Associated
Colleges of the South > Newsletters > Winter 1998-1999 Newsletter |
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A Window to the South |
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Winter 1998-1999
Thanks to a grant of $1,250,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the consortium will soon initiate a new faculty technology program, Preparing Faculty for the Next Millennium. This new effort will focus on technology, with a special commitment to enhancing faculty familiarity and expertise in the use of technology. The program has three distinct features:
While the program builds on an earlier teaching and technology grant from the Foundation, the new program represents a quantum leap forward. The consortium will create a single focal point for training activities and a way to test the creative ideas of a "virtual department," which will bring faculty throughout the consortium together. The grant also provides opportunities for faculty fellows, who will be in residence at the center, technology mentors to assist faculty on the various campuses, and student interns to assist in technology training efforts. The grant also covers the cost of staff to coordinate the overall program. Dr. Ann Die, president of Hendrix College and chair of the ACS Board of Directors, expressed her pleasure with the grant. "This is a splendid vote of confidence in the consortium's ability to create programs that will enable faculty to make effective use of technology in and out of the classroom. I know the grant will galvanize faculty as they look for imaginative new approaches to teaching and learning on the campuses," Die said. Leadership in preparing the grant was supplied by Dr. Suzanne Bonefas of the ACS staff, members of the faculty technology committee, and ACS classicists Dr. Kenny Morrell of Rhodes College and Dr. Mark Garrison of Trinity University. ACS has created a site selection committee to recommend a site for the new technology center. For more information, contact Dr. Bonefas at bonefas@colleges.org. ACS faculty and staff are invited to suggest ideas for a new collaborative international program currently being planned as a result of a planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation. The consortium is contemplating a wide spectrum of activities involving collaboration among the ACS institutions and an innovative development with the 26 liberal arts colleges belonging to the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). Following are some of the ideas that have been suggested, ranging from information-sharing meetings and communication among faculty interested in international studies to formal study abroad and service learning programs arranged through the three consortia. At the most informal information exchange level, the group is contemplating activities such as: E-mail communications, electronic discussion groups and sharing of course syllabi. More formal information exchanges should include special task forces established to work on individual topics and issues, an overall website linked to the programs on individual campuses and an electronic newsletter. The third level of the program deals with the division of labor based on the strengths and resources on each campus. The fourth level deals with cooperative efforts in the Unites States, including joint faculty research, a joint speaker series, and cooperative training programs for faculty and staff. Finally, the fifth level looks at cooperative initiatives overseas. It covers ideas such as cooperation in overseas student recruiting, cooperative internships abroad and joint overseas conferences. The consortium is particularly eager to add to or refine the above list of possibilities. Interested faculty or staff are invited to contact Wayne Anderson at the ACS office 404-636-9533. Please excuse the rhapsodic and emotion-laden comments to follow concerning our ACS environmental studies initiative. They vary considerably from the usual dispassionate - i.e., dull - remarks usually found in this column. The reason for focus on these reflections is the new ACS environmental initiative, which is in the middle of its second year. Why the euphoria? Three reasons: First, the program fits within the overall framework of high consortial priorities such as: promoting active learning and teaching, creating networks, fostering interdisciplinary study. Second, it offers the opportunity to have significant impact on strengthening the member institutions both academically and administratively. Third, it holds the promise of harnessing energy and mobilizing resources that can constructively impact the society at large. The $1,695,000 grant, which makes the program possible, has four points of emphasis: academic courses, research, community and public service and on-campus operations. Already, cooperative projects are emerging in all these areas, and more collaborative efforts are earnestly sought. What does this mean for ACS faculty, students and staff? It means there is a remarkable opportunity available for these groups to work together on the individual campuses and across institutional boundaries. All are strongly urged to think about proposing a project that can make a difference in the area of environmental improvement and sustainability. The proposal may be to create a new course, to engage in joint research, to offer a program of community service, to assist with campus operations or a combination of these and other possibilities. Please contact your ACS environmental fellow, program director Dr. Bob Whyte (rswhyte@colleges.org) or me (wanders@colleges.org). Wayne Anderson PALLADIAN ALLIANCE - YEAR FOUR PLAN ACS Library Directors will meet on January 22-23, 1999, to reach a consensus on the fourth-year activities of the Palladian Alliance project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The directors met in June and October to lay the foundation for discussion of a number of ideas for the future. Among the ideas on the docket for consideration are:
The group continues to explore potential foundation interest and issues in the areas of digital archiving and library internship programs. As the consortium finishes the third year of the Mellon grant, the group continues with First Search and ProQuest Direct, and has added Wilson database to the offerings. The economic analysis being conducted by Richard Meyer, director of the Coates Library at Trinity, will also be continued. From the outset of the project, the consortium has drawn on the expertise of Meyer who, along with his able research assistant Tonya Pinedo, has been gathering information on the economic implications of the project. One of the initial hypotheses of ACS was that the increased access to electronic materials would cause institutions to reduce their print periodicals. While there have been cancellations on some campuses, the hypothesis is not being substantiated. Reasons include the limited reliability of publications online, the inability of vendors to ensure libraries that the publications will be available from year to year, and preferences for print materials. Even though the theory has been disproved so far, library directors are quick to note that the Palladian Alliance project has been very helpful to participating institutions. Considerable hardware has been made available to the institutions, including workstations, both regular and Ariel. Furthermore, access to online materials has been significantly enhanced thanks to the grant. CIRCUIT RIDERS: COMING TO A CAMPUS NEAR YOU! As part of the Mellon Teaching and Technology Grant, ACS will fund a limited number of visits to ACS institutions by faculty members from other member institutions who are skilled in the use of technology. The ultimate goal of this program is to lay the framework for a network of inter-institutional peer support for teaching technology. The format of these visits is flexible, and can be tailored to the needs of the institution making the invitation. For example, they may take the form of general demonstrations about integrating technology in the classroom, more specialized mini-workshops focused on a specific application or academic field, a series of tutorials, or any combination of these. ACS will cover the visitors' travel expenses and lodging, if necessary. If you are interested in having someone visit your campus, please contact the ACS office, or the ACS Technology Committee Representative at your institution. For more information, see http://www.colleges.org/tech/circuit.html Mark February 1 and September 15, 1999, on your calendar if you are interested in submitting proposals for future collaborative environmental projects supported under the ACS Environmental Citizenship program. Special consideration will be given to projects emphasizing the humanities and environmental problems unique to the Southeast. The purpose of these grants is to help prepare the campus community, with a focus on the student, for environmental citizenship in the 21st century. Projects may be proposed in one or more of the following areas: course development, research projects, service, and/or campus operations. For more detailed information visit our website at www.colleges.org, contact your ACS institutional program committee member or email Bob Whyte, Environmental Program Director at (rswhyte@colleges.org). NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS SELECTED In their meeting on November 1, 1998, the ACS Council of Academic Deans approved six programs as part of the ACS environmental initiative. These programs cover a wide range of topics and represent collaboration among numerous ACS institutions. The deans made these decisions based on the recommendations of the environmental program committee, a faculty group representing all the member institutions. The programs chosen are the following: Sustainable Development in Local Communities In this second year of a multi-year proposal supporting an ACS program on "Sustainable Development in Local Communities," participants seek to build upon the already existing and successful ACS program in Costa Rica by further strengthening it and using it as a centerpiece around which to build a broader ACS program to address sustainable development in other local and regional Contexts. Living in the Yucatan: Building Environmental
Citizenship through a Field Based Research Course in the Northern Maya
Lowlands. This project will develop an environmentally friendly, focused, four-week ACS field course in the Yucatan open to all students in ACS institutions. This Course will utilize a critical thinking, problem-solving pedagogy while exposing students to three major areas of field-based investigations. Systematic Analysis & Reduction of Costs
Associated with Campus Paper Usage This project aims to reduce the costs associated with a college's usage of office paper through the systematic application of information technology and collection of data on business processes involving paper on college campuses. The Effects of Economic Growth in the Rural
South This project proposes a collaborative investigation of the effects of economic growth in the rural South, focusing on Franklin County, Tennessee, and the southern Cumberland Plateau. Sustainable Campus Development Clinic The proposed Sustainable Campus Development Clinic to be held at Davidson College February 12-14, 1999 will concentrate on three specific aspects of sustainable, environmentally conscious campus design: architecture, landscaping and transportation. Heritage Resources Management in the College
and University Environment The University of the South will develop and present a workshop aimed at providing ACS members with a useable level of archeological knowledge about preserving heritage resources. BRINGING TECH IDEAS TO CAMPUSES The ACS Fall 1998 technology fellows have begun to share the reports on numerous projects underwritten by the Teaching through Technology grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The following are results from the six fellowship awards made last fall. Hugh Blackmer, Washington & Lee University, is developing a web-based map server site which will emphasize interdisciplinary work being done in west-central Virginia, the area surrounding Washington & Lee University. Claudia Ferman and Andrew Ross, University of Richmond, are using the grant to support a project intended to create a keyword-searchable database of Microsoft PowerPoint slides on Mayan Culture, both modern and ancient. Gary Lindquester, Rhodes College, will provide students of molecular