Contents
Special Announcement
As we begin a wonderful and exciting year for the Office of Undergraduate Studies, I want to extend my greetings and thanks to all UNL faculty and staff committed to serving our undergraduate students. When I speak with parents and new students, I always state that our primary mission in the Office of Undergraduate Studies is to provide academic initiatives and programs for all UNL students so that they may have a successful undergraduate experience, graduate and become proud alumni of this university!
- We are so pleased that Sara Mattson has joined OUS in August as our Administrative Technician. Sara replaces Jennifer Lantz who has returned to school full time to complete her Nursing degree through UNMC. We depended on Jen for so much in the OUS office and she will be missed; however, Sara has stepped up to the plate and is doing excellent work to support all of us in OUS.
- Under the leadership of Dr. Nancy Mitchell, the I-ACE Committee has made good progress on certification of courses for our new ACE General Education Program. This next academic year will be very busy for the I-ACE Committee as we populate the ACE program with certified courses. We are so pleased that Dr. Tim Alvarez has agreed to serve as Interim Director of the Culture Center/OASIS Programs. Dr. Charlie Francis and I will begin the search for a permanent Director this fall. The Multicultural Student Welcome will be Friday, September 5, 5:00PM to 8:00 PM. The Welcome will be located in the parking lot west of the Culture Center. Please stop by and welcome our new students, enjoy the entertainment and delicious food.
- The UCARE Fall Kickoff will be held in the Nebraska Union on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Please encourage all UCARE students and faculty to attend. There will be a brief program to orient faculty/students to the UCARE program. Dr. Laura Damuth, ldamuth1@unl.edu, Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships will be contacting new faculty about the UCARE program.
- The Non-Traditional and Transfer Student Welcome is scheduled for Thursday, September 4 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM in the Love Library South Room 110. This is an annual event to welcome our new transfer students new UNL students. JoAnn Moseman is the Academic Transfer Coordinator jmoseman1@unl.edu.
- This is the second year for the Nebraska Colloquium http://nebcolloquium.unl.edu/
In essence, the Colloquium is a series of lectures in which a variety of speakers from a multitude of backgrounds speak on a common subject - for the 2008-09 year, that subject is Democracy. The Honors Program is sponsoring the Nebraska Colloquium Honors Forum, a series of presentations by UNL faculty about issues of democracy. - Please encourage first year and entering transfer students to attend UNL's fourth annual Mid Semester: Checking It Out! September 15, 16, 17 and 18 from 6:30PM to 9:00PM at the Nebraska Union. Last year close to 2,000 students attended the event and evaluations indicated the students found the event to be very helpful, as well as enjoyable. There will be free snacks and Pepsi products again this year, as well as skits by the NSE leaders and sessions led by UNL faculty and staff. The night of September 17 is dedicated to students who have not yet decided on a major. Representatives from Career Services and each of the eight undergraduate colleges will be present to meet with students. Pat McBride, Director of New Student Enrollment is providing great leadership again this year and you will be hearing from both Pat and me about the event.
- Retention of our undergraduate students continues to be top priority for all of us at UNL. Please visit the retention website for Best Practices and information on better serving our students at http://www.retain.unl.edu/. Thank you for all your interest and guidance of our undergraduate students.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and ideas at rkean1@unl.edu
BEST WISHES FOR A PRODUCTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL YEAR!
-- Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Announcements and Events
**Congratulations to Gail Hackwith on her 10 Year Anniversary here at UNL!!!!**
William H Thompson Scholars Program
The Office of Undergraduate Studies is proud to announce a new learning community, the William H. Thompson Scholars Program. This learning community is designed for UNL students who have been awarded a scholarship from the Susan T. Buffett Foundation. This fall, the community welcomed approximately 120 first year students. These talented scholars are all from the state of Nebraska and have a wide variety of majors, which represent all of the colleges on the UNL campus. The scholars will be lead by Faculty Coordinator, June Griffin who is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of English and Demoine Adams, who is the Academic Coordinator for the Williams H. Thompson Scholars. Besides being in two co-enrolled courses this semester, the scholars will have the opportunity to engage with faculty and their peers in unique opportunities and rich dialogue outside of class, both on campus and far beyond campus, in the areas of cultural events, the arts, current events and much more.
