Office of Academic Affairs VCAA News June/July 2003

Dear Colleagues, "Summertime and the living is easy" so goes the popular song. I sincerely hope that your summer is personally and professionally fulfilling and that, in the midst of your scholarship, you find time for recreational reading and relaxation. To date, life on the west wing of the Administration building is far from easy. My staff and I have been working on numerous tasks that seemingly dwindle hope for leisure and make recreational pleasure appear a rare and precious gift. We are busily planning for the academic year, working on the PeopleSoft conversion, expanding and strengthening our articulation agreements, reviewing summer school, beginning the initial planning for student housing, expanding external community linkages, welcoming prospective and new students, etc. I am blessed to have competent and supportive staff who work tirelessly for IU South Bend’s students. Like you, I, too, hope to find time this summer for reading and reflection. I am currently behind in the submission of two book reviews and, near my favorite chair at home, linger three unfinished novels. On July 1, Chancellor Reck marked her first anniversary at IU South Bend. At the recent retreat of the Campus Directions Committee, I characterized her first year of leadership as electrifying. Since last summer, the campus has made tremendous strides in its continuous path of excellence. IU South Bend has reached extraordinary heights in budget and administrative stability, improved communication, added new academic programs, hired new faculty, enhanced facility and plant management, improved public image and community outreach, initiated more purposeful planning, retained more students, gained in student enrollment growth, cemented stronger relationships with central university administration, etc. IU South Bend has much to celebrate. The chancellor will provide more detail on these and other achievements in her remarks to the faculty and staff at the August 22nd All-Campus meeting. As a comprehensive, public, urban university, IU South Bend contributes immeasurably to the quality of life in Northern Indiana. Welcome to our two new academic deans, Mary Jo Regan-Kubinski, Division of Health Professions, and David Freitas, School of Education. Both come to IU South Bend with proven records of leadership and scholarship. Each of them is already working on important initiatives and projects. Welcome, also, to Ilene Sheffer, the Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs and University Advancement. She brings a wealth of experience in community relations and university outreach. Summer News: Traditionally, most people think that the academic year begins late in August or early September and concludes in May.  However, an increasing number of students are taking summer classes at IU South Bend.  Summer I and Summer II, 2003, set new records for student enrollment and for credit hour enrollment at IUSB.  Our first summer session enrolled 3,127 students, an increase of 6.1 percent over the first summer session last year.  These students enrolled in 12,318 credit hours, an 8.63 percent increase over 2002.  Two thousand six hundred and eighty-six students enrolled in our second summer session.  They are taking 10,308 credit hours. When compared with the second summer session 2002, this is a 4.6 percent increase in the number of students and a 5.4 percent increase in the number of credit hours. Thanks to everyone for helping to make our summer sessions a success for IU South Bend and for our students. Summer School Review Task Force: Members of the task force are: Alfred Guillaume, Jr.-Chair, Linda Fritschner, Leda Hall, Lynn Williams, Marta Makielski, Asghar Sabbaghi, Gwynn Mettetal, Ben Withers, Mike Carroll and Donna Broadstreet. The committee developed a mission statement on the summer sessions that will serve as the foundation for its deliberative conversations about summer school. Look for updates in future issues of the VCAA News. UCET Back to School Activities – Fall 2003 Each fall semester UCET plans a full range of activities for new and returning faculty. This year these events will be held from Wednesday, August 13 through Thursday, August 22. You can meet new colleagues, get teaching tips for the classroom, learn how to set the appropriate classroom climate, and learn about creative ways to blend teaching, scholarship and service. All faculty and administrators are also invited to bring their families to a picnic at Potowatomi Park at 5 PM on Wednesday, August 20th. Watch for further details in campus mail on the UCET website. Assessment: The Assessment Committee is pleased to announce that Nancy Colborn of the Schurz Library is the recipient of an Assessment General Education Grant.  She will be attending, “Immersion ’04,” a conference sponsored by the Institute for Information Literacy.  She will be taking part in a track for Librarians as Program Developers and she will do an individual case study on the plans for developing an information literacy component of the new general education requirements at IUSB.  An integral part of the case study will be the incorporation of assessment strategies and techniques as part of the foundation of the project. The Assessment Committee plans to offer another round of Assessment Grants in the Fall of 2003.  Profound developments at IUSB and the Higher Learning Commission related to assessment may make these grants especially popular.  Now is the time to start considering assessment projects appropriate for an Assessment Grant. New Assessment Resources A new resource has been added to the collection of assessment documents available from the Assessment Committee. The Higher Learning Commission has published a four volume set, A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2003.  The individual volumes cover:  Establishing and Sustaining Effective Connections, Organizational Effectiveness and Future Directions, Promoting Student Learning and Effective Teaching, The Self-Study Process for Commission Evaluation.  These documents may be particularly helpful as programs revise their assessment strategy in light of the new HLC guidelines. If you are interested in these books, or others available from the Assessment Office, (for a complete list see: Links and Resources at the Assessment Web-site, http://www.iusb.edu/~assess/links.html ,) please contact Rhonda Culbertson, (rculbert@iusb.edu or x6598.) We are linking here to the IUSB CAMPUS ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE DEPARTMENTAL THIRD YEAR REVIEW SUMMARY for 2002-2003 for your information.  Kudos: Benjamin Withers, Associate Professor of Fine Arts, was awarded an IU Arts & Humanities grant for his project "A Digital View of a Distant World: An Electronic Edition of the Old English Hexateuch." Working with Les Lamon and Jon Meyer, I was able to secure a grant from the Kellogg Foundation for Leadership Academy being run by the Civil Rights Heritage Center. The School of Education received a small STEP II grant from the Indiana Professional Standards Board to work on integrating K-12 content standards into teacher preparation. School of Education and College of Liberal Arts & Science faculty are collaborating on this project this summer. Education participants are Marie Doyle, Marcia Sheridan, Marilyn Nash, and Connie Sprague. CLAS faculty are Morteza Shafii-Mousavi, Scott Sernau, Bill Feighery, and Monica Tetzlaff. Congratulations to all of the 2002-03 Trustee Teaching Award winners.  They are:  Gretchen Anderson, Chemistry; Tracey Anderson, Business and Economics; Elizabeth Bennion, Political Science;  Anne Brown, Mathematical Science; Karen Clark, School of Education; Nancy Colborn, Library; Geraldine Huitink, Chemistry; Randall Isaacson, School of Education; Neovi Karakatsanis, Political Science; Gary Kern, Business and Economics; Judith Schafer, Dental Education;  Carolyn Schult, Psychology;  Scott Sernau, Sociology;  Kevin Smant, School of Education;  Denise Smith, School of Education; Cynthia Sofhauser, Nursing and Health Professions.      Best wishes, Alfred J. Guillaume, Jr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs