Professional association names Nichols teacher of the year - The Pennsylvania State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance has named Slippery Rock University physical education instructor Randy Nichols Physical Education Teacher of the Year.  Nichols, a 1990 and 1991 SRU graduate, was chosen for involving his students in real-world settings and teaching them how to get other people moving and appreciate physical activity.  “In my profession, it means a lot to be recognized for what you do day in and day out,” Nichols said. “I must credit my students as well because they’ve been helping to change attitudes about fitness through a service-learning project and other activities.”  Nichols advocates daily activity to combat the nation’s health crisis, including obesity, and said parents must lead by example. “As adults, we’ve become more sedentary,” he said. “Children are a product of what they see at home.” An avid runner, Nichol’s undergraduate and master’s degrees are from SRU and his doctorate of education is from West Virginia University.

SRU’s Walter Powell honored by county, state bar associations - Walter Powell, Slippery Rock University professor of political science, has been stepping up to the bar for 50 years and now has an award to prove it.  The award honored Powell for his 50 years service to both the Butler County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.  “I was truly honored by the award,” Powell said. “I joined the faculty at Slippery Rock University in 1965 as an original member of the political science department, and I have used my understanding of the law in teaching such courses as ‘Civil Liberties Law,’ ‘Criminal Law,’ ‘Constitutional Law,’ and ‘Introduction to American Government.’” Powell is also adviser to SRU’s pre-law advisory committee.  In 2005, Powell urged the Butler bar association to establish a scholarship at SRU and the lawyer’s group agreed setting up a $20,000 endowed scholarship for pre-law students as part of the 10-year “Campaign for Slippery Rock University.”  The $1,000 renewable scholarship is presented annually with preference given Butler County students. SRU, as a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is partnered with the Widener University School of Law to offer state system students the opportunity to participate in two special admission programs to the law school.

Timothy Smith receives SRU’S Scholarly and Creative Achievement - Timothy D. Smith, Slippery Rock University associate professor of physical therapy, has been named this year’s recipient of the President’s Award for Scholarly and Creative Achievement for his “Evolution of the nose and nasal skeleton in primates” research published in the peer-reviewed journal Evolutionary Anthropology.  Smith, who joined the SRU faculty in 1996, had his research published in the July-August 2007 issue of Evolutionary Anthropology. Reviewers noted the work contains the most comprehensive available information to date on internal nasal anatomy of non-human primates. The work also updates the genetics and function of olfaction in non-human primates and humans. It examines a multitude of olfaction in primates, citing its importance to social, reproductive and dietary strategies. Smith notes there is indirect evidence in how the olfactory sense relates to sniffing and scent-marking as a form of communication.  One reviewer wrote, “This is an excellent review of primate olfactory anatomy and historical ideas on the evolution of the primate olfactory system…I suspect that this review will be widely cited for many years...”