Dr. Steve Bohnenblust brings a passion for scholarship and 27 years as a member of the campus community to his new role as director of the Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research (CESR).
The Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research has completed its first year of service to the faculty and staff at Minnesota State Mankato. Over the past year, CESR has worked with numerous faculty members on their scholarly manuscripts and research designs, but much work is still needed to increase awareness of its services throughout the university. In 2008, CESR will continue to create strong connections across campus under the leadership of its new director, Dr. Stephen Bohnenblust.
Over the past 27 years, Dr. Bohnenblust has demonstrated a deep commitment to scholarship and learning at Minnesota State Mankato. Most recently, he has co–led a three–year, $800,000 research project to help reduce the incidence of heavy drinking on campus. The "MSU Gets It" and "Kato Party 411" campaigns, which can be seen on buses and billboards around town, are some of the tangible results of this project. "Essentially, my role has been to develop a scientifically sound research design that will allow us to determine whether the campaigns result in a significant reduction of alcohol abuse on campus," says Dr. Bohnenblust.
In addition to his own research, Dr. Bohnenblust served the university as the president of the Faculty Association for the past four years, a role that allowed him to form cross–disciplinary bonds and understand the diverse needs of our faculty. And he has demonstrated his commitment to undergraduates through his own teaching and by co–authoring a widely used statistics textbook, Basic Statistics for the Health Sciences, now in its fifth edition.
Dr. Bohnenblust was drawn to the director position at CESR because of his passion for scientific research and his desire to serve his fellow faculty members. "It'll be fun to concentrate my entire professional activity on scholarship and research," says Dr. Bohnenblust. "To work with faculty from so many different disciplines is an incredibly exciting opportunity."
Dr. Bohnenblust's excitement stems from the nature of CESR's work, which he sees as providing tangible benefits to faculty. "This is a service that can directly help faculty with their research," he says. "And it's a commitment on the part of the university to provide substantive assistance."
Though Dr. Bohnenblust is eager to chart CESR's future course and to develop programs that further assist faculty, he also stresses CESR's current strengths. "We have excellent support from our two graduate students, Aimee Pierce and David Chapman, who can assist with data analysis and manuscript editing. If faculty would like help with their research projects, we are ready to go now."
