SPSU gets tagged!
Bennie Sue Houck in Student Records was the first person to sport the new SPSU license tag on her vehicle when word went out last week that they were ready for purchase at tag offices.

“It’s a GREAT looking tag,” she said on her return to campus. “I am proud to have it on my vehicle.”

So far, only a few tag offices – including the one nearest to the university on South Cobb Drive – have the SPSU tags in stock. The rest will have them mailed from the warehouse to motorists who request them.

If you have already had your birthday in 2012, you will only need to pay a $35 special tag fee to get one. If not, you may wait until your birthday, at which point you will have to pay your ad valorem tax, the usual $20 tag fee and the $35 special tag fee. If you request your SPSU tag before your birthday, you will have to pay the $35 special fee a second time when your birthday comes around.

Please note that the $35 is an additional fee you will have to pay each year in order to keep the SPSU tag. A portion of this fee is sent to the university each year, so you will be supporting SPSU in multiple ways by displaying it on your vehicle.

SPSU’s SAT scores fourth highest in USG
First-time freshmen posted composite Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of 1,131 in Fall 2011, giving SPSU the fourth highest scores in the University System of Georgia (USG). Students averaged 581 on the SAT math scores and 550 on the verbal.

Georgia Tech led the USG with a score of 1,354, followed by the University of Georgia with 1,221 and Georgia College and State University with 1,155.

Grant to fund study of land usage along Cobb Parkway
The Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) have awarded 10 local communities $796,000 in planning grants, including the “Marietta University District,” which received $80,000 to be used for a study that will focus on land usage along Cobb Parkway, especially the areas surrounding SPSU and Life University.

The grant will help to improve the two universities by recommending transportation projects and development designed to better tie the universities to the local community and to create a campus atmosphere along this stretch of the highway.

LCI planning grants are intended to encourage local governments to plan and implement strategies that link transportation improvements with land-use development to create sustainable, livable communities. Over the past 13 years, LCI has awarded more than $153 million to 127 communities. These grants have helped fund projects that have revitalized the Atlanta region’s activity centers through improved pedestrian, road and transit options.

SPSU, Purdue University explore collaboration in engineering technology education arena
The SPSU School of Engineering Technology and Management (ETM) and the College of Technology at Purdue University are exploring a partnership that is expected to result in faculty exchanges, collaboration on research and opportunities for international study and for graduate studies for engineering technology students at the two institutions.

SPSU hosted a delegation from Purdue on Feb. 10 to discuss these topics and expanding the national agenda for engineering technology education. Dr. Jeff Ray, dean of the SPSU School of ETM, and other ETM administrators will pay a reciprocal visit to the Purdue campus in the near future.

The Purdue delegation consisted of: Dr. Gary Bertoline, dean of the College of Technology; Dr. Ken Burbank, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology; Dr. Robert Herrick, the Robert Hoffer Distinguished Professor; Dr. Ragu Athinarayanan, head of Technology Leadership and Innovation at Purdue’s College of Technology; and Dr. Eugene Coyle, a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Purdue who is head of Electrical Engineering Systems at Dublin Institute of Technology.

“This is a collaborative discussion between two of the top engineering technology schools in the country,” said Dean Ray. “Dean Bertoline and I have been talking since last August.”

“SPSU and Purdue University have some historical connections,” Dean Ray added, noting that SPSU’s first president, Dr. Stephen R. Cheshier came to SPSU in 1980 from Purdue – where he was chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department – and a number of other administrators and faculty members have followed suit.

SPSU controller appointed to chair Marietta Ethics Committee
Arthur Vaughn, SPSU controller, was appointed by Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin as the chair of the City of Marietta Ethics Committee. Effective next month, Vaughn is replacing Dr. Warren Herron, who is retiring after serving in the position since 2002.

The Ethics Committee consists of three appointed members: one appointed by the mayor, another appointed by the City Council, and the third appointed by the two committee members subject to City Council approval.

Vaughn served as co-chairman of the city’s Parks Bond Committee that helped pass a $25 million parks bond in November 2009. He also served as vice chairman of the Marietta Board of Lights and Water from 2003-10.

Architecture Department has new administrative assistant
Cathy Smith is new to the staff of the Architecture Department, starting her work as the administrative assistant in January. She comes to SPSU from Kennesaw State University (KSU), where she graduated in May 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in organizations and also worked in its Department of Sociology, Geography, Anthropology and Criminal Justice.

Smith previously worked in the Office Services Department at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. Prior to her experiences in higher education, she served in the U.S. Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1980-86. During that time, she earned an associate degree from Pikes Peak Community College. In 1985, she relocated to Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire, where she served as a crew chief on KS-135 aircraft.

Smith can be reached at ext. 7253 or csmith46@spsu.edu.

Sankofa African-American Museum on Wheels makes stop at SPSU
Tables laden with black history artifacts and memorabilia lined the lobby of the Engineering Technology Center as Black History Month kicked off with a visit from the Sankofa African-American Museum on Wheels earlier this month.

Historian and Museum on Wheels curator Angela Jennings has a passion for delving into the story of African Americans. She has traveled all over the world discovering materials that symbolize this culture. It was during her first trip to Ghana in 1983 that she started collecting memorabilia for her traveling museum, which visits college campuses throughout the country to share information about the African Diaspora.

The exhibit at SPSU included displays on slavery, African-American inventions, celebrations of culture, authors and stamps. Students and faculty and staff members browsed through photos, antiques and heirlooms representing the era of King Cotton, the days following emancipation, the Negro National Baseball League and the election of President Barrack Obama to gain a better appreciation for African-American culture.

Thanks to the SPSU Black History Month Committee for arranging this intriguing event.

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 5, Issue 7
Feb. 22, 2012