biology with a website containing text, figures and animation to supplement lectures and laboratories. Therese Shelton, Southwestern University, is developing technological modules for use in Calculus using the Calculator Based Laboratory System, TI-85 Graphing Calculator, Mathematica and Excel. Todd Will, Davidson College, is preparing a web-based introduction to the Singular Value Decomposition suitable for inclusion in any standard introductory linear algebra Course. For more information and links to these projects, see http://www.colleges.org/tech/fellows99.html LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE A BIG HIT! The University of the South hosted the first ACS conference on student leadership in November, with 58 sophomore and junior student leaders attending from Rollins, the University of Richmond, Centre and Sewanee. Associate Dean Sharon Spray and Forrest Jessee, speaker of the student assembly, working with others at Sewanee, invited student leaders from other ACS campuses. Their objective was to provide an opportunity for these campus leaders to share information on their experiences, while learning from speakers such as Ralph Nader about the necessary ingredients of effective leadership. While they received a significant dose of training, they also began to make connections that could lead to further networking among students in the various ACS institutions. The conference focused on:
Students attending the conference provided very positive feedback - sufficiently positive to persuade the organizers and others to consider future leadership training conferences. The staff at University of the South are working with Rollins College staff to plan another conference in early Summer 1999. Faculty or staff interested in playing a leadership role in these conferences, or in encouraging students to participate, should contact Dr. Rob Pearigen or Dr. Sharon Spray, Sewanee's Dean and Associate Dean of Students at (931) 598-1229, email at rpearige@sewanee.edu and sspray@sewanee.edu, or Dr. Steve Neilson, Dean of Student Affairs at Rollins College at (407) 646-2345, email sneilson@southwestern.edu.
SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT CLINIC Davidson College is hosting the Sustainable Campus Development Clinic for students, faculty and staff during the weekend of February 12-14 1999. The Clinic is sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the South and National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program. Colleges and universities represent an influential segment of the nation's population and economy. Roughly 3,000 institutions spend $150 billion and invest $75 billion annually. The importance of using sustainable campus development to create "green" campuses can be seen in the benefits to the surrounding environment and community, the cultivation of environmental stewardship among students, and in substantially reduced operating costs. The Sustainable Campus Development Clinic will address three areas of campus design: landscaping, transportation and building design. The clinic will provide an in-depth understanding of these areas by addressing the various problems of and benefits from ecological design, as well as suggesting strategies for its appropriate implementation. This clinic will also help create a more cohesive master plan for building, landscaping and transportation on the participating campuses, drawing on the combined knowledge from each team, representatives from other institutions, and experts in the field. One important aspect of the clinic will be its "team" approach. Participating institutions are encouraged to send a team of two students, two faculty, two physical plant staff members and one administrator, perhaps from the business/finance area. For more information and online registration, visit our website: http://www.colleges.org/~enviro/workshops/davidson.html, or contact Kim Thurlow at ACS, 404-636-9533 or email at kthurlow@colleges.org. Furman University has joined with partners in three countries in a collaborative venture to establish an institute for the training of information technology professionals in the Caribbean. Furman, INDUSA, LLC (an Atlanta software company), HEART (a Jamaican government agency), the Montego Bay Free Zone, the University of the West Indies Mona, and the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom have joined forces to establish the Caribbean Institute of Technology (CIT). CIT will design and deliver certificate -based computer programming instruction in its training center in Montego Bay, Jamaica. More than 50 recent high school graduates are expected in the first CIT class to begin in February 1999. Employing a curriculum consisting of 10 months of intensive instruction and laboratory work in client-server technologies and programming languages, CIT anticipates training 400 students per year once it has reached full operation. Many graduates of the institute are expected to take jobs with INDUSA Global Services in Jamaica, working on information technology contracts for companies in the Caribbean, the U.K. and the U.S. SERVICE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES Dr. Michael McLain of Rhodes College asks ACS faculty to bring service learning opportunities in Honduras to the attention of their students. The program in Honduras, a continuation of a series of programs there, will be held in May and June, 1999. Dr. McLain reports student participants in these summer programs have found them "transforming." Many students report that they are considerably altering their career and life plans as a result of these experiences. As part of these programs, students participate in a significant service venture while in the field. In addition, they conduct academic work arranged as independent study from their home campus. Faculty are urged to contact Dr. McLain directly for more information at mmclain@rhodes.edu. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MOVES TO SUMMER TERM The consortium has moved its successful sustainable development program, held in Costa Rica, from Spring term to Summer term, with the next program to be offered from May 29 to June 30, 1999. The program leaders strongly encourage ACS faculty to alert students to the schedule change. The program has a multi-disciplinary focus, dealing with political, economic, environmental and other aspects of Costa Rica, while also offering instruction in Spanish. Student evaluations have been very positive. The faculty directors of the program all feel that ACS students should avail themselves of this unusual opportunity. Faculty are asked to give their students the following names and numbers for more information: Dr. Robin Gottfried of University of the South, 615-598-1243 or rgottfri@sewanee.edu; Dr. Charlie Brocket of University of the South, 615-598-1294 or cbrocket@sewanee.edu; and Dr. Barry Allen of Rollins, 407-646-2647 or ballen@rollins.edu. LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES SYMPOSIUM Numerous ACS faculty and students are expected to participate in the seventh annual Latin American Studies Symposium at Birmingham-Southern College. The dates are April 23-24, 1999. Last year, eight ACS institutions sent faculty or student participants, and this year the conference director, Dr. Gama Perucci of Birmingham-Southern College, hopes for even more. In addition to inviting faculty to attend and make presentations, we ask them to bring students to participate and/or make presentations as well. It is expected that the papers will be published electronically through the ACS. The Latin American studies group, organized by Dr. Perucci, is one of the most active groups in the consortium. Faculty taking part in this initiative are contemplating numerous other cooperative ventures through ACS, such as cooperative research, more extensive electronic communication among Latin American studies faculty, and faculty development seminars overseas, to name only a few. Dr. Perucci invites interested faculty to join the planning process for the future. He may be reached at 205/226-4836 or las@bsc.edu. REGISTER NOW FOR SUMMER TEACHING WORKSHOP With the deadline of February 1, 1999, faculty are urged to consider asking their academic deans to nominate them for the 1999 Summer Teaching and Learning Workshop at Rollins College. The dates for the workshop are June 8-13, 1999. The focus is on an intense micro-teaching experience, with additional sessions on specific topics of special interest to participants. Faculty are urged to talk to previous participants or their academic deans for further information, or they can call the ACS office at 404-636-9533. Birmingham-Southern College recently opened The Interactive Museum (TIM) to the public. The three story environmental center contains a Giant Commode Slide, a shaking Ozone Car, and a Garbage Weight Lifting Room. It also houses a multimedia auditorium which can be used for group meetings. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has named Dr. Dana Kress of Centenary College the 1998-99 Louisiana Professor of the Year. He is among the state and national winners announced by the Foundation's U.S. Professors of the Year program, which recognizes extraordinary dedication to teaching, commitment to students and innovative teaching methods. Denise White has been named director of diversity education for Centre College. She will assist the college with education about the value of diversity; recruitment of students, faculty and staff; and support and counsel for students. Centre College artist and teacher, Sheldon Tapley, was featured in an exhibition that opened October 3 in New York's prestigious Tatistchell gallery. The show encompasses 13 of Tapley's pastel still lifes, including some for sale and others that were borrowed from private collections in New York, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Two members of the Furman University chemistry faculty have been awarded Cottrell College Science Awards to support their research projects. Dr. Timothy W. Hanks, an associate professor of chemistry, received $22,600 for his study of the construction of nanoporous organic solids, and Dr. Jeffrey T. Petty, an assistant professor of chemistry, was awarded $43,000 for his research on liposome confinement for investigating single molecule dynamics. Dr. John F. Wheeler, an assistant professor of chemistry at Furman University, was selected as a member of the Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the 21st Century Class of 1998. Founded in 1989, Project Kaleidoscope is an informal national alliance of individuals, institutions and organizations committed to strengthening undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering and technology education. U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) was the keynote speaker for " Sustainability and the Liberal Arts," a national conference at Hendrix College on October 4-7. Faculty members from ACS and several faculty from other institutions attended a series of discussions and lectures examining how colleges can help prepare future leaders to deal with the issues of sustainability in a global environment. Two central Florida foundations, the Bert W. Martin Foundation and the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation, donated $1 million to Rollins College, moving the institution closer to realizing its dream of a new $10.1 million state-of-the-art athletic facility. The 73,500 square-foot Harold & Ted Alfond Sports Center, as it will be called, is named for the Rollins parent and his son who provided a $3 million challenge grant to the college in 1996 to launch the project. Dr. Blake Morant, associate professor of law at Washington and Lee University, has accepted an invitation from Harry L. Carico, Chief justice of Virginia, to serve on the Gender Bias Task Force for the Virginia court system. Morant is one of 23 people from the commonwealth who will serve on the task force, which will research and document areas of gender bias in the court system and recommend ways to raise the consciousness and sensitivity of judges, lawyers and court personnel to gender issues in the court system. Dr. Jimmy D. Kandeh, associate professor of political science at University of Richmond, has been awarded a sabbatical fellowship from the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. The grant, to be administered by the University of Richmond, will support Kandeh's project "Coups from Below: the Militariat and State Power in West Africa."
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