Convocation, Presidential Investiture scheduled Friday
Southeastern will launch its new academic year with a fall convocation for faculty and staff that includes the formal investiture of university President John L. Crain.
Scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14, the event will take place in the university’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Tammy Bourg will preside over the ceremonies. The event is open to the public.
Convocation will include presentation of the President’s Awards for Excellence, the university’s highest faculty and staff honors, as well as presentation of service awards to faculty and staff who have been with the university for 25, 30 and 35 years. Also to be recognized will be new faculty and staff, faculty tenure and promotions, and donors responsible for several newly endowed professorships.
The investiture of Crain, who was appointed Southeastern’s 14th president in February after serving in an interim capacity for seven months, will include comments from Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen, representing the Louisiana Board of Regents; Elsie Burkhalter, chair of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors; and Randy Moffett, president of the University of Louisiana System. The formal investiture includes presentation to Crain of the President’s Chain by all five living former Southeastern presidents: Clea Parker, J. Larry Crain, G. Warren Smith, Clausen, and Moffett.
Presidents and other representatives of area universities and colleges, elected officials, and representatives of the Louisiana Board of Regents and the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors are also expected to attend the ceremony.
The university will provide a shuttle service for faculty and staff to and from the parking facility adjacent to Strawberry Stadium for the event. The annual Alumni Association picnic for faculty and staff will immediately follow the morning’s ceremonies at Twelve Oaks.
Normal operating hours resume on campus
Southeastern this week resumes its normal operating hours of 7:45 a.m to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, concluding its four-day, 10-hour day work week summer schedule. The university implemented a four-day work week during the summer for the second consecutive year. The change saves the institution an estimated $200,000 in energy costs.
Parking hang tags available
Parking hang tags for Southeastern faculty and staff for the 2009-10 school year are available for purchase and pick-up at the University Parking Office from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office is located on the first floor of Pride Hall, 1301 SGA Drive, across the lobby from the University Police Department.
Faculty and staff may purchase either a full-year parking permit for $45 (valid through July 31, 2010) or a single semester only permit at a cost of $15. Employees may pay with cash or check and must present a valid Southeastern identification, a valid vehicle registration, and provide their W number. For more information, contact the Parking Office at 549-5695.
Green and Gold Week proclaimed
Several members the Southeastern Louisiana University cheerleading squad and others were on hand to celebrate an official proclamation signed by Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster and members of the Hammond City Council proclaiming Aug. 16-22 as “Green and Gold Week” for the City of Hammond. The proclamation encourages citizens to support Southeastern by attending its events and showing off their green and gold Lion pride. The week will include a first-ever “Lionpawlooza” event in conjunction with Hot August Night, special discounts for Southeastern students and employees at local businesses, a Hammond Chamber of Commerce Lion luncheon and pep rally and more. Pictured are, from left, standing, Kathy Montecino, Adam Kendrick, Rachel Bass, Southeastern mascot Roomie, Kimberly Rivers, Jenny Wolfe, Mayor Mayson Foster, Johnny Blount; and seated, Jason Hood, council vice president, Michael Williams, president, and Willie Grant Jackson, past president.
Baldwin named interim director of athletics
Tim Baldwin, a member of the athletics staff at Southeastern since 1988, has been named interim director of athletics. He will fill the position held by Joel Erdmann who is leaving the university this week to accept a similar position at the University of South Alabama. Baldwin’s appointment is subject to approval by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
President John L. Crain said Baldwin, currently head coach of men’s golf, will assume additional duties as athletic director until a permanent director is selected. The university is moving forward with a search for Erdmann’s replacement. Baldwin has indicated he does not intend to be an applicant.
“We have great confidence in Tim’s abilities to keep our athletic program moving forward,” Crain said. “Tim is well-respected by coaches, staff and student-athletes, and is well-liked in the community.”
Baldwin, a graduate of Southeastern, is entering his 22nd season with the Lions as golf coach. Under his leadership, the program has been consistently competitive in the conference and nationally, with the Lions ranking annually among the top 75 out of 300 Division I golf programs in the country. Baldwin has received numerous honors over the years, seven times being chosen Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and twice named Coach of the Year by both the Trans American Conference and the Southland Conference.
