An article co-authored by Dr. Than Boves, associate professor of wildlife ecology, and a team of his fellow collaborators has been published in The Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences. In their study, the researchers explored and documented conflicts between parents and offspring in 18 species of songbirds. They analyzed the optimal time for young birds to "grow up" and leave the nest.

Best wishes are extended to Dr. Alexander Sydorenko, professor of history, who is retiring. Born in Ukraine and raised in Brazil, Sydorenko came to the U.S. as a teenager. He joined A-State's faculty in 1972, earned his Ph.D. at Illinois, and progressed to full professor. With publications and a book on Ukrainian history to his credit, he also served as chair and Faculty Association president. Memoirs, painting and travel are in his future plans.

Dr. Gregory Hansen, professor of English and folklore, recently presented "Missourians of Heritage: Contributions from Barry Bergey and Ruth Hawkins to Folklore and Heritage Studies” to the Missouri Folklore Society annual meeting. Earlier this year, he presented a paper showcasing achievements by A-State faculty and staff, noting how performances of intangible cultural heritage through KASU 91.9 FM's 'Bluegrass Monday' program supports historic preservation.

Dr. Mohammad Abrar Alam (left), associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. David Gilmore, professor of microbiology, are lead authors of an article published in the journal Antibiotics, "Narrow-Spectrum Antibiotics: How Can They Help in the Fight against Antimicrobial Resistance and How Can We Get More of Them?" They describe 25 new pyrazole-derived hydrazones that are potent and specific growth inhibitors of the problematic bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii.

Congratulations to Brian Dooley, head coach of the Red Wolves soccer team, which achieved a 10-2-1 record during the recently concluded season. For his outstanding efforts, Dooley was named coach of the year by the Sun Belt Conference.  A-State won its first regular-season Sun Belt Conference championship under Dooley and put together the best finish in program history, with a 7-0-1 mark in league play. Details are online.