The Reporter, March 2009

The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues.SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Article ‘Leading Generation Y’ selected for The Education Digest Dave Coley, assistant professor in educational leadership and foundations, authored an article that has been selected for condensation in The Education Digest. The article, “Leading Generation Y,” originally was published in the February 2009 issue of Principal Leadership. Coley recently presented a session on this topic at the National Association of Secondary School Principals conference in San Diego. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Author of ‘Green Jobs’ to speak March 25 James Hendrix, co-author of “Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-friendly Employment,” will speak at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the auditorium of the Mountain Heritage Center. The presentation is free and open to the public. WCU instructor Eric Hendrix (no relation) invited the author to campus after students in his English composition classes read and discussed portions of the book, including the chapters “Who Wants a Green Job and Why” and “What Green Means for Education and Training.” “For many, this was the rst time they had taken a long-range look that required them to consider goals, especially academic goals,” said Eric Hendrix. “This is the rst semester I’ve required and used this text, and it will become more and more integral with my classes because of its timely information and excellent bibliography saturated with sources both hard copy and online.” Eric Hendrix incorporated the book into student reading assignments after hearing the co-authors present at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. “Those attending participated in a lively discussion about their book and its relevance not only for us but also for today’s students,” he said. James Hendrix is a retired educator with experience at the university and secondary school levels, and a longtime environmentalist and sustainability advocate. He wrote the book with Bronwyn Llewellyn and K. C. Golden. “What I hope readers take away (from ‘Green Jobs’) is a sense that this is no pie-in-the-sky topic – that there is an enormous economic, job-related potential in the green revolution,” James Hendrix said. “The technology currently exists to make these transformations. We only need the political will and leadership to make it happen.” CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 2, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Campus update details 2008-09 budget reversion and timeline for 2009-10 budget proposal Information about the increase in the budget reversion for this fiscal year from 6 percent to 7 percent and the timeline for developing next year’s budget for Western Carolina University was included in a recent campus update from Kyle Carter, provost and senior vice chancellor, and Chuck Wooten, vice chancellor for administration and finance. The budget update, which was shared with campus on Thursday, Feb. 26, can be accessed from the budget update Web site at Budget Updates. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Chancellor, professor to present at “Boomers and Beyond” summit Chancellor John W. Bardo and Tilt Thompkins, economics professor and senior policy fellow of the Institute for the Economy and the Future, will present at “Boomers and Beyond: A Summit on Business and Aging.” The event will be held Tuesday, April 14, at the Reuter Center at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The event was developed to help prospective or current business owners, leaders of nonprot organizations, government ocials and students interested in discovering the economic potential of boomers and retirees. Thompkins will present “Facts and Myths about the Economics of Aging in Western North Carolina.” He will provide data on retiree migration patterns since the 2000 census and how the boomer population is affecting the consumer and labor force economy of the region. As part of a panel discussion titled “Sustaining the Momentum,” Bardo will share examples of how WCU has supported the economic potential of the new “silver industries” with research, education and collaboration. Click here to read more about the event. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Commuters invited to volunteer for vanpools About 60 people attended a commuter shuttle service forum held earlier this month to discuss developing vanpools at Western Carolina, and university officials are now assessing interest in the program and examining program logistics. 2Plus, a national nonprot organization that specializes in vanpooling and is under contract with the state transportation department, will help form vanpool groups and provide vehicles – 2005-09 Ford vans – for the routes. Vanpools will be established if at least ve people who work the same shift are identied and can meet at a pick-up point. Vanpool participants who volunteer to be drivers will ride for free. Riders save money by paying an average of $5 to $8 a day to ride. The vanpool program supplies a fuel card, insurance, van maintenance and emergency roadside assistance. Interested participants are asked to contact Robert Peele with 2Plus at (919) 881-2596. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 30, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Staff Senate accepting donations for yard sale fundraiser Western Carolina University’s Sta Senate will raise money for its scholarship fund by selling donated items at a booth at this year’s Jackson County Arts Council Indoor Yard Sale, to be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, at Ramsey Regional Activity Center. To donate items to the sale, bring them to the former Zamboni room at the Ramsey Center between 4 and 5 p.m. Monday, March 30; between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31; between 8 and 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 1; between 12 and 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2; and between 4 and 6 p.m. Friday, April. 