The College of Justice and Safety’s annual “Night of Distinguished Professionals” recently recognized the achievements of two justice and safety practitioners, and one student more than 7,000 miles away.

The EKU Foundation has received a gift of $843,420 from the estate of the late Louise Rutledge Dowerman.

When Jason Edwards chose his brother, Joe, as the subject of his internship project at EKU last summer, he hoped to gain more than a good grade.

He wanted to tell the story of his youngest brother’s struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in hopes of helping Joe while giving the veteran a chance to help others who have struggled after returning home from a war zone.

“We want to show people that PTSD is not a bad word,” Jason told the Richmond Register last year. “Most people with PTSD are very normal people who are more anxious and afraid than you realize.”

What started as a student internship for Jason turned into a professional, collaborative project with filmmaker and EKU associate professor of communications John Fitch III.

In response to the recent Boston Marathon tragedy, a film crew from Discovery Canada were on the EKU campus recently to talk to faculty about the forensic lab work involved in a bombing investigation. (Photo by Stephanie Cole)

The final lecture in the 2012-13 Chautauqua series will spotlight “The Poetry of Thomas Merton.”

Dr. Maureen Morehead, who teaches poetry in the MFA in Writing Program at Spalding University and was Kentucky Poet Laureate for 2011-12, will discuss Merton’s work on Thursday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. in O’Donnell Hall of the Student Success Building. The event, free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Bluegrass Writers Studio, Sigma Tau Delta (international English honor society) and the Kentucky Humanities Council.

The Counseling Center is sponsoring the “Pawsibilities for Student Success” event again this semester. Thirteen therapy dogs will be on campus Wednesday, May 1, for three sessions to help faculty, staff and students de-stress before finals.

Dogs and their handlers will be available at the following times and locations:

* Powell Building, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
* Campus Recreation Center, 3-5 p.m.
* John Grant Crabbe Main Library, 7-9 p.m.

Each dog and handler has been trained and certified as a therapy dog team by Pawsibilities Unleashed Pet Therapy of Kentucky, which is located in Frankfort.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently announced that EKU’s Bluegrass Community Health Center has received recognition from the Patient-Centered Medical Home 2011 (PCMH2011) program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships.

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer officially launched the Kentucky Proud Farm to Campus program April 15 at EKU.

Eastern’s STEM-H Institute will partner with the Kentucky Girls STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Collaborative to host its fifth annual conference “Reaching for the Stars!” on Friday, June 7 on the Richmond campus.

EKU’s Department of History honored President Whitlock, right, recently with its first Distinguished History Alumnus Award. The ceremony was held at Irvine McDowell Park adjacent to campus. At left are Dr. Chris Taylor, chair of the department, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dr. John Wade. President Whitlock earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Eastern in 1965 and 1966, respectively. (Photo by Stephanie Cole)

Doris Crawford, an EKU doctoral student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, recently attended the Leadership Institute for Superintendents at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Two Eastern seniors have been accepted into the Summer Public Health Scholars Program at Columbia University, the prestigious Ivy League institution in New York City.

Public Health majors Stephanie Smith, left, from Barbourville, and Brittney Jones, Corbin, will take field trips to various neighborhoods in and around The Big Apple to observe public health interventions and programs in operation. They will also attend lecture-based courses and work in small groups with teaching assistants to discuss practical applications of class studies.

Seth Henderson, a senior political science and criminal justice major from Berea, was recently accepted into the Summer Research Opportunities program at Harvard University.

It was 1976, and female sports writers were still few and far between.

And females in the locker room of men’s sports teams? Even a scarcer sight.

But, thanks to one forward-thinking football coach, that’s where Marla Ridenour found herself one late autumn afternoon after another Eastern football victory (which was anything but rare in those days).

Students in the African/African American Studies Program, along with AFA Program Director Dr. Salome Nnoromele, delivered more than 600 books and other school supplies collected during a recent book drive to the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Memphis, Tenn. In addition to delivering the books to the alternative school for high-risk teens, AFA team members spoke with the students about college readiness, and worked hands-on with the teens in a classroom setting. This gave AFA students the chance to see the real impact that their contributions have had on the lives of the youth in that area, as well as to spread the importance of college preparation and readiness. EKU student Ashlei Jackson, president of the AFA Club, said she is very glad to have had the opportunity to assist the school. “Most people usually assume that Alternative Schools are for low academically achieving students. But, we were surprised to find students with GPA as high as 3.7, who are planning to take the ACT, go to college and/or join the military. It is encouraging to be able to assist and mentor these students.” AFA is grateful to all who donated books and other resources with this year’s efforts, including Half-Price Books in Lexington; Barnes & Nobles, Memphis; Model Laboratory School, and EKU faculty, staff, and students.

