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Time to focus on external funding
ENGAGE YOUR STRENGTHS | COMMUNITY | FUTURE AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
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Thanks to everyone who attended the recent college meeting. As we discussed, external funding is a central priority, and I'm pleased to see many initiatives moving forward. We have faculty and staff members collaborating on grant proposals, and we have several individuals in University Advancement and Development working closely with us to determine funding opportunities. Gaining external funding is certainly a marathon rather than a sprint, but University College is finally out of the starting blocks! Most recently, for example, the Center for Student Leadership learned of new funding from Henssler Financial to support its leadership development program for athletes. I anticipate additional gifts in the coming months, strengthening our student programs and honoring our exemplary faculty and staff members.
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Scott to host first globally focused women in leadership symposium
 Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies Heather Scott received global education funding from University College to plan and host the "Women in the World Leadership Symposium." Two signature events are planned for what is hoped to be the first of many events focusing on the intersections of gender, leadership, and an increasingly globalized society.
The "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" book discussion is scheduled for March 24 and is limited to 20 student participants. The larger event is the film screening of "No Woman No Cry" followed by keynote speaker Dr. Tomekia Strickland March 28. Strickland will speak about her experiences as a global maternal health advocate, her work with Every Mother Counts and the imperative to support women's health projects around the globe. The screening and lecture will start at 11 a.m. in the Prillaman auditorium (HS 1000). For more information about either event, please contact Scott here.
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FYTS faculty accepted to present at EFYE
 Three Department of First-Year and Transition Studies faculty will be traveling to Nottingham, England, to present papers at the European First-Year Experience conference in June.
Natasha Lovelace-Habers is lead author on a collaborative study with Ruth Goldfine, Deborah Mixson-Brookshire and Alison Hedrick exploring first-year convocation events. Habers and Mixson-Brookshire will present "Assessing First-Year Induction: An Enhancement Study" for the team.
Mixson-Brookshire is lead author on a second presentation. She is teaming up with Donald Brookshire and Tara Parker from Student Success to present "Student Recreation: Achieving a Well-Balanced First-Year Student." Mixson-Brookshire is also second author on a presentation examining online learning. Stephanie Foote is the lead author on "Creating an Engaging Online Environment: An Examination of the Induction and Transition of Students in Online First-Year Seminars." Foote is also the sole author on the paper presentation "College Students in Transition: New Directions in Research and Practice."
According to the conference planners, proposals for this year's conference exceeded expectations, so it is particularly noteworthy to see so many acceptances from one university.
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Collaborative learning communities study receives OVPR grant funding for FY14
Hillary Steiner (right) and Stephanie Foote (left) recently learned that their collaborative grant proposal "The Development of a Targeted Learning Community for General Chemistry and its Impact on Student Success and Attitude Toward the Sciences" was funded by KSU's Office of the Vice Present for Research. Michelle Dean (center) from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is the lead investigator for the study, which assesses the effectiveness of a discipline-specific learning community on students' retention within the chemistry major, attitudes toward chemistry as a field and metacognitive skills.
The grant is intended to serve as seed money for a larger grant proposal to an external agency. Dean, Steiner and Foote have already collected data from a pilot study last fall and have plans for a larger study this fall.
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Annual 4.0 luncheon celebrates students
 More than 80 of the 400 invited students attended the annual President's 4.0 Luncheon earlier this month to celebrate their academic success and honor faculty and staff members who positively impacted their first year of college. President Dan Papp, Vice President Jerome Ratchford, numerous Deans and other special guests were present to hear students applaud individuals who invested in them and transformed their learning opportunities. Mixing laughter with a few tears, students expressed their appreciation to staff members who took them under their wings, faculty members who made "scary" courses fun and informative, and even a teaching assistant who served as a tutor for a particularly challenging course.
While more than 16 departments were represented, University College had the highest number of faculty and staff selected as honorees by students. Ken Hill was selected by six students, who created the "Mr. Ken" table! First-year Thrive student Rebekah Nama honored Dee Grindell with a moving reminder that multiple students regret their Graduation Coach could not be with them but that they are "for her" and can't wait to see her back on campus -- a sentiment shared by her colleagues.
The President's 4.0 luncheon is co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies. Full-time students who achieve a 4.0 GPA in their first semester of study are invited to attend.
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Chears joins staff in University Studies
 Dionne Chears is the newest addition to the administrative staff in the college, joining the Department of University Studies at the front desk. Chears brings significant higher education experience to the position, having served in the Registrar's Office at Emory University for eight years and at the University of California - San Diego for 17 years.
A native of California, Chears moved to Atlanta in 2005. She is not only providing customer service to all departmental visitors, but she is also providing administrative support for learning support faculty members.
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President to make annual visit to college
 President Papp will be meeting with faculty and staff members April 8 from 1 to 1:45 p.m. in Room 127 of the University College building. Even in the midst of schedule constraints related to consolidation, the President is visiting each college this spring to provide updates and answer questions on a variety of topics.
Maureen McCarthy, faculty executive assistant to the President, will be joining President Papp.
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Four faculty heading to SoTL retreat
Four out of the 12 faculty participants selected by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for the 2014 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Retreat reside in University College. Debbie Smith and Linda Lyons were both selected as single authors of projects, and Rick Mosholder and Carolee Larsen are two of three participants working on a single project. Charles Wynn in the Department of History and Philosophy will be working with Mosholder and Larsen.
Participants selected for the May retreat receive a summer stipend, consultations with SoTL experts on their projects, and constructive feedback from other participants.
Smith, Lyons, Mosholder and Larsen anticipate conference presentations and publications resulting from their SoTL projects.
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Braden retires, plans to relocate 
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Associate Professor Stephen Braden retired earlier this month after serving as Director of First-Year Seminars for seven years. He recruited, hired, trained and mentored dozens of part-time and adjunct faculty members, helped design the special topics seminar that eventually became KSU 1111, assisted in the development of the graduate program and represented his department and college on numerous institutional committees.
Braden plans to relocate to a warmer, drier climate and is looking forward to writing additional textbooks. He is the co-author of two public speaking texts.
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Foote accepted as Wye Fellow 
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Stephanie Foote received notification in late February that she was named a 2014 Wye Fellow and will participate in the July 19-25 Wye Seminar.
Sponsored by the Aspen Institute, the seminar provides "stimulation to faculty members having heavy teaching obligations and to encourage colleges to address the relationship between liberal education and basic citizenship responsibilities," according to the acceptance letter. It continued, "After, more than thirty years' experience, we are convinced that professors benefit greatly from collaborating with colleagues at similar colleges and universities to probe ideas and values that underlie their teaching."
Foote was also elected as a co-editor for the special "Fostering Success for Students in Transition" issue of The Journal of College and Student University Housing to be published in spring 2015.
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Colleagues receive tenure, promotion letters
| University College is proud to congratulate the following faculty members, who received their final tenure or promotion letters from President Papp. All decisions are effective for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Stephanie Foote: tenured
Kenneth Hill: promoted to Senior Lecturer
Michael Keleher: promoted to Associate Professor
Kathy Lynn: promoted to Senior Lecturer
Deborah Mixson-Brookshire: promoted to Associate Professor
Please take a moment in the coming days to congratulate those who received tenure or a promotion and thank those who served on departmental and college T&P committees.
Elections are currently underway for college committees, including the College Review Committee. Members of the Department Review Committees will be elected next month.
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