Friends and associates of Dr. Joan Henley, associate professor of special education, gathered recently to wish her well as she moves into retirement. Henley has helped prepare countless prospective educators during her 21 years at A-State. She joined the faculty after public-school experience as a teacher in multiple areas, including second grade, kindergarten, special education, reading and language arts, along with administrative duties. She also had numerous professional publications.

Congratulations to Dr. Jollean Sinclaire, associate professor of information systems and business analytics, who is retiring with 17 years of service at A-State. With research interests such as information systems privacy and security, risk management, technology innovations, and student satisfaction with online education, Sinclaire has published several articles in her field of information privacy and security. Her previous career experience includes work for a software development firm.

Dr. Topeka Small Singleton (left), assistant professor of educational leadership, and Dr. Tiffany Gipson, assistant principal at eStem High School in Little Rock, made a presentation at the International Organization of Social Science and Behavioral Research Conference (IOSSBR) in New Orleans. Their research explored perceptions of marginality and mattering in Black male students in high school. Singleton and Gipson were recognized with the Best Presentation Award during the conference.

Dr. Saúl Esparza-Rodríguez, assistant professor of management and strategy, Campus Querétaro, participated in an International Conference on Innovation, Sustainability and Smart Cities in Colombia. An invited speaker, Esparza’s presentation was related to the design, implementation and development of socio-digital systems to create smart cities. He and fellow conference attendees exchanged ideas on design of public policies that would facilitate transition to the new urbanization model.

Dr. Marcelo Ferreira, assistant professor of emergency management and occupational health, has been selected by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) for its “40 under 40” award. This program was developed by the IAEM-USA awards and recognition committee to recognize professionals who are under 40 years old for their outstanding leadership and notable contributions to the emergency management profession. The committee assessed nominees on criteria such as innovation, impact, leadership qualities and community involvement.