State of the University: SPSU ‘in a good place’
SPSU President Lisa A. Rossbacher framed her annual State of the University address on Aug. 16 around the three major goals driving SPSU’s strategic plan: enhancing student success, increasing resources and strengthening the sense of community both on and off campus.

“Overall, SPSU is in a good place,” she said. “We’ve made good progress in some areas, and we have a lot of work to do in other areas.”

Dr. Rossbacher said that enrollment is expected to rise 2 to 3 percent to approximately 5,600 students this fall, while state funding will remain static with no formula funding.

“We will emerge from the current economic situation as a result of good management, a collective effort to increase efficiencies, a willingness to change, a determination to manage our own future, and always a commitment to students and their success,” Dr. Rossbacher concluded. “We are guided by our strategic plan and its goals. We know we can never fully anticipate all the challenges that the future will bring, but we will continue to thrive by always being prepared for the unexpected.”

To read an expanded article on the president’s address, visit State of the University Address.

New program director for mechatronics
This summer, Dr. Chan Ham, an assistant professor of mechatronics engineering since Spring 2010, was named director of the Mechatronics Engineering program.

Dr. Ham holds master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and received his undergraduate degree in electronic engineering from Dongguk University, Korea. Before his arrival at SPSU, he was a faculty member in the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science and simultaneously served as a scholar with the Florida Space Institute.

This summer, Dr. Ham collaborated with NASA engineer Dr. Felix Soto Toro, to deliver a keynote address during the 15th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics in Orlando, Fla.

Their address was titled “Development of an Electronic Ground Support System for NASA’s Payload Transfer Operations: A Case Study of a Multidisciplinary Work in the Space Shuttle Program.” Dr. Ham also chaired a conference session on the “Cooperative Analysis and Design of Multidisciplinary Systems.”

SPSU soccer team ranks 7th in preseason poll
In the 2011 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the SPSU soccer team has been ranked No. 7. The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each conference. This is an exciting improvement over last year, when the Hornets were ranked No. 9 in the same poll.

The Hornets – who posted a 12-5-3 record last year and earned points totaling 448 – got their 2011 season off to a great start Monday afternoon, storming through their first game against Talladega College 10-0. Next up is a home game against Union College on Sat., Aug. 27, at 6 p.m.

Peach State LSAMP grant renewed
SPSU has received five years of renewed funding from the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PSLSAMP).

The PSLSAMP grant aids universities in increasing the number of minority students who complete bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There are five universities working together within the Peach State branch of the alliance: SPSU, Fort Valley State University, Savannah State University and Georgia Perimeter College with the University of Georgia functioning as the lead institution.

Dr. Phil Patterson, chair of the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, is SPSU’s liaison to the alliance.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, PSLSAMP will award on Sept. 1 $5 million to be divided between the five participating institutions. These funds will be used for scholarships that provide supplemental instruction, tutoring, peer and faculty mentoring, internships and a summer bridge program, in addition to financial support.

Recent faculty and staff member achievements
• Bill Ketchum was recognized as a Life Member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), Inc., at a recent director’s meeting. He has been with SPSU for 15 years, serving as its internal auditor. He has been a member of the Georgia Society of CPAs for more than 20 years and holds a license and certification from the Georgia State Board of Accountancy.  

• Dr. Carol M. Barnum has been appointed an advisory board member of EyeGuide™, an eye tracking technology developed by Grinbath LLC’s research team at Texas Tech University. Barnum, SPSU’s usability testing professor and a leader in this field, will work on EyeGuide™ as an expert in user experience design. With her help, Grinbath will be able to achieve its goal of helping to make eye-tracking technology more affordable and accessible to researchers.

Make-A-Wish Foundation to recognize Kelli Tracy
Kelli Tracy, secretary to SPSU President Lisa A. Rossbacher, will be honored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation this fall with the organization’s William Blake Kuller Indomitable Spirit Award.

This award honors a “wish child” or “wish parent” who represents what it means to have an indomitable spirit in their time of difficulty. The organization fulfilled the wish of Tracy’s son, Matthew, to visit Hawaii before he passed away from a brain tumor in 2009 at age 13.

Tracy demonstrates qualities of “persistence, bravery, humor, integrity, dedication and compassion as a wish parent who, by sharing her son’s story with the organization, shared the power of a wish,” said Beth Agee, a representative of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Tracy is scheduled to receive her award at the 7th Annual Celebration of Wishes Gala on Oct. 15 at the St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead. This is just a few weeks after she, along with other mothers of children with cancer, will have their heads shaved to raise money. This event is part of Tracy’s effort to collect $5,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation by mid-September.

To find out more about this project and to make a donation in her name, go to Kelli/StBaldricksFoundation.

Have news to share?
If your department has an upcoming event or other news to share with the campus community, please send an e-mail with all the pertinent information to Diane Payne (dpayne@spsu.edu). To be considered for use in a specific issue of the SPSU Hornet’s Nest, a news item must be submitted no less than four weeks before the date of the issue.

Volume 4, Issue 32
Aug. 24, 2011