Associated
Colleges of the South > Newsletters > Fall 1996 Newsletter |
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A Window to the South |
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Fall 1996
The ACS initiated its Teaching through Technology Program with three
pilot workshops in June and August. These projects, made possible by a
$1,150,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, enlisted participation
from ACS faculty in the departments of Classics, Chemistry and Economics.
Each workshop was the first phase of a cooperative project that will take
place during the academic year. Follow up workshops are scheduled for
the Summer of 1997. Classics The Classics group concentrated on website development, distance learning, and using the internet as a medium both for collaboration and classroom teaching. Led by Kenny Morrell, assistant professor of Classics at Rhodes College, the workshop attracted ten classicists from ACS campuses. The group listened to various speakers, and participated in extensive discussions and hands-on activities with technology. For example, they created a home page for ACS classicists through which they will share information and continue cooperative programs begun on the Rhodes campus. According to Dr. Suzanne Bonefas, the new ACS director of technology and a former classics professor, the intent of the workshop was "to strengthen networks, both human and technological." She added that the hoped for outcomes of this pilot program are an increase in resources for students and a decrease in the isolation often faced by classics faculty and students. Dr. Morrell's assessment of the workshop was very positive, reflecting
the evaluations given by the participants. He felt that an important first
step had been made on the road to a "virtual department" of
classicists within ACS. Chemistry In another pilot, 23 ACS chemists met at the University of Richmond June 21-23, with Dr. Raymond Dominey, associate professor of chemistry at the University of Richmond, serving as project director. After an opening panel discussion on the correct and incorrect ways to use technology, the group focused on using technology to develop simulations in the field of chemistry. Presentations on the use of the internet, both on and off campus, to support teaching were of particular interest to participants. The location and use of free resources on the internet and new ways to use the World Wide Web for advising, solving problem sets, and practice tests were hot topics of discussion. The list of distinguished leaders joining Dr. Dominey included Dr. Nicholas
Turro of Columbia University and Dr. Steven Desjardins of Washington and
Lee University. Speakers discussed new opportunities for utilizing technology
in chemistry and worked directly with participants in the laboratories.
In the process, groundwork was established for ongoing collaborative activities
among the faculty. Economics Initiated by David Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Centre College, the collaborative program in economics began with a workshop at Centre College August 9-11, 1996. Economics professors from ACS institutions heard presentations about technological applications in the classroom. They also began an effort to develop an economic database and held planning sessions for future collaboration. The economics group began its meetings a few years ago, coming together at the meetings of the Southern Economic Association (SEA). Last year, a joint ACS panel was held at the SEA meeting and the faculty began to share ideas on collaboration in using technology. Professor Anderson is also interested in the impact of technology on learning and academic institutions, an interest shared by the ACS academic deans and others in the consortium. The economists who attended the Centre workshop have gone home to extend their workshop activity, engaging in a number of on-campus projects. For further information on these initial pilot programs, contact Kenny
Morrell (e-mail: morrell@rhodes.edu), Raymond Dominey (e-mail:
rdominey@richmond.edu), or
David Anderson, (e-mail: david@centre.edu).
