biplane logo                                                               

 

                                                                   

                                                              College of Liberal Arts 

CoLA Color
CoLA Weekly
 
Friday, September 4, 2015 
 

Welcome Back! It sure has been a whirlwind week as we all get back into the swing of things. I hope you had a chance to enjoy a tasty root beer float served up by staff of the Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS) and the Dean's Student Advisory Board in celebration of our first day of the semester.

  
Last week's Move-In Day was also a great success. I understand around 20 CoLA faculty and staff helped welcome our first-year students in this important way.  Thank you all for your help.   
   
 

Our CoLA Retreat boasted record attendance of over 155 faculty and staff at the beautiful Schuster Center last week. We discussed a wide variety of University-level topics - enrollment, HLC Accreditation, and the Rise.Shine. Comprehensive Campaign - as well as many CoLA-specific items such as the Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS), CUPA, LEAP, the Creative Arts Center Modernization and Expansion, and the New Media Incubator. We also celebrated this year's CoLA Outstanding Award recipients: 

You can see their smiling faces on the wall outside of the Dean's Office or read more about them here.  

Congratulations as well to the CoLA faculty who were recognized at this week's faculty awards celebration at the University Convocation:  Hank Dahlman, CELIA and Music, University Professor Award; Drew Swanson, History, Presidential Award for Early Career Achievement; Chris Hall, English, Frederick A. White Distinguished Professor of Professional Service Award; and Jack Dustin, Service Learning and Civic Engagement, Presidential Award for Community Engagement.  Next Tuesday, September 8, at 1:30 in the Apollo Room we will also honor Vicki Oleen, Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures,who is receiving the Excellence in Service Award.  Congratulations Hank, Drew, Chris, Jack, and Vicki! 
 
A special welcome to Wayne Stark, our new Director of Workforce Development who began in July. Wayne is co-captain of our new Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS) along with Becca Salay, Director of Student Retention, who started late spring. These two have been hard at work this summer implementing exciting new programming to keep our students engaged and on the right path to success in their classes as well as in the community, all building toward successful graduation and career placement. Our CLASS leaders are fearless - just take a look at this photo of Becca from a recent visit to WPAFB where she volunteered to try on a 75-pound specialized suit in the Explosive Ordinance Disposal area. And don't miss this photo of Wayne tempting fate at the edge of the south rim of the Grand Canyon after spending the day exploring ancestral puebloan archaeological sites. Stay tuned for more updates on CLASS this fall! 
 
 
Becca Salay 
Director of Student Retention 

 Wayne Stark 
Director of Workforce Development 
 
The CoLA family is growing! This year we welcome 17 new faculty and 10 new staff to our team. We will feature each of them in our upcoming CoLA Weekly emails so stay tuned to learn more about your new colleagues.
 
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
    KSO signature   
 


 
Kristin Sobolik
Dean 
 

CLASS Corner 
   
Wayne Stark and CLASS: Workforce Development will be hosting a weekly Liberal Arts Student Career Success Series every Tuesday 9:30-10:30 a.m. and Thursday 2:00-3:00 p.m., plus every other Wednesday evening, in Millett Atrium.  This week's topic is The Power of your Liberal Arts Degree.  Let your students know!
 
        

Liberal Arts Student Career Success Series: The Power of your Liberal Arts Degree
      • Tuesday, Sept. 8, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Millett Atrium
      • Thursday, Sept. 9, 2:00-3:00 p.m., Millett Atrium