News: A Newsletter from Academic and Student Affairs Preparing Students for Careers and Citizenship
Volume 4, Number 1	August 20, 2010
2010-2011 Academic Year Welcome from Academic and Student Affairs    As students return to campus, they bring with them the excitement of new beginnings, especially with an increased number of freshmen enrolled in classes this fall. While circumstances may be different from year to year, UNK’s commitment to providing a quality education does not change. We move into a new academic year eager to enhance our ability to cultivate positive student experiences on this campus. The arrival of two new deans this summer brings change in the administrative leadership at UNK. Dr. John La Duke assumed the position of Dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences on July 1. Under his leadership, the programs within the college will continue to develop, thrive, and grow. On August 1, Dr. Joseph Oravecz arrived to permanently fill the position of Dean for Student Affairs, where his expertise and prior experience working with students will advance the work of the Student Affairs division. Both deans will build on the foundations laid by Dr. Robert Rycek in NSS and Dr. Gail Zeller in Student Affairs, the former deans who have given their time and talents while the searches for new deans could be completed. We welcome Dr. La Duke and Dr. Oravacz, who will uniquely contribute to our mission in Academic and Student Affairs – to prepare students to be outstanding professionals and thoughtful citizens. This goal is realized with a staff that perseveres in providing exceptional service and support to students and faculty members, as well as a faculty whose excellence in teaching, research, and service is continuously demonstrated. Students at UNK benefit from a wonderful blend of the experience and history we have with our continuing faculty and the vibrancy that comes with our new hires. Welcome to all new and returning faculty and staff, and best wishes as we begin the 2010-2011 academic year! - Charlie Bicak, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs	In This Issue: 2010-2011 Welcome  2010 Awards  Kelly Fund Awards  Blue and Gold Welcome  China Study Abroad  First Year Program  Library - In-Brief Online  2010-2011 Department Chairs  Faculty Items to Note  Recognition  Calendar  Contact Information

2010 Pratt-Heins and SAFE Awards Presented at Fall Convocation 

The 2010 Pratt-Heins and SAFE Awards were presented this morning at the Faculty/Staff Opening Convocation.

Recipients of the Pratt-Heins Awards are:

• Herbert Craig, Ph.D., Department of Modern Languages - Scholarship
• Richard Miller, Ph.D., Department of Psychology - Service 
• Julie Shaffer, Ph.D., Department of Biology - Teaching 
   

The Pratt-Heins Awards, sponsored by the Pratt-Heins Foundation, are presented annually  to recognize UNK faculty who have demonstrated outstanding work in the areas of Teaching, Scholarship/Research, and Service. Students, alumni, faculty colleagues, department chairs/program directors, or college deans may nominate individuals for consideration. 

Recipients of the SAFE Awards are:

• Rosalind Sheldon, Counseling and Health Care, sponsored by Fidelity Investments
• Bryce Abbey, Human Performance Lab in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Leisure Studies, sponsored by Fidelity Investments
• Wilma Heinowski, Police and Parking Services, funded by the Jim and Lynn Rundstrom Family Foundation
   

The SAFE (Staff Awards for Excellence) Awards are presented annually to honor UNK staff members for outstanding service to students, UNK, and education in general.  Individuals are considered upon nomination and a maximum of three peer references.  

- written in collaboration with Bev Mathiesen, Office of the Chancellor, and
Tami Plugge, Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

University of Nebraska Announces Kelly Fund Winners

University of Nebraska Executive Vice President and Provost Linda Pratt has announced this year’s recipients of Kelly Fund awards. Kelly Funds, which support research that improves teaching, are derived from an endowed fund under the will of Mabel Elizabeth Kelly in honor of her husband, Fred J. Kelly.

“The Kelly Fund is an important award because it recognizes the relationship between good teaching and research,” Pratt said. “The quality of teaching on all the University of Nebraska campuses is very high, and these awards help support the research that underlies classroom success.”

This year’s Kelly Fund award winners are:

• Sherri Harms, chair and associate professor, UNK Department of Computer Science and Information Systems; and Mark Hartman, UNK associate professor of art and art history, for a project called “Technology Transparency in Computer Science (CS), Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Visual Communication and Design (VCD) Curricula.” The project will focus on the creation of a new media lab in which students and faculty can explore cutting-edge technology that is emerging at the consumer level.
• Martha Horvay, senior lecturer in the UNL Department of Textiles, Clothing & Design; and Michael James, chair and professor, UNL Department of Textiles, Clothing & Design, for a project called “The Impact of Using an Adaptive Online Interactive Learning Simulation on Learning Outcomes.” The project will study whether tutorials can be effective in the online instruction of analytical design skills for beginning art, architecture and design majors. The research will reveal a picture of how undergraduates behave within an online course along with their perceived needs and expectations, which will lead to better-designed courses for the growing online learning population.
• Alan Kolok, UNO professor of biology and director of the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory; and Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, assistant professor in the UNL Department of Civil Engineering, for a project called “The Davis Prairie Data Shack: A Resource for Research, Education and Outreach in Environmental and Human Health.” Funds will be used to initiate program development at the Davis Prairie Data Shack, an aquatic learning laboratory being constructed on the banks of the Elkhorn River. University and high school students will be able to conduct research at the Data Shack, then produce and archive online videos that detail their work.

Kelly Fund awards are distributed annually by the Provost’s Office. Award proposals are reviewed by members of the Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award selection committee.

- Melissa Lee, University of Nebraska Communications Manager 

** For more information about the project proposal of Dr. Harms and Dr. Hartman,
see the CSIS Project website at http://www.unk.edu/academics/csis/Projects/. **

Blue and Gold Welcome Week 2010 Schedule

It's that time of year again as we prepare to welcome in our incoming Freshmen and our returning students to campus. During their crucial first days on campus, when students will initially decide whether they feel at home here at UNK, we have developed a comprehensive range of activities designed to connect students to their Faculty, the Staff, other students, their residence halls, UNK Athletics, the campus, and the Kearney community.

This year's theme for both Welcome Week and Homecoming is, "UNK: Where the Magic Happens!" This year's schedule of events is available online at http://www.unk.edu/studentlife.aspx?id=1609.  As always, there are changes from previous years, including the day Freshmen move in (Friday, August 20th), the times of the Showcase and Chancellor's Picnic, a new day for Lopers Under the Lights, and others. You'll also notice some new events like the "Flip Flop Fun Night" on the night before classes start as well as our partnership event at the Viaero Event Center.

We encourage Faculty and Staff to attend the events throughout the Week to enjoy the festivities and to greet and welcome new Students!   

 - Brandon Benitz, Assistant to the Dean for Student Affairs 

Students and Faculty Director Embark on Fall Semester Abroad in China

Today nine UNK students will land in Beijing, China, and take a five-hour bus journey to Shijiazhuang in the Hebei Province of China to begin their four-month long study abroad adventure, with faculty director, Kathy Smith (Accounting/Finance).  

The study abroad program will be located in the international education college of Hebei Normal University, an entity with over 30,000 students in 22 colleges spread across four campuses. The students will be living on a  campus in the heart of the city, with international students from the U.S. as well as other countries.  

While studying abroad for the Fall of 2010, students will be taking 12 hours of coursework for UNK credit, including an introductory course in Chinese language. Group members will participate in several field trips throughout the semester – including tours to Baiyang Lakes, Beijing, Shandong, Shangxi, and Xian – as well as tutor Chinese students in English language skills at area high schools. And as part of their credit requirements, the students will be journaling about their experiences. Their journals will be converted to a blog and published in the Antelope online throughout the fall semester, so watch http://unkantelope.com/ for accounts of these students’ experiences.  

- written in collaboration with Ann Marie Park, Study Abroad Office

First Year Seminar Pilot Underway for Fall

The First Year Program has been undergoing review and renewal for the past two years. The program now enters a new phase with the First Year Pilot, which includes a 1-credit hour Freshman Seminar. Kristi Bryant is overseeing the pilot as the Interim Director of the First Year Program.

Eight sections of the seminar, each with a cap of 25 students, are being offered. The goal of the seminar, and the proposed program revision, is to introduce students to academic culture and to the academic expectations of university life. The eight seminar sections are divided by college, with a section each for Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Business, Technology, Fine Arts, Humanities, Education, and HPERLS. This structure will allow instructors to discuss issues specific to the disciplines within each college with the students who plan to study in those areas, in addition to college life in general.

The following overview explains the development of the revised program proposal and seminar to this point.

The First Year Program was originally initiated by faculty in 2002 and operated through 2008. The program utilized existing UNK courses with Student Peer Leaders. The program underwent an APR in the spring of 2008; although positive, the sustainability of the current program structure was questioned.

At the request of (then) SVCAA&SL Murray, the First Year Task Force was formed in the spring of 2008 and charged with evaluating the feasibility of continuing the existing First Year Program at UNK, considering possible alternatives for providing the essential elements of a First Year Program to a greater number of students, and submitting recommendations to the SVCAA&SL by October, 2008.

Members of the task force included Debbie Bridges, Chair; Rick Larsen (Residential and Greek Life); Gail Zeller (Interim Dean of Student Life); Daryl Kelley (Sociology); Sylvia Asay (Family Studies); Daren Snider (Director of General Studies); and Mary Daake (Academic Advising).

The committee’s recommendations, which were accepted by SVCAA&SL Murray, was for the First Year Program to go on hiatus during AY 2009/10 so that input from the campus community could be gathered and incorporated into a revised structure for the FY program. In addition, SVCAA&SL Murray requested that the proposed revisions to the FY Program be completed and ready for presentation to the campus by the end of the 2009/10 AY.

