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While Arcadia’s programming in Cuba has ramped up rapidly over the last year, the initial groundwork has been years in the making, coming to fruition through connections, tenacity, existing strengths in global education and in some way, a bit of luck and good timing.

Warren Haffar, dean of International Affairs at Arcadia, credits Pam Martin-Molina, a 2003 graduate of Arcadia’s master’s program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, with opening doors for Arcadia in Cuba. Martin-Molina had traveled there many times with her Cuban-born husband and had seen the effects of the embargo on the island nation. She envisioned creating a non-government organization to facilitate dialog between the two countries, and after graduating from Arcadia, founded Molimar Export Consultants to work with companies selling agricultural and medical supplies to Cuba. When federal regulations “opened up” two years ago, said Haffar, Martin-Molina helped Arcadia make the necessary connections, including finding its educational partner, the University of Havana’s Center for U.S. and Hemispheric Studies. In addition to Martin-Molina’s advocacy, Arcadia was able to capitalize on its existing global education infrastructure to seize this unique opportunity.

Since administrators made their first trip to Cuba in November 2011, the program has blossomed with opportunities for faculty from Arcadia and other universities as well as students interested in both semester-long and short-term programming. In March 2012, the first cadre of 20 students traveled to the island on Arcadia’s week-long Preview program, a global immersion trip that sends 450 Arcadia first-year and transfer students to 21 different destinations in 16 countries. It includes a week of field study embedded in an eight-week course to give the students a sense of place. On the Cuba Preview trip, students compared and contrasted the perception of Cuba in the media and in reality. Faculty noticed that students who went on this trip were much more politicized about U.S. imperialism and Cuban sovereignty during the global expo that follows the Preview excursions.

Three months later, 20 faculty (half from Arcadia) across various disciplines (art, political science, English, sociology, fashion and design, history, anthropology, gender studies) embarked on a week-long faculty development program under the leadership of Dr. John Noakes, associate provost for Faculty Advancement and Student Learning, to study the complexities of a nation undergoing transition. Faculty formed connections for applied research and collaborative projects, including an art collaboration between Arcadia and Penn State University professors and the documentation of several previously undocumented flora and fauna in Cuba by Arcadia’s Scott Rawlins, professor of art and design. As part of their arrangement with the University of Havana, Cuban Political Scientist Raul Rodriquez spent several weeks at Arcadia during fall 2012 and other faculty exchanges are planned.

This spring Arcadia’s College of Global Studies sent the first group of 15 students for a semester-long program. In addition to core courses, students round out the co-curricular experience with service learning and cultural projects. One student is teaching free fitness classes at a local synagogue, and others are teaching and tutoring students in English, critical thinking and critical writing at a local Catholic charity. Many are turning their regional interests into co-curricular learning certificates, such as the student who is studying urban farming after witnessing the unique juxtaposition of a man selling flowers from a goat-led cart in downtown Havana amongst high rises and international hotels.

Francisco Aragon-Guiller, program manager for Cuba, said that many of the students have had previous international experiences, which prepares them to accept limited resources, including technology we take for granted.

“A 56K Internet connection is available in a handful of international hotels and at a rate of $6 per hour,” he said.

Unreliable internet connections mean Cuba’s residents connect face-to-face rather than on Facebook. Combined with their genuine fascination with foreigners, students can easily learn more about Cuban community and culture.

Haffar said, “The U.S. has a lot of learning to do about Cuba. Geographically it is so close, yet so far away.”

Arcadia hopes to foster understanding between the two nations, and that includes looking at U.S. – Cuba relations through Cuba’s point-of-view, which students do in one of the core courses of the semester-long program. Ana Maria Garcia, Arcadia’s chair of sociology and coordinator of the Cuba short-term program, left her childhood home in Cuba 50 years ago when she was 6 years old. When she visited for the first time last year, some former neighbors knew who she was, and she realized that many Cubans still think about life in the pre-revolution era, while living in the revolutionary period and trying to grasp where the country is now headed.

“Cuba is in an interesting spot where they have to figure out how to maintain a socialist society while competing in a global economy,” said Garcia.

Haffar has several goals for Arcadia’s involvement in Cuba, including the development of a research agenda, more service learning opportunities and a baseball series in Cuba for Arcadia’s team. But perhaps most importantly, he hopes Arcadia can play a key role in educating Americans about our nearby neighbor.

Meanwhile, Arcadia is setting its sights on other parts of the globe as well.  An emerging relationship with the University in Sierra Leone, for example, promises opportunities for students and faculty in that West African nation.  In both initiatives, Cuba and Sierra Leone, the objectives are the same, to comprehensively engage students and faculty in meaningful and applied field study that crosses disciplinary boundaries to better understand the world in which we live and the skill sets to contribute positively to it.

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Sometimes innovative teaching means hiring a sniper and being left behind on the battlefield. But it’s all worth it for Valparaiso University Assistant Professor Amy Atchison who pondered how best to teach International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and its disheartening history of violations to her students.  Thinking that active learning might work, Atchison reached out to the Red Cross, which serves as the repository for IHL. They responded with the Raid Cross activities, which allowed Atchison to give the students a context for IHL violations and ease the intensity of the material with inventive exercises.

For many of the activities, Atchison divided the 15-student class into opposing factions in a simulated war. In one exercise, she taped pictures of targets – some military, others civilian or cultural – to bottles and cans. Students were given ammunition (balls, Nerf guns) and had to decide which targets to pursue. Students knew IHL prohibited them from attacking civil and cultural targets, but they hit them anyway, either because they were close to a military target or out of retaliation for an opponent’s move. Each team had either a soccer ball or a football as a nuclear weapon, and both sides used them.

In another exercise students had to triage wounded from a battlefield. They knew that IHL dictated the most critical be moved first, even if that meant moving an enemy soldier before evacuating one’s own soldier. Atchison participated in this exercise as the most wounded soldier on the battlefield. But she was an enemy soldier, and she was the last to be put on a stretcher.

The humanitarian aid activity required additional space and outside help as teams of five were required to bypass a sniper and outwit a corrupt border guard in order to retrieve humanitarian aid for their village. In an on-campus ballroom, Atchison drew upon a former army ranger turned faculty member as a consultant for the obstacle course. Students from outside of class played the roles of sniper and guard, and the theatre department created a platform for the sniper. Students retrieving aid were “caught” if the sniper yelled the color pinned to their shirts. The teams did well, said Atchison. They were clever and competitive, often using team members to distract the guard and the sniper while the others retrieved the aid.

Violations of IHL were rampant throughout these activities, which might leave one dismayed about the mentality of undergraduate students, but in reality war crimes are often committed anytime, anywhere, and by any army. And that was precisely what Atchison hoped each student would understand by semester’s end.

“They saw how easy it is to commit war crimes, and understand why they happen even when people know better,” said Atchison. “By the end, the students also wanted each other to be held accountable for the violations; the exercises gave them insight into why there is such a pressing need for the prosecution of war crimes.”

The students staged trials for each IHL violation, ultimately convicting Atchison as the commander responsible for the sniper attacks and convicting themselves for the artillery violations; however they dismissed the battlefield triage incident since the latter is a violation of IHL, but not technically a war crime.  Students had two assignments in addition to the final. Each wrote a paper on one area of interest within IHL.  And, Atchison approached Santa Clara University Professor of Law Beth Van Schaack, now Deputy to U.S. Ambassador-At-Large for War Crimes Issues in the U.S. State Department's Office of Global Criminal Justice, for assistance with an exercise in which students negotiated a draft treaty on the creation of an International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Acts of Terrorism (ITPAT). Lastly, students determined if Israel is violating IHL in Palestinian regions in the final written exam.

Atchison achieved her goals for the IHL course, and her outreach to the Red Cross has led to other projects. Currently she is collaborating with them on a paper about teaching IHL to undergraduate students, and the Red Cross has asked Valpo to participate in a pilot program that engages students to teach IHL to their peers.  She is planning a peer-educator workshop for the pilot in the fall, and has applied for a grant that will allow her to bring Red Cross student volunteers from Bradley University to Valpo for the workshop.

“A recent Red Cross survey indicates that American youth are undereducated about the Geneva Conventions—the basis for IHL—and they are also comfortable with acts that are violations of IHL,” said Atchison.  “Our hope is that the peer-education program will start to change both of those things.”

Photo taken during the tour at DSS, where students were able to meet/talk to the residents at the women's long term care facility.

During their trip, the students and faculty were able to exchange cultural and medical philosophies and treatments. Nazareth students were taught by Kerala students how to practice the healing treatments of an ancient medical philosophy called Ayurveda. During this process of evaluation, the patient is assessed based upon their very nature and how they function as individuals. Holistic models of care such as this are often taught at Nazareth as students are prepared for their future in the medical field.

Impromptu interaction with locals that were setting up for a Theyyam festival. Jones said, "The children were always drawn to us, especially to have us take their photos and then show them on our phones."

“Nazareth is unique among physical therapy schools because we provide free on-campus clinics that allow students to get real experience and sharpen their clinical skills while providing a service to our local community,” said physical therapy student Glynis Jones, ’14. “While in India, it was great to be able to apply our knowledge in a foreign country as well.” 

In addition, students had the unique opportunity to work hand in hand with local physiotherapists at Lourde Hospital to co-treat patients who had suffered strokes.  Bridging cultural and language barriers, the students were able demonstrate how an ankle brace or wrapping could help the patients in their daily lives.

Jones practicing a technique called Shirodhara, an oil massage to the head, on a classmate acting as a patient.

“After we got one of the patients walking, he tapped my shoulder and when I looked up he was smiling at us and trying to express to us that he liked it. It is awesome to think that an intervention that we regularly use in the U.S. can be so helpful to someone else,” said Staci Dudden ‘14. 
 
The students also visited several sites operated by the missionary sisters of Dina Sevana Sabha (DSS) and Lourde Institute for Allied Health Sciences (LIAHS), which provide homes for men, women and children with disabilities. Equipment such as canes, crutches and bands were provided by generous donors from Rochester, N.Y. including Monroe Wheelchair and Hanger, Inc. (a prosthetics and orthotics company).

Nazareth plans to open a clinic in partnership with LIAHS to provide physical therapy for those living in rural villages. While Nazareth College and LIAHS shared the goal of forging an international partnership in health through the trip, they all left feeling a far greater emotional reward. Chris Mitchell, ’14 reflected, “While time, effort, and lots of sweat were given and invested, you quickly understood that you gained the world in satisfaction and truly felt wholeness afterwards.”

Dr. Collins said, “As we toured the many different facilities run by the sisters of DSS, held hands of elderly ladies who haven’t been out of bed in years, listened to young girls with developmental disabilities sing and dance for us, and looked into the eyes of many people who simply wanted a smile and a hug, I knew we were doing the right thing at the right time in the right place. We were all brought together for a purpose – to care for others and one another.”

With civic engagement as a core component of the NAC&U mission, we proudly congratulate our 15 members who were recently named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Nazareth College was one of only five institutions nationwide to receive the Presidential Award, the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. John Carroll University, Stetson University and Widener University were among 14 finalists for the Presidential Award. Belmont University, University of Redlands, Valparaiso University and Wagner College were named to the Honor Roll with Distinction. Hamline University, Ithaca College, North Central College, Pacific Lutheran University, The University of Scranton, University of Evansville and Westminster College were listed on the Honor Roll. The Honor Roll included 690 institutions, only 113 of them named with Distinction.

Top award winner Nazareth College has made the Honor Roll every year since its inception in 2006, twice named with Distinction, a feat that isn’t surprising for an institution that has begun every fall orientation with a day of service for the past 21 years and includes an experiential learning requirement in its core curriculum. Nazareth, recognized for its commitment to Early Childhood Education, highlighted its partnership with Discovery Charter School (DCS), a newly opened elementary charter school where the students are primarily from urban areas. Nazareth College students were able to provide curricular and co-curricular service hours in DCS through the Horizons at Nazareth program, as well as a service learning course through the Department of Inclusive Childhood Education and the Partners for Learning program. Undergraduate and graduate students provided DCS students with academic support year round. All students focused on developing on-going relationships with and working to reduce the achievement gap for K-3 children at DCS. 

Honor Roll with Distinction member Belmont University makes a similar commitment to help local students attend college. It recently announced its Bridges to Belmont program which will cover funding (beyond local and state assistance) for 25 local students to attend Belmont, an opportunity nearby school director said would be “life-changing” for those selected. Belmont also sponsors an ACT prep course and a Homework Hotline to tutor K-12 students via telephone. Beyond the local schools, Belmont student entrepreneurs focus on service projects that benefit the local and global communities. Team projects through Belmont ENACTUS (formerly SIFE) include PhilanthroTeach, which to date has provided job readiness training for more than 500 local unemployed and economically disadvantaged citizens, and Spring Back Recycling, a nonprofit that employs formerly homeless or incarcerated workers in recycling mattresses. Spring Back’s success has led to the licensing of a similar program in Colorado, and five other states are currently interested. 
                                                                                     
Building a Culture of Service
Over the last decade, Presidential Award finalist Widener University has steadily increased its community service in Chester, Penn., an economically challenged city where the institution is located. Widener’s outreach has addressed many community needs, leading to the establishment of the state’s first university-based charter school, a college access center, a free nursing clinic, and a model physical therapy clinic serving low-income residents. The university ensures continuous outreach by linking students' community service to scholarship money through such initiatives and the Presidential Service Corp/Bonner Leaders Program, and fostering community-based work among faculty. Fellow Presidential Award finalist Stetson University is also structured to promote community service among its students. Its Bonner Scholars and Leaders Program provides 60 students with scholarships in exchange for at least eight hours of community-based work weekly from each student. In addition, Stetson law students are required to complete at least 60 hours of pro-bono work before graduation. Stetson also awards a Certificate of Community Engagement to students who complete four units of coursework, at least 100 hours of voluntary community service and a capstone essay. Last year the first certificate was awarded to student Linh Tran who logged nearly 1,300 hours of community service, most of them by providing assistance and tutoring at a local elementary school.

“Within NAC&U, there never seems to be a shortage of wonderful stories about student and faculty service to their local and global communities,” said NAC&U President Nancy Hensel. “I’m so proud of our members for supporting this type of continuous outreach. Not only does it strengthen communities, but it instills important values in our graduates while giving them the confidence that their efforts will make a difference.”

Higher education’s role in educating entrepreneurs has come a long way in Belmont University Professor Jeff Cornwall’s career. In the 1970s, when the idea of entrepreneurship as a major was emerging, Cornwall started businesses as a college student. His grandfather and father were entrepreneurs, so it came naturally to him. Yet although he was a good student, at least one professor suggested that college wasn’t the place for someone who wanted to start and grow businesses.

Today there are thousands of programs for entrepreneurs, including the nationally recognized one at Belmont that Cornwall, now the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship, was recruited to build in 2003. Recently named Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), NAC&U asked Cornwall about the factors that help entrepreneurs to succeed.

Cited among the top programs in the country – Fortune magazine featured them among five schools to consider for entrepreneurship in 2010 – Belmont produces a high number of graduates that go on to start their own businesses, compared to many other top-ranked programs. Cornwall said that Belmont’s characteristics attract and foster the kind of student that wants to start a business. For one thing, Belmont’s smaller size allows them to be more student-centered, and that results in strong relationships between faculty mentors and students which often continue after graduation. Faculty also keep close tabs on economic, political and cultural trends and build their findings into the curriculum. Since undergraduates tend to have a rosy outlook, said Cornwall, Belmont works to ensure they have realistic expectations.

The tipping point for Belmont students’ success might be that the program is highly experiential with many curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students. Cornwall is the director of Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship which fosters several student-run, on-campus businesses by offering coaching, space and resources, such as accounting and legal clinics. There is a Hatchery for new businesses and an Accelerator for those that are growing. The campus also has two businesses – Feedback Clothing Co. and BLVD Music Shop – that are operated by students but not owned by them. Students manage it for a time and then transition it to other students. Cornwall said it’s a good opportunity for students who don’t have their own business ideas.

For those who do have their own ideas, they can vie for prize money in Belmont’s business plan competition. Jonathan Murrell, now a Belmont senior, has started three business ventures (with his brother) as an undergraduate, including mydormfood.com, which won the $5,000 first place prize in 2011. He and his brother used the money to promote their idea, and the business became so successful, they had to move it out of their parents’ basement and into a 1500 square foot warehouse in Nashville. They went on to create two more successful websites and now occupy an even larger warehouse and employ nine staff. Read more about the Murrell brother’s in Cornwall’s blog, The Entrepreneurial Mind.

Statistics indicate that entrepreneurs with formal training have a greater advantage over those without it. Half of all businesses will fail within five years. For graduates of entrepreneur programs, the success rate is closer to 80 to 90 percent.

“This generation thinks differently about careers than my generation did,” said Cornwall, citing a recent Chronicle study that showed about half of college students believed entrepreneurship would factor into their careers. Even for those who do not start their own ventures, graduates have a valuable skill set in that they know how to start and grow a business.

Cathy Ann Trower, research director at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a nationally renowned expert on faculty work/life issues, will speak at this year’s NAC&U Summer Institute. Last June, Trower published “Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction,” based on research that surveyed more than 15,000 tenure-track faculty at 200 institutions. The survey was based on five themes: tenure clarity, work-life balance, support for research, collegiality and leadership. Trower used that data to discuss best practices and provide detailed advice on increasing employee satisfaction in her book.

This year’s Summer Institute will be held June 19 – 21 at The University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. Registration information will be available in April.

When NAC&U Board Chair and Wagner College President Richard Guarasci describes 2013 Boyer Award winner Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, he says she is courageous and graceful, a leader in the best sense of the word and someone with a big vision who fights through criticism to put forth ideas that she believes are important to American higher education.

“Carol always had a big vision, even when she first came to AAC&U,” said Guarasci.

From 1992-2002, Schneider led AAC&U’s national initiative on higher education and pluralism, “American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy and Liberal Learning,” which asserted that colleges and universities had a duty to make education accessible to all members of society, and only by doing so would America have a true democracy. Despite resistance to this idea, Schneider and her AAC&U colleagues led a decade-long effort, supported by many foundations, to make the study of diversity – U.S. and global –a core component of the expected college curriculum. Guarasci recalled that campuses applied to send study groups to two-week, intensive summer institutes where participants would study volumes of primary sources and scholarly research on diverse communities and their progress in expanding the meaning and application of democracy’s core principles. These campus study groups brought ideas back to their institutions and continued conversations within and across institutions on the interconnections between diversity and democracy. Curricula and requirements were revised, and, over time, campuses became more diverse and more inclusive.

Guarasci also said that Schneider’s other major contributions include her support of civic engagement and liberal education, two areas that resonate within NAC&U. In January 2012, AAC&U published “A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future,” which again examined higher education’s responsibility to democracy and educating all citizens. It argued for the importance of civic engagement and stressed higher education should not merely focus on workforce preparation but rather include civic learning for a diverse and global democracy alongside professional readiness.

Through a current long-term initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP), Schneider has led a multi-pronged effort to engage both higher education and the public with the core educational aims and the  “high impact” educational practices that characterize a high quality 21st century liberal education at its best. Calling liberal education the nation’s premier educational tradition, Schneider has helped “push back” against current tendencies to define education only in narrowly instrumental, “first job” terms. AAC&U has grown from 700 to 1,300 institutional members during Schneider’s tenure, with members coming from all areas including public and private, large and small enrollments, two-year and four-year, and selective and broad access.

