University of Central Florida Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

We are the Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.Our vision is to be the model environment where scholars innovate, invigorate, and explore the art of teaching and the science of learning. We dedicate ourselves to the success of our faculty and students.

Service-Learning at UCF

http://www.explearning.ucf.edu

University of Central Florida Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Seminars and Grants for Faculty, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Graduate Studies

CRLT’s seminars provide a forum for graduate students and postdocs to explore topics in teaching with colleagues from across campus. Each term, CRLT offers seminars on a variety of topics. All seminars are interactive, solidly grounded in the research on teaching and learning, and designed to offer practical suggestions that can be incorporated into classrooms.

CRLT is prepared to provide necessary physical accommodations for seminar participants with advance notice. Please call CRLT at 764-0505.

Innovative Pedagogies

•Enriching Student Scholarship: Improving Research Assignments and the Sources Students Cite

Monday, October 10, 2:00-4:00pm

•Using Screencasting Technology to Engage Students and Gauge Their Understanding

Tuesday, October 25, 2:00-4:00pm

Research and Best Practices

•Facilitating Classroom Discussions in the Social Sciences & Humanities

Thursday, September 22, 2:00-4:00pm

•Effective Lecturing: Six Steps to Success

Tuesday, September 27, 2:00-4:00pm

Multicultural Teaching

•Six-Session Training for Multicultural Classroom Facilitation

Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 25; November 1, 8, 15, 3:00-6:00 p.m.

•CRLT Players: (dis)Ability in the Classroom

Monday, October 24, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Preparing Future Faculty

•Preparing Future Faculty Conference: Getting Ready for an Academic Career

Wednesday, October 5, 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

•What’s It Like To Have a STEM Career at Different Types of Universities?

Wednesday, October 5, 1:10-2:20 p.m.

•What’s It Like To Be an Academic Administrator?

Wednesday, October 5, 2:30-3:40 p.m.

Innovative Pedagogies

Enriching Student Scholarship: Improving Research Assignments and the Sources Students Cite .PDF of PPT Slides Slides will only be available through the end of the Fall 2011 term.

Monday, October 10, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

Do you want your students to become familiar with your discipline's research? Do you want them to find and cite better sources in their research assignments? In this session, you will learn how to design an effective research assignment that leads to higher quality student research and addresses the challenges that students have delving into the serious literature of your discipline. You will also learn how to integrate the BiblioBouts information literacy game into your assignments so that students work together collaboratively and competitively to produce the best bibliography for their selected research topics. Bring your syllabus and assignments so we can discuss their effectiveness and how to synchronize them with BiblioBouts.

Karen Markey, Professor, School of Information

Doreen Bradley, Director of User Education Initiatives, Shapiro Undergraduate Library

Using Screencasting Technology to Engage Students and Gauge Their Understanding

.PDF of PPT Slides

Slides will only be available through the end of the Fall 2011 term.

Tuesday, October 25, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Great Lakes Room South, 4th floor, Palmer Commons

Screen capture technology is best known as a way of posting videos of complete lectures. However, faculty are also using this technology in more targeted ways, creating short supplemental video clips to support student learning in their courses. In this session, a panel of faculty will share their approaches to creating and using screen captures to post short explanations of materials students find difficult. These video segments feel highly personalized because they allow students to review topics of their choice at their own convenience. Participants in this workshop will learn how to leverage screencasting technologies to save faculty time while increasing student success.

Brenda Gunderson, Senior Lecturer in Statistics

Joanna Mirecki Millunchick, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Benjamin Paloff, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature

Erping Zhu, Assistant Director, CRLT

Research and Best Practices

Facilitating Classroom Discussions in the Social Sciences & Humanities

Thursday, September 22, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

CRLT Seminar Room, 1013 Palmer Commons

How can I heighten student participation in my sections? What are different ways I can plan a discussion and ask questions of students? How can I enhance students’ critical thinking skills? This seminar will provide GSIs in social science and humanities disciplines with effective discussion strategies, including activities like brainstorming, minute papers, think-pair-share, case studies, and a jigsaw discussion. Seminar participants will learn and practice techniques for facilitating discussions, managing common discussion challenges, asking effective questions, and enhancing and evaluating student participation.

