Congratulations Faculty and Staff (compiled May 2012)

Talat Azhar, research associate and outreach coordinator for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, is a recipient of Penn State’s Spirit of Internationalization Award. The Spirit Award is given to up to six deserving women within the Penn State community and the larger Centre County community by the University Office of Global Programs. The award celebrates women with international interests who have shown extraordinary strength of character and commitment to the cause of internationalization. Azhar was honored at the International Women’s Day Breakfast on March 13.

James E. Johnson, professor of early childhood education, has received the Brian Sutton-Smith Play Scholar Award from the Association for the Study of Play, an international interdisciplinary organization. This career achievement award recognizes research contributions to the field and contributions the recipient has made to the organization. It is named for Brian Sutton-Smith, who is a play scholar in residence at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y., and former faculty member at both Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Judith Kolb, associate professor of workforce education, has received the R. Wayne Pace HRD Book of the Year 2011 award. The award recognizes her newly released book, Small Group Facilitation: Improving Process and Performance in Groups and Teams. Kolb was recognized at this year's Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) conference in Denver. More information on the book is available online.

Paul L. Morgan, associate professor of special education, has joined the editorial board of the Journal of Learning Disabilities. The journal, published six times a year, is a publication of the Hamill Institute on Disabilities. It provides i coverage of topics in the field, such as mathematics, sciences and the learning disabilities field as discursive practice, as well as feature articles, research articles, and intervention articles.

Karla Schmit, Education & Behavioral Sciences Librarian and assistant director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, has been named recipient of the 2012 University Libraries Award. She will be honored at a reception to be held May 18.