Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Lecture
The Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Lectureship, established to honor the University's ninth President, is the most prestigious research award conferred by Minnesota State University, Mankato. The purpose of the Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Lectureship is to celebrate the joy and excitement of scholarly creativity. It honors a faculty member engaged in an activity demonstrating a quality of excellence in discovery and communicated in a way that enriches the intellectual life of the University community. The terms “research” and “lectureship” imply a great variety of scholarly projects, as well as diverse forms of presentation suitable for general audiences. Applications may relate to study in progress or to a new research topic.
2025 Lecture Presented by Dr. Mika Laidlaw
"An Immigrant by Choice: What is my Role as an Artist and Educator”
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
7:00 p.m. Ostrander Auditorium“It is my greatest honor to receive the Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Lectureship. I want to thank the administration, colleagues, staff, and students at Minnesota State University for their encouragement and support. It truly takes a village to raise a faculty. The people at MSU, Mankato, have nurtured me and continue to inspire me as a faculty member ever since I joined in 2003. I spent 20 years in Japan and 30-plus years in the United States. I feel extremely lucky and grateful to have the option to live in the U.S. as an immigrant. The research I will discuss contemplates my role as an immigrant artist and educator living in the current complex world.”
Past Faculty Research Lecturers
| YEAR | LECTURER | TITLE |
|
2024 |
Mriganka De (Biology) | “Can We Regenerate Soil Health and Enhance Corn Productivity in the U.S. Corn Belt through Perennial Cover Crops and Poultry Integration” |
|
2023 |
David Sharlin (Biology) | "Thyroid Hormone Disrupting Chemicals and Nervous System Development: A Growing Cause for Concern" |
|
2022 |
Phillip Larson (Geography) | "How Rivers are Born and Evolve: A Paradigm Shift in Earth Science" |
| 2021 |
J. Scott Granberg-Rademacker and Kevin Parsneau (Government) |
“Let’s Get Ready to Tweet! An Analysis of Twitter Use by 2018 Senate Candidates” |
| 2020 |
Xuanhui Wu (Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology) |
“Creation of a Novel Antenna Technology for 5G and Beyond Systems: From a Concept Inspiration on Scratch Paper to Prototypes in the Lab” |
| 2019 |
Brian Frink (Art) |
“Magical Landscapes: A Discussion of the Creation of a Work of Art” |
| 2018 |
Kuldeep Agarwal (Automotive and Manufacturing Technology) |
“3D Printing and the Future of Health and Medicine” |
| 2017 |
Byron Pike (Accounting and Business Law) |
“The Effect of Auditor versus Forensic Mindset on Audit Procedures in Response to Fraud Rick Assessment” |
| 2016 |
Rebecca Moen (Chemistry and Geology) |
“Oxidative Stress and Muscle” |
| 2015 |
J. Heath Anderson (Anthropology) |
“Ashes to Empire: Cerro Magoni and the Toltec State” |
| 2014 |
David Bissonnette (Family Consumer Science), Mary Hadley (Chemistry and Geology), Penny Knoblich (Biological Sciences) |
“Obesity in America: A National Crisis” |
| 2013 |
Qun (Vincent) Zhang (Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology) |
“Fundamentals and Frontiers of Optical Communication: from Fastest Modems and Routers to Next Generation Computing” |
| 2012 |
Gwen Westerman (English) |
“Dena Unkiyepi (This is who we are): Letters of Dakota People 1848-1864” |
| 2011 |
Liz Miller (Art) |
“Drawing Beyond the Line: Using Pattern, Decoration, and Ornament in New Large-Scare Installations” |
| 2010 |
Vincent Winstead (Electrical and Computer Engineering and Technology) |
“Energy Independence through Wind Power: Opportunities, Challenges and the Future” |
|
2009 |
Lillian Duran (Education) |
“Transitional Bilingual Education vs. English-only instruction in a Head Start Program: An Experimental Longitudinal Comparison” |
|
2008 |
Steven Losh (Chemistry and Geology) |
“Petroleum Exploration and Production technology: High-Tech Deep Down |
|
2007 |
Gina Wenger (Art) |
“Images of Manzanar: Investigating the Documentary Photography of the Japanese American Internment Camps” |
|
2006 |
Russell Palma (Astronomy & Physics) |
“NASA’s Genesis and Stardust Missions: Exploring the Early Solar System” |
|
2005 |
Mary Bliesmer, Patricia Earle, Sandra Eggenberger, Norma Krumwiede, Sonja Meiers (School of Nursing) |
“Challenges of Chronic Illness: Artistic Interpretation of the Family Reintegration Process” |
|
2004 |
Charles Lewis (Mass Communication) |
“Business, Politics and War: Relations Among American Indians and Whites as Portrayed in the Frontier Press of Mankato, 1857-1868” |
|
2003 |
Marcia Gentry (Education) |
“The Important and Forgotten Role of Affect in Developing Quality Teaching and Learning: Instrumentation to Help Understand the School Experience from Students’ Points of View” |
|
2002 |
Tomasz Inglot (Political Science) |
“Building of United Europe: Socio-Economic and Political Challenges of European Enlargement to the East” |
|
2001 |
Nancy Wicker (Art) |
“Identity in an Anonymous Age: Examining Prehistoric Scandinavian Gold Jewelry” |
|
2000 |
Barry Ries and Melissa Polusny (Psychology) |
“The Influence of Natural Disaster on Southern Minnesota Families” |
|
1999 |
Bruce Jones and Kirk Ready (Automotive & Manufacturing Engineering Technology) |
“Alternative Fuels: The Future of the Automobile” |
|
1998 |
Anne Blackhurst (Counseling and Student Personnel) |
“Eating Their Words: How Food Advertisements Sell Disordered Eating to Women” |
|
1997 |
Winifred Mitchell (Anthropology) |
“Giving Thanks in the Upper Midwest: An Ethnography of Minnesota Thanksgivings” |
|
1996 |
Richard Wintersteen (Social Work) |
“Family Burden and the Needs of Mentally Ill Persons: A Cross-Cultural Study of Issues and Consequences” |
|
1995 |
Louisa Smith (English) |
“A Day in Mankato Circa 1900 as Presented in Maud Hart Lovelace's Books” |
|
1994 |
Jon Hakkila (Mathematics, Astronomy and Statistics) |
“Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Milky Way: Old Paradigms Die Hard” |
|
1993 |
Allan Wiese (Political Science) |
“Gambling at Jackpot Junction and Royal River Casinos” |
|
1993 |
William Lass (History) |
“Mankato State: From Normal School to University” (Special 125th Anniversary) |
|
1992 |
James Booker (Foreign Language), Diana Moxness (Music) |
“Word and Music: Inseparable Elements in the Songs of Franz Schubert” |
|
1991 |
Loretta Johnson (History) |
“Memories of the Past: Accounts of Minnesota Shivarees” |
|
1990 |
Donna Casella (English) |
“In Search of Peace: A-Bomb Survivors' Perceptions of Nuclear War and Its Aftermath” |
|
1989 |
Lewis Croce (History) |
“The American Presidency in its World Setting – 1789-1989” |
|
1988 |
Steven Mercurio (Biology) |
“Antidotes for a Chemical Environment” |
|
1987 |
Kathy Piehl (Library Faculty) |
“Surviving the Flood” |
|
1986 |
Stewart Ross (Music) |
“The History and Development of the Band March” |
|
1985 |
Branko Colakovic (Geography) |
“Soviet Moslems: A Population Time Bomb?” |
|
1984 |
Suzanne Bunkers (English) |
“Nineteenth Century Diaries, Journals, Letters and Memoirs: What Midwestern Women Were (Not) Saying” |
|
1983 |
Tony Filipovitch (Urban & Regional Studies) |
“Streetsong: Children in the City” |
|
1982 |
Hal Walberg (Philosophy) |
“A Play in Three Acts, “Nietzsche” |
|
1980 |
Peter Nash (Biology) |
“Diet, Nutrition and Cancer Today” |
|
1979 |
Mary Jo Meadow (Psychology) |
“Religious Orientations and Personal Maturity” |
|
1978 |
Paul Goldstaub (Music) |
Original Opera, “The Marriage Proposal” |
|
1977 |
James Tanner and Robert Finkler (Art) |
“Joint Project, Ceramic Sculpture by Tanner and Polymer Paintings by Finkler” |
|
1976 |
Pearl Englund (Anthropology) |
“Study of the Ewe People in Ghana” |
|
1975 |
Charles Mundale (Political Science) |
“The Trouble Within and The Trouble Without” |