Laura Schram, Instructional Consultant, CRLT

Effective Lecturing: Six Steps to Success

Tuesday, September 27, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Electronic Education and Resources Building, 700 East University Avenue, E0530 DIRECTIONS

.PDF of PPT Slides

Slides will only be available through the end of the Fall 2011 term.

This workshop presents a simple six-step process for effective lecturing: 1) start with the students, 2) create the structure, 3) develop each point, 4) adapt for learning, 5) do the last 10%, and 6) deliver dynamically. Time will be given to apply each step to a work in progress. Participants will receive the most benefit if they bring slides or an outline for a lecture they would like to revise or come with a topic and a few main points for a future lecture or presentation.

Anne Harrington, Director, Ross School of Business Instructional Development Program

Multicultural Teaching

Six-Session Training for Multicultural Classroom Facilitation

Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 25; November 1, 8, 15, 3:00-6:00 p.m. (Must attend all 6 sessions)

CRLT Seminar Room,1013 Palmer Commons

Co-sponsored by Rackham School of Graduate Studies and The Program on Intergroup Relations

This training series will provide GSIs with the opportunity to learn and use various models of group facilitation and dialogue for classroom settings. These three-hour sessions will introduce the skills and theory behind various methods of facilitation and examine the strengths and appropriate uses of each method in the classroom. Participants will receive a certificate of training after completing all six sessions.

Crisca Bierwert, Associate Director and Multicultural Coordinator, CRLT

Taryn Petryk, Director of Co-Curricular Initiatives, The Program on Intergroup Relations

CRLT Players: (dis)Ability in the Classroom

Monday, October 24, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Great Lakes Room North, 4th floor, Palmer Commons

In this sketch, the CRLT Players depict an instructor and students struggling with many issues, stereotypes, and dynamics surrounding visible and hidden disabilities in the classroom. Following the performance, the participants are invited to dialogue with the characters, who then repeat the sketch while incorporating audience suggestions.

Jeffrey Steiger, Artistic Director, CRLT Theatre Program

Preparing Future Faculty

Preparing Future Faculty Conference: Getting Ready for An Academic Career

Wednesday, October 5, 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Ballroom, 2nd Floor, Michigan League

Co-sponsored by Rackham Graduate School and The Career Center.

Planning a career in academe? This half-day conference is designed to help graduate students and postdoctoral scholars prepare for the transition to faculty jobs. The plenary and concurrent sessions will offer materials and strategies to learn about what it means to pursue an academic career and how to prepare for the job search process. Lunch will be provided. Enrollment is limited.

Featured Conference Sessions:

What's It Like To Have a STEM Career at Different Types of Universities?

Wednesday, October 5, 1:10-2:20 p.m.

Michigan League

Thinking about a faculty career after graduation? This panel focuses on the range of faculty careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Panelists will offer strategies for getting a faculty position, as well as for working productively at one, from different institutional perspectives.

Mary Wright, Assistant Director, CRLT

Chiron Graves, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University

Cyndee Gruden, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toledo

Bob Megginson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan

What’s It Like To Be an Academic Administrator?

Wednesday, October 5, 2:30-3:40 p.m.

Michigan League

Interested in exploring the possibilities for working in academic administration? This panel introduces the range of administrative careers in postsecondary education, many of which also involve a faculty appointment and teaching. Panelists will offer strategies for getting an administrative position, as well as for working productively at one, from different institutional perspectives.

