connections
Rollins college Fall 2013
Seismic Shifts
in Higher Education
PUBLISHER
Rollins College, Hamilton Holt School
203 E. Lyman Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 646-2232
www.rollins.edu/holt
EDITOR
Bob McKinlay
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Holly Tanyhill
DESIGN AND LAYOUT
Amber Taylor
CONTRIBUTORS
Robin Cusimano
Nadia Garzon
Maria Paz Guiterrez
Joanne Hanley
Meribeth Huebner
David C.S. Richard
Andrea Schaumann
Harry Straight
COVER ILLUSTRATION
Tim Bower
PHOTOGRAPHY
Scott Cook (pp. 2-3, 18-19, 27, 30)
David Zajchowski (p. 6)
Forever Expressions (p.31)
Printed by The Lane Press, Inc.
contents
8
12
16
22
26
30
Seismic Shifts
Innovative Disruption in Higher Education
Innovating Healthcare in Central
Florida
Associated Colleges of the South
Awards $10,000 for Forum at
The Alfond Inn at Rollins
Why I Chose Rollins Evening
Holt Alumni Share Their Stories
Center for Lifelong Learning
Established by WPHF Grant
Riva Grant Fosters
Future Development
DEPARTMENTS
Holt Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Going Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lifelong Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Fall 2013
3
Holt Happenings
Holt School Plans
Detailed to Alumni
College may seem like ages ago or it may feel like
yesterday. No matter how Holt Alumni reminisce, they
were able to share and celebrate their Rollins College
experience at the Hamilton Holt School reception held
during Reunion and Alumni Weekend 2013.
Dean David Richard shared exciting plans for the Holt
School’s strategic initiatives. Those plans include new
undergraduate majors, new graduate programs, and
lifelong learning opportunities to meet the changing
nature of higher education.
According to Dean Richard, “In order to survive and
thrive in adult education, the Holt School will utilize
technological innovations including blended learning.
In the near future, we hope to launch an evening major
in business. We are also working toward offering an
evening major in health services administration. We
know that these two majors can both complement
our existing majors and benefit from the liberal arts
perspective. We should see a number of students
applying to the Holt School who may not have applied
here otherwise,” Richard said.
First Year Students
Take Note!
Starting this fall, students with no prior college
experience will be eligible to participate in the new
4-for-4 Tuition Assistance Program, which rewards
continusly enrolled, full-time students with tuition-free
summer courses after completing their second year.
In order to qualify, students must complete a minimum
of 12 semester hours (three courses) during the fall and
spring terms of their first and second years, earning a
cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. Tuition in
the amount of the cost of two full-credit (four-semesterhour) courses will be waived during the summer terms
following the sophomore and junior years.
The 4-for-4 Program is not available to students
participating in the 3/2 Program with the Crummer
Graduate School.
Dean Richard also foresees the development of health
leadership majors at the Holt School that will prepare
the leaders of healthcare organizations in Medical City.
Lake Nona will support a population base of over
30,000 residents within the next decade.
Lifelong learning opportunities including enrichment
courses for older adult learners 50 years of age and
older and a certification program in paralegal studies
begins in fall 2013. A certification program in graphic
design will commence in early 2014. H
Carlene and Derrick David, class of 2008, Environmental
Studies and Growth Management
Holt School By the Numbers*
10 undergraduate majors
15 undergraduate minors
5 graduate programs
16,649 Holt Alumni
16 cities with Rollins
alumni chapters
778 undergraduate students
259 graduate students
$450,707 awarded to
222 scholarship recipients
* 2012-13
Holt Provides
Scholarships
2013-14
Campus
Events
to Elevate Orlando Students Pursuing
Community Leadership Careers
August 26, 2013
Fall 2013 Classes Begin
September 12, 2013
Bush Science Center
Dedication Celebration
Evans Seniors 2012
The Hamilton Holt School will utilize a $20,000 grant
from the Tupperware Brands Corporation to provide
scholarships to underserved students who have
graduated from Elevate Orlando. Elevate Orlando is a
civic non-profit organization dedicated to equipping
and empowering underserved youth to graduate with a
plan for the future.
Titled “The Tupperware Scholarship for Leadership
in Urban Communities,” this new Holt Scholarship
will provide one $4,000 scholarship per year to an
Elevate Orlando student for the next five years. The
scholarship is competitive and is open to academically
qualified incoming first-year students starting this
fall. In addition to the scholarship, each of the five
students will receive tuition-free summer courses for
two years provided the student completes a full load
of courses during the freshman and sophomore years
and maintains a 2.75 grade point average or higher and
completes a core set of leadership courses.
Jim Patterson, vice president and CAO of Elevate
Orlando says “This is a win/win for the Central
Florida community and our students. Partnering
with Rollins College and the Holt School through this
scholarship aligns with our holistic approach to equip
and empower urban youth for a successful future.” In
2013, 620 students participated in Elevate Orlando.
The organization has a 100 percent rate of graduation
for students who have gone through the program
since 2009. H
October 10, 2013
The Alfond Inn at Rollins
Dedication Celebration
October 10-11, 2013
Focus Forum on Adult Education
November 1–3, 2013
Family Weekend
January 13, 2014
Spring 2014 Classes Begin
March 14–16, 2014
Alumni Weekend
April 11, 2014
Starry, Starry Night 2014
May 9, 2014
Holt Baccalaureate
and Senior Recognition Ceremony
May 10, 2014
Holt School Commencement
Get involved!
For a full listing of Rollins College
events, visit rollins.edu and click on
“More Events.”
Fall 2013
5
Holt Happenings
Hamilton Holt School Team Recognized
for Service Excellence
and faculty. Comments received
include:
“This group has provided
consistent service for years and
they do so not only with a friendly
attitude, but with deep care toward
students.”
The Hamilton Holt School student services team was
awarded the Rollins Service Excellence Departmental
Award. The award was established in 2011 as a means
of recognizing a department or team that consistently
demonstrates a high degree of excellence in teamwork
and collaboration with other groups/departments.
The award is given to a department or team, as
determined by the service excellence team, whose
contributions to the College most closely reflect and
embody the four cornerstones of service excellence:
responsiveness, respect, collaboration, and competence.
This year, the service excellence team received
nominations for 20 different departments or teams.
The student services team of the Hamilton Holt School
received multiple nominations from students, staff,
“This team has been exceptionally
adaptable and service oriented in
dealing with many changes that
have come their way over the past
few years. Overall, this team strives
to serve the school in every capacity,
even in the face of change.”
This year’s award recipient received a plaque for their
department, the honor of hosting the service excellence
trophy until the award is given next year, and each team
member received a gift card to the Rice Family Bookstore.
The student services team of the Hamilton Holt
School are: Connie Holt, director of student services;
Terrie Cole, academic advisor; Carolyn Lockwood,
administrative assistant; Coleen Palmer, academic
advisor; Tonya Parker, graduate coordinator; Laura
Pfister, senior records coordinator; Peggy SmithClayman, executive assistant; Debbie Tatum, academic
advisor; and Amber Taylor, graduate coordinator. H
Reprinted from Rollins 360; article by Justin JB Braun.
Staff News
Thank you
Joanne Hanley, who served the Holt School for 20 years,
most recently as director of advancement, has joined
Rollins College Alumni Relations as director of alumni
engagement–Holt. Joanne’s new position will focus on
the Holt School and she will continue to work with the
Holt School in many of the same capacities, primarily in
fundraising, donor relations, and alumni engagement.
to the entire Hamilton
Holt School staff for
making my first year
as dean of the school a
great experience. Your
professionalism and
commitment is second
to none.
Robin Cusimano, who worked as Holt’s assistant
director of advancement for six years has moved to
a new position in marketing and communications as
assistant director of communications. The focus of
Robin’s new position will be on implementing Holt
marketing and communication initiatives.
David CS Richard, Ph.D.
6 HOLT CONNECTIONS
Dean and Professor of
Psychology
Bommelje Listed
Among “The Best
300 Professors”
Associate Professor of Communication Rick Bommelje
was named one of “The Best 300 Professors” by The
Princeton Review and RateMyProfessors.com. “The Best
300 Professors” is a project that The Princeton Review
teamed up with RateMyProfessors.com—the highesttrafficked college professor ratings site in the U.S.—to
develop. The book’s roster of top teachers features
professors in more than 60 fields, ranging from
accounting to neuroscience to sport management.
They hail from 122 colleges and universities across the
nation.
