 |
AND THE WINNER IS..: Ron Podell
displays
the four medals he won for
his various screenplays
at The Indie
Gathering in Cleveland, Ohio,
Aug.
1-3.
|
Ron
Podell,
assistant manager, news services, in the Office of Communications,
continues to rack up numerous awards for his screenplays.
Podell took home four awards at The Indie Gathering
in Cleveland, Ohio, Aug 1-3. His feature-length script, "Pulp
Science Fiction", placed
first in the horror/comedy category while his short scripts, "Silence
of the Bees" (first place-suspense/thriller), "If Brad
Met Billy Bob" (third place-comedy), and "Time and Tide" (fourth
place-drama), also were recognized.
"Silence of the Bees" also
was the winner of the Calypso Award at the Moondance Film
Festival, which took place in Boulder, Colo., Aug. 29-Sept.
1; and took second in the short drama category at the Woods
Hole Film Festival in Woods Hole, Mass., July 26-Aug. 2. "Time
and Tide" recently placed seventh (out of
more than 1,300 scripts) in the American Gem Literary Festival.
Both "Silence
of the Bees" and "Time and Tide" were official selections
at the Action on Film Festival, which took place in Pasadena,
Calif., July 25-31. "Pulp Science Fiction" was named a
winner for the upcoming Illinois International Film Festival
in St. Charles, Ill., Sept. 20-21.
Susan Martin,
president of Eastern Michigan University, has been reappointed
to the State Hospital Finance Authority by Gov. Jennifer
Granholm. Martin, who will represent public members for
a term expiring March 1, 2011, has been designated as chair
of the authority. The State Hospital Finance Authority
provides hospitals within the state with appropriate means
to expand, enlarge and establish health care and other
related facilities.
Susan McDaniel,
an EMU alumna, was named the Michigan Association of School
Social Workers' 2008 Michigan School Social Worker of the
Year. The professional organization is comprised of licensed
school social workers operating in Michigan's public and
private schools, and has more than 900 members. McDaniel
will be honored at an awards ceremony Oct. 16 at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. McDaniel, a resident of Canton,
Mich., is employed by the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools
in Plymouth, Mich., and provides counseling to students
in grades K-8 in both general and special education.
 |
Jones |
Barbara Jones,
assistant director of the Career Services Center, will
be recognized with the 2008 Woman of Distinction Award
at the Girl Scouts of the Huron Valley Council Fundraiser
Sept. 11. Jones helped form a consortium of five Michigan
universities to create a statewide job fair for teachers.
With her help, EMU hosts the largest teacher job fair in
Michigan. She also has done work for many area nonprofit
organizations. The
Woman of Distinction event has honored 62 women over 12
years and raised more than $70,000 for Girl Scout programs.
Six women will be honored in September.
Roy Blakely,
an EMU student, was selected by American Humanics to receive
a $4,500 scholarship through the Next Generation Nonprofit
Leaders Program. The scholarship is intended to help cover
living and educational expenses while he completes an internship
with the nonprofit organization Washtenaw County Community
Chapter Red Cross. Blakely also will be paired with a mentor
during the internship and receive recognition at the 2009
American Humanics Management/Leadership Institute in Indianapolis,
Ind. Twenty-two students were selected from around the
country to receive the scholarship by a national panel
of university, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders.
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Kurta |
Allen Kurta,
an EMU biology professor and internationally known bat
expert, recently spoke at the 7th Annual Great Lakes Bat
Festival Aug. 2, at the Cranbrook Institute of Science,
in Bloomfield Hills. The Organization for Bat Conservation
hosted the festival.
Kurta has studied bats since 1978
and has assembled the largest database on bats of Michigan.
He discussed his new book, "Bats of Michigan," which provides
a wealth of knowledge and insight about the mammals.
"Bats do things in the dark and people are afraid of what
they can't see. If they can't see it, they have trouble
comprehending it. Plus, there is just so much disinformation
out there. The book is an attempt to provide the correct
information in a way that is appealing and understandable
to the general public (yet still useful to biologists)," said
Kurta.
Victor Okafor,
professor and interim head of the department of African-American
Studies, had his newest book, "Nigeria's Stumbling Democracy
and its Implications for the Democratic Movement in Africa", published
by Praeger Security International. The book focuses on
the problems of the electoral process in Nigeria and, by
extension, Africa, with the purpose of proffering solutions
to electoral malfeasance.
Five doctoral psychology
students were awarded the Blue Cross Blue Shield
of Michigan Foundation Student Award for their dissertation
projects.
The students and their dissertation titles are:
Andy Cameron, of Wausau, Wisc., "Exposure
to a Computer-Hosted, Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention
for Pathological Gambling: Impact on Gambling Symptomatology
and Disclosure of Gambling Participation in Required Counseling
for Adults Receiving Opiate Substitution Therapy."
Laszlo Erdodi, of Windsor, Ontario, "Memory
Consolidation in Developmental Disorders."
Carole Porcari, of Farmington Hills, "Predictors of Help-Seeking
in Returning Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation
Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans."
Katherine Porter, of Canton, "The Impact of Prior Sexual
Victimization and Victim Identification on Threat Recognition
in a College Sample."
Jacqueline Titus, of Brighton, "Acceptability of Parent-Child
Interaction Therapy."
The BCBSM Foundation Student Award Program awards the
students a $3,000 one-year stipend for applied research
addressing health services or policy. The intent is to
support the next generation of applied researchers in health
and health care policy, and delivery by supporting doctoral
and medical student research.The BCBSM Foundation is the
philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Michigan. The Foundation's mission is to improve the health
of Michigan residents through the support of research or
demonstration and evaluation projects that affect quality
and costs of care, access to care and community health.
Jennifer Ellis, an Eastern
Michigan University graduate student in occupational therapy,
has won a $5,000 scholarship, the largest amount available,
from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF).
“I’m a full-time intern and don’t have
time to work; therefore, the scholarship freed up my loans
for the every-day life costs of being a graduate student,” said
Ellis, of Livonia. “Worrying less about money is
allowing me to turn more of my attention to my internships.
This will benefit my career immediately, as I prepare for
the national certification examination and, in the future,
as I build my own practice.”
To qualify for the award, applicants must be currently
enrolled and have completed at least one year of occupational
therapy specific coursework in an American Occupational
Therapy Association accredited or developing post-professional
level program, or enrolled in an occupational therapy assistant
program.
Through the use of fiscal and human resources, AOTF expands
and refines the body of knowledge of occupational therapy
and promotes understanding of the value of occupation in
the interest of the public good.
