Archive for January, 2012
January 30, 2012
KYLE DELL, co chair of the Environmental Studies Program, is sharing a link to a page about a workday to remove invasive species from the natural areas around the nearby Kathleen Clay Edwards library. His ENVS 101 class of 25 Guilford students was part of a 50-person team removing invasive plants for the morning last Saturday. Everyone left with an invigorated sense of agency and impact on one small corner of our local area.
Working with local Audubon Society, Piedmont Land Conservancy and City of Greensboro individuals was such a treat for our students as well. Finally, many of the tools pictured and used by the students were provided through a grant by REI to Piedmont Land Conservancy and the College to purchase equipment to mount attacks on invasive species as we did on Saturday. A similar invasive species workday will be held in the Guilford College woods coming up in February.
January 30, 2012
A limited number of free tickets are available for the event with historian/author David McCullough, presented by Guilford at R.J. Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem at 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Students are eligible for one free ticket, staff and faculty two tickets. Transportation will not be provided. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
To register for free tickets, e-mail SUZANNE SULLIVAN at ssulliva@guilford.edu no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10. Please provide your name and whether you are a student, faculty or staff. Ticket recipients will be e-mailed on Monday, Feb. 13 with instructions on picking up tickets.
January 27, 2012
The Theatre Studies Department “Showcase,” featuring acting, singing, dancing and a number of student films, will be presented at 8 p.m. tonight (Feb. 3) in Sternberger Auditorium of Founders Hall. There is no admission charge.
Directed by theatre instructor MARC WILLIAMS with lighting design by guest artist and alumnus BADGER KOON, “Showcase” displays the range of excellence produced by the Theatre Studies program. It is a celebration of student achievement and honors the most highly motivated and self-directed performers at Guilford.
January 27, 2012
The Center for Principled Problem Solving is seeking letters of interest through Feb. 24 from Guilford faculty members for 2012-13 CPPS Faculty Fellowships.
The CPPS Faculty Fellowship offers Guilford College faculty members the opportunity to advance the work of principled problem solving at Guilford over the course of an academic year. During that period, fellowship recipients work directly with the CPPS Director to shape and advance the priorities of the Center and to advance a PPS project of her or his choosing. The fellowship project will be consistent with the faculty member’s experience and interests and developed in conversation with the Center Director.
Possible projects may include, but are not limited to, a targeted hands-on PPS project, a PPS research undertaking, creating new or retooling existing syllabi to match PPS priorities, and PPS faculty seminar development. For 2012-13, the Center is particularly interested in civic engagement projects linked with new or existing courses. This project may be completed during the fellowship term or become an on-going or occasional feature of the Center’s future efforts. It is also expected that Fellows will support the PPS Scholars Program either by teaching in one of the program’s team-taught courses or other program activities.
This is a part-time appointment, roughly the equivalent of one day per week. Individuals selected for the fellowship will be released from one course in either the fall or spring semester and receive $4,000 in additional pay. Funds will be made available to the fellowship recipient’s department to compensate for the course release and he or she will have access to additional funds for programming, materials or travel expenses related to the fellowship project. Fellows are selected by the CPPS Director in conversation with the relevant Division Chair and with the approval of the Academic Dean.
Those interested in being considered for this position should submit a letter of interest directly or by email to the CPPS Director, MARK JUSTAD, by Feb. 24. The letter of interest should include one’s reasons for seeking the fellowship, indication of relevant interests and experience, and an initial description of a project to be undertaken during the fellowship.
It is anticipated that the selection process will be completed by March 5.
Questions should be directed to Mark Justad at x 2853 or by email at justadmj@guilford.edu.
Former CPPS Faculty Fellows are: 2008-09, KYLE DELL, Political Science, Environmental Studies; 2009-10, SHERRY GILES, Justice and Policy Studies, Community Studies; 2010-11, KAREN HAYES, Psychology, and DAVID HAMMOND & JACK ZERBE, Theatre Studies; and 2011-12, JEFF JESKE, English.
January 26, 2012
Communications and Marketing has been reorganized to support the College’s goals for an integrated marketing approach outlined in The Strategic Plan for Guilford College 2011-2016: Outcomes of a Guilford Education. The reorganization was accomplished with existing staff positions.
With the reorganization, CAMILLA MEEK has assumed a leadership role as senior director of communications and marketing. She was director of marketing communications from December 2010 until this month. She reports to TY BUCKNER, associate vice president for communications and marketing, and will have a secondary reporting line to JEFF FAVOLISE, assistant to the president for planning and management. This establishes a closer connection between the Office of the President and the marketing function.
College plans for the reorganization were affirmed in a 2011 assessment of Guilford’s communications and marketing operation by Simpson Scarborough, a marketing research and strategy firm.
“The reorganization elevates Camilla as senior director to the role of brand ambassador for the College and positions her to effectively manage Guilford’s marketing initiatives,” said MICHAEL J. POSTON, vice president for advancement. “Our commitment is to provide best-practice strategy and services that enhance the value proposition of the College in the eyes of future students and supporters.”
Buckner heads the overall operation, providing leadership in public relations, external and internal communications and the Bryan Series. Overall, Communications and Marketing is responsible for marketing initiatives, online communications, publications, news services, media relations and the lecture series.
“We have a team of skillful professionals who provide expertise in communications and marketing and deliver a range of services to the College,” said Buckner. “Guided by SLRP II, we work with Admission, CCE, the Academic and Advancement divisions and other departments to make Guilford’s profile more prominent.”
Buckner’s direct reports include Meek; SUZANNE SULLIVAN, assistant director-outreach; and an associate director-editorial to be named as a successor for SARA BUTNER, who left Guilford in October to take a position with N.C. Shakespeare Festival.
Meek’s new responsibilities include leadership of the “creative team” of staff members who handle online and print communications and publications. She came to Guilford from Vanderbilt University, where she was director of electronic communications for the university’s Peabody School of Education and Human Development.
Staff members who are now reporting to Meek are MICHAEL CROUCH ’10, associate director-design, who has been with Guilford since fall 2005, and coordinates graphic design, printing and photography; EVA HARDY, digital communications coordinator, who joined the College in September and develops and posts content for the website; and JAKIA “JAKI” SALAM, who recently succeeded AIMEE WHITE as web manager. White departed in October to join a web development firm.
Salam began work Jan. 17. Her duties include developing and maintaining pages in the College’s main website and managing various online initiatives. She holds an M.S. degree in computer science from UNCG and a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Since 2007 at UNCG, she managed course and marketing websites, developed online courses, and worked in faculty and course support and training. Earlier, from 2004 to 2007, she was an instructor in the computer technologies department at Guilford Technical Community College.
January 26, 2012
Guilford is embarking on an effort to raise $1 million in the next two years to help offset the College’s losses in state-funded financial aid for North Carolina resident students.
Guilford’s North Carolina Student Financial Assistance Fund is part of the College’s response to a $2.5 million reduction in financial aid for in-state students as a result of budget cuts by the General Assembly. The cuts affect all of the state’s independent colleges and universities.
The goal is to raise $500,000 per year in 2012 and 2013 in new funding support for current use financial assistance. A half million dollars approximates the amount of state-funded aid lost by the 100 neediest N.C. students at Guilford who are losing more than $5,000 per year on average. Most of the College’s in-state students will be impacted by the cutbacks. Including all traditional-aged and adult students, 72 percent of Guilford’s 2,700 students are North Carolina residents.
“Many North Carolina families directly impacted by these cuts will be faced with the decision to stay at Guilford and incur more debt or consider options where more aid is available or tuition is substantially less,” said KENT CHABOTAR, president of the College. “Guilford is committed to keeping these students and maintaining our North Carolina heritage.
“We will meet a portion of the reduced aid by reallocating our existing resources, but we will need the financial support of our community through the North Carolina Student Assistance Fund to fill the gap. This fund will keep Guilford accessible to our North Carolinians and help maintain the diversity of our student population.”
This is a special Advancing Excellence campaign appeal for current-use funds. The $60 million campaign, now in its public phase, also has a goal of $15 million in endowed scholarship support.
The College plans other strategies to respond to a budget deficit created by the shortfall in state financial-aid funding. A report was in last week’s issue of The Beacon.
For more information about contributing to the North Carolina Student Assistance Fund, contact LEIGH MCILWAIN, associate vice president for philanthropy, by emailing lmcilwain@guilford.edu
January 26, 2012
AARDRA RAJENDRAN, a senior at The Early College at Guilford, won the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing. Award-winners are selected for their demonstrated, outstanding aptitude and interest in information technology/computing, solid leadership ability; good academic history and plans for post-secondary education. Aardra will pursue chemical and biomolecular engineering with a concentration in nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania.
