Academic Affairs Accomplishments 2009-2010
Partnerships, Community Engagement and Outreach
The WIU strategic plan Higher Values in Higher Education calls for creating opportunities for increasing public involvement in cultural, intellectual, and educational activities; expanding articulation agreements to promote seamless transfer to WIU; and using partnerships to advance the University's vision, mission, values, goals, and actions. In 2009-2010, Academic Affairs created and supported partnerships with University departments, institutions of higher education, and the community, as indicated by the listing of accomplishments below.
- African American Studies, in cooperation with the art department, hosted the graphic artist Emory Douglas (former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party) who visited WIU in December 2009 as a University Theme Speaker.
- Agriculture continued a formal research arrangement with the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.
- Art Education students and faculty worked with the Al Sears Jazz Festival; hosted visiting artist Jerome Witkin who gave a lecture on his life's work and conducted a Figure Painting Friday class; formed a Summer Drawing Academy partnership with the Figge Art Museum; hosted Susan Morrison, poet, author and environmentalist, who spoke to students about the Business of Art.
- Arts and Sciences presented the 2009 John Hallwas Liberal Arts Lecture, given by Dr. Iraj Kalantari, Chair of Mathematics, on both the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses.
- Biological Sciences held Biology Day and hosted the Earthwatch Institute.
- Broadcasting partnered with the English and journalism and geography departments to deliver the Film minor, investigate the feasibility of a Broadcast Meteorology option, and incorporate meteorology students as weather anchors on live newscasts; produced a live half-hour newscast Tuesday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters on wiutv3, the only local television newscast in Macomb; provided "breaking news" coverage to the Macomb community, with students' video aired on television stations and fed to the Chicago News Service and CNN; covered 158 sporting events for wiutv3, WIUS-FM, and RockyVision; produced a weekly football coach's show; and aired radio programming on WIUS-FM Monday through Saturday.
- Business and Technology continued ongoing work with multiple FIPSE partners on high-profile, essential research that exemplifies the academic mission of WIU; engaged alumni and the community on numerous occasions throughout the year via the College of Business and Technology National Advisory Board and the Engineering Advisory Board.
- The Centennial Honors College participated in the Alumni Association's 2010 WIU Educational Networking and Minority Recruitment Event; college students and Phi Eta Sigma volunteered for the 2010 Argyle Lake Maple Syrup Festival; Student Honors Association students partnered with the city of Macomb in the Adopt-A-Street program.
- The Center for International Studies administered the International Neighbors program that links students to families in Macomb; hosted South Korean Fulbright participants.
- Chemistry's Pre-Pharmacy program and the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) developed an articulation agreement that guarantees admission to five qualified WIU students annually to the UIC Pharmacy doctoral program.
- Chemistry and Physics hosted the Demonstration Show "S.P.A.C.E. (Space Physics a Chemistry Extravaganza)" for the general public.
- Communication developed an on-line version of the department's interviewing course (COMM 305) for the Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts program; made progress to enhance the number of viable opportunities available to Quad Cities campus students to enroll in communication classes that fulfill program requirements; received approval to offer Communication as a Paired Minors emphasis in the Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences program; continued to pursue opportunities for ties with various community colleges, including Kirkwood Community College (Iowa City); faculty member Dr. Peter Jorgensen conducted three tele-training sessions on communication and leadership to various remote sites from the Area Health Education Center in Quincy (IL).
- Communication Sciences and Disorders' speech clinic community outreach provided services to Lincoln School, St. Paul's Catholic School, Bridgeway, Elms Nursing Home, and Wesley Home Health Care and Retirement Center, as well as in-house clinical services including screenings, diagnostics, and therapy.
- Counselor Education secured joint funding of assistantships with the Rock Island Salvation Army and Rock Island High School; completed its first year in Rock Island High School and added a second cohort of 25 students in January in the implementation of the $378,000 PACERS Project AT&T grant.
- Curriculum and Instruction representative examples of service and outreach include: provided 25 netbooks for use by WIU-Quad Cities candidates and East Moline School District teachers; collaborated with the WQPT (Quad Cities) television station to provide activities that parents can use to work with their children; conducted the Illinois Science Olympiad Regional Competition at WIU; hosted 20 middle/junior high and high schools (300 students/coaches and parents) which competed in 46 events during the day; sponsored America Reads in the Macomb schools.
- Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising and Hospitality representative examples of service and outreach include: extended Bella Hearst Diabetes Institute services beyond students at risk of diabetes to include other persons in the Macomb community; received the Heart Smart for Women grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health; Dietetic students provided cooking demonstrations and a program entitled Learn to Salsa While You Make Salsa during Minority Health Month; and participated in a coalition with Beu Health Center that targeted college students with eating disorders.
