Meetings/Events

Welcome

We are pleased to see faculty, staff, and students in the building again and hope that those who could, took advantage of the summer for rest and recreation. We have a very busy year ahead of us with such challenges as meeting the new DPI standards for teacher education, finding out how the new General Education framework will affect our programs, aligning departments and the college’s strategic plan with that of the university, conducting multiple faculty searches, and increasing our recruitment activity for undergraduate teacher education. The year should not be a dull one, and we look for everyone’s participation in addressing these opportunities.

Sympathy

The RCOE community extends its sympathy to Gerald Parker, faculty emeritus, and his family upon the recent loss of his daughter.

Reminders

The latest revenue forecast for the State of North Carolina is a rather somber report indicating the $140-150 million revenue increase (over last year at this time) we enjoyed for part of this fiscal year has evaporated in light of falling tax revenue. The State is now only about $15-20 million ahead and the chances of that holding are slim. Information we have received this week suggests that the Governor’s budget will include a 1% cut for the UNC system. The legislature may well add on 1-2% additional cuts so while August and the end of the session are a ways off, be prepared for a possible reduced budget this fiscal year.

1. A statement about and/or link to the university’s academic integrity policy, which can be found at the Office of Student Conduct web site: http://studentconduct.appstate.edu/. Click on "Academic Integrity Code for the policy and "Forms" for the "Academic Integrity Forms" that you will need if you are dealing with a potential violation of the Code. Be sure you understand the policy and procedure, which is very specific. Feel free to contact Dave Haney, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at haneydp@appstate.edu or x2070, or Judy Haas, Director of the Office of Student Conduct at haasjm@appstate.edu or x2704 if you have questions.
2. A statement about accommodations for students with a disability. The Office of Disability Services recommends the following text: "Appalachian State University is committed to making reasonable accommodations for individuals with documented qualifying disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Those seeking accommodations based on a substantially limiting disability must contact and register with The Office of Disability Services (ODS) at http://www.ods.appstate.edu/ or 828-262-3056. Once registration is complete, individuals will meet with ODS staff to discuss eligibility and appropriate accommodations." It is also important for faculty members to understand what we are and are not obliged to do when providing accommodations for students, so it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the ODS web site and contact the office if you have questions about a request for accommodation.

Online Syllabi

It is an expectation that each faculty member will place his or her current syllabi online for access by students; this can be accomplished easily by either using the process already established within your department—see administrative assistants—or email your syllabus as a Word attachment directly to Justin Cervero (cerverojj@appstate.edu) of our Technology Group and he will see it is posted. Please do this as soon as possible.

Technology Changes

Dr. Terry McClannon has accepted a faculty position in the LES Department; he will assist us as we make the transition this fall, but requests for technology assistance should be primarily directed to Michael Bennett (bennettmg@appstate.edu), Justin Cervero (cerverojj@appstate.edu), Chris Larson (larsoncm@appstate.edu) and John Spagnolo (spagnolojt@appstate.edu); they will attempt to respond as quickly as possible. We anticipate seeking a replacement for Terry this fall. We appreciate very much the many contributions he has made and the leadership he has shown in developing the college’s technology resources. We wish him well in his new position.

Research Associate in Teacher Education Assessment

We are pleased to welcome Robert Dodd to the college as our research associate in teacher education assessment; in this position, he will be assisting us in designing assessment instruments, collecting and analyzing data, and providing us with technical expertise in developing a university-wide data management system for all teacher education programs. Robert comes from the Charlotte Mecklenberg School District where he was involved in that district’s accountability efforts.

New Director of Teaching Fellows

As many of you know, Dr. Pam Schram has returned to faculty ranks after a very successful stint as Director of the ASU Teaching Fellows Program. Taking her place is Ms. Jan Stanley who previously was involved in the university’s GEAR-UP program. Jan has a wealth of experience working with and in the schools, and we welcome her to the RCOE community as she takes over the responsibilities of the Teaching Fellows Program.

New Director of Doctoral Program

We are pleased to welcome Dr. James Killacky as the new director of the RCOE’s doctoral program. He replaces Dr. Alice Naylor who has recently retired. Dr. Killacky comes to us from the University of New Orleans where he was deeply involved in their doctoral programs. To his credit, he came early (May) and worked with Alice for two months to ease the transition.

Salaries

We understand that salary increases for faculty should appear in their checks at the end of September; increases have been submitted to the General Administration but have not been approved yet. Staff should see their increases in this month’s checks.

SALT Grants

A number of you have inquired as to whether SALT grants will be available this year. I believe that funding should be coming sometime in September so I will be putting out the call for proposals very soon.

Communication Disorders Clinic Has Moved

I am pleased to report that the long awaited move of the Communication Disorders clinic from Duncan to University Hall has been completed, and the CD staff are settling into their new surroundings. We anticipate that there will be a special ceremony in early spring to mark the move of not only the CD clinic but a number of other programs. We no longer have access to the Annex up the street; that will be taken over by the Communications Department and eventually the radio and television stations will be located in that building.

Duncan Renovations

We are working with Physical Plant to schedule as soon as possible the renovation of space vacated by the CD clinic; we anticipate a number of new offices being created in the vacated space and possible renovation of existing ones on the first floor; the time table for construction, however, is somewhat uncertain. In the meantime, we appreciate people’s patience as we work to resolve a number of space issues caused by the addition of new faculty, adjuncts, and staff.

Update on New Building

The necessary documents have been sent to Raleigh for approval on our new building; until those are approved, however, we are unable to call for bids or enter into any construction. No one has a firm idea of when approval will come, but we hope it will occur in early fall so that the call for bids can go out and we can begin to see movement toward actual construction. In the meantime, as you saw if you attended the opening college meeting, we are moving ahead with planning the interior of the building in terms of furnishings, etc. We also are working with Advancement to determine naming opportunities. As more information becomes available, we will keep you informed. We are still anticipating that we could be in the new building by fall 2011.

A Reminder

We have a rather large number of new faculty and adjuncts this year; I would ask that we all make a special effort to assist these individuals, whether they may be in your department or not, in understanding university and college policies, locating information, and just simply being responsive to questions.

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“Change is a Journey, not a Destination.”
—M. Fullan