Who’s earning what? 2011 graduate salary survey data released
Each year, the SPSU Career and Counseling Center surveys the university’s graduates to determine the average salaries being earned in each degree field.

The 2011 data were self-reported by 193 employed graduates with bachelor’s degrees (average salary: $51,598) and 51 graduates with master’s degrees (average salary: $58,616).

The most significant jumps in salary between 2010 and 2011 were reported by graduates with:
• bachelor’s degrees in computer science: $55,329 to $77,542;

• master’s degrees in systems engineering: $60,000 to $75,125;

• master’s degrees in accounting: $52,667 to $66,833; and

• master’s degrees in information design and communication: $45,500 to $58,250.

However, looking back reveals that salaries in a few of these fields took a substantial dip in the mid-2000s and are just now climbing back to their former levels.

Here is a sampling of the 2011 average salary of graduates in various fields:

Bachelor’s Degrees

Architecture – $36,571
Business administration – $47,022
Chemistry – $41,000
Construction engineering – $45,500
Construction management –$51,297
Electrical engineering technology – $53,896
Industrial engineering technology – $54,029
Mechatronics engineering – $53,731
Psychology – $50,000
Software engineering – $62,600

Master’s Degrees

Engineering technology - electrical – $62,000
Information technology – $58,296
Business administration – $53,182
Quality assurance – $59,714

To view the data gathered by the center, go to www.spsu.edu/careerservices/salarydata/index.htm

Military Task Force to support SPSU military students
SPSU is launching a Military Task Force to focus on identifying and supporting students with current or past military service. Faculty or staff members interested in being on the task force are urged to volunteer.

Students who are veterans and active duty or retired military and their family members have also been invited to participate.

Dr. Zvi Szafran, vice president for Academic Affairs, said improving access for military learners is one of the strategies in SPSU’s “Complete College Georgia” plan, with the task force its linchpin.

“The purpose of the task force is to bring people together from all over campus who are interested in working on processes to identify and support our military students,” he said. “The group will meet monthly and will make recommendations to Southern Polytechnic’s Renewal Effort for Adult Degrees (SPREAD) Implementation Committee on what services are of interest and benefit to our military students. The group will also be actively involved in the implementation of our Soldier2Scholar (S2S) project.”

S2S, funded in part by a College Access Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is an initiative intended to help veterans and reservists to make the transition to civilian life by providing them with easy access to high-quality education.

To volunteer as a member of the task force, contact Dawn Ramsey, director of the Office of Faculty Support and Development (dramsey@spsu.edu, ext. 4287).

Soccer team gears up for 2012 season
Coming off a record-breaking 2011 season, the SPSU soccer team is ready to begin its sixth season this fall with the first game set for Sat., Aug 25, against Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn. For the third straight year, the Hornets are expected to be ranked in the top 20 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) preseason coaches’ poll.

The Hornets completed its 2011 regular season with impressive 13-2-1 and 9-2-1 Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) records. The season ended with a 17-3-2 record, an SSAC Tournament championship and a quarterfinals appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.

With only 11 returning and 17 new players on the rooster for the Hornets this fall, Head Coach Kom Momeni describes this season as a rebuilding year.

“Many seniors who had a profound impact on the team last season have graduated,” explained Coach Momeni, “Myself and the rest of the coaching staff are eager and excited to build this season’s youthful players into another successful championship team.”

The Hornets have their home opener on Sat., Sept. 1, against Reinhardt University at SPSU’s Nuesoft Technologies Soccer Field.

Robotics Research Club produces papers to be presented at two IEEE international conferences
Papers written by members of the SPSU Undergraduate Robotics Research Club have been accepted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for presentation at two international conferences this fall.

The club, which has about 20 members from a variety of degree programs, was founded by Dr. Ying Wang, assistant professor of mechatronics engineering, who served as coauthor and supervisor for both papers.

Student authors Xiyang Song (computer science), Huangwei Fang (electrical engineering) and Xiong Jiao (electrical and computer engineering technology) recently received notification that their paper, “Autonomous Mobile Robot Navigation Using Machine Learning,” was accepted by IEEE’s 6th International Conference on Information and Automation for Sustainability. This program will be held in Beijing, China, in September, and one of the three authors will be on hand to present it.

Computer science major Teng Zhao coauthored a paper describing “A Neural-Network-Based Autonomous Navigation System Using Mobile Robots” that has been accepted by IEEE’s 12th International Conference on Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision, to be held in December in Guangzhou, China. Dr. Wang will present this paper himself.

New vehicle hangtags for 2012-13 academic year
All faculty, staff and students need to obtain new parking hangtags for their vehicles by Aug. 20.

To obtain the new hangtag, take the following pieces of information to University Transportation (a unit of Auxiliary Services), Room 250 in the Student Center:

• Valid identification;
• Hornet Card/Banner ID number;
• License plate number;
• Year, make, model and color of your vehicle.

The new hangtags will be valid for one full academic year (expiring on July 31, 2013). Each person will receive just one hangtag that can be transfered from one vehicle to another if necessary. If it is lost, University Transportation will deactivate it and issue another hangtag for a replacement fee of $100.

For more information, call ext. 4279 or contact Cedric Franklin at cfrankli@spsu.edu.

SPSU alumni board adds new members
The SPSU Alumni Association Board of Directors has six new members:

• Judith Atem (electrical engineering technology, ’07), electrical engineer, Baldor Electric;
• Thomas Baglivo (construction engineering, ’09), project manager, Geo-Hydro Engineers;
• Greg Barner (industrial engineering technology, ’73), owner, The Bubbling Creek Company:
• Lisa Buice (apparel/textile engineering technology, ’05), corporate diversity manager, Shaw Industries;
• David McKoy, retired from the U.S. Marine Corps (a master’s in quality assurance, ’05), naval science instructor, Allatoona High School; and
• Angela Wingers (industrial engineering technology, ’94), owner, Wingers Media.

Each of these new members will serve on the board through 2015.

The officers for the coming year include:
• President – Aakash Shah (industrial engineering technology, ’06), senior vice president for global consumer process re-engineering, Citigroup;
• Vice President – Glynn Mitchell (electrical engineering technology, ’84), program manager for process solutions, Logical Systems LLC;
• Secretary – Robert Graham (civil engineering technology, ’05), roadway design engineer, Georgia Department of Transportation; and
• Treasurer – Frank Ziller (computer science, ’07), senior manager, systems engineering and administration, Ricoh Americas Corp.

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 29
Aug. 8, 2012