Stetson Commons 1996-5-2

COMMONS Summer 1996 A Newsletter for Families of Stetson Students volume v—No. 2 Student Alumni Association members, from right to left, Darby Stewart, Dunedin; Kim Cummings, Altoona; Lori Ann Francis, Cooper City; Dana Faircloth, Chiefland; and Kristen Moody, Roswell, Qa., relax on the porch at the President's Home for a SAAJSenior Send-Off Banquet. SAA is a campus organization composed of student leaders participating in a variety of outreach activities such as planning Homecoming and Alumni Reunion weekends, attending District Alumni events, and providing campus tours to visiting alumni, parents, and other special guests. 1996 McEniry, Hand Awards given to outstanding professors T! 'hree professors were honored with prestigious awards at Spring Commencement. Associate Professor of Sociology Leonard Nance, a former Faculty Senate chair, is the 1996 winner of Stetson University's McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. Kevin Riggs, associate professor of physics, and Randall Hansen, assistant professor of marketing, received the 1996 Hand Awards for scholarly and creative work. The McEniry Award is the most prestigious award given to a DeLand campus faculty member. Selections are made jointly by faculty and students and winners must be both outstanding scholars and excellent teachers. The awards, established by Stetson Law School graduate Dolly Hand and her husband, Homer, of Belle Glade, honor dedicated teachers with achievements in scholarship or creative writing. A faculty member since 1989, Nance holds a doctorate in sociology from the Univesity of Virginia. His research interests include African-American attitudes on abortion, which was the subject of his doctoral dissertation, as well as issues concerning the homeless. Riggs, a member of the arts and sciences faculty since 1987, is a frequent presenter at professional conferences. His interests range from experimental condensed matter physics to musical acoustics and vibrational holography. Hansen joined the School of Business faculty in 1992 and heads the Faculty Senate this year. His publications include a book, Dynamic Cover Letters, co-authored with his wife, Katherine; and a forthcoming chapter in a book entitled Electronic Communication Across the Curriculum. Business School receives AACSB accreditation The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business has awarded Stetson its highest level of approval: accreditation of both undergraduate and graduate progiams in business and in account ing. Stetson joins a group of just over 100 schools, from more than 1,700 colleges and schools offering undergraduate business degrees. Of the 11 institutions granted accreditation this spring, only Stetson received approval for business and accounting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. "This affirms the quality of our business programs," President Doug Lee said. "We offer our students small classes and close interaction with professors, and the highest level of professional accreditation." Business Dean Paul Dascher and Associate Dean Jud Stryker were closely involved in steering the process to a successful and speedy conclusion. "We succeeded...in an unprecedented time frame. By measuring ourselves against the best in the country, we have been found to excel," Dascher said. "Our undergraduates will benefit the most," Stryker said. "Graduate schools are more selective. The ^oest ones may not be open to graduates of non-AACSB-accredited schools." Many employers also view accreditation as an important indicator of the quality of a collegiate business program, he noted. The school has benefited in some less obvious ways, too. A chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma — the business equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa — was installed. Innovative programs are being developed — one with the School of Music for srudents to obtain a degree in music and an MBA in five years, and a new program in educational administration. Campus Briefs New initiatives in academics — Several departments have initiated innovative courses of study: Art, Mathematics/Computer Science and the School of Music, a digital arts major — Math-ematics/Computer Science and the School of Business, a new Computer Information Systems major — Physics, agreement with the University of Miami and the University of Florida for a dual-degree program for pre- engineering students —Sociology, an emphasis on criminology, with plans to develop anthropology offerings this fall —Psychology, a new course involving ethical and professional issues in psychology including an internship component with more than 20 place-ment sites — American Studies, a "Research Apprenticeship," parallelling an existing course to enlist student collaboration in faculty research projects and in teaching — Psychology and Counselor Education, an articulation agreement so psychology majors wanting to enter the Master's Program in Mental Health Counselling or Marriage and Family Therapy may do so if they maintain specific GPAs as undergraduates. Automated degree audit technology STREAMLINES ADVISING PROCESS — A technological innovation, which automates the previously manual degree audit system, was implemented by the Registrar's Office this past spring. It allows students and their advisors to more efficiently and accurately monitor students' progress as they work toward a degree, according to Registrar Al Wehrle. The automated Degree Audit program is now in its first phase of implementation. Instead of hand posting each student's grades to the degree audit form each semester, the new computer program will do it all automatically. A copy of the progress report is provided each student and advisor each semester by the registrar's office. Phase two, scheduled to be in place sometime next year, will give professors and advisors access to the Degree Audit software on their office computers, eliminating the need to provide a paper copy. The final phase is scheduled within the next few years when students will have a ditect link from their dorm rooms and the computer labs to help them make decisions about curriculum, in consultation with their advisors. From left, students Steve Van Hook, Winter Haven; Vaishali Patel, Miami; Thamina Baker, Sanford; and Amy * Heesler, Tampa, admire orchids at a show at the Volusia County Fairground. The photo by Farhad Babazadeh, Daytona Beach Shores, was a project for a photojournalism class taught by visiting professor Betty Press.