David Manderscheid Likes UNL's Work Ethic, Commitment to Excellence

Among the early lessons learned by new Arts and Sciences Dean David Manderscheid: it's probably best to shave if you're coming into the office on Labor Day.

Unshaven weekend appearances in scruffy shorts were commonplace when he was Math Department Chair at the University of Iowa, Manderscheid said. But he felt some sideways glances on the Oldfather elevator Sept. 3 when similarly attired.
It's all part of the learning curve, he said  -- learning to be dean and learning the cultural mores of a new institution.

Institutions are pretty much all the same, but the acronyms change, he said. Still there are key differences to grasp, and if you don't appreciate them, you can miss the subtlety of a situation.

Manderscheid joined UNL Aug. 1. And what he's seen since has confirmed his instincts about UNL and about taking the job. It's been very positive. Everything I thought was true has turned out to be true. There have been few surprises, he said.

The one big surprise-the overwhelmingly welcoming response extended to him and his wife, Susan Lawrence, an associate professor of history.

The two have a joke between them - Nebraska is just like Iowa, only more so. Everything we valued about Iowa - the friendly people, the work ethic, the commitment to the university -- was there and even more so.

Just weeks into his tenure, Manderscheid said he believes the decision to come to UNL was the best career move he's made. He was also in the running for positions at a couple of other universities but chose Nebraska because he felt conditions here were ripe for growth. Funding is stable, he said, and the University of Nebraska Foundation's support for UNL is a heavy weapon in the fight for research funding and other needs. Manderscheid stated publicly in Florida, where he was being considered at Florida International University, that Florida's lack of public tax support for higher education was a barrier to that institution's progress.

His early focus at UNL will be working toward further enriching the undergraduate experience in UNL's largest college and to grow the college's research enterprise, stature and visibility.

The people here, the work that goes on here, it's very, very good. But they are also very modest about it. I'd like to see a little more self-promotion. When you put yourself out there, go to conferences, get some visibility and little more exposure for your work, that can help your academic reputation immensely, he said.
He disputes one deeply held belief in Lincoln  - that traffic is bad. Manderscheid has lived in New York and Berkeley; he calls Lincoln a 20-minute town.

It's four or five times the size of Iowa City, but it takes the same amount of time to get across town - 20 minutes. We think it's easy.

Confucius Institute Dedication Activities Oct. 28-30

Now open in Nebraska Hall, UNL's new Confucius Institute will be dedicated during activities slated for Oct. 28-30.

That's when a delegation of officials from Xi'an Jiaotong University, UNL's partner in the Confucius Institute arrives. As many as seven officials from Xi'an Jiaotong are expected, along with 12 students comprising a musical band. Additionally, officials from Hanban, the Chinese agency that funds Confucius Institutes worldwide, and officials from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., are expected to attend. UNL's Confucius Institute is the 20th to open in the United States, and joins about 80 worldwide. October 30 is the scheduled date for the opening ceremony, to be held in the afternoon at UNL Visitor's Center. Additional information will appear in future university announcements.

Partnership Degree Program with Xi'an Jiaotong University City College

UNL has signed an agreement with Xi'an Jiaotong University City College of China that will allow students from the Chinese institution to begin college in China, and if they qualify, transfer to UNL where they will earn their degree. Curriculum articulation agreements have been negotiated in advance so that students in their first year at Xi'an Jiaotong University City College can elect to attend UNL and take courses that we have approved for transfer.

During their first two years at Xi'an Jiaotong University City College, the students will take English as Second Language courses from Jean Arnold, who was recently hired by UNL to teach in China and be the face of UNL in Xi'an Jiaotong. In addition to teaching, Arnold will serve as a recruiter, academic adviser and admissions counselor.

Critical to the program's success are the pre-approved transfer agreements, said David Wilson, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. Students also must pass English-language proficiency tests and other requirements before being admitted to UNL.

A scholarship program allows students to pay half the tuition differential between domestic and international students. As many as 50 students could be admitted each of the first two years of the program and 100 students per year after that.

Wilson said some 20 percent of Chinese students have the economic means to study abroad. The college-age population in China is growing much faster than the country's capacity to educate them. Chinese students are interested in studying in the United State and other countries because there are not enough seats at existing Chinese universities.

The program is good for UNL, Wilson said, because it helps to diversify our student population and further internationalizes the campus.

China is growing in importance on the world stage, Wilson said, and our students need an understanding of the country, of its people and its culture. That can only help serve them in the future regardless of their career choices.

David Lou, professor of mechanical engineering, serves as program director.

A Strategic Compass for UNL: Join the Forum

Mark your calendars to participate in two open forums to discuss the next steps in our Academic Planning process. Forums (time to be determined) will be held Nov. 27 in the Nebraska Union and Jan. 24 in the Nebraska East Union.

As Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced in his State of the University Address, we are entering a new stage of academic strategic planning at UNL this year. For the past three years, we have developed college and unit academic strategic plans, using as our guide three key reports of our faculty and university leaders: the 2020 Vision for graduate education, the report on the undergraduate first-year experience (Everyone a Teacher, Everyone a Learner), and the Blue Sky report.

UNL's job now is to articulate the overall focus and direction that we have taken, to express in shared language the vision and strategies that define excellence in undergraduate education and research, our primary missions.

Later this fall, the campus community will be introduced to a draft all-campus plan-to be dubbed our UNL strategic compass. This document, prepared with the input of our senior leadership and our deans, reflects-we hope-the aspirations of the university and the strategies we have identified to reach them, as outlined in our planning documents of the last several years.

Chancellor Perlman, IANR Vice Chancellor John Owens and Senior Vice Chancellor Barbara Couture will ask for your input in shaping this strategic compass for UNL in two open forums, among other venues, during this academic year. We want to know whether we've got it right. In the end, we hope to use the UNL Strategic Compass as a directional guide for continued planning at UNL by all of our academic and business units. We hope that you will participate in this important process.

The compass documents, at this time still under revision, will be available later this fall on the senior vice chancellor's web page.

Update: The strategic compass is available at: http://www.unl.edu/comm/chancllr/compass/.

Achievement-Centered Education Curriculum Reform Comes to Conclusion

The General Education Advisory Committee's goal is to finalize all four proposals by October 12 and turn them over to the eight undergraduate colleges the week of Oct. 15 for review and balloting in accordance with their traditions and bylaws.

The GEAC revised all four proposals based on faculty input received since they were was first promulgated. This faculty-led committee has since its inception solicited comment and feedback from faculty and continues to do so. Six open forum opportunities were scheduled, the latest occurring Sept. 14 and 17. The committee worked to consult broadly and to incorporate feedback to build proposals that faculty will want to support through college balloting later this semester.

To read all four newly revised proposals, go to www.unl.edu/svcaa/gened.

The ACE initiative, when adopted and implemented, will reduce costs imposed on students who change majors, make UNL more accessible to students who transfer to UNL from other institutions, and will achieve a platform from which to engage undergraduate students and their parents about what it means to be a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

ITLE-4 focuses on improving student writing

Proposals are due Oct. 31 for Year 4 of the Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence. This academic year, the initiative will distribute $200,000 for projects that help students write better.

Application materials and information are posted at itle/.

Proposals that accomplish any of the following are especially welcome:

• Re-tool courses, curriculum, or programs to incorporate more or better opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate competence in writing in and across the disciplines;
• Assess students' abilities in writing within the disciplines and use assessment data to re-design assignments, courses, or programs;
• Investigate writing within a discipline or profession, determining the full range of writing that occurs within the area, and use the results to re-design assignments, courses, or programs;
• Provide faculty and graduate teaching assistants with strategies for supporting writing and writing development in their classes, developing better writing assignments, defining expectations for writing, assessing student writing, and connecting college writing to students' post-baccalaureate lives;
• Foster new collaborations between faculty and programs within and across colleges that result in a stronger and more innovative focus on student writing.

All funds awarded must be expended by May 2009. Recipients will be expected to share their work in a campus presentation/demonstration by December 2009.

Proposals will be reviewed by the dean of the college from which the proposal originates; an advisory committee with representation from the Teaching Council, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, the Academic Planning Committee, the Faculty Senate, and Undergraduate Studies; and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will select the funded projects.

ITLE demonstrates the deep commitment of the university to teaching excellence and student learning by making significant investments in undergraduate education. The University of Nebraska Foundation funds the initiative.

For more information, contact David Wilson, associate vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at 472-3751, teaching@unl.edu.

Wilson suggests the following for those interested in submitting proposals:

• read Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines by Chris Thaiss, Clark Kerr Presidential Chair and director of the University Writing Program at the University of California at Davis, and Terry Myers Zawacki;
  
• consult the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse at http://wac.colostate.edu.

Chris Thaiss presentation available as podcast

The Oct. 5 lecture by Christopher Thaiss, Clark Kerr Presidential Chair and director of the University Writing Program at the University of California at Davis, is available as a downloadable podcast.

Go to itle/.

Thaiss's workshop was part of the Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence and the Achievement-Centered Education initiative.

Supporting Student Writing Within and Across the Disciplines addressed writing instruction concerns shared by faculty across disciplines. Thaiss discussed results of a four-year, cross-disciplinary study of faculty and students from a wide range of majors, illuminating disciplinary assumptions, expectations, and teaching practices around writing.