Vol. IV. No. 10
May 29, 2012
WheelerNotes
Offices in the Honors House: With the departure of
Dr. Weill and Dr. Milewicz, two offices become
available in the Honors House. If you have interest
occupying one of those offices (and becoming a regular
participant in the co-curricular events sponsored by the
Honors program), please send an email to Ed Wheeler
with a cc to David Janssen.
University System of Georgia Teaching Excellence
Award Nominee: Dr. Maria Cristina J. FerminEnnis When identifying markers of excellence, those of
us in the state college sector must use slightly different
metrics than those in the university sectors. Because our
tradition of granting baccalaureate degrees is short, we
cannot focus on many years of baccalaureate graduates
in critical STEM fields or a large number of graduates
who follow graduation with graduate school. At Gordon
College one of our markers of excellence is our long
tradition of providing quality preparation for students
entering pharmacy school. Over the last five years, we
have had more than 30 students leave Gordon College
having earned a place in one of the three pharmacy
schools in the state. This record is unmatched among
institutions of similar size. The single person most
responsible for this record is Dr. Maria Cristina J.
Fermin-Ennis, professor of chemistry, advisor and
mentor for pre-pharmacy majors.
We should note that Professor Fermin-Ennis excels in all
facets of teaching chemistry. As her Division Chair
documents, she is a master at maintaining student
interest and engagement, talents that result in
extraordinary student evaluations, a high rate of student
success, but very responsible grade distributions. She
has unique ways of connecting the student laboratory
experiences to chemistry content that result in student
learning at a high level. She is also committed to
moving the learning experience of students beyond the
traditional boundaries of classroom and campus. Over
the years she has taught scores of sophomore level
student research sections in which she works with one or
two students on a well-defined project. In recent
summers she has worked with teams of students to
monitor the biological and chemical health of local
waterways.
We are very honored to have Dr. Fermin-Ennis represent
Gordon College in the System Teaching Award
competition.
BaskiNotes
12-Month Pay Period: A few full-time faculty
members have asked about the possibility of having
salaries spread over 12 months rather than 10. Mr.
Fruitticher tells me that he has argued for that approach
with the USG, but that this could only be done for all
institutions using ADP (payroll system) across the
USG. Implementing a 12-month pay period does not
appear to be on the System’s agenda at this time.
Graduation: Thank you for your important presence at
graduation. Although there were several significant
changes in the way we approached graduation this May,
the rehearsal and ceremony went fairly smoothly. If you
have any suggestions for improvement, please let me
know. Dr. Butts has already recommended that we let
faculty whose offices are in Russell Hall know ahead of
time if the back doors to the building will be locked. It’s
on my list.
Instructional Technology Specialist: You may have
seen Jeff Hayes’s email welcoming Autumn Schaffer,
Gordon College’s first Instructional Technology
Specialist. Her office is in Computer Services, IC
building, and you can also contact her at 678-359-5913
or at autumns@gdn.edu.
Self-Registration and Learning Support: After
consulting with AARRFA, the faculty members who
teach Learning Support courses and advise those
students, and the division chairs, we have decided to
move forward with a pilot that will allow students with
DEANotes is a quasi-monthly publication of Academic Affairs
two Learning Support requirements to register
themselves. Several faculty members have suggested
the change, for two basic reasons:
1. We reinstituted SAT score requirements
this year, and for the fall 2012 term,
students who take the COMPASS
placement test and make below the
minimum score in any of the three areas
will not be allowed admission. (Of course,
we will also not admit students who test
into three LS requirements.) As a result,
we will continue to see some significant
differences in our LS population.
2. As long as we are registering students, they
can put off taking responsibility for
becoming knowledgeable about their
academic course of study. We contribute
to the culture of “I need to be taken care
of.” With the blocks in Banner, it is
difficult for students to register themselves
in courses for which they are not
eligible. (They can, of course, still fail to
register for a required LS class.)
open for them for a few hours, if you let us know several
days in advance.
In addition, we expect to add two professional advisors
in the Student Success Center this summer. We will
then have three such advisors, and their primary advisees
will be first-year learning support students. They will
conduct an aggressive advising program that covers
academic and non-academic matters in an effort to keep
students moving forward. These advisors can help these
students with understanding their course of study.
Dr. Richard Schmude, Jr. gave a telescope viewing
session to a group of girl scouts and their sponsors on
May 19, 2012. The viewing session was given at The
Rock Ranch.
JansseNotes
Our new Director of Learning Support (see below) will
see that scheduling errors are corrected, as has been done
in past years. We will evaluate the pilot after the fall
term begins.
New Director of Learning Support: Mrs. Gwen
Sharpe is taking over as director from Mrs. Terry
Betkowski with the beginning of the summer term. We
appreciate Gwen taking on this extremely important
position at Gordon. Gwen’s current office is Smith
112C, and her phone number remains -5465. Terry will
go back to a full schedule of classes, and we thank her
for the outstanding work she has done for us in this
position.
AndersoNotes
Library Summer Hours
May 30 – July 24
Monday-Thursday 7:45 AM – 7:00 PM
Friday 7:45AM – 3:00 PM
We will again make the offer that if your class needs a
Sunday afternoon time in the Library, we will be glad to
GahrNotes
Dr. Cathy Lee attended the bioinformatics training of
the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) Discovery Workshops held at the National
Library of Medicine/ National Institute of Health from
May 15-16 at Washington DC.
Dr. Andy Osborne will spend two weeks at Camp
Kudzu (for children living with type 1 diabetes) in
June. Andy will serve as camp photographer, as he has
for the past 5 years. Five current or former Gordon
students will serve as counselors.
Dr. Houng Park supplemented Survey of Chemistry II
(CHEM 1152) with Mastering Chemistry course
management system in the spring semester of 2012.
Many students benefitted, but the sample size limited
any immediate conclusions. He will use this system
again in Summer and Fall 2012 terms.
If you are interested in serving on the Honors Council in
the coming year, please let your Division Chair know.
The Council is responsible for reviewing student
applications as well as Honors course proposals and is
involved in various issues related to the coordination and
governance of the Program. The Honors Council is
composed of the Director (chair), one faculty member
from each division, and the Phi Theta Kappa advisor. It
is a great opportunity to get involved in our Honors
Program.
KnightoNotes
Dr. Gary Cox attended the Society for Military
History’s annual conference in Arlington VA, May 10 –
13. He is currently serving a five year term on the
Editorial Board of the society’s Journal of Military
History. At the conference, Dr. Cox was selected to
serve as Associate Editor for a series of journal issues
commemorating the centenary of the Great War.
Dr. Joe Mayo had a paper entitled “Technology’s Role
in Constructing Meaningful Knowledge” published in
the Spring 2012 issue of Pedagogy and the Human
Sciences, 1, No. 2, 2012, pp. 8-21.
DEANotes is a quasi-monthly publication of Academic Affairs
Dr. Ric Calhoun
 completed CIS 5320, Systems Design and
Analysis during the Spring 2012 semester at
Georgia Southwestern State University. Dr.
Calhoun completed this course as a part of the
Online Graduate Certificate Program in
Computer Information Systems, which he is
currently pursuing.
 also represented Gordon College at the meeting
of the Pike Community Resource Network on
May 8, 2012.
Dr. Tom Aiello has been chosen as a Fellow for the
Academic Year 2012-2013 Governor's Teaching Fellows
Symposium held at UGA.
Dr. Alan Burstein and his wife Cindy are now officially
Barnesville residents and are very much enjoying living
across the street from campus.
In the Alumni House on Wednesday, April 11th faculty,
students, and leadership from the Division of Business
and Social Sciences gathered to recognize four students
nominated for the Faculty Choice Award. Spring
semester student nominees included (in alphabetical
order) Mary Browning (Psychology), Justin Gunnels
(History), Chelsey LaVelle (Business), and Emmitt
Pharr (Business).
The Spring 2012 Faculty Choice Award winner, Emmitt
Pharr, was nominated and introduced by Dr. Barry
Kicklighter. In his nomination, Dr. Kicklighter said
about nominee Emmitt Pharr, “He is an excellent student
who demonstrates a real desire for knowledge. I have
also seen Emmitt interacting with students and he is very
positive and encouraging to them. He comes across as a
caring father figure. I have yet to see him without a
cheerful demeanor.” Emmitt is a member of Phi Theta
Kappa and on the Dean’s List (academic, not
disciplinary!). After graduation from Gordon College,
he plans to pursue the Bachelors in Accounting at UGA
or Mercer University
MahaNotes
Ms. Amy Johns (O’Dell), part-time instructor of Music,
has published an article in Target Audience Magazine on
her experience as both a teacher and listener of music. It
is viewable at:
http://targetaudiencemagazine.com/2012/04/musicappreciation-chamber-cartel-review/
Dates & Deadlines
May 29
May 30
May 30-31
May 31
June 6
June 11
June 20
June 20
June 20-27
June 22
June 25
June 26
June 27
June 29
July 4
July 9
July 10
July 19
Dr. Michael Mahan attended the NSTA first annual
STEM conference in Atlantic City this month and
presented research on schools and science instruction.
July 20
July 23
WhitelockNotes
Yes, the rumors are true. Dr. Whitelock cut his hair.
This was not a symbolic but rather a practical event: it
promises to be a hot summer.
July 24
Open Registration 8 AM 4 PM
First Summer Session & Full Session classes
begin.
Drop/Add &Late Registration 8 AM - 4 PM
Payment Deadline for Late Registration and
Drop/Add—4:00 PM
Last day to receive a refund for reduction of
hours for first and full session classes
Faculty Enrollment Verification Deadline 8
AM for FULL Summer Session and FIRST
Summer session classes
Midterm for 1st Session Classes (5/30-6/22)
Withdrawals after June 11 will be an automatic
WF except in cases of hardship documented &
approved by a student petition.
NSO – Alumni Memorial Hall
Group Advising & Registration (Fall Semester)
Georgia History & US Constitution Exam
Drop/Add and Open/Late Registration
2nd Session Classes
Midterm for Full Session Classes (5/30-7/20)
and all evening classes.
Withdrawals after June 22 will be an automatic
WF except in cases of hardship documented &
approved by a student petition.
Last Day of classes for 1st Session.
Final Exams for 1st Session Classes (5/30-6/22)
2nd Session Classes begin (6/26-7/20)
Final Payment Deadline for 2nd Summer
Session classes
Faculty Enrollment Verification Deadline 8
AM for 2nd SUMMER SESSION classes
Independence Day Holiday
Midterm for 2nd Session Classes (6/26–7/20)
Withdrawals after July 9 will be an automatic
WF except in cases of hardship documented &
approved by a student petition.
New Student Orientation – Alumni Mem Hall
Group Advising & Registration (Fall Semester)
New Student Orientation – Alumni Mem Hall
Group Advising & Registration (Fall Semester)
Last Day for 2nd Session Classes
Final Exams for all
M, W evening classes (5/30-7/18),
2nd Session Day Classes (6/26–7/20)
& Full Session Day classes (5/30–7/20)
Final exams for all T, R, evening classes
(5/31-7/19) End of summer semester
DEANotes is a quasi-monthly publication of Academic Affairs