Delbrugge will serve also as the faculty cochair of the Middle States Accreditation Committee. She brings a high level of experience and energy to the important task of the reaccreditation of IUP. As this is a universitywide initiative, in all likelihood she will be in contact with many of you related to this endeavor. Additionally, she will be continuing the important ongoing process of program review and divisional assessment.

Please join the Office of the Provost in congratulating Laura in her new role at IUP.

Division of Academic Affairs

All IUP faculty, staff, administrators, and graduate students are welcome to attend any of the free workshops and discussion sessions sponsored by the Division of Academic Affairs. Our speaker is a national expert and consultant in student learning and assessment, Doug Eder of the State University of Illinois–Edwardsville. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in religion from the College of Wooster in Ohio, Douglas Eder switched over to science and earned an M.S. in Endocrinology and Ph.D. in Biophysics from Florida State University. He taught classes at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1975 to 2006 and also served as director of Undergraduate Assessment and Program Review from 1993 to 2006. As an emeritus professor, he has facilitated workshops across the country and helped shape assessment programs at institutions as diverse as Arizona State University, University of North Florida, and Purdue University.

The morning workshop (9:00–11:00 a.m.) will focus on problem-based learning and assessment. Evidence shows that students exposed to a curriculum based on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) principles learn more quickly and deeply than do students taught by more common methods. This workshop will introduce faculty to the basic elements of Problem-Based Learning and show how it can be used to assess student outcomes.

At a bring-your-own lunch (12:30–1:30 p.m.), Eder will address the topic of Assessment for Reaccreditation. A frequently heard question in the assessment community is, “We know how to do classroom assessments, but does that really satisfy what our accreditors want?” Join us in the Crimson Event Center where Eder will lead a discussion of Middle States expectations and the best ways to meet them.

In his afternoon workshop (2:00–4:00 p.m.), Eder will share his strategies for assessing classes and programs in a frugal and time-effective manner. A founding idea of modern assessment is that it should improve student learning even as it satisfies the oversight demands of accreditors. With limited time and resources, however, we all too often lose sight of this goal. This workshop will demonstrate eight to twelve turn-key assessment devices that can save time, effort, and money and—most importantly of all—improve student learning.

To register for one, two, or all three free events, please send an e-mail to assocprovost-office@iup.edu with the subject line “October 18 Assessment Workshops.” A certificate of attendance at this professional development activity will be provided for those who register by October 12.

Convocation begins at 5:00 p.m. at Fisher Auditorium, Performing Arts Center. The Student Government Association will host, and music will be provided by members of the IUP Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band. The cookout will be held immediately afterward in the Oak Grove.

Faculty can attend in informal dress or may robe. Faculty who wish to robe are asked to meet in the large rehearsal hall on the second floor of the Performing Arts Center at 4:30 p.m. Procession begins at 4:45 p.m.

As special to the launch of students' IUP career as Commencement is to its conclusion, Convocation is an opportunity for faculty to meet new students and impart the spirit of academic community at IUP.

Professor Abbas Ali, the 2012–13 University Professor, will preside as master of ceremonies.

Professor Ben Rafoth will deliver the keynote, and remarks will be given by President Driscoll; the Rev. Joan Sabatino, IUP Interfaith Council; and student trustee Andrew Longacre.

Rafoth says it's common to ask, "Will I fit in? Did I make the right decision to come to IUP?"

All students must answer for themselves. However, he says, this is “not just a personal matter,” but instead, “a person matter. You also have to look outward, to the persons around you, to discover how you can learn and benefit from this place and the people who are here with you.”

In his keynote speech, titled “The People You Meet at IUP,” Rafoth will share the stories of five people on campus he believes illustrate the resonant connections and experiences that await new students.

Nardi will assume the position upon the resignation of Keith Dils, who has accepted the position of dean of Education at Slippery Rock University. We wish him success in his new role.

Nardi arrived at IUP in 1985 as a division director in the then School of Continuing Education.