Mary Wright, Assistant Director, CRLT

Steven Volk, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence, Oberlin College

Jann Joseph, Dean of the College of Education, Eastern Michigan University

Henry Dyson, LSA Academic Advisor, LSA Individual Concentration Program

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Seminars and Grants for Faculty, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Graduate Studies

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Teaching Strategies & Disciplinary Resources Website

The purpose of these pages is to assist faculty and graduate student instructors (GSIs) in their teaching by providing online teaching strategies and resources. Each topic below leads to groups of specific links recommended by CRLT. This website is designed to assist instructors in navigating the wealth of information on the Internet.


ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND INCIVILITY IN THE CLASSROOM
•Academic Integrity in the Classroom
•Incivility in the College Classroom

APPROACHES/TEACHING METHODS
•Active and Collaborative Learning
◦Group Work and Team Work
•Case-based Teaching and Problem-based Learning
•Clinical and Lab Teaching
•Discussion-Based Teaching and

Handling Controversial Discussions in the Classroom
•Experiential Learning and Field Work
◦Service Learning
◦Teaching with Archival, Botanical, and Museum Collections
•First Day(s) of Class
•Informal Learning
•Lectures and Large Classes

COURSE AND SYLLABUS DESIGN
•Course Design
•Syllabus Design

CURRICULUM DESIGN

EVALUATION OF TEACHING
•Methods for Evaluating Teaching
•Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness
•Formative and Summative Evaluation
•Midterm Student Feedback (MSF) & Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID)
•Teaching Portfolios and Course Portfolios

EVALUATION OF STUDENT LEARNING (TESTING, GRADING, FEEDBACK)
•Assessment of Learning
•Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs)
•Feedback on Student Writing
•Testing and Grading Issues

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE TEACHING
•Online Teaching
•Technology in the Classroom

LEARNING AND TEACHING PRINCIPLES AND LEARNING STYLES
•Learning Styles
•Learning and Teaching Principles and How People Learn
•Motivating Students
•Study Skills
•Teaching Styles

MULTICULTURALISM / DIVERSITY IN TEACHING
•Student Diversity at U-M
•Engaging Students from a Range of Backgrounds
•Responding to Social Issues
•Impacts of Social Identities in the Classroom
•Teaching Social Justice and Community Service Learning
•Multiculturalism in U.S. Higher Education Forums

RESOURCES BY DISCIPLINE

SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY/TEACHING STATEMENT

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Teaching Strategies & Disciplinary Resources Website

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Services to Support Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes in Departments, Schools & Colleges

Assessment of Student Learning Website



Provost Philip J. Hanlon's Statement on Assessment


In the past several years, there has been a great deal of national discussion about the assessment of student learning in higher education. Students, their parents, public officials, and others have posed questions about the value of higher education, focusing particularly on the value added at the individual level. It is important to consider the contributions higher education makes to society as well. The University of Michigan is committed to continually improving the learning environment for our students and faculty. The University also participates in national efforts to develop effective tools for assessing student learning.


This University of Michigan website on the assessment of student learning provides information about assessment and evaluation activities ranging from macro-level data about student experiences to departmental materials used in select, individual courses. I hope you will find the resources available here to be useful.


Assessment Background and Resources


U-M Assessment Resources


A. Student learning and Effective Teaching


B. CRLT Assessment Projects


C. Large Studies and Data Sources on Student Learning in the


U-M Curriculum and Co-Curriculum


D. Materials from the Provost's Seminar on Teaching


E. Examples and Resources from U-M Departments, Schools, and Colleges


F. Data about U-M Students


Assessment Background and Resources
•CRLT Services for Assessment
•U-M Institutional Portrait
•Glossary of Assessment Terms
•Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning
•AAC&U A Brief History of Student Learning Assessment (pdf)
•Classroom Assessment
•Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
•Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment


An extensive set of links including discussion groups, articles, handbooks; assessment methods for specific skills or content; individual institutions’ assessment related pages; links to state accrediting boards and commissions as well as accrediting bodies, such as the North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission.


