SPSU represented at National Collegiate Honors Council Conference
Last month, members of the SPSU Honors Program attended the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Phoenix.

Dr. Nancy Reichert, an associate professor in the English, Technical Communication and Media Arts (ETCMA) Department and director of the Honors Program, presented information concerning retention practices used at SPSU to help students succeed in its Honors Program. Her presentation was part of the Developing in Honors sessions for administrators of honors programs.

Prof. Ann Parker, an ETCMA lecturer and assistant director of the Honors Program – along with students Joshua Gober, Alex Harrison and Lauren Tyus – presented on the topic of service learning. Their panel was titled “Honors Service Opportunities that Teach: Moving Beyond Service for the Sake of Service.”

Dr. William Griffiths, an assistant professor in the Mathematics Department and the instructor of the interdisciplinary course “Mathematics and Our World,” presented with students James DeGrood, Lin Guo and Thomas Munday on the topic of diversity issues within this class. Their panel was titled “American and Chinese: Two Perspectives on an Interdisciplinary Honors Seminar with a Focus on Mathematics.”

Brothers and SPSU students Isaiah and Joshua Gober also presented a research assistant project that they conducted with Dr. Rajnish Singh, an associate professor of biology, concerning cell-to-cell adhesion in cancer. Their poster presentation was titled “To Adhere or Not to Adhere: Understanding the Molecular Mechanism of Inflammation and Cell-Cell Adhesion in Cancer.”

The SPSU presentations were well received at the conference, where the theme was “Stewards of our Colliding Worlds: Rights, Wrongs, and Responsibilities.”

SPSU soccer team takes SSAC Championship,
advances to NAIA quarterfinals – a first!
The SPSU Hornets soccer team captured its first SSAC Tournament Championship, aced the first two rounds of the NAIA National Championships and advanced for the first time in its history into today’s quarterfinal round. The Hornets are scheduled to play Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) in Orange Beach, Ala., at 3:30 p.m., EST.

This is the team’s third consecutive appearance in the national championship in its five-year history.

SPSU bested Auburn University Montgomery 3-0 in the SSAC Tournament Championship in Gulfport, Miss., on Nov. 12. The Hornets triumphed over Menlo College (Calif.) 1-0 in double overtime in the first-round NAIA game, hosted by SPSU on Nov. 19. The No. 10-seeded Hornets went on to take No. 7 Bethel University (Tenn.) 2-1 on Nov. 29, propelling the team further in the nationals than it has ever previously gotten.

The Hornets ended the year No. 6 in the NAIA’s final regular-season national ranking – its second highest ranking ever. The team finished No. 4 in 2009.

Annual holiday luncheon scheduled for Dec. 8
Come one, come all to SPSU’s annual Faculty/Staff Holiday Luncheon, to be held on Thurs., Dec. 8, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

Although the Social and Community Building Committee will provide turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and rolls, this is a potluck event. All faculty and staff members, along with their guests, are asked either to bring a dessert that serves 10 or to pay $5 to attend.

This year, employees will be called by table when it’s time to eat. There’ll also be a variety of nifty door prizes and fun activities to accompany the feast. So, prepare to gobble, gobble!

Stuff-A-Bus, Toys for Tots campaigns under way
It’s toy collection time! The Social and Community Building Committee has once again teamed up with Cobb Christmas and the Cobb County Department of Transportation to conduct the Stuff-A-Bus campaign. The university is also teaming up with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide local children with toys and teddy bears through the Toys for Tots program.

The committee is asking every department and student organization to contribute new toys and/or non-perishable food items to the Stuff-A-Bus campaign. Contributions can be brought to the holiday luncheon on Dec. 8 or dropped off by 12 p.m., Dec. 7, at any of the Stuff-A-Bus containers placed around campus.

The bus will be loaded in the faculty/staff parking lot between the Student Center and Building B on Thurs., Dec. 8, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

President Lisa A. Rossbacher’s passion for teddy bears sparked SPSU’s annual participation in the Toys for Tots program, and filling her office with bears and other toys has become a holiday tradition for the entire campus. SPSU students, faculty and staff have donated over a thousand teddy bears and toys to the program since 1999. Contributions will be collected in the President’s Office until Dec. 15.

Come see the fruits of this campus-wide effort (and contribute to the collection yourself) during the President’s Office Open House, scheduled for 3-4 p.m. on Dec. 13.

Holiday Door Decorating Contest announced
Cue the visions of sugarplums and tinsel garlands! The Social and Community Building Committee is again sponsoring a Holiday Door Decorating Contest for faculty, staff and administrators. Show your spirit by dressing up a door in your department or office with holiday finery.

Here are the rules:
• Only one entry per campus unit, office or department – make it a team effort;
• Decorate the door by Dec. 2;
• Be creative – limit spending by recycling everyday supplies;
• Use cellophane tape on doors – not nails, staples, push pins, etc.;
• Judging will take place on Mon., Dec. 5, with prizes for first, second and third place. Prizes will be awarded based on: 1) creativity and ingenuity, 2) resourcefulness in using recycled materials and 3) evidence of teamwork and collaboration.

Contest winners will be announced at the Holiday Luncheon on Dec. 8. Judges’ decisions are final. To enter, complete and return a contest registration form by campus mail or e-mail to Amanda Traylor (x. 7248, atraylor@spsu.edu).

Speech team competes, places in recent competitions
The SPSU Speech team, coached by Prof. Misty York of ETCMA, finished its last tournament of the semester after garnering a number of honors.

At Gainesville State College on Oct. 1, Kinga Grewszecka, a junior majoring in technical communication, placed fifth in the persuasive speaking category. Sophomore Ayana Reyes, an architecture major, placed first in novice program oral interpretation as well as fourth in program oral interpretation. Senior Toby Pope, a technical communication major, placed second in program oral interpretation and received the Award of Excellence for impromptu speaking.

At a competition at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Oct. 15, sophomore Tyler Maran, a mechanical engineering major, placed first in the novice poetry category.

The team regularly competes against much larger institutions, such as Florida State University and the University of Alabama, and most teams are made up of speech majors. Congratulations to all SPSU speech competitors!

SPSU architecture students win 2011 Canstruction Atlanta Award
The SPSU American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) partnered with the Atlanta-based architecture firm BRPH to compete in the 13th Annual Canstruction of Atlanta, a design/build competition involving canned food held Nov 2-13 at Colony Square: SPSU won an award for Structural Ingenuity in its first appearance at this competition, facing off against teams of Atlanta architects, engineers, contractors, designers and students from schools of architecture, engineering and design.

The SPSU AIAS team created an eight-foot tall cancer-awareness “ribbon” from 1,400 cans of food in remembrance of those who have fought any type of cancer.

The team included Adam Thomas (team captain), Adam Lamb (BRPH and SPSU alumnus), Jessica Nelson, Felicia Blake, Richard Burden, Ruben Chitu, Marie Kitchen, Chase Robinson, Eleanor Rochelle (SPSU alumnus), Kristen Tolentino, and Jereme Smith (SPSU alumnus).

Canstruction Inc. is a nonprofit organization that holds annual design and build competitions to construct fantastic, giant structures made entirely out of canned food. In each city after the structures are built and the winners declared the creations go on view to the general public as an art exhibit. All of the food used in building the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs.

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 45
Nov. 30, 2011