RRemodelingemodeling AAnatomynatomy $400,000 remodeling project key to making UNO the school of choice for pre-health students in the region. ASa newsletter from the college of arts & sciences 2 A letter from the dean As Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, I always take great pride in presenting to you the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students. The stories in this year’s A&S Newsletter embody the real world, hands on, and innovative learning and research opportu- nities that our faculty and staff provide to our students and showcase the success of our students and the world-class scholars who men- tor them. Innovative teaching is critical to our mission and success in Arts and Sciences. Today’s students come to the university well prepared and curious, but to capture their imaginations we must offer them challenging and inspiring methods of information delivery. Today’s students demand hands-on, collaborative learning experiences be- cause they learn by doing, and by doing their learning results in pro- duction of knowledge. Our renovated Anatomy & Physiology facility refl ects this philosophy, as well as the History Department’s use of active-learning, role-playing games, and the focused efforts of fac- ulty to bring new approaches to general education offerings through the use of First Year Seminars. Of course, sometimes students learn most when they themselves become the teachers. Such is the philosophy of NE STEM 4U, the largest after school program in the area, in which UNO students pro- vide hands-on, after school learning at K-12 OPS sites. WithWit this year’s newsletter we are initiating a new column that will be- comecom a standard feature of upcoming magazines. The article on Dr. MerleMe Brooks celebrates the legacy of one our college’s outstanding emeritusem faculty, and for this ideaide I’m indebted to the family ofof the late Dean Jack Newton, whow commissioned that the magazinem regularly feature someonesso from the College’s past.ppas As you read this year’s news- letter,lett I hope you are as amazedam as I am of the out- standingsta accomplishments ofof our students, faculty, and alumni.alu David Boocker From the 30’s through the 70’s, a postcard from UNO was a post- card of Arts & Sciences Hall 3 Table of contents Innovation explosion in teaching 4 Student research reshapes college 8 experience Kahn professorship honors courage, 10 determination of family matriarchs Science education, life and legacy 11 of “Doc” Brooks Alums making a difference 12 A&S students taking top honors 13 Symbol of the aspirations of UNO students and faculty Good reads from our faculty 14 for generations, the cupola atop Arts and Sciences Hall Faculty awards continuing tradition 15 is restored to its former of excellence glory as part of a 1.4 mil- lion dollar facelift. Full Grande Dame gets 1.4 mil facelift 16 story on page 16. Editor Joan Bell Photographers Ryan Henrickson, Jeff Beiermann 4 AN EXPLOSION IN TEACHING INNOVATION-----------not just a bright fl ash K a re Remodeling Anatomy n M u r Interactive technologies and collaborative workspacece c h - create state-of-the-art facility for the foundationalal S h a f courses for pre-healthlthh majors. e The $400,000 bill for the remodel of the Anatomy r & Physiology facility refl ects only a portion of the investment the Biology Department has made in this complete reimagining of the classroom space, the pedago- gy, the tools and even the substance of what is taught. As Dr. Karen An expansion of Murch-Shafer puts it, “the body the space allowed hasn’t changed much over time, for an increase but the way we see and study the in capacity from body has changed dramatically. 325 students We must show students the anat- each semester omy of today, not yesterday.” to 572 students, Technology, of course, is revo- allowing the 100 lutionizing both health care and or so students on the study of health care. With the the waiting list to addition of Biopac electrophysiology move forward with equipment and digital interfaces, stu- their studies. Addition- dents are able to monitor brain waves, al technology allows in- muscle contractions, and heart waves structors to keep the larger (EKGs). Students experience collecting real crowd tuned in and in sync. physiological data from their classmates and inter- Instructors are able to do dissec- preting that data. tions captured on a high resolution camera Equal in importance to this hands-on experience is ex- and push those images to student workstations for review posure to modern health care practices including teamwork once the students have completed their own dissections. and patient engagement. This technology allows instructors more time to interact di- New technologies are critical to teamwork in the industry rectly with students and assists students with dissections. as well as in the classroom. In