•AAC&U Rubrics for Evaluating Core Skills

A set of rubrics for evaluating AAC&U's 15 essential learning outcomes (e.g., critical and creative thinking, intercultural knowledge and competence, quantitative literacy, written and oral communication).


•Assessing Intercultural and Global Competence: Survey and Measurement Tools


U-M Assessment Resources


A. Student learning and Effective Teaching
B. CRLT Assessment Projects
C. Large Studies and Data Sources on Student Learning in the U-M Curriculum and Co-Curriculum
D. Materials from the Fall 2009 Provost's Seminar on Teaching:


What Are They Learning? Approaches to Assessing Student Learning
E. Examples and Resources from U-M Departments, Schools, and Colleges


•College of Engineering: Assessment for Curricular Change


•Exit Surveys

◦Psychology:
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/assessmentLSA/assessmentLSApdfs/Psychology.pdf


◦Women’s Studies:
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/assessmentLSA/assessmentLSApdfs/Women%27sStudiesSurvey.pdf


◦Classics:
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/assessmentLSA/assessmentLSApdfs/ClassicsExitSurvey.pdf


•ePortfolios

◦ePortfolios at U-M


ePortfolios are web-based tools used to support students in collecting, organizing, and reflecting on learning. The ePortfolio framework developed at U-M supports students in identifying and synthesizing learning and divides portfolios into two types: Competency Based Portfolios and Integrative Learning Portfolios. Competency based portfolios are repositories for students’ reflections on their learning in a particular program, while Integrative Learning Portfolios are not program-specific. ePortfolios generally include philosophy statements, goals statements, examples of student work, supporting materials, and a welcome page.


◦Dental Hygiene U-M Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene, School of Dentistry


Students in the U-M Online Degree Completion Program within the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Program create a portfolio that includes samples of work demonstrating their skills and their own reflections about their learning experiences. ◦U-M College of Engineering


The College of Engineering provides guidelines on its website for instructors who wish to use portfolios to assess their students’ learning. The website also offers links to sample rubrics for evaluating portfolios and examples of portfolio assessment at other engineering programs.


F. Data about U-M Students


•Cooperative Institutional Research Project (.pdf)


CIRP is a national survey of incoming students in whichU-M has participated since 1993. Items within the survey include students’ self-reported reasons for attending college in general and U-M in particular, their hopes and expectations for their educational experience, their views and attitudes regarding current social issues, and information on their family background and educational preparation. The Profile contains two types of comparative data: current U-M students versus those who entered ten years earlier, and U-M students compared to students at other research universities.


•Provost’s website


◦Student Statistics (Fall 2008) and Undergraduate Success and Progress Rate


http://www.provost.umich.edu/college_portrait/2009/index.html


◦Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid, and Undergraduate Admissions, and Degrees and Areas of Study


http://www.provost.umich.edu/college_portrait/2009/page2.html  


◦The Community, Study at U-M, Local Surroundings, Student Housing, and Campus Safety, Immediate Plans of Spring 2008 Bachelor's Degree Recipients


http://www.provost.umich.edu/college_portrait/2009/page3.html  


◦Academic Excellence and Student Research, Undergraduate Opportunities, Graduate Education, Libraries and Archives, Research, and Carnegie Classification of Institutional Characteristics


http://www.provost.umich.edu/college_portrait/2009/page4.html

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Services to Support Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes in Departments, Schools & Colleges

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Grants to Enhance Teaching and Learning

CRLT sponsors competitions for grants to enhance teaching and learning at the University of Michigan. To obtain information about these grants, review the short descriptions provided on this page and click on the individual grant name for more details about each one, including application guidelines. The grants competitions are open to eligible members of the Ann Arbor campus of the University only.



All CRLT grant proposals are peer-reviewed by UM faculty.


For other funding sources see: Beyond CRLT Grants: Instructional Funds and Grants Available at UM


• Instructional Development Fund (IDF)


The competition is open, on the Ann Arbor campus of the University, to members of the following groups: all tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty; and Lecturers who have continuing appointments and course development responsibilities (i.e., an assignment from the dean, chair, or designee to develop a new course or significantly revise an existing course). Faculty members are invited to apply for small grants up to $500 from CRLT’s Instructional Development Fund to support innovative activities to improve teaching and learning. Expenses that can be covered by these grants include supplies and equipment, programming or research assistance, conference fees and expenses, and summer projects aimed at developing or enhancing courses. Each academic year, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted.


To ensure that a variety of applicants have the opportunity to implement innovative teaching and learning activities, recipients of IDF grants during an academic calendar year (Sept-August) will not be eligible to receive funding for an IDF grant during the next academic calendar year, but they are welcome to apply again in the following year.


• Lecturers' Professional Development Grant (LPDG)


Faculty with continuing appointments as Lecturers on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus are eligible to apply for grants of up to $2,000 each. These grants will be awarded for professional development activities including creative endeavors, research, scholarship, and teaching. Proposal deadline: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11, 2011.


• The Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching - stage I


Collaborative groups of faculty in and across departments and programs are eligible for The Gilbert Whitaker Fund, which provides incentive grants for improvement of teaching and learning. The competition is open, on the Ann Arbor campus of the University, to members of the following groups: all tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty; and Lecturers who have continuing appointments and course development responsibilities (i.e., an assignment from the dean, chair, or associate chair to develop a new course or significantly revise an existing course). Up to eight grants of $10,000 each are awarded each year during Stage I. Stage I deadline: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.


• The Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching - stage II


Stage I winners are later eligible to apply for Stage II, which provides up to $15,000 additional funding. Stage II deadline: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.


• Investigating Student Learning Grant (ISL)


Open to faculty who wish to investigate aspects of student learning in their courses or programs. The competition is open, on the Ann Arbor campus of the University, to members of the following groups: all tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty; and Lecturers who have continuing appointments and course development responsibilities (i.e., an assignment from the dean, chair, or designee to develop a new course or significantly revise an existing course). Grant awards of $3,000 are available to individual faculty members. Grant awards of $4,000 are available to faculty member-graduate student/postdoc teams. Proposal deadline: 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.


• Faculty Development Fund (FDF)


Open to individual faculty members or small groups of faculty proposing innovative revisions to courses or innovative course development or initiating other projects that improve student learning at the University of Michigan. The competition is open, on the Ann Arbor campus of the University, to members of the following groups: all tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty; and Lecturers who have continuing appointments and course development responsibilities (i.e., an assignment from the dean, chair, or designee to develop a new course or significantly revise an existing course). Awards up to $6,000 are available for smaller projects and awards up to $10,000 are available to departments, programs, and groups of faculty for larger projects. Proposal deadline: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7, 2012.


• Teaching with Technology Institute


The Teaching with Technology Institute helps faculty integrate instructional technology into their teaching, develop their technological skills, and explore the effective use of technology in the classroom. The Institute provides: individual consultations on pedagogy and technology; sustained one-on-one support for faculty grantees during course planning and when the course is being taught; and hands-on technological training. Awards of $2500 are available for winning proposals. Proposal deadline: 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.


For other funding sources see: Beyond CRLT Grants: Instructional Funds and Grants Available at UM

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching - Grants to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Journal of Information Technology Education: Hybrid Learning Defined

The blended, adjunct, or hybrid teaching model is a mixture of classroom and online instruction

that has an abundance of academics proclaiming its benefits. Hybrid courses blend face-to-face

interaction with online learning and customarily involve the delivery of curricular materials, access

to resources, submission of assignments, project based learning, activities that support higher

order thinking, and online discussions that may be asynchronous or synchronous in nature. In order

for a class to be considered hybrid some actual student learning and learning assessment must

occur online and a percentage of in-class time is forfeited to make up for the weight put on the

online learning activities. MORE

Journal of Information Technology Education: Hybrid Learning Defined

Accredited Online Colleges: 10 Literary Trends that Need to Go Away

What constitutes "literary trends that need to go away" is purely a matter of opinion, of course, and one of debatable education at that! And so, dear, sweet Internet, do try and curtail any possible combustion over subjectivities. It really is quite silly!


