The New UC - new dean, new degrees, new direction 
University College is expanding with new leadership, new degrees and a new direction. First, under the guidance of the college's newly selected Dean, Keisha Hoerrner, the college is positioned to become a model for other interdisciplinary colleges to mirror. Hoerrner's goal is to foster an innovative environment that inspires the college's students, faculty, and staff to be creative and student-focused. During her time as Interim Dean, Hoerrner, along with the college's leadership team, strategically facilitated the process of growth.
Second, by fulfilling the interests of its students, the college has introduced new integrative degree programs. This fall, University College will welcome students in a one-of-a-kind fully online master's degree program in first-year studies (MSFYS). This graduate program encompasses the theory and study of factors affecting the initial college experience, including foundations of students' transitional experiences and research on programs that promote a successful transition. Grounded in decades of research, this is the only graduate program dedicated to the emerging discipline of first-year studies.
The college also launched both a fully online version of its INTS degree and a General Studies track for the same program in the last year. The most recent addition to the degree offerings within UC will occur July 1 when the Michael A. Leven School of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality joins University College, bringing with it one of the fastest-growing degree programs at KSU. This unique degree offers students the opportunity to study culinary and hospitality management in a program that teaches and promotes sustainable best practices.
Finally, as a result of the KSU/SPSU consolidation, a progressive path has emerged into a new direction. The college's leadership team as well as the entire college is dedicated to helping others " MAKE the connection," the connection between the academic departments, its co-curricular units and its academic support services. The new UC is one of 12 academic colleges at KSU with a unique focus that serves thousands of students. In addition to its academic programs, it now houses Orientation and Transition Programs, the Advising Office for New, Exploratory and Students in Transition (the NEST), and the academic components of the Center for Student Leadership (CSL) as well as the ESL Center, the SMART Center (for science and math tutoring), and Supplemental Instruction. Even with its expansion, University College is still an innovative, interdisciplinary degree-granting college that both challenges and supports students from their first day on campus through commencement.
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 CSL welcomes new Executive Director
The Center for Student Leadership (CSL) welcomes its new Executive Director, Tom Yannuzzi, Ph.D. He will be responsible for providing executive leadership to all CSL staff, overseeing the implementation of program assessment, leading efforts to fulfill the unit's strategic plan, and promoting research initiatives and development efforts. Yannuzzi joined KSU in mid-June and reports to both the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Dean of University College.
Yannuzzi received his B.A. from California State University, Fullerton, his M.A. from Temple University, and his Ph.D. in Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the CSL team, he served as the director of Personal Leadership Development at the Rotterdam School of Management and assistant professor of Strategic Communication at Pennsylvania State University.
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Rodriguez's work featured in Going Places
Yen Rodriguez, leadership coordinator for the Center for Student Leadership, led a successful alternative spring break trip that has been featured in the new issue of a campus publication. Rodriguez traveled to New Orleans with 21 students who volunteered with the United Saints Recovery Project to help rebuild homes damaged by Katrina and other natural disasters.
The students stayed in volunteer housing for one week and worked on three separate projects to rebuild damaged homes in impoverished neighborhoods. Their efforts not only left a lasting impact on the community but also on the students themselves, according to Rodriguez.
The project and its leader were featured in a recent article in Going Public! Imagining America @ KSU. This public scholarship journal featured Rodriguez in "Leadership Through Service: Yen Rodriguez and the Domestic Leadership Exchange." Read the article.
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 Keleher's research published in online journal Michael Keleher, director of Integrative Studies, has had an article accepted for publication in the upcoming issue of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research.
His article, "Mixed Classes, Mixed Methods: Writing Students' Attitudes about Collaborative and Intercultural Learning," presents the findings from a yearlong study of mixed (native and non-native speaker) composition classes where students worked in pairs and small groups on writing assignments.
Keleher was invited to speak at the Rotary Club of Cherokee County at its June 11 meeting, where he discussed the unique features of the Integrative Studies Program at KSU.
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 Scholarship campaign donors receive recognition University College is thankful for the generosity and support received from scholarship donors. These gifts are essential to ensuring educational opportunities to students seeking to major in degree programs or providing leadership in programs.
The college developed the "Next Generation" scholarship fund to provide financial support for students accepted into the new master's of First-Year Studies graduate program. The program director, Stephanie Foote, will accept the first students starting fall 2015. The campaign kicked off with the goal of raising $20k in scholarship funds and is close to the $10,000 mark in its first nine months.
Listed below are the founding donors who provided gifts during the 2014-2015 academic year:
The Next Generation Scholarship Steering Committee Member Donors
John Gardner, Nancy King, Keisha Hoerrner, Stuart Hunter, Michael Sanseviro and David Siegel.
Other Founding Donors
Lisa Bauer, Loretta Daniels, Michael Dishman, Ruth Goldfine, Natasha Habers, Harriett Hoerrner, Chris Hutt, Andrew Koch, Linda Lyons, Deborah Mixson-Brookshire, In Honor of Danna Montgomery, Ralph Rascati, Joel and Betty Siegel, Diane Walker, and Brian Wooten.
A special plaque has been dedicated to the founding donors and is located on the first floor of the UC building beside the plaque honoring first-year seminar founders Nancy King and Bowman Davis. Click here to donate. |
Record number LCs offered
First-Year and Transition Studies is offering a record number of learning communities (LCs) this fall to serve the university's newest first-year and transfer students. Incoming students can select from 77 LCs, including those that appeal to particular majors or academic interests (like architecture, mechatronics, nursing and visual arts) and those that are designed for specific populations (like athletes, first-generation students and honors students). A substantial number of LCs are appropriate for all majors and carry themes that appeal to the general student population. Themes are far-reaching and include pop culture hits such as the Hunger Games and "fandom," historical perspectives on identity development, emergency preparedness, gender stereotypes, leadership development, and controversial public policy issues such as the legalization of marijuana -- to name a few.
At KSU, a learning community consists of two or more linked courses. LC faculty collaborate to create at least one integrative assignment, and plan to attend at least one campus or community event with their LC students and teaching colleagues.
Curricular LCs that use a linked-course model like KSU are recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as High Impact Practices (HIPs) because LC participation leads to meaningful and lasting student learning and engagement.
National studies and KSU data show that students who participate in learning communities are more likely to return to school for the second year and earn higher grades on average than students who do not enroll in LCs. In fall 2014, KSU LC students reported on a national survey that they felt more intellectually stimulated and engaged in their LC courses and had more friends and fewer absences.
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UC Speakers Bureau launched
Education expands far beyond the classrooms at University College. The newly launched Speakers Bureau will feature the expertise of our faculty and staff.
These speakers are registered with the Bureau and will be available to share their expertise with local, national and international audiences. Please click here to learn more.
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Faculty to facilitate executive women's leadership workshops in Africa
Linda Lyons, assistant professor of education in the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies, will be one of three KSU facilitators for multiple Women's Executive Leadership Development
workshops in Nigeria and the Republic of Ghana in July.
In collaboration with Flora Devine, university counsel/special assistant to the president. and
Rosezetta Bobo, director of the Conflict Management Center, Lyons will be conducting the training series with the staff of the Honorable Hanna S. Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the administration of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC), and with mid-level managers at the University of Lagos.
Devine, Bobo, and Lyons will be in Africa for two
weeks and will not only facilitate workshops but strengthen KSU's relationships with the universities in the region.
In addition to her many years of leadership experience and professional development expertise, Lyons' DISC certification will afford her the benefit of understanding leadership styles and how to use specific styles effectively when leading others. The DISC program is a personal assessment tool used to improve work productivity, teamwork and communication.
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Habers recognized for New Orleans
exhibition
Natasha Lovelace Habers, assistant chair in the Department of First-Year and Transition Studies, was recognized in a recent exhibition as one of the regional artists who experienced Hurricane Katrina on a personal level. Habers' work, along with nine other artists, was featured in a Meet the artist exhibition that opened June 12 in New Orleans at the Cultural Center at Slidell City Hall.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune wrote about the event: "The artists were selected for the diverse imagery each brings to the exhibition," said Charlotte Lowry Collins, Olde Towne Arts Center's (OTAC) director. "We're really honored to have so many artists ... there are some that are affected by it still."
Read the article. |
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New UC website
University College has launched its new website.
The site not only has a new look but also has a new platform, OmniUpdate (OU).
OU is the leading provider of content management solutions designed to streamline content administration and solve the digital marketing and communication challenges of higher education. The technology is user-friendly and easily manageable by those who are not trained in HTML coding.
As a result, the UC system webmaster, Loretta Daniels, has designed a workflow that allows assigned representatives from each department access to update time-sensitive content and graphics without having to submit work orders. Click here to see the new site. |
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