The SOCHE Segue - January 2010
Higher Ed Goal Tending
Welcome back to another exciting semester!
As we begin a new year, we’re often reminded to set goals for ourselves ... some for our professional lives, some for our personal lives... And sometimes we promise ourselves to separate the two.
In this issue, we explore these “intersections” of our different worlds. Consider:
- Greening the Curriculum – a look at how Ohio University helps faculty of all disciplines incorporate issues of sustainability
- The Creative Class Blog – discussions about how higher education and creativity fuel the economy
- Balancing Family & Academic Work – examples of award-winning programs that help faculty members achieve personal and professional milestones
I hope you’ll enjoy these stories and that you meet your goals for 2010. Maybe you’ll resolve to join us at our Sustainability Conference and Leadership Series in February?
On behalf of the entire SOCHE staff, I wish you a happy and peaceful new year.
Sincerely,
Sean Creighton
Greening the Curriculum
"Perhaps never before have the needs of human society and the objectives of education been so closely linked, nor has education ever had so compelling a rationale and so urgent a responsibility to contribute to the societal change needed to ensure the survival of the planet and a sustainable future." – Jean Perras, Learning for a Sustainable Future
In February, SOCHE will host Dr. Michele Morrone as the keynote speaker of its “Sustainability Conference – Greening of the Curriculum: Classroom, Co-op, and Career.” 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.
Morrone identified the need for the project in 2006 when a survey showed that undergraduate students felt responsible for making ecologically sustainable decisions in their personal and professional lives – but lacked the fundamental knowledge to do so. The survey also revealed that students identified environmental sustainability skills and understanding as important professional assets.
Through the Kanawha Project, faculty members participate in an intense workshop and monthly discussions and complete assigned reading. They also revise a syllabus to integrate environmental issues.
Syllabi impacted by the project range from Social Work and Marketing to History and Industrial Technology.
“There isn’t any field that can be left out,” said Corey Hawkey, Sustainability Coordinator for the Ohio Board of Regents, who will also be participating in SOCHE’s Conference.
Videos chronicling the Kanawha Project’s history and the experiences of its faculty participants are available online here.
To register for the Sustainability Conference, click here.
Higher Education Gains Voice on CreativeClass.com Blog
SOCHE executive director Sean Creighton recently adopted a new role: blogger. Creighton is now an official contributor to CreativeClass.com, the website for The Creative Class Group.
The Creative Class Group is an outgrowth of the work of Richard Florida, international best-selling author whose research explores the effect of creativity on the global economy. CreativeClass.com provides customized information, analysis, tools and research that organizations needs to achieve economic prosperity.
Creighton’s posts focus on higher education and the transformative effects it can have on economies, communities and individuals.
You can read all of Sean’s posts here.
Explore all of the Creative Class’ commentary on higher education and become a part of the conversation here.
Balancing Family & Academic Work
The idea that professors only “work” during office hours is a pipe dream.
In reality, faculty status requires a round-the-clock balancing act of teaching, advising, original research, committee obligations and departmental duties. And don’t forget that classes and student activities often occur outside the typical 9-5.
When the obligations add up, it’s easy to see how faculty families can suffer. In response, many administrations are learning to be flexible in order to retain top faculty.
Locally, Wittenberg University is in the process of revamping its Faculty Mentorship Program with financial support from the Lilly Fellows Program. Wittenberg’s redesigned faculty mentorship program will pair five senior faculty members with new tenure-track faculty outside of their departments for one year.
During that time, the senior faculty mentors will work with their mentees to realize the mission of Wittenberg University and help them integrate the school's mission into their classrooms and their personal career goals.
Funds from the Lilly Fellows grant will reimburse participants for the costs of childcare, as well as other necessary expenses incurred over the year. The grant will also support speaker presentations at two lunch meetings in the fall and spring that are open to all faculty.
"In an institution like Wittenberg, faculty often stay for their whole careers," said Ty Buckman, Faculty Development Board Administrator and Associate Professor of English. "An investment in faculty in the beginning can pay dividends over the next 30 years."
Throughout the academic year, Wittenberg’s Faculty Development Board also hosts workshops and presentations to connect, educate and support faculty members. For a list of Wittenberg’s programming for faculty, click here.
University of Dayton Buys NCR Headquarters
The University of Dayton has purchased 115 acres, including NCR Corporation's former world headquarters and Old River Park, for $18 million.
The University will move its expanding Research Institute (UDRI) into the building at 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., providing a signature facility for its research arm. UDRI conducts nearly $100 million annually in sponsored research and just received its largest contract in history – $49.5 million to develop advanced jet fuels and combustion technologies for the Air Force.
The 455,000-square-foot, five-story building along the Great Miami River also will provide a home for a proposed Alumni Center, as well as for graduate classes, executive development programs and conferences. One of the largest office buildings in the region, the furnished facility includes offices, classrooms, an auditorium, a dining facility and a 1,600-space parking lot.
"This is an exceptional opportunity for the University of Dayton to invest in our future – and this region's destiny," said University of Dayton President Daniel J. Curran. "This striking facility offers a tremendous venue for education, research and National Alumni Association programs. It's a real statement about the forward-thinking nature of the University of Dayton."
With the new purchase, the University of Dayton's campus now spans 373 acres. In 2005, the University acquired from NCR Corporation a 50-acre parcel of property that extended the core campus from Brown Street to the Great Miami River. Since then, the University of Dayton has purchased an additional five acres from the global technology company.
Two Wright State Students Selected for Summer Program
Two Wright State University students have been chosen by Omicron Delta Kappa, the national collegiate leadership honor society, to participate in the annual Campus Leaders Today, Community Leaders Tomorrow™ (CLT2) program from March 11 to 14 at the University of Richmond in Virginia.
Cimmeron Taylor and Megan Uhrig will join 40 other Omicron Delta Kappa students to participate in the sixth year of the society's signature program. CLT2 brings together campus leaders from around the country and prepares them for service as board members for nonprofit organizations. Students will meet with nonprofit board and staff members while attending a series of lectures and discussions.
Taylor and Uhrig were chosen for the highly selective program amid a record number of applications. Both Taylor and Uhrig currently serve Wright State as President's Ambassadors. Taylor is involved on campus as a resident assistant, a member of Project Linus and the co-president of the WSU chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa. Uhrig serves on the Dean's Student Advisory Board for the Wright State University College of Liberal Arts.
"This will be a great opportunity to continue my leadership development and apply those skills not only toward campus involvement, but within the community as well," said Uhrig, a senior political science major.
Both women are currently applying to graduate school. Taylor plans to study student affairs in higher education, while Uhrig will continue in political science.
AFIT Team Wins Digital Forensics Challenge
A team of four Cyber Operations graduate students from the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Center for Cyberspace Research combined their cyber skills and interests in digital forensics to win the annual DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Challenge for 2009.
The DC3 Challenge is a call to the digital forensics community to pioneer new investigative tools, techniques and methodologies. This highly competitive and challenging event had 1,153 teams requesting entries. Only 44 teams completed the challenge: 34 U.S. and 10 international teams from commercial, government, civilian, military, and academic institutions.
This year's challenge was a new 'twist' from previous years, presenting the participants a mock-up of what an actual examiner might face in a Digital Forensics Lab. In the end, AFIT’s team called “Little Bobby Tables” took the U.S. Division trophy while placing second overall in the competition that included international teams.
The team includes Major John Borowski, Mr. Curtis Barnard, Mr. Mitchell Hirschfeld, and Mr. Justin Myers. As part of its prize, the team will travel to the 2010 DoD Cyber Crime Conference and be recognized at an awards presentation.
