ISU Awards May Doctorates

Date: 6/5/07
Contact: Kathy Beal

Illinois State University awarded doctorates to the following individuals in May.

Maureen Anderson of Rockford received her Ph.D. in English. Her dissertation is titled “‘Witch’ as Metaphor in America: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Linguistic Shaping of Women in Literature.” The daughter of Norma and James Anderson of Rockford, Anderson received her bachelor’s degree from Rockford College and her master’s degree from Illinois State. She is a member of the Modern Language Association, Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society, the American Comparative Literature Association and the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association.

James Armacost, Jr. received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. The title of his dissertation is “Ecology and Conservation of Amazonian River-Island Birds.” The son of Virginia Armacost of Memphis, Tenn., and the late James Armacost, Sr., and the husband of Jennifer Armacost, Armacost is an assistant professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology at Louisiana State University and his master’s degree in biology at Mississippi State University.

Audrey Hansen of Logan, Utah, received her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. Her dissertation is titled “Going Beyond Accreditation: What Defines a Quality Athletic Training Education Program?” The daughter of Yvonne and John Hansen of Logan, Utah, Hansen is the clinical coordinator of the Athletic Training Education Program at Illinois State. She received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Wingate University and her master’s degree in exercise and sport science at the University of Utah.

Banugopan Kesavaraju of Normal received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. His dissertation is titled “Behavioral Interactions between Predator and Prey and Its Influence on an Invasive Species in Container Habitats.” The husband of K. Damal of Normal, Kesavaraju has a post-doctoral position at Illinois State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology at the University of Madras and his master’s degree in ecology from Pondicherry University.

Kay Ward McDuffie of Calumet Park received her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. The title of her dissertation is “Private Schooling: A Research Examination of a Christian Academy.” The daughter of the late James and Thomas Ward, McDuffie received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Chicago State University. She is a member of Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Kathy Mountjoy of Bloomington received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration. Her dissertation is titled “Perceptions of Business Educators Concerning Change and Adaptation in Business Teacher Education Programs at Two Midwestern Universities.” The wife of Michael Mountjoy, Mountjoy is an assistant professor at Illinois State. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business education from Illinois State. Mountjoy is a member of Delta Pi Epsilon, the Illinois Business Education Association and the National Business Education Association.

Eric Pierson of Indianapolis, Ind., received his Ph.D. in School Psychology. His dissertation is titled “Mood and Memory: Mapping the Cognitive-Emotive Structure.” The son of Diane and Max Pierson of Macomb and husband of Suzanne Pierson, Pierson is an assistant professor at Ball State University. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois.

Marla Ronk of Naperville received her Ph.D. in School Psychology. Her dissertation is titled, “Peer Entry Behavior of Boys with and without ADHD.” The daughter of James Ronk of Naperville and the late Marilyn Ronk, Ronk has a postdoctoral fellowship at Illinois State University. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Illinois State. Ronk is a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Association of School Psychologists and the Illinois School Psychologists Association.

Stefan Sandberg of Seattle, Wash., received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. The title of his dissertation is “Compensatory Mechanisms in an Animal Model of Parkinson’s Disease.” The son of Ing-Britt and Erling Sandberg of Pitea, Sweden and husband of Abby Sandberg of Normal, Sandberg has a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences at Uppsala University in Sweden. Sandberg is a member of the Society for Neuroscience.