Dr. Tom Rotnem to deliver Teacher of the Year lecture
Dr. Thomas Rotnem, a professor of political science in the Social and International Studies Department and also coordinator of both the political science and the international studies majors, was chosen as SPSU’s 2011-12 Teacher of the Year last fall.

It is traditional at SPSU for the Teacher of the Year to deliver a lecture to the campus, and Dr. Rotnem’s presentation is scheduled for Thurs., March 1, at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. His academic specialty is Russian domestic and foreign politics, and he will address the upcoming Russian elections in a lecture titled, “Will There be a ‘Russian Spring?’”

Former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win re-election as president of Russia in early March, and Russians have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to him. There has been speculation that Putin’s re-election will spark widespread violent protests.

A reception honoring Dr. Rotnem as Teacher of the Year will precede the lecture at 12:30 p.m., also in the Ballroom.

Sting editor elected to Georgia College Press Association board
Vicki Nix, editor-in-chief of SPSU’s student newspaper, The Sting, was elected to the board of the Georgia College Press Association (GCPA) during its annual conference in early February. A junior majoring in technical communication with a concentration in digital media and graphics, Nix is the first student journalist from SPSU to join the board.

More than 200 young journalists and faculty advisors from 22 Georgia colleges and universities were in attendance at the conference. The GCPA assists in the advancement of collegiate journalism in Georgia. Membership gives print journalism students an opportunity to discuss common issues and ideas and to network with newspaper professionals.

The Sting, formerly known as the Engineering Technician, was established when the school was founded in 1948. The newspaper continues to provide opportunities for writers, photographers and advertising salespeople to acquire valuable experience in their intended career fields outside of the classroom.

For more information on The Sting, contact its faculty advisor, Jeffrey Greene at ext. 3724 or jgreene3@spsu.edu

SPSU president heads up Distance Ed Task Force
SPSU president Dr. Lisa Rossbacher has been selected to lead a new 10-member Distance Education Task Force created by University System of Georgia (USG) chancellor Hank Huckaby.

The task force will examine how colleges and universities in the USG use the technology of distance education, also known as online learning, and make recommendations on how to better serve students.

Distance education has been used by the system for over a decade to provide students with flexibility in the time and location of learning. Over the years, the number of online degrees offered has increased to more than 230 programs with 5,000 course sections offered each semester.

“We will identify key goals for distance education that will advance Complete College Georgia, help our campus strategy efforts and support the regents’ mission of creating a more educated Georgia,” Dr. Rossbacher said. “This is an exciting opportunity to work together as a system to develop a broad statewide plan for how we use technology in the classroom.”

The task force plans to complete its review of the system’s distance education efforts and make recommendations to the Board of Regents by the summer of 2012.

Running Hornets seek another SSAC Championship

The SPSU men’s and women’s basketball teams finished their regular seasons this past weekend with home games versus Emmanuel College.

The men finished their season with an impressive 24-5 overall record and a 15-3 record in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). The Hornets are undefeated at home this season and have not lost a home game since November of 2010. SPSU scored 2,331 points this season making the team second in its conference with an average of 80.83 points per game. The Hornets are also second in the SSAC in both total rebounds (an average of 39.41 per game) and assists (an average of 15.45 per game).

The men will start post-season action in the 2012 SSAC Men’s Basketball Tournament tomorrow. SPSU is the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division and will play Belhaven University (Miss.), the No. 3 seed of the Western Division, at the Darlington School in Rome, Ga., on Thurs., March 1. Last year, the Hornets made it all the way to the final round but fell short to Emmanuel College by only 5 points in the conference championship game.

The Lady Hornets, who were rebuilding this year after a near-complete turnover of players, wrapped up their season with a 6-24 overall and 4-15 SSAC record. They celebrated one final victory in their last week of play by closing down Truett-McConnell College with a 69-34 homecoming victory. Guard Ashlie Billingslea led the team with an average of 20.29 points per game and shot .684 percent from the free throw line.

Spring Career Expo is today
Career and Counseling Services is hosting the 2012 Spring Career Expo in the Recreation and Wellness Center today from 12-4 p.m. More than 80 companies will be in attendance and all SPSU students and alumni are encouraged to attend.

Employers will be seeking co-ops, interns, full-time and part-time workers. Companies scheduled to participate are Norfolk Southern, Turner Broadcasting Systems, AT&T, Balfour Beatty Construction and the Georgia Aquarium. A full list of companies is available on Career Link.

Students have been preparing for this event by attending workshops and resume critiquing sessions held by the Career and Counseling Center.

Student-competition teams receive funding
The Alumni Association Board with additional funding from the SPSU Foundation and a gift from the Lawrence and Cecelia Johnson Endowment awarded a total of $49,460 to 14 student-competition teams this year. All the funding from the SPSU Foundation and the Alumni Association was provided by private contributions from alumni, friends and supporters of the university.

Last year, the Alumni Association provided $48,650 in funding for nine teams. The increase in the number of requests is evidence that students are more aware of the SPSU Alumni Association and how it makes a positive impact on the SPSU community.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to make a gift to the competition team of their choice through the annual Faculty and Staff Campaign.

The allocations for the teams or groups that support student-competition teams were:

• Aerial Robotics – $250;
• American Society of Civil Engineers – $4,570;
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Human Powered Vehicle) – $4,494;
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Rapid Design) – $690;
• Associated Schools of Construction – $5,900;
• Association of Building Contractors – $1,000;
• Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team – $7,900;
• Concrete Canoe Team – $1,500;
• Formula SAE Team – $7,500;
• Mechanical Contractors Association – $2,000;
• Robotic Lawn Mower Competition Team – $2,500;
• Southern Poly Information Security Association Team – $1,650;
• Steel Bridge Team – $7,000; and
• Sun Seekers Alternative Energy Competition Team – $2,500.

The Alumni Association Board hopes for great success for all the teams in 2012.

New assistant director of residence life
Jenny Brown of the housing and residence life staff has been promoted to the position of assistant director of residence life at SPSU. Brown has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kennesaw State University and a master’s in business administration from SPSU.

In her new role, she will supervise the full-time residence life coordinators and the staff of resident assistants. Brown will work with Director of Housing and Residence Life Chris Bruno to develop goals for the Residence Life program. She brings years of experience at SPSU to her new position and is excited about further enhancing residence life on campus.

Brown will also steer the development of SPSU’s first Living-Learning Communities. The pilot this fall will establish a nature-themed community in Hornet Village 100 by grouping interested first-year students together on the same hall.

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 8
Feb. 29, 2012