During his 27-year tenure at IUP, Nardi has served in a number of administrative positions, most recently as associate dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education and Educational Technology.

He brings a wealth of leadership experience that will serve the college well during this transition.

A national search for a permanent dean for the college is ongoing.

Please join the Academic Affairs division in congratulating Edward Nardi in his new leadership position as interim dean of the College of Education and Educational Technology.

Online access to both the Grade Appeal form and policy can be found at the Resources section of the Academic Affairs website. Please note: no appeals will be processed without all required signatures.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call 724-357-3001, or come to 203 Sutton.

The first ceremony will be held at 9:00 a.m. for the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Math, Fine Arts, and Health and Human Services. The second ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. for the Colleges of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Business. Each ceremony will combine undergraduate and graduate students.

If there is a need for overflow seating, Toretti Auditorium will be used.

Commencement will remain ticketing free. 

There will be two speakers at each ceremony. The morning speakers will be an honorary degree recipient and an undergraduate student speaker from one of the three colleges. The afternoon speakers will be an honorary degree recipient and a graduate student speaker from one of the three colleges.

Departmental ceremonies should be scheduled around the ceremonies at the Kovalchick Complex, with afternoon ceremony colleges holding departmental ceremonies in the morning and morning ceremony colleges holding departmental ceremonies in the afternoon. Academic deans would only attend one ceremony. If we choose to proceed with this in the coming years, the three deans/colleges could alternate each year as to whether they had a morning or afternoon ceremony. 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation on this important day for all, especially our students and their families.

The workforce plan was developed following a comprehensive review of the university’s 260 academic programs. The proposal in the original plan, presented to the APSCUF leadership in June, was to eliminate sixty-two programs, tracks, and concentrations.

In August, a timeline for the process was developed. Key dates in that timeline include:

• Sept. 23: Deadline for the College Curriculum Committees to receive and review department responses.
• Oct. 14: Targeted date for the report to be given to UWUCC and copied to the individual college deans.
• Mid-October to November: Deans prepare a summary recommendation for each program and forward all materials to the Office of the Provost and the Council of Deans for review and discussion.
• November: Recommendations given to the University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee/Graduate Studies Committee.

It is my hope that these recommendations can be completed and finalized by the University-wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee/Graduate Studies Committee in November in order that the recommendations can be given to the University Senate for discussion and consultation in December.

This is an ambitious timeline, and I am pleased to report that progress is being made. Discussions of the initial plan have resulted in two programs being removed from the recommendations for elimination or moratorium: Dance and Track in Fiber Arts Studio, both in the College of Fine Arts. APSCUF leadership was informed of this action in September.

As of Sept. 29, all but one of the department responses to the proposed program eliminations has been received by the college curriculum committees.

We all realize that this is a very difficult process, and I continue to appreciate the diligent effort and thoughtful discussions that are taking place in order to move forward with our planning.

As I noted in my June communication, as we move forward with this process and as decisions are made, we will meet our pledge of ensuring that students are given every reasonable opportunity to complete their academic plans.

I also will work to maintain transparency in this discussion, with the understanding that planning is an ongoing, iterative process that is subject to refinement and recalibration as the environment changes.

My June communication regarding the workforce plan is available on the Academic Affairs website under Initiatives.

Assessment of student learning is important in any academic setting; however, it can appear overwhelming in the face of the multiple demands on busy faculty and administrators. The key to sustaining assessment is to assure that assessment activities are embedded in the teaching and learning experiences on our campuses. This brief workshop will explore how we can set up our assessment systems to alleviate some of the stress, use available technologies to manage assessment efforts, and simplify our assessment activities to promote sustainability.

Katharine E. Cummings earned a Ph.D. in Secondary Education with an emphasis in teacher preparation at the University of Illinois in 1989. She currently serves as the associate dean of the College of Education and Human Development at WMU and provides technical assistance in the assessment of student learning for academic and student services programs. Her research interests include the assessment of candidates in teacher education, the use of benchmarking to build assessment skills in pre-service and in-service teachers, and program evaluation in higher education. Nationally, she has served as a member of the NCATE Board of Examiners and on the Association of Teacher Educators’ Commission on Teacher Induction and Retention.

