ISU Awards December Doctorates

Date: 01/12/07
Contact: Kathy Beal

Illinois State University awarded the following December doctorates.

Dawn Blake of Buffalo Grove received her Ph.D. in School Psychology. Her dissertation is titled "Outcome Expectancies, Best Friend Use, Perceived Family Support, and Coping Variables as Predictors of Substance Use among At-Risk Adolescents." The daughter of Ann Groble of Prospect Heights and wife of Corey Winicour of Buffalo Grove, Blake is an intervention specialist for NSSED in Highland Park. She is a member of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Helen Arnold Massey of Chicago received her Ed.D. in Educational Administration. The title of her dissertation is "Retention of New Teachers in High Performing High Poverty Schools." The daughter of the late Alyce and William Arnold of Chicago and the wife of Rodney Massey of Michigan, Massey works for the Chicago Public School system. She received her bachelor's degree in physical education from DePaul University and her master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Massey is a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the American Educational Research Association and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Patricia Burmaster of Bloomington received her Ed.D. in Educational Administration. Her dissertation is titled "Teacher Perceptions of the Value of Knowledge and Skills-Based Pay." The daughter of the late Edith and Berdette Weber of Havana and the wife of Dennis Burmaster of Bloomington, Burmaster is a teacher at LeRoy Jr./Sr. High School. She received her bachelor's degree in special education and her master's degree in special education administration from Illinois State. Burmaster is a member of Kappa Delta Pi.

Ewa Chruściel of New London, N.H., received her Ph.D. in English Studies. The title of her dissertation is "Recuperation of Closure and Epiphany in Postmodern Poetics." The daughter of Maria and Michal Chruściel of Rzeszón, Poland, Chruściel is a professor of humanities at Colby-Sawyer College in New London. She received her master's degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakón, Poland.

Amy Cohan of Vernon Hills received her Ph.D. in School Psychology. Her dissertation is titled "A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of the School's Response to Domestic Violence: An Ecological Perspective." The daughter of Heather and Robert Genrich of Rockford and wife of Jason Cohan of Vernon Hills, Cohan is a school psychologist for the Northern Suburban Special Education District in Highland Park. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat of Peoria received her Ed.D. in Educational Administration. The title of her dissertation is "Meaningful School Leadership from the Perspective of African-American Parents." The daughter of Elsie Blanc of Frederiksted, St. Croix, and the wife of Sam Kherat of Peoria, Desmoulin-Kherat is a principal in the Peoria Public Schools District 150. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Bradley University. Desmoulin-Kherat is a member of the Illinois Principals Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Peoria Association of School Administrators.

Karen Hoffman of Ottawa received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration. Her dissertation is titled "Inclusion: Secondary Teacher Attitudes toward Inclusion of Special Needs Students into Regular Classrooms." The daughter of Marge Muscato of Englewood, Fla., and the late Otha Allen and wife of Melvin Hoffman of Ottawa, Hoffman is director of Special Needs for Ottawa High School. She received her associate's degree from Kendall College, bachelor's degree in social work from Florida State University and master's degree in counseling psychology from Illinois State.

Carolyn Jackson of Mt. Prospect received her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. The title of her dissertation is "The High School Library Web Site: Scaffolding Information Literacy Skills." The daughter of Mary Bertram of Decatur, Jackson is a head librarian for Township District 214 in Arlington Heights. She received her bachelor's degree in education and master's degree from Eastern Illinois University.

Jonathan Klassen of Bloomington received his Ph.D. in English Studies. His dissertation is titled "Narrative Distancing in Literature for Youth." The son of Corinne Peterson of Chicago and Randolph Klassen of Walla Walla, Wash., and the husband of Flora Hsueh-Klassen of Bloomington, Klassen will be an assistant professor at Soochow University in Taipei, Taiwan. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from California State University-Chico.

Colleen Klein of West Brooklyn received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration. The title of her dissertation is "Correlation of the Competency Outcomes Performance Assessment (COPA) Model Curriculum Process with Senior Students' Self-Reported Perceptions of Nursing Competence." The daughter of William O'Hare of Amboy and the late Sophie O'Hare and wife of Douglas Klein of West Brooklyn, Klein is a professor of nursing at Sauk Valley Community College. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the National Education Association and the Illinois Education Association.

Sheila Morton of Greeneville, Tenn., received her Ph.D. in English Studies. Her dissertation is titled "Teaching Eighteenth-Century Drama through Classroom and Digital Performance." The daughter of Diane and John Morton of Dutch John, Utah, Morton is an assistant professor at Tusculum College. She received her bachelor's degree from Willamette University in Oregon and her master's degree from Brigham Young University. Morton is a member of the Modern Language Association and the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

Alison Nelson of Groveland received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration. The title of her dissertation is "Characteristics of a School-University Partnership: A Grounded Theory Approach." The daughter of the late Dorothy and Clayton Marshall of Peoria and wife of Dennis Nelson of Groveland, Nelson is a grant manager for Peoria Public Schools District 150. She received her bachelor's degree in education from

Illinois State and her master's degree in educational administration from Bradley University. Nelson is a member of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English and Kappa Delta Pi. While pursuing her doctorate at Illinois State, she received the Ora Bretall Fellowship for Research, the Stella Henderson Award from Kappa Delta Pi and the John Heissler Award for Excellence in English.

Kavita Vadali of Cary, N.C., received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. Her dissertation is titled "Molecular Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of Drosophila Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Pez." The daughter of Lakshmi Vadali and the late Venkata Vadali of India, and wife of Anil Krishna of Cary, Vadali earned her bachelor's degree from Andhra University and her master's degree from Madurai Kamaraj University. She is a member of Phi Sigma.

Sherri Valentine of Markham received her Ed.D. in Educational Administration. The title of her dissertation is "Teacher Leadership: Graduate Student Realities." The daughter of Ruth and Whitney Valentine of Markham, Valentine works for as a teacher leader for the Chicago Board of Education. She received her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana and her master's degree in human services administration from Spertus College. Valentine is a member of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages.