Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, professor of plant metabolic engineering, presented a research webinar in which he described how plant stress is used to produce and discover plant compounds with applications in human health, such as cancer. The webinar, which Medina-Bolivar conducted in Spanish, was attended by more than 180 scientists and students from Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. It was a pre-congress webinar for an international meeting set for later this year.

Dr. HoYeol Yu, assistant professor of sport management, arranged a Zoom meeting for his sport promotion and sales management students with Jim Rooney, a son of Dan Rooney, former president, owner and chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rooney, who is now a Steelers part-owner, discussed sport policy development, sport management, and diversity and equity in the National Football League. He wrote A Different Way to Win, a biography of his famous father.

Dr. Stacy Dewald, assistant professor of criminology, is co-author of an article published in Criminal Justice Studies. The writers describe an interdisciplinary researcher-practitioner partnership between the problem-solving courts and researchers. Collaborators reflect on the mutually beneficial relationship between researchers and practitioners that produces policy-informed research, new internships, and enriched classroom experiences. The article also provides recommendations to inform future partnerships on building and sustaining researcher-practitioner collaborations.

Dr. H. Steve Leslie (right), assistant professor of business communication, and Dr. Natalie Johnson-Leslie (left), professor of secondary education, are co-authors of a paper in the double-blind peer-reviewed Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice. Based on ideas Steve gained from the A-State Center for Teaching and Learning (CETL)-sanctioned ACUE course, the article focuses on using the “fishbowl” method of active learning to improve reflective practice for both instructor and students.

Dr. Ray Benson, assistant professor of agronomy and R.E. Lee Wilson Chair in Agricultural Business, presented results of a two-year study at the annual Beltwide Cotton Conference in Fort Worth. Agri faculty Dr. Tina Gray Teague and Dr. John Nowlin and master’s candidate Jennifer Hinojosa were co-authors. They conducted on-farm research to determine the nitrogen benefit to subsequent cotton crops. Maintaining yield while decreasing nitrogen fertilizer application rates following a peanut rotation could reduce cotton's carbon footprint.