PUBLISHED ON May 10 2019
When Mary Gospel found out she was going to be teaching a student who is blind, she wondered how that was going to work in a major—Communication Sciences and Disorders—that requires so much visual learning.
Then Haley Sumner came to class, and she had her answer.
"I've had Haley in class four times," says Gospel, Butler University Senior Clinical Faculty in Communications. "The only time I really even was thinking about her being vision-impaired was the first class. After that, you just forget because she handles everything so well. Outside of having a dog in the classroom, which is unusual, you just forget. She is such an amazing, strong student, and knows how to advocate for the things she needs to make the material in the classroom work for her."
That's precisely how Sumner wanted it. She has spent her life finding alternative ways to succeed, and she continued that at Butler.
She finished school in four years with a double major in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) and Spanish. Along the way, she was involved in Student Government Association for three years, and the Butler University Student Foundation.
"I've been able to develop work connections with graduates, and gotten an idea of what life will look like after college," she says. "If it wasn't for those organizations, it would have been harder for me to make connections, and feel comfortable with the next chapter of my life.”
In summer 2018, Sumner did an internship in the Human Resources department at Eskenazi Health. That spurred her interest in working for a large organization, like Eli Lilly and Co. or Salesforce when she graduates. She's now in the interviewing process.
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Haley Sumner came to Butler from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Sumner was born three months prematurely, weighing less than two pounds. She’s been blind since birth.
She started in Exploratory Studies, and chose CSD as a major because she had gone through speech therapy when she was young.
"I can't think of a day or even a moment in my life where I thought, 'I wish I could see this right now,'" she says. "I'm so grateful for the experiences I've had. I feel like we're all designed in a unique way."
She has navigated campus with help from her service dog, Ezzie. A text-to-speech machine turned her textbooks to audio. When she had classes that were heavily visual, she relied on tactile formats to feel what she couldn't see.
She says that in one class that dealt with topics such as anatomy and soundwaves, Butler's Student Disability Services office hired older students to draw diagrams she needed for exams and lectures. She has special paper that, when drawn on, makes raised lines, so she can feel what the picture is showing.
Sumner explains that for a drawing of a brain, for example, she can feel where each lobe is located, and make a square or a circle in her mind, and then try to put each part together to develop an understanding.
"Once I'm able to gauge where everything is mapped out on the page, then I'm able to make a mental image of it," she says.
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Gospel says having Sumner in class made her a better teacher. She had to think more purposefully about how, and what, she taught. It forced her to prepare more thoroughly.
In one course, where students were expected to learn phonetic symbols instead of using alphabet letters, Gospel was flummoxed. She was unsure how to possibly make this accessible for Sumner.
Gospel teamed up with Kathleen Camire, Assistant Director of Student Disability Services, and Sumner. Not only were they able to come up with the necessary technology, but the three of them co-wrote a paper that Gospel presented at the American Speech and Hearing Association, about the technology and strategy needed to teach phonetics to a student with vision impairment.
Gospel says Sumner also made an enormous impact on the Butler Aphasia Community, a group of people who have had strokes who come to campus to work on their language skills with Butler students.
"They adored her," Gospel says. "She related to them so well, and they related to her. They saw how she was able to overcome obstacles with a positive attitude and sense of humor. They were inspired by her spirit.
Sumner says she comes at whatever she does with great empathy for others.
"Whenever I hear people complain or I hear them having a bad day, I try to get closer to them and help them find ways to make their situation positive or help them find a positive point in their day," she says.
Finding Alternative Ways to Succeed
Sumner says she comes at whatever she does with great empathy for others.
PUBLISHED ON Apr 26 2018
The gender gap in the sciences may be closing, at least according to a study conducted by professors from Butler University and three peer institutions.
The study, published April 26 in the online journal PLOS ONE, looked at 10 years of undergraduate research at four schools: Butler, Creighton University, John Carroll University, and the University of St. Thomas. It found that male and female chemistry and physics students are producing research at the same rate.
"As we talk about how there are issues with women in science, at least at our four undergraduate institutions, we were not seeing any gender effect when it comes to the research outputs that the students are able to produce," said Butler Chemistry Professor Anne Wilson. "That is great."
The researchers, working together as part of a National Science Foundation grant, examined what factors affect a student to produce a research paper versus a poster versus an oral presentation. They also looked at the factors affecting students' producing work that was presented at local, regional, and national conferences, and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Rasitha Jayasekare, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Actuarial Science at Butler, provided a detailed analysis of the data using advanced statistical models.
