For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, awards and publications include the following:

Presentations

From May 5-9, Chase Barnes, assistant policy scientist at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), attended the Main Street Now 2024 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. The conference was focused on economic development in Main Street communities. Barnes was one of 10 representatives awarded a conference stipend as part of a U.S. Department of Transportation Thriving Communities Program grant that the Grant Assistant Program (GAP) team helped develop for Milford and Slaughter Beach. Barnes was invited to an exclusive Main Street America Founders Reception, where he connected with fellow U.S. DOT Thriving Communities Program–Main Street America (MSA) cohort members, including Chase Milner at the First Tennessee Development District and Shane Hampton and Maggie Gillespie, the MSA technical assistance providers for Milford and Slaughter Beach. Throughout the four-day conference, Barnes networked with people from across the country. He connected with local government and Main Street organization leaders from Delaware, representing Dover, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, Smyrna, Seaford and Wilmington. Barnes will apply the knowledge from the conference to future GAP and IPA-related work. The Institute for Public Administration is a research and public service center in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration.

Awards 

Debra Hess Norris, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department of Art Conservation, received the Forbes Medal on Tuesday, May 21, in Salt Lake City. Granted by the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), the Forbes Medal recognizes a nationally prominent figure for distinguished contributions to the field of conservation and celebrates those whose work on a national or international platform has significantly advanced the preservation of cultural heritage. The award is named for Edward Waldo Forbes (1873-1969), who served as the director of the Fogg Museum at Harvard University. In 1994, Hess Norris, as the newly elected president of the AIC, presented the first Forbes Medal to Sen. Claiborne Pell. Never did she imagine she would receive a similar honor 30 years later. Hess Norris is one of only 12 Forbes Medal recipients.

Alyssa Koehler, assistant professor and extension specialist of plant pathology, was selected by FMC as one of the recipients of the 2024 New Investigator Awards and received an unrestricted research grant. These awards recognize outstanding early career professors impacting fields of science aligned with FMC’s research. The awardees were selected by an interdisciplinary committee of scientists from FMC's research and development organization. Koehler’s Plant Pathology Lab bridges molecular and applied research to support agricultural sustainability and improve crop production in the Mid-Atlantic region. Her research includes pathogen identification and molecular quantification as well as field evaluation of chemical, biological and cultural management strategies for diseases impacting various crops.

Kaley Burgess, a second-year master’s student in athletic training, has received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Bobby Gunn Student Leadership Award, a prestigious recognition that marks a significant milestone for UD. This marks the first time a UD student has received the award in recorded history. Burgess, who graduates this spring, will be recognized at NATA’s 75th Convention in June in New Orleans. Burgess has demonstrated exceptional dedication and hard work, balancing multiple leadership positions at the state, regional and national levels. Her contributions include serving as District 2 Representative on the NATA Student Leadership Committee, where she played an integral role in establishing the first Student Ambassador Program, which she currently chairs. Burgess also received the UD Athletic Training Program’s Dr. Julie Moyer-Knowles and Keith Handling Scholarship awards.

Publications

Suzanne L. Burton, senior associate dean for the arts and professor of music education in the College of Arts and Sciences, with colleague Alden Snell (Eastman School of Music), published “Breaking the sound of silence: Professional learning in an early career music teacher conversation group” in the refereed journal Research Studies in Music Education. In this study, researchers explored the role of conversation as a mode of professional learning and development with five early career music teachers. The conversation group facilitated music teachers’ move from the initial shock of navigating a sedimented school culture to a position of agency and action. The freedom of conversation around chosen topics of professional and personal importance provided the music teachers with choice, self-direction, collective support and agency — key components of professional learning. 

To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to ocm@udel.edu and include “For the Record” in the subject line.