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Vol. 2 No. 1
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January/February/March 2010
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 Director's Message
The
change agents
From
Atlanta to Boston, one constant theme is heard on our campuses: the need to
grapple with substantive change.
New
state funding models alter the very nature of our public institutions. The
global "reach" of our institutions continues to grow. New relationships develop
with community colleges and other organizations to broaden student access to
higher education.
Helping
our institutions manage and adapt to these transformative changes is a key role
for the Alliance.
Scholars
of institutional change in higher education identify the importance of
"intermediary organizations" like the Alliance in fostering systemic change.
Through communities of practice, these intermediaries help institutions share
existing knowledge and create new knowledge, help each other build new
programs, and share resources.
The
initial feedback from one recent effort tells us that we're moving in the right
direction. Our first Global Education Conference not only brought together the
many individuals responsible for the internationalization of our campuses; it
provided an opportunity for idea sharing and a focus on what we might do collaboratively
to advance our efforts and benefit our students.
Meeting
face-to-face is key to these efforts; developing a culture of mutual trust and
mutual reward is essential. "Physically
seeing each other, meeting and making connections, as well as getting ideas
from other people's models" was, for many, the most valuable part of the day.
We
look forward to our communities of practice developing the relationships and
structures that will help our institutions - and higher education - thrive in
the face of dramatic challenge.
Best,
Mary Frances Forcier
Director, Colonial Academic
Alliance
mforcier@gmu.edu 703.993.4797
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International Educators Convene for
Global Education Conference |
The Alliance's first comprehensive conference on international education, Global Engagement through Academic Success: Sharing Best Practices, was held February 18-19, 2010 at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Hosted by VCU's Office of International Education, the event aimed to
improve learning outcomes, encourage cooperation among international
educators, and promote awareness of the important contributions of
international education.
 The conference attracted nearly 90 participants from ten Alliance institutions. Among the topics discussed were ESL and academic success, preparing the next generation of international educators, ethical issues in study abroad, and increasing the engagement of international students on campus.
"Today
is just the beginning of what we hope will become an ongoing discussion to meet
each other, stimulate conversation and continue to communicate about how to
improve what we do for our students through effective collaboration," said R.
McKenna Brown, executive director of VCU's Office of International Education.
Thank you to McKenna Brown and Elizabeth Hiett for their efforts in hosting the event. View photos from the conference. |
Alumni Relations Benchmarking Program
to Launch This Spring
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 CAA
alumni relations officers will be embarking on a benchmarking study in
cooperation with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Alumni
relations staff from member institutions are meeting at Virginia Commonwealth
University on March 5 to review CASE's benchmarking toolkit and discuss how it
can be used to improve programs at CAA schools.
Gordon
McDougall, assistant vice president for alumni relations at VCU, stated, "We
are pleased to host a meeting for our CAA alumni colleagues and friends
adjacent to the men's basketball conference tournament. Through this and subsequent
meetings we hope to build an effective alumni relations community of practice
within the Colonial Academic Alliance, to foster increased engagement of our
alumni as leaders for their institutions, the conference and in all their
communities."
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Arts & Sciences Department Chairs Gather
CAA partners with CCAS to offer seminar
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In response to member requests for support for academic department heads, the Alliance recently partnered with the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) to offer the CCAS Seminar for Department Chairs to our member institutions.
Each CAA member institution was guaranteed a space in the sold-out seminar and invited to a pre-seminar workshop specifically for CAA participants. The CAA workshop focused on providing leadership in a time of change, personnel evaluation and performance counseling, and collaboration and resource sharing.
Thank you to Nance Lucas and Kimberly Eby (GMU); Amy Unger and Frank Baskind (VCU); Karen Santos (JMU); and Charles Wilson (ODU) for their leadership of this initiative.
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VCU to Host Undergraduate Research Conference
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 Students from throughout the Alliance will travel to Richmond, Virginia to present
their research and scholarly endeavors at the 8th annual Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research
Conference, to be held April 16-17,
2010 at Virginia Commonwealth University.
 Each institution is invited to bring up to ten student participants, who will share their work through posters and oral presentations. Participants will represent an array of disciplines, from the
traditional sciences to the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and
professional schools. Last year's conference was hosted by Towson University and attracted over 80 participants.
Detailed information and online registration forms are now available on the VCU web site. |
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Going Green with the Alliance
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A new group focusing on environmental sustainability will be
meeting for the first time during the annual Undergraduate Research Conference,
April 16-17 at VCU.
Neil Donahue, associate dean of the Honors College, Hofstra
University, is helping coordinate the group's efforts, which grew out of
Hofstra students' interest in developing an "environmental alliance" among the
12 schools.
"If you look at the collective impact that our schools have
on the East Coast, our collaborative efforts can make quite a difference," said
Mary Frances Forcier, CAA director.
Those interested in joining this group - from the faculty,
administrative, or student perspective - should contact the Alliance here.
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Study Abroad with George Mason University:
Journalism in Jerusalem
Students
- Are you a future reporter, Middle East scholar, or maybe just an NPR junkie?
 This summer, George Mason University is offering an inaugural cohort
of students the unique opportunity to learn reporting and communication skills
from a highly regarded group of seasoned journalists in the Middle East. Among this group is Linda Gradstein,
NPR's correspondent in Jerusalem for more than 20 years and recipient of
several awards for her coverage of events such as the Gulf War and the
assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
The program -- offered to undergraduate and graduate
students majoring in media, journalism, or communication -- gives students the opportunity to live in Jerusalem and learn about the
area's culture, politics, religion, environment and business, while honing
their international reporting skills.
Says
Steve Klein, program director and GMU journalism professor, "The
program is unique in that we are providing students access to journalists with years
of on the ground experience on both
the Palestinian and Israeli sides. They
will be learning from people familiar with the turf, reporters on the inside
who are actually doing this work."
 The
6-credit program runs from June 12 to July 28 and
students from all CAA institutions are encouraged to apply. There is no
additional cost for non-George Mason students and the application deadline is
March 19.
More information.
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| To have your institution's study abroad program featured in CAA Connections, 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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