Meetings/Events

Congratulations

DPI has just notified us that C&I’s request for an AIG add-on licensure program has received Temporary Authorization making it possible for teachers in our region to receive this license.

Kudos to Kelly Clark-Keefe (LES), Linda Pacifici (C&I) and others for a very successful Qualitative Research Roundtable; approximately 40 faculty and students from across campus attended the Friday afternoon gathering.

Kudos to HPC faculty who are involved in Red Cross activities and training. Geri Miller is lead Disaster Mental Health Worker for the local chapter and sits on the local board; Cathy Clark is in the process of being trained as a shelter worker. Tracey Wright is going to be the next President of the local chapter board and currently sits on the board. Jim Sweet sits on the board. Renee Evans (HPC), Barbara Scarborough (HPC), Bob Hill (Psychology), Judy Kaplan (Social Work), Carol O’Saben (Counseling Center), and Geri Miller are all Disaster Mental Health Workers who can serve at local, state, and national disasters.

Kudos also to HPC students who continue to distinguish themselves; Professional School Counseling student Paul Klokkert won the Graduate Poster Presentation Award at the North Carolina School Counseling Conference recently. Gretchen Krueger HPC graduate, won the North Carolina School Counselor of the Year for 2007-2008 and was one of the 11 finalists for the School Counselor of the Year across the US.

Experiences in the Middle East

The Middle East is both extraordinarily important and widely misunderstood. Laurie Williamson (HPC) spent the 2007-2008 academic year in Lebanon at the University of Balamand as a Fulbright Scholar and Gary Moorman (LRE) spent the Spring 2008 semester at Qatar University as a Visiting Professor. They will provide overviews of their experiences in educational settings and their insights into the Arab culture. The presentation sponsored by the RCOE International Committee will occur Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 from 1:30-2:30 in 03.

Proposed Change in Diploma Language

The Graduate Council will be considering a change in the language used on the graduate diploma.

Current Language:

Appalachian State University
To all whom these presents come, Greeting:

NAME

has successfully fulfilled all the requirements prescribed by the Board
of Trustees and upon recommendation of the faculty is hereby declared a
DEGREE
in
MAJOR
and is entitled to all the rights and privileges thereunto appertaining.
Signed and sealed by authority of the State of North Carolina, this the
DATE SPELLED OUT.
******************

Proposed:

Appalachian State University
Upon recognition of the successful completion of requirements prescribed
by the Board of Trustees and upon recommendation of the graduate faculty,
hereby confers upon

NAME

the degree of
DEGREE
in**                   
MAJOR**

with all the rights and privileges thereunto appertaining.
Signed and sealed by authority of the State of North Carolina, this the
DATE SPELLED OUT.

** These two lines will be omitted for all students whose degree name includes the major (e.g., Master of School Administration in School Administration)

Facebook Considerations

More and more instances of the impact of Facebook and similar online sites are being reported. University of Texas football player Buck Burnette was expelled from his team after making a crude racial remark about President-elect Barack Obama on his Facebook page. Many coaches, including Burnette’s, are concerned with the public nature of social-networking sites. Houston Chronicle (11/10). Last week postings by Charlotte-Mecklenburg teachers on Facebook were in the news. Many businesses now routinely check to see what their employees are posting and often prior to interviewing job candidates, a business will go online to see what may be available about the applicant. Some universities are also checking future employees online. It’s evident that “the line between private and work lives is blurring in an era where blogs, social networking sites, and party photo sites are increasingly popular.” (Kirsten Valle, Charlotte Observer,11-16-08, 4D).

Diversity in Education

The Minorities in Higher Education 2008 Twenty-third Status Report, made possible with support from the GE Foundation, is widely recognized as the most authoritative national source of information on advances made by students of color in higher education. The report summarizes trends in high school completion, college enrollment, college persistence, degrees conferred and higher education employment. The report uses data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the U.S. Census Bureau. The full report can be found at http://www.acenet.edu/

Among the Report’s Key Findings:

• Total minority enrollment at the nation’s colleges and universities rose by 50 percent from 3.4 million students to 5 million students between 1995 and 2005. White enrollment increased from 9.9 million to 10.7 million, a gain of 8 percent.
• Students of color made up 29 percent of the nearly 17.5 million students on America’s campuses.
• Despite significant gains in college enrollment rates for young people from all races, progress was uneven and gaps widened. In 2006, 61 percent of Asian Americans aged 18 to 24 were enrolled in college compared with 44 percent of whites, 32 percent of African Americans, and 25 percent of Hispanics and American Indians respectively.

Additional Findings:

High School Completion

• The high school completion rate for African Americans aged 18 to 24 remained relatively flat over the past two decades at about 76 percent.
• Despite improving their rate of high school completion from 59 percent to 68 percent, Hispanics still had the lowest rate among all racial/ethnic groups.
• Asian Americans had the highest rate of high school completion at 91 percent.

College Enrollment

• College enrollment among African Americans rose by 46 percent between 1995 and 2005 to nearly 2 million students. 
• The increase in Hispanic enrollment led all racial/ethnic groups, up by 66 percent to more than 1.7 million students. Hispanic enrollment grew faster at four-year institutions than at two-year institutions. 
• Asian-American enrollment increased to more than 1 million over the 10-year period between 1995 and 2005, up 37 percent. 
• American Indian enrollment grew by 31 percent in the 10-year period, up from nearly 127,000 in 1995 to nearly 167,000 in 2005. 
• Regardless of race, the gender gap in the college enrollment rate continued among young people aged 18 to 24. Thirty-six percent of young men were enrolled in college in 2006 compared with 44 percent of young women. 

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