The Reporter, August 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 August 11, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Brent Kinser co-authors winning grant for Carlyle Letters project Brent Kinser, assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University, co-authored a Duke University Press application that won a $210,000 Scholarly Editions grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant, along with $25,000 in matching funds from the Gladys K. Delmas Foundation, will help cover the costs of publishing three volumes of “The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle.” Kinser is an editor for the print volumes and coordinating editor of the scholarly electronic archive for the project, The Carlyle Letters Online: A Victorian Cultural Reference. The collection features thousands of letters written by Scottish author and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and his wife, Jane Welsh Carlyle (1801-1866), to more than 600 recipients throughout the world. “This project is serving as a national model for electronic editions and humanities work,” said Brian Gastle, head of the English department at WCU. 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: 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 August 13, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Catherine Carter nominated for national panel Catherine Carter, director of the English education program at Western Carolina University, has been nominated by Alan Mabe, senior vice president for academic aairs at University of North Carolina General Administration, and the North Carolina Governor’s Oce to serve on a national validation panel for the English Language Arts. “At this point, it is just a nomination, but the nomination itself is impressive,” said Brian Gastle, head of the English department at WCU. 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 August 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Chancellor John W. Bardo speaks at the 2009 Opening Assembly. WCU will assist the town of Dillsboro, where a decline in the number of visitors has affected its economy. TOP STORIES Chancellor announces partnership with Dillsboro as part of university focus on state, regional needs Western Carolina University must refocus on helping North Carolina recover from a lingering economic downturn. As part of that eort, the university will marshal its resources to provide additional assistance to the nearby municipality of Dillsboro, suering after the recent departure of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Those were the charges Wednesday, Aug. 19, from WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo as part of his address to faculty and sta beginning the 2009-10 academic year. Bardo told faculty and sta gathered for the Opening Assembly that the year would be a time not of new initiatives, but of following through on work already under way. “The people of North Carolina, for whom we work, are hurting. They are afraid for their present, but they are distraught for their children’s future,” Bardo said. “The people of North Carolina are looking to the University of North Carolina to lead them back to prosperity. Because of the work you have done over the past several years, the people of North Carolina are specically looking to Western Carolina University to make a difference in their lives.” Through its Quality Enhancement Plan (an eort to enhance undergraduate education by linking student experiences in and out of the classroom) and its responses to UNC Tomorrow (a university system initiative to help solve critical statewide problems), WCU has the tools in place to provide that assistance, he said. The eort begins in the university’s backyard, Bardo said. University ocials have met with Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger and oered WCU expertise in building the town’s economy. “With our QEP, we can use our resources to help them reimagine and rethink their futures. We can make a difference, and we can start here at home,” Bardo said. Through its engineering and art departments, the university already has provided assistance to the Jackson County Green Energy Park, where methane gas from an old landll is converted into energy used for artist studios and greenhouse space. The university also could use its programs in service learning, entrepreneurship, public administration, literature and other areas to help Dillsboro, Bardo said. Shortly after WCU’s Opening Assembly, the Dillsboro town board Aldermen approved the partnership proposal. “I feel that today is a dening moment in the history of Dillsboro,” said Hartbarger. “What a tremendous opportunity this gives the students, and the citizens and the merchants of Dillsboro. The possibilities are endless. We are so grateful for Dr. Bardo’s vision of what Dillsboro can become with the help of WCU in this partnership.” To best meet the needs of the people of the region and the state, however, the university must continuously improve its academic programs to produce an ever-growing number of graduates with the education, skills and abilities necessary to be competitive in the 21st-century economy, Bardo said. “We have to focus on making a dierence for the people of North Carolina. They need us, they are asking for our help, and we are well-positioned to do this for them,” he said. “But the only way we can do this is to raise the bar – again.” Among the strategies Bardo outlined: Ensure that every program, department and office across the university is aligned with the university’s core concept: “WCU offers opportunities for those who aspire to make a difference in their world.” Continue to improve the quality of the student body by recruiting students who are academically prepared and who embrace WCU’s notion of engaged learning and raising admission standards. Bardo called for development of a task force of faculty members and student affairs professionals to advise the Office of Admission in its recruitment efforts. Conduct a strategic program analysis of all academic programs to ensure they are appropriately focused and of high quality, including an examining of 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 general education and a discussion of what it means to be “generally educated” in the 21st century. Examine the structure of the university, including relocation of the Division of Information Technology to report directly to the chancellor; examination of middle management administrative positions; re-evaluation of the proposed creation of a new College of Science and Technology to consider rapid changes in those academic areas; and devolution of centralized decision-making through the creation of a faculty governance system at the college level. Bardo reminded faculty and sta that the push for quality is not just an academic issue, and that it must permeate the work of every WCU faculty and sta member in every oce. “Everyone is a key contributor to raising the bar,” he said. “When you come to a campus and walk around, you can sense quality. You can see it in the plantings. You can see it in the cleanliness of the buildings. You can see it when you walk into an oce and you are greeted by a smile and a ‘how can I help you?’” The university must emphasize quality in spite of an 8 percent budget cut (approximately $8 million) and the loss of 92 positions last scal year, Bardo said. Although the majority of those eliminated positions were vacant, 31.75 of them were lled. “The WCU family was hurt by the state budget situation,” Bardo said. “All of us have had to take furloughs. We have had to lay off members of the family, and that hurts.” The university is facing an additional $200,000 in cuts, but can manage those without additional layoffs, he said. Richard Beam, chair of the Faculty Senate, addressed the faculty following the chancellor’s remarks at the Opening Assembly. Click here to read the text of his address, “Education: Product or Process? Maybe both?” By Bill Studenc © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 31, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Christopher Blake co-authors journal article about service-learning project that helped Spanish-speaking students learn English Christopher Blake, assistant professor of applied linguistics at Western Carolina University, co-authored “ English Language Learners in Appalachia: Meeting the Need,” which was recently published in the Journal for Civic Commitment. The article, which Blake co-authored with Patricia Graham of Jackson County Public Schools, examines how a service-learning project in Southern Appalachia helped meet the needs of English language students. The project, named “Estrella Brillante (Shining Star),” featured a three-month after-school alternative program in which Spanish language students from WCU helped kindergarten through 12th-grade students produce short stories, art and dramatic productions that reflected their heritage cultures. 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 August 17, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Health services director issues flu prevention and care reminder Pam Buchanan, director of University Health Services at Western Carolina University, shared u prevention and care information with the campus community in a campuswide letter, which can be accessed from WCU’s Flu Outbreak Information Web site. Buchanan urges frequent hand-washing, staying away from others who might be sick and contacting WCU’s Health Center at (828) 227-7640 if symptoms develop. 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 August 16, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Dodson Dining Hall comes down Work crews began demolition of Dodson Dining Hall in July after the opening of Courtyard Dining Hall. A portion of the site of the former dining hall will facilitate construction of Blue Ridge Hall, a residence hall being built adjacent to the site. The remainder will be developed into green space. Photos below from WCU News Services depict trees being relocated before the demolition of Dodson Dining Hall and of demolition work. 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 Photos above show demolition work at the site of Dodson Dining Hall, which came down in July. © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 31, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Bob Zahner (Courtesy of The Highlander) TOP STORIES Endowed fund expands opportunities for WCU students at Highlands Biological Station Thanks to a contribution of $20,000 from the Barstow Foundation, Western Carolina University has created a scholarship and fellowship fund in tribute to the late Bob Zahner, former trustee of Highlands Biological Station. The primary intent of the award is to enable promising undergraduate WCU students to participate in the unique fall semester-in-residence program that the station offers in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment, said Jim Costa, WCU professor and the station’s executive director. The award also might be used to cover the cost of tuition and fees for outstanding WCU undergraduate and graduate students interested in field courses or conducting research at the station. “The establishment of the Bob Zahner Endowed Fund in Environmental Sciences by Dave and Marcia Barstow is an exciting step in the ongoing WCU-Highlands Biological Station collaboration,” said Costa. “Many Western Carolina students have benefited from Highlands Biological Station research facilities and programs over the years, but this is only the second scholarship designed especially for WCU students.” The first, the Highlands Biodiversity Scholarship, was developed under the leadership of Costa and Scott Higgins, dean of the Graduate School and Research. “I wanted to help more WCU students afford to conduct research at this unique, pristine laboratory, which is unlike any other in the state,” said Higgins. T h e Highlands Biological Station, founded in 1927, is a year-round biological field station of the University of North Carolina system and has worked closely with WCU since the station became a state institution in 1976. Located on a high plateau near the town of Highlands, its principal mission is to promote research and education in biodiversity studies in the region. Recipients of the Zahner award will be selected by Costa, in consultation with the dean of WCU’s College of Arts and Sciences. Undergraduate students who wish to enroll in the semester-in-residence program at the station must be admitted to the UNC-CH Institute for the Environment and take a leave of absence from their regular campus program. The process is similar to participating in a study abroad program, only the destination