3. Requested items are small, working appliances, such as toasters and food processors; small pieces of furniture; working radios and computers; camping /outdoor items; children’s books and toys; and knickknacks such as candleholders. Proceeds from the sale go to the Sta Senate Scholarship Fund, which benefits family of WCU staff members. In addition, Staff Senate will be gathering items for the Hospital Auxiliary to assist the community. Items requested are gently-used clothing, blankets and coats. Click here to learn more about Staff Senate or donating to the Staff Senate Scholarship Fund. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 2, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Dr. Claire DeCristofaro presents “Acute Pain Management with Controlled Substances” Dr. Claire DeCristofaro, associate professor of nursing, gave an invited presentation titled “Acute Pain Management with Controlled Substances” at the 15th annual Spring Pharmacology in Advanced Practice Conference that was recently held in Charleston, S.C. Tags: Claire DeCristofaro CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 9, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Employees can check leave balances online Western Carolina University employees recently gained the ability to check their leave balances online by logging in to My Cat using their Banner ID number that begins with 92 and pin. For instructions, go to the Web site http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/WordDocs/HR_My_Cat_Cheat_Sheet.doc or call Chris Williams in the Office of Human Resources at (828) 227-2359. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 30, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS English faculty member invited to teach in Budapest Mimi Fenton, professor of English, has been invited to give six public lectures and teach a special-section undergraduate class in May at the Károli Gáspár University in Budapest, Hungary. Fenton’s lectures and classes will explore specific topics related to 17th-century English author John Milton, whose work Fenton examined in her book “Milton’s Places of Hope: Spiritual and Political Connections of Hope with Land.” Fenton also will be conducting research in Budapest for a new book. In September, she presented a paper and chaired a session at an international conference in Budapest titled “Milton Through the Centuries.” The conference attracted participants from 22 universities and 13 countries. The event was one of many worldwide activities and events celebrating the 400th anniversary of Milton’s birth. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Faculty paper examines Americans with Disabilities Act amendments Debra Burke, professor and head of the business administration and law and sport management department, and Malcolm Abel, associate professor of business administration and law, presented a paper titled “The 2008 Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act” at the annual meeting of the Southern Academy of Legal Studies in Business in San Antonio. The paper outlined the provisions of legislation passed in 2008 to reverse the trend of the courts to narrow the coverage of the ADA and to restore the rights envisioned in the 1990 act for disabled workers. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Faculty partner with public school educators to use walkthroughs to boost quality A team of WCU and public school educators recently presented their findings from using whole-school walkthroughs to build school capacity to an international audience of 60 educators. Kathleen Topolka Jorissen, assistant professor of educational leadership and foundations, co-presented “The Path Back to Excellence using Peer Walkthroughs: One School’s Plan” at the annual meeting of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Orlando, Fla. Co-presenting with Jorissen were faculty from East Franklin Elementary School in Macon County including Terry Bradley, principal; Michelle Bell, assistant principal and student in WCU’s master’s degree program in school administration; and teachers Pam Owens and Angie Martin. The partnership was supported by a College of Education and Allied Professions’ Scholarship of Application Minigrant. The minigrant program was created to help faculty move service activities to scholarly engagement. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Faculty share innovations in supporting beginning teachers Janice Holt, director of the Center for the Support of Beginning Teachers; Jacque Jacobs, head of the educational leadership and foundations department; and Kathleen Topolka Jorissen, assistant professor of educational leadership and foundations, recently presented a paper at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education National Conference in Chicago. The paper was titled “Innovation in Beginning Teacher Support: Assistant Principals as Instructional Developers.” CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 9, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Faculty, staff present poster about graduate school’s community-building effort Dr. Claire DeCristofaro, associate professor of nursing; Judy Mallory, administrator of the master’s degree program in nursing, and Jessica Shirley, student services manager for the master’s degree