The SOCHE Segue - May 2010

Summer is Coming

Behind the scenes in higher education, summer is often our busiest season as we gear up for another academic year of classes and programming. But, we’ll admit – we’re counting down the days until we can do so in short sleeves and take in occasional rays of sunshine.

We’re also counting down for these great events:

• Bridging the Four Generations in Higher Education
• Institutional Vulnerability and Strategic Responses in Today's Marketplace
• Two-day workshop with Ohio University on teaching sustainability across the curriculum

And, we have some reading lists and resources for you to dive into poolside.

Enjoy your summer break … we can’t wait to hear about all of the things you did on your summer vacation.

Sincerely,
Sean Creighton

Institutional Vulnerability

SOCHE is pleased to bring Dr. Robert Sevier (aka "Bob") back to southern Ohio for a newly developed session. This Special Topics Forum is being held at The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College in southeast Ohio in an effort to bring SOCHE professional development opportunities to other universities in the greater region.

The forum will examine the internal and external factors that impact and even predict institutional vulnerability. Drawing on literature and experience, the forum looks at such external factors as the economy, demography, college preferences, and the level of competition. Additionally, Bob will discuss such internal predictors as leadership and governance, finance, academic programming, recruiting and financial aid, fundraising, and marketing. After reviewing these factors Bob will outline a series of strategies in five broad areas that will help your campus move ahead with confidence.

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Kanawha Project Workshop

SOCHE is partnering with Ohio University to offer 20 faculty members the opportunity to participate in the environmental literacy training modeled on the Kanawah Project.

The two-day training, June 14 & 15, will be led by Dr. Michelle Morrone, director of environmental studies at Ohio University. Since 2007, Morrone has directed the Kanawha Project, a program that helps faculty of all disciplines at Ohio University to add sustainability and environmental issues into their curriculum.

The proposed training will keep faculty engaged with field events and workshop while utilizing OU's faculty expertise on campus. The retreat will encourage the idea of local food, resource organizations and of course energy use on campus. The books and resources are endless.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, SOCHE is funding the cost of the training as well as the hotel room. Participants will be responsible for their travel to Ohio University.

If you’d like to learn more about this exciting workshop as details develop, contact Sheryl Kent, SOCHE at 937-258-8890 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Because slots are limited and filling up fast, please contact us by May 20 if you would like to participate in this retreat.

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Tools for Job Searching in Higher Education

From tenured faculty to administration and student affairs – higher education holds a place for nearly every career ambition. So, if you’re interested in getting on a higher ed payroll, where should you look?

Try these job searching sites to start your career search:

• CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) – CASE’s Career Central includes an international database of higher education jobs. While dozens of job areas are included in its database, CASE also provides additional information about working in the advancement profession.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education – The Chronicle’s job database has over 2,000 current postings in dozens of categories. In its jobs section, the Chronicle also keeps track of great colleges to work for.
• HigherEdJobs.com – Allows you to search for higher education jobs internationally by job category, college type and location. HigherEdJobs also publishes quarterly jobs reports for the industry.
• SOCHE Job Bank – How about a little shameless self-promotion? Don’t forget – the SOCHE job bank is available to members and is a valuable resource for those seeking faculty positions within Southwestern Ohio.

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Summer Reading List

Before you dig your toes in the sand, pick up one of these recommended readings … some to stimulate your brain and others just to entertain:

• The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity by Richard Florida
• Advancing Higher Education in Uncertain Times by Larry D. Lauer
• The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach us About Innovation by Frans Johansson
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
• This Time Together by Carol Burnett

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Faculty Awards Luncheon

Congratulations to all of the SOCHE 2010 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award Recipients:

• Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) – Jonathan Black, Karen E. M. Dillard, Jeffrey Humphries, John McClory, August G. Roesener and Jeremy M. Slagley
• Cedarville University – Vicki Fang, Melissa Faulkner, Julie Furj, Chu-Yu Huang, William Jones and Luke Tse
• Central State University – William Henry Caldwell, Michael Gormley, Ramanitharan Kandiah, Kimberly Kendricks and Asit Saha
• Clark State Community College – Lynn Mealy, Naureen Qasim and Rebecca Wiggenhorn
• Kettering College of Medical Arts – Cherie Rebar
• Miami University – Middletown – Moira Casey and Judith Garshelis
• Miami-Jacobs Career College – Jennifer Beaver, Jennifer Jessup, Lisa Linn, Colleen Pearson, Greg Pfahl and Kelly Whitney
• Sinclair Community College – Joseph Gregory Dudash, Kristina Onder, Charlie Setterfield and Brad West
• Union Institute & University – Donna Ruiz
• Wright State University – Carrie Hall, Marian Kazimierczuk, Dan Miska, Nimisha Patel, Cathy Sayer and Arijit Sengupta

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Purdue Official Named Dean at Wright State

The founding director of an Indianapolis renewable energy center has been appointed dean of Wright State University’s School of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Andrew Hsu, founding director of the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), will become dean of Wright State’s graduate program effective July 1. He replaces Jay Thomas, who retired Dec. 31.

“Along with a strong background in engineering and renewable energy, Dr. Hsu brings a wealth of experience in research and graduate programs,” said Steven Angle, Wright State’s provost. “The university is delighted to have him.”

Hsu is also associate dean for research and graduate programs and professor of mechanical engineering at the Purdue School of Engineering, IUPUI. He served as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at The Ohio State University, where he worked with President E. Gordon Gee and participated in the reorganization of the College of Arts and Sciences and forming of the President’s Council on Sustainability at the campus.

In addition, Dr. Hsu has been director of the Aerospace Program at the University of Miami, a staff scientist with Rolls-Royce North America and supervised the Sverdrup computational physics section at NASA Glenn (Lewis) Research Center. He earned his doctorate in aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Central Michigan University Holds 50th Graduation Ceremony this May

Dr. Pete Ross, associate vice president of academic programs, will deliver the Commencement Address at Central Michigan University Ohio’s 50th graduation recognition ceremony on May 15. The Ohio ceremony recognizes students from the two centers located at the Defense Supply Center (Columbus) and at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Over 100 students will be awarded a Master of Science Degree in one of the eight concentrations.

Central Michigan University’s graduate program opened in Ohio in 1972. Since then, over 4,600 students have completed their Master’s degree through CMU’s local programs that are geared specifically for adults who take classes part-time in either face-to-face or online modes. CMU’s programs are open to area civilians as well as Department of Defense personnel.

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‘Evita’ Auditions for May 23-25

Auditions will be held May 23-25 for Wilmington College – Community Summer Theatre’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Evita. The show will run July 15-17 and July 22-24 at 7:30pm in Wilmington College’s Boyd Cultural Arts Center.

Four rounds of auditions are scheduled, and all roles feature singing as there is no spoken dialogue in the show. Solo and ensemble opportunities also are available.

Auditions will be held at Heiland Theatre on Sunday, May 23 at 2pm and 7:15pm; Monday, May 24 at 7:15pm; and Tuesday, May 25 at 7:15pm. Persons auditioning must be 14 years of age or older.

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Solar Boat Team Heading to the Netherlands

Cedarville University engineering students will travel to the Netherlands this July with a newly designed and constructed boat for the Frisian Solar Challenge where they will compete against some of Europe’s finest universities, corporations and boat makers.

The solar boat project is one of several senior design capstones that students can choose to pursue at Cedarville University. The solar boat project has gained both national and international attention.

In each of the past six years, Drs. Tim Dewhurst and Gerry Brown have advised a completely new team of students. Together, these teams have earned numerous victories, including the fifth Solar Splash World Championship in May of 2009.

The five-day competition will consist of an 11-city tour via canals. This will be Cedarville’s second appearance at the event having finished in second place in the inaugural race of 2006.

In a competition that requires stellar maneuverability, efficiency, and speed, all from a sun-powered boat, the task of consistently improving can be difficult. Dewhurst estimates that his eight-student team will spend 4,000-5,000 hours planning, and constructing the boats to compete this summer.

If interested in partnering with the solar boat team, please contact the Cedarville University Department of Engineering and Computer Science at 937-766-7680.

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Urbana Writers Win Regional Journalism Award

Five students going to prison resulted in an award for Urbana University's campus newspaper, the Lancer. Jessie Flohre of Urbana, Lancer editor, and Christopher Dillon of Cable, senior staff writer, recently traveled to the Society of Professional Journalists regional convention in Cleveland to accept the award. Other writers in the series were junior Brittney Bradner of Toledo and now-graduated seniors Charles Jefferson of Columbus and Zachary Middaugh of Rushsylvania.

The students visited the London Correctional Institute, a medium-security state prison in London, Ohio, and wrote articles about inmates taking part in education, service and charity activities. Their resulting stories for the series "Thinking Outside the Fence," earned third place for feature writing in the SPJ regional competition.

The focus of Dillon's article was Urbana University's 30-year history of providing education services to the London facility. Flohre wrote about inmates raising up to $2,000 a day for charity organizations.

Other stories written by the students were about prisoners' rehabilitation activities such as preparing dogs to be trained for seeing-eye and other service work, making classroom aids for under-served schools in Cincinnati and operating a pet rescue operation.

The award is significant because journalism professionals received 479 entries from large and small colleges located within SPJ's Region 4, of Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.

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In this Issue:

Institutional Vulnerability

Kanawha Project Workshop

Tools for job searching in higher education

Summer Reading List

Faculty Awards Luncheon

Purdue Official Named Dean at Wright State

Central Michigan University-Ohio Holds 50th Graduation This May

Evita Auditions

Solar Boat Team Heading to the Netherlands

Urbana Writers Win Regional Journalism Award

About Dr. Morrone

Dr. Michelle Morrone is the Director of Environmental Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University and she is also an Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the College of Health and Human Services.

Prior to her appointment at OU, she was the Chief of the Office of Environmental Education at Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. In this capacity, she was the lead environmental educator for the state of Ohio.

She also coordinated a multimillion-dollar grant program that provided funding to schools, nonprofits, and industry in the state to conduct environmental education programs.

Key findings from the Higher Education Employment report for Q4 2009:

• The percentage of faculty job postings increased significantly during the first half of 2009 compared to previous years, suggesting institutions are targeting their shrinking resources towards academic programs.

• The ratio of part-time postings in higher education continued to rise in Q4 2009. This ratio started to increase in 2007 as the recession took hold.

• Although community college jobs and job postings have trended upward lately, future growth may be more moderate.

How to Spend Your Summer Vacation

Don’t miss these summer favorites in Southwestern Ohio:

Upcoming Events

Summer Conference “Bridging the Four Generations in Higher Education”
Monday, May 17, 2010

Institutional Vulnerability and Strategic Responses in Today’s Marketplace
Tuesday, May 25, 2010

More Stories About Higher Education

Finding the Right College is an Important Process
(Dayton Daily News)

Green graduations: Cap and gown now recyclable
(USA Today)

Gmail Ditched by Major University
(InformationWeek)

College, Inc. – a PBS special on for-profit education
(video; Frontline)

A Fairy Godmother to Help With College Aid
(The New York Times)