Bommelje has more than 30 years of professional
experience in leadership, supervision, management,
and adult education. He is the former chair of
communication studies at Rollins and currently
serves as the president of the International
Listening Association. With a master’s degree in
management and a doctorate in administration, and
advanced leadership study at Harvard University
and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of
Management, he specializes in the development of
listening and leadership. In 2006, he received the
International Listening Association’s “Outstanding
Teacher of Listening” Award.
“Rollins College has a long, proud tradition of great
teaching, and we are very pleased that Rick Bommelje
has received national recognition for his work with
Rollins students,” said Rollins President Lewis M.
Duncan. “Rick models the discipline he teaches and is a
listening leader in the classroom and the
Rollins community.” H
Rick Bommelje (left)
IN MEMORIAM
Rebecca Cordray
Rebecca Cordray,
coordinator of records
and registration for the
graduate counseling and
education programs,
passed away on Wednesday,
February 20. Rebecca
joined the Hamilton
Holt School in 2005 as an
administrative assistant. In
2006, she was promoted to
her position as graduate coordinator. Rebecca was
an active volunteer with Freedom Ride, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to enriching the lives and
experiences of children and adults with disabilities
through therapeutic horseback riding and related
activities.
Remembering Rebecca Cordray:
“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us
in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit
and fire. These elements I believe are what made Rebecca
who she was – indeed a rare combination and a special
person who we were so blessed to have a part of our family
at Freedom Ride.”
—Jeannie Forthuber, Freedom Ride
“We are all going to miss that beautiful laugh, the Cupid
Shuffle, the golden kazoo, the great stories, the care and
love she showed each of us. “
—Connie Holt, Holt School
“To honor Rebecca, I have authorized the re-naming of
our student-faculty summer collaboration grants to be
called the “Rebecca Cordray Student-Faculty Summer
Collaboration Grant”. The grant program helps to
support and facilitate unique collaborations between
Holt students and the faculty and can include a stipend,
support for travel, conference fees, and supplies. This
year, the Holt School will award $8000 in grants to two
students and their faculty sponsors in Rebecca’s name.
Although Rebecca may no longer be with us, her memory
will live strong through the wonderful opportunities
that will be made available to students and faculty by
her grant. We were privileged to have known Rebecca and
it is our honor to keep her spirit alive as we support our
students and faculty, just as she did as a valued member of
our Holt family.”
—Dean David Richard
Fall 2013
7
INNOVATION
Seismic
Shifts
Innovative Disruption in Higher Education
David C.S. Richard, Ph.D.
Dean, Hamilton Holt School
I
nnovative technologies have challenged colleges and
universities to reevaluate and reconceptualize higher
education. Moving forward into the 21st century, it is
clear that traditional institutions of higher education
must respond to the challenge. Less clear is the nature
of the response and whether it will be enough to
sustain the liberal arts.
The history of innovation in higher education is
surprisingly short. Until recently, students learned
material as they did over two thousand years ago
when the first hints of higher education registered in
antiquity. As far as we know, the first scholars were
scribes, or tablet writers, who formed an intellectual
elite in Mesopotamia several centuries before the birth
of Christ. Schools were formed to train the scribal caste
to record the affairs of an emerging bureaucracy, as
well as for legal proceedings. The seedlings of what
we now call the liberal arts emerged in the Greek
city-states under the tutelage of the Sophists, the first
full-time teachers or scholars who were paid for their
instruction. To the Sophists, there were no self-evident
truths of nature—all knowledge was to be apprehended
and constructed by human beings. Education should
be largely practical and designed to encourage the
development of skills that would bring a student
success in government: persuasive oratory, logic,
philosophy, history, music, mathematics, and so forth.
8 HOLT CONNECTIONS
In medieval times, instruction continued as it had
during the millennium before—through the imparting
of wisdom from a teacher to a student, largely through
lecture and dialogue.
Prior to the 12th century, colleges were roaming affairs
that would move from town to town in Europe. The
first permanent campuses were formed to house
students away from the townspeople given that the two
groups frequently clashed, with riots occurring after
inebriated celebrations. Through the Renaissance and
into the New World, instruction proceeded as it had in
centuries past—by virtue of a literate scholar lecturing
students (some interested, some not) on topics that
became increasingly specialized. In the 20th century,
the single most significant development was not so
much an innovation as a split. The newer American
state universities, supported by land grants, were
designed to address the rapidly expanding agricultural,
professional, and vocational needs of society. In
contrast, the historic liberal arts colleges resisted being
“all things to all people” and argued against training
students in specific skills that may soon become
antiquated.
For over two millennia, the lecture has been a common
staple of collegiate instruction. At schools like Rollins
College, the lecture may be replaced by seminars or
discussion groups. Nonetheless, students do today
what they have largely done in the past. Technology,
for the most part, has enhanced the student’s ability
to complete the same tasks (e.g., write a paper, take
notes, etc.), but it has not fundamentally altered how
instruction is conceptualized and delivered. Used
this way, technology represents a sustaining, but
not disruptive, form of innovation. Truly disruptive
innovation, in contrast, would challenge the very
conceptualization of how higher education is offered
and would threaten the underlying business model.
Understanding disruptive innovation in higher
education by looking at the history of higher education
is fruitless because the history of higher education
shows only sustaining innovations. Instead, we should
look elsewhere to get a glimpse of our future.
Digging for Disruptive Innovation
Clay Christensen, a Harvard business professor, first
brought attention to the way in which technology can
upend a market. In short, Christensen observed that
disruptive innovation occurs when a new company
develops a product that serves a small niche market.
For example, back in the ’40s, most excavation
work was done by large machines that scooped dirt
using a cable-actuated shovel. The major disruptive
innovation occurred with the development of hydraulic
technology. Hydraulics permitted the shovel to scoop
forward like a boxer throwing an uppercut. In the early
days, hydraulic technology was immature and the
lifting load of a hydraulic shovel was a fraction of what
could be managed via cabling technology (only 3/8 of a
cubic yard per scoop in 1955). However, a small niche
market developed—grave digging. Grave excavation
required little in the way of lift and load capacity, so the
smaller hydraulic shovels worked just fine.
Companies that made mainstream cable-actuated
excavating machines largely ignored innovations in
hydraulics. First, their existing customer base had no
use for machines with such small load capacities. The
amount of effort required to get into hydraulics for
an existing company did not yield the same profit as
simply refining existing cabling technology. After all,
that’s what their customers wanted at the time—better
cable-actuated excavators. Second, and relatedly, the
emerging market was initially so small for hydraulic
excavators that it seemed trivial to established
companies. Thus, choosing not to invest in hydraulics
was a rational decision from a business perspective, not
one made out of ignorance.
What happened next should make us all sit up and pay
attention. Over time, hydraulic technology improved to
the point that it began to rival load capacities previously
only seen by cable-actuated excavators. By 1974,
hydraulic excavator lift loads were 10 cubic yards. A
German company then introduced a hydraulics-actuated
excavator on a base that could rotate 360 degrees.
The leading firms selling cable-actuated excavators
realized too late that their days were numbered. Many
attempted to incorporate hydraulics into their products.
By then, however, their markets had evaporated as
customers switched over to the more flexible and reliable
hydraulics-based products. In short, the new entrants
into hydraulics excavation completely upended and
dominated their market over time.
What can we glean from the history of innovation in
mechanical excavators? First, new companies fueled by
technological innovation get their start in niche markets
that established companies initially consider too small
to be of interest. Second, as the innovative technology
improves, the market for the technology expands into
the markets dominated by the established companies.
Third, efforts by established companies to respond to the
threat are almost always unsuccessful. These companies
became successful by listening to their customers.
However, their customers were now being drawn to a
new technology with which the established company
had no competitive answer.
The story of innovation in hydraulics is only interesting
if the pattern recurs in other industries. On close
examination, this seems to be the case. Companies that
are successful with one product often are unprepared
to address the challenges of innovation within their
markets and wither away. In fact, their success often
makes them less likely to adapt because time spent
refining a product for existing customers is time spent
away from engaging in innovation. The companies
that were successful making 14” disk drives used in
mainframe computers were not the ones who were
successful making 8” disk drives for desktop computers,
which eventually penetrated the mainframe market.
Eventually, every manufacturer of 14” disk drives failed
as the 8” drives were less costly and more reliable. The
story then repeats as we consider 5 ¼” drives, 3 ½”
drives, and then flash drives. New entrants and the low
end of the market supplanted, and often drove out of
business, established and successful firms.