program in nursing, co-authored a poster that was presented recently at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Master’s Education in Nursing Conference in Florida. The title of the poster was “Community Online Resources for Engagement (CORE) – Use of MS(N) Homeplace to Build Community in a Graduate School of Nursing” and was accompanied by a slide show on the use of the CORE WebCat course “MS(N) Homeplace.” The presentation emphasized the support from the university and Coulter Faculty Center for CORE courses. Tags: Claire DeCristofaro CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Kellie Harper claims the net after the 2009 Southern Conference tournament. Jon Harper coaches the Lady Catamounts. Kellie Harper gives her all in intramural flag football. TOP STORIES From the Bench with Kellie Harper, award-winning coach of the NCAA-bound Lady Catamounts Editor’s Note: An NCAA selection celebration will be 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, at Club Illusions on campus and a send-off celebration will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, at the Ramsey Center. Kellie Jolly Harper, Western Carolina University women’s basketball head coach, is preparing to take the Lady Catamounts to the NCAA tournament for the second time in ve years. The team won the Southern Conference tournament title game on Monday, March 9, in a triple-overtime thriller, earning an automatic bid to the national event. Harper’s coaching accolades include being named the 2007 Southern Conference Coach of the Year both by her peers and the SoCon Sports Media Association, and her players have excelled not only on the court but also in the classroom, earning places on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association academic honor roll. Before coming to WCU, Harper served as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and at Auburn. As a basketball player, Harper was a three-year starting point guard for the University of Tennessee and helped guide UT to an unprecedented three consecutive national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Harper holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and is married to Jon Harper, who works with her as assistant coach of the WCU women’s basketball team. His primary responsibilities include assisting with recruiting, administrative planning and coaching the Lady Catamount guards. He worked with all-conference WCU players Chevon Keith, Monique Dawson, Ashley Pellom and Lauren Powell. He holds a bachelor’s degree in health promotion/sports management from Auburn University. The Reporter: How old were you when you started playing basketball? What sparked your interest in the sport? Harper: The day my parents brought me home from the hospital they put a basketball in my hands and took a picture. Both of my parents played college ball, and my dad coached high school. I don’t remember not playing basketball. The Reporter: When and how did you know you wanted to coach? Harper: It was my sophomore year of high school. I wanted to coach, rst of all, because I’m very competitive and coaching is a great way to allow you to be competitive in your job. Secondly, I love basketball. It’s given me so much, and coaching was a way to stay involved with the sport. Third, I enjoy teaching the game. The Reporter: You are known for your drive to succeed, whether it is coaching basketball or even just playing intramurals. We have some WCU ag football pictures that really capture your determination. Where does that come from? Harper: Early on, growing up, I was on winning teams, and I’ve always expected to win. I don’t know if it came from my family or where I grew CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Kellie Harper breaks through defenders in flag football. The Lady Catamounts celebrate tournament victory. Husband and wife Jon and Kellie Harper coach together. up, in Sparta, Tenn. The Reporter: Yet, you always look so calm and collected on the court, even in the most intense situations. What’s your secret? Have you ever had a technical foul? Harper: I’ve only had one technical. It was during my second year at WCU, and I was taking up for one of our players. I can get pretty red up when I need to, and I know our players would tell you that is denitely the truth. But, the last thing I need to do is be animated or anxious when our players need me to be calm and condent that what we plan to do is going to work. The Reporter: Your husband, Jon Harper, is an assistant coach at WCU. How did you meet? Harper: Jon and I met at basketball camp at Tennessee while he was a manager at Auburn for the women’s team. He came up to work at the camp, and it didn’t take long for us to fall for each other. It was pretty much a fairy tale story. The Reporter: What’s it like to be married and work together? Do you talk about basketball at home? Harper: Yes, you know a lot of people think you can’t take it home with you, but for us it’s not possible not to. We don’t have kids, and so the girls on the team are like our family. When we go home, that’s what we talk about. We have dierent coaching strengths, which is wonderful, and we both have a demeanor that allows us to work together. We are laid-back o the court, and yet have an extremely competitive drive when we know what we’re working for. The Reporter: Your family came to the Southern Conference tournament championship game. How have they supported you in your career? Harper: My mom and dad were at the game. They’ve driven all over the country to watch me play basketball. When they’re not at games, they listen on the radio or computer. My two younger brothers were also at the game. Ross is a manager for the (University of Tenness