Members of the Herpetologists’ League elected Dr. Stephen Mullin, chair, biological sciences, to serve as vice president and president-elect of the international professional group. Mullin, who first became involved with the league as a master’s student in 1990, will serve a two-year term before elevation to the presidency. The Herpetologists’ League, which publishes two scholarly journals, is devoted to studying amphibian and reptile biology.

An article co-authored by Dr. Jordan Butcher, assistant professor of political science, and senior student Noah Haynes was published in The Washington Post’s “Monkey Cage” analysis section in December. They examined some of the factors contributing to the historic majority-female legislature in Nevada, concluding that groups supporting women are a major influence. Their research is part of a larger project about female state legislators. The article is online.

Dr. Timothy Crist, professor of music, presented at the Association of American Colleges & Universities conference on transforming STEM higher education. His topic was using music composition as a means to explore, express and reinforce STEM concepts in an interdisciplinary learning environment. This approach not only modernizes music learning by connecting it to cutting-edge technology and innovative music making, but also promotes the project-based learning approach.

Dr. Hrishikesh Desai, assistant professor of accounting, was interviewed by Moneygeek.com in conjunction with two of its studies on selecting renters’ insurance, part of its personal finance series. He provided his perspectives in interviews for two recent articles – one on how to avoid common mistakes when purchasing renter’s insurance, and the other on how to shop for the best renters insurance coverage.

Several faculty and staff members across campus concluded their employment at the end of 2021. This includes Dr. Marti Allen, director, Museum; Dr. Mary Donaghy, associate professor of sociology; Dr. Kevin Humphrey, associate professor of agricultural education; Randy Knowles, associate athletics director for facilities and event management; Paul Nunis, instructor in sociology; and Dr. Karen Wheeler, senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. We thank them for their service to A-State.