...emergent technology can be
a powerful stimulus for change
and innovation within the
higher education landscape....
Fall 2013
9
Anya Kamenetz to
Deliver Keynote at
ACS National Forum
Two common themes emerge. First, the companies
that develop disruptive innovations are almost always
new companies without an established market share.
Second, innovation comes from the bottom of the
market and moves upward into established markets.
The main threat to established companies comes not
from their peers, all of whom are likely to refine their
existing technologies at roughly the same rate, but from
emergent companies innovating to serve small, niche
markets. As the old saying goes, the shot that hurts the
most is the one you never see coming.
Innovation in Higher Education
Anya Kamenetz will be the featured
keynote speaker at the October 10-11,
2013 Associated Colleges of the South’s
Focus Forum on Adult Education and
the Liberal Arts to be held at The Alfond
Inn on the campus of Rollins College
in Winter Park, Florida. Kamenetz will
be speaking on Adult Learners and the
Liberal Arts: Changes in Higher Education.
Like innovations in other industries, the challenge
facing higher education is driven by new entrants at the
lower end of the market. For-profit online institutions
have proliferated in the last fifteen years with the
development of the internet and offer a wide array
of both undergraduate and graduate programming.
Technologically sophisticated and convenient, for-profit
institutions use online learning strategies to attract
prospective students, especially adult learners, who are
not interested in a residential experience.
The two-day conference is made
possible through a $10,000 grant from
the Associated Colleges of the South to
Rollins College and the University
of Richmond.
The initial response to online learning by higher
education was eerily similar to the response by
companies developing cable-actuated excavators.
Namely, online learning was dismissed as an inferior
form of learning serving a low-end market with little
relevance to established colleges and universities. Over
time, however, the advantages of learning at one’s own
pace on one’s own time became apparent to many adult
learners. By 2010, the University of Phoenix boasted an
overall enrollment of 307,965 students—a number that
represents the combined enrollment of the 160 colleges
in the country that would be considered purely liberal
arts colleges (i.e., no graduate degrees). In fact, three of
the top four schools with the highest enrollments were
mostly or entirely online programs—Phoenix, Kaplan,
and Ashford University. Arizona State, at 70,440
students was third with an enrollment roughly onequarter that of the University of Phoenix.
But we need not stop there. Companies making the
early console gaming stations (e.g. Atari) were not the
same companies that made later generation gaming
stations (e.g., Sega, Nintendo) or subsequent gaming
stations utilizing hard drives and high-end graphics
(e.g., Sony, Microsoft). Today, Sony’s Playstation and
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 are threatened by a low-end
disruptive technology—mobile gaming. It is ironic
but true that sales of console stations have unhappily
plummeted in the face of Angry Birds.
Despite these stunning advances, it is questionable
that new entrants into the higher education market
will have the same effect on established institutions
of higher education as was witnessed in the other
industries discussed earlier. To understand the
limitations of applying Christensen’s model to higher
education (and where it is most applicable), we need
to understand why students go to college and how
choosing a school is fundamentally different than a
customer’s decision to adopt a new form of technology.
Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation is related
to technology, not human services. This is a critical
An educational futurist and speaker on
issues facing the Millennial generation,
Kamenetz delivers audiences core insights
into change, technology, and talent.
10 HOLT CONNECTIONS
INNOVATION
observation. Technology customers typically do not
develop strong brand loyalty—instead, they are most
interested in buying the cheapest and most reliable
technology available to accomplish a given task. Thus,
a customer’s loyalty to Blackberry lasted just about as
long as Blackberry outshone its competition. However,
students choose a college or university because of the
value inherent in attending and graduating from that
institution, while taking into consideration financial
aid parameters. Prospective students are very aware
that pedigree is important—that’s why Ivy League
institutions have very competitive admissions. As a
result, students are not likely to transfer institutions
just because a new institution offers credit hours more
conveniently.
A second consideration is that the purpose of college
extends beyond mere degree attainment, it involves
a maturation process that is nebulous in nature yet
salient in the decision-making of both students and
parents. College is not just about degree attainment—
it is about intellectual and personal growth and
preparation for success. This is partly accomplished
through course work, but also through residential
experiences, social activities, interactions with
professors, personal relationships, and the excitement
of being on a college campus. No technology will ever
be able to replicate those kinds of experiences although
similar experiences may be accrued through the
creation of online personal learning networks.
There are other constraining factors as well which might
make us question the applicability of Christensen’s model of disruptive innovation to higher education:
• Accrediting bodies help to ensure quality
instruction but also tend to impede the speed of
innovation by requiring institutions engage in
practices that are most suited to traditional forms of
learning;
• All higher education is subsidized by grant and
loan programs, either state or federal. Subsidization
tends to mitigate the effects of disruptive
innovation by providing a constant stream of
incoming revenue through student enrollments;
• In private higher education, donors often support
institutions by contributing to the endowment or
otherwise making gifts. There is no third party
parallel in the technology sector to the ongoing
support traditional bricks-and-mortar campuses
receive;
• Finally, the fact that graduates of online schools
default on their student loans at a much higher rate
than students from traditional programs suggests
that the overall brand quality of online programs
remains questionable.
Technological Innovation and the Holt School
Whereas Christensen may be able to account for rapid,
revolutionary change in technological industries, the
slow pace of change in education suggests the presence
of the inhibiting factors discussed above. That being
said, the winds of technological change appear to
be blowing fiercest on the sail of adult learning. For
those of us in the Hamilton Holt School, Christensen’s
observations are especially relevant.
The issue for us boils down to the following question:
“which teaching methodologies (to include technologymediated techniques), under what conditions, and
for what purposes, lead to superior student-learning
outcomes?” Framed broadly, the question cannot be
simplistically posed as “should the Holt School offer
online courses or some hybrid combination?” The
question should always be framed in terms of what we
would like to accomplish with each of our students.
If technology helps us improve student learning
outcomes while building a better student experience,
then it should be used. Thus, it is entirely possible
that technology-mediated learning formats may be
extremely effective with some forms of instruction but
not others.
Blended learning is the term used to describe a new,
hybrid kind of instructional model in which some
of the seat time required in classroom instruction is
replaced by self-paced, asynchronous, online instruction.
For example, a blended learning course might meet half
as frequently as a traditional course. Much of what would
have been done in the classroom (e.g., lectures, videos,
presentation of course content, etc.) is migrated to the
online portion of the course so that class time may be
more fruitfully used for discussion and debate. Recent
research by the federal government and Bryn Mawr (a
small, liberal arts college) has found that student-learning
outcomes increase dramatically in a blended learning
format relative to traditional face-to-face methods because
of greater student engagement with instruction.
Taken together, emergent technology can be a powerful
stimulus for change and innovation within higher
education provided the faculty and administration both
understand the evolving higher education landscape.
History shows us that dismissing as inconsequential
the threats posed by disruptive innovation can have
disastrous consequences for successful organizations.
Responding to these challenges will require the
very best work from our very best minds, but it is a
challenge we can ill afford to ignore. H
Fall 2013
11
INNOVATION
Innovating Healthcare in Central Florida:
An Interview with Thad Seymour, Jr.
You may recognize the name Thad Seymour—the
distinguished Tar was the 12th president of Rollins College
and still resides in Orlando. His son, Thad Seymour, Jr.,
has inherited his father’s calm presence, optimistic spirit,
and love for the liberal arts. He is also spearheading the
development of Lake Nona Medical City, the country’s
newest and most advanced medical development
complex. We recently caught up with Thad and asked
him to fill us in more on Lake Nona Medical City and what
makes it so unique.
Most folks in Central Florida have heard of Lake
Nona Medical City, but they may not fully know
what is happening there. Could you tell us a
little bit about the vision and the history of its
development?
Lake Nona is a large project—over 7,000 acres, or
the size of most of Manhattan—and has been in
development since the mid-1980’s. The idea of Lake
Nona Medical City is less than a decade old, and
nearly all of the $2 billion in construction has taken
place in the last six years. The vision for Lake Nona
is to establish a robust innovation ecosystem, focused
on improving health and healthcare, within a broader
community setting that can serve as a living laboratory
to accelerate the adoption of new ideas that can
improve the quality of life while driving down the cost
of health care. It’s a special place for residents to live,
and a community that will have broader impact as
together we and our partners learn more about how to
design and build healthy and sustainable cities.
