Office of Academic Affairs VCAA News  June 2008

Dear Colleagues, In recent weeks airline travel has taken me to various parts of the country. What impresses me most about flying are that tons of steel, suspended in air, can travel at rapid speed and as if by magical design I am bodily and emotionally transported to a distant place far from where I began my journey.  As I moved effortlessly through space I marveled how each landscape had its distinctive topography and character and each place its unique cultural norms and mores. Yet, no matter where I found myself, each place was strikingly American.   And as I traveled I felt a distinct kinship with Saint Exupery’s little prince who marveled in his imaginary travels about the illustrative splendor of the earth and galaxy. Unlike the Little Prince, terra firma is where I am, rooted in my work at IU South Bend. Now that graduation is over and spring is in full blossom, I’ve turned my attention to two important university-wide task forces that I am co-chairing, the Faculty Excellence Committee of the new UITS Strategic Plan and the Promotion and Tenure Review Committee.   Among the many issues considered in the discussions to date include faculty development in the new and emerging technologies; the confluence of knowledge, learning and discovery in collaborative teaching and research models; the multiple collaborations of faculty research; the maintenance, sustainability and dissemination, and preservation of data; the motivation and engagement of faculty in technology; the use of technology tools to strengthen grant proposals and support and enhance the ensuing research; collaborative research teams of UITS staff and faculty; the role of UITS in supporting and enabling research, teaching and learning; the role of digital arts in the social sciences and humanities.  I’ve been energized by thoughtful conversations in faculty groups at IUPUI and IUB that envision UITS and academics as partners in faculty research and teaching and about how each informs the other. As IU looks to the future of information technology the challenge will be to make real the integration of technology with good pedagogy and to use technology effectively to enhance interactive collaboration within and among disciplines.   Needless to say, I’m becoming an eager learner about technology and its application to our academic mission.  I appreciate any comments or ideas that you wish me to share with the larger group.   I also welcome any comments regarding promotion and tenure practices and expectations.  That review committee meets in early June. If you haven’t determined your summer reading, I invite you to begin with Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species, the One Book, One Campus text associated with our campus theme for next year, “Revolutions in Thought.” Professor Mike Keen is heading an exciting project, the Center for a Sustainable Future, which has the potential to be an important marker of excellence for our campus. Another important area of distinction for our campus is international education.  Under Scott Sernau’s leadership, the campus is making steady advances toward global education.   We will soon be saying farewell to our visiting Fulbright scholar, Professor Nimrod Luz and his family. They will  be returning to Israel in July after touring other parts of the States.  Nimrod has made an impressionable and long-lasting impact on our intellectual community with his lectures, his research collaborations with our faculty, his engaging teaching of our students, and his connections with our local community.    We thank him for his intellect and wit and wish him and his family a safe return to their homeland and extend to them an open invitation to South Bend and to IU South Bend. In support of President McRobbie’s interests in promoting international education at IU, this spring and summer IUSB has had increased numbers of students studying abroad in Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico, London and Paris.  Currently, Professors Lesley Walker and Joe Chaney are with our students in the London/Paris Program.  In a recent e-mail, Joe indicates that the students “have been diligent about reading assignments, taking notes, paying attention, etc”  He further notes that the students are enjoying the French pastry and found the endless gardens at Versailles fascinating. Earlier this summer, Professors Peter Bushnell and Ann Grens traveled with students to Belize on a marine biology field trip.    Professor Cindy Sofhauser who served as resident nurse on the trip wrote enthusiastically about the extraordinary teaching and learning:  “The students were challenged in many ways during this international experience,--mentally, physically, socially and emotionally;  it is truly a holistic learning experience, replete with plenty of experiential learning combined with just enough down time.  While they are challenged to think like scientists engaged in rigorous field-work, they are also challenged to appreciate each other as colleagues, in and out of the ‘lab.’   As I observed them exploring their problems, formulating their hypotheses, and designing their experiments they learned to balance and negotiate each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  Peter and Ann provided respectful guidance….” The learning experience of the biology students paralleled in many ways what Julienne Turner learned during her spring trip to Costa.    Julienne’s study was made possible through a David Starr Jordan scholarship and upon her return sent International Studies a heartwarming thank you note recounting her experiences.   With her permission, I quote from her letter:  “The study abroad program I took part in was a ten-day “Spring in Costa Rica" trip, where I was able to study Spanish, ecology, sociology, and eco-tourism, among other aspects of the country and culture.  I mainly stayed in the Guanacaste region of the country, where I was able to visit various ecological parks, including dry tropical forests and cloud forests, the Arenal Volcano, hot springs, a zip-line canopy tour, Samara Beach, and I was even able to make an impact on a poor, rural community through a service learning project.  Costa Rican culture has always been of particular interest to me, and this experience broadened my perspective, not only socially, but personally.  As I learned on the trip, Costa Rica has a rich history of culture, language and religion.  Without a doubt, I returned with a deeper awareness that cannot be learned in the classroom.  International experience has helped me recognize and appreciate how culture influences values and behaviors, in addition to understanding the different value system Ticos adhere to.  This program was of great importance in enhancing my long-term degree goals at IU South Bend, as learning abroad has increased my cultural awareness, independence and self-confidence.  Overall, I have returned with a refreshing and new perspective on life.”  From the personal accounts above, it is quite obvious that there is a strong correlation between the quality of the students’ learning experience and the extraordinary teaching of their faculty.   Kudos to all of our extraordinary IU South Bend faculty. The end of June will be bittersweet for me and for the Office of Academic Affairs.  Beginning July 1, Linda Fritschner, the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, enters a new phase in her life as she begins her retirement.    We, in Academic Affairs, will miss her sharp dry wit and engaging humor.  But most of all, we will miss her dedication and diligence to tasks.   Undergirding her work during the eight years she served in this office were impeccable integrity, principled ethics and a peerless devotion to excellence.   As a colleague, she was a non-judgmental confidante and a discriminating ear upon which to bounce ideas.  We all wish her bundles of happiness as she pursues new adventures across the globe. Assessment Assessment Committee Program Reviews: The Assessment Committee conducted ten third year assessment reviews this spring.  The following departments shared their current assessment plans and activities:  Physics and Astronomy, Theatre, Chemistry, Social Work, Undergraduate Business programs Sociology, Undergraduate English, Graduate English, Biology and Criminal Justice.  The Assessment Committee always appreciates hearing about activities and progress  made in the important work of assessing student  learning.  A rubric summarizing the scores for the assessment Third Year Reviews is available here. Assessment Grants: The assessment committee would like to congratulate the recipients of assessment grants awarded during the Spring semester. The Nursing Program was awarded a grant to obtain detailed reports of the results of the NCLEX exam. NCLEX  is the standardized test which allows graduating students to practice nursing.  The detailed results will allow the nursing faculty to adapt their curriculum to address specific topics covered by the exam. The School of Education received a grant to send additional faculty to the NCATE conference, including faculty from LAS who partner with the SOE in service courses. This grant will also allow the SOE to hire a professional consultant to help with aligning their graduate programs with national teaching standards. Assessment Grant applications are currently being accepted. These grants, for up to $3000, are available for a wide variety of projects related to assessing student learning. Do you need to determine if concepts required by national standards are being covered in you curriculum? Would additional advising training for faculty help students stay and complete degrees? Do your introductory classes prepare students for upper divisional courses in their majors? Do you want to do a trial of a standardized test for your discipline? Would you like to learn more about how assessment results can be used to improve your curriculum or aid in attracting students?  These are the types of questions that could be answered by an assessment project. Applications and guidelines are available on the assessment website http://www.iusb.edu/~sbassess . Please contact Rhonda Culbertson with any questions (x5598). Assessment Workshop: On Friday March 28th, the assessment committee sponsored a workshop by Dr. Douglas Davenport. The two half day sessions covered topics on assessment in the classroom, and on identifying measures of institutional effectiveness. Dr. Davenport's considerable knowledge of and experience with assessment informed his in-depth and practical presentations. Dr. Davenport, currently the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Truman University, implemented and oversaw the impressive assessment program there. He was able to answer questions on a wide range of topics from our faculty and administration.  The materials he used for his presentations are available from the assessment office. New Programs:  This spring the Indiana Commission of Higher Learning approved the B.S. in Medical Imaging.  Kudos To the new FACET inductees:  Ganesh Vayidnathan, Bill Feighery, Barbara Keith, and Laura Talcott. To Kevin Ladd for his feature in the latest issue of IU's Research and Creative Activity (Spring 2008). The article provides interesting information about his grant and research on prayer.   Sincerely, Alfred J. Guillaume, Jr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs