Quick Q&A with Dr. Gull, new dean of the COAS

Earlier this year, Dr. Anne M. Gull was hired as dean of Indiana Tech’s College of Arts and Sciences, succeeding Dr. Oliver Evans, who had served as interim dean of the college since 2018.

After a few months at the university, Indiana Tech Magazine stopped by her office to see how things are going.

ITM: Now that you’ve had a little bit of time to settle in, how do you feel about your position, the university, the College of Arts and Sciences?

Dr. Gull: I am truly enjoying my new role and the challenges that leading a college brings, especially this semester. Starting a new role in COVID times adds a new dimension to it, but this role is always about supporting the faculty and students at Indiana Tech and helping them do their best.

I feel like I have been a part of Indiana Tech longer than I really have been and the reason for this is that everyone has been so supportive that I feel like I have learned more than is possible in just my short time here. I am very thankful for all the support and training and for making me feel like a part of this community so quickly.

It is becoming obvious to me that Tech is a very progressive, fast-paced institution that is committed to constant improvement. The pace of the changes is exciting and also slightly panic-inducing, but I am up to the challenge, especially with the help of the talented and creative Arts and Sciences faculty members.

ITM: What is your broad vision for the COAS?

Dr. Gull: My vision for our college is to grow our new and existing programs and to help with the conversion of more of these programs to CPS so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to experience them. The growth of the recently developed science programs (health science, biology and forensic science) aligns with university-wide goals and I look forward to supporting that growth.

I also want to start conversations about how we do general education at Indiana Tech and how we can support students even better in their general education. Many of the general education courses are taught in the College of Arts and Sciences. Supporting the development of soft skills in students is very important to their future success related to the purpose part of our mission—living a life of significance and worth.

ITM: It appears you have spent many years away from Fort Wayne during your career. How does it feel to be back in the city/region?

Dr. Gull: Yes, I spent my college years in Fort Wayne and there have been many changes over the years to the city landscape. It feels great to be returning to a vibrant city. I look forward to being able to enjoy the downtown areas, including TinCaps games and Embassy Theatre performances post-COVID. I also look forward to having access to other cultural experiences and events that go with a larger city—this will be a change since I have spent the last 20 years living on the outskirts of a rural town. Having closer access to shopping will certainly be a convenience I will also enjoy.

ITM: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. Gull: I can share a little about my family. I have been married 29 year to my husband, Chip, and we have two sons, Alex and Chandler. Alex is a college freshman and Chandler graduated from college last year and does personal performance training and coaching in Miami, Florida. Both sons played basketball, golf and soccer, so sports are a big part of our family life and we are looking forward to supporting the Warrior teams.

Dr. Gull brings nearly 25 years of experience as a teacher and academic administrator in higher education to her role at Indiana Tech. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from St. Francis College in Fort Wayne (now the University of Saint Francis), and her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Purdue University.

Sinelnikov hired to lead forensic program

Dr. Alexander Sinelnikov has joined the Indiana Tech faculty as an assistant professor of biology and will lead the university’s forensic science program.

Dr. Sinelnikov comes to Indiana Tech from the Chicago area where he was most recently the laboratory director at Independent Forensics of Illinois. He has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Notre Dame.

“We are excited to have him join us and I know students will be excited to hear about the projects he has worked on in the past related to forensic DNA testing,” said Dr. Anne Gull, director of the College of Arts and Sciences. “He has a generous amount of laboratory research and development experience and extensive regulatory experience in lab accreditation. With that, he will be able to lead our forensic science program toward accreditation.”

Lombardo wins Leepoxy Award for Teaching Innovation

Dominic Lombardo, associate professor and director of Indiana Tech’s Center for Criminal Justice, was recognized with Indiana Tech’s 2019 Leepoxy Award for Teaching Innovation. This award was established in 2008 by community supporter and owner of Leepoxy Plastics, Larry Lee. It is given annually to a full-time faculty member who:

• Challenges students to continuously progress to higher levels of thinking.
• Engages students in active learning activities.
• Connects to students in innovative ways to positively impact their experiences at Indiana Tech.

Professor Lombardo’s award was announced during Indiana Tech’s convocation ceremony on Aug. 25. During the presentation, he was recognized for:

• His dedication to his role—he arrives early, stays late and teaches in the evenings and throughout the summer.
• Supporting his students in various ways, even well after they graduate.
• Injecting his deep expertise and professional experience into his work for Indiana Tech’s Center for Criminal Justice.
• Using his many relationships throughout Fort Wayne, Indiana, and beyond to assemble an outstanding team of faculty—both full time and adjunct—who serve our students well.
• Taking the idea of changing lives to another level; one of his passions is working closely with agencies that combat human trafficking and extricate young women and children from sex slavery.

“We in the College of Arts and Sciences our so proud of our dedicated faculty member, Dominic Lombardo,” said Dr. Anne Gull, dean of Indiana Tech’s College of Arts and Sciences. “He embodies the ideals of the criminal justice system as evidenced by his daily interactions with others and serves as an excellent role model for our students.”

Lombardo was a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 14 years before coming to Indiana Tech in 2013. Sharing his experiences from his time on the LAPD has proven compelling and impactful in the classroom experience as he stresses the societal necessity for an effective, fair and trustworthy criminal justice system.

2017 grad earns MSP Lifesaving Award

Isaiah Lintz, a 2017 graduate from Indiana Tech’s Center for Criminal Justice and now a Michigan State Trooper with the West Branch Post, was one of five troopers to earn a Michigan State Police Lifesaving Award earlier this year.

In January, Lintz and fellow trooper Jo Hamlin were dispatched to a residence for a subject who had overdosed. The subject had no pulse, was not breathing and was unresponsive. The troopers began CPR and administered naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan. The subject began to breathe and regained a pulse. Troopers continued lifesaving efforts until EMS arrived and the subject was transported to a local hospital.

Crime analysis concentration earns national recognition

Indiana Tech’s Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice concentrating in crime analysis was recognized by CrimeSceneInvestigatorEDU.org as a Top Pick for the Best Associate and Bachelor’s Programs in CSI and Forensic Science.

In CrimeSceneInvestigatorEDU.org’s summary of Indiana Tech’s program, it wrote: “The curriculum here blends criminological theory and experience with highly technical analytical techniques that will help you break down any crime scene using some of the latest tools and software for the task. An emphasis on the psychological motivations of criminal behavior will help drive your assessments, giving you a big-picture perspective on criminal analysis that will prepare you for any type of specialty or posting in CSI. In fact, with the professional ethics, leadership skills and perspective you’ll gain through this program, you’ll be equipped not only to process scenes, but to get ahead of the curve to devise solutions to crime in general and formulate crime prevention strategies.”

CrimeSceneInvestigatorEDU.org is an independent online publishing group that saw an opportunity to provide aspiring CSI and forensic professionals, and those looking to advance in the field, a one-stop resource for information on education and certification options, specialized job functions, employment opportunities, earning potential and more. The resource was developed independently and has no affiliation with professional associations, lobbying groups, law enforcement departments or other government agencies.

You can learn more about all degrees available from Indiana Tech’s Center for Criminal Justice on the academics website. Graduates from our Center for Criminal Justice have earned positions and internships within the FBI; the Department of Homeland Security; federal and state crime labs; the Indiana Department of Natural Resources; and state, municipal and rural law enforcement agencies.

The show goes on(line) for three COAS classes’ projects

Despite the disruption the COVID-19 outbreak created within the Indiana Tech community, three courses within our College of Arts and Sciences have determined the show must go on. Online, that is. When the spring semester began, students from Dr. Cortney Robbins’ HUM 3390-Women in Literature class, Carrie Rodesiler’s ENG 2322-Research Writing class and Alicia Wireman’s COMM 2450-Writing for Journalism class began work on separate projects that were to culminate with public presentations during the semester. Once those opportunities were cancelled, Robbins, Rodesiler and Wireman worked with the Department of Marketing and Communication to provide an online forum for their students’ projects.

Follow the links below to review the projects:

• HUM 3390 – Women in Literature: Celebrating Women Authors
• ENG 2322 – Research Writing: Veterans Oral History Project
• COMM 2450 – Writing for Journalism

Biology lab work unearths 49 antimicrobial organisms from campus soil

Thirty-one students in BIO 1360-General Biology II Laboratory isolated soil organisms from Indiana Tech’s campus to demonstrate antibiotic production as part of the university’s inaugural year as a partner institution in the Small World Initiative (www.smallworldinitiative.org). The Small World Initiative is an innovative program that encourages students to pursue relevant science in a semester-long lab in order to address a worldwide health threat—superbugs—and the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics. In 2012, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology identified an increasing need for STEM graduates. SWI was a result, and it has grown rapidly to include nearly 400 undergraduate institutions and high schools across 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 15 countries. The semester-long BIO 1360 wet-laboratory experiment provided modern-day microbiology skills to first-year students, even after they worked from home, as they completed extensive lab reports and peer reviews that model today’s industrial standard documents. Work-study students Cherokee Bodell and Vi Trinh are finishing the characterization of these isolates and will determine DNA sequence to complete the speciation. In total, students isolated 49 organisms from our campus that produced antimicrobial activity.

Biology major’s poetry featured in “Hidden Thoughts”

Katlyn Jones, a sophomore biology major, has released a book of poems called “Hidden Thoughts,” which is available through blurb.com. Jones, who is also a member of Indiana Tech’s women’s track and field team, plans to be a biopsychologist.