Staff and Faculty Notes
2020
JOANNA PRYOR, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS, was inducted into the Cowley College Hall of Fame for her service and excellent record as volleyball head coach, on Jan. 23, 2020.
MARK MANNETTE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR OF THEATRE, Chair of Arts & Humanities, adapted a play from Dante Alighieri’s original story, “Dante’s Inferno,” which was performed for a live audience at Newman in March 2020. Mark also served as a producer, first assistant director, and actor for PBS documentary “Contested Plains,” written by Ken Spurgeon and Deb Goodrich, based on the book, “The Moccasin Speaks: Living as Captives of the Dog Soldier Warriors,” by Arlene Feldmann Jauken. The world premiere took place at the Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on September 2, 2022, and the Kansas premiere took place at the Orpheum Sept. 9 2022. He also appeaed as the captain in the musical version of “Titanic” for the Forum Theatre September 22 – October 8, 2022.
BRYAN D. DIETRICH, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, was named a Bram Stoker finalist alongside his co-author, Marge Simon, for their narrative poetry collection titled “The Demeter Diaries” March 18, 2020.
JOHN BRUNGARDT, PH.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY, spoke at a colloquium held at the IPC-Paris, a small college in downtown Paris, on March 19, 2020. LARRY HECK, PH.D., PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF SOCIOLOGY AND ASSISTANT UNDERGRADUATE DEAN, retired from a 48-year career at Newman University after serving as a professor, division chair, director of financial aid, coordinator of a Title III grant, planned giving officer and assistant dean on April 30, 2020.
MELISSA SMITH, INSTRUCTOR OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSISTANT PROGRAM, ACADEMIC FIELDWORK COORDINATOR, serves as co-chairperson for the Heartland Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Association, a group of academic fieldwork coordinators from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Melissa has served on the occupational therapy council of the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts since Sept. 3, 2020. She also implemented the mental health first aid training initiative with several other members of the Newman community and invented the name Propeller Project for this initiative in 2022.
LORI LINK, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NURSING, achieved her doctoral degree after conducting research and completing a case study in 2020.
MELISSA ROMANESCHI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NURSING, achieved her doctoral degree after conducting research and completing a case study in 2020.
KATHRYN NELSON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GRADUATE EDUCATION, achieved her doctoral degree after conducting research and completing a case study in 2020.
SUSAN CRANE-LARACUENTE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, served as an ambassador for United Way of the Plains, where she worked alongside Newman community members to coordinate and promote an annual fundraising campaign drive in Nov. 2020.
2021
JORDAN BANI, PH.D., MMIS, MSM, was promoted to associate professor of business in March 2021.
AMELIA HOPPER MSN, RN, CNE®CL, was promoted to associate professor of nursing in March 2021.
YELANDO JOHNSON, LMSW, MBA, was promoted to associate professor of social work in March 2021 after six years of service at Newman University.
KRISTI BARTON EDWARDS, J.D. was promoted to to associate professor of criminal justice in March 2021 after seven years of full-time service and 13 years as an adjunct professor at Newman University.
NANCY LUGO-BAEZ, DNP, RN, was promoted to associate professor of nursing in March 2021 after seven years of service at Newman University.
MELISSA ROMANESCHI, DNP, MHCL, RN, was promoted to associate professor of nursing in March 2021 after seven years of service at Newman University.
SISTER THERESE WETTA, ASC, DIRECTOR OF MISSION EFFECTIVENESS, took on her new role in April 2021.
DANA BEITEY, DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS, took on her new role in April 2021.
CELINA MARCHETTI, HOUSEKEEPER IN FACILITIES AND HOUSEKEEPING, was selected as the Staff Excellence Award Winner in June 2021.
DENISE NEIL, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, published her book, “Classic Restaurants of Wichita,” which was published and released by Arcadia Publishing, in Aug. 2021.
CHRISTINE SCHNEIKART-LUEBBE, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AND STUDENT SUCCESS, was selected as a Pillar of the Profession by NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) in 2020. She also took on her new role as VPEMSS at Newman Sept. 2021. Christine will serve on the faculty for the Alice Manicur Symposium in Jan. 2023.
SHANNON JOHNSTON, ASSISTANT ART PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR OF THE STECKLINE ART GALLERY, was featured on Greg Harrod’s podcast, “Connect Mobilize Deliver” in Oct. 2021. CHRISTY CUNNINGHAM RAILSBACK, adjunct professor, was honored with her 10th Mary Jane Teall Award for costume design in Oct. 2021. Christy also created costumes for PBS documentary, “Contested Plains,” written by Ken Spurgeon and Deb Goodrich, based on the book “The Moccasin Speaks: Living as Captives of the Dog Soldier Warriors,” by Arlene Feldmann Jauken, in Oct. 2021.
JOHN VOGT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, CHAIR, DIVISION OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS, celebrated 35 years at Newman University in 2021.
MELANIE FLANAGAN, SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, was honored with a Kansas Honor Banner, which publicly recognized her sacrifices as a United States Air Force veteran, in Nov. 2021.
AUDREY HANE, ASSISTANT DEAN FOR ARTS AND SCIENCES AND DIRECTOR OF NAVIGATOR, celebrated 25 years at Newman University in 2021.
JANE WEILERT, ED.D., PROFESSOR EMERITA, retired from Newman after 34 years, most recently serving as associate dean of the School of Nursing and Allied Health, November 2021.
JOAN MELZER R.N., M.S. retired after 29 years on November 18, 2021
VANESSA RIALS, INSTRUCTOR OF SOCIAL WORK AND DIRECTOR OF FIELD EDUCATION, was promoted to her current role in May 2022.
JULIA SANDERS, ADVANCEMENT DATABASE COORDINATOR, earned her Master of Business Administration in December 2021.
JOHN BURKE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, received the Distinguished Service Award from the Kansas School Superintendents Association on Feb. 13, 2020. In recognition of his 18 years as superintendent of Haysville Unified School District 261, the district’s Learning Center was renamed the Dr. John Burke Learning Center in June 2021.
2022
CHERYL GOLDEN, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, served as president of the Kansas Association of Historians, through March 2022, the first time a Newman representative has presided as president in its 94-year history.
KAREN NOEL, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR THE NEWMAN SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK, received the 2022 staff SHERO Award in March 2022.
GEOFF LOUVAR, ADMISSIONS DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER, was recognized as a Rising Star at the joint Great Plains & Missouri Association for College Admissions Counseling in April 2022.
BRITTANY STAHNKE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL WORK received the Teaching Excellence Award in June 2022. Brittany also published her book, “The Doubting Disease”, in July 2022.
MELISSA CASTLE, EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST FOR HUMAN RESOURCES, received the Staff Excellence Award in June 2022.
JILL FORT, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, presented “Bridging Success in Recruitment, Retention and Graduation,” at the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Conference in Washington, D.C., July 2022. Jill was also promoted after serving as Newman’s interim vice president for academic affairs in 2022.
ANGIE MCCOY, DIRECTOR OF THE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM, presented “Bridging Success in Recruitment, Retention and Graduation,” at the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2022.
TERESA WILKERSON, ASSISTANT DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, presented “Bridging Success in Recruitment, Retention and Graduation,” at the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2022.
KATE BUSSELL, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUCCESS, presented “Bridging Success in Recruitment, Retention and Graduation,” at the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Conference in Washington, D.C., in July 2022.
JAMES SANNY, VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST, has published photographs in automotive magazines: “Super Street Magazine” (July 2019), and “Street Trucks Magazine” (July 2019), “Tread Magazine” (February 2020) and “Fast Car Magazine” (September 2021).