This free workshop is sponsored by the Division of Academic Affairs and IUP’s Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment. It is open to all faculty, staff, and students of higher education at IUP. For more information, contact Provost Fellow Karen Rose Cercone at Karen.Rose.Cercone@iup.edu.

This report is mainly a look back over the past five years to see how IUP has addressed the recommendation that emanated from the last Middle States accreditation visit in 2006.

Middle States is currently in the process of reviewing IUP’s submission and is due to respond to us by November 2011. In the meantime, you can find the most current version of the PRR at the Periodic Review Report website, where you can view the fifty-page draft report as well as its supporting appedicies.

Office of Academic Affairs

These revisions should not affect students’ plans for Summer or Fall 2011 courses.

All current Liberal Studies requirements are still in effect, and students should continue to register for classes according to those requirements and the academic advice of their advisors.

In addition, all LBST 499 sections for Fall 2011 are now available for registration.

The university is in the process of developing a plan and timetable for implementing the revised Liberal Studies program. Details will be communicated as they become available.

Division of Academic Affairs

This report is mainly a look back over the past five years to see how IUP has addressed the recommendations that emanated from the last Middle States accreditation visit in 2006. The university is due to submit the PRR before June this year.

Since last summer, a team led by the associate provost has been busy compiling a draft of the Periodic Review Report. In the spirit of openness and community involvement, we would like to share the preliminary draft with you as members of the university community, and to solicit your comments and input. We have created a Periodic Review Report website, where you can view the fifty-page draft report as well as its supporting appendices.

After reviewing the draft, you can send your comments in e-mail form to the provost faculty fellow, Dr. Karen Rose Cercone, at kcercone@iup.edu.

We look forward to your feedback!

Division of Academic Affairs

Those promoted to the rank of professor include the following:

Holly Belch,
Student Affairs in Higher Education 
Belch joined IUP in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor in 2002. She has edited a book and published ten journal articles and monographs; she has given more than twenty-six presentations and invited speeches and has served on editorial boards for the premier journals in the student affairs field. On a national level, she is sought for her expertise and has served on numerous editorial and advisory boards of the preeminent professional organizations within student affairs.

Holly Boda-Sutton,
Theater and Dance 
The 1999 recipient of the IUP Distingushed Faculty Award for the Creative Arts, Boda-Sutton has been active professionally and has presented choreographic works at the state, regional, and national levels of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Ms. Boda-Sutton has been the recipient of both the PSAPHERD Professional Honor Award and the EDA-AAHPERD Outstanding Professional Award in Dance. She received the PSAHPERD Dance Division-University Teacher of the Year Award in 2008.

Chauna Craig, English
A prolific writer who has been published in several genres–poetry, short stories, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction–Craig is currently revising a novel manuscript and planning her next book. Her work has been honored in Best American Essays and the Pushcart Prize Anthology, and her flash fiction chapbook, Children, Gamblers, Drunks, and Saints, was a finalist in two competitions. Craig served five years on the University-Wide Curriculum Committee, and she has worked with Women’s Studies in several capacities since 2001.

Anne Creany,
Professional Studies in Education
Creany has served on the University-Wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee as well as the PSE departmental curriculum committee. She also represents the department at Graduate Council and has been a university senator. She is a member of several departmental committees and chairs the committee for the M.Ed. in Literacy Program. Since her appointment to the faculty at IUP in 1999 as an associate professor, she has taught five different undergraduate classes, ten different master’s classes, and a doctoral class.

Waleed Farag, Computer Science
Farag has taught a many courses—from basic computer literacy courses to advanced courses in Web architecture. He has been involved in the Information Assurance Program, and many of the courses he teaches serve as the backbone of the department’s track in Information Assurance. He has focused his scholarly activity on two programmatic areas of research—Multimedia and Cybersecurity. He has published encyclopedia articles, book chapters, and in conference proceedings.

