College of Nursing and Health Professions to honor six distinguished alumni Oct. 24

October 20, 2009 -- Six distinguished alumni from Arkansas State University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions will be honored Saturday, Oct. 24, as part of ASU’s 2009 Homecoming weekend celebration. The group is being recognized at a reception from 2-4 p.m. in Room 223 of the new Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences. The reception is open to the public, and tours of the Reynolds Center are available.

The distinguished alums include Mary-Katherine Hardin, Master of Communication Disorders (MCD), Certificate of Clinical Competence-Speech Language Pathology (CCC-SLP), of the Department of Communication Disorders; Donna Parker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and Dr. Patricia Guy-Walls representing Social Work; DeJuan J. Daniel, Master of Physical Therapy (MPT), of the Physical Therapy department; Brad Bauer, Radiology Specialist (Radiography), from the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Science; and Heather Bastel, Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Registered Nurse (RN), Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Family Nurse Practitioner (BC-FNP), recognized by Nursing.

“We are pleased each year to recognize some of our outstanding alumni,” said Dr. Susan Hanrahan, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. “Not only do they make the departmental faculty proud, but represent the college and university in a distinguished fashion to the community at large. They are excellent role models for our students.”

Hardin is a 1998 graduate of ASU from the Master in Communication Disorders program. An outstanding student, she now serves as the director of the Child and Youth Pediatric Clinic in Batesville, Ark. She and her husband, Chris, reside in Batesville.

Parker earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work in 1987 and went on to receive her Master of Social Work degree in 1989 from the University of Tennessee’s College of Social Work in Memphis, Tenn. Parker now has 20 years of experience. Prior to her appointment as director of field education at ASU’s Department of Social Work, she worked as a mental health therapist at Families, Inc. in Jonesboro.

Dr. Guy-Walls received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with an emphasis in social work in 1979. Now an instructor at Arkansas State, she went on to obtain her master’s degree in social work in 1994 from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock when UALR offered its first cohort program at ASU. Dr. Guy-Walls, who earned her PhD in social work in 2004 from Jackson State, has 10 years experience teaching at ASU in social work, sociology, criminology and geography. She also spent four years working as the curriculum development specialist for the Arkansas Partnership in Public Child Welfare IV-E Grant.

Daniel represents the Department of Physical Therapy as its distinguished alum. A 2003 graduate from the Master of Physical Therapy program, he is currently director of rehabilitation services at Delta Memorial Hospital in Dumas, Ark. Under his leadership, the physical therapy staff has increased as the department continues to grow to meet the needs of area residents by offering inpatient, outpatient, and home health therapy services. Daniel also serves as the center coordinator for clinical coordinating internship experiences for student therapists at the hospital.

Daniel is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and is recognized as a credentialed clinical instructor by that organization. He provides pro-bono athletic training services to high school students in his area, currently notably including Grant Gill who has verbally committed to play at ASU next year. Daniel is also associated with Arkansas Heart Hospital, providing clinical physical therapy services on an as needed basis. He served as an interviewer last year at ASU’s physical therapy department for the Doctor of Physical Therapy admissions committee. During his time at ASU, Daniel was selected Most Professional Physical Therapy student in 2002 and 2003.

Brad Bauer is the 2009 recipient of the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Science distinguished alumni award. A 1986 graduate of the Radiologic Technology program, Bauer has been employed at St. Bernards Health Care center since receiving his diploma. He was recently appointed director of operations at St. Bernards Imaging Center.

Bauer began his career in radiography before moving to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and is one of a handful of people nationwide who hold quality management certification in radiology. He previously served as quality control technologist for 11 years.

After receiving her bachelor of science in nursing degree in 1999, Bastel began work at St. Bernards Health Care as a nurse in the intensive care unit. After five years, she began work in internal medicine and then oncology with Clopton Clinic in Jonesboro. After receiving her Master of Science in Nursing in 2004, she was certified as a clinical nurse specialist. She also served as a preceptor for nursing graduate students.

Bastel was recognized in 2006 by District 6 of the Arkansas Nurses Association as Outstanding Nurse in a Clinical Setting. She returned to ASU in 2007 and earned a post-master’s degree family nurse practitioner certificate and achieved national certification. Bastel recently joined a family practice clinic in Paragould.

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