"It was really nice to collaborate with our colleagues from other institutions and find out that a lot of us are all doing good work with undergraduates and that we value undergraduate research," Wilson said. "It's not only important to do the work but to disseminate the findings and get our students out there speaking and writing and doing all the things that liberally educated students do."
Wilson encouraged other undergraduate institutions to examination their data to see if they find a similar result. She said she had suspected that there would be no gender gap.
"It's nice to have data to back up what you think and feel in your heart," she said.
Media contact:
Rachel Stern
rstern@butler.edu
317-940-9257
Study Finds Gender Gap in the Sciences Closing
Butler and three other schools see male and female students producing research at similar rates.
Butler and three other schools see male and female students producing research at similar rates.
PUBLISHED ON Apr 23 2018
The Alumni Association has announced Butler University's Top 100 Outstanding Students, honoring the top juniors and seniors for the 2017–2018 academic year.
The list is below. Top 15 students have an asterisk next to their name.
The students honored each year continue the tradition of dedication and service to Butler. They reflect outstanding character, scholarship, engaged citizenship, leadership, and commitment to fostering diversity.To be considered a Top 100 student at Butler University, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and may not be on conduct probation during the application process or the announcement for Top 100 and Top 15.
The Top 100 students are determined by the Top 100 Selection Committee composed of representatives of each of the six colleges, student affairs, academic affairs, and alumni. Each candidate is judged against the core values of the program on a numeric scale. At the end of the judging period, all scores are tabulated, and the Top 100 students are selected.
Visit the Top 100 website to view guidelines for the program.
The Alumni Association in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs conducts the Outstanding Student Recognition program. The program is in its 57th year.
The full list of honorees, majors, and hometowns:
Lynn Alsatie, International Studies and French, Carmel, Indiana
Siena Amodeo, International Business and Marketing, Powell, Ohio
Deborah Arehart, Middle/Secondary Education and French, Dayton, Ohio
Thomas Baldwin, Biochemistry, Carmel, Indiana
*Adam Bantz, Strategic Communication, Marketing, Muncie, Indiana
Alex Bartlow, Accounting and Spanish, Bloomfield, Indiana
Leah Basford, International Business, Chinese minor, Centerville, Indiana
Brianna Borri, Psychology, Ada, Michigan
Lauren Briskey, Actuarial Science, Statistics, Avon, Indiana
Amy Brown, Accounting, Saint Charles, Missouri
Rachel Burke, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Mount Vernon, Indiana
Jeremy Caylor, Biology, Chemistry, Tipton, Indiana
*Parker Chalmers, Finance/Risk Management & Insurance, Wyoming, Ohio
Lauren Ciulla, Biology, Carmel, Indiana
Brooklyn Cohen, Elementary Education, Glenview, Illinois
Hannah Coleman, Pharmacy, Danville, Indiana
Dana Connor, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Tallahassee, Florida
Vickie Cook, Chemistry, Woodburn, Indiana
Meredith Coughlin, Human Communication and Organizational Leadership, Tipp City, Ohio
*Ryan Cultice, Accounting and Finance, Warsaw, Indiana
Ashley Dale, Physics, Electrical Engineering, New Palestine, Indiana
Erin Dark, Pharmacy, West Lafayette, Indiana
Darby DeFord, Biology and Chemistry, Spencer, Indiana
Matt Del Busto, English creative writing and Spanish, Carmel, Indiana
David Dunham, Human Movement and Health Sciences Education, Zionsville, Indiana
Suzanne Dwyer, Pharmacy, Tinley Park, Illinois
Shelby Jo Eaton, Psychology and Sociology, Indianapolis
Ashlyn Edwards, Philosophy, Critical Communication, and French, New Albany, Indiana
*Katie Edwards, Marketing and Finance, Libertyville, Illinois
Sarah Elam, International Studies and Spanish, Indianapolis
John Evans, Accounting and Finance, Indianapolis
Hannah Faccio, Psychology, Belmont, Michigan
Megan Farny, Pre-PA, Evansville, Indiana
