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Colleges of the South > Newsletters > Spring 1997 Newsletter |
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Spring 1997
FELLOWSHIPS ADDED TO TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM There are many exciting things underway with the consortium's Mellon Teaching and Technology Grant. Besides the ongoing technology programs, ACS is pleased to announce the availability of Mellon Teaching with Technology Fellowships for qualified faculty members at ACS institutions. These fellowships provide a $2500 stipend to faculty members for developing teaching materials or other curricular enhancements in which technology plays a key role and which have potential application for other ACS institutions. It is not a prerequisite that a potential fellow has the technical experience or expertise necessary for completion of the project - though successful candidates will be willing to acquire such skills. Fellows will have the opportunity to consult with other ACS faculty members who have developed similar materials, and some technical assistance with the technology component is available. Interested faculty should submit an application form along with a 2-3 page proposal detailing the project they intend to complete during the fellowship period - either one semester or the summer. Proposals should include information about the technical requirements of the project and institutional support, as well as explain how and when the project will be integrated into the curriculum and the mechanism for assessment. Proposals must also clearly indicate how the technology in question will enhance the applicant's teaching and student learning, citing relevant sources if available, and should include a plan for evaluation and for dissemination of the results in such a way as to share the project with colleagues at other ACS institutions (e.g., a web site). Applications for the Fall 1997 semester are due July 15, and applications for the Spring and Summer 1998 semesters are due by November 1. For more information see the ACS web site at http://www.colleges.org. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A SUMMER WORKSHOP Four technology workshops are available on ACS campuses during the summer, all supported by the Mellon Teaching and Technology Grant. June 2-6, Numerical Modeling and Interactive
Learning Environments, Furman University. June 8-11, Intermediate Worldwide Web, Furman
University. June 13-15, Advanced Worldwide Web, Furman
University. July 31-August 2, Interactive Multimedia
Authoring for the Worldwide Web, Southwestern University. For more information about workshop content or contacts, please visit the ACS web site at http://www.colleges.org
I recently attended a conference on "Pragmatic Higher Education," co-sponsored by Rollins College and the College Board. This conference was the vision of Dr. Rita Bornstein, President of Rollins College, and attracted academic leaders from over a hundred institutions. The conference was rooted in a 1931 Rollins conference, which feature John Dewey. Using that conference as a point of reference, outstanding scholars gathered to define "pragmatic higher education" and consider its late-20th- century role in America. I would like to share three of many insights that emerged from the conference. First, there is a strong case to be made for collaborative learning, interactive technology, service learning and other experiential opportunities. Dr. Alexander Astin of UCLA and others noted the positive learning from such experiences, reinforcing a solid liberal arts curriculum. Second, ACS institutions are greatly immersed in active learning activities for students. Whether or not these initiatives are defined as "pragmatic," they represent determination on the part of our colleges and universities to make learning and teaching as dynamic and compelling as possible. In this, I believe our colleges are in the vanguard. Third, there is a role for this consortium in furthering the kind of pragmatic education that challenges students to think theoretically, offers them the broad spectrum of liberal studies, and also stimulates them to learn and act in creative ways. Through sharing information, hosting workshops, offering training opportunities, and highlighting demonstration models, ACS is an important catalyst in pragmatic learning and traditional education. We invite faculty, staff and students to engage in an on-going ACS colloquy on this subject. Send us an e-mail message to begin the conversation. Wayne Anderson
All thirteen ACS campuses are now functioning and on-line with the consortium library network! The FirstSearch service provides access to eleven electronic databases over the Internet. The package was purchased from OCLC and UMI, bibliographic supply companies, through funds from the Mellon Foundation grant to the ACS. The project connects libraries on all thirteen campuses, providing a vast array of searching resources in an innovative way. Students and faculty can connect to First Search in one of two ways. They can use workstations set up in the main libraries of each campus, where they can access some of the search items in their own campus' collection right away. Faculty and students can also access FirstSearch from their offices or dorm rooms through a library web page set up at each campus. One advantage to the ACS library network is that we can collect statistics on the number of database searches at all thirteen campuses at once. Between the months of July and December 1996, there were a total of 106,301 searches done on FirstSearch at ACS institutions. Periodical Abstracts received the most "hits." WorldCat, ArticleFirst, and ABI/INFORM Global Edition also received a large number of hits. In addition to these databases, FirstSearch provides ContentsFirst, ERIC, FastDoc, GPO Monthly Catalog, MEDLINE, PapersFirst, and ProceedingsFirst. So far, Trinity University has had the most users, with 36,622 in the six-month period. The University of Richmond and Southwestern University also had a large number of users with 27,329 and 12,983, respectively. An ongoing part of the project is data collection and analysis. Tanya Pinedo, working with Richard Meyer at Trinity is gathering a wide range of data. For example, she has assessed the number of titles available in the FirstSerach databases in full-text and compared this to the number of titles subscribed to by the ACS libraries. This information has already allowed Trinity to cancel many subscription titles that are also available on FirstSearch, resulting in a savings of $44,946. Another advantage to a consortium-wide library network is having increased access to the collections at other institutions. This network greatly expands the meaning of "Interlibrary Loan." Students and faculty now have greater awareness of the collections at other institutions and can access them more readily. RLG's Ariel Software was purchased in June of 1996 to support this aspect of the project. The software provides a method to scan documents and send the image electronically via the Internet to a requesting institution. The libraries have also committed to using other electronic means, such as fax, e-mail, or file transfer protocol, if available. During their Spring 1997 meeting, the library directors approved a draft Interlibrary Loan Policy that acknowledges the impact the network can have on the system of interlibrary loans. Barbara Halbert, project coordinator, explained that the policy is a voluntary agreement to share information. "The focus is on looking to other ACS institutions first for needed documents. "Of course, paper and books are still available in the libraries and interlibrary loans of hardcopy materials are still free between ACS institutions. During their Fall meeting, the ACS Council of Deans paid special tribute to professor Jack Lane of Rollins college for his leadership with the consortium's Summer Teaching and Learning Workshop. Dr. Lane took his experience as a participant in the Great Lake Colleges Association pedagogical workshop and effectively applied it to designing an ACS workshop. A Professor of history at Rollins College, his vision and organizational skills gave birth to the program in1992. He has played the lead role in identifying potential leaders for the project from ACS institutions, planning training sessions for these faculty, and formulating the workshop program. In collaboration with other members of the workshop steering group, he prepared a proposal that attracted a $100,000 grant from the BellSouth Foundation to help underwrite the cost of the workshop and the follow-up activities on the campuses. Dr. Lane is stepping down from his position as director of the workshop, but will continue to serve as a member of the workshop leadership group. The deans offered congratulations and thanks for his willingness to continue to serve the workshop Now in its fifth year, the ACS Summer Teaching Workshop that Dr. Lane helped to start has so far attracted twenty-two faculty participants, representing 11 institutions for the coming summer. Once again, Rollins College is hosting the workshop during the second week in June. The program features the micro-teaching process, which allows close interaction among faculty in small groups. The faculty help teach each other an open up an intensive dialog about their individual teaching approaches and styles. While the micro-teaching experiences utilize most of the time during the workshop, special plenary sessions are scheduled that focus on salient issues related to teaching and learning. In the past, the topics have ranged from teaching in a diverse academic environment to utilizing technology in and out of the classroom. Dr. Barbara Carson, Professor of English at Rollins College and Dr. Roger Casey, assistant Professor of English at Birmingham-Southern College, are the new co-directors of the workshop. They are joined by Dr. Lane and the other members of the workshop leadership group who lead the micro-teaching sessions. Faculty interested in participating in the program and improving their classroom teaching skills are encouraged to contact members of the steering group from their campus, pas participants or their chief academic officers.
Once again, April features presentations at the Southern Sociological Society meeting by select ACS students, who accompany their faculty mentors to the regional meeting and share the results of their special study. The projects are a part of the MOST program, made possible by a Ford Foundation grant to the American Sociological Society. ACS is among a cluster of institutions chosen by the ASA to assist minority students in Sociology to prepare themselves for graduate and professional school and for future careers. ACS institutions are encouraged to identify students in sociology that will benefit students in sociology that will benefit from the special attention made possible with this program. For further information, faculty or students should contact their sociology departments or the coordinator of the project, former Millsaps faulty Dr. Allen Scarboro, now a professor at Augusta State University: 706/737-1735 and ascarbor@ac.edu.
All across our campuses, member institutions are busy with the consortium's ongoing cost containment efforts. The overall project, which has several components, is funded by a grant to ACS from the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. Here is an update.
ACS has organized an environmental studies program committee to shape cooperative efforts in that field. Committee members are at work on a plan for cooperation that we hope will attract significant foundation support. The planning committee is emphasizing four objectives: creating and expanding environmental studies courses; devising joint environmental research efforts; designing collaborative efforts for service to surrounding communities and local environments; and being environmentally sound in regular, ongoing campus operations. Since enhancing the environment can mean achieving sustainable development - both in the US and overseas - committee members think environmental studies should permeate the campus environment. This provides a myriad of opportunities for faculty, students and staff to play useful roles. "This gives the consortium an opportunity to come together around these topics," said Dr. Ed Roy, Dean at Trinity University. "Since it is so interdisciplinary," he continued, "it allows faculty to work together on home campuses and between institutions." Roy envisions a program that includes courses and faculty members from a variety of disciplines, not just the sciences. The committee also hopes that students and faculty from a variety of campuses will come together to work on environmental study projects. The committee hopes the consortium will develop into a center of information on sustainable development, disseminating lessons on substantive courses. They also hope the consortium can provide pedagogical approaches to environmental study, such as interactive learning, collaborative learning and internships. Another plan is to offer a rotating lecture series dealing with critical issues of sustainable development. The lectures would allow students and faculty on ACS campuses to interact with outstanding figures in the field. The committee also hopes to offer comprehensive career planning information for students interested in pursuing environmental work in business, government, education, environmental organizations or other areas. Many ACS campuses already offer some environmental studies courses and participate in sustainable development and environmental awareness programs. A consortium-wide program will allow the campuses to share expertise and intellectual resources. "That's the beauty of putting this together," said Roy. With its interdisciplinary and cooperative nature, an ACS environmental studies program has the potential to provide a model of consortium work." Faculty interested in participating in this initiative are invited to
contact one of the members of the program committee:
STUDYING BY THE NUMBERS As we begin to prepare for a busy summer, the numbers are starting to pour in for our international programs.
For information on any of the ACS international programs, contact the ACS office. CARPATHIAN POSSIBILITIES Even though the participants of the Building Bridges initiative are back in their respective countries, the ramifications of the exchange between administrators of southeastern US colleges and central European universities continue. The initial focus of the project was on service, an area in which many ACS institutions have particular expertise. The program was successful in introducing the concept of service to Central European universities in the Carpathian region, where the end of socialist and communist rule has changed the role of higher education. During a recent follow-up meeting, US participants discussed possible next steps in terms of proposed projects. Many projects reach beyond the concept of service and focus on academic and technical matters. For example, the Association of Carpathian Region Universities, a consortium similar to ACS, is exploring a library network among its universities. Our Carpathian colleagues were so impressed with the ACS Palladian Alliance that they are looking to our library network as a model for adaptation. Another possibility for future cooperation between US and Carpathian institutions is a management exchange. The Carpathian administrators are very interested in business management courses and practices. This is another possible avenue of participation for ACS. We will keep you updated.
On January 9, 1997, President Bill Clinton presented the Charles Frankel Prize to Dr. Arturo Madrid in a White House ceremony. Dr. Madrid, the Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison distinguished professor of the Humanities at Trinity University, was selected for his extraordinary contributions toward developing the intellectual resources of the Latino community and pioneering scholarship on Chicano literary and cultural expression. The Charles Frankel Prize honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the public's understanding of history, literature, philosophy and other humanities disciplines. Other 1996 recipients include Rita Dove and Bill Moyers. The box office at Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts was among ten finalists for a highly competitive award given by Box Office Management International Inc. The award is given in recognition of excellence in management and customer service. Other finalists included major arts organizations such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Theatre Rural in Sydney, Australia; and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. The Norton Center annually hosts forty tickets-selling events, managing close to 30,000 tickets and $250,000 in sales each year. In the Fall of 1997, the oldest residence hall at Centenary College will open its doors as the newest dorm. Formerly rotary Hall, it is now Rotary Suites, with three floors of apartment-style suite, studio apartments and adaptable conference facilities. Each apartment is prewired for television, computer and telephone lines. This will allow students a full range of computer, Internet and on-campus networking capabilities. Rotary Hall was originally presented to the college by the Rotary Club of Shreveport in 1930. The Hendrix College Minority Advancement Program is currently accepting applications from high school students. The