Walter Steve Anderson, Professor of English
According to one of Steve Anderson’s colleagues, the best measure of his success is found in former students who describe him as a “mentor, colleague, and friend.”
One former student credits Professor Anderson for his own success as a student, writer, and teacher and uses him as a model for his own teaching: “Dr. Anderson opened up my mind to a wide variety of literary material and invoked in me a love of the written word – I only hope I can do the same for my students.”
Another student says Professor Anderson “exemplifies all the ideals that make a great teacher – he has a broad understanding of the material he teaches, creates an ideal learning environment, and most importantly, he loves what he does.”
In his 20 plus years at UALR, Professor Anderson has enhanced the curriculum and increased the university’s visibility as a premier source of teaching and knowledge for central Arkansas, according to one of his UALR colleagues.
Dr. Anderson has used his position as department chair to develop new curriculum and courses, including a popular minor in film studies, numerous courses on literature and films of the Vietnam War, and several online courses. He also participated in three NEH seminars devoted to teaching and a CIEE seminar, all of which encouraged him to develop new courses on important issues. He co-edited two editions of The Technical Reader, one of the first books that established the framework for teaching the emerging discipline of technical writing across the nation, and has published numerous essays in scholarly journals on teaching, curriculum development, and consulting.
Dr. Anderson received his Ph.D. in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Chia-Chu Chiang, Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator of Computer Science
Chia-Chu Chiang believes the benefits of teaching are mutual. For him, “teaching is learning also – learning from the work he continues to do in the industry and learning from the students themselves.”
According to one of his students, “Professor Chiang has the ability to provide insight into how the material is applicable outside of the classroom because he has extensive experience in the industry which helps him prepare students for jobs in the real world.”
Professor Chiang’s work experience in the software engineering field allows him to teach students practical programming techniques used in the industry. He continues to work with leading high-tech companies such as Acxiom and Syntel on projects so he can stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and programs. He helps bridge the gap between the classroom and industry by assigning student teams to work on industrial projects – modeled after similar projects he performs for the industry – to give them hands-on experience. When assisting students with the projects, Dr. Chiang gives them different approaches to solving the same problem and helps them determine the best solution.
Another student says, “Dr. Chiang’s commitment to education does not end in the classroom – he’s always available to help students outside of the classroom to ensure they understand and master the concepts.”
Dr. Chiang also works with students outside the classroom by serving as the advisor for the computer science student organization CPU (Computer Persona at UALR) and helping them prepare for programming contests such as the annual Acxiom competition. He serves as graduate coordinator for the UALR Computer Science Department and remains a strong advocate for maintaining high academic standards.
Professor Chiang received his Ph.D. in computer science from Arizona State University.
Gary L. Geissler, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Advertising
Gary Geissler prepares his students to succeed in the business world by giving them “real-world” marketing experience in the classroom. He finds marketing problems from real businesses and lets his students work directly with the companies to develop solutions.
Through connections from his extensive career in business marketing and UALR’s Arkansas Small Business Development Center, Dr. Geissler and his students have identified and developed marketing solutions for more than 40 small businesses in the past five years, including restaurants, art galleries, Web-based companies, and insurance and real estate agencies. In addition to providing a hands-on learning experience, the project gives students the opportunity to meet prospective employers and learn about possible career opportunities.
“This opportunity to work with a team of my peers and interact with real clients will definitely help prepare me for the real world – this is exactly why I came to college,” says one of Dr. Geissler’s students. A former student of his says, “Now that I am working, I have an even greater appreciation for the way Professor Geissler helped prepare us for the business world – he has a perfect understanding of what students need to know when they graduate and enter the workplace.”
Professor Geissler also involves students in extensive research that allows them to stay on the leading edge of new technologies and trends in the marketing and advertising fields. His research has focused on various consumer behavior and advertising issues, such as how consumers perceive and use the Web as an advertising medium and how marketers use the Web as a promotional, relationship marketing, and niche marketing tool.
Highlights of his teaching career include receiving the 2002 American Marketing Association Award for Innovative Excellence in Marketing Education, a national teaching award sponsored by the nation’s largest marketing organization, and his nomination for the 2003-2004 Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award, sponsored by an international organization with more than 1,500 marketing professionals.
Dr. Geissler received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Georgia.
Lindsey P. Gustafson, Assistant Professor of Legal Writing
By giving students opportunities to practice their legal writing and reasoning skills inside and outside the classroom, Professor Gustafson is giving her law students the hands-on experience they need to succeed as attorneys.
According to one of her colleagues at the Law School, Professor Gustafson makes a point to appeal to various learning styles by introducing a new concept or skill at least three overlapping times, using three different teaching methods aimed at different learning styles. These “learning chances” are not graded, but lay the foundation for later graded assignments. Professor Gustafson can then assess whether students have mastered the specific skill and offer additional assistance if needed. Her colleague says, “Her care, diligence, and dedication to her students are admirable and provide an example to all of us who teach at the Law School.”
