U.S. News & World Report: SPSU again ranks among top universities in South
For the second year in a row, Southern Polytechnic State University has been ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of top regional universities.

SPSU ranked 85th among all regional universities in the South in the magazine’s annual “Best Regional Universities” list, released last week. The list also highlighted SPSU for the following:

• Average freshman retention rate of 76 percent
• 42 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students
• 19:1 student/faculty ratio

For more detailed information about the rankings, visit U.S. News & World Report.

SPSU among ‘Best Colleges & Universities in Georgia’
For the third consecutive year, James Magazine’s annual roundup of “Best Colleges & Universities in Georgia” has SPSU in a top spot.

The ratings are based on a review of national and regional rankings as well as consultations with education and business leaders statewide. The publication also looked at various criteria including standardized test scores and career placement after graduation.

According to James Magazine, SPSU’s “academic excellence is grounded in an application-oriented teaching philosophy that makes for a real-work curriculum that is invaluable to students seeking a rewarding professional career.”

The magazine also ranked SPSU as one of the state’s five Best Buys in higher education, noting that “there’s not such a long division between Marietta ‘Tech’ and Atlanta’s. Add it up.”

James Magazine is a monthly publication of the news and public affairs analysis group InsiderAdvantage Georgia.

New facilities now certified green
SPSU’s year-old residential and dining facilities – Hornet Village, University Columns and Stingers Restaurant – have earned LEED Silver and EarthCraft certifications to become the university’s first group of green-certified buildings.

The university used two green building ratings systems to document the energy- and water-saving features of the facilities: LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and EarthCraft.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the developer of LEED, has supported sustainable building and development practices through a series of rating systems. EarthCraft was created by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface to ensure sustainable, efficient design and function in residential dwellings in the Southeast.

With a LEED certification, organizations such as SPSU can take advantage of state and local government incentives and can also boost external interest in their current projects.

SPSU Post Office has new manager
Mark Tankell is the new manager of the University Post Office. He graduated from American Intercontinental University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and has worked for more than 10 years as a mailroom manager in the private sector.

Tankell will focus on the Post Office’s efficiency and service to the campus community, emphasizing customer service.

Tankell can be reached at mtankell@spsu.edu or ext. 7353.

Recent faculty activities
• SPSU President Lisa A. Rossbacher will participate in a president’s panel at Georgia Perimeter College in Clarkston on Sept. 23 that is the keynote presentation of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Georgia Conference. The panel’s topic is “Academic Advising: Meeting the Challenge of Student Engagement.”

• Dr. Mark Nunes, chair of the department of English, Technical Communication and Media Arts, had two publications this past summer. Explorations in Media Ecology, the quarterly journal of the Media Ecology Association, included Nunes’ article “This is Not a Blog Hoax: Narrative ‘Provocations’ in a Participatory Media Culture.” His essay titled “Seductive Errors: A Poetics of Noise” appeared in the book “Net Works: Case Studies in Web Art and Design,” edited by xtine burrough and published by Routledge.

President Rossbacher appointed to State Network Executive Board
President Lisa A. Rossbacher has accepted an invitation to join the State Network Executive Board, part of the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Office of Higher Education.

The ACE State Network Executive Board, which supports a national system of state networks for women in higher education, sponsors an annual leadership program for network coordinators and advises on publications.

Members of the board also mentor and nominate women who want to advance their administrative careers. Other duties include advising the Office of Women in Higher Education (OWHE) on a number of issues related to administrative careers for women and nominating women to serve as state coordinators of the ACE Network.

Congratulations to President Rossbacher on her three-year term on the board.

SPSU celebrates 7th annual Constitution Day
SPSU participates in the nationwide annual observance of Constitution Day, which commemorates the creation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by 39 of the country’s founding fathers on Sept. 17, 1787.

Dr. Thomas Nisley, an associate professor in the Social and International Studies Department, led this year’s program on Sept. 15 with a presentation entitled “The War Powers Revisited.”

Dr. Nisley talked about the presidency of Barack Obama and recent military involvement in Libya as he focused on what the U.S. Constitution says about war powers. Specifically, he examined the president’s ability to take the country to war and noted that Congress often has done little to challenge the president in such situations.

SAE fraternity programs at SPSU win national recognition
The SPSU chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) received five awards during the 2011 SAE National Leadership School held on board the Majesty of the Seas cruise ship Aug. 8-12.

SAE received one of the national fraternity’s chapter achievement awards, an honor recognizing organizational skills and diversity of programming. SAE at SPSU was also named a runner-up for the University Relations Award and received honorable mentions for its housing and recruitment programs. In addition, SPSU student Kyle Steele, immediate past treasurer of SAE, was one of 10 men in the nation honored with SAE’s Outstanding Treasurer Award.

Chartered in 2009, the SPSU chapter is one of the youngest SAE chapters in the nation. Chapter President Matthew Gosa said the hard work and determination of its members have made SAE one of the largest fraternities at SPSU.

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.