Megan Fitzgerald, Elementary Education and Religion, Dublin, Ohio
Annie Foster, Spanish and Chemistry minor, Westfield, Indiana
Jacklyn Gries, Pharmacy, Evansville, Indiana
Hannah Hartzell, Strategic Communication and Spanish, Powell, Ohio
Patrick Holden, PharmD/MBA, Brownsburg, Indiana
Jonny Hollar, Finance and Marketing, Warsaw, Indiana
Kate Holtz, Risk Management and Insurance, Finance, Godfrey, Illinois
*Nick Huang, Finance and Marketing, Geneva, Illinois
Karla Jeggle, Actuarial Science, Upper Arlington, Ohio
Nathan Jent, Health Sciences/Pre-PA, Crawfordsville, Indiana
Drew Johnson, Pharmacy, Noblesville, Indiana
Jakob Jozwiakowski, Chemistry, Boston, Massachusetts
Colton Junod, Biology and Biochemistry, Vincennes, Indiana
Libby Kaufman, Elementary Education, Chanhassen, Minnesota
*Nida Khan, Pharmacy/Pre-Med, Noblesville, Indiana
Rachel Koehler, International Studies and French, Franklin, Tennessee
*Caroline Kuremsky, Elementary Education with a Mild Intervention Minor, Cincinnati, Ohio
Carly Large, Accounting, Bloomington, Illinois
*Emily Lawson, Chemistry and Mathematics (Pre-Med), Fort Wayne, Indiana
Becca Lewis, Biology and Chemistry, Danville, Illinois
Rachael Lewis, Marketing, Spanish, and International Business, Danville, Illinois
Kayla Long, Critical Communications and Media Studies, Digital Media Production, Spanish, Evanston, Illinois
Kelsey McDougall, Biology, Canton, Michigan
Kirsten McGrew, Pharmacy, Louisville, Kentucky
Kasey Meeks, Health Sciences and Chemistry, Robinson, Illinois
Rachel Metz, Health Science, Ferdinand, Indiana
Joshua Murdock, Pharmacy, Grand Junction, Colorado
*Kelly Murphy, Human Communication and Organizational Leadership, Dublin, Ohio
Emily Nettesheim, Health Sciences and Spanish, Lafayette, Indiana
Alexis Neyman, Biochemistry, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Olivia Nilsen, Communication of Sciences and Disorders, Neuroscience minor, Ballwin, Missouri
Gehrig Parker, Sports Media, Park Ridge, Illinois
Justin Poythress, Accounting and Finance, Geneva, Illinois
*Tori Puhl, Actuarial Science, Mequon, Wisconsin
*Salman Qureshi, Biology, Fishers, Indiana
*Courtney Raab, Health Sciences, Highland, Indiana
Jordan Rauh, Pharmacy, Wabash, Indiana
Allison Reitz, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Newburgh, Indiana
Kate Richards, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Effingham, Illinois
Sophie Robertson, Dance Arts Administration and Journalism, Gig Harbor, Washington
*Abdul Saltagi, Biology, Fishers, Indiana
Kaitlyn Sawin, Marketing, Appleton, Wisconsin
Olivia Schwan, Marketing and Spanish, Kalamazoo, Michigan
*Abby Sikorcin, Health Sciences, Lisle, Illinois
Sundeep Singh, Biology and Political Science, Fishers, Indiana
Maree Smith, Spanish and Marketing, Monticello, Minnesota
Lilli Southern, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Solsberry, Indiana
Madison Stefanski, Elementary Education and seeking licensure in Special Education with minors in Reading, Frankfort, Michigan
Isaiah Strong, Strategic Communication/Recording Industry Studies, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Natalie Van Ochten, Biology and Biochemistry, Shorewood, Minnesota
Alexander Waddell, Accounting, Greenwood, Indiana
Skyler Walker, Pharmacy, Racine, Wisconsin
Kathryn Warma, Science, Technology, and Sociology, Carlinville, Illinois
Riley Wildemann, Pharmacy, Plainfield, Indiana
Alexander Wright, Chemistry, Fishers, Indiana
Heather Wright, Music, Greentown, Indiana
Jill Yager, Biology, Rushville, Indiana
Due to a tie in scoring, more than 100 students are being honored for the 2017–2018 academic year. All honorees were recognized at the Outstanding Student Banquet on April 13, where the Top 15 Most Outstanding Students were announced.
This list includes all students who opted to post their names.
In the photo:
Front row: Emily Lawson, Nida Khan, Nicholas Huang, Caitlyn Foye, Katie Edwards, Adam Bantz, Kelly Murphy
Back row: Abby Sikocin, Abdul Saltagi, Courtney Raab, President Danko, Salman Qureshi, Tori Puhl, Ryan Cultice
Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822
Butler Honors Top 100 Students
This is the 57th year to recognize the Top 100 students' dedication and service to Butler.
