SPSU’s chief academic officer nominated for national leadership award
Dr. Zvi Szafran, vice president for Academic Affairs, has been nominated for the William M. Plater Award for Leadership in Civic Engagement, an annual honor given by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

The award recognizes the critical role of the chief academic officer in advancing the civic mission of the campus through curricular reform, public advocacy, accountability for institutional citizenship, faculty development and recruitment, and partnerships with community organizations.

Dr. Richard Halstead-Nussloch of the Department of Information Technology nominated Dr. Szafran for the award with the endorsement of SPSU President Dr. Lisa A. Rossbacher and the support of many other campus administrators and faculty members.

Dr. Alan Gabrielli, who just retired as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, was one of several campus leaders who wrote letters to AASCU in support of Dr. Szafran’s nomination. He said in part, “Under Dr. Szafran, SPSU has enjoyed increased enrollment, improved retention, several new academic programs, generally good morale and become a more comprehensive university in these poor economic times.”

Others supporting the award nomination mentioned Dr. Szafran’s strong roles in:

• the development of a strategic plan for SPSU’s growth, which resulted in annual enrollment increases of 15 percent during the first two years of implementation;

• the development of the Campus Facilities Master Plan, which has resulted in more than $100 million in new facilities for SPSU;

• the establishment of the First-Year Experience, African-American Male Initiative and the American Diplomacy Project programs; and

• the signing of an articulation agreement with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) that makes SPSU degrees available to thousands of TCSG students throughout the state who previously did not have access to bachelor of science and engineering technology degrees.

AASCU is expected to announce the recipient of the award in early June.

SPSU faculty, students have e-mentoring opportunity
SPSU has joined MentorNet, a 12-year-old nonprofit e-mentoring service that helps students in engineering and science achieve their career goals by matching them with mentors in academia and industry. The organization focuses on women and under-represented minorities to foster diversity in science and engineering but is open to matching anyone with a mentor from its 115 partner campuses.

Through MentorNet, SPSU students and early-career faculty members can sign up to be matched with a faculty mentor or an industry professional somewhere in the country, and faculty members can volunteer to mentor students from other member institutions. Mentors and protégés then communicate for eight months via e-mail.

SPSU President Dr. Lisa A. Rossbacher is currently serving as a mentor for a graduate student at the College of William and Mary. She has also served as a mentor in the past to female graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University.

According to MentorNet, protégés in the program consistently report increased confidence in their abilities, an increased desire to pursue a career in their field and a high degree of satisfaction with their MentorNet experience. Mentors consistently report an increased level of commitment to their fields and their institutions as a result, along with more professional development opportunities and the personal satisfaction of knowing that they have helped someone achieve his or her goals.

Amanda Brown-Conway, assistant director of Student Recruitment, is SPSU’s MentorNet liaison. She can be reached at ext. 5549 or abrownco@spsu.edu. SPSU students and faculty members are encouraged to check out www.mentornet.net, where they can sign up to be matched with a mentor or mentee.

CM students receive industry scholarships
Two SPSU construction management students were recently selected by the Georgia Branch of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to receive scholarships. These awards go to well-rounded building construction undergraduate students who are already proving they understand the value of hard work, commitment and giving back to their community, and who are enrolled in one of the state’s building construction undergraduate programs.

The students are:

Trent Anderson
Anderson, a rising senior, is currently working as a co-op student for AGC member Brasfield & Gorrie. He has participated in various student construction competition teams and has also won multiple “best presentation” awards.

Kenneth Knight
Knight, a senior, has served in the Marine Corps and is a father of two. He grew up on construction job sites and spent time supervising the construction of restaurants, shopping centers and more.

Each student received a $1,000 scholarship from the AGC for his accomplishments.

Georgia engineering schools form consortium

SPSU is one of five engineering schools collaborating to create the Georgia Consortium of Engineering Schools (GCES), which is dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of engineering education in Georgia.

“By providing opportunities for Georgia’s engineering deans to gather and discuss the crucial issues facing their schools, as well as the engineering profession, the GCES will seek to expand the depth and breadth of engineering educational and professional opportunities in the state,” said Dr. Tom Currin, associate dean of the Division of Engineering.

SPSU hosted the inaugural meeting of the consortium on May 23.

Staff members enjoy Administrative Professionals Day program

Twenty-five administrative assistants gathered on April 27 for the program “Lend a Hand: Community Service and Civic Engagement.” This was the third year that the Staff Council and the SPSU Foundation sponsored an Administrative Professionals Day program.

To kick off the program, SPSU President Dr. Lisa A. Rossbacher shared her appreciation for the administrative professionals and their role in the SPSU community. She also moderated a panel of five individuals who work with various community organizations: Kit Trensch, director of Development, who volunteers for the Cobb County Libraries; Brenda Bloomer, volunteer manager at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care; Julie Newell, chair of Social and International Studies and a Girl Scouts volunteer; Stephanie Coleman, SPSU’s webmaster, who is active in the Parent-Teacher Association; and Lance Crimm, a professor in the Division of Engineering who directs the Georgia Science Olympiad.

The panel presentation was followed by a keynote address given by Cassandra Buckalew, founder and president of the Historic Marietta Trolley Company. Buckalew is on several volunteer boards in the Marietta community. She shared her experiences, along with suggestions about how to get involved.

The highlight of the morning was a trolley tour of Marietta’s historical sites, followed by lunch at Stinger’s Restaurant.

Student Life hands out Greek Awards
The Office of Student Life recently presented its 2011 awards for Greek Man, Greek Woman, Highest Individual GPA and Greek Chapter of the Year.

Winners were selected based on their leadership, campus involvement, community and campus service, and academic achievement. To be eligible, nominees had to have been active, initiated members of their organizations for at least one calendar year.

The honorees were:
Greek Man – Brian Ellison, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Greek Woman – Jessica Harrington, Gamma Phi Beta
Dean’s Cup for Highest Individual GPA – Kyle Steele, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Greek Chapter of the Year – Sigma Alpha Epsilon

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 19
May 25, 2011