Welcome to spring semester! This is an exciting semester for University College as multiple searches are underway, which will bring new colleagues, new ideas and new opportunities. The Dean's search will be completed this semester as will the searches for the Executive Director of the Center for Student Leadership and the Director of First-Year Seminars in the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies. I encourage you to attend the forums and events to meet the candidates and add your voice to the deliberations.
- Keisha L. Hoerrner, Ph.D.
Interim Dean
|
|
|
Congratulations are in order...
Hillary Steiner, assistant professor and assistant director of Learning Communities, and Belinda Edwards, associate professor of Mathematics, received $15,956 from KSU's Office of the Vice President for Research for a FY15 OVPR Pilot/Seed Grant to Attract External Funding ("OVPR Grant"). Their project involves investigating the effects of student-centered teaching methods and targeted learning communities on students' success in calculus.
The grant proposal was one of 10 projects funded by the OVPR Grant initiative, the purpose of which is to provide pilot/seed funding for projects that have the potential to attract external funding. Their winning proposal was selected from among 31 submissions that were reviewed by a panel of seven faculty members from across campus. Along with a team of faculty from the College of Science and Mathematics, they have also submitted a much larger grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to fund their work.
Steiner has also been selected to serve on the editorial board for Learning Communities Research & Practice (LCRP), the academic journal published by the Washington Center at Evergreen State College, the National Resource Center for Learning Communities.
As a LCRP editorial board member, Steiner will be responsible for promoting practices and knowledge that strengthen the learning communities field.
|
|
Foote recognized by McGraw-Hill for teaching excellence
Stephanie Foote will receive the prestigious McGraw-Hill Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars award in recognition of her great success in teaching first-year seminars and inspiring student learning and development.
Nominated by Provost Ken Harmon and selected by a panel of first-year student advocates and other leaders in American higher education, Foote will be honored at the 34th Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience in Dallas,Texas, Feb. 8. She will receive an Excellence in Teaching First-Year Seminars plaque along with a cash award of $1000. Foote will also be recognized within the The Chronicle of Higher Education. Foote will be co-facilitating a pre-conference workshop with Deborah Mixson-Brookshire at the same conference. They are facilitating "Learning to Leap: Using Experiential Education and Collaborative Learning to Transform the First-Year Classroom."
Foote continues to advance the success of transfer students and others by co-authoring the article "Supporting the transition of sophomores, transfers and senior students: Opportunities for residence life professionals" that will be published in a special "Fostering Success for Students in Transition" spring 2015 issue of the Journal of College and University Student Housing.
|
|
University College supports winning Carnegie application
Kennesaw State University has earned the 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a highly sought-after designation among higher education institutions.
Four University College colleagues served on the writing team including Keisha Hoerrner, Nancy King, and Jennifer Purcell. Brian Wooten, executive director of the Office of Community Engagement and an assistant professor in the Department of University Studies, led the writing team and the university's application process.
"The new classification places Kennesaw State among the top 10 percent of universities nationally that have earned recognition for ongoing collaborative efforts with their larger communities in a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources. The newly earned designation is valid through 2025," according to the University Relations' press release.
|
|
Lyons to provide guidance for diversity and inclusion
 Linda Lyons is working closely with the Bagwell College of Education's leadership team to provide support for the college's strategic plan and efforts around diversity and inclusion. Requested by Dean Arlinda Eaton, Lyons will be administering the Intercultural Development Instrument (IDI) and conducting an informational session on Milton Bennett's model, the Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). She will share ways of collectively considering how to build intercultural competence and identifying how it impacts the leaders' roles in promoting diversity and inclusion within their specific units and within the college. Lyons will also conduct one-on-one sessions with each member of the leadership team to determine methods of developing intercultural skills based on their individual IDI assessment results. "I'm so excited about this opportunity because it fits nicely with my current research around organization/team development as it pertains to building intercultural awareness in higher education," Lyons said. |
|
Faculty publishes their work on first-year convocation
Natasha Lovelace Habers, Ruth A. Goldfine, Deborah Mixson-Brookshire and Alison Hedrick co-authored a manuscript that focuses on enhancing the participation and appreciation of First-Year Convocation and how data is the driving force.
The manuscript titled "Enhancing First-Year Convocation: A data-driven approach" will appear in the spring 2015 issue of E-Source for College Transitions. It is a biannual electronic newsletter published by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
|
|
Former ESBA student awarded global learning scholarship
 Nicoly Myles reported that her former Early Start Bridge Academy (ESBA) student Yani Hughes received a Global Education Scholarship award to attend classes in Hastings, England this semester.
Hughes, a member of the KSU Women's Soccer Team since 2010 and captain of the team for the 2014-2015 year, will spend a semester enrolled in multi-platform journalism courses with access to state-of-the-art TV studios and equipment at the University of Brighton in Hastings.
Hughes is currently pursuing a degree in communication with a concentration in media studies; she co-hosts "Let's Talk," a pop culture talk show that can be seen on the KSU You Tube channel. Hughes will use this opportunity to learn more about the study of broadcast journalism. |
|
INTS and Thrive students receive honors
The Division of Student Affairs and the Office of the Dean of Students will recognize 175 outstanding students for the 2014 Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges at an induction ceremony Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.
