McKendree Faculty, Staff Take Part in Second-Annual Faculty Showcase Oct. 20
Lebanon, IL (10/25/2022) — Eight faculty members and one staff member from McKendree University participated in the University's second-annual Fall Faculty Showcase, which took place in the all-new Dilliard-Dorris Learning and Conference Center in Holman Library on Thursday, Oct. 20. The campus community was invited to stop by and listen to these intriguing presentations. Faculty and staff members who participated include Dr. Shelly Lemons, professor of history; Dr. Kendra Taylor, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Katie Alford, assistant professor of education; Dr. Brenda Boudreau, professor of English; Claire Reinert, research and instruction librarian; Dr. Angela Gilbreth, assistant professor of nursing; Dr. Martha Patterson, professor of English; and Dr. Lauren Thompson, associate professor of history.
Dr. Lemons kicked off the day-long showcase by presenting "By Use of Ingenuity and Ambition: Oklahoma Farm Women and Home Demonstration Clubs in Cimarron County in the 1930s." In her presentation, she talked about the Dust Bowl and the hardships the people faced during that time (especially the women). She also presented several black-and-white photos taken nearly 100 years ago. Dr. Lemons mentioned that, in spite of the realities of the Great Depression and the hardships of the Dust Bowl, members of Home Demonstration Clubs (HDCs) grew high-yielding home gardens, canned their harvests, improved the physical conditions of their homes, became incredibly resourceful with their sparse resources, and more.
Dr. Taylor presented "Improving Critical Access Hospital Nurse Turnover, Retention, and Satisfaction through Mentorship." She gave important statistics to attendees, including the reported national average of registered nurse turnover rate (17.2% in 2019, per Nursing Solutions, Incorporated) and shone a spotlight on the lack of a uniformed onboarding program and a mentor program to help combat turnover. After presenting information about the positive impact mentorship can have in a healthcare setting, Dr. Taylor recommended implementing a mentorship program throughout organizations and developing a Mentorship Program Implementation Committee.
Dr. Alford presented "Partnered Dialogic Journaling to Build Professional Identities in Future Graduates." She began by pointing out that teachers who build professional identities help future graduates combat feelings of isolation, give them greater self-efficacy and agency, allow them to engage more deeply in professional communities and more. She showed that the outcomes of partnered dialogic journaling helped engage student-teachers more deeply with their school community, build long-lasting relationships, encourage one another, share strategies, seek peer advice in and beyond the classroom and more.
Following a break for lunch, Dr. Boudreau presented "Abortion is a Motherhood Issue: Refusing the Good/Bad Dichotomy Onscreen." She recently teamed up with Dr. Thompson to talk about Roe vs. Wade and the Supreme Court during one of the University's Brown Bags earlier this semester.
Reinert presented "The Picts in Perspective: How Museum Educators Can Revitalize Modern Connections with this Early Medieval Civilization." She discussed Picts, who they were and why they were unique, and also showed slides of Aberlemno stones and more. Reinert is lobbying for effective, consistent presentation of Pictish materials through educational initiatives, especially since there is no information available online and the stones are inaccessible. She hopes that museum educators dealing with the Picts will begin having conversations with each other to help others learn new things.
Dr. Gilbreth presented "Incivility, the Impact, and the Ability to Overcome." She explained what incivility in nursing is, the negative effects and consequences it has, and how hospitals can help combat incivility to increase retention and morale. She emphasized that healthy work environments enhance caring and help promote teamwork, skilled communication and effective collaboration among nurses.
Dr. Patterson presented "Dueling or Dancing with Demon Run?: Prohibition During the Harlem Renaissance." Her findings came from Schaumburg Library in New York as she researched Aubrey Howard Bowser, an African-American writer, editor and educator living in the time of the Prohibition. Dr. Patterson is challenging the argument about the split between the dry community (prudish) and the wet (hip and new) community of the time to show that it isn't as cut and dry as it seems. She argues that the community partaking in alcohol was one of the few times when the racial barriers came down in the 1920s.
Finally, Dr. Thompson presented "My Summer in the Archives: Segregation in St. Louis' Most Popular Leisure Spaces." In her presentation, Dr. Thompson gave an abridged history of St. Louis, starting in 1876 when the City and County were separated. She also gave examples of public spaces that had been segregated and still hold echoes of segregation. For example, one can do countless activities in Forest Park including archery and horseback riding; however, basketball cannot be played, nor can one swim. From there, she provided evidence of white flight and rapid shifts in neighborhood demographics and shared her early analysis and hypothesis on the subject. From here, she plans to go through more newspapers and community histories in libraries in St. Louis and establish more connections to hear more stories.