January 26, 2012
THOMAS LU, a senior at The Early College at Guilford, has been named a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search 2012, a program of Society for Science & the Public. As the nation’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition, the Intel Science Talent Search brings together the best and brightest young scientific minds in the United States to compete for awards. As a semifinalist, Thomas will receive a $1,000 award from the Intel Foundation with an additional $1,000 going to his school, The Early College at Guilford, to further support excellence in science, math and/or engineering education. Selected finalists will compete for more than $630,000 in awards provided by the Intel Foundation.
January 26, 2012
President KENT CHABOTAR will be a panelist at the Wednesday, Feb. 1, media luncheon of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, to be held in Washington, D.C., as part of the organization’s annual meeting.
Chabotar will be joined by presidents Daniel Carey of Edgewood College, Mary Meehan of Alverno College, John Roush of Centre College and Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran of Kalamazoo College.
Journalists who will be grilling the chief executives are Mary Beth Marklein, higher education reporter, USA Today; Dan de Vise, higher education reporter, Washington Post; Dianne Donovan, senior commentary editor, Chronicle of Higher Education; Claudio Sanchez, education correspondent, NPR; and Linda Stern, personal finance correspondent, Thomson Reuters.
While the exchange between the national media and the presidents will be open-ended, three main questions will frame the discussion: What campus and student issues keep you up at night? What major social, financial, political, economic, regulatory and other issues are affecting your campus and peer institutions? In what ways is your campus thinking creatively and innovating to meet student, institutional, local and national needs?
January 26, 2012
Guilford’s Black History Month observance, titled “Many Faces of Blackness,” includes a series of discussions, films and performances taking place during February.
Among the events are an Underground Railroad tour; two poetry events, Generations and Def Jam; a Get on the Bus African American tour of Greensboro and the International Civil Rights Museum; and the concluding program Celebrations & Misconceptions of Blackness.
Several of the events are sponsored by the Guilford student organization Blacks Unifying Society (BUS). For information, contact the Office of Multicultural Education, 316-2473.
The schedule runs:
Jan. 31, Black Biblical Interpretation as it relates to Sexual Oppression, Sexuality, & HIV-AIDS, by BEATRICE FRANKLIN ’12 , 2:30-4 p.m., King Hall 128E.
Feb. 1, Underground Railroad tour and discussion, by JAMES SHIELDS, director of Bonner Center for Service Learning, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., beginning at 11a.m. in front of the ATM of Founders, discussion will be in Boren Lounge.
Feb. 2, “Many Faces of Blackness,” Africana CHANGE Students, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., King Hall 128E.
Feb. 2, ” Greensboro Racial Justice Activism,” a teach-in by staff from the Beloved Community Center (CAB), 6-8 p.m., King Hall 126.
Feb. 4, “Generations,” annual Black History poetry-music-theatre performance, by Josephus Thompson III (BUS), 8-10 p.m., Dana Auditorium.
Feb. 8, Improvisation: Listen to Jazz & Create a Masterpiece, with Holly Wilson, Multicultural Education Department director, 1-2 p.m., King Hall 128E.
Feb. 8, Me University: The Glass Ceiling Restrictions Placed on Women in the Workforce (BUS), 7:30-9 p.m., King Hall 128E.
Feb. 8, Poetry Slam at Winston Salem State University. RSVP to bus@guilford.edu
Feb. 9, Element Poetry Slam, 7-9 p.m., Community Center.
Feb. 15, Africana Brown Bag Discussion with philosophy Professor VANCE RICKS, 2-3 p.m., Dining Hall Atrium.
Feb. 15, Get on the BUS movie showing, King Hall 128E (BUS), Time TBA.
Feb. 16, “Financial Empowerment II: How I Met My Purpose, ” by Odell Bizell, 6-7:30 p.m., King Hall 128E.
Feb. 16, Def Jam Poetry at Guilford Poetry workshop and open mic night with Bruce George, co-founder of Def Jam. Poetry. Time TBA (CAB).
Feb. 22, Get On the Bus, African American Tour of Greensboro and the International Civil Rights Museum, 1-5 p.m. (BUS), RSVP to bus@guilford.edu, only 45 seats available.
Feb. 22, Hip Hop Dance Session with Chelii Broussard (BUS), 8-9:30 p.m., Ragan Brown Dance Studio.
Feb. 23, Voter Registration Day, 1-4 p.m., Founders Hall Lobby.
Feb. 29, Celebrations & Misconceptions of Blackness Interactive, by Jada Drew, Africana Community coordinator, 5-7 p.m., King Hall 128E.