How will Lake Nona Medical City be different
from other medical communities?
Lake Nona blends together components that are often
developed as discrete projects: a medical complex,
a research park, academic campuses, residential
communities, retail centers, and an office park. The
chance to plan and build those together in a thoughtful,
deliberate way offers the opportunity to create
something more impactful.
12 HOLT CONNECTIONS
What hospitals and other institutions are
already there?
Our anchor partners include the UCF College of
Medicine, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research
Institute, Nemours Children’s Hospital, University
of Florida Research & Academic Center, and the
VA Medical Center (expected to open in 2014). Our
educational offerings are robust, including a new
middle school and high school, and the new Valencia
College Lake Nona campus.
Do you expect other kinds of services or
industries to be represented?
The Lake Nona Medical City strategy is built on
creating a rich combination of research, clinical,
education, and commercial partners and partnerships.
We are actively recruiting additional academic, health
care and corporate organizations to build on the
foundation already established. We will have a range
of companies represented here ranging from Pharma/
biotech, medical device, health IT, healthcare services,
and others. We are also finding many technology
organizations are drawn to what is emerging at Lake
Nona. Finally, a full array of shopping, dining and
recreation offerings are developing at Lake Nona as the
resident and employee populations grow, with much
more to come in the years ahead.
Lake Nona Medical City has been described as
the “Four Pillars of Innovation.” What does
that mean?
We believe that some of our nation’s most fundamental
challenges can best be addressed at a community level,
thereby enhancing our nation’s competitiveness as
well as our quality of life. The four pillars on which we
are building the community, with the help of the Lake
Nona Institute are: Sustainability, Education, Health
and Wellness, and Technology. We have aggressive
initiatives under way in each area, working with our
partners to accelerate innovation and using Lake Nona
as a proving ground from which new ideas can be
implemented more broadly in other places. We have
early successes in areas such as LED streetlights, a
“built environment” focused on encouraging healthy
behaviors, widely used interactive technologies
in our schools, and one of the fastest broadband
infrastructures in the nation serving our newest
neighborhoods.
We know that the technological infrastructure
at Lake Nona Medical City is second to none.
Could you tell us a little bit about that and how
it might facilitate higher education?
From early in the project we have invested heavily in
what we call a “no limits” technology infrastructure,
believing that innovation clusters of this century
require a robust combination of intellectual capital
and bandwidth to accelerate the development and
adoption of new ideas. With partners like Cisco (who
named Lake Nona its first “Iconic City” in the United
States last year), we are defining and deploying
new applications that can change how education is
delivered to students of all ages, how the home can
become an increasingly important venue for diagnosis
and monitoring of health conditions, and how
communication of all kinds can be enhanced despite
traditional physical barriers. We are especially excited
about how the “no limits” technology infrastructure
is attracting creative researchers and entrepreneurs
who will make use of it in ways that none of us have
yet imagined.
Given all the other institutions that are already
there, what role might you see for a liberal arts
school like Rollins at Medical City?
I have an admitted bias, but I have always thought
that Rollins could play an important role within
the emerging ecosystem at Lake Nona while also
enhancing the richness of the College’s heritage as a
top tier liberal arts college. As a graduate of a liberal
arts college, and the son of parents who devoted their
I have greater hope
for [the healthcare]
industry if it can
attract more than its
fair share of the best
and brightest liberal
arts graduates from
institutions like Rollins.
—Thad Seymour, Jr.
lives to great liberal arts institutions, I celebrate the
different role Rollins might play at Lake Nona side by
side with large research universities like UCF and UF. I
have a Ph.D. in History and I’m helping to build one of
the largest new health and life sciences clusters in the
world. If that’s not the liberal arts at work, I don’t know
what is.
What kind of graduate is most needed in health
care today? With all the changes in health care
that are coming, do you think that new training
models are needed?
Healthcare is an industry on an unsustainable cost
trajectory and in desperate need of change. The coming
years will require smart, passionate, strong leaders who
can think and execute cross functionally. Approaching
20 percent of GDP, it would follow that as many as
one in five college graduates may work somewhere
within the healthcare industry. I have greater hope
for our industry if it can attract more than its fair
share of the best and brightest liberal arts graduates
from institutions like Rollins who can combine what
they learned in their economics, English, and political
science classes with the undergraduate lab work they
did in biology, or the research project they tackled in
psychology. Health are is so much more than medicine
and to fix it will require the best minds, learning
throughout their lives, helping the tens of thousands of
institutions within the industry chart a path to a better
healthcare future.
Thank you, Thad, for getting our readers up to
speed on Medical City. There’s a lot happening
in Lake Nona.
It is an exciting time and we hope that Rollins will be
an important part of it in the future. H
Fall 2013
13
INNOVATION
Holt School Embraces Blended Learning
to-face lecture. We are still maintaining the
personalized education that is the hallmark of
liberal arts colleges but utilizing 21st century
methodologies to enhance the learning
opportunities.”
Students were assessed before, during,
and after the blended learning modules.
Reactions to the blended learning formats
and traditional face-to-face instruction were
compared, and the majority of the students
were pleased with the experience and would
like to see more blended courses offered at Holt.
The blended learning certification program
was so successful that Holt offered another
certification for more faculty members
this summer. This fall, Holt will offer
approximately 20 blended courses.
The Hamilton Holt School launched blended learning
in its spring 2013 courses through a grant from the
Associated Colleges of the South. Through the grant,
five faculty participants learned how to integrate
traditional teaching methods with asynchronous or
virtual teaching methods.
Faculty participants attended two 2-hour
informational sessions taught by Associate Professor
of Communication Rick Bommelje to learn more about
blended learning and how it can be applied to course
development. During the intersession from January 7-11,
the faculty completed a 20-hour workshop taught by
Carrie Schulz and Meribeth Huebner during which
they developed a blended learning module or unit for
one of their courses. The faculty involved in the training
represented a wide range of disciplines including
biology, psychology, and foreign languages.
Additionally, Holt received another Associated Colleges
of the South Mellon Foundation Faculty Advancement
Grant to continue enhancing the certification process.
This grant will allow more faculty participation and
oversight of the certification process. The results of this
grant will be reported at the ACS Faculty Forum on
Adult Education and the Liberal Arts, which will be
held October 10-11 at the Alfond Inn in Winter Park,
Florida. This conference session will be videotaped
and provided to ACS to include on its website, and
conference proceedings will be disseminated to
members of all 16 ACS schools involved in the Focus
Forum. The Holt School will provide an e-how-to
guide for developing blended learning certification
programs for dissemination to other liberal arts colleges
that are adding blended learning to their teaching
methodologies. H
According to Adjunct Professor Dianne Bennett, “The
blended learning initiative workshop was instrumental
in helping me design my Psychology 101 blended course
for Spring 2013. The workshops provided me with
the opportunity to deeply reflect on how to effectively
transform and deliver course content in a meaningful
student-centered, blended format. Furthermore, the
sharing of information, resources, and ideas between
colleagues was fantastic,” she explained.
Holt School Dean David Richard, who initiated the
endeavor, said, “This gives our faculty the chance
to expose our students to a wider range of teaching
methodologies to supplement the traditional face-
14 HOLT CONNECTIONS
Faculty participants in the inital blended learning training.
Blended Learning
with Canvas
I thought I had seen everything that a learning
management system (LMS) could do until I saw
Canvas, the relatively new course management system
by Instructure. However, I must admit that my first
impression was, “But why can’t I change the colors?”
“Why can’t I add customized buttons and links on the
left navigation menu?” “Why . . . but . . . how . . .?” But
once I started building my own course in Canvas, I saw
the beauty in the simplicity of Canvas’s design and
navigability, particularly now, at the moment when the
Hamilton Holt school is targeting Canvas as the right
tool to help us expand our blended learning initiative.
Blended learning refers to using the best delivery
methodologies for a specific objective, including online,
face-to-face, experiential, formal, and informal learning
methodologies. In blended classes, students’ in-class
seat time is reduced as learning becomes more selfdirected and asynchronous.
that it is true that “all LMS’s are created equal.” But
with Canvas, this isn’t true.
The most robust aspect of Canvas, at least in my
experience so far, is the Pages tool – an interactive wiki
that allows the professor to create linked pages in a
logically navigable way. The experience is much like
navigating Wikipedia or other connected websites,
but the professor has the ability to direct or guide the
students’ experience.