Professor Gustafson teaches two of the most important courses in law school – “Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy” and “Legal Editing, Scholarship, and Publishing.” Much of a lawyer’s career depends on his or her ability to succeed in legal writing – the pre-trial stages, legal drafting jobs, briefs and motions writing, and more. Professor Gustafson’s skills, real-life perspective, and devotion to her students allow her to create a learning environment for students to excel.
A former student says, “Professor Gustafson has a passion for mentoring students and works with each individual student to help them master the legal writing skills necessary for success in the practice of law.”
Professor Gustafson received her J.D. from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
Sherry L. Shaw, Assistant Professor of Interpreter Education
Sherry Shaw has high expectations for her students, and she’s more than willing to give them the individual support they need to achieve those expectations, according to her colleagues.
Professor Shaw spends additional one-on-one time with students to help them recognize, assess, and monitor their achievement of competencies as they prepare for their careers as professional interpreters. Former students cite her “art of instruction” and her “tenacity, grace, and effectiveness” for helping them expand their understanding of deafness and improve their capabilities. One student says, “her influence does not stop at graduation – she was and still is always available to offer support, encouragement and constructive feedback.”
Shaw also presents seminars for potential and new majors so they can learn more about the challenges and rewards of the interpreting field.
According to her colleagues, Dr. Shaw is not content with teaching what others have written. She is committed to discovering and adding to the body of knowledge of her chosen profession. One UALR colleague says, “She is the kind of professor that I, as a colleague and parent, hope that my two sons will have during their college experience.”
In her past five years at UALR, Dr. Shaw has taught 10 different courses related to American Sign Language, Sign to Voice Interpreting, Voice to Sign Interpreting, and Interpretation Theory. Her collaborative relationship with the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Translation Studies at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria has resulted in numerous program revisions to improve student outcomes. Dr. Shaw also teaches a graduate course in the Department of Teacher Education for teachers of students who are deafblind.
Dr. Shaw received her Ed.D. from the University of Memphis.
Robert S. Sikes, Associate Professor of Biology
By bringing students into the field and involving them in his research, Robert Sikes gives UALR students first-hand knowledge and hands-on experience in biology.
Under his direction, UALR is one of only five universities nationwide involved in the highly publicized research on a pair of rare giant pandas from China at the Memphis Zoo. Dr. Sikes and his students are investigating how the pandas – Le Le and Ya Ya – process bamboo to evaluate energy levels and maximize energy available for growth and reproduction.
Professor Sikes involves his students in these kinds of research projects because he knows that most of the material he covers cannot be effectively demonstrated within the confines of a classroom – that’s why he takes students on extended field trips and allows them to act as real field biologists.
In addition to the Memphis Zoo, recent field trips include excursions to Dr. Sikes’ family farm to research various types of mammals and a powder tracking exercise, in which students capture wild rodents, dust them with a fluorescent powder, release them, and return later that same night to follow their trails with blacklights. This exercise helps students learn how different species use the same habitat in different ways.
A former student says, “Professor Sikes’ ability to teach ‘on his feet’ with a seemingly bottomless well of knowledge about biological facts and concepts to pull from as he traverses the field with a group of students is impressive.” Another student says, “He forever changed the way I view the world we live in.”
According to Dr. Sikes, his college education was a gift from his grandparents – “a gift he feels obligated to repay by providing others the opportunity and discipline to achieve their dreams in life.”
In addition to giving students the knowledge and practical skills to advance their careers, Professor Sikes serves as a mentor to undergraduate and graduate students and involves them in his research projects to encourage their development as independent researchers. He also developed a course in Experimental Design to teach students the evaluation process for scientific products. His UALR colleagues say the course is instrumental in the development of these students as scientists.
Dr. Sikes received his undergraduate degree in biology from UALR and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Minnesota.
Robert R. Ulmer, Associate Professor of Speech Communication
Robert Ulmer’s students say his ability to bring his nationally-recognized research in crisis communication into the classroom makes the material come alive and shows them how to apply theories and concepts to real-world situations.
Dr. Ulmer’s first-hand knowledge and real-life experience in crisis communication enhances the student’s learning experience. He helps his students understand various communication concepts by sharing his analyses and involving them in research and case studies of real crises such as natural disasters, anthrax and bio-terrorism scares, corporate scandals like Enron, and salmonella and e coli outbreaks. According to Professor Ulmer’s colleagues, his students can speak knowledgeably about a variety of crisis situations, including the Malden Mills crisis, Enron, the West Nile virus, and the Columbia explosion.
One student says, ”Dr. Ulmer knows his material, but best of all he knows his students. He knows our personal learning styles and helps us achieve our academic, personal, and professional goals.”
Another student says it was not uncommon for a line to form outside his door after class. “Even though he had the attention of many students, he always made you feel as though you were the most important person in the room.”
Over the past five years, every graduate student has cited Dr. Ulmer as a primary influence in his or her decision to pursue doctoral work and the number of students seeking higher degrees in the department is higher than ever thanks to his dedication.
Dr. Ulmer received his Ph.D. in speech communication from Wayne State University.