During spring and summer 2009, the group gathered input on the structure of FY Program through meetings with faculty and Student Life personnel, worked with the Noel Levitz retention consultant to expand audience and to ensure consistency between the program structure and UNK’s recruitment/retention goals, and presented the resulting FY Action Plan as part of EMC recommendations to the Chancellor’s Cabinet as Action Plan 16.5.

In September 2009, the report, “First year Program at UNK: Recommendations for the Future” (prepared by Kristi Bryant, Interim Director FY Program), was submitted to SVCASA Bicak. The report, which represents the culmination of the work completed since spring 2009, included a set of recommendations for the revised FY Program. In October 2009, Dr. Bicak accepted those recommendations and charged Dr. Zeller and Dr. Bridges to begin working out the logistics of implementing them while maintaining consistency with on-going campus wide initiatives in recruitment/retention and strategic planning.

The culmination of that work is the First Year Program proposal, which includes the Freshman Seminar being piloted this fall.

The future direction of the First Year Program will be determined by assessment results from the pilot.

- written in collaboration with Deborah Bridges, Faculty Assistant to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

Library - In Brief Online  

Pardon our dust! Construction underway at the library

Written by Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources Librarian
ritterbushjr@unk.edu 

Major physical changes are underway within the library. A new reading and small group study area have been created on the library’s main level behind the Reference Desk.  Where did these books go?  Many of the books which make up the Reference Collection are available online through sources like AccessScience, Credo Reference, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and Oxford Reference Online. The remaining print books in the Reference Collection have been moved to a temporary location on the library’s lower level, and some will eventually be integrated into the circulating Book Collection on the second floor.

This summer, the library also withdrew over 16,000 print periodical volumes duplicated online in JSTOR. By removing these duplicate print volumes, the library can accommodate future growth in other periodical titles and re-allocate valuable space for individual and group study.

Construction continues on the new Learning Commons which will house Academic Peer Tutoring and the Writing Center. Both services are already open in temporary quarters on the library’s second floor (west end) and will relocate to the new Learning Commons (east end) upon its completion.

Download NetLibrary e-books to your PC or reader

Written by Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources Librarian
ritterbushjr@unk.edu 

UNK library users have access to over 5,700 e-book titles from NetLibrary using nothing more than a Web browser and PDF reader, like Adobe® Acrobat.  These NetLibrary titles are searchable from the library catalog or from the NetLibrary website.

Many NetLibrary titles published since 2008 may also be downloaded to a desktop or laptop computer, or to certain e-book readers, such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Sony’s eBook Reader.  Once downloaded, these e-books can be viewed for one week without an Internet connection.

Complete instructions on downloading NetLibrary e-books are available online.  If you have additional questions about downloading NetLibrary e-books, please email Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources Librarian.

2010-2011 Department Chairs

- Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

 Items to Note for Faculty and Faculty Committees

• Academic Affairs Committee 
  The link to the CAP ("Course Approval Process") information is located on the Academic Affairs Committee page. CAP is the electronic approval system that allows department chairs to initiate course proposals (create, alter, inactivate, or discontinue). Worksheets for both the creation of new courses and the alteration of existing courses are available on the CAP website for faculty members to use as they gather the information department chairs will need to submit requests. Department chairs initiate program proposals (create, alter, or discontinue) using a paper form, which is available on the Academic Affairs Committee page, along with instructions.
  
  The schedule of Academic Affairs deadlines for the 2010-2011 academic year is available on the Academic Affairs Committee page. The page also contains a committee roster and a link to the approved Academic Affairs minutes. Department or program chairs needing to make curricular changes should be aware of these deadlines and instructions.
  
   
• Faculty Handbook 
  The online Faculty Handbook contains the most current policy information. The purpose of the handbook is to gather the documents and policies that inform and guide critical decisions, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement (2009-2011) and the Guidelines for Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure. 
  
   
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared goverenance, the 2010-2011 Faculty Senate Roster is posted on the Faculty Senate home page. The page also contains links to meeting agendas and packets, meeting minutes of both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate committees, and the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.
  
   
• General Studies 
  The General Studies website contains a description of the new General Studies Program effective for students entering UNK in the Fall of 2010, as well as a list of the courses approved during the 2009-2010 academic year. 
  
   
• Graduate Council 
  The Graduate Council webpage contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2010 Graduate Program Committees.  
  
   
• WI/CD Committee 
  The WI/CD Committee has posted a schedule of deadlines for the fall semester on the WI/CD Committee page. The page also contains instructions for applying for WI or CD designation, as well as a committee roster, agendas, and minutes. These resources are provided for those wishing to offer courses as WI or CD. 

Recognition 

 Calendar of Events within the Academic and Student Affairs Division

Edited by Kim Elliott, Coordinator of Academic Publications 

A Publication of the
Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
905 West 25th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Phone: (308)865-8209 

For questions or submissions,
contact the Coordinator of Academic Publications at 8935 or academicpublications@unk.edu.