Hays businessman Van Witthuhn and native of Bazine to its has been named to the Sunflower Bank board of directors. Witthuhn, a graduate of Kansas State University, has business and agricultural interests in various locations throughout the state and began his term on board in February, following the retirement of Jim Allen. Witthuhn worked for 36 years in the manufactured housing industry, beginning with Countryside Homes in 1982. Witthuhn later became chief operating officer of a Denver-based company that owned as many as 40 manufactured housing dealership operations across the country. He is a past nominee for the Kansas Manufactured Housing Association Hall of Fame and a former member, vice president and president of the Kansas Manufactured Housing Association Board. Witthuhn also has served as the Kansas representative to the Manufactured Housing Institute, where he was active in the National Retailer's Council and National Communities Council.

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Ila Ruder has been named April employee of the month at Stromgren Supports. Ruder is a clipper in the production area and has been with the company since 1997.

Larry Enfield II of Norton has been named Funeral Director of the Year by the Kansas Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association at its annual convention last month in Wichita. Enfield, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, has been with the Enfield Funeral Home for 25 years. Enfield received his mortuary science degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College in 1983. He also serves on the board of directors of the Kansas Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association.

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Two Fort Hays State University faculty members, Robert Meier, professor of accounting and information systems, and Philip Martin, instructor of accounting and information systems, published an article, "Comparing Business Students' Perceptions of Effective Visual Aid Usage on Two College Campuses," in the International Journal of Education Research, Volume 3, No. 1, Winter 2008. The article was co-authored with Reginald Bell and Rahim Quazi of Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas.

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Shana Meyer, assistant vice president for student affairs at Fort Hays State University, made presentations at recent national professional conferences and received a chair nomination. Meyer presented "Professional Development Snapshot: The Campus Visit" for the American College Personnel Association in Atlanta and "Is NSE Worth the Time and Expense?" at the National Student Exchange Conference in Minneapolis. She also received a chair nomination from the Association of College and University Housing Officers International.

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Joseph Perniciaro, instructor of music at Fort Hays State University, recently was selected as a Young Leader's Award Winner. The award was given by the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the NATS Foundation. As a winner, Perniciaro received funding to attend the national conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing as they celebrate its 50th anniversary. Perniciaro plans to attend the conference next month in Nashville, Tenn., which includes workshops, speakers, demonstrations, presentations and recitals. Special events include appearances by world-renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw, who will be featured in concert and master class, and baritone Sherrill Milnes as the keynote speaker and guest clinician.

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Eight retiring faculty members will be honored for years of service to Fort Hays State University at a luncheon Thursday in Memorial Union including:

* Ralph Gamble, professor of economics and finance. Gamble joined the faculty in 1984 as an assistant professor of economics. He earned a B.S. in engineering in 1961 from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; a B.A. in economics in 1977 from the University of West Florida, Pensacola; an Master's in economics from Oklahoma State in 1983; and a Ph.D. in economics from Oklahoma State in 1989.

* Larry Nicholson, professor of chemistry. Nicholson joined the faculty in 1976. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Kansas State University in 1963 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the same institution in 1967.

* Robert Nicholson, professor of biological sciences. Nicholson joined the faculty in 1973. He earned a B.S. in botany from FHSU n 1967, a master's in botany from FHSU in 1968 and a Ph.D. in range science from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 1972.

* Richard Peters, professor of accounting and information systems. Peters joined the faculty in 1994. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1969 from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant; an MBA in finance from Central Michigan in 1970; and a Ph.D. in accounting from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, in 1976.

* Daniel Pfeifer, networking supervisor, Computing and Telecommunication Center. Pfeifer joined the faculty in 1988. He earned a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Kansas State in 1960.

* Jean-Marie Salien, professor of modern languages. Salien joined the faculty in 1977. He earned a bachelor's degree in literature and social science from the University of Montreal, Canada, in 1967; a master's in teaching languages and literature from Columbia University, New York, N.Y., in 1971; a master's in French literature from the University of Strasbourg, France, in 1975; and a Ph.D. in French literature from the University of Kansas in 1977.

* Herb Songer, vice president for student affairs. Songer joined the faculty in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree in social science and physical education in 1966 from FHSU; a master's in guidance and counseling from FHSU in 1969; and a Ph.D. in counseling and student personnel administration from Kansas State in 1988.

* C. Sue Strohkirch, professor of communication studies. Strohkirch joined the faculty in 1994. She earned a bachelor's degree in speech communication and English in from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1974; a master's in speech education from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, in 1980; and a Ph.D. in interpersonal education and communication education from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1988.

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Fort Hays State University's provost Larry Gould has been appointed to the Preliminary Review Panel for the 2008 Leveraging Excellence Award program of the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education. The Leveraging Excellence Awards are designed to recognize initiatives "where effective academic and administrative practices have been successfully implemented beyond one department, campus or institution."

NCCI is a consortium of more than 90 universities from 33 states and seven nations with the purpose of advancing excellence and continuous improvement in higher education.

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