Illinois State Awards December Doctorates

Illinois State University has awarded December doctorates to the following students.

Genevieve Cepela of Shorewood received her Ph.D. in educational administration.  The title of her dissertation is “School Improvement Planning in Two Midwestern Middle Schools.”  The daughter of Loraine and Martin McMahon of Sheffield and wife of John Cepela of Shorewood, Cepela is director of Teaching and Learning for Hazel Crest School District 152.5.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Illinois University and her master’s in educational administration from Illinois State. Cepela is a member of Kappa Delta Pi.

Melissa Crescenzo of Clifton, N.J. earned her Ph.D. in school psychology.  Her dissertation is titled “Understanding How Psychotherapy Benefits Children in Real World Practice: Exploration of Mechanisms for Meaningful Change.”  The daughter of Karen and Leonard Padilla of Park Forest and wife of Jason Crescenzo of Clifton, N.J., Crescenzo received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northern Illinois University.

Stephanie Epp of Normal received her Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction. The title of her dissertation is “Conditions Affecting Illinois National Board Certified Teachers’ Decisions to Work in Hard-to-Staff Schools.”  The daughter of Marilyn Epp of Beatrice, Neb. and the late Richard Epp of Fairbury, Neb., Epp is executive director of Alumni Relations at Illinois State.  She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University and her master’s degree from Drake University.  She is a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Kappa Delta Pi, Delta Kappa Gama, Phi Delta Kappa and Illinois Women Administrators.

Keven Forney of Oakwood received his Ph.D. in educational administration.  His dissertation is titled “The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law and School Leadership: Experiences in Central Illinois.”  The son of the late Beverly Forney and the late Kenneth Forney of Frankfort, Ind. and husband of Penny Forney of Oakwood, Forney is superintendent of schools for Oakwood CUSD 76.  He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wabash College, his master’s degree in biology from George Peabody College and a certificate of advanced study from Illinois State.  Forney is a member of the Illinois Association of School Administrators, American Association of School Administrators and the Vermilion Association for Special Education Board of Control.

Amy Fritson Coffman received her Ph.D. in education administration.  The title of her dissertation is “A Case Study of a Districts’ Use of Professional Learning Communities and the Illinois Teacher Recertification Process.”  The daughter of Lou and Don Fritson of Normal and wife of David Coffman of Bloomington, Fritson Coffman is principal of Thomas Metcalf School.  She received her bachelor’s degree in middle level education at Illinois State and her master’s degree in educational leadership from Northeastern Illinois University.  Fritson Coffman received the William L. and Creta D. Sabine Scholarship and is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Lorenza Gramegna of Italy received her Ph.D. in English Studies.  Her dissertation is titled “Problems of Coherence in EFL Students’ Compositions.”  The daughter of the late Giovanni Gramegna and Maria Lucchiaro of Italy, Gramegna is an EFL teacher for the Ministero Publica Inst. In Italia.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Padua University in Italy and her master’s degree from Illinois State.

Michael Huhndorf of Atwater, Calif. received his Ph.D. in biological sciences.  The title of his dissertation is “Phylogeography and Molecular Phylogenetics of East African Rodents: Assessing the Role of Vicariance.”  The son of Marita and Hans Huhndorf of Chicago, Huhndorf received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Illinois-Chicago and his master’s degree in biology from Illinois State University.  He is a member of the American Society of Mammalogists and the Society for the Study of Evolution. 

Noha Sayed Khalifa of Normal received her Ph.D. in biological sciences.  Her dissertation is titled “Delineating the Role of Arabidopsis SKU11 and WVD7 Genes in Root Cell Expansion.”  The daughter of Seham Ali and Sayed Khalifa of Cairo, Egypt, and wife of Ahmed of Normal, Sayed Khalifa teaches at Illinois State University.  She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in genetics at Ain Shams University in Cairo.  Sayed Khalifa is a member of Phi Sigma.

Eric Lamore of Normal received his Ph.D. in English studies.  His dissertation is titled “The Early American Georgic: A Reassessment.”  The son of Helen Spriggs of Kankakee and Russ Lamore of Bradley, Lamore is co-director of the Center for Classicism in American Culture and teaches at Illinois State.   He received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his master’s degree in English Studies from Illinois State.  Lamore is a member of Sigma Tau Delta and an Ora Bretall Fellow at Illinois State.

Nagender Ledala received his Ph.D. in biological sciences.  The title of his dissertation is “Molecular Characterization of Fur and Transcriptional Profiling of Fur- and Iron-Regulated Gene Expression in Listeria Monocytogenes.”  The son of Narayanamma and Rajender Ledala of India, Ledala is a research associate at Dartmouth College.  He received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Osmania University in India and his master’s degree in biotechnology from Jadarpur University in India.  Ledala is a member of the American Society of Microbiology and Phi Sigma Biological Honors Society. 

Karin Martin of Schaumburg received her Ph.D. in school psychology.  Her dissertation is titled “Do Children Tell? Effects of Perpetrator Familiarity, Question Type, and Crime Type on Report Accuracy and Crime Disclosure.”  The daughter of Paulette and Robert Chmiel of Berkeley and wife of Daniel Martin of Schaumburg, Martin is a school psychologist at NSSEO in Arlington Heights.  She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Martin is a member of the Illinois School Psychologist Association, National Association of School Psychologists, Psi Chi, Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma.

Elvira Meoto of Normal received her Ph.D. in English studies.  Her dissertation is titled “The Evolution and Formation of Identity: A Case Study of West African Women’s Fiction From 1960s-1990s.”  Meoto received her bachelor’s degree in English and her master’s degree in comparative literature from the University of Buea in Cameroon.

Barry Reilly of Bloomington received his Ed.D. in educational administration.  His dissertation is titled “Teacher Compensation and Student Achievement: The Relationship between Salaries and Benefits and ISAT and PSAE Composite Scores.”  The son of Sharon and Ed Reilly of Bourbonnais and husband of Lisa Reilly of Bloomington, Reilly is assistant superintendent of Human Resources for Bloomington Public Schools District 87.  He received his bachelor’s degree in education and his master’s degree in educational administration from Illinois State.  Reilly is a member of the Illinois Association of School Personnel Administrators and the American Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Carl Wenning of Normal received his Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction.  His dissertation is titled “Using a Modified Delphi Technique to Validate a Physics and Physical Science Teacher Education Textbook.”  The son of Agnes Wenning of Huber Heights, Ohio, and husband of Carolyn Wenning of Normal, Wenning is the physics teaching coordinator for Illinois State University.  He received his bachelor’s degree in astronomy from Ohio State University and his master’s degree in astronomy education from Michigan State University.  Wenning is a member of the American Association of Physics Teachers.