ENERGY CONSERVATION STUDY BEGINS An energy conservation workshop held on July 11-12, 1996 at Rollins College was an important first phase in an ACS energy conservation project funded by the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. Participants learned the results of the energy audit performed at Rollins College. The audit will be a model for studying energy use at other institutions. ACS used the services of E-Max, Inc., a Louisville, Kentucky energy conservation firm which gathered extensive information on energy utilization on ACS campuses and identified the potential for cost savings at each institution. Following that effort, the firm conducted an intensive, building-by-building analysis of Rollins College, as a means of developing energy conservation plans that could be shared with all ACS institutions. Andy Susemichael and Dan Miller of E-Max reported a potential annual savings at Rollins of over $262,000 if specific energy conservation steps are initiated. The consultants project that initial expenditures for the changes will be offset in four to five years as a result of the savings produced. Similar steps are likely to generate comparable results on other campuses. Among the steps that E-Max recommended to Rollins were a lighting retrofit, replacing ballasts fluorescent bulbs; installing computerized energy management systems in many of the buildings on the campus; and replacing larger pieces of mechanical equipment, such as air conditioning units, with smaller, more efficient models. According to George Herbst, Vice President for Business and Finance at Rollins, the administration recommended to the Board in August that the college proceed with the first two recommendations. They will not recommend a whole-scale replacement of mechanical systems of existing buildings, but have begun looking at using more energy-efficient systems in new buildings and at replacing worn out systems with better models. Herbst says the decision was made because the paybacks from the lighting retrofit and computerized energy management are fairly quick (four years) and the benefits go beyond saving money - they will also be saving energy and adding to the value of the campus and its environment. "Like most colleges, we want to reduce costs," says Herbst, "and reducing waste, in whatever form, is an effective way to do that." The changes that Rollins is making are viable routes toward energy efficiency that most campuses can make. E-Max has also begun negotiations with national vendors in order to arrange national purchasing agreements for numerous kinds of energy related equipment. These may produce significant gains as the institutions make future purchases. It is a genuine pleasure to report on the progress ACS has made in the five years since its incorporation on August 29, 1991. We have made considerable progress in meeting the lofty goals established by the presidents and academic deans of our member institutions. Without the vision, commitment and diligent work of ACS presidents, academic deans and other faculty and staff, this progress would not have been possible. With leadership supplied by many people, we have moved ahead on many fronts and have attracted considerable interest and support for the consortium in the process. Here is a brief summary of what we have accomplished: International Programs for Students Sixteen programs have been organized: some created by ACS, some building
on member programs and some achieved in partnership with other organizations.
In the last two years, ACS began a program in overseas service learning
drawing on faculty leadership from Rhodes College, and we're looking at
other service learning opportunities abroad. An exchange program with
universities in the five-country Carpathian region of Central Europe was
deemed very successful by the Carpathian representatives, who felt they
learned many lessons from our institutions, particularly in terms of community
and public service . (See article below.) Faculty Development In the minds of many, the Summer Teaching and Learning Workshop at Rollins College has been the most significant initiative undertaken by the consortium. Over 80 ACS faculty have participated in these intense "micro-teaching" experiences for a week each June. They typically respond that this experience is one of the best, if not the finest, faculty development and growth experiences they have ever enjoyed. We look forward to continuing this program and enlarging the participation over time. The disciplinary group meetings
for faculty have produced everything from a sharing of syllabi and research
information to joint panels at professional meetings and team-taught courses.
We hope to expand these offerings to other disciplines. Additionally,
with BellSouth Foundation support, the consortium sponsored 19 on-campus
programs for faculty ranging in focus from new uses of technology to micro-teaching
experiences replicating the program at the Rollins Workshop. Library Collaboration Thanks to a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ACS has begun
to implement plans for an electronic or virtual library. The grant enables
member institutions to acquire on-line access to numerous indexes and
periodicals. The potential academic benefits and cost containment possibilities
are numerous. Faculty and staff will be given significant training to
help them make full use of the technology and substantial material available.
(See related articles below.) Technology Enhancement As a part of the Mellon Foundation grant to ACS, numerous technology
pilot programs and workshops are in process; three were offered in the
summer of 1996. ACS has moved to create an exciting action program through
which technology collaboration among faculty will be promoted in nine
different academic areas. Workshops to demonstrate new uses of technology
in teaching, with extensive technical assistance and follow up programs,
are also part of this project. Evaluations from the initial participants
in the pilots and workshops were very positive. (See cover
article.) Tuition Exchange About 30 students have participated in the ACS Tuition Exchange Program,
which is open to children of ACS faculty and staff. Through this program,
students have attended ACS institutions at a very substantial discount. The above report does not tell the full five-year story of ACS. But perhaps it provides some illumination on the major steps forward we have taken. The presidents and academic deans, meeting in June 1996, expressed their pride in these achievements and their feeling that they provide excellent building blocks for even greater success in the future. ACS WELCOMES NEW STAFF MEMBERS ACS welcomes three new staff members whose positions are made possible by the technology and library grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Barbara Halbert is the new director of library services. Barbara worked at Rice University's Fondren Library prior to joining the ACS staff. Her experience at Rice included setting up a library for the Career Services department as well as extensive work in the area of special collections and computers. She designed webpages for RiceInfo, the campus wide network as well as created and taught classes for staff instruction in technology. Her masters in library science is from the University of North Texas. During her studies, she spent a semester working in Estonia at the Tartu University Library in the Automated Services Department assisting with the development of a strategic plan for computerizing the library. Dr. Suzanne Bonefas is the new director of instructional technology. She comes to ACS from Miami University of Ohio where she taught Classics and directed instructional technology programs. Dr. Bonefas has a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. In addition to teaching at Miami University for a number of years, she led numerous workshops related to Classics and technology and has written extensively. Dr. Bonefas will be coordinating and overseeing all of the ACS efforts associated with the Mellon technology grant. Among the projects she hopes to accomplish are the creation of a database detailing ACS faculty use of technology and LISTSERVs geared toward specific disciplines so faculty can network with each other about their uses of technology. Ms. Christiane Williams, a new program administrative assistant at ACS, was most recently in a staff position at the Emory University Law School. While there, she initiated and organized various computer operations, notably increasing the efficiency of the office. Ms. Williams, a native of Guadeloupe, has a Bachelors degree from Ambassador College in Pasadena, CA. Ms. Williams speaks three languages, which will be very helpful in the consortium's international programs. Meanwhile, Ms. Tanya Pinedo has been hired at Trinity University as part of the Mellon Foundation-supported electronic library project. She is serving as a research assistant to Mr. Richard Meyer, the director of the Maddux Library at Trinity, who serves as project director for the library program. Ms. Pinedo has done considerable research in the past and will gather the extensive information required for the electronic library initiative. With funds supplied by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, ACS librarians participated in two ACS training sessions held last May in Atlanta: both were kick-off events for the new ACS electronic library project. The first training session was designed for systems administrators and provided information about on-line access to indexes and periodicals. They participated in discussions and engaged in hands-on experience with the technology. A total of 22 librarians participated in this two-day workshop, which was organized and presented by the regional library organizations SOLINET and AMIGOS. The second training session was designed for inter-library loan personnel, giving them a chance to learn to work with new Ariel workstations made available through the grant. This one-day workshop attracted 20 participants, and was also put together by SOLINET and AMIGOS. Evaluations from participants indicated that both events were helpful, engendering a greater awareness of the potential benefits of the new electronic project and a commitment to see the project succeed. The two library organizations prepared and conducted a comprehensive survey of capabilities and skills of ACS librarians prior to the workshops. Consequently, they were able to gear the programs to the specific needs and levels of participants. Further training activities are anticipated as ACS continues to help librarians from member institutions provide increased access to library materials. Mellon Foundation funds underwrote the expenses of the training and equipment. For further information on the program, please contact your institution's director of library services. LIBRARY VIDEO CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 19 ACS faculty and staff, along with consortium librarians, are invited to attend a video conference on September 19, 1996 describing the new ACS electronic library. Various speakers will describe the new project and how it will work on each campus, followed by a question and answer session for all participants. Librarians Richard Meyer of Trinity University and Douglas Anderson of Furman University will discuss the goals of the endeavor and the specific steps to realize those goals. Other speakers will talk about various aspects of the program, including the specific use of the new workstations and Ariel workstations made available through the grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The video conference will also provide specific information on the numerous indexes, periodicals and special collections that will be accessible, and describe other plans for cooperation in the future. Participants can offer their comments, advice and suggestions for further collaboration. Library directors will publicize the video-conference, announcing times and locations on each campus. Electronic Library Project At-A-Glance
That was one of the many positive testimonials given by the twenty participants in the fourth annual ACS Summer Teaching Workshop at Rollins College in June. Once again, the focus of the workshop was on micro-teaching, an experience in which faculty teach one another during the week, followed by an extensive opportunity for feedback and discussion. Both teaching presentations and feedback are videotaped for on-going analysis during the week, and participants take their videos home when the workshop ends. This year there was also a session on active teaching and learning, with a special presentation made by Professor Diane Williams from the University of South Florida. Approximately 80 ACS faculty have now participated in the Summer Teaching Workshop and, with support from the BellSouth Foundation, most have participated in follow-up campus programs promoting faculty growth and development. The 1997 workshop will be held at Rollins College June 10-15. For further information, see the Summer Teaching Workshop web page or contact your academic dean; Dr. Roger Casey of Birmingham-Southern College, co-director of the program (Phone: 205/226-4671; e-mail: rcasey@bsc.edu); Dr. Barbara Carson of Rollins College, co-director of the program (Phone: 407/646-246; e-mail: bcarson@rollins.edu); or the ACS office. STUDYING THE REGISTRAR'S FUNCTION ACS registrars are in the beginning stages of a cooperative project to collect and share information on their numerous functions. The project is designed to enable registrars to learn from each other and to identify "best practices" which may be emulated on other campuses. The registrars will share information on the following functions: registration, grades, transcripts, certifications, class and room scheduling, ID cards, commencement/graduation, degree audit credit, records storage, and catalogs. The project began with a questionnaire formulated by the registrars, with special leadership supplied by a steering committee consisting of Carolyn Casey, University of Richmond, Jane Perkins from Millsaps College, and Beth Lannen from Rollins College. The Innovation Network, Inc., located in Nashville, is supplying consultation for this initiative. The project is funded by the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation in Atlanta. ACS WOMEN'S STUDIES CONFERENCE The third ACS Conference on Women's Studies will be held October 24-26, 1997 at Millsaps College. These dates were announced by Dr. Anne MacMaster, assistant professor of English at Millsaps College and chair of the ACS Women's Studies Committee. Dr. MacMaster and other members of the committee invite ACS faculty to suggest themes for the meeting, panels, speakers, projects related to women's studies, and fundraising possibilities for collaborative efforts. ACS faculty are also invited to volunteer for panels and to put panel sessions together with Dr. MacMaster. Student panels are also encouraged. Apart from the workshop, interested faculty are asked to consider other cooperative projects in women's studies, such as an electronic network, joint seminars on specific topics, overseas seminars related to women's studies and joint research projects. Interested? Contact Dr. MacMaster at (601) 974-1306 or e-mail: macmaac@okra.millsaps.edu. PROSPECTIVE INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS ACS international program directors and faculty are considering many possibilities for future academic semester, academic year and summer programs overseas. They invite feedback from faculty and staff on all the ACS campuses. They want to know: if there is interest on the campuses among faculty; what some new program possibilities are; who would like to teach in such programs; and if there is potential student interest to sustain proposed programs. One proposal calls for a classics summer program at Oxford. It would be similar in intensity and format to the British Studies at Oxford program, based at St. Johns College. Those interested should contact Dr. Kenny Morrell at Rhodes College (Phone (901) 726-3825; e-mail: morrell@ vax.rhodes.edu). Ideas have also emerged for a Spanish language program in Ecuador and Latin American studies in Brazil or Chile. It has also been suggested that ACS might develop a program in Russia in collaboration with a major Russian university. For information on these possibilities, or to suggest other programs, please call the ACS office. CARPATHIAN LEADERS VISIT ACS CAMPUSES Eighteen rectors and vice rectors from universities in the Carpathian region of Central Europe visited our campuses in May, 1996. The administrators came from Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and the Ukraine. During the visit they shared information about public service and community development activities on American campuses. The representatives visited eight ACS institutions, plus Emory University and several public institutions. They were impressed by our public services and look forward to implementing many of our ideas on their campuses in Central Europe. They learned about the role of private liberal arts colleges in the United States and gained insights into potential roles for their institutions as citizens in the broader society. Representatives from ACS institutions will visit these countries in the Carpathian region from October 11-20, 1996, to consult further with Central Europeans about their plans for public service. Other projects, including student and faculty exchanges, may emerge from this relationship. The ACS office will be happy to provide any further information. INVITATION TO FACULTY The ACS is exploring the possibilities of overseas faculty seminars. We want to identify geographical areas, possible themes, and faculty who can play a leadership role in planning and carrying out seminars. ACS staff are ready to collaborate with interested faculty to prepare proposals and raise outside funds. Help us make this a reality! Ideas so far are seminars on Women's Studies; a program in Japan focused on Japanese-U.S. relationships; a study tour in Africa with the goal of enriching curricula; a service learning experience for faculty abroad; and an analysis of the transformation of Central Europe. The staff invites ideas and volunteers to work on these or other possibilities. SUMMER SERVICE LEARNING IN HONDURAS Fourteen students attended the third Service Learning Summer Term in Honduras from May-June, 1996. It was led by Dr. Michael McClain, professor of religion at Rhodes College, and Laila Dawson, director of the Intensive Language Program in Spanish at the University of Richmond. Once again, faculty reported a very successful experience in Honduras; Students provided a variety of useful services in local areas and many carried out academic programs, working on an independent study basis with faculty on their home campuses. Various levels of Spanish were offered as well. Please let students and faculty who might be interested know about the program. For more information, contact Dr. McClain at (901) 726-3740; (email: mmclain@rhodes.edu.) He and his colleagues would also welcome communications about extending the Service Learning Program to other places, particularly in Africa. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN COSTA RICA Professors Charles Brockett and Robin Gottfried of University of the South report a successful ACS spring semester of Sustainable Development in Costa Rica. The program's first session was held from February to May, 1996. Fifteen students enrolled in the program, which was based in San Jose and moved around the country. The focus was on economic, political and historical aspects of the effort to create sustainable development in Costa Rica. Sustainable development activities and challenges in other countries of the region and in the developing world were also studied. Among the many features of the program was an analysis of Costa Rica's successful national park system. Various levels of Spanish language classes were offered to the students as part of the program. For information about the Spring 1997 semester, please contact Dr. Brockett (Phone: 615/5981294; e-mail: cbrocket@seraphl.sewanee.edu) or Dr. Gottfried (Phone 615/598-1243; e-mail: rgottfrid@sewanee.edu) of University of the South, or Dr. Barry Allen at Rollins College (Phone: 407/644-5016; e-mail: ballen@rollins.edu.) Southwestern University announced that Dr. Dale T. Knobel assumed
the post of Provost and Dean of Faculty during the summer of 1996. Dr.
Knobel holds a B.A. degree in history from Yale University (1971) and
a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University (1976). Prior to his appointment,
Dr. Knobel had served as the director of the University Honors Program
at Texas A & M since 1987. Birmingham-Southern College held its Fourth Annual Latin American
Studies Symposium April 18-19, 1996. The symposium included various panel
and roundtable discussions, a leadership luncheon, and a keynote address
by the Honorable Salvador de Lara, Minister of Economic Affairs, Embassy
of Mexico. Three students from Hendrix College participated in Minority
Opportunities through School Transformation (MOST) workshops at the Southern
Sociological Society meeting in Richmond, VA last April. The students,
Des Agginie, Tonia Cross and Uyen Nguyen, helped orient newly selected
MOST fellows from ACS. As MOST fellows, they attended summer institutes
at the University of Massachusetts, Texas A & M, and Michigan State,
respectively. Travel expert Arthur Frommer has listed the Cornell Museum, at Rollins
College, as one of the top free attractions in the world. The museum
houses more than 6,000 works of art and a capital campaign is underway,
raising funds to quadruple the size of the museum. Rhodes College will award the 1996 Frank E. Seidman Distinguished
Award in Political Economy to Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck on September
20. Lindbeck is a professor of international economics at the Institute
for International Economic Studies. He was the director of the Institute
for 23 years until relinquishing his post a year ago. Lindbeck is an authority
on the design of sustainable welfare states. Centre College is the first private college in Kentucky to forge
a three-way working partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education
and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Last year, ASCD launched an internet site that features detailed evaluations
of selected teaching materials, a service that helps state education departments,
local school districts and individual teachers sort through the hundreds
of potential resources to find those that offer the best potential for
effective learning. As part of the new partnership, Centre students can
access the Internet site, review ASCD resources and learn how ASCD evaluates
instructional materials. Furman University is starting a three-year project to train Upstate
South Carolina teachers to use the latest classroom technology in more
creative ways. The project will allow a select group of K-12 teachers
in the Upstate region to explore various ways computer technology can
be incorporated into their classrooms. Sixteen K-12 teachers chosen from
13 school districts met on the Furman campus this summer to participate
in a one-week workshop that will focus on multimedia computing and internet
resources in the classroom. The project is funded by the BellSouth Foundation. A number of studies are underway to inventory, catalog, and map the 10,000 acre "Domain" of The University of the South. The inventory of The Domain, as the campus is affectionately called, includes the location and classification of archaeological sites and historic preservation. The projects are led by Dr. Major C. R. McCollough, adjunct professor of archaeology at the University.
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