Focus on scholarship increases  
ENGAGE YOUR STRENGTHS | COMMUNITY | FUTURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE 
Greetings!

One of University College's core values is scholarship, and it is exciting to see the new projects developed by faculty and staff members. The number of grant proposals submitted through Sponsored Programs is increasing; the number of publications and creative activities are growing; and the newly expanded tenure and promotion guidelines explicitly honor the scholarship of engagement. As we prepare for the next academic year, we will continue to place a high priority on scholarly accomplishments by honoring good work throughout the college.
Faculty Development Award winner furthering collaborative LC research
Assistant Professor Hillary Steiner is collaborating with colleagues in the college as well as chemistry professor Michelle Dean on several studies related to curriculum design, learning communities and metacognition. Her research has been aided by the 2013 University College Faculty Development Award, which Steiner received at the recent awards ceremony.

Steiner and Dean are teaming up to teach in a fall semester learning community for chemistry majors that will serve as the laboratory for a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project investigating student achievement, metacognition, and attitudes toward the major. Stephanie Foote and Ruth Goldfine are co-investigators.

Steiner and Goldfine are working with Stephen Braden on another SoTL project that assesses active learning strategies within a first-year seminar.

The college's annual Faculty Development Award is designed to support a faculty member's scholarly endeavors in the years prior to his or her eligibility for the university's faculty achievement awards.
New role to enhance RRPG assessment
As of August 1, Carolee Larsen's rank will change from Assistant Professor to Lecturer and her title will change to Assessment Director for the college.

 

In addition to working with University College program directors and coordinators to design and implement program-specific assessments, Larsen will also work more closely with me in my capacity as Associate Vice President for Advising, Retention & Graduation Initiatives to assess the Recruitment, Retention & Progression to Graduation (RRPG) program for Hispanic/Latino/a students; KSU's progress in implementing the recommendations from the recently completed Foundations of Excellence - Transfer Focus Self-Study; and implementation of KSU's Complete College Georgia campus plan.  

 

These additional responsibilities required a restructuring of Carolee's workload, leaving little time for individual scholarship projects. Assessment of these various initiatives is essential for the college and for the university,  so Larsen will be working closely with numerous individuals both inside and outside University College to develop and implement comprehensive assessment plans for them. 

 

First-Year and Transition Studies will remain Larsen's academic home department, and she will continue to teach first-year seminars. 

New name illustrates expanded focus of Department of First-Year & Transition Studies 
The academic department formerly known as First-Year Programs changed its name to the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies July 1. The new name signifies the department's expanding role in serving students in transition while also illustrating its national leadership in the emerging discipline of First-Year Studies.

This fall the department is piloting a transition seminar for transfer students, developing a sophomore seminar in collaboration with Career Services, and seeking QM approval for several core graduate courses in anticipation of the M.S. in First-Year Studies gaining approval from the Board of Regents within the next academic year. Given current enrollment projections, the department is anticipating teaching a record number of first-year students in first-year seminars and learning communities.
Dual enrollment lauded in local magazine
Cobb InFocus featured KSU's Dual Enrollment Honors Program in the July/August issue, summarizing the benefits of dual enrollment for high achievers looking to get a head start on college. The article, which can be accessed here, includes interviews from Katherine Kinnick and Stacey Solomon as well as dual enrollment students and parents of DEHP students.

KSU will welcome 308 high school juniors and seniors this fall, a record number of DEHP students. They will complete their high school graduation requirements while taking KSU courses and receiving college credit.
CSL welcomes new faces to growing team  
Jason Flowers is the latest addition to the Center for Student Leadership team. Flowers, who joined CSL July 15, is the Student-Athlete and Experiential Leadership Coordinator. Flowers brings both educational and athletic experience to the position. He was a college soccer player at Emory University and spent years as a high school teacher in Paulding County. Flowers will be teaching KSU 1200 for first-year athletes this fall.

CSL will also welcome Jennifer Purcell August 5 as the Assistant Director for Engagement. Purcell, who recently graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, was the Coordinator of Service Learning at Georgia Highlands College. She will assist the Center in providing expanded opportunities for student involvement in various community-based programs as well as deepening existing initiatives. Purcell will continue to teach KSU 1121, the community engagement first-year seminar. She has taught the course previously as a part-time instructor.
College featured in latest issue of magazine 
The latest issues of the Kennesaw State University Magazine highlighted numerous programs and initiatives housed in University College. The cover story lauded the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies and its nationally recognized curricular and co-curricular programs for first-year students.

The study abroad service trip to Jamaica coordinated by Shannon Ferketish and her Coles College colleague Nancy Prochaska was also featured. Former Presidential Emerging Global Scholars student Jiexi Liao's Goldwater scholarship appears in the Campus Briefs section. 

Click here to read the digital version.
Faculty present at international conferences 
Multiple faculty members have traveled to present research at international conferences this summer. Heather Scott presented "Ascension Patterns and Experiences of Female Board of Trustee Chairpersons" at the International Leadership Association's Women and Leadership Affinity Group Inaugural Conference, which was titled Building, Bridging, and Blazing Pathways for Women and Leadership: Celebrating the Past, Present, and Future. The presentation was part of Scott's ongoing research into women leaders in higher education.

Stephanie Foote and Deborah Mixson-Brookshire each presented research at the International First-Year Experience conference and co-presented "Enhancing Learning with Technology: A Study of First-Year Students in Online, Blended, and Face-to-Face First-Year Seminar Classes." Foote presented "College Students in Transition: New Directions in Research and Practice" and Mixson-Brookshire co-presented "Student Recreation First-Year Assessment" during the poster session with Donald Brookshire.
July 2013
Steiner Focuses on LC Research
Changes for Assessment Director
Department Expands Offerings
Positive Words for Dual Enrollment
CSL's New Hires
College Featured in KSU Magazine
International Conferences
Quick Links
Save the Date: First-Year Convocation
Aug 16, 5 p.m.
Mark your calendars for the 2013 First-Year Convocation, which will be held on the first day of fall semester classes, Aug. 16. The ceremony begins at 5 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
Hill, Hoerrner and Shinholster co-author AASCU publication
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities is publishing a student guide co-authored by Ken Hill, Keisha Hoerrner and Todd Shinholster along with Tina Zappile from Richard Stockton College in New Jersey.

"Global Challenges: Promises and Perils in the 21st Century" is the student guide for the blended learning course distributed by AASCU. The course, which is based on the Center for Strategic and International Studies' 7 Revolutions project, is used by both two-year and four-year institutions across the country.

The student guide will also be featured in an upcoming article in Change magazine about the Global Challenges course.
Mosholder on NSF review panel
Richard Mosholder accepted an invitation to serve on the National Science Foundation's EHR Core Research (Workforce Development) Grant Review Panel. He has previously received funding for his research from the NSF and is excited to see the process from a reviewer's perspective.
Braden certified as Community Emergency Response Team member

Stephen Braden recently completed both KSU's Crisis Coordinator Program and the 21-hour Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Both enable him to serve the campus and local communities in the event of a disaster or emergency.

As a Crisis Coordinator Braden is trained in areas such as crisis mitigation, fire suppression, American Red Cross CPR/AED and first aid, and workplace violence awareness.

As a CERT member, he is trained in disaster preparedness and communications, disaster medical operations including triage and responding to life threatening injuries, search and rescue techniques, disaster psychology, and terrorist incidence response.

Braden and Kathy Lynn are the only two CERT-certified faculty members in the college. There are KSU Crisis Coordinators in every building to assist in emergencies.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
Kennesaw State University | 1000 Chastain Road, MB #2401, Kennesaw, Georgia  30144-5591

Dr. Ralph J. Rascati, Dean
p: 770/499/3550 | f: 770/499/3464 | e: [email protected]