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Change continues to be constant
ENGAGE YOUR STRENGTHS | COMMUNITY | FUTURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
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Greetings!
The start of spring semester arrived rather quickly as we returned to campus only 48 hours before classes started. The short planning period, a new LMS, and the need to immediately focus on the summer schedule even as drop/add was starting for spring were challenges, but University College faculty and staff worked together to continue our focus on students. Thanks for working individually with those who needed assistance.
Please join me in welcoming Ashley Reeves to University College. She is a new staff member in the Center for Student Leadership, although she brought brings several years of experience at the university into her new position. Even as we welcome new colleagues, we are saying goodbye this month to both Rian Satterwhite and Jonathan Modica in the Center. Both have accepted new opportunities in other states. We wish them well in their new endeavors.
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Meet our Global Engagement Scholars
 Ten first-year students were competitively selected from the hundreds who were enrolled in KSU 1111 (Tomorrow's World Today) last fall to form the inaugural group of University College Global Engagement Scholars. Alyxandria Koval, Morgan Owens, Stephanie Hutchens, Gabriela Mosso, Holly Goad, Hunter Young, (back row) Alexander Koehlke, James Bowman, Juan Mejia, and Tiffany Carpenter traveled to Washington, D.C., Dec. 12-18 to see how their government was addressing several of the global challenges they explored in the first-year seminar. The scholars met with representatives from the Department of Defense, the State Department, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. They toured the U.S. Capitol, took a walking tour of several monuments, and spent the weekend exploring Ford's Theater and the Smithsonian museums to learn how the past informs the future. Todd Shinholster and Ken Hill planned and implemented this example of learning outside the classroom. The funding was provided for this first year by the Provost's Office.
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Students learn leadership through service
 While most KSU students were readying for the holidays at the conclusion of final exams, 10 students -- including seven Integrative Studies majors -- headed to Jamaica Dec. 14 - 21 to practice what they learned about leadership and service to others. Shannon Ferketish and Nancy Prochaska, assistant chair in the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship in the Coles College of Business, planned and implemented a study abroad experience that included building a home for a needy family, hosting a community holiday party for 300 children, visiting a local college to explore collaborations, and learning about the community from local leaders. While only the cement foundation had been poured prior to their arrival, the KSU team ensured the house was ready by their departure. The family moved in Dec. 25. The experience took a year of planning as building materials and other supplies were donated and shipped to Annotto Bay, Jamaica. Ferketish and Prochaska collaborated with "Help the Poor - World," a non-profit working in the impoverished area in Jamaica. Pictured are students Thyra Zeits (INTS/LDRS), Flora Lowe-Rockett (INTS/LDRS), and Cody Hicks (management major).
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CSL's domestic exchanges grow with partners
 Brian LeDuc and Josh Hunt are expanding the Center for Student Leadership's successful domestic exchange initiative to ensure more KSU students can work with peers across the country to address social issues like homelessness. Three exchanges are confirmed for spring semester, with a fourth in the works for April. Ten CSL students will be in Los Angeles, Calif., this weekend working with University of Southern California students. The USC students will visit Atlanta in March. "After connecting with peers at partner institutions via Facebook and Skype, students interact with primary stakeholders on all sides and levels, from homeless families to the Council members representing the impacted district to the police officer responsible for the safety and security of all affected," explained LeDuc. Learning about the complex issue of homelessness from multiple vantage points gives students the foundation to begin exploring how to positively impact the problems. Roger Williams University (Rhode Island), Converse College (South Carolina), and Furman University (South Carolina) will also be hosting exchanges with KSU this semester.
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Honors' personnel to move to Willingham
Liza Davis, Katherine Kinnick, Julia Morrissey, Stacey Solomon, Melanie Buchanan, and Charlotte Canup will be moving into the newly renovated second-floor suite in Willingham Hall in a few weeks. Once the move is complete, the Honors Program and the Dual Enrollment Honors Program will report directly to the Dean's Office, although University Studies will continue to serve as the academic home for Davis, Kinnick, and Morrissey. While the move is one step toward the independent Honors College featured in KSU's 2012-2017 strategic plan, President Papp has not yet detailed a timeline for the launch of what will be the newest academic college on the campus.
