Tricia Kennell with Deborah Fox

This semester CASNews was written, edited, and published by a student intern, Tricia Kennell. She completed the internship as part of the course requirement for English 398—Professional Practice: Internship in English, taught by Dr. Angela Haas. Working under the supervision of Assistant Dean Deborah Fox, each week Kennell compiled items of interest from across the College of Arts and Sciences. “I very much appreciate the opportunity to work with such a talented and capable student as Tricia,” said Fox.  “All of us in the College office have enjoyed working with her and appreciate everything that she has done.”

Kennell, who hails from Roanoke, Illinois, is a senior majoring in Spanish and minoring in both writing and Latin American and latino/a studies. She will graduate from Illinois State University on May 10 and will spend the summer teaching English in Mexico.

This is the last issue of CASNews this semester. CASNews will be published on the third Monday of the month in June and July and will resume weekly publication when the fall semester begins on August 19.

Kathryn Wehrmann

The School of Social Work will offer one of the only area preparation courses for social work licensure. The two-day course will take place May 17 and 18.

The LSW/LCSW exam preparation course will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 17, and continue from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in Schroeder Hall, room 242.

Kathy Wehrmann, the instructor, is the Bachelor of Social Work Program director at Illinois State, where she has been a faculty member since 1998. A Fulbright winner, her research and service efforts include work with the IDCFS Supervisory Training to Enhance Practice Program and evaluation of the Illinois Division of Mental Health’s Evidence Based Practice Treatment Initiative.

The cost for the course is $75 for community social workers and $35 for Illinois State alumni and University School of Social Work fall 2012 to summer 2014 field instructors. There is no charge for current students other than the purchase of the text.

Each person attending must purchase the book from LEAP, which costs $103.60. The amount is a 20 percent discount for the text, reserved only for those taking the course through Illinois State.

Participants must register by Friday, May 10. To register, go online. For more information call 438-3631.

Joshua Isringhausen, Meghan Leonard, and Anastasia Sotiropoulos.

Illinois State University pre-law and mock trial students were celebrated at a banquet on Saturday, April 20 in the Old Main Room. This was the thirteenth year for the banquet, which is hosted by the Illinois State Attorneys Advisory Board, a group of over ninety attorneys and judges who support and promote the University’s pre-law program. State Representative Jim Durkin delivered the keynote address.

Two students received awards for their outstanding achievements in the pre-law program. The Tom Eimermann Outstanding Pre-Law Student Award was presented to Anastasia M. Sotiropoulos. Joshua Isringhausen received the Carl Kasten Pre-Law Leadership Award.

Three students won awards for their accomplishments as members of the mock trial team. Anastasia M. Sotiropoulos received the Outstanding Mock Trial Attorney Award. The Barry S. Tolchin Mock Trial Team Leadership Award was presented to Kathryn A. Campbell. David Mancilla received the Mock Trial Team Outstanding Witness Award.

Dr. Meghan Leonard, Department of Politics and Government, serves as pre-law advisor. The mock trial team is coached by Professor Thomas McClure, Mr. Scott Kording, and Mr. Tristan Bullington. Marc C. Loro currently serves as chair of the Attorneys Advisory Board.

Katherine Wolf

Katherine Wolf has been selected as the student speaker for the 2013 Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences spring commencement ceremony, which will be held at 7 p.m. on May 10 in Redbird Arena.

Wolf, who will earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education, has been an active member of Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honors society, and Secondary Dominance, ISU’s premiere female a cappella group.  She was also a participant in the Honors Program and worked as an Honors Peer Mentor as well as a Preview Guide. Wolf is a 2012-2013 Robert G. Bone Scholar and was the 2012 recipient of the Anna Keaton and Ruth A. Henline scholarships.

The concert line up will include Pokey LaFarge at 5:00 p.m., Peter Karp & Sue Foley at 6:30 p.m., and the Guy Forsyth Band at 8:30 p.m.  For more information about the concert, visit the GLT summer concert webpage.