“There is a deep connection between the spirit in which liberal education is taught and the capacities that we need as professionals and as citizens,” said Schneider. “Liberal education helps people see that they have responsibilities beyond themselves.”

A Reflection of Ernest Boyer
Certainly Schneider’s contributions to higher education make her a more than worthy recipient of the Ernest Boyer Award, but there is something deeper than that. When asked about Ernest Boyer, Guarasci used many of the same terms he attributed to Schneider. Guarasci recalled Boyer as an outstanding leader with a big vision who was charming, graceful, resilient and purposeful.  

Schneider’s resilience and ability to seek purpose in higher education will help frame the keynote she will deliver at this year’s NAC&U Summer Institute.

“We’ve entered a moment in American higher education where there is a huge amount of hype surrounding the digital revolution’s ability to change everything. As a historian, however, I know that significant changes are long in the making. Successful reforms have deep roots and sources. The digital revolution may change how students are learning but not what they need to learn,” said Schneider.

On being honored with the Ernest Boyer Award, Schneider said that she was both surprised and moved.

“It’s very special when people you admire and work with say thank you with particular enthusiasm,” she said.

When the James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility at Valparaiso University fully opens in spring 2013 it will serve as a center for research into solar thermal chemistry, which converts concentrated sunlight into solar fuels that can be used as a viable energy alternative. In 2011 Scientific American named solar thermal chemistry among the top seven radical solutions that could transform how we use energy.

While the facility will hopefully help researchers improve our future, its creation is strongly rooted in the past. Robert Palumbo, Ph.D., an expert in solar thermal chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering at Valpo, used a solar furnace as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota in the late 1980s. The furnace was ultimately deconstructed, but Palumbo kept the 306 mirrors from its concentrator, and they are now on Valpo’s concentrator. Also, the majority of the solar furnace associated with the facility was designed, manufactured and built by Valpo students, which mirrors a time in the 1940s when engineering students constructed a building to accommodate and revitalize Valpo’s four-year engineering program.

Scott Duncan, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering at Valpo, said that they could have brought in an outside firm to build the solar furnace  but felt it was important to give the students the opportunity to work on the design and manufacturing of a real-world project. More than 30 students have worked on the solar furnace that is the heart of the research facility, through summer internships (earning free housing and a stipend), as workers throughout the year (working for money or research credit) and through a year-long senior design course. Students have worked alongside Duncan, Palumbo and Shahin Nudehi, Ph.D., an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Valpo.

The solar furnace is one of only five in the United States and the only one at an undergraduate institution. It has a heliostat to track the sun, a concentrator to focus the sun's energy to a point, and a reactor where the solar electrochemical reaction occurs. A louver assembly controls the amount of sunlight that enters the concentrator, and a special table positions the reactor and other important instrumentation at the concentrator focal point. Valpo engineering students designed, manufactured and assembled the concentrator, reactor table and louvers. They also created the electrical systems that power the louvers and reactor table, and participated in the development of the program that controls motors for the reactor table, louvers and heliostat.

When the facility opens, it will serve as a center for faculty and undergraduate research across disciplines including electrical and mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics, and materials testing. Projects will be focused on solar thermal chemistry and include converting water into hydrogen and zinc oxide into zinc. Funding has come from several places – the United States Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, individuals who are concerned about finding clean energy alternatives, and those who want to ensure that Valpo students gain real-world experience.

While the research is important to the field, Duncan feels that Valpo’s unique environment, in being undergraduate only, allows it to engage undergraduate students working closely with faculty to truly make a meaningful contribution early in their careers.

At the upcoming AAC&U Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga., to be held from January 23-26, 2013, The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U) will present the 2013 Boyer Award to Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, for her passion and dedication to liberal arts, civic engagement and high impact learning practices.

The Boyer Award honors the legacy of Ernest L. Boyer by recognizing an individual whose achievements in higher education exemplify Boyer’s quest – and the collective mission of NAC&U members – for connecting theory to practice and thought to action, in and out of the classroom. As stated by Boyer: “We emphasize this commitment to community not out of a sentimental attachment to tradition, but because our democratic way of life and perhaps our survival as a people rest on whether we can move beyond self-interest and begin to understand better the realities of our dependence on each other."

Schneider was instrumental in the founding of NAC&U and has spent much of her career advancing and strengthening liberal education. Since Schneider was named executive vice president of AAC&U in 1988, the organization has become widely recognized as both a voice and force for strengthening the quality of student learning in college for all students and especially those historically underserved in U.S. higher education. AAC&U is working with hundreds of colleges and universities and numerous state systems to expand the benefits of liberal education across the entire curriculum, through new integration between the core outlines of liberal education and student learning in their major fields.

Following the presentation of the Boyer Award Schneider will speak about the priorities we need to set now, in an era of student swirl, disruptive innovations, and the urgent needs of the global commons in a session titled “Give Students a Compass:  Liberal Learning, Educational Innovations, and the Global Commons.”

Present and past leaders from NAC&U will also present several sessions at the AAC&U conference. “How Do We Build an Improved and Successful Business Model in Support of Campus-Based Undergraduate Education?” will be an open conversation with audience participation to discuss the critical issues of learning, value and cost embedded in building an effective and sustainable business model for campus-based undergraduate education. Topics to be discussed include affordability, access, productivity, cost sharing, collaboration, learning outcomes, faculty and staff roles, pedagogy of social media, online learning including MOOC’s, and the explicit, measurable outcomes from campus and co-curricular learning.

Panelists include Richard Guarasci, president, Wagner College; Bobby Fong, president, Ursinus College; Mark Heckler, president, Valparaiso University; Devorah Lieberman, president, University of La Verne; and Timothy White, chancellor, University of California, Riverside.

“Preparing and Evaluating 21st Century Faculty: Aligning Expectations, Competencies and Rewards” will address the challenges associated with ensuring that faculty, departments, and institutions are prepared to successfully meet the numerous responsibilities and complexities associated with 21st century higher education.  The panelists will offer concrete solutions to the following questions:

• What is the role of faculty development within the context of the ever-growing demands of 21st century higher education?  
• How might academic departments be organized to leverage the strengths of individual faculty members, ensure that departmental goals align with and contribute to institutional missions and initiatives, and maintain a strong focus on student learning?
• What are reasonable approaches to faculty hiring, development, reward, and promotion, given the extent to which faculty workload has expanded over the last several decades?   

Moderated by Nancy Hensel, president, New American Colleges and Universities, the panelists include Bridget Newell, associate provost for diversity and global learning, Westminster College; Terry Weiner, provost, The Sage Colleges; Richard A. Gillman, assistant provost for faculty affairs, Valparaiso University; and Lily McNair, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Wagner College.

Additional sessions from NAC&U members include:

• Janice Voltzow, professor and chair, department of biology, The University of Scranton, will join others for a session on “Collaborative Space: Is it Worth It? Measuing the Impact in Quantitative Terms."
• Marina Barnett, associate professor of social work, Widener University, will join other faculty leaders in Project Pericles for a discussion on “Linking Classrooms, Campuses, Communities, and Colleagues via Social and Civic High Engagement Learning.”
• Leela Madhavarau, special advisor to the president and associate dean of campus diversity and inclusion, University of Redlands, will join others for a session titled “Designing Summer Bridge Programs.”
• Anne Love, associate provost for assessment, Wagner College will join others to discuss “Using Evidence to Promote Engaged Learning and Student Well-being.”
  

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The Teagle Foundation has awarded The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U) a $150,000 grant for a project that will identify new approaches to build on the core values of a liberal education in a residential setting and prepare students for productive and successful careers. When the project, “Preparing 21st Century Students through New Visions for Faculty Evaluation, Campus Governance and Curriculum,” is completed, NAC&U hopes to have, among other outcomes, a curriculum development map that shows the integration of liberal and professional studies and emphasizes general education and disciplinary learning outcomes.

“Driven by our collective mission to promote the integration of liberal arts, professional studies and civic engagement, NAC&U members are well-positioned to proactively respond to changes in higher education,” said Richard Guarasci, NAC&U board chair and president of Wagner College. “We have always been focused on producing graduates who are prepared for the lives ahead of them, and this grant allows us to examine how we can achieve those outcomes and share them with other institutions.”

Rising concerns about the cost of higher education and the availability of jobs after graduation have led students and parents to focus on degrees geared toward particular professions. But a 2010 survey of employers conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) found that employers are looking for learning outcomes emphasized in a liberal education. More than 75 percent of those surveyed stated that colleges should place more emphasis in the following areas: written and oral communication, critical thinking and analytic reasoning, complex problem solving and ethical decision making.1

By successfully integrating liberal education and professional studies, students and families can be assured they are getting the full value of the time and money spent on obtaining a college degree. This integration is a hallmark of NAC&U institutions.

At Wagner College, faculty in professional programs and in the liberal arts partner to teach the first year learning communities. Faculty in business, nursing, and education, for example, have partnered very successfully with faculty in the liberal arts to develop innovative learning communities that synthesize liberal arts and professional studies. Another NAC&U member, Westminster College, has identified a set of college-wide learning goals that are grounded in the liberal arts and represent the skills and attributes critical to the success of its graduates. These learning goals are integrated throughout the liberal education core and are reinforced in the curriculum of both liberal arts and professional programs of the college. In addition, Westminster has developed several cross-disciplinary majors that also connect and integrate liberal and professional education, including Arts Administration (Art, Theater, Music, Business and Communication); Public Health (Humanities, Social Science, Life Sciences, Communication, Nursing, Statistics and Informatics, and Business); International Business (Business, Economics, Political Science, and Foreign Language); and the Master of Arts in Community Leadership (Communication, Speech, Business, Public Health, and Education).

“NAC&U members already have all of the pieces in place to promote the type of integration of liberal arts education and professional preparation that today’s employer’s demand and tomorrow’s graduates need,” said Mark A. Heckler, NAC&U board vice chair and president of Valparaiso University. “Our NAC&U institutions have an abundance of successful programs that accomplish these goals, our campus sizes are small enough to allow for effective interaction, and as a consortium our institutions have a long history of knowledge-sharing and dedication to best practices.”

Sixteen members of the national consortium will participate in this project. They are Arcadia University, Belmont University, Hamline University, Hampton University, John Carroll University, Nazareth College, Pacific Lutheran University, Samford University, The Sage Colleges, The University of Scranton, University of Evansville, University of Redlands, Valparaiso University, Wagner College, Westminster College and Widener University. This current project will implement goals outlined in NAC&U’s previous Teagle-funded project, “Preparing and Evaluating 21st Century Faculty: Aligning Expectations, Competencies, and Rewards.”

About The Teagle Foundation
The Teagle Foundation provides leadership for liberal education, mobilizing the intellectual and financial resources that are necessary if today's students are to have access to a challenging and transformative liberal education. The Foundation's commitment to such education includes its grantmaking to institutions of higher education across the country, its long-established scholarship program for the children of employees of ExxonMobil, and its work helping economically disadvantaged young people in New York City—where the Foundation is based—gain admission to college and succeed once there.

1
Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn, a survey of employers conducted for AAC&U by Hart Research Associates (2010).  Retrieved at http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/MoreEmphasis_2010.pdf.

Experiential learning is a key component for students at New American Colleges and Universities, but aspiring leaders in NAC&U are finding that it applies to their careers as well. Liz Rihl-Lewinsky, executive director of federal aid programs and financial aid systems, at Arcadia University, and Deborah Garrison, dean of the school of nursing at Widener University, are among only 24 people participating in the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Senior Leadership Academy this year. The program, which prepares mid-level administrators for senior leadership positions, requires participants to engage in experiential learning that helps them examine issues from an institutional perspective. Participants are able to tailor the experiential learning component for areas that they wish to develop.

“So far it’s been a catalyst to branch out on campus, driving me to look at decision-making through an institutional lens,” said Rihl-Lewinsky.

Rihl-Lewinsky was accustomed to learning about a new program at the point when enrollment management, the department in which she works, was asked to market it rather than seeing how that program came to fruition. Now that she attends meetings and interacts with people she otherwise wouldn’t see, she has a university-wide view of how enrollment management, academic affairs, student affairs and advancement intersect. It’s also given her insight into how new initiatives align with the institution’s strategic plan and mission.

The program has enabled Rihl-Lewinsky to become more familiar with certain aspects of the institution, particularly in relation to the academic side. For example, gaining insight into curricular assessment and the new program approval process has been eye-opening, but perhaps more importantly, she better appreciates how important it is for units to collaborate rather than working independently in silos. For Garrison, who comes from the academic side, it’s given her insight into a wide range of campus functions, including government relations, enrollment management and university-wide budget planning for things such as building depreciation. Both women said that previously they approached budgets only from a unit level but now understand budgeting and decision-making from an institutional view.

Focusing Inward While Looking Outward
As dean of the school of nursing, Garrison had experience fundraising for a new building. And while that experience was a good one, the time and attention required to do it successfully led her to put aside her own professional development. What she appreciates most is that Widener really encourages employees to grow professionally. In what she calls a “rigorous ongoing performance dialogue,” she said that President Jim Harris’ philosophy is that everyone should develop themselves to the best of their abilities.

Widener offered Garrison several programs from which to choose, but she chose CIC’s because it would give her an individualized, year-long learning plan that would result in true growth.

The program kicked off in September with the development of experiential learning plans with on-campus mentors. Rihl-Lewinsky and Garrison meet monthly with their mentors and participate in monthly conference calls with CIC Program Director Ann Hasselmo.  And while much of the learning happens experientially, there are two intensive seminars – one which just took place in early November and another in June to conclude the program. Both women said the recent conference in San Antonio was an “intense” three days that covered many topics relevant to senior leadership, such as transitioning from faculty to administration and the importance of collaboration within the president’s cabinet. Some sessions were quite tactical, including an exercise in which participants had to prioritize a bulging email inbox from the viewpoint of various cabinet-level positions in a limited amount of time.

While Rihl-Lewinsky does not have her eye on a vice president level position yet, the program spurs participants to start thinking in that mindset. The true benchmark, said Garrison, is that we start to think from an institutional perspective.

“This has helped me to think through where I can best contribute,” Garrison said.

It is also forging a stronger relationship between the universities and the CIC participants, as they are assured of the university’s commitment to growth. Participants must be nominated, and in both cases it began with the presidents, both Harris at Widener and Tobey Oxholm at Arcadia.  

Rihl-Lewinsky felt honored to have received Oxholm’s endorsement for the program.

“He’s a wonderful cheerleader for all of us at Arcadia, and he takes the time to express his appreciation for even the small things. As a leader, that’s crucial,” said Rihl-Lewinsky.

Garrison added, “One day, I would love to be a college president and accomplish what Jim has accomplished in this community.”

While the CIC Leadership Academy participants are growing through experiential learning on their own campuses, Dawn Hiles, vice president of enrollment management at Drury University, is engaged in an off-campus experience that will enrich her leadership capabilities. As one of only 57 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows for the 2012-13 academic year,  Hiles hopes that the program will expand on the skills she brings to her current role at Drury.

Through the ACE Fellows program, participants “immerse themselves in the culture, policies and decision-making processes of another institution.” After Hiles was accepted, she made a list of 12 potential hosts and interviewed with three of them. She chose Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., because of its outstanding reputation. In addition, being three and half hours away from Drury, its proximity gave her a great deal of flexibility and even allowed her to attend the weekend launch of WashU’s capital campaign. There are year-long and semester-long tracks for the fellowship, but Hiles is completing a total of 12 weeks spread out over two semesters so that she can continue to work at Drury.

“The program is a rich experience in a short amount of time,” she said.

Hiles is the first ACE Fellow that WashU has hosted, and Chancellor Mark Wrighton and Chief of Staff Robert Wild are serving as her mentors.  She will work on four different projects over the course of the year. So far she has completed work on the Delmar Loop, an $80 million mixed-use housing project combining student housing with retail, a venture whose size and scope is beyond what Hiles would experience at Drury. Currently she is working with the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, which is WashU’s civic engagement center. The last two projects scheduled for the spring relate to the Medical School and the Skandalaris Center.

ACE Fellows are encouraged to expand contacts in higher education, both here and abroad. Hiles feels fortunate to have spent an afternoon with David Maxwell, president of Drake University, discussing various topics in higher education. She is also expanding her contacts, both domestic and global, through other ACE Fellows, both current and past. To achieve this, ACE hosts retreats and seminars and suggests that Fellows embark on an international trip during the program. (Hiles’ plans for this are still undecided.).

Just a few months into the program, Hiles already feels as though the wide range of experiences has influenced her decision-making, as she consistently applies situations from her encounters at WashU to her work at Drury.

“Without these experiences, one runs the risk of getting entrenched in only one approach to problem-solving,” Hiles said.

The advantage to the ACE program is that it gives Fellows a broader sense of what is happening in higher education, and Hiles believes that these experiences will help her gain an entrepreneurial approach to the opportunities and challenges within the industry.

“The more information and context you apply to a situation, the better your decisions will be,” she said.

NAC&U members are leaders in promoting learning in and out of the classroom, on and off campus, and home and abroad. So it’s fitting that Stetson University has a program known as Boundless Learning™ and that it’s led by a woman who worked on lifelong learning for a decade at Widener University.

Dr. Emily Richardson arrived at Stetson in March to take on what some might consider a daunting task. As associate vice president for Boundless Learning™, she is responsible for Continuing Education, the Stetson University Center at Celebration, Summer Programs, Summer School and several special university programs. Essentially, her role covers any and all non-traditional learners, including high school students in the recruitment pipeline. But this is what she loves to do.

As a hotel administration professional whose work required frequent moves, Richardson began teaching at Widener in 1989 after she and her husband started a family and decided that uprooting their family was not an option. She enjoyed higher education but missed the administration and management side. When she became dean of Widener’s continuing education college in July 2002, it was a natural fit.

Richardson said there are so many similarities between hotel administration and successful continuing education programs. “It’s relationship building, customer retention, understanding the value differential between competitors and knowing how to appropriately price programs,” she said.

With two campuses and two satellite centers in Central Florida -- the historic DeLand campus, the College of Law in Gulfport/St. Petersburg, the Tampa Law Center in downtown Tampa and the Stetson University Center at Celebration near Orlando – Stetson needed someone to bring together people and ideas in its Boundless Learning™ initiative. Richardson’s role, in many respects, is to facilitate forward momentum in any and all areas of learning primarily for non-traditional students.

Associate Vice President for Boundless Learning Emily Richardson, right, meets with the StetsonLifelong Advisory Board at Celebration Center.

While the job requires her to interact with as many different people across campuses to make sure that ideas are shepherded into implementation, she also hears directly from the consumer. Facilities at the Celebration center were used mainly during evenings and weekends, with valuable classroom space lying idle during weekdays. Fourteen Celebration residents who are retired or nearing retirement reached out for learning opportunities. Beginning this semester, Stetson’s new Lifelong Learning program offers nearly 30 classes to people age 50 and over. Classes are three weeks long, and are about learning for the sake of learning – no books, no tests. To keep costs down, courses are taught by volunteers. Everyone has something to offer, Richardson noted, even if it wasn’t something they got paid to do professionally. For example, there is a man with a strong interest in the Civil War who is teaching a class on Gettysburg. Those who teach receive a membership to cover course fees. More than 100 people registered in the first semester, and Richardson hopes to bring a similar program to the DeLand campus this spring.

Similar to the Lifelong Learning program, Richardson looks to bring successful programs to other Stetson locations. For example, Stetson has a High Achieving Talented Students program (HATS) which brings K-12 students to the DeLand campus. To save some students from traveling so far, Richardson is looking at how Stetson can bring the program closer to students on the other side of Florida.

Sometimes Richardson needs to pull together pieces that are already there. Serving military personnel and veterans is a priority for Stetson, so Richardson put together a task force from across the campuses. It allowed her to see what was already in place, such as a veteran’s clinic at the law school.

“There was so much already going on, but we needed a central place to coordinate it,” she said.

Richardson is also in charge of learning technologies, which affects both traditional and non-traditional students. With the amount of technology available to colleges, Richardson emphasized that it’s important to figure out which technology will improve learning and how to deploy that technology. To achieve that, she has assembled a group to match teaching and learning needs with available technology (and make sure that faculty know it’s available and how to use it).

As her role pulls her into many different directions, Richardson stays focused by remembering one thing – her work needs to reflect the mission, vision and goals of Stetson, and that is to make sure that all students gets a 21st century education.

The 315 miles of the Hudson River give the students at Russell Sage College a lot of ground (and water) to cover in the 15-credit summer course known as the Sage Summer on the Hudson. The integrated course, which is part of the College’s 3-year Discovery Degree, allows students from various disciplines to study the river’s history, research its environmental issues, and explore its influence on art, social issues, politics and economics.

“We use the Hudson River as a lab and as a metaphor,” said Andor Skotnes, history professor and chair of the Department of History and Society at The Sage Colleges.

The course lasts for six weeks, but students begin the readings before they officially meet. They are together six days a week as they travel along, and sometimes in, the Hudson River.

Assignments are as diverse as the places they visit. In New York City they form teams and receive a map of the transit system as well as a list of buildings and places that they must photograph. Sometimes they need to find information, such as the names of the lions in front of the New York Public Library (Patience and Fortitude, by the way). With a little patience and fortitude, students get a sense of the city’s neighborhoods and start to feel comfortable navigating the metropolis. Having them navigate on their own “demystifies the city,” according to Skotnes, and gives them a sense of confidence that they can find their way. Later in the course the same group of students might be chest-deep farther north up the river, collecting samples to analyze for chemical pollution. They also attend the Clearwater Music Festival and examine how the Amtrak line changed the ecology of the river.

Skotnes remarks that the course is so integrated, on most days they can’t even say which particular subject they’ve covered as they tend to look at several aspects of an issue at once. Three of the 15 credits are in environmental biology, but students choose how to apply the other 12 credits.

Skotnes said, “In a powerful way, the course breaks down compartmentalized thinking about disciplines.”

Now in its third year, there are already 30 students interested for next summer. Skotnes says the goal is to have 15 to 30 students as there are four professors who co-teach the course. Course faculty includes Skotnes, Dean Sharon Robinson who has a background in English literature, Michael Musial whose specialty is performing arts, and Toby Michelena, an adjunct professor who is an environmental biologist.

Throughout the course, students keep a photo journal and submit a final research paper that reflects the topics that have been covered in the course. Past work has included a paper on medical facilities at Ellis Island and the role that the Hudson River played in the Underground Railroad. In addition to developing writing and research skills and understanding how disciplines connect to each other, the course also gives the students, many of whom have lived locally prior to enrolling at Sage, a unique view of the Hudson River Valley.

Skotnes remarked, “The course transforms the way they look at the place many have known their whole lives.”

To be a successful, consistent producer of Fulbright winners requires an engaged student body, a dedicated Fulbright advisor and sometimes, even a little help from a maintenance man on campus. At The University of Scranton, 139 students have gone overseas on Fulbright grants. For the seven years that the Institute for International Education has published lists of Top Fulbright Producers, The University of Scranton has been among the top master’s level universities (the 8th list is released later this month). Last year, The University of Scranton was second only to the University of Portland on the top-producing master’s level university list. Fellow NAC&U members Nazareth College and Pacific Lutheran University were also among the top producers.

NAC&U caught up with Dr. Susan Trussler, Scranton’s Fulbright advisor, via phone just as the deadline passed for students to submit final applications for the Fulbright program. To say that her schedule had been jam-packed since the semester started was likely an understatement, but now in her 23rd year as the Fulbright advisor, Trussler seems to take it all in stride, even news that one student decided not to submit his application just two days before his on-campus interview last weekend. Still, there are 13 students applying for Fulbrights this year –  a large number, even for Scranton.

Trussler, a native of Wales who studied at Penn State on a Fulbright grant, believes that many aspects contribute to Scranton’s success. For one thing, Scranton students, much like those throughout NAC&U, have always been active, either in the community and/or with research projects. While the Fulbright program didn’t always require evidence of community engagement, it’s something that Scranton has always emphasized on its applications.

“Historically we have had a good supply of engaged students,” Trussler said. “Those are the ideal applicants.”

She emphasizes to potential applicants that sitting in the library and getting good grades won’t earn a Fulbright.

“They need to excel academically and have a plan for how they are going to integrate into the community in their host country,” she added.

Preparing students for the October submission deadline begins in April with a series of informational sessions that are open to the entire campus community. Many students are already thinking about Fulbright grants even as freshmen and sophomores, partially due to the culture that has built up on campus. Due to the tightknit community, professors will refer students to Trussler, and in other instances, she will send notes to students that she knows would be good applicants. In May, Trussler holds a half-day workshop for about 30 students who are still interested in applying, making a point to invite recent winners or those who are waiting to hear so that potential applicants can see that “regular students win.” Throughout the summer Trussler works closely with the applicant pool, which has gone from 100 students in the April information session to about 20 students who think they want to apply that fall.

Before October, Trussler must also select the campus interview committee that will make sure applications are as comprehensive and compelling as possible as well as test the students’ knowledge of their host countries, including language. Trussler assembles faculty across various fields of study and those with international experience; many are Fulbright winners themselves. At times, it is the language testing that throws a curveball when they have to test a language that is not taught at the university. This year she was fortunate to find a business professor that spoke Vietnamese and an English professor that came to the U.S. on a Fulbright from Hungary. But Trussler may have been most resourceful a few years ago when a student applied to Croatia, and she reached out to a member of the maintenance staff to verify the student’s fluency in the language.

With this year’s major deadline behind her, Trussler can relax, but probably just for a few minutes as her other titles are director of the International Business Program and full-time faculty. Still, you don’t do something for 23 years if you don’t like it. “Advising the Fulbright applicants goes hand-in-hand with my knowledge of international business,” she said, “And I love working with these bright, engaged students.”

Have you ever dreamed of owning an island? Drury University is living the dream and using it to deliver education to its students. Since 2009, Drury has operated Drury Island in Second Life, a virtual world that is free for users.

Steve Hynds, director of online education at Drury, has been teaching online since 2000. In 2009, he and Tessa Melançon, assistant director of online education at Drury, were at a conference exploring ways to more efficiently train faculty for online teaching. But when they discovered Second Life they became interested in its potential with college students. (At the time, Hynds saw how engaged in videogames his 19-year-old son could be.)

Hynds and Melançon were able to convince administration to give it a try based on the fact that it removed the distance barrier for students and allowed real-time learning, demonstrations, role playing, and time travel. He saw it catching on when administrators began manipulating on-screen avatars. Hynds said that people tend to have a real emotional attachment to avatars, and he shared his personal experience when he visited a friend’s residence in Second Life. He directed his avatar to the person’s cove where she kept a boat. Hynds, an avid sailor, stepped aboard the boat and upon going inside, found that the hatch door closed behind him. When he couldn’t figure out how to open it, he began to panic, fearful someone would discover him trespassing. When he finally opened the door, he felt like he had taken a breath of fresh air. While his avatar may have been stuck, Steve had been sitting at his computer the entire time.

Since 2009, Drury has offered five courses in Second Life to its students. Students create avatars and go to Drury Island (which is private) for all classes. The entire course is conducted in Second Life in virtual classroom space that may or may not look like traditional classroom space. Professors and students talk with each other through headsets.

Second Life courses can include lectures, presentations, and virtual field trips. In the Arab-Israeli Conflict course, the professor takes the students to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. You can go virtually anywhere, including the Sistine Chapel. And although you can fly around as a mode of transportation in Second Life, there’s no flying in the hallowed Sistine Chapel. In the Social Psychology course she teaches, Professor Jackie Welborn has the students conduct experiments. She tells them to change their avatar’s gender, race or appearance and then go to the main island (outside of Drury’s island) to see if they are treated differently.

“You’re only limited by your imagination,” said Hynds.

Hynds teaches a training course that students can voluntarily take before enrolling in one of the courses that uses Second Life. While the technology has potential to remove education barriers, such as distance, for adult learners, Drury has found that younger students – digital natives, so to speak – are quicker to embrace Second Life. Adults don’t have time to learn new technology, Hynds suspects.

Hynds predicts that Second Life could have online education potential for NAC&U because it would be easier to get critical mass – something along the lines of 15-20 students total per course – interested in the 3D virtual world technology. Can you visualize a New American island where a student from California learns about the Civil Rights movement from a professor in Alabama as they re-create the walk across the bridge in Selma?

The University of Evansville implemented an immediate freeze on undergraduate tuition. For incoming students who arrive in fall 2013, tuition is guaranteed to remain fixed at its current level for four years. Tuition for returning students will be locked in until those students have completed four years at the University.  

NAC&U asked University of Evansville President Tom Kazee to discuss the consideration that went into the decision as well as the logistics of implementing the plan.

What considerations did UE make when deciding to freeze tuition for current students and incoming students, even those entering next August? 

