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UC welcomes the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality
 Earlier this month Dr. Dan Papp announced that the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality (recently named for Michael Leven, a veteran in the hospitality industry) would be moving to University College. The bachelor's degree program began in fall 2013 and was created with an interdisciplinary focus. This unique academic program offers a distinctive approach to the teaching of culinary and hospitality management.
In April (just one month ago) the program received the largest single contribution from an individual in the University's history. Michael Leven, president and CEO of the Georgia Aquarium, made a commitment of $5 million to Kennesaw State University's School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality.
Keisha Hoerrner, dean of University College, attended the naming ceremony. "I was honored to meet the Leven family and share with them many exciting aspects of University College. We are humbled and thrilled with their $5 million commitment to advancing the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality," said Hoerrner. "Clearly, there are many details to work through in the coming weeks and months as we integrate a new academic department, new colleagues, a fast-growing degree program, and a community-focused Institute into University College."
Please join the college in welcoming the program's director, Christian Hardigree.
After obtaining her B.S., cum laude, from the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV, Hardigree obtained a Juris doctorate from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University, focusing on employment discrimination, arbitration/mediation, and labor management relations.
Prior to joining KSU, Hardigree served as a tenured faculty member in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in law, management, ethics and diversity. During her tenure at UNLV, she also served as the Assistant President and Chief of Staff to the University President, the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives in the Hotel College, the Department Chair for Hotel Management, and the Associate Athletic Director for Community Development and Special Projects. Hardigree has received numerous awards for teaching and service.
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University College well represented at annual global conference
University College's Leadership Studies program will be well represented at the International Leadership Association's annual global conference this upcoming October in Barcelona, Spain. All conference session proposals submitted by LDRS faculty were accepted for this highly selective conference.
Nyasha GuramatunhuCooper, Linda Lyons and Sam Allman's proposal is titled Teaching Global Leadership: Acknowledging Instructor Personal Identities.
Jennifer Purcell's proposal, titled Capacity Building and Leadership Development for Community Engagement, will be a part of a panel presentation with colleagues from Kansas State University and UGA.
Heather Scott's proposal, co-authored with colleagues from five different institutions across the country, is titled Women Leadership Identity Development: An Interactive Theory Building Experience.
Deborah Smith's proposal, co-authored with KSU colleagues D. Roebuck and T. ElHaddaoui, is titled Leadership and Work-Life Integration: Generational Insights from Men.
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UC's best kept secret hosts approximately 1000 students per year
IT2101, Computers and Your World, has become highly successful. The course focuses on promoting digital literacy and delves into the devices and technologies that support our digital lifestyle. Emerging technologies from diverse disciplines are integrated into the class, such as bit-coins (virtual money), 3D printing, collaborative software, digital imaging, virtual identities, drones, NFC and Apple pay. The topics are always changing to keep pace with technological paces. In recognition of digital literacy as an integral part of student academic success, IT2101 was added to the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies offerings in 2011 to complement the first-year and transition student experience. Offered in both hybrid and online formats, IT2101 has hosted about 1000 students each year since then. Course coordinator, Debbie Geist, shared her enthusiasm for the class, "Empowering students to make full use of the digital tools at their disposal makes teaching a delight! Developing and understanding our virtual identities is a critical element of building the academic, professional and social networks that are the cornerstone of our digital society. It is hard to think of a more exciting, or challenging, course to teach."
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Spring 2015 Thriver's celebrate outstanding four-year accomplishment
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Nine of the thirty Spring 2015 graduating Thrive students
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Four years ago, eager high school seniors were given the opportunity to participate in the Thrive program - a program designed to help them maintain their grades and keep their HOPE scholarships. This year 30 of those students walked across the stage to receive their college degrees.
A University College initiative, the Thrive program incorporates curricular and co-curricular activities to foster academic success for first-year Hope Scholarship students.
Prior to graduation, during a special celebration, Thrive students honored those individuals who played pivotal roles in helping them graduate college in four years (while maintaining their Hope Scholarship), with special thanks in the form of a Certificate of Recognition.
