Fiat Lux 2024 College Highlights

Archer College of Health and Human Services

The first cohort of students in Angelo State’s Doctor of Social Work (D.S.W.) in clinical social work program officially completed their degrees in August 2024 to become the inaugural graduates of a second ASU doctoral program. ASU has been conferring doctoral degrees since 2012 when the first cohort of Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) students graduated. By producing graduates through a second doctoral program, ASU is now eligible to be designated a Doctorate-granting University in the 2025 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (CCIHE).

Dr. Joel Carr Dr. Joel L. Carr of the social work and sociology faculty has been re-elected to the American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW), which sets the national standards for education, advocacy and credentialing for the clinical social work profession. He was first elected to the ABCSW in 2022 and has been re-elected to a second two-year term. Carr is the director of ASU’s D.S.W. in clinical social work degree program, as well as ASU’s sociology program.

Recent graduate Joe Chaney of Daphne, Ala., was selected for the ASU Department of Political Science and Philosophy’s 2024 Government and Public Service Internship Program in Washington, D.C. He spent the fall semester working as an intern for U.S. Congressman August Pfluger, who represents the 11th District of Texas that includes San Angelo. A former foster care youth, Chaney was a member of ASU’s Fostering Ram Success program, and he previously completed a successful internship in the San Angelo City Attorney’s Office. He graduated in December with his B.A. in political science with minors in English and history.

Dr. Rebekah McMillan of the history faculty was selected for a 2025 Overseas Faculty Development Seminar (OFDS) by the Council for American Overseas Research Center and is spending most of January in India. OFDS are fully-funded programs conducted abroad, designed to help faculty and administrators from U.S. community colleges and minority-serving institutions gain international experience. McMillan’s seminar is titled “Sustainability Through Urban and Agricultural India” and is being presented by the American Institute of Indian Studies. It features travel and activities throughout the country to foster understanding of the economic, cultural, social and environmental pressures of emerging cities, as well as cultural excursions.

Mariachi instructor Rosendo Ramos was presented with the Captain Albert Tijerina Jr. Trailblazer Award by the Hispanic Heritage Museum and Cultural Center at its annual Hispanic Heritage Month Banquet in September. The Capt. Tijerina award recognizes individuals who have made significant strides in their field, embodying the spirit of innovation and leadership. In addition to leading ASU’s Mariachi Los Pastores ensemble, Ramos is the mariachi director at San Angelo’s Lincoln Middle School and Lake View High School.

Political science majors Garrett Bryson of Glen Rose and Isabela Casillas of San Angelo earned individual awards for their performances at the 28th annual Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States Collegiate Summit of the Americas at Baylor University. Teams of ASU students represented Brazil and Peru during the Summit of the Americas Competition. Casillas won a Recognized Resolution Award and Bryson won a Recognized Delegate Award.

College of Education

Dr. Carlos Flores Jr.

Dr. Carlos Flores Jr. of the teacher education faculty was elected secretary of the Texas Association of Teacher Educators (TxATE) and is serving a one-year term that runs through June. TxATE is a state organization for college and university faculty in teacher preparation programs. Its purpose is to actively promote best practices for educating and creating quality teacher candidates through professional development and research. As secretary, Flores attends the organization’s state and national conferences, officially records all business meetings, and coordinates TxATE activities.

ASU’s newest doctoral program, the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in transformative leadership, showed the largest percentage of enrollment growth of all ASU graduate degree programs. Its enrollment increased 136% from fall 2023 to fall 2024.

During the fall of 2024, several graduate programs in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction earned top national rankings for quality and affordability from multiple online higher education guides, including Intelligent.com, EduMed.org, GradSchoolHub.com and many others.

The College of Education has received approval from the Texas Education Agency and the State Board for Educator Certification to offer the Teacher Residency Certificate. This enhanced certificate is designed for senior teacher candidates who complete a yearlong teacher residency program. Piloted in 2023, the program has already seen significant growth, doubling in size and expanding to include four school districts: Ballinger, Miles, Texas Leadership, and San Angelo ISD. Unlike traditional student-teacher placements, this yearlong residency program allows candidates to experience the full school year cycle—starting at the beginning of the year, through the end of the year, and all key moments in between. This immersive experience provides ASU students with in-depth, real-world preparation that is designed to strengthen their teaching skills and better equip them for the challenges of the classroom.

The Texas 2-Step Program, which provides a pathway for paraprofessionals seeking teacher certification, has quadrupled in size. The College of Education continues to partner with Howard College and is expanding the program through additional community colleges and high schools across Texas. This initiative aims to help paraprofessionals earn teacher certification and transition into full teaching roles, increasing the diversity and availability of qualified educators throughout the state. Stay tuned for more updates as the College of Education continues to foster innovation in teacher preparation and support the next generation of educators!

Angelo State has been awarded a $595,000 contract by Sonoma State University for a joint project designed to help local and area middle schools improve student success in the sciences, as well as provide professional development opportunities for science teachers. Titled “STEM and Computing Education Support (STEMACES),” the overall five-year project is being funded by a $7.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. ASU’s part of the project will target 8th graders in San Angelo schools and area school districts, particularly districts in rural areas and those with substantial low-income and other underrepresented student populations. Dr. Kenneth Carrell of the physics faculty is the principal investigator for the ASU project.

Angelo State has been awarded a $194,118 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for new, state-of-the-art spectroscopy and diffraction equipment that will support undergraduate classes and research in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Awarded through the NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, the grant will support acquisition of an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) system and an electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) system to complement ASU’s existing scanning electron microscope. Dr. Gregory Smith of the chemistry faculty is the principal investigator for the ASU project.

Angelo State has received a $299,999 grant subaward from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) through Texas Tech University for a joint project to develop a cybersecurity research and workforce development program to tackle defense-relevant challenges in the region. The two-year project, titled “Research and Workforce Development in the Area of Cybersecurity,” is being funded by an overall $2.5 million DoD grant to Texas Tech that includes subawards to Angelo State and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Erdoğan Doğdu, chair of the Department of Computer Science, is the principal investigator (PI) for ASU’s portion of the project, and Drs. Roya Choupani and Sundar Krishnan of the computer science faculty are the co-PIs.

Dr. Cody Scott of the agriculture faculty received the 2024 Outstanding Contribution to Rangeland Management Award at the annual meeting of the Texas Section, Society for Range Management (TSSRM) in October. An ASU faculty member since 1995, Scott has been an active member of TSSRM for over 30 years, including a term as president in 2015. He was named the TSSRM Outstanding Young Range Professional in 2007, won the Society for Range Management’s Outstanding Young Range Professional International Award in 2008, and was named a Fellow of the TSSRM in 2019.

Norris-Vincent College of Business

A new internship program with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) allows NVCOB students to assist with the San Angelo Business Plan Competition. Beginning in fall 2024, this program is an excellent experiential learning opportunity for students, allowing them to apply what they learn in the classroom to real world business situations. These students are assigned to work under the tutelage of an SBDC advisor to form a support team for the small business owners who have been selected as finalists in the competition. They actively engage with business owners and civic leaders, building essential professional relationships and networks, and also participate in the Small Business Management Certificate Program to achieve a student advisor certification, which equips them with foundational knowledge and skills for advising with practical business management techniques.

Dr. Satvir Singh Dr. Satvir Singh of the management faculty participated in a panel discussion as part of the official program for the third annual International Sikh Research Summit hosted in September by the Guru Nanak Institute of Global Studies (GNI) in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. As part of a five-member panel, Singh discussed “Imagining Guru Nanak University in Canada.” This marked the second straight year Singh has made a presentation at the International Sikh Research Summit. GNI was founded in 2021 by prominent leaders in the Canadian Sikh community, which is the largest in the world outside of India.

Angelo State’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 847 hosted cadets from 11 regional AFROTC detachments for a Special Warfare AFROTC Weekend (SWAW) in October at various locations on the ASU campus and at Goodfellow Air Force Base. SWAW is an immersive Air Force Special Warfare (AFSPECWAR) orientation and professional development event. It is designed to give AFROTC cadets in-depth exposure to the AFSPECWAR officer career fields to generate interest, and then provide coaching on the preparation needed for cadets interested in pursuing a career as a Tactical Air Control Party Officer, Combat Rescue Officer, or Special Tactics Officer. Career field insight, physical training preparation and coaching/mentoring were provided by current AFSPECWAR professionals throughout the weekend.

ASU students, Emma Krehbiel and Maggie Brockman, present their research at the APEE Conference

Economics majors Maggie Brockman of Midland and Emma Krehbiel of Kerrville were selected to present their undergraduate research projects at the recent 48th annual meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fewer than 30 students nationwide were chosen through a competitive application process to make research presentations in the APEE conference’s Undergraduate Research Competition. Brockman and Krehbiel are the first-ever ASU students to earn selection. Brockman’s presentation was titled “Recessions and Creativity: How Economic Shocks Affect Musical Innovation,” and Krehbiel’s presentation was titled “Long-Term Effects of Public Debt.” Their faculty research mentors are Dr. Bryan Cutsinger and Dr. Edwar Escalante, assistant professors of economics.

The NVCOB collaborated with numerous local and regional banks and accounting firms to host two important recruiting events in the fall for ASU accounting, business and finance students. “Meet the Banks” took place in October, followed by “Meet the Accounting Firms” in November. Both events allowed the students to learn more about the various career opportunities available in banking and accounting, as well as network with professionals and lay foundations for potential future internships and employment.

The NVCOB is proud to announce the official installation of the Omicron Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, a prestigious international honor society for accounting, finance and information systems students. The petitioning process for the chapter began in fall 2022, following the NVCOB’s achievement of AACSB accreditation. From its initial 13 founding members, the chapter has grown to 30 members, demonstrating our students’ commitment to academic excellence and professional development. The official installation ceremony took place on Dec. 5, 2024, marking a significant milestone for ASU’s accounting program.

In conjunction with the Office of Sponsored Projects, the college hosted the inaugural Faculty Research Expo in October, featuring 24 research posters submitted by 28 faculty members representing 12 different academic departments across four of ASU’s academic colleges. Additionally, 29 faculty members were recognized for submitting grant applications during the 2023-24 academic year, several of which have been awarded – and 36 faculty members across 18 departments were recognized for publishing their research in books and/or professional journals.

[PPOHA Grant]

The Fall Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium featured 17 research poster exhibitions and presentations by ASU students representing academic departments across campus, including:

• Accounting, Economics and Finance
• Agriculture
• Biology
• Computer Science
• English and Modern Languages
• Health Science Professions
• Management and Marketing
• Mathematics
• Physical Therapy
• Psychology

The projects were selected through a competitive application process, and participating students were available to present their projects that were completed under the supervision of faculty mentors.

[Largest number of grant proposals submitted in the fall semester in ASU history]