But yeah, these really exist as quite ghastly little numbers, poisoning beloved bookstores and libraries for far too long. Some have wreaked havoc for decades while others — if bibliophiles are lucky, anyways — might blink away as just another disposable fad. Either way though, they all deserve a giant booting so worthwhile reads can take their place. MORE

Accredited Online Colleges: 10 Literary Trends that Need to Go Away

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Peerless

October 13, 2011
By Reginald Stuart


NEW ORLEANS — When Norman Francis arrived at Xavier University of Louisiana in 1948 as a first-generation college student fresh out of high school from the poor side of Lafayette, La., his drive, intelligence, discipline and winning personality quickly earned him election as freshman class president. It was the start of something big.


Today, Dr. Francis is in his 43rd year as president of Xavier, having parlayed what he brought to the table into what is widely regarded as one of the most successful leadership careers in the history of American higher education. He’s been adviser to eight United States presidents and, while not a Ph.D., has been awarded more than 40 honorary degrees in addition to the juris doctorate he earned decades ago.


Along the way, Francis has hosted Lady Bird Johnson, Pope John Paul II and former President Bill Clinton. He’s been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President George W. Bush. He hosted President Barack Obama last fall as the nation’s chief executive marked the fifth anniversary of the Gulf Coast region’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.


At 80, the silver-haired Army veteran and father of six seems as charged about his job as when he was selected (he became the first lay person and first male to head historically Black Xavier) and as passionate about the Catholic university’s mission and goals and role in the greater New Orleans community.


“If Norman called me about everything he did, he wouldn’t have time to tell me, and I wouldn’t have time to listen,” says Xavier board of trustees Chairwoman Mary Zervigon. “He’s an entirely remarkable man. You’ll learn something every time you talk to him.”


There’s no dust gathering under his feet, says Zervigon and others who have worked with Francis over the years. His energy and warm personality are contagious, they say. When he talks about his school, his students, his colleagues, his family or his city, he sounds as excited as a kid in a candy store. Some joke he exudes enough energy to trounce the Energizer Bunny in a head-to-head race.


“To call him a peer is an overstatement,” says Dr. Ronald Mason, president of the Southern University System in Louisiana. Mason, a former general counsel for Tulane University and who one-time directed a Tulane-Xavier funded center focusing on urban issues and public policy, is one of many college presidents who consider Francis a friend and mentor. “He’s an icon in the industry. He’s stood the test of time,” says Mason, echoing the sentiments of others.


Adds Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, president of the University of Detroit Mercy, also a private Catholic college: “As a president, he’s a visionary and a master when it comes to relationships with students, alumni, trustees and foundations. That’s exactly what the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament thought he would be able to do,” says Garibaldi, who served in a variety of capacities at Xavier for 15 years, including provost, before leaving in the 1990s to become provost at Howard University.


Similarly, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was positively effusive in his praise of Francis following his speech at the HBCU Week conference in September before numerous HBCU leaders, including Francis.


Francis “just epitomizes what moral leadership, educational excellence is all about. I spoke at a graduation at Xavier and I was just so moved by leadership. His enthusiasm, his commitment, his energy, his vigor — he’s absolute American hero. I have so much respect for him,” Duncan said.


“What’s he’s done for not just his university but the country is truly remarkable. There aren’t too many folks like him, he’s a living legend and I’m so lucky to have a chance to work with him,” Duncan added.


The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, or S.B.S., is the religious order founded and funded by Katharine Drexel, a devout Catholic and wealthy Philadelphian who turned a fortune inherited in the late 1800s from her banker father into a mission to make the world a better place through education.


