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Issue: # 5
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September/October 2009 |
 Director's Message
If you asked me -- at 10, at 20, or even at 30 -- what I
hoped to do when I grew up, "consortium director" wasn't even a remote blip on
the radar screen.
There still aren't many of us...probably somewhere around 200
people in the U.S. who connect, facilitate, assist, cajole and otherwise make
possible collaboration among institutions of higher education.
In early October many of us gathered - as the Association
for Consortium Leadership - in Chicago for our annual meeting. As you might
expect, the economy was a major focus for our discussions. What we discovered augurs good news for
collaboration: in tough times, institutions realize that they can't go it
alone.
From a February 2009 article in the Chronicle of Higher
Education: "Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern
University's president, says cooperation helps colleges better leverage their
resources. Through partnerships, they can expand their fields of research and
teaching, such as in language studies. 'You cannot go at it by thinking that
the world stops at this campus,' says Mr. Aoun. 'No university is
self-sufficient.'"
The Colonial Academic Alliance provides opportunities for
collaboration that might not, at first glance, seem obvious. While our
"outward" link is our shared athletic conference, our geographic location
along the East Coast gives us a regional identity and reach that may drive our
collaboration in new and useful directions.
Through our interest groups - including our newest, the
deans of arts and sciences - our members
are discovering their commonalities and developing ways of
leveraging our collective resources in a
time of economic challenge.
Best,
Dr.
Mary Frances Forcier
Director, Colonial Academic
Alliance
mforcier@gmu.edu 703.993.4797
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Arts and Sciences Deans Collaborate |
The CAA Arts and Sciences deans gathered for the first time last month to discuss areas of potential collaboration between the twelve Alliance members. George Mason University has agreed to open its
Smithsonian-Mason Semester in Conservation Studies to students from
all the CAA schools, and the meeting was held at the Smithsonian Zoo's Conservation and Research Center to learn more about the program. We
are hoping that this becomes an annual meeting, held on each of our member campuses and
highlighting a similar shared program each year.
"The academic resources of the CAA schools are extremely
strong and varied," noted Jack Censer, dean of humanities and social sciences
at George Mason University,
"and I think that pooling our collective assets can prove very helpful and
instructive."
 "It was great to meet my peers and have an opportunity to
share and compare experiences," added Censer. "No doubt, some processes will
improve because of it."
Photos from the event can be seen on the CAA website.
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CAA Internationalization Conference
Slated for February at
VCU
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"Global Engagement and Academic Success" will be the theme
of the Alliance's first comprehensive
internationalization conference, to be held February 18-19, 2010 at Virginia Commonwealth
University.
This conference grew out of the Alliance's work with English language
institutes, Study Abroad, international student services, and global studies
programs among its member institutions.
Conference chair McKenna Brown, executive director of VCU's Office of International Education, notes
that this event will focus on university-wide approaches to
internationalization,  bringing together the many people on each campus who are
engaged in global programs.
Participants will
continue to focus on collaborative efforts and information sharing -- key elements of the Alliance's international programs.
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Our New Website |
The new Colonial Academic Alliance website, featuring updated program information and photos of our member institutions, is up and running! Please take a look:
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Hand sanitizer and flu-related posters have become a ubiquitous feature
of campus life, given this fall's widespread influenza activity. The
H1N1 pandemic has presented a new challenge to our member institutions, many of
which are located in the worst affected states.
 The University of Delaware is working through its learning
management system, Sakai,
to offer online meeting places for their courses in the event of widespread
class cancellation. The Center for Educational Effectiveness has collected
useful resources for faculty here.
At George Mason,
Secretary
of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan visited campus to discuss flu prevention. "We keep hearing people say
that this is 'just' the flu," Sebelius said. "That it's not a big deal. It's
'just' the flu. But 'just' the flu kills 36,000 Americans every year and leaves
200,000 hospitalized, and 'just' the flu cutting through schools, campuses, and
daycare centers has a huge impact." And, according to Sebelius, college
students are more susceptible to H1N1. See the Town Hall here.
At Virginia Commonwealth
University, Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., chair of internal medicine at VCU's School of Medicine and past-president of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases, says that a federal declaration
of a health emergency is a standard procedure that frees up resources and gets
health care professionals focused to fight an infectious disease like swine
flu. "It's absolutely
important that the feds have called this a public health emergency, because
what this does is heighten our scenario playing and improve communications," he
said. See an interview with Dr. Wenzel here.
There is some evidence that campus
public-health measures are beginning to work. The American College
Health Association is monitoring influenza-like illness at 273 U.S.
universities enrolling 3.3 million students. ACHA's most recent report
indicates that the rate of infection is decreasing on these campuses in late
September and early October - contrasting with an increasing infection rate in
the general population.
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Welcome, New Executive Committee
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We are pleased to announce the newly elected 2009-10 Colonial Academic Alliance Executive Committee:
Dr. Peter Stearns, George Mason University (Chair)
Dr. Douglas Brown, James Madison University Dr. Mark Greenberg, Drexel University Dr. Carol Simpson, Old Dominion University |
VCU to host 2010 Undergraduate
Research Conference
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Students from CAA member institutions will be presenting
their research and creative works at this year's CAA Undergraduate Research
Conference, to be held at Virginia Commonwealth University on April 16 and 17,
2010.
Jacqueline Smith-Mason, dean of VCU's Honors College, is
working with the Undergraduate Research Coordinators interest group to plan a
weekend that celebrates undergraduate achievement, prepares students for
graduate school and professional pursuits, and gives visiting scholars a chance
to experience VCU and the Richmond area. Information about the conference will
be posted on the CAA website shortly.
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Study Abroad with the University of Delaware:
Art and Architecture in Tunisia |
Tunisia, located on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea in North Africa, is home to many jewels of ancient
Phoenician, Roman and Is lamic heritage. Its
location made Tunisia an
ancient waypoint for travelers and commerce, and the resulting diversity in Tunisia has
helped to create a welcoming and hospitable culture.
For the past two years, the University of Delaware
has offered a popular winter session program in Tunisia for undergraduates interested in immersing themselves in
Tunisian culture. Students reside with Tunisian host families and visit beautiful and quaint coastal villages
while studying art, architecture, music and culture within the context of North
Africa and the Middle East. Excursions include a visit to the ancient
relics at the coliseum of El Jem and the legendary Islamic city of Kairouan, while a second trip takes students from the
fringe of the Sahara desert to the stunning island of Djerba,
home to one of the most ancient Jewish communities in the world.
 Arabic and
French are the two major languages spoken in Tunisia and this program fits in
well with UD's new and growing Arabic language program and their minor in Islamic Studies. However, students are encouraged to apply
regardless of their major or academic affiliation, and there is no language
prerequisite to participate. Students may
apply during any year of study, including their freshman year.
This 6- or
7-credit program runs from January 2, 2010 - February 5, 2010 and is open to
all students in the CAA. The program directors are Khalil
Masmoudi (267.255.7260, khalilm@udel.edu) and Ikram
Masmoudi (302.256.4021, masmoudi@udel.edu). More information.
We will highlight a different study abroad program at a CAA institution in each issue of CAA Connections. To submit a program, please contact us.
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The Colonial Academic Alliance develops, promotes and facilitates collaborative programs and resource sharing to enhance academic quality and institutional effectiveness throughout our member institutions. | |
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