Dr. Cramer steps down as executive director of ABI
Dr. Carole Cramer, the founding executive director of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) at Arkansas State University, stepped down from that position, effective May 15. Cramer will remain at the university as a full-time faculty member and redirect her energies to research, teaching and other responsibilities as a university professor. Dr. Michael Dockter, associate vice chancellor for Research and Technology Transfer, will serve as the interim ABI executive director until a national search for a replacement is conducted and the position is filled.

Dr. Hood wins Fellow of ASPB Award
Dr. Elizabeth Hood, Molecular Biotechnology and Distinguished Professor of Agriculture, was recently granted the status of Fellow by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB Award may be granted in recognition of distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology and service to the society by current members in areas that include research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service. Dr. Hood’s fundamental studies of cell walls and targeted gene expression in maize led to the development of methods to provide value-added products and a low-cost supply of enzymes for biomass conversion. Dr. Hood has served ASPB as an active member of the Women in Plant Biology Committee and was instrumental in initiating the career workshops for students and postdocs. She served as chair of the Women in Plant Biology Committee in 2001, as a member of the ASPB Executive Committee and Board of Trustees from 2002 and 2005, and as chair of the ASPB Board of Trustees in 2004-05. Recipients of the Fellow of ASPB honor, is granted to no more than 0.2% of the current membership each year. Current members of ASPB who have contributed to the Society for at least 10 years are eligible for nomination. The American Society of Plant Biologists was founded in 1924 to promote the growth and development of plant biology, to encourage and publish research in plant biology, and to promote the interests and growth of plant scientists in general. Over the decades the Society has evolved and expanded to provide a forum for molecular and cellular biology as well as to serve the basic interests of plant science. It publishes the highly cited and respected journals Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell. Membership spans six continents, and members work in such diverse areas as academia, government laboratories, and industrial and commercial environments. The society also has a large student membership. ASPB plays a key role in uniting the international plant science disciplines.
 
Dr. Coleman receives grant for software
Dr. Charles Coleman, director, Technology, has just received a grant for software licenses for educational use valued commercially at $900, 000. Tech Ed Concepts, Inc., through the generosity of Kubotek USA, granted ASU a non-exclusive perpetual license for Kubotek USA Keycreator Version 9 software, License Number 73856. KeyCreator is award-winning CAD/CAM software that takes a real geometry approach to 3D modeling. The product earns equal praise for its ability to quickly create design concepts fromscratch, make changes to any model in any format, and extract and modify geometry in real-time on imported CAD models. The Kubotek Corporation Creation Engineering Division is the leading pioneer in 3D geometry-based engineering software. By utilizing its technology foundation in pure geometry, as opposed to model history/constraints, Kubotek delivers high value solutions and practical improvements to customer efficiency.
Kubotek heavily invests in world-class research and development teams dedicated to building new technology to address current needs in today’s engineering community.

Dr. Hu accepts guest editorship from international journal
Dr. Aiqun Hu, History, has recently accepted an invitation from the Journal of Current Chinese Affairs to become a guest editor of one of its next issues. The offer is an outcome from a panel organized by Dr. Hu for the 2010 annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies. Dr. Hu’s panel, “Emerging Welfare State in China: Global, National, and Local Interactions,” analyzed the on-going welfare-state reconstruction in China from global and interdisciplinary perspectives. Dr. Hu also presented her paper, “Interactive Diffusion and China’s Social Security Reform: Towards a Global Historical Perspective.” This paper argues for the important role of global forces in China’s social security reform since 1978. The Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is an internationally refereed academic journal jointly published by the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg, and the National Institute of Chinese Studies at the White Rose East Asia Centre, a collaborative effort between the departments of East Asian Studies at the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, U.K.  The journal is committed to publish high-quality, original research on current issues in China in a format and style that is accessible across disciplines.

Dr. Cocchiara and colleagues publish journal article
Dr. Faye Cocchiara, Management, and colleagues from Bryant University, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of East Anglia, recently published an article in Career Development International, Vol. 15, Issue 1. Their article, “Influences on perceived career success: findings from US business degree alumni,” examined the perceptions of 318 advanced business degree recipients on the effect that their degree program experiences had on salary gain, organization levels, and overall job satisfaction.  Dr. Cocchiara and her colleagues found that women graduates reported higher job satisfaction and organization levels despite earning lower salaries compared to men. The researchers speculated that women perceive career success more broadly than men, emphasizing factors that help increase their self-confidence. This study is one of a limited number of empirical studies to specifically examine advanced business degree experiences. It is also one in a series of research led by Dr. Cocchiara examining factors that affect employment outcomes for different demographic groups.

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