“We wish Dr. Erdmann success in his new position,” Crain said. “I am sure our university family and friends in the community join me in wishing Coach Baldwin success in this interim role.”
Student e-mail converts to Google Apps for Education
All Southeastern student e-mail accounts have been switched to Google Apps for Education. A suite of communication and collaboration tools, Google Apps includes an e-mail interface with seven gigabytes of storage; personal, public, and shared calendars; documents, spreadsheets and presentations that are compatible with Microsoft Office and OpenOffice; integrated chat; iGoogle homepage, where any gadget can be added; the ability to publish an individual website; and mobile access from an iPhone and other mobile devices.
Southeastern ran a pilot of Google Apps this year from February through July, when all students, faculty and staff were invited to participate. Currently, only student accounts will be created in g-mail. Faculty and staff who wish to use g-mail and were not part of the original pilot group will be able to request an account in September.
Campus housing full
Campus housing at Southeastern will be over 100 percent capacity this fall, as students have registered for all available on-campus residential space. Southeastern has nine residence halls that together house approximately 1,700 students. Two additional complexes – Southeastern Oaks, which provides two- and four-bedroom apartments, and The Village, which is designed as organizational housing – house an additional 600 students.
“Demand for housing at Southeastern has reached its highest level in more than 25 years,” said Assistant Vice President for Operations Sam Domiano. “The residence halls have consistently been at or near full capacity since the completion of our new facilities in 2005; however, the demand has continued to increase.”
Southeastern has reported that applications for the fall semester from beginning freshmen, transfer and graduate students are up compared to this time last year, which contributes to the demand for on-campus housing. In order to meet the increased demand, the university has doubled some private rooms, tripled some double rooms and established a waiting list.
“While the university has a waiting list of approximately 150 students, we are working diligently to accommodate as many students as possible and will continue to do so through the start of the fall semester,” Domiano said. “Any student not placed this fall will be given the option to update their housing application to the spring semester and will receive priority placement for that term. Other students that we are unable to place will receive a full refund.”
Domiano attributes the success of the housing program to the fact that Southeastern offers newer facilities designed to meet the needs and expectations of today’s students.
“Southeastern views on-campus housing as a privilege and has set academic standards that students choosing to live on-campus must meet,” said Domiano. “This has resulted in an increase in the retention of continuing students and also has had a positive impact on our ability to recruit new students to our facilities.”
He said an increasing number of students are seeing the advantages of living on campus, including living closer to their classes and academic services, convenient parking, and the opportunities to meet and live with a diverse population and become involved in student activities. Also especially attractive during tough economic times is the reduce cost of living on campus when compared to living off-campus.
ACT student survey gives Southeastern high marks
Students at Southeastern have a high general level of satisfaction with the university, its services and programs, according to the results of an annual opinion survey just released.
In this year’s American College Testing (ACT) Student Opinion Survey, Southeastern received a mean rating of 4.09 on a 5-point scale by its students when asked to evaluate the institution in general. The score exceeds the national average of 3.93 and a University of Louisiana System average of 3.92.
That specific category asked questions designed to evaluate the institution on opportunities for personal involvement in campus activities, campus media such as the student newspaper, radio and TV stations, racial harmony, student government, attitudes of non-teaching staff toward students, and the university’s “general concern for you as an individual.”
“We’re pleased that our ranking in this category has consistently been high over the last several years,” said President John L. Crain. “Southeastern places significant importance on making the university an attractive environment for students to learn and participate in extra-curricular activities as part of the university experience.”
The ACT Student Opinion Survey is offered to colleges and universities as a means to objectively gauge the perceptions students have of a higher education institution’s general environment, programs, services, facilities, rules and policies.
“The survey is confidential, so students generally are not hesitant to state their opinions,” Crain said. “It allows us to see our institution from the student’s perspective, so we place considerable weight on their comments and suggestions.”
According to the survey, academic advising services, the availability of an advisor and the value of information provided were at or above the national and UL System means for satisfaction by Southeastern students. Other areas receiving high marks were library facilities and services, recreational and intramural programs, and services involving veterans, personal counseling, career planning and job placement, social activities and cultural programs.
