U.S. News rates SPSU grad program tops
U.S. News & World Report magazine recently released a report ranking Top Online Degree Programs and SPSU’s Master of Science in Information Technology was listed as No. 1 for student engagement and accreditation in the category of Graduate Computer Information Technology (CIT) Programs.

“Quality computer information technology programs promote student participation in classes, allowing them opportunities to readily interact with their instructors and fellow classmates as is possible in traditional classroom environments. In turn, instructors not only are accessible and responsive, but they also are tasked with regularly assessing the quantity and quality of students’ submissions, and implementing policies that ensure their students are only getting credit for doing their own work,” the magazine’s editors noted.

“The strongest online degree programs for a masters of CIT also have a corresponding ABET-accredited undergraduate program and make it easy for students to interact with classmates as well as instructors.”

U.S. News defines online programs as those that have at least 80 percent of their course content available online.

Other top-ranked online graduate CIT programs included:

• North Carolina State University – Raleigh (admissions selectivity);
• Pennsylvania State University – University Park (faculty credentials and training), and
• Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering in Baltimore (student services and technology).
  

SPSU was one of only two Georgia institutions ranked by U.S. News for their online graduate CIT programs (Georgia Southern was No. 8 in this same category).

To view the complete list of rankings, visit U.S. News & World Report.

SPSU wins Round 2 Race to the Top funds
Gov. Nathan Deal this month awarded $7.1 million in Race to the Top Innovation Fund grants to 11 education agencies statewide, including SPSU and Kennesaw State University (KSU), who will share $50,000 for a joint project.

The staff of SPSUTeach and educators in KSU’s teaching program will use the money to work with the Cobb County Schools in creating the charter school, STEM Inventors Academy, in south Cobb, The K-12 school will focus on encouraging students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to become inventors, researchers and problem-solvers.

CSE launches Dean’s Development Council
Dr. Han Reichgelt, dean of the School of Computing and Software Engineering (CSE), and Dr. Ron Dempsey, vice president for University Advancement, hosted the inaugural meeting of the CSE Dean’s Development Council in December.

The council has two major functions: to help with fundraising and to assist in implementing the school’s current strategic plan/formulating a new plan.

Council members are:

• Rodney Bowers from MinervaWorks;
• Hank Edwards from Arkleton LLC;
• Patrick Hiller from Abacus;
• Jeff Jones from UPS;
• Chris Klaus from Kaneva;
• Lisa McVey from McKesson; and
• Steve Vicinanza from BlueWave Computing.

Baseball season is here!
While most people are hunkered down for winter weather, SPSU’s baseball team has been preparing for its 2012 opener against Embry-Riddle University on Sat., Jan. 28, at the Auburn-Montgomery Baseball Complex. The Hornet’s home opener is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 4, against Shawnee State University.

Coach Matt Griffin is returning for his ninth season with a record of 328-144, averaging 41 wins per season.

The Hornets have a preseason national ranking of 21 and look to continue their winning ways in the coming season with a veteran pitching staff and many other returning starters.

It’s ‘chili’ weather!
The 16th Annual Tony Tilmans Chili Cook-Off will be held on Tues., Feb. 7, at 12 p.m. in the Ballroom. Named for the late Dr. Tony Tilmans, who launched this SPSU tradition and chaired the event, the cook-off always draws great cooks and a hungry crowd.

Small wonder – the $5 admission charge includes five bowls of chili, cornbread, dessert and soft drinks. Here's an even better deal – enter a crock pot of your own cleverly named chili in the cook-off, and you eat for free!

The deadline for submitting an entry to Leigh Ann Soublis (lsoublis@spsu.edu, ext. 4100) in the Campus Scheduling and Logistics Office is Feb. 1.

Recent faculty publications
• Dr. Mark Nunes had an essay, “Abusing the Media: Viral Validity in a Republic of Spam,” published in a collection of essays entitled Transgression 2.0: Media, Culture and the Politics of a Digital Age (Continuum, November 2011).

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 3
Jan. 25, 2012