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Campus Headlines
Berry | Shorter | Georgia Northwestern Technical College | Georgia Highlands
Shorter University climbs one spot in U.S. News and World Report's 'Great Schools, Great Prices' list, maintains No. 17 spot in 'Best Regional Colleges' rankings
(Media Release) The 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings hit newsstands today (Tuesday, Aug. 17) and highlights one of Rome and Floyd County's own as a "significant value" in higher education.
Shorter University has climbed one spot in the magazine's listing of "Great Schools, Great Prices," which recognizes institutions that provide significant value in relation to their cost and their quality. This year, Shorter (still listed by its previous name of Shorter College) placed No. 6 in the South on the best value listing, which includes only 10 institutions selected from the regional colleges listing from the South. The No. 6 placement represents a one-place rise over last year's No. 7 listing.
The magazine explains the listing by saying, "The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included, because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically."
In the "Best Regional College" rankings, also released today, Shorter came in No. 17, where it was tied with one other institution. This is the 10th consecutive year Shorter has been included among the best regional institutions. The latest rankings are available online at www.usnews.com. The annual best colleges rankings are based on the results of surveys of four-year colleges and universities across the nation. Rankings of quality are based on peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. The regional colleges category includes institutions that "focus almost entirely on the undergraduate experience and offer a broad range of programs in the liberal arts and in fields such as business, nursing, and education," according to the magazine.
Shorter University President Dr. Harold E. Newman said the university's administration is pleased to have Shorter recognized as a great value for students. "Shorter's accomplishments over the past several years have been significant as we have grown substantially, expanded our programs, and transitioned to university status," Dr. Newman said. "I am especially pleased that we have been able to accomplish this while keeping our cost of attendance and our quality at levels that earn us recognition on the Great Values listing. I believe that the high-quality education we offer in our Christ-centered environment is of great value to our students."
Berry's Dr. Bruce Conn selected for Jefferson Science Fellowship, will spend year in D.C., serving as adviser to State Department
(Media release) Dr. Bruce Conn, professor of biology and dean of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Berry College, has been selected to participate in the prestigious Jefferson Science Fellowship, a program designed to engage tenured scientists and engineers from American academic institutions in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy.
As part of his new role, Dr. Conn will spend the next year in Washington, D.C., serving as an adviser to the State Department. He will remain in a consulting position for five additional years after returning to Berry in the fall of 2011. Dr. Tom Kennedy, dean of the Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, will serve as acting dean of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences in Dr. Conn’s absence.
“It’s tremendous to see the expertise available on the Berry campus tapped for such an important program,” said Provost Katherine Whatley. “Dr. Conn’s selection boosts our profile as an institution and also has the potential to increase the learning opportunities available to Berry students upon his return.”
All Jefferson Science Fellowships are contingent upon awardees obtaining an official U.S. government security clearance. Once Dr. Conn’s clearance was secured, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to begin his year of full-time service as an adviser in a specific area of policy concern.
The Berry dean is one of only 12 scientists and engineers nationwide to be selected as Jefferson Science Fellows in 2010. Areas of expertise include physics, chemistry, astronomy, computer science and entomology, among others. Among the institutions represented are Purdue University, Kansas State University, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute and Texas A&M University.
The Jefferson Science Fellowship, or JSF, was started in 2003 by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. The program grew out of the realization, in the wake of Sept. 11, that an accurate and timely understanding of science, technology and engineering is essential to the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign and domestic policy.
“It’s a program that the American public needs to know more about,” Dr. Conn stated. “It seems like you need to understand the science behind every story on the news today.”
The JSF is overseen by the National Academy of Sciences and supported through a partnership between the U.S. academic community, professional scientific societies and the U.S. Department of State.
“What is especially exciting and a bit intimidating about this opportunity is that I’m not an expert on international relations and foreign policy,” said Dr. Conn. “It’s clearly a new challenge for me.”
Dr. Conn said this challenge will have a positive impact on Berry.
“There should be some good exposure for the college in terms of status and recognition,” he explained. “We’ll try to promote opportunities to provide educational leadership in other colleges and universities.”
He added that his experiences working closely with policymakers have the potential to influence his courses at Berry.
“It’s very likely I will develop a course on scientific diplomacy or international relations connected to scientific issues,” said Dr. Conn. “I think it will give Berry a unique perspective.”
A member of the Berry faculty since 1997, Dr. Conn recently traveled to the Institute of Parasitology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the University of South Bohemia as a participant in the Fulbright Specialists Program. He has served as president of the American Society of Parasitologists, American Microscopial Society and Southeastern Society of Parasitologists and sits on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals, including Parasitology Research (Germany), Acta Parasitologica (Poland) and Psyche: A Journal of Entomology (Cambridge, Mass.). He also holds an adjunct position at Harvard University, where he oversees the parasite research collections at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Dr. Conn graduated from Lee University before completing his Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. He currently maintains residences in both Rome, Ga., and Monteagle, Tenn., with Chattanooga serving as his operational hub. Along with his wife and scientific collaborator, Denise Conn, he is a member of Chattanooga's Lookout Rowing Club and the Chattanooga Track Club.
Berry's Dr. Brian Carroll earns national First Amendment honors
 (Media release) Dr. Brian Carroll has developed a strong reputation on the Berry College campus for his continuous commitment to promoting the values of freedom of expression and the First Amendment to his students.
Recently, the associate professor of communication was honored nationally for his efforts as the 2010 Professional Freedom and Responsibility Professor of the Year, as selected by the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
He was recognized at the association’s 94th annual conference in Denver, Colo. earlier this month.
“Good teaching isn’t quite a science,” said Dr. Carroll, a member of the Berry faculty since 2003. “So it’s always nice to have a few things you’re doing affirmed by someone else.”
Formed in 1912, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is a nonprofit organization consisting of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals who seek to promote high values in journalism and mass communication education, as well as to protect and preserve freedom of communication in order to establish a better-informed American public.
The award honors an individual who shows a commitment to upholding values of professional freedom and responsibility, including free expression; ethics; media criticism and accountability; racial, gender and cultural inclusiveness; and public service.
Dr. Carroll successfully enriches his teaching with these ideals and standards. Examples include the Freedom of Expression, a course he established for the Berry College Honors Program, as well as several initiatives he has led dedicated to promoting First Amendment literacy on campus.
In 2009, he organized Liberty Tree Week, a 10-day celebration of the First Amendment funded by a $5,000 grant from the Liberty Tree Campus Initiative. In 2010, his Freedom of Expression course hosted “60 Minutes of Freedom,” a series of brief presentations dealing with controversial and recent First Amendment topics.
“To have a good understanding of democracy, you need to have a good understanding of liberty,” said Dr. Carroll. “And the beginning of any good understanding of liberty in America starts with the First Amendment. Freedom of thought means very little without freedom of expression.”
Dr. Carroll’s interest in free speech extends to his participation in a Duke University research project entitled “Civic Discourse and the Public Sphere in the Age of the Internet.” As one of seven fellows chosen for the program, he will be examining the tension between anonymous speech rights online and reputational claims, specifically defamation and libel.
“The freewheeling world of comment on the Internet has led to an erosion of civility and new, real threats to individuals’ reputations,” Dr. Carroll said, explaining the impetus for his particular research project. “How the law is attempting to balance the First Amendment right to expression, even anonymous expression, on the one hand and our right to a good name on the other is the specific question I’ll be investigating.”
On sabbatical during the fall semester, Dr. Carroll said he tries to be opportunistic in promoting freedom of expression and First Amendment literacy at Berry.
“When the Liberty Tree grant call went out, I jumped all over it,” he stated. “When a slot opened up for the Freedom of Expression course, I tried to make the most of that, as well. When opportunities present themselves, I’ll be ready.”
Dr. Carroll was quick to credit Dr. Bob Frank, chair of the communication department, and Dr. Tom Kennedy, dean of the Evans School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, for ensuring that he and other faculty members are able to capitalize on opportunities to foster First Amendment literacy.
“Dr. Frank and Dean Kennedy are the sources from which all good blessings flow,” he said. “These guys have been indefatigable in their support of students’ free expression rights and efforts like Liberty Tree Week.”
GNTC to switch from Quarters to Semesters in Fall 2011
(Media Release) Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) and Georgia’s other 26 technical colleges will convert from a quarter to semester system beginning with the fall semester in August 2011. The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) State Board voted unanimously in March 2010 to approve the switch to semesters.
The conversion to semesters will align Georgia Northwestern’s academic calendar with the state’s K-12 school systems and the University System of Georgia, furthering the goal of seamless education for Georgia students. With the move to semesters, Georgia Northwestern will join the 80 percent of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. that follow a semester calendar.
“The decision to change to a semester academic calendar was made for the benefit of our students,” said GNTC President Craig McDaniel. “Our system will now be in line with other systems of higher education and the K-12 system.”
“We’re building a world-class educational system for workforce development, and a major part of this mission is to provide seamless education where calendars and curriculum align and lifelong learning is easily attainable for students of all ages and circumstances,” stated TCSG Commissioner Ron Jackson.
Jackson cites many benefits for the students, including additional instructional time, more in-depth coverage of course content, ease of transfer to other institutions, and calendar alignment that better supports dual and joint enrollment opportunities for high school students.
TCSG staff and many of Georgia Northwestern’s administrators have been at work throughout the last year planning and addressing all necessary curriculum, scheduling, financial aid, IT, and operational aspects of the conversion. A comprehensive curriculum review and adaptation has also been underway at the state level for over a year to ensure the most relevant program content. Dr. Cathy Vann, associate vice president for academic affairs at GNTC, has been named to oversee the conversion at the college. Vann has put together committees consisting of various staff that will be looking at all operational aspects of the conversion.
“The key principle is to create and support an environment that advances our college mission of workforce development and to continue to accelerate our progress in academic programs and most importantly student success,” Vann said. “We have established committees that will continue to plan, prepare, and inform our returning students for success.”
Vann added that GNTC will bring special attention to a number of priorities, which include developing policies and processes to support the conversion to semesters, increasing the effectiveness of student advising, expanding the effectiveness of student financial aid assistance, and providing greater support for faculty and staff development.
Beginning in July 2010 and continuing through summer 2011, GNTC faculty and staff will conduct advisement sessions for all affected students to create an individual academic plan to complete their course of study under semesters.
“Program advisors will provide one-on-one advisement where each student will have their own advising plan to successfully complete their program of study,” said Vann. “We also have admission counselors who will be informing new students of the transition when they apply to the college. It is our goal to convert to semesters with no disruption to the academic progress of our students, which embodies President McDaniel’s mission to ‘put students first.’”
The conversion will not affect state or federal financial aid, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Grant programs. Annual tuition under the new semester system will be roughly equivalent to the annual cost under the quarter system; however tuition will be paid three times a year instead of four times a year. Class sizes are not expected to increase on the semester system, nor will a student’s GPA be affected.
A comprehensive new website, www.TCSGSemester411.com, features a series of entertaining video messages about the conversion, plus FAQs, the new academic calendar, and a host of other information for students. The website can also be accessed from GNTC’s homepage at www.gntc.edu under the “Other Resources” link.
Georgia Northwestern is currently planning an internal campaign for fall 2010 to inform current students about the change to semesters.
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