Five faculty members at Indiana University East have been named grant recipients for research projects and course development.

Tanya Perkins

The faculty will be presented with their awards during the Faculty & Staff Annual Award Ceremony on March 29, 2018.

Faculty awards and recipients include:

• Erwin and Priscilla Boschmann Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant: Tanya Perkins, assistant professor of English
• Center for Teaching and Learning Fellow for 2018:Amanda Kraha, assistant professor of psychology
• Chancellor’s Community Engagement Course Development Grant recipients: Carrie Mier, assistant professor of criminology; LaDonna Dulemba, assistant professor of nursing; and Robin Brunk, lecturer in nursing.

Perkins has been named as the recipient of this year’s Erwin and Priscilla Boschmann Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant.

Amanda Kraha

The grant is made possible through the generous contribution of Erwin and Priscilla Boschmann. This award is offered annually to full‐time faculty to support research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Indiana University East.

Perkins’ research project involves analyzing programs learning outcomes (PLOs) from approximately 60 undergraduate creative writing programs from across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., using a combination of grounded theory and content analysis. The goal of the analysis is to increase understanding of what PLOs can tell the researcher about approaches to creative writing pedagogy at the undergraduate level.

“I so appreciate this award because it recognizes the necessity of research in the areas of teaching and learning. I’m interested in the rhetoric of assessment, specifically, how program learning outcomes (PLOs) are public statements of value and belief. I’m grateful to the Boschmanns for helping me to further this research.”

Interim Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences TJ Rivard said, “Tanya Perkins is an innovative professor who is focused on student success. She brings an amazing energy to her discussions of pedagogy because of the plethora of ideas that she has. This is an honor that she well deserves.”

Carrie Mier

Perkins joined IU East in fall 2012. She received her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from Murray State University, and a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in English Studies, both with an emphasis in creative writing, from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Her chapbook, People are Naturally Attracted to You, is forthcoming from WTAW Press in March 2018.

Kraha is the Center for Teaching and Learning Fellow for 2018.

Each year, the Center for Teaching and Learning offers one faculty fellowship in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), providing faculty members with an opportunity to cultivate and share their knowledge, techniques, and information on a particular teaching topic.

Kraha is working on her research project, which has the ultimate goal of finding techniques to help students succeed in online courses.
In addition to her faculty role, Kraha is the program director for the General Studies program.

LaDonna Dulemba

“Amanda Kraha is driven to help students and methodical in her process. She knows what will help students, why it will work, and how to implement teaching and learning improvements,” Rivard said. “In both cases (Perkins and Kraha), these awards give them a chance to explore their ideas about teaching and give the campus the opportunity to add to our library of what constitutes quality instruction.”

The Chancellor’s Community Engagement Course Development Grant recipients this year are Mier, Dulemba and Brunk.

Mier, assistant professor of criminology, will develop a Criminal Justice Special Topics course that will help engage students and community partners in finding solutions to the current opioid crisis and substance abuse more broadly.

Mier joined IU East in fall 2017. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology and her Master of Science in Criminology from Florida State University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs and Criminal Justice with a Minor in Psychology from Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Robin Brunk

“As a new faculty member, Carrie has impressed me with her passion for and dedication to working on solutions to the opioid crisis,” Rivard said. “She has jumped in with both feet and has worked quickly to determine the best roles she can play for the university in that regard.”

Dulemba, assistant professor of nursing, and Brunk, lecturer in nursing, will redesign the nursing program’s Promoting Healthy Populations practicum. The redesign will include the addition of training for healthy coaching initiatives – initiatives that will certainly benefit the health of the community.

School of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Karen Clark said, “In an ever changing health care system, population health is becoming a greater part of the nurse’s role in healthcare delivery. Dr. Dulemba and Ms. Brunk’s work in health coaching will enhance the student experience in population health and better prepare our students for the expectations of nursing care.”

Dulemba received her Ph.D. in Nursing Practice from the University of Cincinnati and her Masters of Science in Nursing in Adult Health Nurse Practitioner from Kent State University. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Malone University.

Brunk also joined the IU East faculty in fall 2017. She received her Master of Science in Nursing and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from IU East.