is Highlands Biological Station and the full semester curriculum is biodiversity and conservation studies. “This scholarship will enable a WCU student to attend the institute,” said David Barstow, director of the Barstow Foundation. “In this pioneering program, students take courses in Southern Appalachian biogeography, conservation biology and landscape analysis.” Students also attend a seminar on the cultural history of land use and conduct individual semester-long internship research projects. The Barstow Foundation is a family foundation established 40 years ago in Midland, Mich., by the late E.O. Barstow, the first chemist and later board member of the Dow Chemical Co., and his wife, Florence. They started the foundation as an expression of their commitment to support worthy projects in the community and around the world, said Barstow, grandson of E.O. Barstow. David Barstow and his wife, Marcia, were good friends of Bob Zahner. “Bob was an outstanding environmentalist in Western North 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 Carolina,” said Barstow. “Plans are to grow the fund to additionally provide scholarships to students taking part in summer courses or research opportunities at the biological station, such as field courses and senior thesis or master’s research.” Zahner was born in 1923, spending his childhood summers at Lake Sequoyah and his adolescence at Billy Cabin Mountain. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, and he completed his education at Duke University. Zahner then worked as a research scientist for the U.S. Forest Service and became a professor of forestry and natural resources at the University of Michigan and Clemson University. Zahner passed away in 2007, after living in Highlands and devoting himself to the conservation and preservation of natural resources. Costa said the Zahner fund will support experiences that are formative for WCU students, whether they take summer field courses, conduct individual research or participate in the fall semester-in-residence program. “I am very grateful to the Barstows for honoring our mutual friend Bob Zahner in this most appropriate way,” said Costa. For more information about the fund, contact Chris Mueller, WCU’s executive director of resource development, by telephone at (828) 227-7124 or by e-mail at clmueller@wcu.edu. To contribute to the fund, checks can be made to the “WCU Foundation” and sent to Mueller at the Office of Development, 201 H.F. Robinson Administration Building, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723. By Bessie Dietrich Goggins and Teresa Killian Tate © 2009 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home August 13, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS English professors named to REACH board Brent Kinser, assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University, was recently named president of the board of directors for REACH of Jackson County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the eradication of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition, Kathleen Brennan, new associate dean of the Graduate School and associate professor of sociology, has been named secretary of the organization. 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 August 10, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Faculty and staff encouraged to attend Aug. 19 assembly The opening assembly for the 2009-10 academic year will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, in the performance hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. A reception preceding the assembly will begin at 8:30 a.m. 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: 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 August 24, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | Richard Beam TOP STORIES Faculty chair Richard Beam discusses education as product, process or both at Opening Assembly Richard Beam, associate professor of theater and chair of the Faculty Senate, delivered remarks to the faculty following the chancellor at the Opening Assembly on Wednesday, Aug. 19. Text of Beam’s address, titled “Education: Product or Process? Maybe both?” is below. “If you were at our closing meeting last spring, you know that the chancellor charged the provost and me to ‘…meet this summer and hammer out a process for beginning to create a current institutional statement with regard to general education.’ We have done so and our report has been sent to the chancellor. He has indicated that this report will be shared with the entire campus and, it is my hope that we, the faculty, will proceed with this important task with care, but with attention to getting the job done. The last time we undertook such a study, a number of years ago, I believe that it took far too long. I don’t wish to rehash the discussions the provost and I had this past summer, nor do I wish to prescribe any particular outcome. I believe that the provost and I have described a process that will allow our university outcome to be developed through our departments, colleges and as an entire faculty. I would like to take this opportunity to talk briefly about a related question. This question has come to my attention in a variety of situations over the past few months, but I believe that it must be a part of this broad discussion. That question is whether education, what we are all engaged in, is a process, or a product. As I understand it, the idea of education as a process focuses on general knowledge and basic skill acquisition. The idea of education as a product focuses on the specific knowledge and skills related to a particular discipline or job market. There has been considerable discussion, particularly in recent years, over the appropriateness of both of these foci in higher education. I won’t pretend that I can resolve this question in a few minutes. I probably can’t even adequately summarize the arguments in the time available. On the other hand, it is my opinion that, as we approach the notion of redefining what I’m going to call ‘General Studies,’ that these two points of view are, in fact, fundamental to our process. You see, I think that education, especially higher education, must partake of both. I believe that we do (or should) in fact, create a product: an educated person capable of entering the work force and making a contributio