President Kazee: “Critics have catalogued a variety of perceived failings by colleges and universities, including tuitions rising faster than inflation, a lack of accountability for what students learn, and inadequate preparation for a highly competitive job market.

“As the president of the University of Evansville, I would love to be able to say that these criticisms are without foundation, that the still high respect for American universities is richly deserved.  I could note (and often do) that our higher education institutions continue to be the envy of the world.  But though the critical voices are sometimes shrill and the complaints often overblown, their skepticism contains kernels of truth.

“A weak American economy has drawn particular attention to questions of college affordability and post-graduation outcomes.  It is certainly reasonable for a family to ask whether the substantial financial investment they make in a college education for their children will produce solid returns.

“At UE, we hear such concerns, and we’ve taken a bold step to address them.”

Are there certain measures that UE will have to take, in terms of managing its own budget, now that there won't be tuition increases in the next few years?

President Kazee: “We will, as always, exercise considerable discipline in managing finite resources.  But the key to the success of this approach is to strengthen enrollment so that we can hit our enrollment targets without having to offer ever-increasing amounts of financial aid.”

Is UE anticipating that this will draw more students to the college and thus increase overall tuition collected?

President Kazee: “Although we don’t anticipate substantial enrollment growth, we expect to see some modest and targeted growth in programs of demonstrated strength.  Net revenue growth will come from increased demand for a UE education (driven in part by our commitment to affordability) and spending discipline.”

What new services were added to the Center for Career Development? How did this idea come about -- the idea of meeting with high school students before they have a UE connection?

President Kazee: “The Career Advantage Program is new and offers prospective students the chance to meet with a career advisor on a campus visit. If they choose to take advantage of this opportunity, they’ll be e-mailed a link to take the online “Do What You Are” career assessment and interest inventory prior to their visit; then, once they arrive on campus for a visit, they’ll meet one-on-one with a Center for Career Development professional to begin exploring majors and careers that would be a good fit for them. Previously, this service was only available to current students. The idea of extending it to prospects came about because we realize the importance of starting career preparation early in a challenging job market. 

“We care about where students are going before they even enroll here, and we continue to support them after they graduate. In today’s challenging job market, extensive career preparation and a strong alumni network will give students an advantage as they launch their careers. A UE education is a smart investment now more than ever.

“Another new development is the ACE Certificate (for current students), which certifies that students have demonstrated a set of professional competencies. More details on this program are available here. (ACE is named after the University of Evansville Purple Aces.)

“For alumni, we're also continuing to expand UE Connect, which connects students and recent graduates to a network of engaged UE alumni. This program started last year and has been very successful.”

Will fees, room and board increase at the same rate that they have been increasing over the last 5 years? 

President Kazee: “These components of a student’s cost are not being frozen for four years.  The rates for these services will continue to be measured annually against inflation and costs of operation and adjusted accordingly.”

Hear what UE parents have to say about the tuition freeze.

With a new semester right around the corner, it’s a good time to take a look at exciting new programs starting this fall, including a unique toxicology degree at Nazareth College.

Nazareth’s new bachelor degree program in toxicology is one of less than a dozen undergraduate toxicology programs in the country and one of only two programs offered at a small, private liberal arts college (the other being Ashland University in Ohio).  The genesis of this program was because of factors both on- and off-campus. Toxicologists study the effects of chemicals on biological systems (humans, animals, and plants) and the environment. Because of the rate of new chemicals entering the market each year, there is a significant demand for toxicology professionals. Many job openings – most of them in the Northeast where Nazareth is located – go unfilled.

Several factors at Nazareth make it an ideal setting for a toxicology program. The college already has a strong commitment to math and science education, including a new integrated math and science center – Peckham Hall – that opens this month. It hired Stephanie Zamule, PhD, a toxicologist, to build the program and serve as its director.

She wrote in an email: “I designed the toxicology program to take advantage of the diverse expertise within the biology and chemistry departments.  The foundation courses for the toxicology program (general biology, chemistry, and physics) are the same as for the biology major and were already in place at Nazareth.” 

And with the commitment to integrating liberal arts and professional studies, Nazareth can ensure that graduates are prepared to enter the workforce or apply to graduate school. Students get a comprehensive picture of the issues facing toxicologists today through their liberal arts electives, such as environmental economics, public health, water and society, interpersonal communication, natural disasters in American society, public administration, and nutritional concepts.  Students also select a "track" comprised of three upper-level biology or chemistry electives from an extensive list of offerings.  For example, a toxicology major interested in going on to veterinary school might take biochemistry, animal physiology, and microbiology as their electives. Students are also required to engage in a research project with a faculty mentor during their senior year.

Another advantage to offering the program at a college like Nazareth is that the small class size allows faculty to tailor learning to students’ personal interests.

“In my principles of toxicology seminar this past spring there were only six students so we were able to focus on environmental issues that were of particular interest to them,” wrote Zamule.

Other new programs beginning this fall:

In addition to the B.S. in Toxicology, Nazareth is also beginning a M.S. in Higher Education/Student Affairs Administration, a five-year B.S./M.S.E.D. in Art Education, a B.F.A. in Theater and an Advanced Certificate in Piano Pedagogy.

North Central College has added Chinese as an undergraduate major (previously a minor) and instituted a new Master of International Business Administration (MIBA) degree that includes required study abroad and an optional internship.

The University of Redlands is offering a Master’s program in Clinical Mental Health, a Financial Planning certificate, IBM System z certification, and a Special Education teaching credential.

Hamline University is starting a Digital Media Arts program and offering a Health Sciences major and Middle East Studies minor.

The University of Evansville has a new public health major and minor.

Stetson University’s College of Law will launch a certificate of concentration for J.D. students wishing to focus on social justice advocacy in the fall and an LL.M. in advocacy in the spring.

Twenty-six graduates and six faculty members from more than half of NAC&U’s members will head to a combined total of 21 countries under the Fulbright program. Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program provides funding for students, scholars, teachers, and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.

The awardees are:

Student Awards

Nazareth College
Liam Connolly will teach English in South Korea, with the hopes of using his experience on the Nazareth College soccer team to work in community outreach involving athletics.

Hannah East, a ’09 graduate of Nazareth’s social work program who is currently serving as a Peace Corp volunteer in Cambodia, will study Finnish anti-corruption policy as a best practices model to better understand the low levels of government corruption in Finland.

Julie Saltrelli will act as a language-learning assistant at an English teacher training college in Argentina.

Maria Seewaldt will teach English in Germany.

Jessica Tette will teach English in Colombia.

Read more.

Pacific Lutheran University
Carolyn Hylander will teach English at Universidad de Ibagué in Colombia while researching U.S. – Colombia free trade policies.

Caitlin Walton will travel to Malaysia to teach English.

Gretchen Elyse Nagel will teach English in Germany.

Mycal Ford will teach English in Taiwan. As part of his teaching assistantship, Ford will be working on a service project, teaching hip hop choreography.

The University of Scranton
Ellen (Maggie) Coyne will teach English in South Korea.

Kathleen Lavelle will teach English in Spain.

Anna DiColli was awarded a Fulbright Public Health Research Grant to Spain.

C.J. Libassi will teach English in Spain.

Read more.

University of Redlands
Ricardo Anzar will teach in Spain.

Emily Brown will teach students in Spain.

Kevin Jamison will do research in Japan.

Read more.

Valparaiso University
Laurie Kenyon will teach in an upper-level secondary school in South Africa, while researching and working within her internship.

Krista Schaefer will travel to Nepal for an English Teaching Assistantship.

Alison DeVries will be teaching in an elementary school in the region of Poitiers, France. DeVries will be teaching lessons in both English and French about basic English concepts, vocabulary, and grammar. Read more.

Ithaca College
Katerina Leinhart has been awarded a research grant to Morocco, where she will study the sacred music of the Gnawa people and explore how processes of globalization have transformed it from ritual to market contexts.

Emily Brown will teach English in Slovakia. She will also spend part of her time researching the juvenile justice system in Slovakia. She spent a semester in New Zealand during her junior year studying that country’s juvenile justice system and plans to use the research from these comparative projects as the basis of future graduate school study. Read more.

Belmont University
Colin Chappell will teach English in France.

Katie Godwin is an alternate that has received a Critical Language Enhancement Grant for travel to the Ukraine.

Butler University
Anna January will research French colonial depictions of native North Americans during the first year of her art history master’s degree at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. This work is an extension of a project she pursued at her Smithsonian Institution internship while enrolled in Butler’s Washington, D.C., semester program. Read more.

University of Evansville
Katie Welch will teach English in South Korea. Welch also has spent two summers studying abroad in South Korea, at Ewha Womans University and Korea University. Read more.

North Central College
Hemlata Mistry will teach English in South Korea while engaging in cultural exchange programs and furthering her own Korean language studies. Read more.

Faculty Awards

Three Stetson University faculty members, Dr. Paul Croce, Dr. Bill Nylen and Dr. Nathan Wolek, have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants to travel abroad to teach and conduct research during the 2012-13 academic year.

Croce, professor of history and American studies, was awarded the Fulbright to serve as a lecturer in American intellectual history at the University of Roma in Italy in spring 2013 and as scholar-in-residence at the University of Potsdam in Germany in June 2013.

Nylen, professor and chair of political science, has been awarded a year-long Fulbright research and teaching fellowship in Maputo, Mozambique. He will teach a course on practical methods of participatory democracy and research efforts to implement participatory democratic practices in Mozambique at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo.

Wolek, associate professor of digital art, was awarded a Fulbright to spend six months in Norway this fall. During that time, he will work on significant enhancements and extensions to Jamoma, an open-source software library for computer musicians at the Bergen Center for Electronic Arts. Read more.

