Campus-Wide 

    Associate Professor Alexander Binder (Business), Associate Professor Robin Blair (Psychology), Associate Professor Jason Clemensen (College of Education), and Professor Troy Comeau (Communications, English & Modern Languages), presented as a panel at the 2025 Academic Chairperson Conference in Indianapolis. Their presentation was called “Weathering Structural and Leadership Changes." 

Biology 

Professor Neil Snow co-authored a paper in the publication “Nature” updating the relationships of vascular plants. It was noteworthy because the sampling of nearly 8,000 genera was 15 times greater than any previous study. Reference: Zuntini, A.R., et al. 2024. Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms. 

Chemistry 

Assistant Professor Mazeyar Parvinzadeh Gashti was given the Overall Winner Award in the Art of Science competition by PEEREF for an electron microscope image of Octa Calcium Phosphate microspheres grown in gelatin hydrogel by gel growth method. The image was from Gashti's postdoctoral studies at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The compound is a precursor to hydroxyapatite, a key inorganic component of bones and teeth, and is studied for bone tissue regeneration. 

Communication 

Assistant Professor Ken Ward was recognized as a 2025 Center for Community News Champion for his work growing university-led reporting programs in the region. He will receive a $1,000 reward, peer support, and coaching throughout the year from the Center based out of the University of Vermont. 

Assistant Instructional Professor Kate Allred successfully defended her dissertation at Liberty University entitled "The integration of Diffusion of Innovation Through Information and Technology Utilized by Small Market TV Station Employees: A Qualitative Case Study" last semester, earning her doctorate. 

English 

Professor Phil Rudd earned the Kansas Seal of Literacy for having earned 80 percent or better on LETRS training. Associate Instructional Professor Lora Winters and Professor Janet Zepernick completed Unit 3 of LETRS training. Rudd also co-authored a paper that is being published as chapter nine in a Bloomsbury Publishing anthology titled Ecolinguistics, Social Justice and Sustainability: Voices from the Global South and had a paper accepted for a presentation at the 8th biennial Forging Linguistic Identities Conference at Towson University. 

Graphic Communications 

Associate Professor Rocky Restivo was one of a select group of photographers from across the U.S. to have a photo accepted by PhotoSpiva, a juried exhibition that is the longest-running national competition of its kind. Of 833 submissions, only 105 photos were accepted. His, called “Kosher,” was taken during the university’s Travel Photography Class in 2024 and will be displayed at Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin until May 3. 

HPSS 

Professor Kyle Thompson has been named Director of the School of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences on a permanent basis, effective March 3. In 2024, he was selected as interim director of HPSS after an internal search.  

“Since then, he has provided excellent leadership within HPSS and as a member of the College of Arts & Sciences leadership team,” noted Dean Chris Childers. “Dr. Thompson has a fine record of teaching, research, and service, and will be an effective advocate for our HPSS programs.”  

Modern Languages 

Professor Grant Moss served as editor for 2025 edition of “The Central States Report,” an online, peer-reviewed journal in his field. The 188-page volume centers on topics from pedagogy to K-20 articulation for World Languages. It was published and made available to the public in February. 

Professor Myriam Krepps presented a paper in French "Traveling News: de la France aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique," during a special session with simultaneous translation into English at the Society for Global Nineteenth-Century Studies World Congress, hosted by the Global Studies Center, Gulf University for Science and Technology, in Kuwait City, Kuwait. 

Psychology 

Assistant Professor Laurent Prétôt co-authored an article called "Challenges and promises of big team comparative cognition" that was published in the journal “Nature Human Behaviour.” (http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/embargo.html). 

Promotions 

  • Dan Spielbusch (Automotive & Engineering Technology), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Jeanne Norton (Plastics), promoted to professor 
  • Dennis Audo (Construction), promoted to professor 
  • Chad Crain (Construction), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Clifford Morris (Construction), promoted to professor 
  • Kevin Elliott (Technology and Workforce Learning), promoted to professor 
  • Jon Jones (Career & Technical Education), promoted to professor 
  • Andrea Kent (Graphic Communications), promoted to professor 
  • Kenneth Ward (Communication), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Chris Childers (College of Arts & Sciences), promoted to professor 
  • Lori Martin (English), promoted to professor 
  • Brian Moots (Modern Languages), promoted to professor 
  • Gena Coomes (Nursing), promoted to associate professor 
  • Kristi Frisbee (Nursing), promoted to professor 
  • Jennifer Harris (Nursing), promoted to professor 
  • Karen Jonson (Nursing), promoted to professor 
  • Kyle Thompson (History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences), promoted to professor 
  • Gary Wilson (History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences), promoted to professor 
  • Wei Sha (Business), promoted to professor 
  • Cole Shewmake (Health, Human Performance, and Recreation), promoted to professor 
  • Robin Blair (Psychology), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Laurent Pretot (Psychology), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Jason Clemensen (Education), promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure 
  • Marcus Daczewitz (Education), promoted to professor and awarded tenure 
  • Mark Diacopoulos (Education), promoted to associate professor, awarded tenure 
  • Ashley Shaw (Education), promoted to associate professor, awarded tenure 
  • Brian Sims (Education), promoted to professor 
  • Jorgé Leon (Library Services), promoted to professor 
  • Barbara Pope (Library Services), awarded librarianship