NNU will graduate its first Doctor of Education (EdD) students on May 11 at the Idaho Center during the University’s commencement activities. All nine candidates who began the four-year program completed course work and successfully defended their dissertations.

NNU’s EdD degree program is designed to provide advanced study and research for educators interested in educational leadership in the specific area of school administration while providing opportunities for in-depth exploration, study, research, and analysis regarding administrative practices in the school/district setting. The online format of the program allowed these professional educators, from the Northwest to the Republic of Korea, to learn new skills while continuing to teach at their institutions. Classrooms around the world are already being affected by these high-caliber educators.

Individuals earning an Ed.D. are willing to encourage professional growth in others and exhibit academic excellence to those around them. They are able to provide creative, workable solutions to problems as they arise both within the district setting and the larger community, and provide leadership in creating an inviting environment for students and staff regardless of their background or circumstances.

This year’s graduates are: Jefferson County School District #251 Assistant Superintendent Donald Bingham (Rigby, Idaho); Bridge Academy Principal  Jim R. Brown (Twin Falls, Idaho); Idaho Virtual Academy Principal Heidi Curtis (Nampa, Idaho); Another Choice Virtual Charter School Administrator Kelsey LeDuc-Williams (Nampa, Idaho); Jefferson County School Distrect #251 Director of Human Resources N. Shalene French (Rigby, Idaho); Notus Jr-Sr High School Business/Technology Educator Sarah Hatfield (Ontario, Ore.); Taejon Christian International School Director of College Counseling Jennifer Hill (Taejon, South Korea); South Fork Elementary School Principal Yvonne Thurber (Rigby, Idaho); and, Lone Star Middle School Principal Greg Wiles (Nampa, Idaho).

Photo Caption: Yvonne Thurber (Rigby, Idaho) successfully defends her dissertation.

Northwest Nazarene University business student Jeremy Vanderpool, Nampa, Idaho, received $5,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation to conduct research on economic freedom. The Koch Foundation approached NNU Professor of Finance and Economics Dr. Peter Crabb earlier this semester looking for a student to further academic research on the important role liberty plays in economic development. Vanderpool will begin research this semester and will travel to Europe during the summer to gather data.

The fellowship is funded by the Charles Koch Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Charles G. Koch established this foundation in 1980 to advance social progress and well being through the study and advancement of economic freedom. Vanderpool is one of 200 fellows selected this year. Other Koch Research Fellows were selected from schools the likes of Arizona State University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Ohio State University and St. John’s University.

“Vanderpool’s research will focus on the question: What effect, if any, do church poverty programs have on economic freedom?” said Crabb. Half of the sum awarded will go toward travel expenses and the other half will be used as a stipend. The research methods are still in the beginning stages of development, but Vanderpool hopes to find a relationship between the amount of charitable giving and the levels of economic freedom in a geographic region.

Vanderpool, a junior economics major, will leave for Europe in May to conduct his research. Europe was selected for its diverse collection of religious and governmental institutions in close proximity. The results of the study can then be applied to local programs. He is the first Koch Research Fellow from NNU; however, both Crabb and the Charles Koch Foundation plan to offer more opportunities for students in the future.

NNU will again host the annual Science Extravaganza for area middle school students Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 at the Thomas Family Health & Science Center. More than 1,000 students come to our campus and learn from selected undergraduate students who provide them with a fun, hands-on experience. The Idaho National Laboratories sponsors the event that has been held at NNU for more than a decade.

Dr. John Cossel, professor of biology and leading herpetologist, looks forward to this time of year because, “it allows middle-school-age students to experience science at a different level and exposes them to the thought of higher education as well as potential career opportunities in the science field.”

One of the favorite sessions is “Creepy Crawlies,” which focuses on reptiles and amphibians from our tropical rainforest vivarium. NNU college students love sharing about the research they are conducting with endangered species of amphibians and letting the middle-school students see living examples of these exotic species. A highlight of this session is not only to see the University’s live resident American alligator named “Al,” but actually to touch him and observe first-hand the many adaptations alligators have for living in aquatic environments.

In addition to the “Creepy Crawlies,” this year students and teachers will also spend three days learning about photosynthesis, osmosis and robotics. The physics club from Mountain View High School, Meridian, will display their hovercraft project, and Micron will guide students through explorations involving the physics of catapults.

The drop-in session will be held at NNU’s Brandt Center from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11.  The  Brandt Center is located at 707 Fern St., Nampa.

Whatever your passion is—whether it’s business, nursing or something in between—we think you should love what you do.  Our graduate, adult and professional programs are designed for just that.  Come see if an NNU education is one you can love.  We sure think so!

To learn more, log on to www.nnu.edu/infonight or call 208.467.8000.

Sal Khan, creator of this popular program, was in the Boise Valley in May introducing the Khan Academy during “ED Sessions” held at the Egyption Theater. Prior to the Boise presentation, there were approximately 40,000 users: the numbers increased to over 55,000 following Khan’s presentation.

