Letter of Nomination: Kenneth Weaver, PhD
Emporia State University
Dear Dear Psi Chi Regional Faculty Advisor Award Selection Committee,
The officers and members of Emporia State University's chapter of Psi Chi nominate Dr. Kenneth Weaver for the Regional Faculty Advisor Award. Dr. Weaver became a member of Psi Chi in 1987 and has made numerous contributions to Psi Chi and the field of psychology. Dr. Weaver became co-advisor of Emporia State University's chapter of Psi Chi in 1990. He continued in that role until 1993, when took over the role as faculty advisor. During the time Dr. Weaver has been involved with Psi Chi, the chapter has been active and in good standing with the national organization. Dr. Weaver sets high goals for himself and the members of the chapter. Specifically, Dr. Weaver's goal as chapter advisor has been to support the chapter officers and other members in their development of a dynamic program of speakers, chapter meetings, social events, community service, fund raisers, induction ceremonies, and fun. Emporia State University students have had the opportunity to hear a wide variety of speakers, including a behavioral profiler from the FBI and the 1998 winner of the Experimental and Applied Sciences' PhysiqueTransformation Challenge, chosen from 200,000 entries nationwide. Community service includes the fall/spring cleanup of two miles of route K99 for Adopt-A-Highway, which we have done for the past 10 years. This year, we have volunteered to clean a section of the Emporia State University campus for Adopt-A-Campus. Fund raising is a critical part of a successful organization.
Dr. Weaver encourages the officers and members to create new ways of earning money for the chapter. Fund raisers developed by chapter members since he became the Psi Chi advisor are the Midwinter Bridge Tournament, now in its tenth year, the Halloween Treat Bags, now in its fifth year, and the Secretary's Day Gift Set, which is now in its second year. Dr. Weaver is constantly aware of the changes that occur every day in the field of psychology. This awareness drives him to attend conferences in order to bring information back to the members. Dr. Weaver also encourages students to attend as many conferences as possible.
Dr. Weaver and 12 chapter members attended the Psi Chi mini-convention in San Francisco in 1998. In addition, Dr. Weaver and at least 10 Psi Chi members have attended every one of the seven APA National Conventions since he became advisor. Dr. Weaver's contributions to the field do not end there. He has authored or co-authored articles and presentations with 45 undergraduate and graduate Psi Chi members. Dr. Weaver's approachability is widely recognized. Students are a major priority in Dr. Weaver's career, so he makes himself available to assist students in their endeavors. In fact, 20 Psi Chi members whose research he has advised have won awards based on their research at a variety of competitions. In addition, 12 of Dr. Weaver's advisees and Psi Chi members have been accepted to Ph.D. programs around the country. Nine of those have completed their doctorates, six of them have entered the professorate, two of them have gone on to be Psi Chi advisors, and one is starting a Psi Chi chapter at the University of Texas-Brownville.
Dr. Weaver has been instrumental in the implementation of several new programs by our Psi Chi chapter. For example, we started a new program this year called Adopt-A-New-Major, where undergraduate and graduate Psi Chi members are matched with freshman or transfer psychology majors to assist the new majors in acclimating to campus and being successful sooner. Dr. Weaver's enthusiasm for the psychology leads Psi Chi members and students to be more enthusiastic about the field. Due to this enthusiasm, Dr. Weaver has been awarded several honors.
Dr. Weaver was named to Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2000. From 1997-1999, he was the National President of the Council of Teachers of Undergraduate Psychology. In 1999, Dr. Weaver was the recipient of the Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor Award for outstanding teaching, research, and service at Emporia State University. Recently, at the American Psychological Association Convention, Dr. Weaver was the recipient of the 2000 APA Presidential Citation for "outstanding leadership in support of teaching and learning in psychology". The honors Dr. Weaver has received are just a glimpse of the outstanding contributions Dr. Weaver has made.
Dr. Weaver is the founder of the annual Kansas High School Psychology Teachers Workshop (six have been held). He includes several Psi Chi members in this workshop. Psi Chi members who are seeking endorsement as high school psychology teachers in Kansas are asked to assist with the workshop. In 1996, Dr. Weaver acted as a workshop co-leader at the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools in Toronto, Canada. At the APA Convention in August, 2000, Dr. Weaver was elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He has been a member of the MA National Standards for Teaching High School Psychology Working Group since 1999. Recently, he became a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Task Force on Uniting Scholarship and Teaching. This year Dr. Weaver became the chair of the Kansas Board of Education Committee for Psychology Standards for training high school psychology teachers. In addition to all of these activities, Dr. Weaver finds time to publish his work.
He is the author of a supplemental textbook in statistics, a textbook for the methods of teaching psychology, and two student study guides for statistics textbooks. Dr. Weaver authored three Teaching of Psychology articles. One of the articles has been reprinted three times and another has been reprinted once. From 1996-1998, Dr. Weaver contributed his time to being a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Task Force on Defining Scholarship in Psychology. This endeavor culminated with the article: A Paradigm For The Twenty-First Century, published in 1998. Dr. Weaver's dedication to students is evident in everything he does. This is why we feel he is the best choice for the faculty advisor award.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Weyers, President
Rusty McLouth, Vice-President
Jason Peres, Secretary
Melody Cole, Treasurer
Jennifer Thomas, Fund-raiser Chair