Arden Hamer, Developmental Studies 
Hamer has been an active contributor to the key professional organizations in her field—the National Association for Developmental Education, College Reading, and Learning Association; the National Center for Developmental Education; and National College Learning Center Association. She has presented nationally and internationally, and lifelong literacy has been a major focus of her professional work and community service. Her most recent research centers on strategies students employ when reading on screen versus hard-copy print. 

Robert Heasley, Sociology
The current president of the American Men’s Studies Association, Heasley has been a leader in developing the nascent field of men’s studies. He also chaired IUP's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Commission for three years--a commission that has a $5,000 annual budget to provide programming, including the Safe Zone program, and sponsors a Six O’Clock Series speaker each semester. He has served on numerous M.A. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation committees.

Tawny Holm, Religious Studies
A leading international scholar of Aramaic literature, Holm in the last five years has published ten articles, chapters, and encyclopedia entries; written five book reviews; presented four papers at professional conferences; provided two blind peer reviews; and received ten grants. One of her books is in press, and another is under contract. Three of her book reviews are forthcoming, and she is editing a pedagogical handbook. She teaches Biblical Hebrew; an introductory course on the Bible; and various upper-level courses focusing on the Bible and the ancient Near East. 

Jamie Martin, Criminology
Martin teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses, including Crime and Justice Systems, a required freshman course; undergraduate and graduate courses on Criminal Justice Ethics; and Advanced Qualitative Methods courses. She has also developed a course on the Death Penalty and coordinates the Criminology M.A. Online Program. Having completed the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program National Instructor Training program, she now serves as a member of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program National Research Committee.

Sean McDaniel, Spanish
McDaniel has published five articles in peer-reviewed journals and a book, The Lazarillo Phenomena: Essays on the Adventures of a Classic Text, which was published this year by the Bucknell University Press. He has also delivered seventeen presentations at national and international meetings during his time at IUP. His scholarship includes presentations on both literature and on foreign language pedagogy. He has served as department chair and has been active in numerous committees in service to his department and to the university.

Linda Norris, English
A member of the Executive Board of the Pennsylvania Association of College and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE), Norris is the co-editor of the Pennsylvania Teacher Educator magazine, the annual publication of PAC-TE. Norris is the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators’ Teacher Educator of the Year, and she is the 2007 co-winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Richard A. Meade Award for outstanding research in English education. She has taught and presented locally, nationally, and internationally at conferences in myriad places around the world.

Madeline Paternostro-Bayles,
Health and Physical Education 
Paternostro-Bayles led a year-long effort to ensure the undergraduate Exercise Science program became only the ninth program in the nation to receive accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs. A fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine she chairs the organization's largest standing committee, the Committee on Certification and Registry Board, which is charged with overseeing the five basic health and fitness and clinical certifications and certification-related materials offered by the ACSM.

J.B. Smith,
Health and Physical Education
A past chair of the IUP Senate and past chair of the Academic Computing Policy Advisory Committee, Smith received IUP's Distinguished Faculty Award for Service in 2009. His scholarly work has been published in distinguished peer-reviewed journals and presented at prestigious conferences. His publication, Hot Water and Healthy Living, which he was invited to author for the National Swimming Pool Foundation, has been distributed worldwide.

Faculty Promoted to Associate Professor

Shundong Bi, Biology
Michael Briggs, Chemistry
Kimberly Burch, Mathematics
Tracey Cekada, Safety Sciences
Kimberly Desmond, Counseling
Sharon Deutschlander, Health and Physical Education
David Ferguson, Music
Erika Frenzel, Criminology
Kelly Heider, Libraries
Paul Hrabovsky, Developmental Studies
Jo Anne Kerr, English
Nathan McElroy, Chemistry
Channa Navaratna, Mathematics
Brian Okey, Geography and Regional Planning
Sarah Wheeler, Political Science
Cheryl Wilson, English
Heide Witthoeft, German

Faculty Promoted to Assistant Professor

Robert Baron, Athletics
Jessica Baum, Athletics
Therese O’Neil, Computer Science

Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 

In a time of declining financial resources, our universities must be better positioned to invest in and develop new programs in emerging fields as they are identified. Our universities must be willing and able to respond to community needs such as workforce development and cultural enrichment if they are to serve students and families properly.

A complete listing of the programs that were reviewed and the outcome of the review process follows.

It is important to note that when a program is placed in moratorium, students currently enrolled in the program will be able continue in the program and earn their degree. Many of the individual courses in the program also will be maintained so students can continue to take them to meet both general education requirements as well as specific concentrations related to other majors. All of the IUP programs targeted for discontinuation have no current enrollments.

In looking back at this process, I believe it has afforded IUP the opportunity to take stock of our low-enrolled undergraduate and graduate programs and to assess their future viability and relevance to our academic mission. At a time of very limited resources, we have an obligation to ensure that our curriculum structure and academic offerings are serving our students well and meeting the educational needs of the commonwealth.

Dr. Gerald Intemann
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Those who will be high school juniors or seniors in Fall 2010 are eligible to apply for admission to this two-week experience, held on the IUP campus.

Students will participate in the Honors Core curriculum, which will challenge them to develop critical thinking skills through the analysis of great scholars’ arguments, group discussions, writing, and group presentations.

Students will also have an opportunity to select a discipline-based course of study. Offerings for 2010 include genetic engineering, entrepreneurship, real world chemistry, chemistry of terror, forensics, English, journalism, Constitutional law, physics, and psychology. All courses are taught by IUP faculty members.

Students will reside in a living-learning residential community throughout the program.

Scholarships, both merit and need-based, are available for the Summer Honors Program. Application materials are available on the Cook Honors College website under Summer Honors Program.

Dr. Moran has agreed to meet with faculty members to answer any questions to assist in the preparation of the required information. The meeting is scheduled on February 3, 2010, in Eberly Auditorium from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. This meeting is open to all faculty, staff, and managers in Academic Affairs. However, the conversation will be specifically targeted to chairs and faculty coordinators in identified programs.

These are serious matters for the university, and you are strongly encouraged to attend and participate.

Promoted to Professor

Valeri Helterbran, Professional Studies in Education
James Jozefowicz, Economics
Sue Rieg, Professional Studies in Education
Jason Worzbyt, Music
William Meil, Psychology
Dawn Woodland, Technology Support and Training
John Anderson, Sociology
Ajawad Haija, Physics
Lydia Rodriguez, Spanish
James Lenze, Communications Media
Soundararajan Ezekiel, Computer Science

Promoted to Associate Professor

Jeffery Larkin, Biology
Robert Sweeny, Art
Holly Branthoover, Counseling
S.J. Miller, English
Richard Hsiao, Health and Physical Education
Francis Allard, Anthropology
Matthew Baumer, Music
Brian Sharp, Mathematics
Feng Zhou, Physics
Jeffrey Ritchey, Adult and Community Education
Richard Kemp, Theater and Dance
Gregory Wisloski, Mathematics
David Martynuik, Music
Jonathan Lewis, Geoscience
Susan Drummond, Library
Penny Rode, Art
Paul Arpaia, History
Jonathan Southard, Chemistry
Carl LeBlond, Chemistry
Kenneth Coles, Geoscience
Yong Colen, Mathematics
Scott Mensch,Technology Support and Training

Promoted to Assistant Professor

Marion Henry, Human Development and Environmental Studies

The program provides a sample of what it’s like to live and learn on a college campus. Counselors-in-residence make living in a single-gender wing of Whitmyre Hall a fun, but safe experience. Participants will live and learn with a community of scholars and will experience college social life in a variety of evening activities.

Students can count on classes to be dynamic and interactive. Experienced full-time IUP professors guide explorations and help students get a sense of what college will be like.

For more information, contact the Robert E. Cook Honors College at 800-487-9122, or send e-mail to honors@iup.edu or explore the Summer Honors Program for High School Students website.