Hampton University's Dr. Shannon Chance, associate professor of architecture, has been awarded a Fulbright Core Scholar grant to conduct research at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in Ireland during the 2012-2013 academic year. Chance will research innovative ways to teach engineering and architecture in DIT's College of Engineering and the Built Environment. In one project, she will interview engineering students and their professors, to assess the benefits of hands-on "Problem-Based Learning." In another, she will study the process DIT used to transform its electrical engineering program. She will also integrate new approaches into architecture classrooms by co-teaching architecture courses. Read more.

Nazareth College’s Paula Brown, professor of speech-language pathology, will receive a Fulbright Award. In the spring of 2013, Brown will be traveling to Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary to teach in the deaf education and speech-language pathology programs at the Barczi School of Special Education. She also hopes to do some consulting in the schools for the deaf and establish a partnership between ELTE and Nazareth for future student and faculty exchanges. Read more.

Pacific Lutheran University professor Greg Williams will spend the 2012-2013 academic year continuing his work in Mexico as part of a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award.  A central theme of his work will be efforts to accommodate children and youth with disabilities into public schools. Read more.

Fulbright Summer Institute
Also, University Fellow and English major Adam Quinn at Samford University is one of six U.S. students selected for the Fulbright Commission Summer Institute at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, this summer. The Fulbright honor, which includes airfare, tuition and room and board for the program, will introduce students to the perspectives of world leaders and provide academic credit focused on Northern Ireland in terms of its political, economic and cultural relationships within the United Kingdom and in the world. It also will help open the door to postgraduate or postdoctoral opportunities in the Fulbright Student and Scholar programs. Read more.

In a recent post on his blog, ChangingHigherEducation.com, Lloyd Armstrong quoted the following statistics: Median family income has dropped 8.7 % since 2000 while average tuition and fees in constant dollars increased by 35.5% at private non-profit colleges and 80.9% at public colleges during the same period. In a phone interview, Dr. Armstrong referred to a familiar phrase, “If something can’t go on forever, it won’t.” This cost conundrum in higher education will be the highlight of Dr. Armstrong’s keynote speech at the NAC&U Summer Institute.

In his keynote, Dr. Armstrong will address the questions – why are costs what they are and why are they going up so rapidly? For a long time, higher education institutions have relied on raising prices rather than “selling” more of what they have to offer. Institutions need to educate more people under a radically different cost structure, he said. While no one knows for sure the way out of the cost conundrum, Dr. Armstrong said that distance learning can be part of the solution. As Harvard and MIT just launched an online learning collaboration, what does that mean for other institutions?

Dr. Armstrong pointed out that one of the reasons higher education costs are climbing is because institutions are performing so many functions. For example, institutions that want faculty to do research have a different cost structure than those that only require faculty to teach. Faculty who do research are paid more, but they teach less, meaning institutions need more faculty to teach courses, some of which are paid more because they are also researchers. The very elite institutions don’t need to worry about this, he said, but it impacts the bottom line for most institutions. That said, if colleges and universities stop doing research, where will it happen?

Dr. Armstrong will also address the public perception regarding the economic value of a college degree. While it was once thought that a bachelor’s degree amounted to approximately $800,000 more in lifetime earnings than a high school diploma, that figure is now closer to $280,000. Except at the most elite institutions, higher education consumers are seeing a lower return-on-investment than in the past. Can colleges and universities get past this issue?

For more of Dr. Armstrong’s point–of-view, visit his blog, Changing Higher Education.com.

Please join us for Dr. Armstrong’s opening plenary at the NAC&U Summer Institute at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 20.

About Lloyd Armstrong:
Dr. Armstrong, a Ph.D. in physics from UC Berkeley, was professor of Physics and dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University before going to the University of Southern California as provost. As USC’s provost from 1993 to 2005, he led the overhauling of the core undergraduate curriculum and the university's student recruitment program, and the creation and implementation of the 1994 Strategic Plan and its 1998 update – all of which transformed USC into one of the most selective universities in the country. Following these Plans, the University significantly revamped its undergraduate programs, greatly encouraged and strengthened interdisciplinary research and teaching, and significantly increased its already strong emphasis on the benefits of globalization for its faculty and students. He is currently a professor in the USC Rossier School's Pullias Center for Higher Education where his main focus is university leadership, knowledge production and change.

Westminster College will host the 18th Annual New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U) Summer Institute from June 20-22, 2012. The Summer Institute brings together faculty and administrators from member colleges and universities across the nation to discuss issues facing their schools and also provides a venue for professional development and networking.

This year’s NAC&U Summer Institute builds on the theme explored through the NAC&U Teagle Foundation Planning Grant. Through the grant project, teams are exploring what it means to be a NAC&U professor in the 21st century. In this year’s Summer Institute, participants will delve into what it means to be a 21st century NAC&U institution.

With issues such as cost-quality; expanding and demanding faculty roles; new approaches to learning inside and outside the classroom; innovative uses of technology in higher education; nonstandard learning environments; facing the expectations and addressing the needs of this next generation’s students; and measuring, recognizing, and rewarding efforts toward student learning, all member institutions can share and explore possibilities for best practices. For more information: General Info | Register | Speakers | Program.

When Megan King started her undergraduate research, she had expectations – and a solid hypothesis – of what her research would yield. Her hypothesis was not correct, which was a tough lesson for the North Central College senior, but one that gave her real-world skills. King reflected, “It was difficult for me to learn that it is okay – it’s just your hypothesis was proved wrong, and you move forward with what you did find.”

King began her research after asking numerous professors at North Central about their ideas relating to accounting and Spanish, which she has studied as an undergraduate. When Professor Sarah Lureau’s idea piqued her curiosity, King wrote a Richter Research Grant to secure funding from North Central and then traveled to Spain to research how International Financial Reporting Standards are taught in Spanish undergraduate universities for her paper, “A Study on Pedagogical Changes in Spanish Undergraduate Accounting Education.”

She went on to present her research at the National Conference on Under-graduate Research (NCUR) in Utah this spring, along with 44 of her classmates, the most from any institution in Illinois. North Central’s participation in NCUR has grown significantly since 2006 when only five students presented five proposals. The number of students tripled in 2007, and that number is now tripled as 45 students presented 34 proposals at Weber State this year.

Nancy Peterson, North Central College’s coordinator of undergraduate research and professor of chemistry, said that while there was no structural change that led to the increase, North Central has steadily sent more non-science students to NCUR. “We finally hit that critical mass where suddenly more students and faculty mentors realized NCUR was for all disciplines,” she said.

But there is a culture at North Central – and arguably, all NAC&U campuses – that facilitates student research. Faculty is committed to working one-on-one with students so that they are prepared for graduate school, internships and jobs while helping them make a connection between classroom theory and professional scholarship.

There are challenges to fostering undergraduate research, however, including time and money. North Central has overcome this by allowing research to count toward graduation credits, awarding grants and small stipends for research and hosting a summer research program for students. Time and money is a factor for faculty, also, and Peterson said that they have not completely solved this issue. If a professor demonstrates a shared project and peer review, then undergraduate research counts toward professional development. Also, one-on-one work with students is compensated as teaching credit based on number of credits the student is taking, but that is not always indicative of the time put into research and the scholarship endeavor, said Peterson. There are grants, however, that can include a faculty stipend and supply expenses for summer research with students.

Faculty support was essential to King’s work. “Professor Lureau advised me in writing the grant proposal, was available all the time to Skype with me while I was in Spain and is now advising me on writing the finished product,” said King. Faculty also encouraged King to apply to NCUR, which she thought would give her a good experience in presenting research on a national level.

Taylor Listul, a senior psychology major at Hamline University, also credits his faculty mentor, Paula Mullineaux, assistant professor in psychology, with helping him turn his idea into reality. A longitudinal study examining maternal characteristics’ effects on parent-child interactions, Listul’s research leveraged observational data collection, which is incredibly time-consuming and not found in many studies. Listul endured late nights and long hours, and always felt that Millineaux was as dedicated as he was. This year, Listul presented his project at three conferences, most recently at NCUR with 39 other students from Hamline, which annually sends some of the largest groups of students to the conference. NCUR was Listul’s first experience in front of a national, multidisciplinary audience, and he enjoyed fielding questions and hearing suggestions from those outside of the psychology field.

Listul spent much of the past three years working on his research, and in return he said it improved his writing skills, self-confidence and appeal to potential employers. “I’ve had a few interviews already, and the thing that impresses them most is my research experience.”

Other NAC&& members (and the number of students) who participated in NCUR:

• Ithaca College (33)
  
• Westminster College (37)
  
• Valparaiso University (15)
  
• University of Evansville (8)
  
• The Sage Colleges (3)

Over the next month, as they stand at podiums on our campuses, looking out at a sea of caps and gowns, commencement speakers will advise and inspire graduates as they move forward with the next chapter of their lives.

At the University of Evansville, a new tradition is beginning. Instead of selecting an outside speaker, a graduating student will deliver the commencement keynote. Alan Kaiser, associate professor of archaeology and chair of the Senior Keynote selection committee, said that the student keynote was implemented because the Ceremonies Committee believed that “no one can better reflect on the UE experience than a member of the graduating class.” Following a competitive process, which included submitting a written speech, the selection committee at UE picked eight finalists to perform their speeches before the final selection was made. Emily Mella, an archaeology, art history, and international studies major and history minor will be UE’s inaugural student keynote.

The path to the podium is not just arduous for aspiring student speakers -- securing a prominent speaker can require much persistence. This year Wagner College students will have the pleasure of listening to Dr. Elie Wiesel, an author, professor and Nobel Peace Prize winner.  According to Wagner’s chief of staff, Joe Romano, “We have been trying to arrange for him to speak at Wagner for some time, and this is the first opportunity where everything has worked out to make it a reality.” Romano said that the values Wiesel has taught over the course of his own career, including those of understanding and tolerance, dovetail well with Wagner’s curriculum of community engagement.