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Faculty begin 2013 with scholarly publications
 Rick Mosholder is the lead author on three co-authored articles in press, and he presented a summary of his research on Native American students at an international conference last fall. "Negotiating understanding: Considering Native American attitudes about higher education in a Eurocentric context" will appear in the Journal of American Indian Education, and "Native American college student persistence" will appear in the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. The third publication, "Measuring the Effects of a Peer Mentoring Program," will appear in the next issue of the Journal of Developmental Education.
Debbie Smith's Journal of Leadership Studies article "Facilitating the development of a global mindset through a cultural experience" appeared online in late December. It is now available in print and electronically.
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Thrive honored with top NASPA gold award
When Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (known as NASPA) awarded one of its Gold Awards to a proposal detailing the successes of the Thrive program, it also made the proposal a finalist for the organization's top award. Proposal co-authors Stephanie Foote, Brian Wooten, Cathy Bradford, and Brian LeDuc were excited to learn in December that "Helping Students Thrive: A Student and Academic Affairs Program Dedicated to Supporting Students Receiving the HOPE Scholarship" had won the overall Gold Award for 2013. The co-authors and the program will be honored at NASPA's annual conference in March.
Thrive is currently recruiting for its third cohort, with multiple open house events scheduled for early spring. Dee Grindell and Laila Smith, Thrive co-managers, have also scheduled early registration for Thrive students in April, academic success workshops in June, and the one-day Advance in July.
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2012-2017 Strategic Plan approved for college
After many months of discussion and feedback, the college's new strategic plan was finalized and will be posted this week on the website under the "Faculty & Staff" tab for easy reference. Focused on the four goals of enhancing curriculum, promoting learning outside the classroom -- especially in terms of global and multicultural education, expanding communication both inside the college and to external audiences, and garnering resources, the plan establishes the direction of University College for the next four years. University Studies, First-Year Programs, and the Center for Student Leadership are continuing to work on strategic plans for the individual units, which will be based on the plans for KSU and University College.
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Dean of Students Lauds First-Year Initiatives
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Dr. Michael Sanseviro, dean of student success, promoted University College and many of its initiatives for first-year students on a local radio show.
Radio Sandy Springs "Education Forum" host Karen Powell interviewed Sanseviro on KSU's growth, its residential communities, the admissions process, and the many student success initiatives that enhance the campus. In the midst of the wide-ranging interview, Sanseviro lauded the curricular initiatives for first-year students housed in University College as well as the collaboration between Academic Affairs and Student Success. Sanseviro has taught a first-year seminar each fall since he joined KSU as Director of Residence Life, and he will teach in the Thrive program again next fall. The interview can be heard here by scrolling down to Sanseviro. |
Pathways to Peace - Feb. 12
| The American Democracy Project is proud to bring Kiva founder Jessica Jackley to campus Feb. 12 for a 2 p.m. lecture in Stillwell Theater. Jackley will be speaking about the importance of micro-finance in developing and sustaining peace.
Tickets are free, but seats are limited. To reserve a ticket, please click here. Please encourage students to reserve tickets as well for this annual event.
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Distance Learning Workshops
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The college's Distance Learning Committee will offer the following workshops for faculty and staff members during spring semester: 1/29: D2L Mini-Session 12 - 2 p.m. UC 125 2/5: D2L Working Drop-In Session 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. UC 125 2/7: D2L Working Drop-In Session 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. UC 125 2/11: D2L Mini-Session 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. UC 125 2/19: D2L Working Drop-In Session 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. UC 125 3/12: D2L Mini-Session 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. UC 125 3/19: Webinar - Engaging & Retaining Online Students 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. UC 122 RSVP for a mini-session here. |
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