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                                                  College of Liberal Arts 

CoLA Color


 

CoLA Weekly

 

Friday, February 20, 2015  

 
We are pleased to announce that Empower: College of Liberal Arts Strategic Plan 2014-2019 is finished and available to view on our website. The college aligned our plan to that of Wright State's Strategic Plan EMPOWER: 2013-2018 with modifications to fit the needs of CoLA. Each goal of the plan includes action items in areas that we want to expand and place resources. The strategic plan is not static and will be modified as we accomplish our goals. Strategic plan updates with specific actions taken will be summarized each year.

 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our strategic planning process -- your input and ideas were invaluable. And a special thank you to Associate Deans Linda Caron and Herb Dregalla, and Assistant Dean Jennie Buckwalter for their leadership during this process.

 

Monday's second annual CoLA Pathways to Success Open House was a great success despite bad weather to the south that prevented some registrants from attending. Because area high schools are closed on Presidents' Day students and parents had the opportunity to see what it is like when Wright State is in session. Members of the WSU Spirit Unit escorted students from the Student Union to Millett Hall where they were met by Rowdy Raider himself. Almost 100 prospective students and guests met with representatives from CoLA Departments and Programs, as well as other academic and support offices from around the campus. Most importantly students were able to attend a variety of classes taught by outstanding CoLA faculty, learn about financial aid, and take tours of the CAC and campus. Many thanks to everyone who helped with this important recruitment event, including Dawn Banker, Susan Paul, Stephanie Dickey, Herb Dregalla, and Megan Robertson from Undergraduate Admissions.

 

I have greatly enjoyed attending many of this week's events of The Phoenix Project: A Call to Action commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There was an impressive array of film screenings, panel discussions, and civil rights leaders providing context and discussion about current and past events and context. A Big Kudos to Tracy Snipe, Political Science, who was the mastermind behind these events.  

 

Last week the Department of Modern Languages hosted its second annual Chinese Immersion Day in the Student Union Apollo Room.  Congratulations to Chinese faculty, Haili Du and Maan Broadstock, who organized this immersion experience for 117 students from six area high schools. Pledging to speak only Chinese throughout the day, students practiced painting bamboo-the symbol of spring; competed to show their knowledge of Chinese history and culture; practiced recognizing, pronouncing, and writing select Chinese characters; and learned a popular fan dance with Chinese adjunct Marsha Markert. The day included an authentic meal of prosperity dumplings, longevity noodles, chicken, and tofu.

 

The Dayton Council on World Affairs (DCOWA) is an organization dedicated to using Dayton's growing international business to make the Miami Valley area a region of global outreach. DCOWA is a member of World Affairs Council of America and acts as a link between the Miami Valley, key international figures, and Dayton's international community. They get the conversation started about critical issues including world trends in economics, security, human rights and violations, terrorism, and peace initiatives. CoLA faculty have played a huge role in DCOWA. Congratulations to Pramod K. Kantha, Political Science, who was just elected president of DCOWA for 2015. History retiree Jacob Dorn and current Political Science chair Donna Schlagheck have also served as president and active board members. DCOWA regularly invites CoLA faculty to be speakers, including most recently Liam Anderson, Political Science, and Jonathan Winkler, History.

 

This week's featured New Faculty is Instructor Mary Coyle, English. Born in Massachusetts, Mary moved to Ohio in 1993 with her husband who was a career air force officer.  She received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Connecticut and her Master's degree in Composition and Rhetoric from Wright State.  Mary has found that teaching is a transformative experience. She has taught a variety of English courses, including composition, developmental writing, and classes in LEAP, a program designed to teach foreign students English for academic purposes.  She has enjoyed working with Wright State's diverse student body, noting that they all have a different story to tell as they come from different socioeconomic and regional backgrounds. She believes that this diversity creates a dynamic narrative that sparks a great energy within the campus. Welcome Mary!

 

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Kristin Sobolik
Dean

 

Upcoming events:

 

TODAY- Friday, February 20: 4:00-6:30 p.m. in 401 Millett Hall

Pop Up Colloquium: Digital Pedagogies

Piper Martin, Reference-Web Librarian, and English faculty Crystal Lake and Lars

Soderlund will talk about using digital projects for student learning.

 

Tuesday, February 24: 9:30-11:30 a.m. in 163 Student Union Discovery Room  
Laboring Wombs and the Paradox of "Producing" Humans by Dr. Amrita Pande, Lecturer in the Sociology Department from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Thursday, February 26, 4:00-5:00 p.m. in Millett Hall Atrium

From Senegal to Savannah by Dr. Rudolph Ware, Associate professor of History at the University of Michigan. Dr. Ware's talk will draw from his work, The Walking Qur'an, and his current research on enslaved West African Muslims in the Atlantic World.