The Khan academy, which is a free online web tutorial educational website, will train participants in how to effectively use and confidently assist students in this natable program. The training will be held at the NNU Boise Center, 720 Park Blvd., Suite 105, Boise. Training will be provided by the Khan Academy’s School implementation team and is free and open to the public. Professional development credits will also be availiable.

As one local teacher expressed,“As a first-time fifth grade teacher, I am anxious to expand math thinking and instruction in my classroom. Our district is implementing online communication with parents, and it is a perfect time to include online learning for our students. Providing mathematical instruction through technology with an experienced and tech- savvy teacher will benefit our students greatly.”

Dr. Paula Kellerer, dean of the School of Education, Social Work and Counseling, said, “We are excited to be partnering with Albertson and Khan Academy teachers introducing another tool that increases their strategies to meet the needs of their students.”

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation is providing this highly sought-after professional development opportunity for free to support the Foundation’s new strategic vision–limitless learning for all Idahoans.

“One way to deliver on that vision is to expand access to world-class programs and methods,” says Jamie MacMillan, executive director of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation. “The Khan Academy provides a platform upon which to begin building a different path to success for Idaho students.”

Agree? Disagree? What do you think? Join the conversation and explore how politics and religion inform one another, critique one another, and help shape what promises to be a dynamic election year as The College of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University present: “Through Many Windows: A Colloquium on Religion.”

The featured panelists are: Dr. Brent Peterson, Theology at NNU; Dr. Steve Shaw, Political Science at NNU; Dr. Mee-Ae Kim, History at C of I; Dr. Jasper LiCalzi, Political Economy at C of I; and, the moderator for the evening will be Dr. Mark Smith, History at C of I.

This event will be held at the campus of the College of Idaho in the Langroise Recital Hall on Thursday, September 27th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and will be preceded by a reception beginning at 6 p.m.

A second event is planned for spring 2013 on NNU’s campus.

For further questions, contact Dr. Brent Peterson at 208-467-8018 or by email at bdpeterson@nnu.edu.

On September 14, Assistant Professor Dr. Duke Bulanon in NNU’s Department of Physics and Engineering, along with  two junior engineering students, Mark Horton of Nyssa, Ore. and Paulo Salvador, Sao Paulo, Brazil, participated in the annual Pomology Fruit Field Day at the University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center.

Joined by Governor Otter, Idaho legislators and other academia, attendees learned how NNU engineering students and University of Idaho research students have been working on agricultural remote sensing projects to help farmers understand how crops are reacting to a variety of conditions.

The team from NNU is working to equip a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) with a multispectral imaging sensor that will capture images in both visible and near-infrared bands. These special images will allow farmers to see invisible changes in how a plant reflects light when it undergoes water stress, nitrogen deficiency or disease infestation, immediately showing growers exactly what changes are needed to produce a healthy crop.

Dr. Bulanon and the NNU students will continue their research in November as part of an $84,000 grant that was received through the Idaho State Department.

Photo caption: Dr. Bulanon, Gov. Otter, Paulo Salvador and Mark Horton

InTrust, a group that provides support to leadership boards of Association of Theological Schools, focused their article on the role of spiritual formation in online education.  The School of Theology & Christian Ministries is recognized as one of the schools that has intentional spiritual formational practices in online programs.

Here is a link to the recent article that you can download. In the fall issue of InTrust magazine, Northwest Nazarene University’s School of Theology & Christina Ministries was highlighted as the article answered the question, “Can you do spiritual formation online?” InTrust, a group that provide support to leadership boards of Association of Theological Schools, focused their article on the role of spiritual formation in online education. The School of Theology & Christian Ministries is recognized as one of the schools that has intentional spiritual formational practices in online programs. Here is a link to the recent article that you can download. http://www.intrust.org/Magazine/LatestIssue/tabid/12483/Default.aspx

“This country needs to get back to God!” .  .  .  “Religion has no place in the public square.”

Agree? Disagree? What do you think? Join the conversation and explore how politics and religion inform one another, critique one another, and help shape what promises to be a dynamic election year as The College of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene University present: “Through Many Windows: A Colloquium on Religion.”

The featured panelists are: Dr. Brent Peterson, Theology at NNU; Dr. Steve Shaw, Political Science at NNU; Dr. Mee-Ae Kim, History at C of I; Dr. Jasper LiCalzi, Political Economy at C of I; and, the moderator for the evening will be Dr. Mark Smith, History at C of I.

This event will be held at the campus of the College of Idaho in the Langroise Recital Hall on Thursday, September 27th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and will be preceded by a reception beginning at 6 p.m.

A second event is planned for spring 2013 on NNU’s campus.

For further questions, contact Dr. Brent Peterson.

NNU 2012 English and mathematics graduate Nicole Bouchard was awarded a graduate fellowship in the fifth cohort of the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program. Bouchard was one of 16 selected individuals chosen for her interest in becoming a teacher-scholar at a church-related college or university in the United States. She was selected from 70 nominees representing the 95 schools in the Lilly Fellows Program National Network of church-related colleges and universities.