May 10 – College of Arts and Sciences Spring Commencement, Redbird Arena, 7 p.m.

Joseph Smaldino

Dr. Joseph Smaldino, featured in the April 8 issue of CASNews for winning the Frederick S. Berg Award, has been honored with yet another prestigious award. Smaldino received a 2013 Presidential Award at the recent American Academy of Audiology Convention.

The Presidential Awards started as a tradition in 1998, and recognizes Academy volunteers who have gone “above and beyond.”

According to an article in Audiology Now, Smaldino “received this honorable award for his work with students over countless years and his leadership in state and specialty organizations. His enthusiasm encourages out-of-the box thinking, professional networking, and a critical need for awareness and advocacy.”

GLT’s coverage of the school shooting at Normal Community High School on September 7, 2012 won in the Breaking News Category. Included in consideration for the award was an exclusive interview GLT aired that afternoon with one of the students who helped disarm the shooter. No one was hurt.

Daniel Hajek’s report on Bloomington-Normal’s introduction to food trucks took the award for Best Feature. His story “Two Blokes and a Bus” featured Twin City residents sampling the food and explored the tension felt by traditional restaurants.

The GLT News team (Hajek, Charlie Schlenker, Jim Browne, Willis Kern and Laura Kennedy) won the Best News Series category for a second straight year with their look at the agriculture industry in “Farming: A Growing Concern.” Schlenker won in Best Sports for his story about a central Illinois speed skater.

“The GLT News team continues to represent a standard of excellence few can match. We are especially proud of recognition for the entire team in the Best News Series category. Every day each member of the news team works hard to deliver the highest quality reporting. These awards are confirmation of that hard work,” says GLT General Manager Bruce Bergethon.

GLT News is being honored in the region which includes small market stations in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Communities are in the small market division unless they are larger than 1,462,000 people. With 4 awards, GLT News won twice as many as any other station in the region. Each regional award competes for national honors to be announced this summer.

Hear the GLT News award winning segments at www.wglt.org

David Mancilla

The American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) recognized senior David Mancilla as an All American Witness at its 28^th national championship tournament.  This competition was hosted by the University of Virginia Law School April 12-14 in Washington, D.C.

Of the 22 students recognized as All American Witnesses, Mancilla was the only participant honored for portrayals both as a plaintiff and a defense witness. He is the first ISU student named All American since AMTA adopted its more rigorous three-tier tournament structure.  This marks the ninth consecutive tournament where Mancilla was named an outstanding witness—an ISU record.

The Illinois State team competed against the University of Michigan, the University of California at Berkley, Bellarmine University, and Tufts University. ISU won ballots from Bellarmine and Tufts.

This year’s AMTA competition began with 5,752 students from 551 teams from across the country competing in 25 regional tournaments. The top 192 teams advanced to 8 national semi-finals.  The ISU 10-member squad was among the 48 teams that advanced to the national championship tournament.

This year’s team members include seniors Christina Gray, Meghan Jirasek, Andy Manno, Scarlett Olson, Tassie Sotiropoulos, and Mancilla; juniors Katie Campbell and Isaiah Roberts; sophomore Mike Stern; and freshman Khandi Wright.  Bloomington attorneys Scott Kording and Tristan Bullington serve as attorney coaches.  Professor Thomas McClure heads the program.

Students interested in participating on the mock trial team must enroll in POL 283: Trial Advocacy, fall semester course. For additional information about the mock trial team, contact Prof. McClure at temcclu@ilstu.edu.

Rebecca Hayes

New to Illinois State University’s School of Communication is assistant professor Rebecca Hayes. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Policy and Behavior from University of Michigan, and both an M.A. in Public Relations and a Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies from Michigan State University. She was an assistant professor for the Department of Communication and Visual Arts at the University of Michigan before coming to ISU.

Before joining the ranks of academia, Hayes worked in governmental public affairs at both the federal and state level, and also worked in advertising research.   While at MSU, she was extensively involved in developing, coordinating, and running study abroad programs.  Her current research involves the political and public relations uses of social media.