Inside This Issue - Southern Utah University
Transcription
Inside This Issue - Southern Utah University
notebook the Southern Utah University Student Services Volume 2, Issue 2 Inside This Issue College Ruled Keeping Things in Perspective Take This Fish and Look At It Recruitment and the New Road Map The Binding A Novel Idea for Moving R.E.A.L. Peers Bullet Points Keeping Up With An Army Of Students Cedar City’s Woman of the Year Student Services Excellence Award Between The Lines Milestones Highlighting Bradley Niederhauser Birthdays About This Publication Wednesday, February 24, 2010 College Ruled Keeping Things in Perespective by Dale Orton S pring semester 2010 is proving to be a very challenging yet gratifying semester. Challenging in the sense that there seems to be more and more to do in serving students and assisting them with their needs. Gratifying in the sense that we have the privilege of working with some of the best students in the country. Each day we have the opportunity to interact with students who are passionate about their education, they possess a commitment of service to others, they are caring and enthusiastic about life and they are trying to reach their educational dreams and goals. We also have the privilege of working with some who may be struggling with some aspects of life and here again, we have the opportunity to assist in making a difference in their lives. It is clear that our students have many demands placed upon them along with a myriad of choices. Often, they seek for guidance or someone to listen to them and help them reason through their opportunities. We should count it a wonderful opportunity to be the individual whom is sought out for assistance. The next 10 weeks will be filled with p.2 wonderful opportunities for us as Student Services Professionals to make a difference to the campus community. Service and Learning Spring Break, Student Support Services Recognition, Founders Day, SUUSA Elections and of course Graduation are but a few of the exciting upcoming events that make a difference in the lives of our students. They provide opportunities to celebrate successes and even setbacks which have occurred and have helped individuals grow and achieve their goals. Recently a student sent an email to some individuals in our Student Service division which said “I got accepted to NYU, with a scholarship. the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 Thank you guys so much for your help. I know I have not been the most easy to have around but I am truly thankful for you guys putting up with me for all of these years. You guys are the real winners. Thank you so much.” Experiences like this are a payday for the time and effort spent in assisting students. I know it happens every day within our division and we thank you for your genuine concern and caring. Over the coming weeks, months and even year, let us remember the mission, vision and values of Student Services at Southern Utah University which are: ultimately prepares students to become engaged, responsible members of a global society. Our Vision Southern Utah University Student Services will serve at the heart of university life where positive, empathetic professionals with ample resources offer personalized student services and create successful co-curricular and residential learning environments across campus and in the community. Our Vaues Sincerity, Empathy, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Leadership, Life-long Learning, Schoalrship, SerOur Mission Southern Utah University Student Services serves vice. as a catalyst for student growth and change using dynamic relationships and quality services that fos- Best to all! ter personal discovery, life skills development, and Take This Fish and Look At It The lessons that our students learn do not always come from the classroom, or from the most obvious places … often we are called upon to guide our students through the odd life lessons that hurt in the beginning, but make the strongest impact. The following is included as part of a freshman experience textbook. I can’t find the original publisher, but it was written by Samuel H. Scudder of Harvard University in 1874 and is found in its entirety in Your Utah State Experience: Strategies for Success, 8th edition, by Noelle A. Call and LaVell E. Saunders. It discusses “the value of patient observation and meticulous description,” and brings to mind for me the people in my life who have pushed me harder and farther than I thought I could go … and then reminded me that they never doubted me. by Samuel H. Scudder I t was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the Scientific School as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and, finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter I replied that, while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I proposed to devote myself especially to insects. “When do you wish to begin?” he asked. “Now,” I replied. This seemed to please him, and with an energetic “Very well!” he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol. “Take this fish,” he said, “and look at it; we call it a haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen.” With that he left me, but in a moment returned with explicit instructions as to the care of the object entrusted to me. “No man is fit to be a naturalist,” said he, “who does not know how to take care of specimens.” I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground-glass stoppers and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half eaten by