As a Lilly Graduate Fellow, Bouchard will attend four conferences over the course of three years, develop a relationship with two mentors who are senior scholars at a Lilly Fellows Program Network School; participate in group readings and online discussions and receive three annual stipends.

Find more information on this fellowship here.

The orchards of Parma and Caldwell have been host to some of the newest crop-monitoring software in the nation. Growers rely on accurate, real-time monitoring of crops to ensure that their harvest remains healthy and disease and pest free. Aerial monitoring is by no means a new idea; for years farmers have been paying for satellites to capture images of their crops or for pilots to fly over their land snapping photos to help recognize potential health issues, however both techniques are costly and time consuming.

A new trend has been to employ unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to capture the needed images. The UAVs are controlled remotely and are far cheaper to buy and use than a full-sized airplane. However, even after images are gathered, a grower needs to be able to see what is going on within in the crop. To do this, no ordinary photo will do.

During the 2011-12 school year, Assistant Professor Dr. Duke Bulanon in NNU’s Department of Physics and Engineering, with Paulo Salvador (São Paulo, Brazil) and Mark Horton (Nyssa, Ore.), two undergraduate students, began experimenting with UAVs and the software used to interpret the images gathered. The team from NNU is working to equip a UAV with a multispectral imaging sensor that will capture images in both visible and near-infrared bands. These special images will allow farmers to see invisible changes in how a plant reflects light when it undergoes water stress, nitrogen deficiency or disease infestation, immediately showing growers exactly what changes are needed to produce a healthy crop. “It’s kind of weird,” said Dr. Bulanon, “we are engineers doing agriculture.”

The combination of engineering and agriculture seems to be working. Initial testing has turned up promising results—promising enough for the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to grant the School of Science and Mathematics an $84,000 grant to continue the project in November.

NNU won the overall championship for the fourth time in the past five years. The Crusaders had the highest team GPA in three sports – Baseball (3.00), Men’s Golf (3.01) and Women’s Track and Field (3.39).

NNU, Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings all won GNAC Academic All-Sports titles during the 2011-2012 school year.

“Winning the GNAC Academic Award four of the past five years is a tribute to the high quality and discipline of the student-athletes we have on our campus year after year.” Commented NNU Faculty Athletics Representative Duane Slemmer. “Our coaches and faculty are also to be commended for working with our student-athletes to help them achieve success in the classroom while balancing the demands of competitive athletics and challenging travel schedules.”

Northwest Nazarene, Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings all won Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Sports titles during the 2011-12 school year. SPU won its fifth straight men’s academic title while MSUB claimed the women’s overall title for the first time.

NNU edged Seattle Pacific 146-144 for the overall title. Saint Martin’s finished third with 128 points, five ahead of fourth-place MSU Billings.  Seattle Pacific outpointed both Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin’s 70-64 for the men’s title, while, MSUB outscored Northwest Nazarene 85-82 for the women’s title. MSUB and Saint Martin’s each won two team academic titles.  The Yellowjackets had the highest GPAs in women’s soccer  (3.48) and women’s basketball (3.57), while Saint Martin’s had the highest GPAs in softball (3.33) and golf (3.49).

Central Washington and Alaska Fairbanks each won one GNAC academic team title.  The Wildcats led the way in football (2.65) and Alaska Fairbanks posted the highest team GPA in women’s cross country (3.61).

Sixty-six of the conference’s 108 teams (61.1 percent) posted cumulative GPAs of 3.00 or better, including all 10 women’s cross country and volleyball teams and eight of the nine women’s track and field squads.  In all 48 of the GNAC’s 58 women’s teams (82.7  percent) had cumulative GPAs of at least 3.00.

The Academic all-sports standings are based on the cumulative grade point averages of all the athletes on the official team rosters including redshirts.  Points are awarded on two-point increments.

Read the full story as shown in “Capital Press, the West’s Ag website.”

Paula Kellerer, Ph.D., was recently appointed dean of NNU’s School of Education, Social Work and Counseling (ESWC), and will also continue her responsibilities as chair of the Department of Education.

Dr. Kellerer joined the NNU faculty in 2010 and directed the Ed.S Superintendency program and in addition to collaborating to secure approval from the Northwest Association for Schools and Colleges for the University’s first doctoral program. She previously served for six years as the Chief Academic Officer in the Nampa School District—the third largest district in Idaho. In that role, Kellerer was responsible for student achievement and worked with team members to build capacity in multiple areas including curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, federal programs, district discipline, patron concerns and school safety.

In addition to holding teaching responsibilities, Dr. Kellerer is involved with academic advising at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She also serves on several faculty committees including the graduate studies and general education council.

Kellerer follows Dr. Jim Bader who served as dean of the school of ESWC for the past six years. Dr. Bader assisted in broadening the social work program outside the Nampa campus reaching students in the Twin Falls, Idaho falls and Rexburg areas, as well as assisting in expanding the counseling program through a blended program delivery to students in the Colorado Springs area. Dr. Bader was an integral part in the establishment of NNU’s first doctoral program in education.