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| Spring 2003 | a publication for alumni, family, and friends |
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Five members of the Dakota Wesleyan University faculty have successfully defended their dissertations or recently graduated with doctorates in their chosen fields of study. Dan Wagner is an assistant professor, director of the athletic training education program at DWU and an assistant athletic trainer. He is in his second year at Wesleyan. Wagner earned a Doctor of Education degree with emphasis in adult and higher education administration on Aug. 1 from the University of South Dakota. The title of his dissertation was "Athletic Training Education Program Directors' Perceptions of Entry-Level Preparation for the Certified Athletic Trainer." Wagner, of Mitchell, said his topic compared the education requirements of the certified athletic trainer with the similar allied health professions of physical therapy and physician's assistant. Specifically, the survey intended to find out if the program directors of accredited athletic training educational programs felt it was necessary to increase the entry level degree (from a bachelor's degree to a master's degree) and to rank the importance of each of the domains of athletic training education. "I received a 54.37 percent response rate and 85 percent of the program directors believed the entry-level degree should remain at the bachelor level, but interestingly 94.3 percent believed that professional education doesn't occur at the bachelor level but that athletic training is a profession," Wagner said. Rochelle "Rocky" Von Eye, rural Mount Vernon, graduated from USD on Dec. 14 with a doctorate in educational administration with superintendent emphasis. Von Eye began teaching courses in mathematics and statistics at Wesleyan in 1984. She chose the theoretical basis of service-learning programs at four-year educational institutes for her dissertation. She said that she wanted to know what elements the theorists say should be in a service-learning program and what elements are actually included. "People don't just become interested in service," she said. "Service-learning programs are one of the ways that universities are trying to instill the desire to serve in their students." Von Eye also said she was so impressed with the service-learning concept that next semester she is going to develop an advanced statistics course with a service activity. Melissa Gibson, Mitchell, is an assistant professor of computers and technology at Wesleyan and graduated in December from the University of Kentucky with a doctorate in education. Gibson is in her second year of teaching at DWU. Her dissertation was about designing instruction for children on computers so they can learn how to do research. Gibson said she chose the topic because her degree is in the field on instructional design and, as a library media specialist, she believes it's important that children learn to be literate in information technology. "I was teaching in an elementary school at the time and had ready-made research participants," Gibson said. "It is a qualitative dissertation, which means that I didn't crunch many numbers, but used interviews, observations and student work as my data." Gibson said it took her more than seven years to earn her degree and she wants her students to know that there were many times she wanted to quit, but thanks to supporters like her family, she kept going and now can do what she loves, which is teach college students. Vince Redder graduated Dec. 16 from the University of South Carolina at Columbia with a Ph.D. in English. He studied Renaissance literature and says he is glad to see this phase of his career behind him. "My dissertation concerns the poem 'The Faerie Queene,' written by Edmund Spenser in 1596. I tried to find new historical references for three of the figures in books one and five, based on my research into political and theological history of the period," Redder said. "The topic in 'The Faerie Queene' seemed like a perfect fit for me." Redder, of Mitchell, said he became interested in English Reformation because of his background in theology and his love of history. A former priest, Redder said his past careers have contributed to his to his ability to analyze literature. "This last career as a college professor is a culmination of all my prior education in the ministry, criminal justice and secondary education," he said. "I am, I suppose, a poster child for non-specialization in education. The different careers I have been able to pursue show the versatility of a liberal arts education, which I am daily thankful I had." In addition to various English courses, Redder teaches German and Italian and helps with an informal Latin class at Wesleyan where he has taught since August 2001. Rebecca Feaster graduated from USD Aug. 1 with a Doctor of Education degree in educational administration with a K-12 principal endorsement and a special education director endorsement. She is an associate professor of education at DWU and lives in Sioux Falls. Feaster used the four-day school week as the topic of her dissertation and based her research on the Custer School District. She said she chose the topic because of the dire financial situation affecting South Dakota school districts. "The four-day school week has allowed the Custer School District, plus others across the country, to save enough money to keep programs in place instead of cutting out programs," she said. Her findings also indicated the teacher, student, staff and community satisfaction with the four-day school week increased substantially since the program was introduced six years ago. In addition, achievement scores remained the same or increased in most districts where a four-day school week schedule was maintained, and teacher retention and job satisfaction were better and student satisfaction was extremely high. "The fact is many school districts on the four-day school week schedule were able to save programs instead of having to cut due to financial problems and some school districts are able to add new programs such as all-day kindergarten and tutoring sessions," Feaster said. Feaster joined Wesleyan's faculty fulltime this semester. Dakota Wesleyan University |
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