insects, and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the Southern Utah University Student Services p.3 example of the Professor, who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish, was infectious; and though this alcohol has a “very ancient and fishlike smell,” I really dared not show any aversions within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still, I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed when they discovered that no amount of eau-de-Cologne would drown the perfume that haunted me like a shadow. In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the Professor – who had, however, left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate the beast from a fainting fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of the normal sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but to return steadfast gaze at my must companion. Half an hour passed – an hour – another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face – ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view – just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour I concluded that lunch was necessary; so, with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free. On my return, I learned that p.4 Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying-glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish: it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my finger down its throat to feel how sharp the teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows, until I was convinced that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me – I would draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the Professor returned. “That is right” said he. “A pencil is one of the best of eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet, and your bottle corked.” With these encouraging words, he added, “Well, what is it like?” He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me: the fringed gillarches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, the fleshy lips and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fins and forked tail; the compressed and arched body. When I was finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment: “You have not looked very carefully. Why,” he continued more earnestly, “you haven’t even seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself; look again, look again!” And he left me to my misery. I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish! But now I set myself to my task with a will, and discovered one new thing after another, until I saw how just the Professor’s criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly; and when, towards its close, the Professor inquired: “Do you see it yet?” “No,” I replied. “I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before.” “That is the next best,” said he, earnestly, “but I won’t hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish.” This was disconcerting. Not only must I think of my fish all night, studying, without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be; but also without reviewing my discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities. The cordial greeting from the Professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw. “Do you perhaps mean,” I asked, “that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs?” His thoroughly pleased “Of course! Of course!” repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 most happily and enthusiastically – as he always did – upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next. “Oh, look at your fish!” he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour, he returned, and heard my new catalogue. “That is good, that is good!” he repeated; “but that is not all; go on;” and so for three long days he placed that fish before my eyes, forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. “Look, look, look,” was his repeated injunction. This was the best entomological lesson I ever had – a lesson whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the Professor had left to me, as he has left it to so many others, of inestimable value, which we could not by, with which we cannot part. A year afterward, some of us were amusing ourselves with chalking outlandish beasts on the museum blackboard. We drew prancing starfishes; frogs in mortal combat; hydra-headed worms; stately crawfishes, standing on their tails, bearing aloft umbrellas; and grotesque fishes with gaping mouths and staring eyes. The Professor came in shortly after, and was as amused as any at our experiments. He looked at the fishes. “Haemulons, every one of them,” he said; “Mr. ________ drew them.” True; and to this day, if I attempt a fish, I can draw nothing but haemulons. The fourth day, a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first, and I was bidden to point out the resemblances and differences between the two; another and another followed, until the entire family lay before me, and a whole legion of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves; the odor had become a pleasant perfume; and even now, the sight of an old, six-inch, worm-eaten cork brings fragrant memories. The whole group of haemulons was thus brought in review; and, whether engaged upon the dissection of the internal organs, the preparation and examination of the bony framework, or the description of the various parts, Agassiz’s training in the method of observing facts and their orderly arrangement was ever accompanied by the urgent exhortation not to be content with them. “Facts are stupid things,” he