- Economics and Business and Technology sponsored Macomb's Economic Outlook Luncheon for the western Illinois region.
- Education and Human Services, in cooperation with Social Work and the Regional Office of Education #26, hosted the fifth annual Area 3 Homeless Symposium, with more than 140 persons participating in the event.
- Education and Human Services and Business and Technology deans' offices partnered to build a greenhouse for Roosevelt Elementary School in Moline; more than 20 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and their teachers helped build the greenhouse for the sustainability project, Garbage Can Goodies Go Green.
- Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies secured renewal of Title III Professional Development grant, Project Estrella, for $250,000 and the IFSA Foundation Study Abroad Scholarship for $55,000, both of which serve students pursuing careers in bilingual education.
- Educational Leadership representative examples of service and outreach include: supported meetings of the Administrators' Round Table, in partnership with the Hancock/McDonough Regional Office of Education, and explored the establishment of an Administrators' Round Table in Moline; hosted the Western Illinois University Annual Law Conference; provided 25 professional service activities to schools and districts; partnered with the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf, Iowa on a multi-year Data Team Leadership training project involving principals and teacher leaders; Dr. Donna McCaw worked closely with Neponset Elementary School, Kewanee High School, Central Visitation School, Glenview Middle School, and Wethersfield High School in the implementation of a $311,675 Illinois Board of Higher Education grant.
- Engineering investigated unified tuition and advising for students who begin their course of study at Black Hawk College and Scott Community College; continued work on a partnership between regional business development organizations and the Quad Cities campus titled the Renew Moline/IPI and WIU Innovation Center Partnership; partnered with Black Hawk College and Scott Community College to recruit engineering students through high school Career Days and advisory boards for technology and Project Lead the Way organizations in the region.
- Engineering Technology completed a memorandum of understanding for student and faculty exchanges with National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Pingtung, Taiwan; organized its first advisory council.
- English and Journalism hosted the Lola Case Writer in Residence, held the Magliocco Lecture, and hosted the annual Journalism Day.
- Environmental Studies co-sponsored and contributed to the Upper Mississippi River Conference; supported a memorandum of understanding between WIU and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Extended Studies collaborated with John Wood Community College (Quincy, IL) to enhance the GEM to ABC program; secured a Community College Partnership Agreement with Coastline Community College (Fountain Valley, CA); pursued an academic partnership between the Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts (BOT/BA) degree program and Southeastern Community College (Burlington, IA) and Austin Community College (Austin, TX); partnered with the WIU Department of Curriculum and Instruction to offer a four year degree program that will enable individuals working with young children to complete a BOT/BA degree with an emphasis in early childhood education; worked to secure a corporate academic partnership with DOT Foods, Inc. (Mt. Sterling, IL) to ensure a bachelor's degree program opportunity is provided for employees and family members of DOT Foods; actively secured execution of a memorandum of understanding between the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and WIU that will facilitate the transfer of credits from DAU to WIU.
- The First Year Experience Program selected Nickel and Dimed as the 2009-2010 Common Reading. Barbara Ehrenreich, the author, was hosted as a speaker in conjunction with the theme committee.
- Geography hosted the annual Robert Gabler Lecture; the GIS Center provided GIS outreach training to high school students who are members of the McDonough and Schuyler country 4-H clubs.
- Health Sciences finalized a partnering agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the Student Educational Employment Program - Student Career Experience Program.
- History hosted the Annual History Conference; led the Teaching America History Grant summer trip for secondary school history teachers to the American South.
- The Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs served in over 50 communities; participated in many partnerships to promote community and economic development and related training, policy development, and scholarship (Carnegie Foundation, Coalition of State Rural Policy Centers, Community Development Society, Food Initiative Group, Governor's Rural Affairs Council, Illinois Rural Health Association, Illinois Wind Working Group, Macomb Enterprise Zone Board, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, Midwest Community Development Institute, Rural Partners, Vision for Illinois Agriculture, Western Illinois Corridor Council, Western Illinois Regional Council, Workforce Development); Management and Planning Programs in Non-Metro Groups (MAPPING) worked in communities such as Bushnell, Dwight, Geneseo, Nauvoo, and Savannah to help create plans for future community economic development, and placed 12 VISTA volunteers in communities to help implement strategic plans; the Value-Added Sustainable Development Center (VASDC) worked with the WIU Department of Engineering Technology and the Renewable Energy program at Illinois State University to develop a "Wind for Schools" program that would promote renewable energy in K-12 institutions, and formed an ethanol research consortium with the Fermi Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy), USDA Laboratory in Peoria, University of Illinois, and National Corn to Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; the Health and Housing Program worked with 14 communities to promote affordable housing for low-income families and senior citizens; the Rural Transit Assistance Center (RTAC) provided technical assistance to transit agencies and planning and advocacy bodies; the Data and Technical Assistance (DATA) Center conducted analyses for the Quincy Regional Airport, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Exelon Corporation among many other business and government clients, conducted over 50 surveys, and provided GIS services to clients in the University and across Illinois; the institute worked to expand its Peace Corps Fellows Program to include the WIU Departments of Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, and Biological Sciences; the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) assisted 283 businesses in the region in successfully being awarded over $27 million in government contracts; the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) worked with 381 clients and assisted them in receiving $4.8 million in loans and additional equity, creating 11 new businesses, generating 128 new jobs, and retaining 77 existing jobs.
- Instructional Design and Technology outreach workshops impacted more than 300 teachers in four Illinois school districts.
- Kinesiology provided personal growth opportunities in wellness-related programming; faculty continued to serve on various community boards (e.g., Dolphin Swim Team, Macomb Little League, and the Salvation Army Weight Lifting Program).
- Law Enforcement and Justice Administration partnered with the Meggitt Corporation (Atlanta, GA) and the University of South Florida to conduct a study of 150 police officers; department faculty conducted the POWER test (physical agility test) to assist law enforcement recruiters from three states; hosted the annual LEJA Career Fair, which brought 85 law enforcement agency recruiters on campus and serviced 900 students.
- Marketing and Finance maintained ongoing contacts with vice presidents of Illinois Central College, John Wood Community College, and Spoon River College to forge partnerships focused on increasing transfer enrollments; hosted 12 companies on-campus during its annual Supply Chain Management Day in which students and faculty participated in presentations and met with practitioners.
- Mathematics offered the Girls Plus Math summer camp; hosted the Mathematical Association of America Math Competition for 6-12 graders; and hosted the 59th Annual Math Teachers Conference.
- Military Science established partnerships with the WIU departments of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, Kinesiology, Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration and Athletics, as well as Monmouth College ROTC and local veteran service organizations.
- Museum Studies continued to develop museum partnerships with The Figge Art Museum and other community museums including the Putnam Museum, The Family Museum, The German American Heritage Museum, The Arsenal Museum, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.
- Music revived its Community Music School program, which benefits talented young people in the Macomb community as well as the surrounding area; presented over 150 concerts and recitals in addition to numerous festivals, events, and the Summer Music Camp.
- Non-Credit Programs supported: youth academic enrichment programs which attracted statewide enrollments and which all are instructed by WIU faculty ("Adventures in Filmmaking," "Girls Plus Math," and "Art for Gifted and Talented Students"); WIU academic departmental programs which attracted statewide, national, and international enrollments and which showcased WIU faculty and the University campuses (Annual History Conference, 41st International Horn Symposium, "Exclusion and Aggression: Identifying and Intervening in Bullying Behavior," and "Classroom Management Strategies 2010"); many educational contracts with external sponsors which provided credit-bearing WIU courses, taught by WIU faculty, on-site to place-bound cohorts of teachers statewide.
- Nursing held blood pressure and flu shot clinics in the Macomb area.
- Philosophy and Religious Studies hosted the annual Mary Olive Wood Lecture.
- Physics' Pre-Engineering program reached an articulation agreement with the University of Iowa College of Engineering, guaranteeing admission for five students to Iowa's Engineering program upon successful completion of WIU's pre-engineering curriculum; hosted the annual Morrow Lecture; hosted Astronomy Nights for sky viewing.
- Political Science faculty co-chaired WIU's participation in the American Democracy Project; faculty from a number of departments participated in the Constitution Day panel; participated in judging the national "We the People..." High School Civics Competition on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration representative examples of service and outreach include: finalized a degree completion opportunity with Black Hawk College in the Quad Cities that will culminate in a B.S. in Recreation, Park and Tourism; began a conversation with the WIU communication department regarding a Special Events minor; moved forward with development of an interdisciplinary Outdoor Leadership minor for the Environmental Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition experience; considered an interdisciplinary Leadership minor; worked with Veterans Resources and the Rock Island Arsenal to find ways to support the Wounded Warriors and their families; the Horn Field Campus served the larger community by hosting the WIU Environmental Summit, partnering with Pat Sullivan (WIU Alumnus, Rushville IL) to secure a LEAP grant to provide outreach programs for schools, and offering community events such as climbing towers, nature hikes, wellness weekend, and garden tour.
- Special Education collaborated with Quad Cities' religious organizations to provide activities which effectively integrate individuals with intellectual disabilities; coordinated WIU student volunteers for Special Olympics bowling and track activities; coordinated the Americans with Disabilities Act architectural audit of various Rock Island Association for Retarded Citizens group homes; provided consultation for the juvenile justice department, Arrowhead Ranch, and Iowa Gender Task Force; initiated conversations to create a task force that will serve female juvenile offenders; received a Grow Your Own Teachers grant for $175,750 that supports 15 candidates who successfully complete six semester hours each term.
- Theatre and Dance partnered with Eureka College to offer the Central Illinois Combat Workshops; the Regional Touring Theatre Company presented a fall and spring semester production to local and regional elementary schools; in cooperation with the WIU Student Chapter of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, presented Halloween Haunted House; provided use of the Simpkins Hall combat/movement classroom and the Brophy Hall Dance Studio for dance classes for community youth; loaned various costumes and props to area grade schools, high schools, and community theatres.
- University Libraries expanded the Library Leadership Board to include individuals with a deep commitment to WIU and the greater Macomb area; conducted programming such as Library Open House, Banned Books Talk, Privacy Discussion, and GIS Day; hosted the 2009 Author Recognition Reception; hosted the Gloria Huhr book talk, "We Married Koreans: Personal Stories of American Women with Korean Husbands"; applied for and received a National Library of Medicine $39,000 subcontract to promote the use of www.medlineplus.gov; received the Annual Technology Award from the Alliance Library System for the creation of the "Text Me" video.
- University Television helped to promote all college and University departments by making them visible to the public; worked with the local St. Jude's group to help support their fund raising goals; administered a public bulletin board on cable channel 3 to help promote WIU activities, public service agencies, and not for profit groups.
The WIU recreation, park and tourism administration department's Environmental Conservation & Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE) program provides students with practical experience in outdoor leadership and education and wilderness travel skills. The ECOEE is a semester-long experience that entails 18 credit hours of coursework and traveling, camping, and working in locations throughout the United States and in Canada and Mexico. Above: Fall 2009 ECOEE program participants in a tunneled-out Giant Sequoia tree in Yosemite (CA).
WIU Mathematics Professor and Department Chair Iraj Kalantari delivered the Seventh Annual John Hallwas Liberal Arts Lecture in September 2009. Kalantari's talk, "Mathematics: The Landscape of the Liberal Arts," addressed the effectiveness and joy in mathematics and its role in our everyday experiences.
WIU's Horn Field Campus (HFC) received a $500 grant from the Lake Education Assistance Program (LEAP) to deliver the Lake Watershed Community Outreach program. The LEAP funds enabled Pat Sullivan (blue shirt), owner of Peace of Earth Environmental Learning Center in Rushville (IL), and Emily Schoenfelder, graduate assistant at HFC, to visit local classrooms to help educate students about the health of Spring Lake and Argyle Lake, as well as the county's water resources. Sullivan received her master's degree in recreation, park and tourism administration at WIU.
Marietta Loehrlein, a horticulture professor in WIU's School of Agriculture, developed the Sustainable Landscaping site (sustainablelandscaping.us) as an instructional tool for a new Sustainable Landscaping Practices course she is teaching.
The relationship between fire service personnel and WIU is forever commemorated through a brick inscribed with WIU's logo, which has been placed in the Walk of Honor at the recently constructed National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg (MD). Through WIU's unique Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts Degrees at a Distance Program, fire service personnel from across the United States can earn a bachelor's degree form an accredited institution without losing time on the job.
Matt Barr, a senior accountancy major and a Fighting Leathernecks quarterback, was WIU's recipient of the 2009-2010 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate Award. This prestigious award is presented annually to an outstanding senior from each of Illinois' four-year degree-granting institutions to honor them for overall academic excellence and extracurricular activities. Barr graduated magna cum laude in Spring 2010. L-R: Assistant Vice President for Student Services/Director of Athletics Tim Van Alstine, Barr holding his award certificate, and College of Business and Technology Dean Tom Erekson.
WIU's Associate Professor of Art Tim Waldrop asked for and received a substantial donation (more than $3,100) of glitter and glitter-related craft materials from Martha Stewart Crafts. The sparkling decorations were used by students and faculty to create their one-of-a-kind artwork for display in the February 2010 University Art Gallery show, "Exploring Media: Glitter." Above: Waldrop displays some of the glitter donated by Martha Stewart Crafts.
Recent WIU graduate Alex Lake, a graphic communication major, took first place in the "Leisure Service" category in the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association's (NIRSA's) T-shirt and Apparel Competition at NIRSA's annual conference in April 2010. Lake's t-shirt design is based on the early Nintendo game "Duck Hunt."