Dr. Timberly Baker, associate professor of educational leadership, made a presentation at the annual Be Golden Women's Empowerment Conference in Bloomington, Ind. Her session, "Race in My Life," examined issues of race and racial inclusion, and stimulated discussion on how to move toward greater justice in our shared humanity and work. She also identified strategies for employers to disrupt barriers to racial equity in their business.

A special issue of the Missouri Folklore Society Journal, titled “Folklore and Heritage Studies," explores central interests within heritage studies.  It includes articles by Dr. Marti Allen, Dr. Ruth Hawkins, Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch and Dr. Bryan Moore, all of whom attended the 2017 consortium of the U.S. chapter of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies at A-State and then offered perspectives from their own engagement with A-State’s heritage studies doctoral program. Dr. Gregory Hansen, as previously noted, was co-editor of the issue.

Dr. Travis D. Marsico, professor of botany and interim department chair, and graduate assistant Ashley Schulz are collaborators on research published by the University of Washington. The researchers found that the evolutionary history among host plants is the best predictor of whether an invasive plant-eating insect will have major impact on coniferous forest trees. Previously, biologists had looked primarily at the insects' traits. Details are online.

Dr. Edward Salo, assistant professor of history, presented a paper at the annual Comics and Popular Arts Conference (CPAC) in Atlanta. Salo's paper explored the re-invention of the image of the American military in the comic book series "GI Joe: A Real American Hero," examining how the comic presented a counter-narrative of the U.S. military after Vietnam and helped with postwar healing in the 1980s.

Sherry Eskridge (left), student engagement & outreach librarian, and Erika James, student assistant specialist, Dean B. Ellis Library, gave a presentation on planning library outreach programs at the Arkansas Library Association/Southeastern Library Association conference. This session covered ways in which library professionals can have successful outreach events without a budget, also emphasized creating partnerships, planning ahead, and thinking creatively to reach various service communities.