How is this different from the other course
management systems? Typically, other tools utilize
modules or folders for organizing unit materials, so the
student experience is mostly linear and structured. In
Canvas, however, the course design can be as linear or
as non-linear as the professor wants, but the students
aren’t likely to get lost with all the links and navigation
cues. So what I’ve found is that I am less limited in my
blended course design than I was with previous tools,
and I look forward to finding the other Canvas gems as
I design and redesign my course for next semester. H
—Meribeth Huebner
Over the past ten years, I have
taught over 30 blended or
fully online English courses,
but this spring was my first
time teaching a blended class
at Rollins and my first time
teaching with Canvas.
Previously, I had used
WebCT, Desire2Learn,
Blackboard Vista, and
Blackboard Learn, and
for the most part, I’ve found
10% off any smoothie or sandwich to
all Rollins students in July & August.
INNOVATION
Associated Colleges
of the South Awards
$10,000 for Forum
at The Alfond Inn
The Hamilton Holt School has been awarded a $10,000
grant from the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS)
to conduct a faculty forum for exploring nontraditional
adult educational opportunities. The forum will be
held October 10-11 at The Alfond Inn on the Rollins
College campus. Faculty from Rollins College and
the University of Richmond will lead discussions for
representatives from member colleges of the ACS.
The grant proposal was co-written by Professor of
Psychology John Houston and Hamilton Holt School
Dean David Richard in conjunction with faculty at the
University of Richmond.
According to Richard, “Adult learners over age 24
comprise 44 percent of the country's postsecondary
students. For ACS schools contemplating the
development of adult educational programming, the
forum will be useful in their long-range planning. By
learning from Rollins and Richmond, and exploring
unique opportunities that technology can afford, they
can start to think about adult learning as being an
integral part of the mission of their colleges.”
16 HOLT CONNECTIONS
The Alfond Inn, opening August 2013
The adult education programs at Rollins College
and the University of Richmond each have a more
than 50-year tradition of reaching out to meet the
educational needs and interests of adult learners using
nontraditional schedules and teaching formats.
"Understanding the unique needs of nontraditional
adult learners, and their role in the liberal arts, is critical
to planning and implementing education systems
and policies that support their needs and promote
their success,” Richard says. The forum will include
discussion topics and issues that are especially relevant
to the sustainability of liberal arts institutions. Liberal
arts schools will continue to survive, and in fact thrive,
provided they innovate to meet both the challenges and
needs in the adult education market. H
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2013
Holt School
Commencement
Chuck Archard, Department of Music,
receives the Walter E. Barden Award for
Distinguished Teaching. (below)
“Rollins, I believe, has
equipped you with the skills
to survive and even flourish
in your careers in a rapidly
changing world. What I hope
I see sitting out there are
several hundred newly minted
good citizens who will make a
difference in the world today
and make things better for
future generations.”
R. Barry levis, Ph.D.
Keynote Speaker
“We came to Rollins College,
and we excelled so that
instead of merely living in the
real world, we could thrive.
Judging by what I have seen
from my colleagues during
my time at Rollins, that is
exactly what we will do: excel
and thrive.”
Melissa FusselL
2013 Outstanding
Graduating Senior
Going Places
Global Citizenship
in Action
After a rigorous selection
and interview process, MLS
student Nadia Garzon was
selected to participate in the
Rotary International’s Group
Exchange program. The
following story is her account
of her travels and experiences.
During the spring of 2012, I embarked on a journey
where I spent five weeks traveling in Australia with a
handful of strangers, living with natives who not only
belong to a different country but a different culture.
Needless to say, I was definitely stepping outside of my
comfort zone. I was enveloped in a new opportunity,
and I didn’t let any chance for intellectual or emotional
growth pass me by.
I was selected along with four other candidates to
take part in the Rotary International’s Group Study
Exchange (GSE). Our goal was to learn how our
vocations were practiced abroad. As an entertainer,
performing artist, and activist, I was especially
interested in how the arts are used in education and
how they generate social change. While traveling
through the state of Victoria, I was able to interact with
nonprofit organizations, performing arts groups, art
educators, city art councils, and an art therapist to learn
how art was affecting the life of the people in Australia.
A day spent with Neta Kirby, an art therapist, was
my favorite vocational visit. Neta is a counselor who
uses conventional art forms like painting or writing as
a part of therapy. Upon entering her office, your eyes
are captured by a variety of figurines. Wall to wall,
shelf to shelf, from penguins and unicorns to knights
and firefighters, all these tiny toys surround the room.
Then your eyes are drawn to two sand boxes centered
in the middle of the room. One box contains dry sand,
while the other is wet. Neta practices sand therapy
and believes this is where the “magic happens.” Her
clients are asked to choose figurines from the shelves
and create a scene in the sand. The sand players, as
Neta calls them, are often victims of violence or abuse.
She says that creating a scene in the sand helps them
with the healing and growth process as they uncover
their feelings. Through the symbolic and revealing
scenes the sand players display, Neta says that people
discover things you wouldn’t believe. Not only was
20 HOLT CONNECTIONS
sand therapy something I have never heard of, it also
showed me how truly infinite the power of art is.
Another amazing experience was an unexpected work
opportunity. One of my vocational days consisted
of spending the workday with Albury City’s Arts
Coordinator, Narelle Vogell. She was so impressed with
my input throughout the day that after the program
ended, the city flew me from Melbourne back to
Albury to teach a puppetry and performance workshop
for Aboriginal women. I was asked to help design
a performance piece for an upcoming community
festival. Humbled and extremely excited, I set out to
help the Aboriginal women introduce themselves to
the community. Their goal was to teach the community
about their culture, feelings and their stories. The use
of the puppets and
their crafts assisted
them in visualizing
the message they
wanted to convey and
helped them expand
on how to present
their lives through
using objects close to
them. I learned a lot
about the Aboriginals’
story and challenges
they face in modern
Australia. Sadly, there
is still a lot of racism
and discrimination
that takes place
Nadia Garzon (left)
against their people.
teaching puppetry
While most of our time was focused on the vocational
exchange, I was able to develop meaningful personal
relationships. By the end of the exchange, I had seven
new adoptive parents, a slew of new siblings, and of
course, numerous new friends. I had learned about
my vocation and about new practices that would
change my outlook on how effective art could be in
education, in counseling, and in life. I was able to see
the differences between the United States and Australia
and also the incredible similarities in the challenges
faced by art organizations and by people who work
in the community. This was an opportunity to see the
world from a different perspective, to truly experience
the humanity we all share, which does not change with
culture or country. H
Holt Student Maria Gutierrez shares
My Week with “Soapbox Speakers Who
Speak Out” Feminist Camp
Feminist camp started off on Monday
with Philanthropy Day, where we
sat down with organizations whose
main focus is helping women. The
first non-profit organization we visited
was the NoVo Foundation. There we
met with Caitlin Ho, the Associate for
Initiatives for Girls and Women. She
explained to us how and why nonprofit organizations provide grants to
organizations that focus on supporting
women and girls as a strategy to
end poverty, promote healthy child
development, and stop gender-based
violence around the world.
Maria Guiterrez (seated far right) with fellow campers
I originally heard about this amazing opportunity
through Kimberly Dennis, my Women’s Studies teacher
and head of women’s studies at Rollins College. I signed
up for the course because “women’s studies” sounded
like something that pertained to who I am. Little did
I know that I was going to end up in New York City,
meeting and learning from inspiring individuals.
I decided to embark on this journey without much
knowledge of what my experience was going to be
like, but I had high hopes for that upcoming week.
Originally, I thought that feminist camp was going
to be similar to consciousness raising sessions, where
women talk about feminist ideals or problems that
affect women. Instead, it was an opportunity to see
how to apply feminist principles to the real world.
While I was there I had the opportunity to meet and
interact with Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner,
authors of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the
Future and Grassroots: A Field Guide to Feminist Activism.
I also got to meet activists from all over the U.S.
My fellow campers were astonishing women who
held jobs such as environmental activist, abortion
clinic counselor, a corporate lawyer, homeless shelter
counselor, and a group leader who works with youth
at an elementary afterschool program.
Tuesday was designated “Work Day.” I
had the opportunity to intern at Women
Make Movies, a non-profit organization
that is devoted to promoting female directors in the
mostly male dominated world. I will never forget
the advice that the public exhibition and acquisitions
manager Kriste Fitzpatrick gave me. She said “If you
have a dream job, chances are that there are people
looking for individuals to fill that exact position. You
just have to be resourceful and find exactly what you
want to do.”
