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Here are the faculty and staff activities for August 4, 2011.
Faculty and Staff Activities
Janet Kacskos, APR, UC&M, has been elected to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) College of Fellows. The 2011 Fellows candidates will be inducted Oct. 15, at a ceremony at the PRSA 2011 International Conference in Orlando, Fla. The College of Fellows was founded in 1990 as a way to recognize individuals who have demonstrated superior capabilities as public relations practitioners or educators. According to the PRSA Bylaws, College of Fellows candidates must have 20 years or more of experience in the public relations industry and exhibit exceptional personal and professional qualities, while advancing the state of the profession.
Drs. Philip Tacka and Micheal Houlahan, music, presented a district-wide workshop on January 8 to the teachers involved in the Kodály Teacher Training Initiative in the Austin Independent School District, in Austin, Texas, and were “headliners” at the Texas Music Educators Association Annual Conference, the largest music conference in the world, in San Antonio, Texas, in February. Additionally, they presented their research, “Curricular Vertical Alignment,” from elementary through high school to more than 100 members of the Texas Music Administrators Conference. They also presented to the faculty of the Dalton School in New York City on February 22 and conducted a three-day program evaluation in May.
Tacka presented a workshop on rhythmic reading to middle and high school choral directors of the Austin Independent School District, Austin, Texas, on February 18 and served as a grant evaluator of the American Fellowship Panel during the 2010-11 academic year for the American Association of University Women, which evaluated and awarded more than $3 million to women scholars.
Between June and July 2011, both Houlahan and Tacka taught in three Kodály certification programs in Austin, Texas, at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., and Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
Retired
Dr. Dennis Denenberg, professor emeritus, elementary and early childhood education, continues to present keynote addresses to conferences and conventions for corporate, teacher and parent groups. Denenberg will be giving Hooray for Heroes presentations this month in North Charleston, S.C., Manheim Township, Pa., San Marcos, Calif., and Middletown, Del.
In addition, the digital version of Denenberg’s book, 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet, was released on July 26. The ebook version of 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet is available on Amazon’s website.
Search for the Best Barbecue
Dr. John Wallace, biology, is searching for something this summer. Searching for what? The best places in the U.S. for some barbecue! The Wallace family has been on their barbecue adventure for the past couple of weeks and have visited a wide variety of barbecue joints.
The adventure began on July 17 when Wallace, his wife and sons Harrison and Max, left Millersville and traveled to Kansas City, Mo., stopping at rival establishments, Gates Bar-B-Q and Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque, each having a unique style and flavor.
Next on the list was The Rendezvous in Memphis, Tenn. However, before leaving Missouri, the Wallace family got some tips on barbecue at the Crosstown Barbecue. So they drove a few minutes and found “seasoning on the ribs and sausage that made this barbecue rank among the best we’ve had and definitely the best in Missouri,” said Wallace. They finally arrived at The Rendezvous and ordered a variety of dishes. “We opened up with a cheese and sausage starter that was sprinkled with dry rub. The food lived up to its reputation (amazing), while the atmosphere was very touristy and the food was incredible.”
The Wallace family’s next stop was in Texas, where they ate at Martin’s Barbecue in Bryan. “What was amazing about this place was well, everything; the food was incredible with some unique sides, the meat was amazingly tender and full of flavor. While everything in Texas is bigger, here the food was, but the price was not!”
Day seven of the adventure took them to San Antonio, Lockhart and Austin. They made it to Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, the capital of barbecue in Texas. Unfortunately, Smitty’s was out of ribs that day, so the Wallace family moved on to cross-town rival, Kreus Markets.
The journey continued as they made a pit stop to Cut N Shoot, Texas, to a family-owned barbecue pit, Jack’s. “Something we heard from bartender at The Rendezvous was the best barbecue is at small, roadside joints in the middle of nowhere. He was a right. These were the best pork ribs, the brisket melted in your mouth, just the right amount of smoke ring on the brisket, the sausage was amazingly tasty and the baked beans with jalapeño rings were jet fuel.”
The Wallace family was off their barbecue diet for a little, eating some crawfish, frog legs, gator and gumbo before leaving Louisiana. On July 25, they detoured to Pansacola, Fla., to save some time and driving. They hope to be on Florida beaches and then to the Carolinas before the journey home.
You can read about the Wallace family adventure and gets more tips on barbecue at wallacebbqadventureblog.wordpress.com/.