the Anatomy and Physiology Also critical to keeping students on track and engaged is lab, four students at each team table use a touch screen the addition of the Anatomy Academic Assistants Internship monitor and computer not only as a team of four to solve Program (AAAs). The top students from previous semes- problems and discover new information on the Internet, but ters are recruited for an anatomy teaching internship course. also to push that information to all of the other workstations These anatomy interns will be assigned a laboratory section in the lab for sharing or consulting. and a weekly teaching assignment. During class, the intern This same technology allows students to experience pa- will circulate to each group of students to give demonstra- tient engagement. Patient engagement requires that pa- tions and generate discussion that supports the learning ob- tients are not just directed by health care professionals, but jectives. In addition, the interns will staff “open lab” times rather that patients merge that professional advice with their where students can review and discuss the material. own preferences and needs in order to manage, cure and Murch-Shafer and Instructor Brad Jezewski supervise and prevent disease. coordinate the efforts of the AAAs in a facility and teaching “It is imperative that future health care providers un- practice that now mirrors professional schools at UNMC and derstand that caring for their patients involves much more Creighton. One of the AAAs experienced in both the old than knowing the science of anatomy and physiology,” says and new anatomy lab writes, “Adding computers has turned Murch-Shafer. “Our new technology is allowing us to show the groups from lab partners at a bench into collaborators videos of patients with different health conditions and portray at a work station. When presented with a problem, they what their lives are like. By watching and discussing these search for reliable sources and share their experiences and patient scenarios our students emerge from our class with a expertise, guiding themselves to answers. This is the kind better understanding of the need to treat the whole patient of collaboration I experience in my professional work and rather than just the parts and pieces of the human body.” it’s exciting to see students learn to present their ideas and The remodel of the physical space involved not only cre- knowledge to their teams. We are preparing them not with ating a space that encouraged teamwork, but also state-of- just the knowledge of human anatomy and physiology but the-art equipment for effective delivery to the large number with the skills they will need to be successful in the work of students who need the course. force.” The ripples go on forever. 5 A new crusade: setting students’ minds on fi re M u The weapons were fashioned largely of wood or plastic and tempt going through. My professor rolled a dice, and I was r c the crowns of tin foil, but the debate was very, very real. successful in my assassination of King Baldwin, although I h - S These weren’t actors. This was a genuine struggle among was chased down by the Hospitallers and killed.” h intellects. Horobik says, “My initial thought was that the loss of ed- a f e Students in Martina Saltamacchia’s Crusades class were ucational presentation time was steep even for the excellent r embroiled in a role playing game called Reacting to the Past, educational benefi ts the game provided. A trip to Barnes specifi cally, The Second Crusade: The War Council of Acre, and Noble with my daughter changed that. While my daugh- 1148. Mark Carnes, a professor of History at Barnard Col- ter was chasing down the latest 39 Clues books and spend- lege, Columbia University, who initiated the active-learning ing her monthly $25 gift certifi cate, I tried to chase down concept has appropriately described it as “setting students some books on the Knights Templar for a future research minds on fi re.” project. What I found was fi ve books specifi cally over the In the game, students are assigned roles and given a Second Crusade, seven more on the Crusades in general list of primary and secondary texts to research. The roles and about an equal number more on the First Crusade. I or characters are divided into four factions: the French, the found nothing useful on the Knights Templar. It was at that Germans, the Jerusalem Faction, and the Eastern Allies. A point it dawned on me. To paraphrase a quote from Good number of students are also assigned indeterminate charac- Will Hunting, nothing Dr. Saltamacchia would have lectured ters who contribute their singular points of view and whose on over the second crusade during that 5-week period could votes will fi nally tip the scales toward victory for a particular not be obtained for fi ve dollars in late fees and a check out faction or one course of action.