program will include a total of ten students from local school districts in Little Rock, Arkansas and the surrounding areas. The program is designed to help students learn more about themselves and their career interests and to prepare them for the college application process. Participants will attend three weekend sessions at Hendrix during their junior year and will return to campus for one follow-up session in their senior year. The Latin American Studies Program at Birmingham-Southern College hosted its Fifth Annual Latin American Studies Symposium April 10-12. The symposium gathered undergraduate students, faculty and professionals for two days of intense discussion about current Latin American topics. Main objectives of the conference were to promote undergraduate research and to increase dialogue among faculty members. Participants from the ACS were particularly encouraged to attend. For information contact Dr. Gama Perruci, Director, LAS Program, 205/226-4836;or e-mail: gperruci@bsc.edu. Established in 1992 and modeled after a similar program at Harvard University, the Principals' Institute at Millsaps College is a part of the college's department of education. It is committed to improving the quality of education in Mississippi by promoting the personal and professional growth of principals as education leaders. By attracting distinguished speakers, the Institute has generated enthusiasm and acclaim from its participants - attendance has increased significantly and many principals return for follow-up sessions. Initially, the program was funded by grants form various foundations but its success has led to its formal inclusion in Millsaps' operating budget beginning with the current school year. Thomas Buford, a professor of philosophy at Furman University, was named Senior Fellow of the Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and the Arts for the 1997-98 academic year. Buford, who joined the Furman faculty in 1969, will spend the next academic year writing and conducting research at Valparaiso University in Indiana. He was selected from a number of distinguished applicants from the 51 colleges and universities in the network program. The Lilly Fellow Program addresses the problems faced by church-related institutions of higher learning in the United States. Buford is the author of several books including Ambushed on the Road to Glory: Finding the Way Through Jesus' Parables and In Search of a Calling: The College's Role in Shaping Identity. In 1975, Southwestern University received a ten-year, $10 million challenge grant from the Brown Foundation to build annual, unrestricted support for current operations and to increase the institution's permanent endowment. As part of the challenge, Southwestern's alumni were asked to increase support to the University. Alumni gifts were used for current operations such as scholarships, faculty salaries, student programs, and library expenses. The foundation's match was deposited into the University's permanent endowment fund to strengthen its financial base. The Brown Challenge was so successful that three years before it was supposed to end in 1986, the Foundation extended the challenge another ten years. The potential $27.9 million total matching grant over 20 years is considered the largest challenge gift ever made to a small college in the United States.
The third biennial ACS Women's Studies Conference will take place October 24-26, 1996, at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. The theme for this year's interdisciplinary conference is "Becoming Visible: Women's Struggles for Justice." Proposal submissions will be accepted through June 16, 1997. To be considered, proposals must include a working title; designation of the type of presentation; a 2-3 page double-spaced abstract; if a group proposal, the full names of all the presenters as well as an abstract from each; and your name, address, and phone number. Interdisciplinary projects from students, faculty, activists and organizers are encouraged. Submit proposals to Leanora Olivia, Millsaps College, P.O. Box 150383, Jackson, MS 39201 or Michael Galchinsky, Millsaps College, P.O. Box 150230, Jackson, MS 39201 or e-mail to olivil@okra.millsaps.edu Please join us in welcoming Dara Hawkins to the ACS team. Dara began working in our office on a temporary basis in March of 1996, and became a permanent, full-time office manager in November. An Atlanta native, Dara came to ACS well equipped with a background in office management and the hospitality industry. She worked at Georgia State University for almost eight years as a student assistant and graduate employee in various areas, including the continuing education department. "I'm a jack of all trades," said Hawkins. "My job is to keep things running smoothly."
The deadline for faculty applications to participate in the program at the Oak Ridge National laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is October 1, 1997. Submit materials to the Oak Ridge program office at Denison University. For information about the specific opportunities and funding available, contact the program director, Dr. George Gilbert, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023, phone: 614/387-6304
The consortium, through its chief academic officers, issues a call for ideas on diversity awareness, including training programs. Faculty and staff involved in such initiatives, or contemplating them, are invited to share information with the ACS office so the staff can disseminate the information throughout the consortium. Our objective is to identify successful plans and mechanisms that we can apply on other ACS campuses. A second objective is to explore the possibilities of collaborative efforts, such as joint diversity workshops. ACS is also looking for individuals to volunteer to participate in consortium-wide planning to explore the possibilities of a collaborative effort. The consortium plans to gather information from diversity programs around the country and prepare proposals to fund innovative ACS collaborative efforts.
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