Students also received a Certificate of Completion from the program founders Keisha Hoerrner, dean of University College and Brian Wooten, executive director of Community Engagement. Both Thrive students and their parents were also recognized for their accomplishments by the program's development team that included graduation coaches, professors, and the co-curricular team.
"Thrive is an excellent illustration of the collaborative spirit of University College," said Hoerrner. "A collaboration between the Center for Student Leadership and the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies, the program is successful because the two entities within the college serve the whole student."
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Leadership Studies professor presents at Women in Leadership conference
Heather Scott, assistant professor of Leadership Studies, has been accepted to present at The Second Biennial Conference of the International Leadership Association's Women & Leadership Affinity Group.
The conference, entitled Advancing Women in Leadership: Waves of Possibilities, will be held June 7-10th in Pacific Grove, California. Along with her research colleagues from a variety of institutions, Scott will conduct a workshop entitled Experiencing Collaborative Autoethnography: Women's Leadership Identity Theory.
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Annual Awards luncheon acknowledges faculty and staff achievements
Jennifer Purcell, assistant professor of Leadership Studies, was honored as the recipient of the 2015 Faculty Development Award at this year's annual end-of-year awards celebration and luncheon. Robert Jordan director of the SMART Center and Tyler Pede, academic advisor of the NEST, were both awarded the 2015 University College Professional Staff Development Award.
Recipients of both the Faculty Development Award and Professional Staff Development Award were awarded a $500 stipend to be used for professional travel, supplies, and research.
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Keleher and Schmidt present at NAFSA
Michael Keleher, director of Integrative Studies, and David Schmidt, director of the English and Tutorial Center program, presented at the NAFSA Association of International Educators 2015 Annual Conference & Expo in Boston, MA, May 27.
Their poster presentation entitled, Global Gateways: Learning Communities for International Students, highlighted the Fall 2015 KSU international student learning community, a community focused on giving strong support, both inside and outside the classroom, to a cohort of international students. The presenters explained the community's purpose to conference attendees and also shared the results of interviews conducted with community students.
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Foote named CETL Faculty Fellow for HIPs
Stephanie Foote, director of Master of Science in First-Year Studies program, recently learned that she was selected to serve as the CETL Faculty Fellow for High Impact Practices (HIPs) for the 2015-2016 academic year.
In this position, Foote will help to move the HIPs initiatives at KSU to the next level, working with academic and co-curricular programs across campus to encourage and support the integration of HIPs experiences for our students.
Foote's selection for this position is a testament to her expertise in the area of HIPs and will build on the work she began as part of the KSU team that attended the 2013 HIPs Institute. Additionally, her role provides an opportunity for University College to strengthen our collaborations with CETL as we seek opportunities to work with Foote and CETL to enhance and expand many of the HIPs initiatives that reside in the college.
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Davis interviewed on WABE
Jim Davis and Charles Parrott were interviewed about their production, Bloody Pulp on WABE Radio's "City Lights."
As published in the March issue of the UC Newsletter, Davis, associate professor of Theatre & Performance Studies, co-directed Bloody Pulp: Crisis in the American Comic Book, an original play written by Parrott, assistant professor of Theatre and Performance Studies.
The play was a fictionalized account of the lives of the artists who created the American comic books in the 1950s and how cultural pressure almost destroyed the industry.
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UC faculty and staff accepted to Excel Leadership program
Nyasha GuramatunhuCooper, assistant professor of Leadership Studies, and Loretta Daniels, part-time faculty and University College communication and marketing director, were selected to participate in KSU's 2015 Excel Leadership Program. The program provides faculty and staff the opportunity to learn leadership attributes as well as build long-lasting relationships with other KSU colleagues.
During their week of participation, GuramatunhuCooper and Daniels received appraisal of their leadership styles, engaged in discussions on ethical leadership challenges, and had the opportunity to have dialogue with Georgia Representative Republican Ed Setzler as well as several Board of Regents vice chancellors.
The program introduced efficient methods for managing change, networking, team building, multicultural workplace effectiveness and other topics of relevance to today's higher education workplace.
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