VCAA Newletter

Dear Colleagues,

This Friday at the Academic Senate we will have a firsthand opportunity to review the future of general education at IUSB. For the last two years, a faculty committee chaired by Professor Jerry Hinnefeld, has been dutifully at work on a general education core. As part of its deliberations and quest to learn more about general education and its appropriate structure and role at IUSB, the committee engaged the campus is a series of dialogues and open forums. These discussions generated extraordinarily creative ideas about the purpose and function of general education. Now it is time for the campus to make critical decisions about what general education will be at IUSB.

When I convened the committee, I challenged the faculty to consider general education as a way to define IUSB=s core academic values. I posed the questions, AWhat does it mean to be an educated person? What does it mean to be a graduate of IUSB?@ Refinement of the mind begins with a firm foundation in general education. It is a time of imaginable and limitless discoveries as students experience the bountiful expressions of beauty. Through general education, students develop habits of intellectual curiosity that will shape them into life-long learners.

Another purposeful way to shape IUSB=s future is through our Strategic Planning process. Earlier this month the Campus Directions Committee engaged groups of faculty, staff and community representatives in dialogue about the fundamental steps in securing a promising future for IUSB. I thank all who participated.

Recently, a South Bend Tribune editorial trumpeted IUSB=s success and its value to the educational aspirations to the citizens of this region. The newspaper cited IUSB=s academic excellence in proclaiming that we keep getting better and better. In a different article that appeared recently, the newspaper touted our strategic planning efforts as another measure of IUSB=s commitment to academic excellence. Under new leadership and with renewed energy by the entire campus community, IUSB is at the cusp of unlimited possibilities. I=m proud to be vice chancellor for academic affairs and a member of the faculty. Our campus community in partnership with others in business, government, and education is taking bold and determined steps to make IUSB the preeminent public university in Northern Indiana and in the region.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

The Academic Cabinet recently had a retreat at which we discussed our working parameters in support of the campus parameters.

Academic Affairs

Principles of Operation

In support of IUSB's mission and guided by the campus Parameters of Engagement (communication, teamwork, integrity, civility/respect, commitment), Academic Affairs commits to the following actions:

safeguard the primacy of Academic Affairs;
respect unit administrators' autonomy;
advocate for and represent Academic Affairs to the rest of the university;
provide strong and honest representation of academic unit needs;
understand and value each other's work;
support team decisions.

The next Dean's Seminar will be held on Friday, October 18, 2002 at noon or after the Senate meeting. Mary Basolo-Kunzer, Associate Professor of Nursing, will present her research on "Chronic Headache Patients' and Their Spouses' Marital Cohesion, Adaptability, and Conflict." Coffee will be provided and you are welcome to bring your lunch.

The Research Award Lecture will be held this year on Thursday, November 7, 2002 at 7pm in DW1001. Dr. Monle Lee will speak on "Flipping the Pages: The Media’s Evolving Portrayals of Women and Minorities."

There are a number of Research related deadlines coming up on November 1, 2002, including International Programs/Chancellor's Fund grants, the Faculty Research grants, and Curriculum Development Grants. More information can be found in the most recent GrantsLetter at http://www.iusb.edu/~research/grantsletter/02oct.htm

We will be sending a representative group, including faculty, staff, and administrators to the Enhancing Minority Attainment Conference in Kokomo on November 8, 2002. This conference is part of a three-year initiative to enhance the integration of diversity and equity in the teaching and learning processes. Members of the Working Group on Diversity will be presenting their report on this conference. You can review this report in PDF here.

Indiana Workforce Development Funding:

IUSB has received notification from Indiana Workforce Development that our application to be a Workforce Development provider for a number of programs has been approved. We will appear on the statewide eligible training provider list and Workforce Investment Act participants (students) who are eligible for training services may select any of the following IUSB programs for the education:

Speech Communication, Elementary Education, Special Education, Senior High-Junior High/Middle School, Early Childhood Education, Dental Assisting, Dental Hygiene, Nursing, Health Services Management, Radiography, Sociology, Advanced Computer Programming, Psychology, and Communication Arts. A number of Continuing Education programs also received approval. These include: Basic Web Design, Supervisory Management, Quality Management, Pharmacy Technician Training, Paralegal Studies, Montessori Teacher Academy, Medical Transcription, Medical Coding Specialist, Human Resource Practitioner, Early Childhood Certificate, and Accounting Certificate. We are waiting for approval of other submitted programs.

A new payroll schedule will be taking effect with the implementation of People Soft in January 2003. All pay periods will be on the 1st of each month. Faculty who are 10 pay will receive their last pay for the academic year on June 1 instead of the middle of May. All faculty, including new faculty, will receive their first pay on September 1.

Summer pay will also be on the 1st of each month. Summer Session I will be paid on June 1 and July 1; Summer Session II will be paid on August 1 and September 1; the 6 week summer session will receive pay July 1 and August 1; and, the 8 week summer session will be paid 1/3 on each of the following dates: July 1, August 1 and September 1.

Charlotte D. Pfeifer is on of seven people being inducted into the South Bend Community Hall of Fame for their extensive contributions to the city through service to others and their personal achievements. The induction ceremonies will be Nov. 20 at the 16th annual South Bend Community Hall of Fame Induction Banquet at Century Center.

Steven N. Shore just published his second book The Tapestry of Modern Astrophysics. The publisher classifies it as "An advanced, broad treatment of modern astrophysics. The scope of modern astrophysics is the entire cosmos and everything in it. The The Tapestry of Modern Astrophysics provides advanced undergraduates or graduate-level students with a comprehensive introduction to the subject."

Tammy Morgan and Jennifer Good just received word that their Ameritech Fellowship proposal has been funded. The project they proposed "Spanish for Health Care Personnel: Supporting the Novice Learner Through Technology," is very exciting and I look forward to seeing the results.

The 2002/03 Assessment Committee welcomes three new members: Alec Hosterman, Paul Kochanowski, and Eleanor Lyons. Linda Fisher continues as the chair of the Committee. Other Assessment Committee members are listed on the Assessment Website.

The Assessment Committee would also like to remind the campus community that it is sponsoring attendance at the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, November 3-5 for a limited number of interested faculty. If you would like to attend this internationally renowned conference, please contact Linda Fisher (x4442), the Chair of the Assessment Committee.

Please feel free to contact any of the Assessment Committee members for more information about the Assessment Grants, the Assessment Institute or for general information about the Assessment Committee and its activities.

The Assessment Committee is still collecting Annual Assessment Reports from each academic unit on campus. These reports are an invaluable resource for monitoring and documenting assessment activities. Thirty-one of the forty programs have submitted reports. In order for summaries and conclusions drawn from these reports to have the most value they need to be timely and complete. The Assessment Committee would like to encourage those departments that have not submitted reports to do so as quickly as possible.