would say, “until brought in connection with some general law.” At the end of eight months, it was almost with reluctance that I left these friends and turned to insects; but what I had gained by this outside experience has been of greater value than years of later investigation in my favorite groups. by Jared Wilcken calls and dozens of campus recruiting events, no day in admissions is the same. As we look to the future with SUU’s Academic road map, the recruitment team is committed to bringing the best and the brightest students to campus. You may have heard discussion about raising the Admission Index or the requirements for getting into SUU. At this point, “This was the best entomological lesson I ever had – a lesson whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the Professor had left to me, as he has left it to so many others, of inestimable value, which we could not by, with which we cannot part.” Recruitment And The New Road Map L ife in the Admissions Welcome Center is never boring. Between the hundreds of mailing campaigns, thousands of phone Southern Utah University Student Services p.5 the admission index remains the same as it has for years. Students last year and this year who have an 85 index have been and are being admitted to SUU. Nothing has changed with this admission index number. What is changing are the number of students we are admitting below the 85 index. Last year about half of the students who were admitted below 85 didn’t successfully complete their first semester. We want to ensure that students admitted to SUU are going to be successful. The best indicator for their success is their GPA and ACT/SAT scores. By admitting fewer students below the 85 index, we are ensuring more students will be successful. There are three programs that we are currently engaged in, that will help us fulfill the Provost’s academic goals. The first is Distinguished Scholars Day. You might remember these days in November, when 300-400 students and parents are wandering campus all dressed up. We have two of these days that focus on the academic strengths of SUU. There is a real partnership between the academic colleges and student services to create the best experience possible. The benefits of this program are increased enrollment from top academic students. All students must have a 3.5 minimum GPA to attend the event and when things are all said and done, nearly 60% of those students who attend enroll at SUU. The recruitment office also runs The Governor’s Honors Academy each summer at SUU. This program has the same focus, bringing top academic students to p.6 SUU. Each year out of hundreds of applicants, we select the top 50 students to spend ten days on campus. During those ten days, students listen to dozens of speakers on many different topics, they experience the Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival, and visit the national parks. They are academically challenged while at the same time we’re helping them to recognize their own potential. They participate during the summer before their Senior year and then return back to their schools helping us promote SUU. Nearly 40% of these students enroll at SUU each year. The final program is the SUU Leadership Weekends. This unique program combines the resources of five different organizations on-campus to give students the chance to get involved even before enrolling at SUU. They are introduced to Student Involvement & Leadership, Service Learning, Student Alumni Association, Presidential Ambassadors, and University Housing. Nearly 70% of the students who attend the leadership weekends enroll at SUU. Leadership weekends are the perfect beginning to experiential learning proposed by Provost Cook. the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 The Binding A Novel Idea For Moving H ave you ever moved and realized that you suddenly resent every book you ever purchased? Imagine moving a library! In 1969, the collection was moved from the Auditorium building to the ELC, which was then called the New Library. Rather than boxing up the entire collection, faculty, staff, students, and even community members lined up and formed a human chain to get the books, in order, onto new shelves. This process was repeated in 1996 when the library collection moved from the ELC to the Sherratt Library. Now that’s a community working together! Southern Utah University Student Services p.7 R.E.A.L. Peers by Nikki Gwin W e’ve all heard the saying, “If you’ve got your health you’ve got everything.” Well, the peer health educators live by this. Southern Utah University’s R.E.A.L Peer Health Educators promote healthy lifestyles by informing their fellow students and peers about the risks that can occur from alcohol, drugs, and other various health-related issues. R.E.A.L stand for, “Real Education Affecting Life, and the p.8 peers strive to educate students at SUU about the various resources that are available on campus, they offer a listening ear, as well as educate students on ways to live a more healthy, safe, and responsible life. Some ways in which the peers strive to achieve this is first through assessment. The peers have administered surveys, evaluations, or even a simple suggestion box to gain feedback from their fellow peers. This assists the peers in brainstorming ideas for campaigns and events that they feel would be most affective, as well as what will fit the needs of the students at SUU. Once the data and information is collected the peer health educators meet weekly to brainstorm ideas, plan and organize for upcoming campaigns and events. The peers work together to present on topics that they feel need to be addressed on our campus. They also look for various ways to partner with other organizations and departments on campus who have the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 the same approach and goals in mind. For example this month the peers are partnering with the Counseling and Psychological services and the Center for Women and Families to host the Health Body Image Awareness Campaign. Working with other departments and organizations not only assists the peers in hosting larger events, but also helps them forge connections with other campus personnel. The peers’ most popular campaign is their “Safe Spring Break”. This campaign is typically held one day during the week prior to spring break. The peers have various activities going on during the campaign along with tips and information on how to stay safe during spring break. These topics range from impaired driving to sexual responsibility. Alternative Late Night Events are another service provided by the R.E.A.L Peer Health Educators. These events are held twice a month around various parts of campus. The events typically run on a Friday nights from the late hours of 9pm to midnight. These alternative events are open to all SUU students and are a way to draw students in to a healthy and fun environment that allows them to socialize and develop friendships with other students on their campus. The peers plan events that they feel will draw students in and allow them to experience safer alternatives than going to bars or parties on the weekends. The peers have hosted events, such as Movie Night, Casino Night, Speed Dating, Dodge ball Tournament, Girl’s Night, and much more. The peer health educators are trained and certified at the beginning of each year. The training consists of communication skills, listening skills, responding and referral skills, intervention skills, and programming and presentation skills to name a few. Some of the peers have also had the opportunity to travel to other states to see how peer health education works on other college campuses. This is a wonderful experience for them, because they are able to see a large number of students who are just as passionate about peer health education as they are. They also create connections with other colleges, as well as putting a face to our own college campus. They bring back to SUU a stronger more passionate drive to strengthen our own peer program and campus. R.E.A.L Peer Health Educators are students who understand the influences that surround them while at college, and they are also sensitive to the fact that many students may choose to drink and attend weekend parties while at college. With this sensitivity they approach their fellow students with a non-judgmental open mind in hopes of educating their peers on how to drink responsibly and party safe. Peer Health Education began six years ago at SUU and the peers hope to continue to grow and affect the lives and well-being of students at SUU. Thank you to all the faculty and staff who has assisted and supported the peer health education program here at SUU. The R.E.A.L Peers express their genuine gratitude and hope to continue to serve this campus for at least another six years. Southern Utah University Student Services p.9 Bullet Points Keeping Up With An Army of Students T his year SUU has the largest class of veteran students ever (or that anyone could remember) with 161 students. Christine Byrnes has been kept busy serving all these students and keeping up to date with regulation changes. Thanks for all you do Christine! Cedar City’s Woman of the Year P am Branin was recognized as Cedar City’s Woman of the Year on January 14th in recognition of her contribution to service in our community. Pam has created not just service opportunities within the community, but an active interest on the part of our students in filling those needs. Between alternative breaks, bread and soup nites, and Flight School Service Saturday, it is impossible to imagine just how many hours of service have been contributed as a result of Pam’s efforts. Congratulations, Pam, on this hard-earned and well-deserved recognition! For details about Service Saturday, please reference Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Notebook. Pictured (left to right): Lacie Jo Robinson, Keri Mecham, Pam Branin and Earl Mulderink Student Services Excellence Award B everly Anderson was recognized as the Fall 2009 recipient of the Student Services Excellence Award. Nominated by Steve Harrison and Cameron Brown, Bev was recognized for her enthusiasm, inspiration, and genuine concern for our students in University Housing. Congratulations, Beverly! We appreciate your hard work! Details on Bev and the other nominees can be viewed at http://www.suu.edu/ss/ award/2009fall.html. p.10 the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 Bet ween the Lines Milestones TIANA AMOSA, congratulations! Tiana Amosa (Financial Aid) and her husband Moe on the arrival of their second daughter, Moriah, on January 14th! Moriah ws 8 lbs 1oz and 19 inches long, and joins big sister Moeana! CATHLYN ALLRED is excited to welcome home son Seth from his LDS mission to Brazil on February 5th. We think this Thunderbird will be glad to have a full nest for awhile! Dina Nielsen has an odd request … A friend in San Jose, CA, works with a church group to make sock monkeys for all the children who have to spend time at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. These cute little monkeys are given to bring a little company and cheer to sick children. They are stuffed with pantyhose (the legs of the hose make the arms, legs, and tail; the rest is used in the body and head). Due to the economy, donations of hosiery are way down. If anyone has old hosiery that they’d like to donate, please bring it to me and I’ll send it to my friend. Color and runs are irrelevant, but please bring them clean. It’s for the kids, and you’re just going to throw them out anyway! Thank you! Southern Utah University Student Services p.11 Highlighting Bradley Niederhauser Building Repairs & Renovations Supervisor, University Housing Full name: Bradley Niederhauser Preferred Name: Brad Place of birth: Ogden, UT Date of birth: December 25 Where did you grow up? Clinton, UT What did you want to be when you grew up? Helicoptor Pilot What is your favorite memory? Summer camping trips with my kids when they were young What is your favorite toy? Schwinn mag scrambler What is your favorite TV show? UFC baby!! How about your favorite movie? The original Terminator What is your favorite book or magazine? Not really a favorite What’s on your ipod: Dead air; I don’t have one! Tool, if I did. What are your hobbies? Anything outdoors (except work!), bow hunting, my ranch, and hangin’ with my grandkids (Erik-18 months; Hanna-1 year; and Megan-1 month) Pets? 2 dogs, 1 three-legged blue heeler and 1 hanging tree dog (Google them!) and some chickens What are your pet peeves? Wow! I’m getting grouchy in my old age, there’s a lot of them! What are your Tell us about a current project: Doing the door renovation on the Eccles complex Birthdays January 5 January 11 January 12 January 23 January 25 January 29 February 2 February 14 February 18 March 2 March 8 March 14 March 14 March 16 March 20 March 21 March 23 March 28 March 29 March 29 p.12 Barb Gray Nikki Gwin Trudy Smith David Smailes Josh Neilson Sharon Batt Lohra Wolden Stephen Allen Lynne Brown Dina Nielsen Cindy Nelson Lee Chamberlain Kristin Wiggins Annette Damavandi Leanne Maxwell Quinn Mortensen Juliann Smith Jontelle Randall Tonya Taylor Paula Parry VPs Office VPs Office Admissions Admissions Public Safety Chartwells Student Support Center Enrollment Management Student Support Center VPs Office Bookstore University Housing Registrar’s Office Chartwells Upward Bound Admissions Admissions University Housing Bookstore Admissions the notebook - V.2 I.2 - February 24, 2010 About This Publication T he Notebook is an electronic newsletter pub- for Student Services office. Please email submislished bi-semesterly for the Divison of Student sions to Dina Nielsen ([email protected]) before Services at Southern Utah University. It includes the content submission deadline. the following four sections: CONTENT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES College Ruled The Notebook is designed to be relatively informal; This section emphasizes continuous personal however, in an effort to foster clear communication, and professional improvement by featuring please consider the following guidelines and sugarticles that provide insights into the world of gestions when submitting content: higher education. It also contains an article from the Vice-President for Student Services • Differentiate personal from professional inoffice and articles related to the improvements formation (i.e. A co-worker experiencing two realized by Student Services departments. events—1) receiving a professional honor and 2) celebrating a marriage—requires two sepaThe Binding rate articles). This section celebrates the purpose of Student • Announcements excluded, article submissions Services: SUU and its students. Each issue feafor Bullet Points should report significant adtures an article revealing obscure SUU history ministrative or professional events (e.g. major and culture. Surrounding articles focus on stupromotions, honors, departmental advancedent achievements, reinforcing the connection ments, etc.). between SUU students and Student Services. • Use full names • Use specific dates or time references Bullet Points • Employ 3rd person point of view when arContent within this section is administrative ticles are of a more professional nature. For and professional related. Division announcepersonal related articles, 1st person point of ments, upcoming events, departmental news, view is suitable, but not required. professional achievements and department rec• Include pictures when possible (except photo ognitions characterize Bullet Points. directory pictures, which are already filed) • Submit the article to Dina Nielsen (NielsenD@ Between The Lines suu.edu) in an electronic format (word or text Focusing on individuals within the division, document, email, etc.) this section announces personal achievements/ milestones, anniversaries, birthdays, special For assistance or clarification with content submisnon-professional recognitions, etc. Each issue sions, please contact Dina Nielsen (NielsenD@suu. also features an article highlighting a division edu) or Ty Jewkes ([email protected]). member. SUBSCRIPTION REQUESTS PUBLICATION SCHEDULE To request The Notebook for yourself or a co-workNext issue: April 2010 er not currently receiving issues, please email your name, department, and email address to Dina NielsCONTENT SUBMISSIONS en ([email protected]). Individual departments are encouraged to submit articles and information to The Notebook, particularly information for the Bullet Points and Between The Lines sections. Guidelines for submissions can be found below or requested from the Vice President Southern Utah University Student Services p.13