Academic Affairs Accomplishments 2009-2010
Other Highlights
- Art investigated using the MAEDCO facility as studios for 3D and a portion of printmaking; completed the vision plan for a new visual arts complex and presented it to the University president; hired an instructional support technician to help address issues of safety and help focus an awareness of health and safety practices in the studio.
- Arts and Sciences had three faculty members participate in the College Faculty Mentor Program to develop research and scholarship connections with established researchers and scholars in other universities.
- Broadcasting expanded its laptop requirement for all 200-level production-based courses; graphic design graduates continued to be in high demand by employers with over 90 percent being employed in their field within six months of graduation (an eight-year trend).
- Business and Technology updated and redesigned materials and displays for Discover Western.
- Communication worked with the Assistant Vice President of Quad Cities and Planning and the Quad Cities Director of Student Services to develop a questionnaire to research the needs and desires of area students regarding a Communication major in the Quad Cities.
- Computer Science formalized the renaming of the Telecommunications Management major to Network Technologies, effective August 2010.
- Education and Human Services made a commitment to maintain current levels of external funding while increasing the number of grant and contract proposal submissions by 25 percent; significantly increased support for research presentation travel awards through promotion of travel awards from the Office of the Provost and other WIU sources, including ICR-funded college support made available through recurring variance funds; through a competition, provided funding for four six-month graduate research assistantships to assist faculty with active research agendas; examined the practicality of Distinguished Scholar status for faculty who reach and maintain thresholds of "high level" publications and developed status guidelines with plans to implement in Fall 2010; expanded the Graduate Research Symposia held on the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses; three faculty members received University Research Council grants.
- Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies Professor Carla Paciotto received a one-course release to prepare and submit a Spencer Foundation Grant.
- Engineering Technology formalized plans to rename the Manufacturing Engineering Technology major to Engineering Technology, with the request currently pending review and approval by Illinois Board of Higher Education staff; students, led by Professor Dave Hunter, attended and competed in an international design competition in Tainan, Taiwan.
- Extended Studies, in collaboration with the Center for Application of Information Technology, completely redesigned the School of Extended Studies website; academic advisors and staff participated in recruitment activities at Illinois Valley Community College Adult Fair (Olgesby, IL), Muscatine Community College Transfer Day (Muscatine, IA), Illinois Fire Chiefs Combined Conference (Peoria, IL), Clinton Community College (Clinton, IA), Highland Community College (Freeport, IL), Sauk Valley Community College Advising Sessions (Dixon, IL), Heartland Community College (Bloomington, IL), Harper College Adult Student Transfer Fair (Palatine, IL), Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Training Conference and Exhibition (Peoria, IL), Spoon River College (Macomb, IL), Dot Foods, Inc. (Mt. Sterling, IL), Council of Colleges and Military Educators (Nashville, TN), and other community college recruitment activities; continued to re-establish contact through a mass mailing to 2,542 "stop out" students or students who temporarily left the University for one or more semesters. (To date, 330 students from this group have been admitted to the Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts program.); continued to see an increase in the number of online courses and enrollments. (There was an increase of online course offerings from 208 in FY2009 to 243 in FY2010. This resulted in an increase of enrollments from 4,762 in FY2009 to a record enrollment of 5,994 in FY2010, a 1,232 increase).
- Graduate Studies completely redesigned the graduate viewbook; created a presence on Facebook and currently have 114 "fans"; made plans for a website update which will be coordinated with the WIU site update; effective in Fall 2008, began processing all theses and dissertations submitted electronically; implemented a plan to contact University offices annually to ask if they want to post assistantship positions on the graduate office website.
- Marketing and Finance, in conjunction with Accountancy, continued discussions regarding a curriculum review and new course development for the Certified Financial Planner certification program. This initiative was curtailed due to the FY2010 budget concerns.
- Music hosted the 41st International Horn Symposium.
- Theatre and Dance students performed Bard in the Barn plays; two acting students participated in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition; hosted the Dueling Arts international combat workshop; alumni Eric Rayburn and Sarah Semonis conducted workshops for the University Dance Theatre; five alumni returned to choreograph and dance in the Winter Faculty DanceWorks concert.
- Registrar implemented online final grade reporting, which is Phase II of the plus-minus grade implementation project; modified STARS address update screen to allow students to update phone numbers and school, home, and emergency addresses; in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, coordinated the research, design, and incorporation of the new gonfalons in the Commencement ceremonies; updated the STARS transcript request screen to allow students to fax unofficial transcripts directly from STARS; improved student data, which is currently available to faculty and staff on the Registrar website; converted to tab delimited files, which allows individuals to more easily import files into Excel for greater sorting flexibility; through a nationwide search conducted during Fall 2009 for the vacant Associate Director position, hired Susan Dagit, former Registrar at Monmouth College, for the position; developed a summer course search webpage to highlight summer course offerings; hosted an Office of Public Safety official during a Registrar's Office staff meeting to discuss appropriate strategies for dealing with aggressive individuals in person and over the phone; proposed an official Posthumous Degree Policy that codifies current procedures.
- University Advising and Academic Services Center saw growth in its Extended Transitional Advising Program and anticipates it will continue to grow due to increased academic requirements in several majors.
Music Professor Paul Paccione recorded "Our Beauties Are Not Ours," which was released in February 2010 by New World Records. The selected works on the CD span 20 years of compositional and performing activity. School of Music faculty performing in the recordings include Associate Professor Terry Chasteen, voice; Professor Moises Molina, cello; and Jenny Perron, piano. The recording also includes a performance by the Western Illinois Singers, conducted by Professor James Stegall.
The WIU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, along with faculty, staff and alumni, spent spring break visiting cities from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, performing and providing lessons and instruments for underprivileged children in Brazil.
In celebration of Geography Awareness Week, Linda Zellmer, government information and data services librarian at WIU, utilized GIS to prepare a website (faculty.wiu.edu/LR-Zellmer/thanksgiving.html) that shows where the foods consumed at the traditional Thanksgiving meal originate.