Transition in Office of Assessment with Retirement of Assessment Director

Director of Assessment Dr. Jeanne Butler will be retiring at the end of the fall semester.  During her eight years at UNK she has guided the campus in developing, implementing and sustaining a culture of assessment.  Her commitment to “closing the assessment loop” has been instrumental in facilitating improvements in programs across the campus.  We are very appreciative of Jeanne’s dedication and contributions to UNK and wish her well.

Now that assessment has become integrated into all academic programming across campus we have an opportunity to restructure the Office of Assessment in order to maximize use of our resources.  Effective January 2013, the Director of Assessment position will be reduced to half-time, and will be occupied year-round.  This modification in no way reduces the importance of assessment, but recognizes the past efforts of Jeanne and others who were central to its successful implementation at UNK.

I am confident that assessment will continue to move forward under the leadership of a new director with the assistance from the Assessment Advisory Committee as well as department and college assessment coordinators.  In the coming weeks I plan to move forward in a timely fashion with a process which ensures a smooth transition.  I will explore options that will continue to build on the assessment foundation Jeanne and others have developed throughout the campus.

- Charlie Bicak, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

Search Begins for Full-Time Honors Director

Dr. Peter Longo, Interim Director of the Honors Program, will complete his time in this position at the end of the fall semester 2012.  He will return full time to his responsibilities in the Department of Political Science.  Under Dr. Longo’s leadership over the past 16 months, the academic qualifications for admission into the Honors Program were increased.  The ACT composite score requirement for entrance increased from 26 to 27.  The requirements for UNK’s largest scholarship for incoming freshmen, the Omaha World Herald/Kearney Hub scholarship, increased from an ACT composite score of 28 to 30.  Additionally, Dr. Longo has been responsible for the integration of undergraduate research and meaningful service into the experience of all Honors students.  There are currently nearly 500 students in the Program.  This year’s freshmen class enrolled 125 new Honors freshmen with an average ACT score of 29.1.  I thank Dr. Longo for all he has accomplished in his time as Interim Director.

This time of transition affords us an opportunity to restructure the Director’s position.  Historically, the position has been a half-time administrative appointment and a half-time faculty appointment.  Recommendations by recent Academic Program Reviews coupled with the increasing expectations of the Honors Program across campus, underscore the importance of moving the position to full-time status.

An internal search will be conducted with a plan for filling the position in a full-time capacity by the start of the spring semester in January 2013.  I am confident that we will meet this goal and continue the excellent momentum that Dr. Longo has brought to the Honors Program.

- Charlie Bicak, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

ITS Combines Services under New UNK Technology Solutions

ITS is excited to announce that we have combined our Help Desk, Technology Store and Training under a new name UNK Technology Solutions effective October 1, 2012.

Our new name reflects our continued goal of supporting students, faculty and staff with the academic mission of the university and excellent technology solutions.

We look forward to continuing to work together with you as we continue to grow and diversify to better serve you.

• Your contacts will remain the same.
• The Technology Help Desk phone number 865-8363 remains the same.
• The Technology Store phone number 865-8137 remains the same.
• Some of our staff have new office locations.

- Jane Petersen, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology

New Frontiers Reception Recognizes UNK Faculty's Research and Creative Activity

On Tuesday, October 23, the Office of Graduate Studies and Research will host a reception at the Frank House from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to celebrate the fifth volume of New Frontiers, which features faculty who are relatively early in their career. Copies will be distributed after the reception.

The Office of Graduate Studies and Research launched New Frontiers in the Fall of 2008. The goal of the publication is “to demonstrate how faculty research, scholarship and all forms of creative activity enhance the learning-centered mission of the University.”

- written in collaboration with Kenya Taylor, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research

Annual Foreign Film and Culture Festival Presented by Modern Languages Department

The Department of Modern Languages will be hosting the Foreign Film and Culture Festival October 22-24. Each year, Modern Languages presents a varied schedule of films as an opportunity for the community to experience other cultures. The films are shown with English subtitles and are free of charge.

The 2012 schedule includes:

Monday, October 22

• 4:00 p.m. THMH 214 - Jeseits der Stille (Beyond Silence. German. Dir. by Carolyn Link,  1998)
   
• 4:00 p.m. THMH 107 - L'arnacoeur (Heartbreaker. French. Dir. by Pascal Chaumeil, 2010)
   
•  7:00 p.m. COPH 131 - Mambo Kings (Performance by Top Latin artists. Dir. by Arne Glimcher, 1992)

Tuesday, October 23

• 4:00 p.m. THMH 119 - La Nana (The Maid. Spanish. Dir. by Sebastian Silva, 2009)
   
• 4:00 p.m. THMH 108 - Forever Enthralled (Chinese. Dir. by Kaige Chen,  2008)
   
• 7:00 p.m. THMH 106 - Don Segundo Sombra (Spanish. Dir. by Manuel Antin, 1993)
   
• 7:00 p.m. THMH 107 - '38: Vienna Before the Fall (German. Dir. by Wolfgang Gluck, 1987)

Wednesday, October 24

• 4:00 p.m. THMH 107 - El lugar sin Limites (Place Without Limits. Spanish. Dir. by Arturo, 2006).
   
• 4:00 p.m. THMH 214 - Nobody Knows (Japanese. Dir. by Hirokazu Kareeda, 2004)
   
• 7:00 p.m. THMH 107 - Tony Manero (Spanish. Dir. by Pablo Larrain, 2008)
   
• 7:00 p.m. THMH 119 - Monsieur Lazhar (French. Dir. by Philippe Falardeau, 2012)

A complete schedule with descriptions of the films is available here. For more information, contact the department at 308-865-8536.

- written in collaboration with Cherie DeFreece, Department of Modern Languages

Library Updates

Calvin T. Ryan Library is Celebrating its 50th Anniversary as a Federal Depository 

Written by Rochelle Krueger, Government Documents Librarian
kruegerr@unk.edu  

The Calvin T. Ryan Library will host a reception on Thursday, October 25, from 2:00-4:00pm in the Government Documents department on the Library’s second floor. At 2:30pm, join the Dean of the Library, Janet Wilke, along with honored speakers, Chancellor Doug Christensen, Senior Vice-Chancellor Charles Bicak, and Nebraska State Senator, Galen Hadley to help us commemorate the occasion.

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to government generated information. These information products are dispersed to depository libraries nationwide. The public can access numerous documents both in paper and electronically, and they have proven their vital role in student research at UNK.

FDLP libraries must be appointed by a member of Congress to be a depository. Former UNK Director of Libraries Alice Paine took the first steps in initiating the request to be designated a selective depository for federal documents. Former Congressman David Martin made the official appointment in 1962.

Calvin T. Ryan Library is one of only two federal depository libraries in Nebraska’s Third Congressional District, which is roughly two-thirds of the geographic area of the state.

CRRD Sponsors 2nd Annual Central Nebraska Business Idea Contest - Over $1,500 in Prizes!

For the second year, UNK's Center for Rural Research and Develop is sponsoring the Central Nebraska Business Idea Contest. The center invites proposals from UNK faculty, staff, and students, as well as area community members and high school students. The proposals outline a business idea and are generally evaluated on feasibility and innovation.

The deadline is quickly approaching - entries must be submitted by midnight, Sunday, October 28. To enter, follow these steps:

• Record a 2-minute video of you pitching your idea. Go to the CRRD-UNK website (www.unk.edu/crrd) for further information on where and how to submit your video. Contact Carrie Stithem (stithemcl@unk.edu or 308-865-8199) with questions.
• All videos submitted by the deadline will be evaluated and the top ten (10) ideas will be asked to participate in a short Q & A session at the NEW KRave Underground, 2202 Central Ave, in downtown Kearney on Wednesday, November 14th at 7:00 PM.
• The crowd will select the “best” and will award a $1,000 1st prize, $500 2nd prize and $250 3rd prize

All entrants and the public are invited to join us at KRave Underground on Wednesday, November 14th at 7:00 PM to watch the presentations and to mingle with other entrepreneurs, investors, designers and creatives!

Last year's contest generated 70 ideas, and the CRRD is hoping to receive at least 80 proposals this year. 

For more information, visit the Business Idea Contest website or see the contest flyer.

- written in collaboration with Carrie L. Stithem, Assistant to the Director of the Center for Rural Research and Development and
Shawn Kaskie, Director of the Center for Rural Research and Development
 

Recognition

2012-2013 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 web site for faculty members to use as they gather the information department chairs will need to submit requests.
  
  **NOTE REGARDING CHANGES TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS**
  The form to alter a Catalog Course Description has been revised. Please note, in instances where a change in content is being requested through the CAP system, course description changes should be added to that request, and this form should not be completed.
  
  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 2012-2013 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 (2011-2013).
   
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared governance, the Faculty Senate website contains links to the senate roster, 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 web site contains a description of the new General Studies Program effective for students entering UNK in the Fall of 2010. The site contains a list of the approved General Studies courses effective for the 2012-2013 academic year, a list of all of the approved Portal and Capstone topics, as well as lists of the Portals and Capstones offerings for the current semester.
   
• Graduate Council
  The Graduate Council webpage contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2012 Graduate Program Committees.
  
  **NOTE REGARDING CHANGES TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS**
  The form to alter a Catalog Course Description has been revised. Please note, in instances where a change in content is being requested through the CAP system, course description changes should be added to that request, and this form should not be completed.
   
• 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.

Deadlines Approach for Various Opportunities

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.