Kia donates two cars to SPSU School of Engineering
The School of Engineering recently took delivery of two cars donated by the Kia Motors Manufacturing Facility in West Point, Ga. (Kia-Georgia). The vehicles will be used for hands-on research involving the university’s electrical, civil, mechanical, systems, and mechatronics engineering programs, along with the electrical and computer engineering technology program.

Kia-Georgia has pledged to supply SPSU with cars every 12-24 months. This marks the establishment of a relationship that will have far-reaching benefits for SPSU students and faculty, according to Dr. Cyril Okhio, an associate professor in Electrical and Mechatronics Engineering who approached Georgia representatives of the South Korea-based auto maker on behalf of the university.

The relationship with Kia-Georgia “will have a long-term impact on the recruitment, nurturing, retention, graduation, placement and tracking of our engineering and engineering technology students,” he said. “It will also have a long-term impact on sharpening and renewing the teaching and research capabilities of our faculty members. And it will provide the university with much-needed teaching and research materials at little or no cost.”

Dr. Okhio is the faculty advisor for the campus chapter of the International Society of Automation (ISA) and the SPSU Undergraduate Research Club (URC). His goal in contacting Kia-Georgia was to arrange field trips for the organizations, and at the same time, pursue a training/education relationship with the company.

“During one of our field trips, Kia personnel expressed interest in collaborative work with Georgia universities, and especially with SPSU, because the SPSU graduates among their employees have been outperforming graduates from colleges both in Georgia and nation-wide,” said Dr. Okhio, noting that he spent 100 days helping to shape the agreement with Kia.

For SPSU, Dr. Okhio sees the relationship facilitating the growth of the School of Engineering’s applied research and education in five initial focus areas:
• vehicle thermal-cooling management research;
• vehicle dynamics and performance (vibration and noise);
• hybrid architecture, design and energy management optimization;
• hybrid and alternative fuel technologies; and
• vehicle computer-integrated manufacturing, protocol, architecture and logistics.

“Specific benefits to SPSU students include internships, co-op and employment opportunities close to home,” he added.

Campus-wide invitation to photo shoot Tues., Sept. 18!
The SPSU Advancement Office is coordinating the first ever large-scale photo shoot involving the entire SPSU community on Tues., Sept. 18, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on the turf field next to the Gymnasium (across from the Architecture Building).

All SPSU administrators, faculty, staff and students are invited to participate, so please help us to spread the word! We need enough people to form a large SPSU hexagon. We will provide the special T-shirts to be worn in the photo, and you will get to keep them.

This is a one hour commitment, so participants must make themselves available the entire hour for this massive undertaking. The resulting photo will be featured in the SPSU Magazine and on the university website.

If you have any additional questions please e-mail scarson2@spsu.edu. See you there!

Former Dean Bill Barnes remembered
Dr. Wilson (Bill) Barnes, who retired this past June as dean emeritus of the School of Architecture and Construction Management (ACM), passed away on Sun., Sept. 9, in Pittsfield, Mass.

Dr. Barnes joined the faculty of SPSU in 1995 as an associate professor of construction. Since then, Dr. Barnes had “remained a superior teacher and continued to show an extraordinary commitment to the university, and his focus on the professional development of his school was dynamic throughout his career,” according to Dr. Zvi Szafran, vice president for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Barnes was appointed as dean of what was then the School of Architecture, Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management in July of 2001 and served in that capacity for 11 years. The school boasts the only nationally accredited professional Bachelor of Architecture in Georgia -- a five-year degree that includes two years of design foundation and three years of professional courses -- and one of the longest-running construction management (CM) programs in Georgia. The school also boasts some high-profile student competition teams, a fact illustrated by a huge victory this spring when CM students won the national Mechanical Contractors Association of America Student Chapter Competition.

“Bill’s focus was always on the built environment, especially in the area of adaptive reuse,” said Dr. Szafran. “When everyone was talking about tearing down Building I and replacing it with an engineering technology building, Bill had a different vision of adaptively reusing it as studio space. The I-1 and I-2 design studios on this campus are the result, with I-2 having won multiple awards and I-1’s renovation scheduled for completion in a few weeks. That is a fine legacy.”

SPSU remembers 9/11 and Dr. Barnes
The flags at SPSU are flying at half-staff this week to honor the memory of both Dr. Bill Barnes (see above article) and the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“In doing so, we commemorate the courage and compassion of all the people who responded to the tragic events that day,” said SPSU President Lisa A. Rossbacher of the 11th anniversary of 9/11. We also show respect for and appreciation of Bill’s many contributions to SPSU.”

SPSU president chairing ACE Women’s Network Executive Council
President Lisa A. Rossbacher is the new chair of the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Women’s Network Executive Council (WNEC). She will serve a one-year term in this position.

The council is made up of women university presidents, vice presidents, provosts, deans and chancellors from across the country. One of the presidents is from a Saudi Arabian university, reflecting the group’s increased international focus.

WNEC supports ACE state networks by serving as liaisons to state coordinators and providing leadership for developing and strengthening state planning boards. In addition, WNEC members nominate women to participate in ACE’s national and regional Women’s Leadership Forums and serve as a “speakers bureau” for the forums. A current initiative, “Moving the Needle,” is working to increase the number of women in leadership positions – especially as presidents and chancellors – in higher education.

Recent faculty news
• Dr. Donald Ariail, coordinator for the Master of Science in Accounting program, and Prof. Shannon Shumate, coordinator for the Bachelor of Science in Accounting, have been awarded the international designation of chartered global management accountant (CGMA). The CGMA is a prestigious designation in management accounting awarded through a partnership between the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Dr. Ariail has a doctorate in accounting and holds the professional designations of certified public accountant (CPA), certified in financial forensics (CFF) and certified valuation analyst (CVA). Prof. Shumate holds a master’s degree in accounting and is a CPA.

• Dr. Lourdes Abellera, assistant professor in the Civil Engineering Technology department, has been named a member of the program committee at the 20th Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The conference – Nov. 6-9 in Redondo Beach, Calif. – will provide a forum for original research contributions covering all conceptual, design and implementation aspects of GIS, including applications, user interfaces, visualization, data storage and query processing, and indexing.

New semester brings new staff
SPSU Athletics has expanded its staff with the addition of a new sports information specialist. Steve Ruthsatz comes to SPSU from Reinhardt University, Waleska, where he was the assistant athletic director. He also served as the sports information director at Georgia State University from 2001-05 and Kennesaw State University from 1995-2000. Ruthsatz can be reached at sruthsat@spsu.edu or ext. 5516.

The SPSU Office of Sponsored Programs has a new administrative assistant, Sarah Hope, who helps the staff with the preparation, reviewing and submission of grant proposals, contracts and sub-awards. She graduated in May from the University of Georgia with a degree in human development and family sciences. Hope can be reached at shope@spsu.edu or ext. 3159.

Lindsay Lee is the new transfer enrollment counselor in the Admissions Office. She processes student transfer credit and meets with prospective students. Lee is from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, and moved to Alabama in 2007 to attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville on a soccer scholarship. She has degrees in French and Spanish with a minor in business. Lee can be reached at llee3@spsu.edu or ext. 6864.

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 34
Sept. 12, 2012