When you read this nomination it will be apparent why our Humanities Division won Georgia Highlands Department of
the Year. And it will be clearly apparent they should be recognized with the Service Excellence Award for Outstanding
Team. Let me begin by saying that this department has won more Caught in the Act Awards for Good Teaching than any
other division. The capacity of their support is unbelievable. The scope of this division’s outreach is unbeatable. The
scale of their impact on students, employees and our communities is unsurmountable for a school of 5000 plus students
on 6 campuses in 5 counties. There are instructors that chose to study Humanities while attending Georgia Highlands
College because of the support and influence of their Professors who are now their co-workers. Wow! For a two year
institution with just over a 40 year history, that is incredible. And they just keep getting better!
Narrative from their Department of the Year nomination:
Humanities is a well-oiled machine. We meet as a division once each semester at an extended day-long meeting we call
the Humanities Retreat. We incorporate our departmental meetings into this day as well, saving a great deal in travel
costs. On the rare occasion we need an additional meeting, we use video-conferencing. Meredith Ginn produces a
newsletter called the Humanities Happenings.
Professional development is part of the everyday fabric of our division.
• Dr. Steven Stuglin and Dr. Jesse Bishop earned their doctoral degrees
• Meredith Ginn served on the Regents’ Advisory Committee on Communication
• Travice Obas served as a Past President of the Georgia Communication Association and as a Digital Faculty
Consultant for McGraw Hill
• Cindy Wheeler served as the president of the GHC Chapter of American Association of College Professors
 Mark Greger travelled to the UGA campus in Costa Rica
 Kathryn Garcia and Mark Greger served on the GHC Latino Outreach Committee
 Michelle Abbott was awarded a mini-grant and participated in the Online Learning Consortium’s Advanced
Online Teaching Certificate program
 Abby Greenbaum presented at the Conference Presentation Association for Study of Literature and the
Environment in Moscow, Idaho
 Kathryn Garcia presented at the SECCLL Conference in Savannah, Georgia
 Jeff Kozee presented at the 2015 CCCC Convention in Tampa, Florida
 Meredith Ginn and Dana Pergrem presented at the Georgia Communication Association Conference in
Statesboro, Georgia
 Russell Cook presented at the High Museum Outsider Art Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
 Kimberly Wheeler presented at the First Year Experience Conference in Kennesaw, GA
 Dr. Jon Hershey travelled to a campus in Italy as part of study abroad collaboration efforts within the USG
We are proud of these accomplishments, but in our division, students are the real priority. During Early Bird Advising,
many of our faculty advise 20 or more students each semester, we’ve learned to advise outside our disciplines because
many of us are a student’s only option when they need assistance online, during evening hours, or at our smaller
campuses. Our Communications faculty have volunteered to have assigned advisees, so every Communications major
has a dedicated advisor to provide him or her with consistent mentoring during their time at GHC.
Humanities faculty also advised many student organizations including The Writers’ Collaborative, Spanish Activities Club,
GHC Gaming Club, Green Highlands, That Anime Club, Students without Borders, and National Chapter of the Year
winning Brother to Brother. In addition, our division sponsored many events, on and off campus, that enrich the “college
experience” for GHC students. Our students don’t have to worry that they are missing out because they chose a smaller
school. Humanities faculty members are on the job!
• 30th Anniversary Alabama Shakespeare Festival Trip
• 5th Annual Public Speaking Competition
• Publication of the 42nd edition of the Old Red Kimono
• Six Mile Post won 19 awards from the Georgia College Press Association, Southern Regional Press Institute, and
Associated Collegiate Press
• Annual Women’s History Month Celebration included events spread across 5 different campuses
In the classroom, Humanities faculty strive for innovation and creativity.
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Kim Wheeler, Director of First Year Experience, worked with Instructional Designer Sarah Hepler to develop a
grant proposal to provide no-cost materials to all FCST 1010 students. They were awarded one of the first
Affordable Learning Georgia Textbook Transformation Grants. The no-cost materials developed will save
students over $80,000 annually in textbook costs.
Jesse Bishop completed Quality Matters Rubric training to assess design quality in our web-based courses.
Humanities faculty offered Special Topics in Humanities courses (Area B) online and at 4 campuses
Connie Watjen, in conjunction with AAWCC, started the Power of 2 mentoring program for at-risk female
students to help them not only stay in school, but thrive.
Humanities faculty also helped students by modeling success in the “real world”—success that includes service to our
communities:
• Dana Pergrem and Meredith Ginn developed the “Rise and Shine” program to foster children’s public speaking and
communication skills while them helping understand the power of persuasion in their personal and professional lives.
• Dr. Sam Baltzer was named Artistic Director and Conductor of the Rome Symphony Orchestra.
• Travice Obas directs play productions at Elm Street Cultural Arts Village in Woodstock
• Jackdaw is a graphic novel conceived by Brian Barr and Kelly Shane. Its serial publication has been ongoing since 2013.
Even though many of the accomplishments listed above are individual accolades, the success of so many endeavors is
due, at least in part, to the culture created by our Division. We nurture and celebrate one another’s successes, but there
is also an unspoken expectation in our department that we will achieve more and give more to students every year. This
culture of excellence pushes all of us to go the extra mile.
The above narrative does not mention the Foundation Camp that the division hosts every summer for roughly 125
underprivileged boys between the 11-17 years old at no cost to the campers. This camp not only exposes them to the
importance of education, it involves character building, anger management, life skills and so much more! Many of the
counselors, who work the camp, were once campers themselves. Need I say more? Well, I will.
Following suit, several of the faculty of this division partnered with the local YMCA and conducted a camp for
underprivileged girls called Goals for Girls. Using soccer as the theme, they delivered lessons in leadership, self-respect,
health, goal setting, teamwork and more. In the scheme of things, we are one of the smaller schools and this
department producing profound outcomes within our institution and our community.
There is no doubt that this department demonstrates RESPECTFUL, ACCESSIBLE, INFORMED, SUPPORTIVE, AND
RESPONSIVE and successfully meets the criteria for this award.
Group pictures below: