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Learning In & Out of Classrooms
ENGAGE YOUR STRENGTHS | COMMUNITY | FUTURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
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Even as we focus on the many transitions announced by President Papp in October -- including the creation of the Honors College and the consolidation with Southern Polytechnic State University, we continue to concentrate on our core values of collaboration, community engagement and global learning to promote student success both in and out of the classroom.
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Emergency preparedness learning communities host Gen. Honore
 Returning for a third visit to Kennesaw State, Gen. Russel Honore spoke to a packed auditorium about the need to proactively prepare for emergencies. Honore's visit was planned and sponsored by the emergency preparedness learning communities and the faculty who teach in them: Kathy Lynn and Yvonne Wichman. The communities utilize one of Honore's books as a text and carefully study his call to action for citizens to be prepared in advance of natural disasters and other emergencies.
Honore, who is nationally known for his leadership following Hurricane Katrina, was especially moved during his KSU visit when the learning communities students presented him with a $750 check for his Honore Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement, an initiative that promotes college success among African-American males. The first-year students raised the money to thank the General for his continued support of KSU.
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PEGS students share, serve in community
 Eleven of the Presidential Emerging Globals Scholars (PEGS) visited the Carter Center last month to learn more about its central programs related to democracy and human rights, global health, and conflict resolution. They met with Lauren Kent-Delaney, director of educational programs, and shared their burgeoning understanding of global issues gained through their KSU 1111 honors section. Ken Hill, Phillip Poskus and Linda Lyons planned the visit to not only further students' appreciation for the Carter Center's work but also introduce them to internship possibilities.
A few weeks after the visit, PEGS students participated in a service project promoting global health by volunteering with the Global Soap Project. Students spent a Saturday assisting with the reclamation and recycling of hotel soap bars. The new bars of soap are distributed in communities across the globe to reduce hygiene-related illnesses. To learn more about the Global Soap Project, click here. |
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Leadership students practice what they learn
 Students in Heather Scott's Service as Leadership section recently put theory into practice by participating in community service projects both on and off campus. The class traveled to Georgia State University's Child Development Center to bring awareness to the importance of literacy and celebrate Georgia Pre-K Week. During their visit the students read to the toddler, pre-school and pre-kindergarten classes; led arts and crafts time; organized the classroom libraries; and cleaned one of the classrooms.
The students also participated in KSU's annual "The Big Event" day of service sponsored by VKSU and Student Government, writing letters to deployed military, crafting get well cards for hospitalized children and cleaning the campus nature trail.
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Foote co-edits new work on transitions
 Stephanie Foote is the lead editor on a new publication from the National Resource Center on the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, an annotated bibliography exploring the latest research on the numerous transitions experienced by today's college students.
"College Students in Transition: An Annotated Bibliography" takes the work of transition beyond that of high school to college to help "researchers and practitioners navigate the emerging literature base on college student transitions beyond the first year, with special focus on adult learners, student veterans and those studying in different cultures," according to the Center's website. The book will be published this month. Foote has been working on this project for more than two years. |
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Mosholder's research leads to expanded insight into Native American students
Four years of collaborative grant-funded research culminated in three journal publications for Richard Mosholder this semester. He is lead author of "Native American college student persistence" published in the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice and "Examining Native American recruitment and retention in higher education" published in Academia Journal of Education Research. Both appeared in October. Mosholder is also lead author of "Negotiating understanding: Considering Native American attitudes about higher education in a Eurocentric context" in the Academia Journal of Education Research issue appearing this month.
Other faculty with scholarly achievements include Jennifer Purcell, who served as lead presenter of the "Creating Cultures of Assessment" workshop at the recent Campus Compact conference, and Lynn Boettler, whose "Motivating Students with Visualization in Online Environments" essay was published in Currents in Teaching and Learning.
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KSU 1200 students teach leadership to high school girls as part of community
Students from the "Leading Ladies" learning community took what they are learning in their leadership-focused first-year seminar beyond the classroom by planning and hosting a day-long workshop for high school girls. Held Nov. 9 in the Leadership Room, the current first-year students led a variety of activities for dozens of young women already accepted to KSU for fall 2014.
The day included a panel discussion by several of KSU's top female administrators as well as sessions on "understanding your passion and purpose," "global citizenship and diversity," "networking" and "advocacy, activism and personal leadership." The workshop was billed as an opportunity for current students to "share leadership strategies that prepare young women to transition from high school to college by providing a foundation of knowledge, skills and experiences to empower them make wise decisions, articulate their needs for personal growth, participate in community and become leaders in their schools." The Leading Ladies' KSU 1200 section is co-taught by Ruth Goldfine and Angela Evans. Both praised their students' successful planning and collaborative spirit. Plans are already underway to make this an annual event for the learning community, which will be repeated next fall. |
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Mixson-Brookshire appointed Interim Assistant Dean beginning in January 2014
 Keisha Hoerrner, incoming Interim Dean, named Deborah Mixson-Brookshire to the college's Leadership Team as Interim Assistant Dean. Both Hoerrner and Mixson-Brookshire will assume their interim positions in January.
Mixson-Brookshire brings a unique skill set to the position. As a tenured Assistant Professor whose portfolio for promotion is currently in review, she has years of experience as a faculty member. Her financial management experience will assist the Chairs and Interim Dean in effective oversight of the college's multiple budgets. Mixson-Brookshire's experience as Distance Learning Director has allowed her to be an "early adopter" of new technologies, allowing her to assume oversight of the college's adoption of Digital Measures' faculty activity module and Ad Astra while also assuming the role of EMS Administrator. She will continue to serve as Distance Learning Director.
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2014 University College Global Engagement Scholars Named
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After reviewing dozens of application entries, KSU 1111 faculty members selected the following 10 first-year students as the 2014 Global Engagement Scholars:
- Demetrius deMoors
- Ryan Jordan
- Rush Miroshkin
- Lauryn Bates
- Caitlin Monday
- Alex Petit
- Matthew Prater
- Juliana Frigerio
- Katie Leigh
- Sarah Barnes
The scholars will head to Washington, D.C., Dec. 12-18 to visit the Department of Defense and the State Department along with several historical sites and federal agencies.
Ken Hill and Todd Shinholster lead the faculty team who select the scholars and plan the experiential learning experience each December. |
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Stop By the First-Year Academic Extravaganza
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More than 300 first-year students are participating in the First-Year Academic Student Extravaganza Nov. 19 in the University Rooms from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
The event will feature traditional poster presentations, videos, original art, creative performances, blogs, manuscripts, debates and demonstrations. Attendees can cast votes for People's Choice Awards. This celebration of student learning will also honor the dedication of faculty teaching in KSU's nationally-recognized Learning Communities Program. In addition, students enrolled in KSU's globally-focused first-year-seminar (KSU 1111) will share their understanding of Global Challenges through the popular Global Village Poster Presentation.
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Faculty focus on online course development
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Joan Dominick recently completed the Sloan Consortium's "Design and Delivery Specialization Track." This is the latest in a series of Sloan online certificates completed by college faculty to enhance their online teaching and learning capability.
Stephanie Foote, Heather Scott and Deborah Mixson-Brookshire were three KSU faculty accepted to the Online Institute for Teaching and Learning hosted by the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. They will join Instructional Designers Josie Baudier and Traci Stromie in a four-day institute designed to provide participants with structured time to develop online courses. "The institute is grounded in research and effective practices and provides participants ample time to apply this knowledge to their courses," according to the application site. The institute runs Dec. 16-19.
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