AUM Weekly 11-17-15: Chancellor search under way; Proposed policy open for comment

Committee assembled to assist search for sixth chancellor

The search for Auburn University at Montgomery’s sixth chancellor is well under way. Dr. Jay Gogue, Auburn University president, met with the search committee (listed below) on Oct. 9 to provide expectations.

Search committee members

Dr. Gokhan Alkanat, Global Initiatives

Dr. Mark Benson, College of Arts & Sciences

Victoria Byrne, Student Government Association

Dr. Denise Davis-Maye, College of Public Policy & Justice

Fariba Deravi, Staff Council President

Dr. Bob Evans, College of Arts & Sciences

Jim Herlihy, Athletics

Dr. Rhea Ingram, College of Business

Dr. Katherine Jackson, Outreach

Dr. Timothy Lewis, College of Education

Dr. Pam Long, Faculty Senate

Dr. Ben Okeke, College of Arts & Sciences

Probate Judge Steven Reed

Clark Sahlie, Auburn Board of Trustees

Dr. Kyle Taylor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Dr. Nichole Thompson, Student Affairs

Carl Whatley, Jr., Alumni Association

The committee is working with a search firm, R. William Funk & Associates out of Dallas, Texas, that has extensive experience filling similar positions. Also, the position advertisement has been posted online and in print in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and online at Diverse Issues, Hispanic Outlook, and Women in Higher Education.

If you know someone you believe would be a great chancellor for Auburn University at Montgomery, please send the individual’s name and contact information to Dr. Rhea Ingram ([email protected]) or Dr. Katherine Jackson ([email protected]), co-chairs of the search committee.

The committee hopes to bring candidates on campus in late January or early February. Everyone will be included in the process. If you have questions before that time, please contact Dr. Ingram or Dr. Jackson.

Proposed policy open for comment

A proposed policy to amend the maximum time limit for mandatory tenure and promotion consideration is available online for comment and review through December 18, 2015. After consideration of the comments, the proposed policy will be sent to the Chancellor for approval or returned to the appropriate party for further consideration.

 

Students, employees: Sign up for AUM Alert

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up for AUM Alert, the university’s system for immediately making students and employees aware of emergencies.

The first step in emergency preparedness is to be aware of developing situations and aware of your surroundings. AUM Alert is designed to keep you fully abreast of emergencies quickly and accurately.

To register, go to the AUM Alert page at www.aum.edu.

 

AUM employees complete Torchbearer Leadership Program

Four Auburn University at Montgomery employees and young professionals graduated from the EMERGE Montgomery’s Torchbearer Leadership Program on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Capital City Club. Members of Class VII include Megan Bronson, client services manager in the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing; Serena McCovery, program/project manager in Orientation and Transitions; Daryl Morris, chief campus services officer; and Laurel Walker, a consultant in Organizational Consulting.

EMERGE Montgomery’s Torchbearer’s Class is a skills-oriented, experiential leadership development program designed to involve, inform and increase the awareness of selected participants through interaction with community decision-makers.

 

Bourke’s class rakes, gathers leaves to clear Lincoln Cemetery gravestones

Dr. Nick Bourke, an assistant professor in the College of Education’s curriculum instruction and technology department, recently assisted students in his College Success course in a service-learning project at Lincoln Cemetery.

Bourke encourages learning outside of the classroom by promoting the preservation of cherished Alabama history. For several years now, Bourke’s Bridge students have been volunteering their time and talent at Lincoln Cemetery in an effort to promote learning on all levels, service that teaches students what it means to give back to the community.

On the most recent visit to Lincoln Cemetery, Bourke and his students helped clear gravestones by raking and bagging leaves.

‘Filibuster’ accepts submissions for 2016 issue

AUM’s Filibuster, the school’s literary magazine, is accepting poetry, prose, photographs, and art for its 2016 issue. Any student currently enrolled at AUM may submit his or her work as an attached file (.txt, .doc, or .docx) to [email protected]. Students should title their file using the following pattern: Last Name_Title of Story_Genre. Documents should be double spaced and use 12-point Times New Roman. Photographs or scanned artwork (.png, .jpeg, or .bmp) should be at least 300 PPI. There is no limit on the number of submissions per student. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 31, 2015.

For information, students can contact the editor for the 2016 issue, Jacob Lambert, at [email protected] or Dr. Robert Klevay, assistant professor in the Department of English and Philosophy, at 334-244-3524 or [email protected], or visit http://liberalarts.aum.edu/departments/english-philosophy/filibuster.

 

20 teacher candidates earn Project Wild educator certification

Twenty teacher candidates from Auburn University at Montgomery recently gathered fora day of fun and engaging environmental education. Workshop participants received training and certification as Project WILD educators.

Project WILD, a wildlife-focused conservation education program for K-12 educators and their students, is one of the most widely used conservation and environmental education programs among K–12 educators. It is based on the premise that young people and educators have a vital interest in learning about our natural world.

The day of learning was facilitated by Doyle Keasel, Alabama outdoor classroom coordinator and environmental specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, and was funded by the Alabama Department of Natural Resources, LEGACY Partners in Education, and AUM. The participants, who are undergraduate elementary education students, received curriculum resources and creative teaching ideas to use in their future classrooms.

 

Students form new public administration organization

Students in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program have established a new campus organization for students who wish to add value to their degree at AUM. The new Public Administration Student Association is providing MPA students with an opportunity to expand upon their in-class experience.

“The purpose of the organization is to provide MPA students a way to really dive into their field of building their professional network and exploring areas of interest,” says Brett Johnson, the group’s founding president. “The students who have signed up already are very excited about the possibilities of what we can do as a group of future public administration professionals.”

Johnson is a first-semester student in the program and says he hit upon the idea for this group when he was researching other programs around the nation. The organization held its first interest and informational meeting in November, and Johnson says there are currently more than a dozen students signed up as members.

“We’re certainly in the infancy stage of our development as a campus organization, so I expect we’ll see major growth in the coming months as more students learn about what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Johnson. “Right now, our goal is to make sure all MPA students know about this opportunity and have a chance to contribute to planning for the future.”

At the organizational meeting, officers were selected and Johnson affirmed as the first president of the organization. Other officers chosen were Alex Hood, vice president; Christopher Daniel, secretary-treasurer; and Alexandria Andersen, programming and external relations chair.

The group’s goals include developing an alumni network, traveling to legislative and other government meetings, attending professional and regional conferences, and possibly hosting an annual public administration conference or career fair. In addition, group leaders will host regular meetings once per month and have social events at least once per semester for students to network outside of the classroom.

Johnson says the group hopes to invite and engage alumni of the program to speak at regular meetings as well as other professionals from nonprofit management, government agencies and healthcare administration.

For more information, contact Brett Johnson at 256-393-5967 or [email protected].

 

History League, Honor Society raise funds to ‘deck halls with books’

The History League and History Honor Society (Phi Alpha Theta) are raising funds for their annual “Deck the Halls with Books on History” project. This year, they are donating books and money to the Montgomery Education Foundation’s Reading on Wheels Program.

To make a donation — any amount is appreciated — send to Dr. Lee Farrow, professor of history and director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, in Library Tower 801A.

For information, contact Danitra Tolbert at 334-244-3525 or [email protected].