COE Update - January 17, 2017

Greetings on this Terrific Tuesday. I hope each of you enjoyed a relaxing and refreshing weekend and took some time to reflect on the extraordinary life of a man whose inspirational actions and words ring just as true now as they did during his lifetime. I imagine most, if not all of you have read one of his seminal works, Letters From a Birmingham Jail, but if not or you wish to refresh your memory, the link below connects to an image of the original document and an audio version of Dr. King delivering this powerful message. 

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/letter-birmingham-jail 

It is my intention, beginning with this post, to provide timely and brief updates regarding the events, policies and legislation affecting our college. Please take a few minutes to read the items below and do not hesitate to provide suggestions as to future items to include.

Trees
The removal of trees from around Woodard Hall is the result of the implementation of the University's Tree Management Plan, which includes the planting of around 140 replacement and new trees. The trees, being planted within the next few weeks, should eventually provide additional shade during the hottest months, allow for the growth of grass in the currently barren areas, and exhibit diminished root growth that disturbs the concrete pathways, permitting safer foot traffic around campus. Additionally, an arboretum is planned for the area between Woodard Hall and the parking area servicing the band building and A.E. Phillips.

Dawgs with a Cause

COE Clinical Residents and La Tech Basketball Team Players and Staff

The Clinical Residency Center, a service and research center housed in Woodard Hall, provides training and support to clinical residents completing full-year internships in K-12 educational environments. In addition to being the first full-year clinical residency program in the state and one of the first in the nation, the residents have partnered with Tech athletics to implement a reading and character development program in area elementary schools. Recent, national media coverage (Washington Times, Miami Herald, others) of Dogs with a Cause resulted in an approximate $30,000 value to our college.

Student Travel Fund
$10,000 has been set aside to support student travel to college related events. The process for assigning and distributing these funds will be determined by a currently unidentified committee. More to come...

Search Updates
KINE and PBS are nearing the completion of searches for a combined five new faculty members. In general, both departments have been impressed by the applicant pool. I am very grateful to the committee members and the chairs for their demonstrated professionalism and organizational skills during this very important process.  More news to follow...

College Committees
To achieve the priorities set forth in our COE strategic plan, I will be announcing the formation of committees associated with the six themes delineated in the plan. As a reminder, the six strategic themes are listed below:
1. Scholarship: Expand and enhance the professional body of knowledge;
2. Enrollment: Recruit and retain high quality students;
3. Quality Personnel: Recruit and retain high quality faculty and staff;
4. Impact: Maximize workforce and economic development;
5. Elevate prestige and national prominence; and
6. Operations: Improve facilities and infrastructure

Please contact me if you have an interest in serving on any of the committees.

Louisiana Tech's SciTec Center; Home Grown Science Fun!
As many of you are aware, our own Lindsey Keith-Vincent appears weekly, usually with students from a local school, on KTVE's morning show. The link below accesses one of the recent shows.
http://www.myarklamiss.com/community/louisiana-tec...

Qualtrics
In recognition of the need for a college-wide mechanism to collect, organize, and analyze survey data, we are collaborating with the College of Business to negotiate a joint subscription with Qualtrics. Stay tuned...

Kinesiology Announcement
Most likely you are aware that Dr. Dornier recently stepped down as chair of the Department of Kinesiology. It has been a privilege to co-labor with Lanie, and I know that all of you will join me in thanking her for her 10 years of dedicated leadership to the college and her department. I am very pleased to announce that Dr. David Szymanski has accepted the position of interim chair of the department, and I am excited about the energy and leadership he will provide as the Department, the College, and the University strive to meet the needs of students and faculty while progressing towards increased national and international prominence.

Congratulations!

• AEP Ranks in Top 25 in the State 
• External Funding 
  
• Submitted - Teacher Preparation Residencies Support Needs Request
  - Louisiana Department of Education, $160,640
  - A. Vessel (PI), D. Basinger, B. McCoy, L. Keith-Vincent
• Awarded - Louisiana Center for Afterschool Learning (LACAL),
  - Louisiana Department of Education, $225,000
  - Lindsey Keith-Vincent
• Fall Doctoral Graduates - Thanks to Drs. Basinger, Desselles, Sheets, and Young for their expertise and dedication demonstrated by leading four candidates to earn their doctoral degrees. 

State of the College 
I am planning to deliver a State of the College message on either early afternoon of Feb. 23 or late morning of Feb. 24. It will also be a time to celebrate some of the accomplishments of the college. More to follow soon...

Thank you. Feedback is always invited and welcome.
Don