One of the things I enjoy most about working in higher education is the rhythm of the semester. The anticipation and excitement of August is followed rather quickly by the routine of September and October, regularly scheduled classes and meetings and attention to the work at hand. As the educational community moves into November, the pressure begins to build to a crescendo. My office tries to keep the screaming to a minimum while recognizing the pressures faculty, staff and students face as we enter the home stretch and looking towards the end of the semester.
My work over the course of the last few years has introduced a variation to the last week of classes. The weekend before this last I travel to the site of the SACS-COC annual meeting. In the past, the meeting has been a professional development opportunity for me. This year, the college sent a team of eight people as part of our preparation for the reaffirmation process. We spent the better part of three days in sessions about the QEP, compliance reports, fifth-year interim reports, and a number of other topics. You can look forward to hearing from us about these topics in the new year.
A number of those attending the conference for the college are members of the Faculty-Choir. The ride home from Atlanta gave us the opportunity to practice our parts for last night’s Holiday Spectacular. (The video clip is the Jazz Band from last year’s show.) I’m not sure the Faculty-Staff Choir can live up to the standards established by our music faculty and students, but we sure have fun trying. If you can sing even a little bit, consider joining us for the spring semester. It is the best sort of stress release.
I will close by wishing you well with the examining, grading, and recording. If I don’t see you on campus, enjoy the holidays.
“To the end of the semester . . .
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Stocking Stuffers from Inside Higher Ed
The Great Community College Experiment
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A Lump of Coal
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No Batteries Included
NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops for Community College Faculty
PARTICIPATE in an NEH Summer Program in 2010
The ten workshops for 2010 are
- Building the New South: The Social and Economic Transformation of the Piedmont after the Civil War
- Progress and Poverty: The Gilded Age in American Politics and Literature, 1877-1901
- African-American History and Culture in the Georgia Lowcountry: Savannah and the Coastal Islands, 1750-1950
- Concord, Massachusetts: A Center of Transcendentalism and Social Reform in the Nineteenth Century
- Along the Shore: Changing and Preserving the Landmarks of Brooklyn’s Industrial Waterfront
- From Revolution to Republic: Philadelphia’s Place in Early America
- Landmarks of American Democracy: From Freedom Summer to the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike
- Plymouth, Massachusetts: Landmark of Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians
- Legacies and Landmarks of the High Plains Native Americans
- History and Commemoration: Legacies of the Pacific War
More information about Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops for Community College Faculty is available on the NEH website at www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks-college.html.
The application deadline is March 2, 2010 (postmark).
The Auburn Symposium: Cross Cultural Perspectives on University Teaching and Learning, February 19 & 20, 2010.
Registration Now Open! The Symposium will be held in the new Student Center at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. In recognition of these difficult economic times, the registration fee is just $99 per person, which includes 8 speakers, 5 meals, entertainment and handouts. The Symposium will feature speakers who will discuss the impact of cultural context and background on teaching and learning in higher education. Cultural perspectives to be presented are Chinese, African American, Latino, Korean, Muslim and Hindu. As our colleges and universities become more
diverse, these perspectives are critical for faculty, students, and university personnel to understand. There will also be breakout sessions to discuss how this information can be applied to our college classrooms. Meals and entertainment with an international flavor will also highlight the Symposium. To read presentation abstracts, learn
about our presenters, see the Symposium schedule, and register, go to www.auburn.edu/biggio/symposium.
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