Meetings/Events

Welcome Back

We have two weeks’ worth of classes behind us and people seem to have found most of their classes, new faculty are in our midst, and the semester seems to be off to a good beginning. If you missed the opening college meeting, my powerpoint is linked on our home page for your review or reference. Feel free to ask questions about any part of it.

We are delighted to welcome the following new tenure track faculty to our RCOE community of practice: Peter Giampietro, Library Science (LES), Anita Matzen, Library Science (LES), Precious Mudiwa, MSA Program (LES); Herb Brown, Business Education (C&I), Lisa Gross, Elementary Education (C&I), Dawn Botts, Communication Disorders (LRE), Christina Galvin, Counseling (HPC), Hakan Ersever, Counseling (HPC). Also joining us in special positions are Diana Beasley, Director of Teacher Education Recruitment and Retention, and Alice Krueger, Coordinator of the ASU Beginning Teacher Support Network. New staff include Tammy Gelderman in the Associate Dean’s Office, and Kim Guenther in the Assistant Dean’s Office.

Congratulations

We should be very proud that we have two winners of the UNC Board of Governors’ Teaching Excellence Awards from the college this year. Melanie Greene (C&I)) was selected as ASU’s recipient for the system award, and Charlene Sox (C&I) received one of the campus BOG Teaching Excellence Awards. Be sure to say a special word of congratulations to our two colleagues for this distinction. A reception for all the ASU recipients will be held on Friday, Sept. 7 from 3:30-5 in the Turchin Center.

Building Update

As you undoubtedly have heard, we have the funding approval for our new education building; the state will have to incur bond indebtedness for the building but no state-wide bond referendum is necessary the way the approval was awarded by the General Assembly. However, issues remain with the site selection. Conversations have been occurring between university officials and town council members; on Tuesday, Sept. 4 from 5-7, an open meeting will be held at the Boone Town Council Chambers for university officials and council members to begin exploring possible changes to designations of how university space and facilities may be approached.

The meeting is not solely to discuss the new education building; instead, it is to look at some of the current regulations and restrictions on what is called U-1 zoning to determine what grounds for concurrence may be reached. This kind of discussion and compromise will be necessary before any of the specific issues related to the new building can be addressed. However, if you have the time and inclination, you are most welcome to attend the meeting as an observer. I will definitely be present to listen and to answer any questions that might arise during the discussion that might connect to our building. Note: for a visual representation of what our new building might look like on the proposed site, see the artist’s rendition in my powerpoint or go to our new building link. Better yet, just drop by my office and see the picture on my office door!

New Resource from the Library

Thanks to some good collaboration and cooperation between the Belk Library, specifically the Instructional Materials Center, and RCOE, some new resources for local teachers and for our own teacher education students have been added. In particular, a free library card for Watauga County public school teachers is being made available for the first time; in addition, The IDEA Factory has been established for area teachers and our students. This facility is designed to give our cooperating teachers, K-12 Watauga County public school teachers, and ASU Education majors access to resources for enhancing their classrooms and strengthening the quality of lesson and unit plans. The facility may be found in Room 033 of the library. Go to the library’s website and click on imc to find out more about hours of operation, etc. Anyone teaching a methods class should certainly become familiar with the IMC and now The Idea Factory and be sure that your students know as well. Pat Farthing (farthingsp@appstate.edu) is the librarian in charge and would be happy to arrange tours for you and your students upon request.

Have You Seen

We have placed in the vending area of the building a computer kiosk for general use by students, faculty, and staff; the bottom screen/keyboard permits the user to log in to the university network, check email, surf the Internet, etc. The screen is a touch one but the keyboard is active as well; the upper screen is reserved for general notices/information and is not affected by the keyboard. We obtained this machine as a test to see what the response/use might be and the feasibility of possibly having units like this scattered throughout the new building, primarily for student use. If you have not tried it, please do so and provide any feedback to Terry McClannon or myself on your sense of the usefulness of the unit.

New York Times

We have been fortunate to receive an opportunity to have the New York Times daily, except for weekends, delivered to Duncan. The papers are part of a DeWitt Wallace Foundation initiative with the New York Times to put the paper in the hands of teacher education students, faculty, and staff. Every day, 200 copies arrive, so if faculty might like to use the paper as part of a class–something we would strongly encourage–we can set aside a specific number of copies for you; please encourage your students and colleagues to pick up a copy and get connected with the world through another means besides the computer screen. I must say that having a fresh copy of the Times waiting for me each day as I come to work is something I never thought I would see in Boone, much less Duncan Hall. Enjoy it! Copies are available in the lobby of the Rivers Street entrance and in the second floor vending area.

Background Checks

We have initiated criminal background checks for all student teachers this fall; we have been informed by Watauga County that they will also be doing their own background checks not only on student teachers, but interns, and tutors (2800, etc.) and that this may even include graduate students such as in school counseling. This is still a new process for everyone and we are trying to work out the “hitches” in the system as quickly as possible. We ask for your patience and cooperation during this initial period of implementation.

Reminder About Praxis II

All ASU teacher education students are required to take PRAXIS II before the completion of student teaching. Completing the test and submitting the scores to ASU are course requirements of CI/SPE 4900 and a grade for student teaching will not be recorded until the student meets the requirement. Students may take the test prior to student teaching but must take the test prior to completing student teaching. Students who take the appropriate PRAXIS II test but do not meet the state established cut-off score will not be denied their degree, but they will be strongly encouraged to retake the test as soon as possible. School districts have made it very clear they will give preference to job candidates who have passed the PRAXIS II because this is one of the qualifications districts can use to show their teachers are Highly Qualified. Further information on the requirement can be obtained in the Office of Field Experiences or through Associate Dean Doris Jenkins.

Reading Group Identified

Eighteen individuals have registered for participation in this semester’s reading groups who will be reading and discussing The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew–Three Women Search for Understanding. The books have been ordered and should be here shortly. For details on the reading and the schedule, contact Jennifer VanGilder (vangildrjp@appstate.edu).

Salary Increases

Chairs have made their recommendations on faculty increases for this year; these are currently being processed and approved first in the Provost’s Office and then sent to UNC General Administration for final approval; it is anticipated that approval should come early in September and chairs will be notifying individual faculty shortly thereafter; if all goes well, increases should be reflected in Sept. 30 paychecks.

Committees

Final rosters for RCOE committees are being prepared and should be available by the end of next week; initial meetings of standing committees will then be determined and committee work will get underway. We appreciate the willingness of faculty to serve on college committees; the work of these committees is important to the continuing development and strengthening of the college. Such work very definitely falls under the heading of “service” and should be reported and acknowledged in each faculty member’s annual review.

Promotion/Tenure/Re-Appointment Deadlines

Information has been provided to all department chairs regarding the timelines for recommendations on promotion, tenure, and re-appointment. Chairs should be notifying eligible candidates of these deadlines along with information about process within the department and expectations concerning documentation of qualifications.

Challenges/Opportunities for 2007-08

You will be hearing moreabout the following topics and their impact/implications for the RCOE:

• Changes in North Carolina Teacher Education Program Standards
• Developing and implementing a university-wide electronic assessment/data analysis system for all teacher education programs across campus, undergraduate/graduate
• University strategic plan
• Alignment with new General Education program
• Responding to call for program accountability–Graduate School
• Meeting recruitment goals

Space Challenges

We are painfully aware of the shortage of adequate office space this fall. I want to thank everyone who has made the necessary adjustments so that we can accommodate as many individuals as possible. We would hope that perhaps some space might become available in the spring IF the Communication Disorders Clinc and clinical staff move to University Hall; the timeline for that move continues to be a shifting target. In the meantime, know this situation will not last forever because we are going to get our new building built as soon as possible!

“Change is a Journey, not a Destination.”

–M. Fullan