Award Recipients
Shandelle Henson
Shandelle Henson, chair and professor of mathematics, arrived at Andrews University in 2001 with a vision of establishing a strong research program, attracting external funding, and mentoring students in research. She continues to fulfill that vision in a truly outstanding way.
Henson’s specialty is mathematical ecology, a field of study that combines mathematics and biology. She has produced groundbreaking mathematical models describing the behavior of flour beetles, seabirds, and harbor seals. Much of her work has been with the Seabird Ecology Team, a group of biologists and mathematicians from Andrews University, the University of Arizona, and Walla Walla University. The Team, which includes graduate and undergraduate students, uses mathematical models, field observations and statistics to study the behavior of animal populations.
Students participating in Henson’s research are involved in all aspects of the research process, from data collection to the development of mathematical models. Many of their names have appeared as coauthors of refereed journal articles. Through courses that introduce students to her area of research, Henson’s research has enhanced her teaching of mathematics.
Henson has authored 53 refereed publications and given numerous professional presentations, including five plenary addresses at conferences. Two papers have appeared in Science, and last November a paper coauthored by Henson and her collaborator James Hayward appeared in Notices of the American Mathematical Society. She is the coauthor of the book Chaos in Ecology: Experimental Nonlinear Dynamics (Academic Press, 2003), which provided the first convincing demonstration of chaos in a biological population.
Henson and her collaborators have garnered five National Science Foundation grants totaling approximately $1,000,000. Her current NSF grant is for $350,000 to study ovulation synchrony in seabirds. Henson serves as editor of three research journals and has served as guest editor for three special issues. She also works as a grant proposal evaluator on National Science Foundation review panels.
Larry Burton
Larry Burton, professor of teacher education, has taught in the School of Education since 1995. His efforts to encourage professors and students to engage in education research have made him a leader in his field and garnered the support of his colleagues.
Since 2003, Burton has led out in Profile, a research initiative exploring implementation of the curriculum adopted for K-12 schools for the NAD Office of Education. For the past four years he has led a study identifying the factors in the Department of Biology’s success rate, funded by the National Science Foundation. Between 1996 and 2001, Burton, in collaboration with Sharon Prest, associate professor of technology education, developed and directed the Intel-ebration Expeditions Program, a Web-based learning system that has been used in more than 100 K-12 schools around the world.
He is the co-author of Teaching the Faith: An Essential Guide for Raising Faith-shaped Kids (Review & Herald, 2004), which has also been translated into Romanian. His many refereed articles have appeared in the Journal of Adventist Education, Religious Education, Private School Monitor and Journal of Research on Christian Education, which he has edited since 2005. He is the author or co-author of more than 40 peer-reviewed conference presentations or papers. As a recognized scholar in the fields of curriculum studies and private education, Burton was a contributing author to both the Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies (Sage 2010) and the Encyclopedial of Educational Reform and Dissent (Sage 2010). In the past four years, he has been the author or co-author of 14 research reports evaluating curriculum implementation and faith integration. He has chaired 15 dissertations to completion and been on many dissertation committees.
He has sponsored writing groups to help students prepare their research for presentations. His students in the Curriculum & Instruction program have presented their research in regional, national and international forums including the American Educational Research Association and the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies.
Karen Allen
Karen Allen is professor of nursing and chair of the Department of Nursing. Since joining the faculty in 1998, Allen has shown an outstanding commitment to scholarly endeavors.
For over 20 years, Allen has been engaged in substance abuse and addictions research and scholarship. She has received funding from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), the National Institute on Drug Abuse for two studies of which she was co-investigator, and the Centers for Disease Control. Funding from CDC supported her development of the Barriers to Treatment Instrument, a questionnaire used in a national cross-site study required by U.S. Congress and commissioned by CSAT. For the past 5 years, Allen has been the principal evaluator on a national study on “Outcomes of Substance Abuse Treatment for Addicted Women and Their Children.”
Allen regularly presents at conferences and meetings on behalf of the U.S. Federal Government. She has given more than 50 professional seminars, workshops and poster presentations.
Allen is the author of Nursing Care of the Addicted Client (1996), and coauthor of Women’s Health Across the Lifespan: A Comprehensive Perspective (1997), Scope and Standards of Addictions Nursing Practice (2004) and Finding Freedom from Habits that Hurt (2007). She has authored 13 refereed articles, 5 non-refereed articles, and 12 book chapters. For over a decade she has served as an associate editor on the Journal of Addictions Nursing: A Journal for the Prevention and Management of Addictions.
Allen is the recipient of numerous scholarship and leadership awards. She has served on many boards including the Editorial Advisory Board for U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPS); President of the International Nurses Society on Addictions; U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Advisory Council; and currently the Adventist Health Systems Sunbelt Corporation board.
Richard Davidson
Richard Davidson, J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, has taught at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in the Department of Old Testament since 1979. It means 32 years of dedicated service, excellent research, and masterful teaching with a pastoral heart! From 1970 to 1975, he pastored in the Arizona Conference, but his passion for biblical truth drove him to pursue a doctorate at Andrews University where he was asked, after the completion of his dissertation, to become a faculty member and researcher.
Davidson’s research record has exceeded even his exceptional teaching reputation. His book, Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament (Hendrickson, 2007), is the most comprehensive study to date on biblical sexuality. Other academic and professional books include Typology in Scripture, In the Footsteps of Joshua and A Love Song for the Sabbath.
He has contributed 36 chapters to various books, Biblical Research Institute publications, and writings on specific topics in his areas of expertise, which include typology, biblical hermeneutics, creation, sanctuary, biblical sexuality and eschatology. He has written 25 articles for refereed scholarly journals, such as Andrews University Seminary Studies, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society and Origins, and articles in professional journals like Adventist Review, Perspective Digest, Shabbat Shalom, New England Pastor, Dialogue and Ministry.
In addition to his writing projects, he has read 94 scholarly papers in a variety of venues such as the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Adventist Theological Society. Additionally, between 2005 and 2010 he presented approximately 200 lectures and sermons in different seminars, Bible conferences and symposiums around the world. He has presented in countries like Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Romania, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway and Austria.
From Left to Right: Shandelle Henson, Karen Allen, and Larry Burton