The Division of Natural Areas will host “Family Nature Day” at the Maywoods Environmental and Educational Laboratory on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

April is National Occupational Therapy Month – a time to celebrate a profession that helps people live life to the fullest. As the month ends, students, faculty and staff at EKU are also celebrating a new doctoral degree program in occupational therapy that is one of just 20 nationwide and the only such program in Kentucky. The EKU program is taught solely online for the convenience of working professionals.

The University Singers, under the direction of Dr. Richard Waters, performed at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 8.

Employees celebrating 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of employment were recognized during a March 28 luncheon.

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	30-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – From left, John Ferguson, Ed Wilson, Patti Costello, Rita Davis and Ray Marcum. Not present for photos were 35-year honoree Diane Leggett, 40-year honorees Patricia New, Glenn Rainey and Don Rist; and 45-year honoree Jane Rainey.
	25-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – Front row, from left, Lana Carnes, Bertha Newton, Judy Short; second row, Bruce Pratt, Omer Howard, Michael Roberson, Hossein Vaez; back row, Patricia Brown, Carol Schilling, Melanie Bentley, Liz Hansen and Eric Lewis.
	20-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – Front row, from left, John Newby, Laura Weitkamp, Kim Alexander, MaryAnn Kolloff, Pamela Black; back row, Kathryn Carlin, Leroy Jackson, Eva Alexander, Elaine Fehringer, Rosita Pennington and Manuel Cortes-Castaneda.
	15-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – Front row, from left, Rickey Moberly, Mary Swelnis, Jennifer Miller, Ellen Rini; back row, Jim Whitaker, Amy Graham and Bobby Clark.
	10-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – Front row, from left, Raglena Salmans, Jenny Allen, Mary King, Janet Johnson; second row, Kathy Hall, Shuangteng Zhang, Adrianna Behn, Lindsay Greenwell, Janet Creech; third row, Pamela Szczapinski, Cheryl Barnes, Robby Estes, Ray Richardson, Kelly Young; back row, Gay Sweely, Marc Whitt and Kenneth Sparks.
	5-YEAR EKU EMPLOYEES – Front row, from left, Jill Petrey, Blake Dobbs, Marcus Johnson, Kimberly Puckett, Pamela Cornette, Meghan Scott; second row, Keith Tate, Herman Johnson, Val Parks, Candace Tate, William Rhodes, Brian Perry, Gail Creekmore, Kathy Howard, Sandra Stevens; third row, Kay Thurman, Demita Kubala, Christine Gildersleeve, Tammy Taylor, Socorro Zaragosa, Brandon Williams, Roger Duvall, Charles Hickox, Caelin Scott; fourth row, Daniel Clemmons, Deneia Thomas, Justin Goldstein; back row, Joy Crenshaw, Donald Pingleton, Shannon Rose, Naqoya Hart, Jennifer Fairchild, Jim Good, Travis Abner.

Dr. Amy Thieme, associate professor of communication and recently elected Faculty Regent, is featured in this ongoing series designed to allow EKU leaders and others in prominent positions to discuss their roles, as well as campus issues. Thieme, who joined the faculty in January 1995, holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from State University of New York College at Brockport and master’s degree in communication studies and a doctoral degree in communication studies with an emphasis in dispute resolution from Ohio University.

Harvey, Carolyn (Environmental Health Sciences). Kentucky-Appalachian Public Health Training Center. University of Kentucky Research Foundation. $15,243.

Porter, Diana (Curriculum and Instruction). Kentucky Leveraged Adolescent Literacy and Learning Initiative. Collaborative Center for Literacy Development. $72,434.

Wallace, Teresa (Educational Leadership and Policy Studies). Senate Bill 1 - National Institute for School Leaders. Council on Post-Secondary Education. $21,150.