Wilmington’s “Grow Food, Grow Hope” Initiative Wins $20,000 Grant
Tom’s of Maine rewarded Wilmington College’s “Grow Food, Grow Hope” initiative with a $20,000 grant that will double the program that teaches vegetable gardening to persons adversely affected by the local economy.The company, which produces natural personal care products, said its “50 States for Good” promotion drew more than 280,000 online votes during the contest’s run through October. “Grow Food, Grow Hope” was one of the top five vote-getters in Tom’s online competition among “inspiring and creative” non-profit entities whose charge is to make a lasting difference in their communities.
The $20,000 prize will help fund a 2010 Community Gardens project, which is on track to expand from 20 four-by-12 foot plots to at least 40 this spring.
“Winning these funds will assist us in enhancing our anti-poverty focus through the Grow Food, Grow Hope initiative,” said Tara Lydy. Lydy directs the Center for Service and Civic Engagement at Wilmington.
“Our mission relies heavily on educating others, increasing families’ confidence in the ability to put food on their tables and, ultimately, empowering them to develop a sustainable solution – thus achieving lasting solutions to poverty.”
For the inaugural year of the Community Gardens project, the staff worked with Monte Anderson, professor of agriculture, and several master gardeners from the community in teaching small-plot vegetable gardening to select local families whose breadwinners were unemployed or underemployed.
The families learned the intricacies of successful vegetable gardening and harvested fresh vegetables for their dinner tables from June through October. On the heels of that experience, many are planning to plant their own home gardens in 2010.
“The Tom’s of Maine award enables us to build capacity and cultivate a deeper relationship with our community partners,” Lydy added. “It will truly help our outreach in Clinton County, and we’re excited to put it to use.”
Through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America program, Wilmington was awarded nine AmeriCorps VISTA workers for 2009-10, including $149,000 in federal stimulus funds to cover the VISTAs’ basic living expenses. The Tom’s of Maine grant will be used exclusively for programming.
SOCHE launches new website
SOCHE launched an enhanced version of its website, soche.org. The site has been updated to make finding and sharing information easier for our visitors. Visit us today for:
- A revamped calendar with complete conference listings and online registration
- A Degree Finder tool to help potential students find academic programs
- More member news, including a live news feed from member campuses
- Easy access to SOCHE’s social networking sites
In this Issue:
Balancing Family & Academic Work
University of Dayton Buys NCR Headquarters
Wright State students selected for summer program
AFIT Team Wins Digital Forensics Challenge
Wilmington’s “Grow Food, Grow Hope” Initiative Wins $20,000 Grant
Did You Know...
Kanawha:The physiographic region in which Ohio University is situated
About Dr. Morrone
Dr. 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.
Faculty Career
Flexibility Initiatives
In September, the American Council on Education awarded $1.25 million to eight schools with faculty career flexibility initiatives. Some of the colleges and initiatives that were rewarded include:
- A shared position policy at Albright College.
- Middlebury College will extend its "associate status" program to new parents.
- Oberlin College offers full-paid maternity leave for full- and part-time faculty, temporary shifts to part-time appointments for dependent care, and tenure clock extensions.
- Smith College established a Center for Work and Life that focuses on the challenges of negotiating career, family responsibilities, and personal wellbeing. The Center will develop a model for eldercare support, including a comprehensive web site with referral information, local support groups, and information on new research findings.
Save these Dates
Sustainability Conference “Greening of the Curriculum: Classroom, Co-op, and Career”
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Leadership Series “Social Skills for Upward Mobility” Thursday, February 25, 2010
Higher Education Conference "Pathways to Innovation" Friday, March 26, 2010
More Stories About Higher Education
Teaching with Twitter, Not for the Faint of Heart (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Might Companies, Not Colleges, Deserve the Blame for a Shortage of Engineers? (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Making College ‘Relevant’ (The New York Times)
Do Schools Need More Male Teachers? (EducationNews.org)
As colleges add green majors and minors, classes fill up (USA Today)