Discover COEHS
Spring 2008 Letter from the Dean
Colleagues,
Here we are in Spring Semester of 2008! It’s truly amazing how quickly time goes by as we go about our business of providing quality teaching and learning opportunities to our students, pursuing scholarly and professional activities, and committing time and expertise to service activities within the university and to our communities and professional organizations. I want to welcome everyone back, and to remind you that, as always, we look forward to hearing about the various accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students. We take great pride in sharing these accomplishments with others.
We are pleased to welcome Provost and Academic Vice President Jack Thomas to Western Illinois University and look forward to further acquainting him with the COEHS programs and resources and to working with him in implementation of our strategic plan. I encourage you to attend the Welcome Reception for Provost Thomas tomorrow, January 16th, in the Lamoine Room from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
I also ask that you join me in welcoming Dr. Laura McArthur, as a new tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising, and Hospitality this semester. Dr. McArthur holds her degree from the University of California—Davis in nutrition and came to us from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at East Carolina University. When you meet Dr. McArthur you will find her accompanied by her service dog, Gracie. Dr. McArthur has research interests and a grant record in areas that include childhood obesity; impact of ecological systems on dietary acculturation of immigrant families; and body image and diet among adolescents. We also welcome Dr. Hongbum Shin from the University of New Mexico as a visiting assistant professor in Kinesiology this semester.
Communication is key to fulfilling our goals for the College and to providing opportunity for all to excel in individual professional pursuits. To that end, we have the College Faculty Advisory Council. Your department representative serves as the liaison and information conduit between the department and our office. We will also be scheduling Faculty Forums a couple of times a semester. This semester’s first Forum will be Friday, February 15th at 3:00 in Horrabin 1(a Quad City connection room will be emailed prior to the Forum), with an alternate date of Thursday, February 21st at 3:00 to accommodate schedule conflicts. These 1½ hour sessions are yours--to bring topics, questions, and suggestions to the table for discussion with me and other Dean’s Office administrators, and each other. I do hope you are able to attend one of these sessions. I welcome preliminary e-mail notices of topics you would like addressed.
I’m pleased to be invited to the February 1st presentation by the current Faculty Innovators of their research projects focusing on application of their choice of emerging technologies. From what I’ve learned the projects include Second Life, Wikis, and podcasting, among others. This year’s Tech Fest planning is underway as well. Tech Fest will be held on March 26th in the Horrabin Gym, and features faculty, students, and community members’ demonstration of their use of technology in teaching and learning and their professions. You will soon receive an invitation to present at this event. I hope you will take the time to do so and to walk through the tabletop demonstrations. Please promote attendance by your students as well.
Undergraduate Research Day is April 16th. I hope that your plans include participation in the event with one or more students. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to present and share their research projects to the University community. We will then follow-up with a reception for the COEHS students who participate (refreshments, pictures, sharing).
This spring, we will host teams conducting site visits in four of our departments. Three are for re-accreditation: Social Work in February; Recreation and Park Administration in late March; and Counselor Education in April. The Higher Learning Commission will send a two-member team to visit in April for the 2-year follow-up site visit for the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership. The students in the first doctoral cohort have been presenting their dissertation proposals for approval, and plan to walk across the stage at next fall’s graduation.
We began a new tradition last year with the first COEHS Distinguished Alumnus Award, which was presented to Dr. Charalambos Vrasidas, Executive Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology and Associate Professor of Learning Technologies, Intercollege, Cyprus. We ask that nominations be forwarded to our office with accompanying letters of recommendation and biographical information.
We are a large College, with a wide array of program offerings and expertise within our departments and centers. We have so much to offer each other as we conduct applied research and prepare professionals for education and in the human services careers. Our preparation programs are recognized through accrediting bodies and by reputation. Our professional development outreach offerings are well received and in demand. We use the COEHS webpage to highlight activities and to share upcoming events across the College, as well as with our friends and alumni, and the University community. Please take time to go to our webpage to keep abreast of information about current events, as well as the archive of past College reports and newsletters. In the near future we will be introducing a new format for the Dialogue with the Dean on the College webpage.
I wish each and everyone a happy and productive semester.
Bonnie
Bonnie J. Smith-Skripps, Dean
College of Education and Human Services
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL 61455
309/298-1690