Wagner president Richard Guarasci added, "Elie Wiesel is one of this world’s moral beacons. He has been a steadfast moral witness against genocide. I have been in his presence three times, and I can tell you that it is an experience I will never forget."

But sometimes the most coveted speakers are already on campus. At Belmont University President Bob Fisher delivers the keynote. “Given Belmont’s strong music and music business programs and his own personal love of music, Dr. Fisher typically incorporates an array of song lyrics into his commencement address,” said April Hefner, assistant director of communications at Belmont. “The students and their families love it as it’s inspiring, personal and incredibly clever.”

Here’s a look at other undergraduate commencement speakers from around the consortium:

• Arcadia: Fred de Sam Lazaro, PBS NewsHour Correspondent
  
• Butler: Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time Magazine
  
• Drury: Nancy Hensel, NAC&U president
  
• Hamline: Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity
  
• Hampton: Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ
  
• Ithaca: Amy Kule, executive producer of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
  
• Nazareth: Robert J. Duffy, lieutenant governor of New York
  
• North Central: Aaron Williams, director of the Peace Corps
  
• Pacific Lutheran: Loren Anderson, retiring as president of PLU
  
• Sage: Anna Quindlen, author
  
• Samford: Billy Kim, chairman, Far East Broadcasting Company—Korea
  
• Westminster: Bruce Bastian, WordPerfect co-founder

With civic engagement at the core of NAC&U’s mission, it’s not surprising that the overwhelming majority of members are on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll which recognizes institutions that “achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes in the communities they serve.” Nazareth College was one of only 14 colleges nationwide named as finalists for the President’s Award. Belmont University and the University of Redlands were recognized in the Honor Roll with Distinction category. Additionally, ten members made the general Honor Roll: Arcadia University, Hamline University, Ithaca College, North Central College, Stetson University, The University of Scranton, University of Evansville, Valparaiso University, Wagner College and Westminster College.

Reciprocal Relationships
In Rochester, NY, 40 percent of children live in poverty, and the 2010 high school graduation rate was 49 percent, but Nazareth College is partnering with many community members to strengthen the greater Rochester area. The College is implementing a new Core Curriculum that requires experiential learning for all students, and its newly-created Center for Civic Engagement includes the Center for Service Learning, the Department of Community Service, and the professional internship programs.

Nazareth’s greatest scope of civic engagement lies in two areas: education and health and human services. High school students in Homework Help, which includes tutoring by Nazareth students and mentoring on the college application process, are 30% more likely to graduate and 60-70% more likely to go on to postsecondary education than their counterparts. Nazareth also prepares teachers to work in economically disadvantaged areas through its Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) Program. More than 150 TOC graduates have taught in high-need schools and have more than a 98% retention rate in the first five years, nearly double the national average. 

School of Health and Human Services programs reach hundreds of children each year. Just to name a few, the Speech-Language Clinic sees 60 children per semester, the art therapy clinic saw 100 children in the past year alone and a biennial program to stimulate literacy reaches 120 deaf children and their parents. Kids Club brings together students and faculty from several disciplines to provide after school recreation for children ages 5-12 with disabilities, a program parents say is unique in the community.

Student-Led Service
Spring Back Recycling, a non-profit started by members of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at Belmont University, provides employment for previously incarcerated men and women while keeping discarded mattresses from clogging landfills. After a year of research and analysis, the students developed a business plan and operations manual. They also secured a facility with capital equipment. Scrap buyers pay for raw materials, and citizens, mattress retailers and institutions pay a small premium for disposal.

In less than a year, workers have disassembled and recycled more than 90% of 3,100 mattresses. After NPR ran a story on the company earlier this year, the students have been asked to share the model across the country.

Special Circumstances
The University of Redlands is one of only five universities in the country that has received the Honor Roll “with distinction” designation each year since the award’s inception in 2006.

Recently University of Redlands students paid their own way from southern California to tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri to complete 880 hours of service at 25 different homes during their Spring Break Plunge. They worked on roofing, siding, painting, gardening, masonry and plumbing – some of these skills were taught by Redlands’ Facilities Management who ran a safety training prior to the trip. Further, the students helped their host, the Abundant Life Christian Center, in building its “Volunteer Village” which will house hundreds of volunteers arriving in Joplin this year.

Nancy Hensel, president of NAC&U said, “I’m proud that our members were recognized for all of the work that they do. While the communities stand to benefit, these programs go a long way in showing students that they can in fact make a difference in the world.”

For more recent service stories from Honor Roll recipients:

• Engineers without Borders at Valparaiso University
  
• Port Richmond Partnership at Wagner College
  
• Juvenile Justice service learning at Westminster College
  
• Arcadia University’s traveling therapy clinic in Guatemala
  
• Hamline Catalyst trips to San Francisco, Louisiana, Washington DC and Chicago
  
• Alternative Spring Break service trips at Ithaca College, North Central College
  
• Stetson University Students Empower People with Disabilities
  
• Student-written stories about service at The University of Scranton
  
• Civil engineering students at the University of Evansville teach younger kids about bridge building

When Tim Wong read his father’s publications he recognized a metaphor that stemmed from an earlier conversation. His father, Frank Wong, had asked him about the mosh pit’s allure, and he responded that what looked disorderly from the outside was actually a cooperative situation on the inside. A fan of metaphors, Frank’s most important – at least to The New American Colleges and Universities – was “the ugly duckling of higher education,” the title of an essay he wrote while provost at the University of Redlands in which he explored the identity and characteristics of comprehensive colleges and universities, giving rise to the formation of the NAC&U consortium.

Frank passed away when Tim was only 17, so the younger Wong knew very little of his father’s impact on higher education. Now 34, Tim was awarded a K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders award at the AAC&U conference in January. When he realized that he would meet several of his father’s friends at the conference, he read his father’s publications.

“Reviewing the papers opened up a new side to knowing my dad,” said Tim.

A Chance Coincidence
Suzanne Hyers, senior director of the AAC&U annual meeting, said they received 270 nominations for the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders award. After going through a series of confidential internal reviews to whittle the nominees down to 25, the submissions are then reviewed by outside sources. Tim was one of only eight to win the award.

Meanwhile, Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, had decided to release at the conference a new edition of “The Drama of Diversity and Democracy,” a book authored by the American Commitments panel, of which she and Frank Wong were members. First published in 1995, the book engages readers to visit what Schneider calls a foundational question: What role should educators play in building our nation’s civic capacities—the skills and knowledge needed to sustain a flourishing democracy? The decision to re-release the book lie in the fact that “we still are a long way from meeting our goals to engage diversity fully and to make excellence truly inclusive,” said Schneider.

When Hyers was notified that Tim had won a Cross award, she and Schneider marveled at the coincidence. This twist of fate meant that Frank’s former colleagues – University of Redlands president Jim Appleton, NAC&U president Nancy Hensel and Schneider – would have a chance to meet his son.

A Chosen Path
Tim remembers his father’s advice to choose a meaningful career. Now a doctoral candidate in Comparative Literature at the University of California - Irvine, Tim’s love of Shakespeare, interest in cooperative social enterprises, and hope for a more just political structure and system of public higher education, gave rise to his dissertation on Shakespeare and popular sovereignty.

In addition to earning teaching awards, Tim also works with Humanities Out There, a program which pairs graduate students with area high school teachers to bring undergraduate-taught lessons to high school students in hopes of recruiting more first-generation college students from at-risk high schools. When the program was going to be terminated due to lack of funds in the UC system, Tim and his colleagues raised the necessary $60K to save it.

The Future Collides with the Past
Tim referred to the AAC&U conference as “an intense experience” – because of winning the award and connecting with his father’s colleagues. He enjoyed dinner with Hensel and Appleton who knew his father well from their days at the University of Redlands. As faculty member and chair of the personnel committee, Hensel often met with Frank (then provost) to discuss faculty policies. He became a mentor and helped her make the transition from faculty to administrator. At her first conference as NAC&U president, Hensel called it serendipitous that she should be coming on board when Tim was there to accept a Future Leaders award.

Schneider too felt the impact of the experience.

“Meeting Tim was a poignant moment of generational transition. Tim has emerged as a leader at such a young age. Through his work, Tim embodies all the values and commitments that the American Commitments leaders and his father could possibly have hoped to see. We all felt the mingling of sadness, pride and hope,” she said.

When Samford University psychology professor Stephen Chew wrestled with the question, “What are my students really learning?” he decided to put theory into practice. As a cognitive psychologist, Chew was well-versed in research showing how students learn. So he decided to throw out the notion that being a good professor meant giving out a certain percentage of As, Bs and Cs each semester and instead focused on what his students were taking away from class.

Although Chew had already made changes to how he was teaching and assessing student learning, he said that his goal to maximize student learning was supported when he met former Carnegie president Lee Shulman in 1999. Chew had been invited to be a part of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and meeting Shulman prompted him to think about teaching in a more sophisticated, comprehensive way. I He began to see teaching as both a complex skill and an area of applied research.

A professor at Samford since 1993, Chew has honed his strategies over the years. “The classroom is my lab,” he said.

Last fall the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching named Chew, who is also psychology department chair, the 2011 U. S. Professor of the Year for Master’s Universities and Colleges. It is the only national program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring, and it’s the latest in a string of awards Chew has received for his teaching.
 
Chew’s success is not just limited to students in his courses. Since 2005 he has given a lecture to all incoming students about how to study effectively. Most students arrive at college with ingrained strategies that worked in high school but are ineffective in college, Chew says. He assessed what students learned from this lecture and found that its positive effects lessened with time. To discourage students from reverting to old strategies, Chew made a series of five short videos to augment the lecture and posted them on YouTube. He also leads workshops for faculty – at Samford and at institutions around the country.

In the end, he knows that effective studying and learning will benefit the students not just in the classroom but in any learning situation in life.