Regarding the overall college environment, areas rated at or above the national and UL System means included class size relative to the type of course, the attitude of faculty toward students, instruction in the student’s major field and out-of-class availability of instructors.
The survey was conducted in the spring semester. Approximately 1,300 students – almost 10 percent of the semester’s enrollment – took part in the survey.
Fanfare, Columbia offers ‘something for everyone’
More than two decades after Southeastern launched Fanfare, the annual festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences is still following its successful pattern of offering “something for everyone” – inevitably with a new or intriguing twist. The Fanfare 24th season is no exception.
In addition to its usual October showcase of music, dance, theater, lectures, films, children’s events and exhibits, Fanfare 2009 will feature a student-alumni celebration of 75 years of Southeastern opera and musical theater and a day of entertaining presentations dedicated to an unexpected topic – madness.
Expect, said Donna Gay Anderson, who directs both Fanfare and the year-long Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts season that follows, “another spectacular roster of entertainment that is sure to engage, inspire and entertain you, your family and friends.”
The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences has chosen the intriguing, but often misunderstood topic of madness for a day-long examination of its relationship to art, literature and society.
Psychology professor James Worthen, interim assistant dean, said each of the college’s eight departments will be represented in the Oct. 27 event, which will feature a dozen presentations that include “Romantic Madness,” “Crazy Stories: Representation of Madness and Mad Authorship in Literature and Film,” “Madness and Modern Life,” and “Cultural Perceptions of Insanity and Suicide Bombers.”
Worthen said in addition to showcasing the college’s faculty, the program’s goal is “to illustrate how prevalent psychological illness can be among people of accomplishment and to promote sensitivity.”
Another Fanfare highlight will showcase the talents of current and former students of the acclaimed Opera/Music Theatre Workshop, staged in honor of the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts’ 75th anniversary.
Football camp hosted on campus
The Division of Extended Studies and Athletics hosted the Curtis Baham Special Events Football Camp in July at Strawberry Stadium. Curtis Baham, a former player for the NFL Seattle Seahawks, has hosted the camp around the state for the past few years and this year moved it to Southeastern. Participants from ages 6 to 18 participated, with retired and current NFL players working with them on agility, speed, passing, receiving and running. Highlight of the camp was the display of Heisman trophies won by Mike Rozier and George Rogers, who attended the camp, signed autographs and posed with the participants. Veda Abene of Extended Studies and Andrew Bechac of Athletics worked together to coordinate the camp, which may become an annual event. At right, former Saints running back George Rogers poses with one of the camp participants.
Self-defense class for women offered
The Southeastern Police Department and the Ponchatoula Police Department are hosting a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) self-defense class for the women of our community Sept. 11-13. The RAD curriculum is 12 hours total, broken into three four-hour sessions held on Friday from 6 -10:00 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. Attendance at all three sessions is necessary to complete the course. This class is open to women only and the location is confidential for the privacy and safety of the women attending. Registrants will be contacted one week prior to class to confirm their attendance and will be notified of the location at that time. Enrollment is limited and there is no charge for this class, so sign up early to ensure your spot. The program is open to any woman in the community, however Southeastern students and employees receive priority. To register for the class, or to receivemore information, send an e-mail with your name and phone number to police@selu.edu or contact Patrick Gipson or Scott Huffat 985-549-2222.
Asbestos survey completed
The State of Louisiana has completed an asbestos survey of all state-owned buildings. The results of the survey are compiled in management plans by facility. The management plans were assembled according to the requirements set forth in the Department of Environmental Quality Required Elements Index. These plans are available for review by anyone interested. The original plans will bekept in the office of the Associate Director of Physical Plant Services located at the maintenance compound on North Campus. A copy of the plan is available in the Reserve Room of Sim's Memorial Library. Questions or concerns should be directed to Chris Asprion, Southeastern's asbestos Plan manager, at 549-5698 in the Physical Plant Office.
News from the Center for Faculty Excellence:
Workshops - All workshops are held in Tinsley Hall, Room 103 unless otherwise noted. Registration is required 24 hours in advance of all workshops. Walk-ins are welcome, if space is available. Please call the Center to verify. If you have questions regarding this or would like to make a reservation, please contact the Center at ext. 5791 or email us at center@selu.edu.
Friday, Aug. 14, 2:00-3:30 pm - Sympodium Training - Southeastern has updated more than 80 classrooms with Smarttech's Sympodium audiovisual equipment. We are offering these training sessions to prepare faculty to use the Sympodium classrooms.
Mark Your Calendar
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 10:00-11:30 am OR 2:00-3:30 pm - Sympodium Training - Southeastern has updated more than 80 classrooms with Smarttech's Sympodium audiovisual equipment. We are offering these training sessions to prepare faculty to use the Sympodium classrooms.
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2:00-3:30 pm - Sympodium Training - Southeastern has updated more than 80 classrooms with Smarttech's Sympodium audiovisual equipment. We are offering these training sessions to prepare faculty to use the Sympodium classrooms.
Thursday, Aug. 20, 2:00-3:30 pm - Sympodium Training - Southeastern has updated more than 80 classrooms with Smarttech's Sympodium audiovisual equipment. We are offering these training sessions to prepare faculty to use the Sympodium classrooms.
Friday, Aug. 21, 2:00-3:30 pm - Sympodium Training - Southeastern has updated more than 80 classrooms with Smarttech's Sympodium audiovisual equipment. We are offering these training sessions to prepare faculty to use the Sympodium classrooms.
Arts Center sponsors exhibition
The Hammond Regional Arts Center will present "Four Painters," Aug. 8 - Sept. 5. Meet the artists at the opening reception, featuring a wine bar. The artists, four painters who are connected through their teaching and training to the Art Department at Southeastern, are Professors Emeriti Gail Hood and Barbara Tardo, Sarah Wiseman, currently assistant professor of art in painting, and Luz-Maria Lopez, a graduate of Southeastern's art department whose numerous commissioned works are displayed throughout the campus. This exhibition ranges stylistically from landscapes and natural abstractions to narrative paintings and pattern-based works.
Opening reception: 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14.
Hours: 1-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 985-542-7113.
The Hammond Regional Arts Center is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and in part by private and corporate membership.
Professional Activities
Dr. Andrew Traver (History) delivered the keynote address at the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University on the occasion of the Feast of St. Bonaventure. In this paper, he discussed the secular/mendicant conflicts at the University of Paris highlighting the roles played by the Franciscans Bonaventure, Thomas of York, and John Pecham.
Dr. Becky Sue Parton and Dr. Robert Hancock from the Department of Educational Leadership and Technology, College of Education and Human Development, presented Educational RFID Use: Multimedia Presentations Launched Remotely by Physical Objects at the Ed-Media-World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 24, 2009.
Beth Stahr (Sims Library) recently published the following two articles: "SMS Library Reference Service Options," Library Hi Tech News (2009) 26 / 3&4 / pp. 13 - 15 / DOI: 10. 1108 / 07419050910979955. "A Review of Mississippi Valley Melange: A Collection of Notes and Documents for the Genealogy and History of the Province of Louisiana and the Territory of Orleans. Volume 5" in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (June, 2009) 97.2.
Charles Elliott (Department of History and Political Science) presented “‘Whole Lotta Shaking Going On’: Prehistory from Poverty Point Upstream and Downstream,” “I’ll take Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island Too:’ French and Indian Trade from Canada to Louisiana,” and “‘We All Work on the Mississippi:’ LaSalle, d’Iberville, and Louisiana Geography,” at the Lorourche-Terrebone Teaching American History Symposium in Houma.
Penny Hecker, a reference and instruction librarian at Sims Library, was selected and awarded a scholarship to attend the Teacher Track of the prestigious Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Institute for Information Literacy Immersion '09 program. She attends from July 26-July 31. The ACRL Immersion program focuses on individual development for those who are interested in enhancing, refreshing, or extending their individual instruction skills. Curriculum includes classroom techniques, learning theory, leadership, and assessment framed in the context of information literacy.ByLion is published weekly online (bi-weekly during the summer session) for the faculty and staff of Southeastern Louisiana University. Send submissions to publicinfo@selu.edu, SLU 10880, fax 985-549-2061, or bring to Public Information Office in East Stadium. Submission deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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