I love this time of the academic year! We are busily interviewing candidates for our numerous faculty positions throughout the college and have been so impressed with the strength, diversity, and depth of the people we have met so far. It will be exciting to have such great, new colleagues in the college next year! Currently we are interviewing for an archaeologist, political scientist, Spanish language professor, physical anthropologist, sociological theorist, sexuality studies social scientist, costume designer, diversity scholar, social work professor, and theatre studies specialist.
In addition to new faculty, we will also have two new directors to head up our Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS) - a Director of Student Retention and a Director of Workforce Development. Candidates for these positions will be interviewing on campus in the coming weeks. Candidate CVs, cover letters, and schedules can be found here.
There are two finalists for the Director of Student Retention. Each candidate will present her Vision for Student Retention at 1:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center Atrium area. The presentations are open to all in CoLA. Please come and help us select our new colleagues and the leaders of CLASS.
The Director of Student Retention candidates are:
- Ms. Tresa Barlage Zianno, Miami University; campus visit on Thursday, Feb. 12
- Ms. Rebecca Kleinberg Salay, Arizona State University; campus visit on Thursday, Feb. 19
The Search Committee for the Director of Student Retention is chaired by Associate Dean Herb Dregalla, and includes Advisor Ann Barr, Lecturer Dennis Loranger, and Dean's Student Advisory Board Member Abigail Sorensen, MHum. Thank You to this hard working committee!
The Search Committee for the Director of Workforce Development is in the process of selecting the finalists to bring to campus. Stay tuned for more updates!
Well, I am calling it the Great Flood of 2015. Many of you know that an accidental triggering of the sprinkler system in the Festival Playhouse recently brought an unexpected deluge to the stage. Luckily we were between productions, but unluckily Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was scheduled to open less than a week after the flood.
Within minutes a team of first responders was on site. Hard work from many departments meant the show could go on as scheduled. Many thanks to the great people from Risk Management, Physical Plant, Environmental Health and Safety, Engineering and Construction, Planning and Architecture, and Emergency Management. Of course, our wonderful faculty, staff, and students kept calm and carried on. Special thanks to Tim Judge, Vicki Oleen, David Castellano, James Dunlap, Stu McDowell, and numerous students who pitched in and helped out.
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Pride & Prejudice opened as scheduled last Thursday
and was a wonderful performance! As many of you
know from CELIA's focus on the anniversary of the
publication of Pride & Prejudice last year, that book
is one of my favorites, and the play did not disappoint!
Great Job to Stage Manager Elle Riley and the tech crew, actors, faculty, staff, and
Director Marya Spring Cordes! I loved it!
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Last weekend Women's Studies hosted their 2nd annual quilt show entitled Celebrating Women's Studies through Quilt Stories. Quilts, through their fabrics, patterns, colors, purpose, themes, and textures are the voice of history or current events and issues. Quilts are stories. This well-attended event was a success and raised $1,000 for two new scholarships for Women's Studies majors. A big Congratulations to Linda Morgan, Women's Studies, and the many others who worked to make this event such a success - student employees Jennifer Money, Ameer Hafeez, and Jasmine Underwood; WSU Alumna, Tracey Craven; Angela Reichelderfer, Master of Humanities student; and the Women's Center staff and students.
It is that time of year when we need to encourage our great students to apply for scholarship support as there are many wonderful opportunities available. The College of Liberal Arts Leadership Scholarship applications are due today. Study Abroad Scholarship applications are due February 20. There are multiple scholarships available and the average award is $1,000 so it is definitely worth a student's time to apply! Additionally, the Financial Aid Office has an online process for students to apply to hundreds of scholarships at once. Please direct your students to apply online by February 18!
This week's featured New Faculty is Kris Bezdecny, Urban Affairs & Geography. Kris earned her bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics at Metropolitan State College in Denver. At the University of Southern Florida she received her master's degree in Urban Geography and her doctoral degree in Geography and Environmental Science and Policies. Kris teaches Human Geography, Advanced Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing. Her mission is to make people more aware of the study of geography and help them better understand this field. She wants to encourage students to try out this area of study as it can serve many interests. Welcome, Kris!
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You can support Art & Art History students by attending today's Silent Art Auction in the Student Union Atrium from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The auction will feature artwork from fine arts seniors and local artists as well as gift baskets and tickets from local businesses, and provides funding for the students' Senior Thesis Exhibition in April 2015.
Be sure to mark your calendar for CoLA's first Research Conference on Monday, February 9. Spend a day with your CoLA colleagues who will share the great work they accomplished during their 2013-2014 Professional Development Leave. The conference's illustrious keynote speaker will be Paul Lockhart, History, Wright State's 2014 Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research awardee. For a complete program schedule please visit our website.
