Several Northern Michigan University faculty members have been selected to receive 2021-22 awards for teaching, scholarship and leadership. Recipients attending a recent celebration are, from left, Kathryn Johnson, Grace Chaillier, Christi Edge, Paul Mann and Ryan Stock. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University faculty members selected to receive 2021-22 awards for teaching, scholarship and leadership were honored at a March 17 celebration on campus.

The following faculty members were recipients.

≥ Excellence in Teaching Award: Diana Lafferty, Biology. As an interdisciplinary conservation ecologist, Lafferty synergizes her research, mentoring, teaching and outreach activities to maximize participation by diverse people in authentic science to advance understanding of how wildlife populations — and their associated communities and ecosystems — respond to global change, NMU said.

Lafferty said she strives to make science more accessible to students from broader backgrounds.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is that I get to be the students’ No. 1 cheerleader,” Lafferty was quoted as saying. “I really love playing a small part in helping students identify their academic and professional goals and creating a scaffolded framework to ensure they can achieve their goals in a timely manner.”

Since joining the faculty at NMU in the fall of 2017, Lafferty’s efforts have enabled more than 450 undergraduate students in her Principles of Ecology and Conservation Biology courses to present their class research projects at local and national symposia.

≤ Excellence in Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award: Grace Chaillier, Center for Native American Studies; and Kathryn Johnson, History.

Chaillier started teaching at NMU in 2005. She wrote the curriculum for and taught Northern’s Indian Boarding School Education course. She also created and taught the American Indian Humor course to counter the intensity of the boarding school course.

“Teaching History of Indian Boarding School Education morphed into my own profound learning experience,” Chaillier was quoted as saying. “Many of my students had grown up with and were/are living lifetimes constantly shadowed by intergenerational trauma and historic grief that resulted from their ancestors’ Indian boarding school experiences. Some share their stories in haunting detail.”

In addition to teaching, Chaillier wrote a grant proposal that was funded by the Michigan Humanities Council, which resulted in the publication of the book “Voice on the Water: Great Lakes Native America Now” by the former NMU Press in 2012. This book illuminates the experiences of Native Americans living in Michigan.

Chaillier was a King-Chavez-Parks Future Faculty Fellow and a Michigan Council of Teachers of English Teachers for the Dream associate. She retired from teaching at NMU in December.

Johnson has developed online history courses, including one that uses virtual reality.

“VR history apps afford students the opportunity to immersively engage and virtually interact in historic places,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “I designed a Virtual Tours course to equip students with an understanding of the basic elements of political, social, economic and cultural history.

“Student choice is an essential component of the course because they select their tours for each era and then conduct further research in a scholarly journal on a topic of their interest related to their tour.”

Johnson completed all coursework for the doctorate of distance education at Athabasca University in Canada, and is now writing a dissertation on the comparative historical origins of open universities in North America.

≤ Excellence in Scholarship Award: Christi Edge, School of Education, Leadership and Public Service; and Josh Sharp, Biology.

“Engaging in scholarship that unites teaching with research through making meaning from teaching and learning events has been a dynamic and vital aspect of my work at Northern,” Edge was quoted as saying. “I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in scholarship that feeds my teaching, curiosity, love for learning, and keeps my commitment to education burning bright.”

Edge is a Scholar for Extended Learning and Community Engagement at NMU. She has developed this research agenda using the methodology from Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices, which has resulted in new cross-disciplinary studies of online teaching practices and opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty to study teaching practices.

Edge joined NMU’s faculty in 2011 and was promoted to associate professor in 2016 and professor in 2021. She was NMU’s Excellence in Teaching Award recipient in 2016. She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction: teaching and learning, with a specialization in English education, earned in 2011.

Sharp regularly supervises students in his lab, according to NMU.

“Undergraduate and graduate research experiences are critically important for the professional development of our students,” Sharp was quoted as saying. “These experiences are so valuable in the preparation of our students for their future careers and/or entrance into professional/graduate schools.

“The COVID monitoring project, for example, not only allows students to utilize new technologies and gain marketable skills in molecular biology, but they also get to see how lab science interfaces with public health in a real and impactful way.”

Sharp joined the NMU faculty in 2012. He teaches courses in medical microbiology, virology, immunology and microbial pathogenesis.

≤ Faculty Emerging Leadership Award: Ryan Stock, Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences. Stock has multiple ongoing research projects investigating gender politics and energy dispossessions of solar parks, environmental injustices of solar photovoltaic life cycle, climate adaptation and vulnerability of farmers in India, gendered livelihoods and solar development in Ghana, climate policy in South Asia and biopolitics of climate-smart agriculture in the U.S., according to NMU.

“I have been working on campaigns at NMU related to carbon neutrality, which has now been embedded in NMU’s Strategic Plan, and anti-racism efforts,” Stock was quoted as saying. “Off campus, I have been advocating for the city of Marquette to commit to carbon neutrality through its Climate Action Resolution and forthcoming Climate Action Plan.”

≤ Excellence in Online Teaching Award: Melissa Romero, School of Nursing. Romero joined the NMU faculty in 2007 and was promoted to professor in 2018.

“As an instructor, I continually strive to improve my teaching methods in order to facilitate student success in meeting learning outcomes,” Romero was quoted as saying. “Each semester, I use student and faculty feedback to improve the quality of future courses. I also place great value on my relationship with students. I feel that it is important to show respect and go the extra mile to let students know that I care.”

Romero is one of three faculty members serving as family nurse practitioners.

“We are fortunate to have this opportunity because we can function as clinical preceptors for nursing students and students in other health-care related fields, and we also stay current and up to date in the field, which enhances our effectiveness as teachers,” she said. “The joint appointment also provides a service to the university, allows supervising faculty to be directly involved in student learning and enables students to meet their goals while spending time with faculty.”

Paul Mann was presented with the Stephen Young & Tricia Kinley Distinguished Faculty Award at the celebration.

This semester, Mann is teaching hematopathology, molecular diagnostics and medical genetics courses and supervising two students completing practicums, NMU said.

“As much as possible, I try to use case study assignments so students can apply the information toward modified real-life situations that have occurred,” he was quoted as saying in describing his approach to teaching. “That’s really useful and there are different ways to go about it. Sometimes I will help students solve a problem. Or I might give them the solution and talk about how we came to that solution and they have to determine what the problem was that started the process.”

Mann is also involved in glioblastoma research as a member of the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center.

Recipients of the 2020-21 awards for teaching, scholarship and leadership also were recognized, as the pandemic canceled their event last year.

They were: Excellence in Teaching Awards – Weronika Kusek, Earth, Environmental & Geographical Sciences and Tracy Wascom, Art and Design; Excellence in Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award – Cameron Contois, English; Excellence in Scholarship Award: Sarah Mittlefehldt, Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences; Faculty Leadership Award – Brian Zinser, College of Business; Faculty Emerging Leadership Award – Evan Lucas, College of Technology and Occupational Sciences; Technology Innovation Awards – Gordon Xu, Library and Instructional Support, and the Counseling and Consultation Services team of Shelley Brandow, Mary Etchison, Christina Hartline, Jennifer Gorton and Jean Kupper; and Excellence in Online Teaching Award – Sara Potter, Communications and Media Studies.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.