This is the 57th year to recognize the Top 100 students' dedication and service to Butler.
PUBLISHED ON Apr 25 2018
An examination of an Indianapolis food cooperative's work to stem food insecurity, measurements of job satisfaction among those employed by intercollegiate sport organizations, and the underrepresentation of women in U.S. elected political offices are some of the topics covered in the fourth annual Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research (BJUR).
A full list of topics is below.
Volume 4 of the journal contains 12 student papers, including four from Butler students. Sixteen Butler faculty members in addition to the co-editors served as reviewers in selecting the best papers from among the various submissions for this issue.
Kenneth Colburn, Butler Sociology Professor and Co-Editor of the journal, said there have been more than 13,000 downloads of BJUR articles from many different institutions around the world.
"The academic exposure for Butler is very nice," he said. "Everyone knows about our basketball team, but we think it's important that a large audience also understands that Butler is a place for student scholarship."
BJUR was created to build on the success of Butler's Undergraduate Research Conference, which just completed its 30th year, and to complete the cycle—from doing the research to presenting the findings to publishing.
"We enjoy giving students this outlet," said Psychology Professor Tara Lineweaver, a Co-Editor of BJUR. "I have mentored four students who have submitted their honors theses to the journal, and I can say that each and every time they're thrilled to have their paper published in BJUR. It's a very good resume/CV builder for them. And it feels like the project is complete when you get to the stage of seeing it in publication."
Thus far, 19 of the 42 papers published have been written by Butler students. The journal also has published 23 papers authored by students from the University of Pittsburgh, Bellarmine University, Huntington University, Wabash College, Keene State, Columbia University, Hanover College (2), Midway College, Brandeis University, IU-Bloomington, University of Warwick (England), Cal Poly Pomona, DePauw University, University of Tennessee-Martin, University of Indianapolis, and Stanford University.
These are the papers and their authors from the fourth edition of BJUR:
A Community's Collective Courage: A Local Food Cooperative's Impact on Food Insecurity, Community and Economic Development, and Local Food Systems
Tabitha C. Barbour
Allopathic Medicine’s Influence on Indigenous Peoples in the Kumaon Region of India
Eliana M. Blum
Determinants of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among practitioners employed in intercollegiate sport organizations
Ian Cooper, Chantel Heinsen, and Michael Diacin
Individualized Music Improves Social Interaction of Women, But Not Men, With Dementia
Emily Farrer and Diana Hilycord
Inferences on Criminality Based on Appearance
Hannah Johnson, Morgan Anderson, Hayley R. Westra, and Hayden Suter
A Blend of Absurdism and Humanism: Defending Kurt Vonnegut’s Place in the Secondary Setting
Krisandra R. Johnson
Do Black and White Americans Hold Different Views on Marijuana Legalization? Analyzing the Impact of “The War on Drugs” on Racialized Perceptions of Legalizing Marijuana
Benjamin S. Kaminoff
Miguel de Unamuno: The Relationship among Women, his Life, Spanish Society and El marqués de Lumbría
Tina Maric
Using Random Forests to Describe Equity in Higher Education: A Critical Quantitative Analysis of Utah’s Postsecondary Pipelines
Tyler McDaniel
Public Financing and the Underrepresentation of Women in United States Elected Political Offices
Libby P. Moyer
Holding on to Culture: The Effects of the 1837 Smallpox Epidemic on Mandan and Hidatsa
Jayne Reinhiller
The first three volumes of BJUR (2015-2017) were funded through a Butler Innovation grant; this year’s journal was funded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Going forward, funding will be provided in part by the following annual sponsors who have committed financial support: English; Biological Sciences; College of Communication; College of Education; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Creative Media and Journalism; Critical Communication and Media Studies; Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies; History and Anthropology; International Studies; Jordan College of Arts; Neuroscience; Philosophy, Religion & Classics; Physics and Astronomy; Political Science/Peace and Conflict Studies; Psychology; Science, Technology and Environmental Sciences; Sociology and Criminology; Strategic Communication; Founding Partner-Irwin Library.
Media contact:
Marc Allan MFA '18
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822
Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research Is Ready to Be Read
The fourth volume of the increasingly popular annual publication is now online.
The fourth volume of the increasingly popular annual publication is now online.