Don't be alarmed!
As part of our continuing efforts to strengthen emergency planning and preparation here at SPSU, we will be participating, along with emergency responders from Marietta, Cobb and Georgia, in an emergency exercise on Wed., Aug. 6.

The fictional exercise will take place on and around campus and is designed to validate and improve the response to a crisis situation. Emergency responders will simulate destruction and will treat volunteers who are pretending to be victims.  Again, the event is not real; however the response will be as realistic as possible.  City police, fire and ambulance teams, local officials and other government agencies will be participating and will be present on campus. Representatives from the USG office will also be on-hand. The areas where the exercise will take place will be clearly marked, but we want to make sure the campus community knows about the exercise in advance and we ask for your patience and support if the exercise disrupts your daily routine.  

SPSU gets Connect-ED
SPSU has implemented a new emergency email, text and voice-messaging alert system across campus. Connect-ED is a mass, urgent notification system that allows SPSU officials to contact students, faculty and staff of an active, major campus emergency via:
• voice messages to home, work and cell phones
• text messages to cell phones, PDAs and other text-based devices
• written messages to email accounts.

https://accounts.spsu.edu/wrappers/EmergencyContact.pl.

Please be assured that all personal information will be maintained in the strictest confidence.

Awarding excellence
Congratulations to Dr. Carol Barnum, professor of Information Design/Technical Communication in the English, Technical Communication & Media Arts department, for receiving the 2009 Regent’s Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Barnum will be honored with the individual faculty award for regional and state universities by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on March 21, 2009.

She was selected for the award because of her devoted commitment and equal emphasis to outstanding teaching and learning as well as her efforts to provide international learning opportunities for her students.

An SPSU faculty member since 1979, Dr. Barnum is considered to be a mainstay of SPSU’s Technical Communication program, and is the coordinator of the department’s graduate programs. She is also the Director of the Usability Center on campus, in which programs under her direction have received national recognition. Congratulations Dr. Barnum for your outstanding contribution to teaching in Georgia.

Saying hello
SPSU has a new associate director for Student Life, Ron Lunk. Ron comes to Southern Poly after working in the student activities offices at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and Augusta State. He completed his undergraduate degree in history and a master's degree in public administration from the University of West Georgia. Ron will be working with Barry Birckhead, dean of Students, and his responsibilities include new student orientations, Greek life and the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

Down on the athletic side of campus, a new head athletic trainer, Toni Michel, joined the campus last month. Toni, originally from Brooklyn, NY, received her bachelor's degree in athletic training at Kings College, in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and master's degree in athletic training from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She has worked in the field for over three years and is looking forward to working closely with the SPSU student athletes.

Gaming grant for Prof. Briana Morrison
Professor Briana Morrison, associate professor of the Computer Science and Software Engineering department, recently received a grant from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to develop support material for SPSU's introductory programming course, Programming and Problem Solving I. The grant tries to shed light on the question whether presenting programming concepts in a gaming context increases student success in introductory programming courses and/or increases student motivation. She will assess the impact of her work during the fall semester and submit it to be presented at an appropriate conference.

Ask an Administrator
In a continuing effort to provide better communication with the campus, the Senior Staff have asked the office of Public Relations to add a section to the Hornet’s Nest entitled “Ask an Administrator.”  Anyone on campus may send an email to pr@spsu.edu asking about what is happening on campus.  How is the new engineering technology center coming along?  What are the next steps with the front entrance and paving?  What new majors does SPSU plan to offer in the future?  What is the new office space for in the basement of the Student Center?  These emails will be reviewed by the Senior Staff and one or two will be selected for inclusion in the Hornet’s Nest.  If possible, the Senior Staff will attempt to personally answer all the emails that are sent.

Question: How much money did the SPSU Foundation raise this past year?

The SPSU Foundation budget summary for FY08 shows revenues of $2,869,571.  This includes approximately $1,930,000 in contributions, $194,000 in investment income, $83,000 in scholarship income, $113,000 in other income and $550,000 in donated services and materials.  The Foundation expended $2,252,000 during the fiscal year. These expenditures include approximately $300,000 for Academic Support, $163,000 for Scholarships, $238,000 for Institutional Support (which includes recruitment, commencement, and intramurals and athletics), $325,000 for running the Foundation and Advancement (this includes a $60,000 earnest deposit for property purchase for the university), $550,000 for donated services and materials, and $676,000 from the university’s housing auxiliary account

Staff Council review
Below is a complete list of all Staff Council representatives for 2008-09:
Group VI: (Other/Professional) Pierette Maillet, John Bauer, Kathy Roddy
Group V: (Technical/Paraprofessional) Chris Corriere
Group VI: (Clerical) Marilyn Shortridge, Bennie Houck, Crystal McClure
Group VII: (Skilled Craft) Kenneth Shelton
Group VIII: (Service/Maintenance) Sarah Milton, Tara Williams, Sofia Vargas

In addition, there are two Staff Council advisors, Steve Hamrick and Mary Phillips.

Volume 1, Issue 13
August 6, 2008