It motivated me to find exactly what I wanted to do
so that I could find a way to do it. We also had the
opportunity to meet with Kathryn Minshew, the
founder and CEO of The Muse. She emphasized the
importance of not only networking, but also the role
that confidence and planning has in finding investors
or starting a company.
Wednesday was Reproductive Justice Day. We met
with Lynn M. Paltrow, J.D., the founder and executive
director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women,
which seeks to protect the rights and human dignity
of all women, particularly pregnant and parenting
women and those who are most vulnerable, including
low income women, women of color, and drug-using
women. For me, that experience was eye-opening,
because the media often chooses to ignore issues that
relate to pregnant women.
(continued on page 30)
Fall 2013
21
Going Places
Holt Alumni Share Their Stories
Why I Chose Rollins Evening
I chose Rollins Evening after initially being
accepted to the Arts & Sciences program.
In the evening program, I was among a
group of peers who were driven to get their
undergraduate degrees despite working
full-time jobs, being parents, or returning to
school after a few decades.
Leslie Capobianco, ’10
The seasoned perspective of my peers
resulted in unforgettable interactions
both inside and outside the classrooms.
Experience, combined with prodigious
professors, affordable tuition, and the ability
for me to work and take classes full-time was
the perfect harmony for my academic success.
Leslie Capobianco ’10, BA (English). Leslie is an
Assistant Language Teacher for the Japan Exchange and
Teaching Programme and lives in Japan.
Erica McEarchern ’07
Jemma Elliot ’07
Like many, I started college right out of high
school but never finished my degree. It was
one of those ‘I’ll get to it later’ kind of things.
Years passed. Jobs came and went, but I
always wanted to finish what I’d started.
Between work deadlines, family obligations,
and life’s frenetic pace, I knew a traditional
college program was impossible.
I chose Rollins for the quality of the faculty
and a schedule that worked with my job.
Many of the professors teach in both the
day and the evening program so I knew the
quality of my education wasn’t compromised.
My experiences there taught me to be open to
new ideas, to allow my curiosity to guide me,
and to never stop learning.
Erica McEachern ’07, BA (Humanities) with a minor in
Writing. Erica holds an MFA degree in Writing Popular
Fiction and is a Technical Writer and Editor for Intel.
Phil Torsiello ’12
When I decided to go back to school, I was
working full time for Darden. I remember
being shocked when someone told me about
Rollins Evening. I couldn’t believe that an
evening program catering to adults at a highly
esteemed school existed. I thought going
back to school would mean going to a state
22 HOLT CONNECTIONS
school and juggling evening classes with full
time work. I didn’t want to go back to a huge
school and just be another number among
students that were fresh out of high school.
The Rollins Evening program was a perfect
match for what was going on in my life at the
time. I appreciated the intimate environment
at Rollins; smaller classes allowed me to
be connected to my professors and to work
with other students who were just like me.
Jemma Elliot ’07, BA (Psychology). Jemma is a
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in California
and an Adjunct Professor/Research Associate at Pacifica
Graduate Institute.
Having lived in Orlando my whole life, I saw
Rollins often but I never dreamed I would
have the opportunity to actually be a part of
it. It has always been in close proximity, yet
it seemed out of reach. I ended up attending
a state school in Orlando for my first few
years of college but it was not the best fit for
me. It was too big, too impersonal, and much
too difficult to interact with any faculty or
staff. I ended up leaving and finishing my
associate’s degree at a local, community
college. I knew I wanted to finish my degree
but I did not want to go back to the state
school where I started. I stopped in and
inquired about Rollins. I knew the campus
was beautiful and the degree was highly
esteemed, but I was blown away by how
helpful the staff and students were.
I started a few months later and can honestly
say it was one of the best decisions I have
ever made. I loved the small class sizes and
personal connections you could have with
your professors. I had access to volunteer
and internship opportunities that were
unmatched in the area. Rollins helped me
find my calling. I credit Rollins for helping
me take the next step in my life and for
shaping my future.”
Philip Torsiello ’12, BA (Economics). Phil works for
Regions Bank as a Branch Team Leader in Winter Park
and is part of the Management Associate Program.
Counterterrorism Expert’s Journey
Began at Holt
The first time Ted Reynolds came to Rollins College,
he was in his early 30s, a successful local businessman
who had left college previously to work. “College was
the only thing I never finished,” he said. Reynolds
enrolled in the Holt School and graduated in 2000 with
a B.A. in international relations.
In 2012, Reynolds returned to Rollins, this time with a
master’s degree in political science from the University
of Central Florida and a job offer as an adjunct
professor to teach the course Terrorism Studies. In 2013,
he would teach National Security and Intelligence.
Reynolds is an expert on terrorism. He is the Global
Connections Fellow of Terrorism Studies at UCF, where
he also teaches. Additionally, he is completing a doctorate
degree in international relations at the University of
St. Andrews, in Scotland, with a focus on analyzing
the use of social media and computer mediated
communication by extremists and terrorist groups.
So how did someone who made his living in the
construction industry become interested in terrorism?
“It started in 1999 at Rollins when I began researching
the potential use of weapons of mass destruction by
rogue states and terrorists, specifically investigating
the efforts by an upstart
Osama bin Laden to acquire
such weapons. Then, following
the terrorist attacks on 9/11,
using my experience in large
scale infrastructure, I helped
consider cost effective and
practical ways to protect
local public utilities from
potential attack.” From
then on, his focus has been
learning about and working
to counter terrorism and
Ted Reynolds
teaching these skills to others. H
Class News
Mark Winton ’86 MA, in collaboration with Barbara
Mara, has written When Teachers, Clergy, and Caretakers
Sexually Abuse Children and Adolescents, a book that
addresses the current and historical issues that revolve
around children and adolescents who are sexually
abused. The book was published by Carolina Academic Press.
Dana Packard ’96, community affairs director for the
Palm Bay Police Department, FL, and Larry Davis ’96,
Knights of Columbus, teamed up to create “Teddy
Bear Squad,” a program to collect and donate teddy
bears to the Palm Bay Police Department for officers to
have available when responding to incidents involving
young children.
Colleen Gray ’00 was elected to the 2013-14 Board of
Directors for Meeting Planners International Tampa
(MPI) and also was selected for the organization’s
Emerging Leaders. Colleen recently completed the
Coastal Systems Module of the Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Master Naturalist program
in October at Mote Marine in Sarasota, FL.
Michael Robbins ’09 MLS will be teaching a course
entitled Economics of Everything at Northwestern
University's Center for Talent Development
this summer.
Izi Pinho ’13 will be attending St. John’s University
School of Law in the fall after receiving a $40,000
scholarship. Izi completed his bachelor of arts in
economics at Holt School and thanks all his professors
and Holt staff for their help and guidance throughout
his academic career at Rollins.
Melissa McGuire-Maniau, a Holt School undergraduate
student in International Affairs/Pre-Law spoke to
President Obama in the West Wing about immigration
reform. Melissa, herself a DREAMer, aspires to become
an immigration reform attorney. DREAMers are young
immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and who are
seeking permanent residency.
Share Your News
To submit news of your professional achievements or update
your mailing address or other information, go to rollins.edu/
holt/alumni-and-friends/update.html. Please include a current
email address. Rollins reserves all editorial rights and makes
all final decisions for inclusion of Class News items.
Fall 2013
23
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Julian Chambliss (center)
This fall, Hamilton Holt School will launch an
interdisciplinary minor in Africa and African-American Studies. The minor will focus on the academic
exploration of the impact of African and AfricanAmerican culture on the western experience and
promote a campus climate that reflects and discusses
ongoing issues related to race and ethnicity from a
position of informed understanding.
The Africa and African- American Studies Minor
“supports the Rollins College’s mission through
its curricular and co-curricular activities, including
Project Mosaic, a collaborative digital humanities
project, and an externship program that encourages
students to explore the impact of race and ethnicity
in the workplace” said Dr. Julian Chambliss,
professor of history and coordinator of the Africa
and African-American Studies Program at Rollins
College. “I am delighted to be able to offer the
Africa and African-American Studies minor to Holt
students and I am sure that this opportunity will
enrich the student experience in Arts and Science
and Holt,” he added.
According to David Richard, dean of the Holt
School, “we welcome the opportunity to offer the
African and African-American Studies minor as part
of our evening offerings to Holt students. The minor
has been offered at Rollins College for over a decade
and emphasizes the Holt commitment to leadership,
global issues, social justice and cultural enrichment.”
There are six required courses in the minor
including, two core courses, three electives, and a
senior independent study research paper with a
significant community engagement component. H
New Scholarship
for Community
Leadership
The Hamilton Holt School is pleased to announce
that it will honor the Black History Committee of
Orange County’s scholarship to Rollins College by
establishing the “Dean’s Scholarship for Leadership in
the African American Community.” This scholarship
will make a difference in the African American
community for a student pursuing their degree as a
working adult and seeking to play a significant role
in community leadership in the African American
community after graduation.
The Black History Committee of Orange County
(BHCOC), Inc., annually holds the Black History
Month Celebration Gala to award scholarship funds
to in-state colleges and universities for economically
disadvantaged students who graduated from an
Orange County (FL) public high school. This year,
Rollins College received a $4,000 check from the
BHCOC to award as a scholarship to an economically
disadvantaged student at Rollins College with a 3.0 or
better Grade Point Average.
Richard said, “I am delighted to announce that the
Hamilton Holt School at Rollins College will honor
the $4,000 scholarship from the BHCOC and establish
a new scholarship for a disadvantaged adult student
entering the Holt School as a freshman in fall 2013.
After the student has completed the sophomore and
junior year as a full time student, the recipient will
receive two tuition free summer courses bringing the
value of the scholarship to $11,000” he added. “This
scholarship will require recipients to complete a core
set of leadership courses and it helps continue our
longstanding commitment to the development of
students who will assume a future leadership role in
the African American community,” added Richard.
The BHCOC has donated over $200,000 in scholarships
to economically disadvantaged students who wish to
continue their education beyond high school.
According to gala chairman, Vernard A. Batson, “Our
committee was informed that Rollins College has made
significant efforts to increase the diversity of its student
population. We are pleased to play a role in that effort
to enable as many public high school graduates from
Orange County to have an opportunity to obtain a
college degree and what better place than Rollins
College with its outstanding academic reputation.” H
Meg Dolan
Top Producer 2010, 2011, and 2012
ROLLINS GRADUATE
Lifelong Learning
Winter Park Heath Foundation Grant
Supports Center for Lifelong Learning
Rollins Center
for Lifelong Learning
Board of Advisors
The Hamilton Holt School has received a $139,779
grant from the Winter Park Health Foundation
(WPHF) to provide start-up funds for the Rollins
Center for Lifelong Learning. The Center will offer
innovative liberal arts programming for adults 50
and older from Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville,
and surrounding communities beginning in the fall.
The noncredit courses will last four weeks and will
feature current and emeritus faculty from Rollins.
Annual memberships will be $200 and will include
participation in three noncredit courses in fall and
spring through the Center. Scholarships and fee
reductions for those in need will be offered.
An earlier planning grant from the WPHF provided
funding for SalterMitchell to conduct research to
determine interest in such a program. This research
resulted in the identification of educational topics
with particular appeal to older adults, an affordable
fee structure, and many specifics about the desired
learning environment (small class size, accessible
facility, convenient parking, daytime offerings, and
opportunities for active learning and socialization
with other older adult students). This input made
the Hamilton Holt School at Rollins the most logical
home for the Center given its rich history of educating
nontraditional students.
A full-time director will be assisted by an active
11-member Community Advisory Council, a parttime administrative assistant, and volunteers. Rollins
will assume 77 percent of the start-up costs for this
endeavor through the provision of in-kind services and
funding of operational expenses.
According to Diana Silvey, program director for the
WPHF, “The grant to Hamilton Holt School will
26 HOLT CONNECTIONS
Mary Daniels
Michael Hahn ’87 MBA
Annette Kelly, ARNP, Ph.D.
Hortense Jones
Patricia Lancaster, Ph.D.
Robert Lemon, Ph.D.
Lois Lihn
Robert Miller, Ph.D.
Jennifer Queen, Ph.D.
Jana Ricci, ’80
Diana Silvey
Ex-officio
David C.S. Richard, Ph.D.
Dean, Hamilton Holt School
Jill Norburn, Ed.D.
Director, Center for
Lifelong Learning
provide an excellent opportunity for Winter Park
and other area adults 50 and older to participate
in extraordinary liberal arts courses offered by
the Hamilton Holt School at the Rollins College
campus. We believe this collaboration with
Rollins will be very beneficial in meeting the
educational needs and interests of older adults in
the communities we serve.”
Hamilton Holt School Dean David Richard
said, “We are delighted to be working with the
Winter Park Health Foundation on this important
project. Today’s older adult learner is an active
and vibrant part of our community and deserves
the best educational opportunities available. This
grant allows us to welcome an entirely new cohort
of students to the Rollins liberal arts experience.” H
500 Years of Florida History Highlighted at
“An Evening at Rollins”
Ponce de León didn’t have a guide to Florida when he
first visited the state 500 years ago, but the more than
370 older adult guests attending the Annie Russell
Theatre at Rollins College did when they were treated
to five short vignettes that previewed some of the
courses Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning will offer
this fall. The vignettes featured included; Land of
Enchantment: 500 Years of Florida History, Annie Russell:
American Stage Legend, Superhero Comics: Artifacts of the
U.S. Experience, Walt Disney World and Winter Park, and
Dance by Design and Dream.
Health Foundation. For information on membership
in the Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning and fall
courses, visit www.rollins.edu/holt/rcll or contact
lifelonglearning@rollins.edu. H
Jill Norburn Named
Director for Rollins Center for
Lifelong Learning
The Center will offer innovative liberal arts
programming for adults 50 and older from Winter
Park, Maitland, Eatonville, and the Central Florida
communities. Community campus locations and some
evening courses are being planned. The noncredit
courses will last four weeks and will feature current
and emeritus faculty from Rollins. Members will pay
$200 to participate in 3 courses in the fall and 3 in the
spring. Non-members can choose from among more
than 20 courses for $60 per course.
Jill Norburn has been
appointed as the new
director for the Rollins
Center for Lifelong
Learning at the Hamilton
Holt School. The position is
funded by a generous grant
of $139,779 from the Winter
Park Health Foundation to
the Holt School.
One of the faculty, Jack Lane, professor emeritus of
history, has been teaching at Rollins for 50 years and
his account of 500 years of Florida history was enjoyed
by all. Robert Sherry and his partner Robin Wilson
brought their Rollins dance class to perform and lead the
audience in participatory movements from the class they
will be teaching in the fall.
As the new director, Norburn will oversee the
Center’s development of enrichment programs for
adults 50 and older in Winter Park and surrounding
communities. In addition, Norburn will develop
innovative noncredit certification programs directed
toward meeting both the challenges and needs in
the adult education market. Starting in fall 2013, the
Holt School will be offering a certification program in
paralegal with other certification programs to follow.
The Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning has been made
possible by a generous grant from the Winter Park
Fall 2013
27
Lifelong Learning
The Best Years
are Yet to Come
As we move into our later years, it’s a great time to
acknowledge the importance of the lives we have
been living. According to Assistant Professor of
Communication Anne Stone, “Writing one’s memoir
can be a life-changing experience, fostering greater
self-respect, significantly improving mental health, and
even increasing physical health.” Stone recently taught
the class Storytelling to Improve Health as part of the
Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning.
“Irish life was filled with storytelling and sharing
stories from centuries ago,” said Dympna Smith ’96,
who grew up in Ireland. “My grandfather held us
spellbound with the stories he told, including many
Irish myths and legends. The highly revered storyteller
in Irish history was known as a ‘seanchai’ meaning a
‘tradition bearer’…. Through the medium of the story,
he kept tradition alive for the common folk. Motivated
by the magical stories my grandparents told me in
letters about life in the United States, I left Ireland for
the United States when I turned 18,” Dympna said.
She and her husband of 49 years, Harry , who was born
in Miami, met at a dance in New York.
Although she had always wanted to go to college, it
wasn’t until she was married with three children that
she “took the plunge into the waters of academia.”
After earning her A.A. degree, she came to Rollins and
majored in English.
“My time at Rollins was one of the highlights of my
life—a magnificent and life-transforming experience
that no amount of money could ever buy,” she said.
The Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning provides an
opportunity for her to return to the school she calls “a
large chunk of Heaven on Earth” and to rekindle her
interest in storytelling.