To learn more about the William H. Thompson Scholars, please visit our website at www.unl.edu/ous/wht
PEARL
PEARL due dates for PEARL programs
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The “Summary of Assessment Evidence / Results” and “Use of Assessment Evidence / Results” components are due in the PEARL software (http://pearl.unl.edu) by September 19th for PEARL programs.
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The 2008 – 2009 PEARL plans are due on October 3rd. Please note that the 2008 – 2009 timeline will not be available until the 2007 – 2008 “Programs Report Results” step has been completed. It is important to meet these deadlines for a timely peer review process and to allow for identification of your PEARL plans as a “PEARL best practice.”
If you would like assistance with your assessment plans, or with using the PEARL software, please contact Jeremy Penn, Program Assessment Coordinator, at 472-1905 or jpenn3@unl.edu.
Update on the Division of Student Affairs’ participation in PEARL
Seven units from the Division of Student Affairs – Campus Recreation, Career Services Greek Affairs, Housing, Nebraska Unions, Services for Students with Disabilities, Student Involvement, - entered PEARL assessment plans this summer and received feedback on those plans from the Division of Student Affairs PEARL Peer Reviewers. Some of the outcomes being assessed include students’ multicultural awareness, understanding of holistic wellness, use of value driven leadership, capacity to engage in principled dissent, and ability to identify, acknowledge and affirm their values, interests, skills, abilities and strengths.
OASIS Events for September 2008
- Wednesday, September 10, 2008
-6:00 p.m. Nebraska Union Crib. E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues Movie Night FILM: Recount: The Story of the 2000 Presidential Election. Movie Discussion by Assistant Professor Michael Wagner, Department of Political Science - Thursday, September 18, 2008
-1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Love Library Instruction Room 110. Digital presentation: Charlene Maxey-Harris: "New ways of Looking and Seeing" - - Richard Wright Digital Resources.
-3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Screening of the Katrina documentary Trouble the Water - Friday, September 19, 2008
-9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Nebraska Union. Professor Reynolds: '"A Western Man of Color": Richard Wright and the World'
Nebraska Union. Professor Rutledge: '"Global Warming, Nuclear Winter & Katrina's Folk': African Epic & the Ecological Implications of Wright's "Blue{s} Print"'
-10:30 - 12:00
Nebraska Union. Keynote Professor Miller: 'Reading Richard Wright in the 21st Century'
-1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 "Q" Street, Hewitt Place). Keynote Professor Joyce: 'Richard Wright and George Lamming: Literary Brothers in the Diaspora'
-3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Bailey Library 222 Andrews Hall. Screening of the original Native Son movie, starring Wright - Tuesday, September 23, 2008
-5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Nebraska Union Plaza. Fiesta on the Green. Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. Events include: Reading of the Hispanic Heritage Month Proclamation by Dr. Amelia Montes, Results May Vary, a Latin African Fusion musical group, Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca, a Mexican Folkloric Dance group and Son del Llano, a local musical group that plays Cuban Son: Spanish melodies & African Rhythms. - Wednesday, September 24
-3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Nebraska Union. Lecture by Dr. Nwando Achebe: Going too Far: Radical Igbo [Wo]man Challenges Male Political Ideas in Northern Igboland, Nigeria
Contact the Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services (OASIS) for more information.
Office of Undergraduate Studies |
(402) 472-1185 |
Dr. Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Textiles, Clothing and Design
Dr. Tim Alvarez, Interim Director of OASIS
Dr. Patrice Berger, Director of NU Honors Program and Professor of History
Dr. Laura Damuth, Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Adviser
Kelly Dick, Undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator
Dr. Donald Gregory, Director of General Studies and Associate Professor of English
Gail Hackwith, Administrative Assistant
Dr. Jessica Jonson, Director of Institutional Assessment
Sara Mattson, Administrative Technician
Dr. Nancy Mitchell, Interim Director for ACE Program
JoAnn Moseman, Academic Transfer Coordinator
Jeremy Penn, Assessment Associate for PEARL
Marcia White, E.N. Thompson Coordinator and Political Science Adviser
AnnMarie Williams, Academic Learning Communities Coordinator