Among the honorees are three Integrative Studies majors and 10 Thrive students. These students will be honored for their outstanding academic, service and co-curricular achievements.
|
Thrive
Emmanual Brown
Nakia S. Daniels
Jessica Dean
Anisha Dinani
Katherine Ellsworth
Jonathan Fey
Jonnee Foster
Dahemia Graham
Saysha Simone Jackson
Erika Christina Jaeger
|
Integrative Studies
Vincent Marcellus Brown
Diana Hsueh Dowd
Erika Saucedo
|
The ceremony will be held in the Carmichael Student Center, University Room A.
|
|
Student's book project purchased for special collection
Natasha Lovelace Habers shared excellent news regarding her Book Arts and Papermaking student, Lauren Bishop. Habers first taught Bishop in KSU 1101 when she enrolled in the first-year learning community for visual arts majors.
Bishop posted some photos of her final book project on social media and was contacted in November 2014 by the curator and archivist of the Colorado College Special Collections (CCSC). CCSC purchased Bishop's one-of-a-kind shell book for its special collection of artists' books in Colorado Springs.
|
|
CSL commences search for Executive Director position
The Center for Student Leadership has announced the members of the search committee for the Executive Director position.
The eight-member team includes representatives from faculty, students and staff. Bob Mattox, the assistant dean for Student Affairs and director of Student Support Services, will chair the search. Mattox has successfully chaired more than 15 search committees during his 25-year service with KSU. The other search committee members are as follows:
- Amasett Economy, Center for Student Leadership
- Loretta Garrett-Daniels, University College
- Ruth Goldfine, First-Year and Transition Studies
- Ed Bonza, Student Life
- Nicole Phillips, Student Development
- Ron Lunk, Student Life-Marietta Campus
- Zachary Harris, student
The position will be posted on both internal and external job boards, and all are encouraged to review the posting by accessing the following link here.
The committee will continue its search for a candidate who is well suited to lead the department with hopes of having a leader in place by late spring or early summer 2015.
|
|
First-Year & Undeclared Advising Services receives a new name
 As a result of the recent KSU/SPSU consolidation, the office of First-Year & Undeclared Advising Services has changed divisions, from Student Success Services to University College. Director Chris Hutt took this as an opportunity to change the name to the NEST: the office for New, Exploratory and Students in Transition.
The NEST is an entry point for newly accepted students and current KSU students who are exploring options for a major. Staff at the NEST can assist in choosing a program of study consistent with students' interests and aptitudes. Unlike advising centers in other academic colleges that are staffed by experts on the specific programs within their respective college, the advisors in the NEST are generalists. They are familiar with all of the degree programs on campus and are here to provide the advice needed to ultimately declare a major and to connect with the appropriate advising resources within that major.
|
|
University Colleges announces its first branding statement
University College is pleased to announce our first brand statement: University College is a student-centered academic college that offers innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees.
We have nationally recognized first-year programs, interdisciplinary courses, and academic support such as orientation, advising and other programs to support students from their first day of college until graduation.
This brand statement is about positioning UC as a national college with recognized achievements focused on student success and has been printed on business size cards to be used as a quick reference.
Please come by the Dean's Suite to pick up your copy of the branding statement card today.
|
|
|
|
CSL welcomes new administrative staffer
Amy Taylor joined the CSL team as the new administrative associate at the end of 2014.
Taylor recently moved to Kennesaw from Abingdon, Virginia, where she graduated from Virginia Highlands Community College.
In her new role as an administrative associate, Taylor will support the CSL staff at the main campus location.
|
|
Taylor to teach ESL courses and expand ESL Center on Marietta campus
| |
|
Katherine Taylor is the only faculty member from the Marietta campus who is joining University College. She is a Lecturer in the Department of University Studies.
Taylor has been on the Marietta campus since 2003, teaching Oral Communication for International Students, Written Communication for International Students, Holistic Communication and First Year ESOL Composition. She also provides support for ELL (English Language Learners) in the Writing Center.
She has worked and traveled in several countries, including Canada, France, Japan and Nepal. She holds a Master's Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, as well as the RSA Certificate (TEFL) from Cambridge University.
Taylor will work closely with David Schmidt to expand the ESL Study & Tutorial Center to the Marietta campus to enhance support for non-native speaking students.
|
Ziegler agrees to join the Marietta campus SI team
| |
| |
Tim Ziegler will serve as the assistant director of Supplemental Instruction for the Marietta campus.
Ziegler received a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. He worked as an engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other organizations before entering the education field at Southern Illinois University as an assistant professor. He later became Chair of the Engineering Technology Department.
Ziegler joined Southern Polytechnic State University in 1997 as an associate professor and chair of the Civil Engineering Technology Department where he continues to serve in the role as an administrator.
Ziegler's years of service on the Marietta campus will help to establish SI quickly and expand its reach into new disciplines.
|
|
First-year student takes top award at annual botanical garden art contest
In mid December, first-year student Caitlin Landress was announced as the 2014 winner of an annual art competition sponsored by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a unit of the University of Georgia Office of Public Service and Outreach.
Landress, the first-place winner, will receive $1000 for her winning painting, "The Beauty of Fall, "which is acrylic on canvas and depicts a forest of trees with red and orange leaves reflecting in a pool of water.
Landress is currently pursing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and was a student in a learning community for visual arts majors during her first semester at KSU.
|
|
Events
Effective Jan. 30, all UC events will be listed as an RSS feed located on the home page of the University College website.
Please visit the site at that time to review all posted UC events as well as the new format.
|
|
| | Please support our "Next Generation Scholars in First-Year Studies." | |
|
|
|