“Storytelling for me is therapeutic,” she said. “Instead of
the current social media craze of tweeting and texting, we
need storytelling to connect us and bring us all together.”
Describing the Fit & Fine lecture series as a celebration of
life, Dympna said, “To join with like-minded people and
sit at the feet of wonderful instructors and then to be able
to openly share and discuss our feelings, and in so doing
enlarge our circle of friends, is a beautiful gift indeed.” H
Pre-Law Prep Course Offered
Eric Smaw is an assistant professor of philosophy at Rollins College. He teaches philosophy, religion, and logic.
One of the newest hats he adorns is director of the Rollins Pre-law program. Smaw instructs students interested
in a career in law by assisting them in preparation to gain access into law school and acquiring an edge to be
successful while there. This self-paced study focuses on five areas of emphasis. There is a prep course designed
to familiarize students with the types of questions they will encounter on the LSAT, the Law School Admission
Test. Students are quizzed in areas of logic, analytical reasoning, and reading comprehension. Career counseling
is utilized to connect students to the many different types of law and their own special areas of interest. Aptitude,
personality and character tests are taken by students to discover and plan for the type of law that will best fit
them.
An internship is also a part of the preparatory program. Students are assisted in gaining real work experience in
private law firms or in public interest law. These real world experiences provide students with practical, handson insight. Smaw indicates writing is a key component of the program as having superior writing skills will help
students compete to gain admission into the most prestigious law schools in the country and because writing is a
significant part of both law school and the legal profession.
Pre-law advising from Smaw has successfully assisted students with getting into law school. Smaw is the faculty
advisor for the Rollins Debate team, currently ranked #2 in the nation. He says being a part of the debate team is
not necessary to be a part of the pre-law program, but it is definitely an advantage. Last year’s captain, Melissa
Fussell, a Hamilton Holt alumna, was offered admission into Yale Law School, exemplifying the effectiveness of
the pre-law program. Holt students wanting info on the pre-law program should contact esmaw@rollins.edu. H
28 HOLT CONNECTIONS
Join the new Rollins Center for Lifelong
Learning (RCLL) and participate in stimulating
classes designed to spark your smarts.
A membership in the RCLL gives you access
to enlightening and entertaining non-credit
courses taught by Rollins professors.
BECOME THE
SMARTEST KID
ON THE BLOCK .
AGAIN.
CENTER FOR
LIFELONG LEARNING
Program made possible by a grant from Winter Park Health Foundation
Yes! eNroll me todAY.
RCLL Membership is $200
per year (two semesters).
rollins.edu/rcll • lifelonglearning@rollins.edu
My check payable to RCLL is enclosed.
Please mail completed form and check to: Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning
1000 Holt Ave. – 2725, Winter Park, FL 32789-4499.
Members will be eligible
Name ____________________________________________________________
to enroll in three noncredit
Address __________________________________________________________
courses per semester.
City __________________________________ State ______ Zip ____________
Individual course cost for
non-members: $60
Phone _______________________ Email _______________________________
I would like to receive information about financial assistance.
Development
Riva Grant Fosters Future Development
The Hamilton Holt School has received a $100,000 gift from President of Epoch
Properties Kyle D. Riva ‘79 MSM to assist in the school’s future growth.
According to Dean David Richard, a portion of the gift will be used to
support the Associated Colleges of the South’s Focus Forum on Adult
Education and the Liberal Arts, held October 10-11 at The Alfond Inn. The
forum will be a gathering of ACS members to examine innovative adult
education opportunities that could be developed at ACS schools.
The funds may also be used to establish new programs. The Holt School
plans to develop new business and health undergraduate majors and three
graduate programs in the health field: health services administration and
leadership, health informatics and information technology, and applied
behavior analysis.
“The gift will help us develop innovative programming well into the
future,” Richard said. “We are very fortunate to have friends like Kyle (Riva)
who understand and support the mission of the Holt School.”
Riva, a former chair of the Hamilton Holt School Board, has been a
supporter for many years. In summer 2008, he established a $100,000
endowed scholarship in honor of his father Daniel Riva, who served as dean of the Holt School (then known as the
School of Continuing Education) from 1969 to 1981. Riva attributes his affiliation with Holt to his father and his
dedication to creating new programs, majors and courses, and securing federal funding for the program.
“Seeing the results of Holt’s nurturing education on students who otherwise might have slipped through the
cracks at other larger schools motivates me to give,” Riva said. “Without the support of students and alumni, no
institution can deliver its message, traditions, and education to future generations.” H
Feminist Camp (continued from page 21)
I was inspired to see that there are jobs available for
individuals who want to make a long-lasting change.
Thursday was Feminist Art Day. It started off with
a writing and performance workshop led by Kelly
Zen-Yie Tsai, a feminist poet who told us, “speak
with the intention of being heard!” Then we went
to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Curator Catherine
Morris walked us through the The Elizabeth A. Sackler
Center for Feminist Art, an exhibition and education
facility dedicated to feminist art which includes The
Dinner Party by Judy Chicago. The day ended with the
performance of Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler (The
Vagina Monologues). It was a very moving experience.
The feminist camp ended on Friday, International
Feminist Day, which was devoted to visiting
organizations like Amnesty International and the
International Women’s Health Coalition. This day
30 HOLT CONNECTIONS
was my favorite, because it pertained to my major of
international affairs. We got a look inside what it’s like
to work with an organization that deals with issues
such as human trafficking.
By the end of the week, I felt like I made a legitimate
connection with the women that I met at the camp.
We all had the opportunity to say our final goodbyes
at a dinner. Surprisingly I found myself having mixed
feelings. I was sad because I was leaving, but at the
same time, excited to take what I learned at this
feminist camp experience back to Rollins.
In conclusion, I can’t begin to emphasize how thankful
I am that the Women’s Studies department, Dean
Richard of the Hamilton Holt School, and the Office of
Multicultural Affairs for sponsoring me. This truly was
a life changing experience. —Maria Paz Gutierrez H
Starry, Starry Night 2013
17th Annual Starry, Starry Night Event Celebrates
China, Raises Scholarship Funds for Evening
Degree Students
More than 500 people gathered at the Harold and Ted Alfond
Sports Center on April 12, 2013 for the 17th annual Starry, Starry
Night scholarship benefit. The popular dinner and auction raised
more than $185,000 for students at the Hamilton Holt School at
Rollins College.
Exotic trips to China, Patagonia, and Peru were among the
impressive items offered during the live auction. The silent
auction offered unbelievable bargains on artwork, beauty and
spa packages, dinners, home accents, vacation getaways, jewelry,
celebrity and sports collectibles, and tickets to cultural and
sporting events.
Since 1997, Starry, Starry Night has earned a reputation for
offering extraordinary auction items and unbelievable bargains
while raising more than $2 million for scholarships and assisting
more than 500 local residents who would not have been able to
attend college without financial support. H
Rollins College
Hamilton Holt School
Board of Advisors
Myrtho Branch, M.D.
Jeannette Byrd, CPA
Mark Conte
Craig DeLongy
James Dorman Jr., CPA
E. J. Elliott
Dan Fields
Randolph Fields
Andrew Finkelstein
Tracy Forrest
Charles Freeman ’96
Alan Ginsburg
Susan Porcaro Goings ’78
Sarah Grafton
Samir Gupte ’12MLS
Michael Hahn ’87MBA
Martha Haynie, CPA
Frank Herring, Jr.
Thomas Justice III
David Lamm
Patricia Lancaster, Ph.D.
Molly Losey ’08MA
Andrea Massey-Farrell ’98
Genean McKinnon
Linda Metcalf
Anne Millians-Roche
Douglas Palmer, CPA
Bridgit Parchment
Neel Patel, M.D.
Leslie K. Poole ’91MLS, Ph.D.
David C.S. Richard, Ph.D.
Kyle Riva ’79MSM
Sunit Sanghrajka
Nancy Port Schwalb
Willow Shambeck
Robert D. Smither, Ph.D.
Harry Straight ’04MLS
Rebecca Wilson
Erin Youngs ’99MBA
Board Emeriti
Patricia Heidrich ’89
Russell Troutman
Diego Veitia
Hattie Wolfe
Art Zimand
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
BURL. VT
PERMIT NO. 19
HAMILTON HOLT SCHOOL
ROLLINS COLLEGE
203 EAST LYMAN AVENUE
WINTER PARK, FL 32789