Drexel had traveled the country as a young lady and had seen first-hand the lack of educational opportunities across the land for Native Americans and “coloreds,” as Native Americans and Blacks were called at the time. Drexel eventually took a vow of poverty, joined the S.B.S., and over the next half century used millions of her fortune funding chapels and small schools whose mission was the education of Native Americans and Blacks.


With part of that money, Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament braved racism in the Deep South to start and fund a number of small Catholic preparatory schools around Louisiana including Xavier. It was first started as a preparatory school and later expanded into a college that could, among other things, offer higher education opportunities to children finishing prep schools that Drexel was funding around the state.


“She was like a little Ford Foundation,” says Francis, comparing Drexel’s sustained investments in Xavier over the years to the public good will focus of the giant philanthropic fund founded by the family of the late Henry Ford


For nearly half a century, Drexel ran Xavier as the centerpiece of her efforts. The school’s steady income from Drexel’s fortune ended in 1955, however, when she died at age 97 and the covenants governing the trust supporting her work through Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament required that it be liquidated upon her death. Xavier had a firmly rooted mission by then and a devoted leadership team focused on keeping her dream alive. Today, fully one-third of Xavier’s board of trustees is composed of members of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The order still gives financial support to Xavier and other schools Drexel chose to fund years ago, albeit at a reduced level.


By the mid-1960s, Xavier was in need of new funding sources. Its enrollment of more than 1,300 students was continuing to grow. Yet, the growth was straining its budget, operating costs were growing steadily, fundraising was not going well and the school was operating with a budget deficit. In what football enthusiasts call a Hail Mary pass, the S.B.S. embraced a major overhaul of Xavier’s leadership. The order decided to give control of Xavier to a new lay person/Catholic church affiliated board of trustees and president. They looked to an alumnus and 10-year employee of the school: Norman Francis, the same bright young man who came to Xavier 20 years earlier, and, along the way, had earned the admiration and respect of fellow students, colleagues and Drexel’s successors.


If a person can be called “the chosen one,” Francis fits the mold.


He was plucked from obscurity by the S.B.S. upon the recommendation of a small, unrelated Catholic high school in Lafayette. Francis got a work-study scholarship, spending 24 hours or more a week working in the school’s library at night. At the time of his enrollment, in 1948, most campus buildings for classes and housing were surplus wooden Army barracks with no air conditioning. Dress codes were strict. No shorts or tank tops. Curfews were enforced. Learning was paramount. Off campus, racial segregation was the strict law of the land. A math major, Francis’ talents and personality were quickly recognized by Xavier’s leadership. It made sure he had opportunities to grow.


Upon graduation from Xavier, Francis entered Loyola University of New Orleans’ law school, becoming the first Black student admitted to the law program (one attempt in each of the two previous years had failed, although both of those applicants went on to other law schools and eventually became federal judges). While attending law school, Francis was allowed to stay on the Xavier campus, as Loyola had no housing for Blacks. He was appointed resident counselor on one of the floors of the dorm in which he lived.


During his law school years, Francis met his soon-to-be wife, Blanche Macdonald, a Xavier graduate who was teaching modern dance at Xavier. They married in 1955, just as he was graduating from Loyola and heading off to the Army. The military service “kept me humble,” he says, noting he took a lower rank (private) that required him to shine shoes and work various other service jobs in exchange for a shorter tour — two years rather than three. The military housing was no bother, he says, explaining that he had already been sleeping in wooden military barracks for nearly eight years, alluding to his stay in Xavier’s dorms through his undergraduate and law school years. Upon completion of his military service, he was recruited by Xavier to work in the school’s administration.


“I got a letter from a nun saying, ‘We need someone for dean of men. Would you give us a couple of years?’” Francis recalls. “I did and I did and I did,” he says with a laugh, as he talks about how a “couple of years” turned into more than half a century. He rocketed through every assignment with the zest he brought to the school as a freshman, and, to the S.B.S., gambling the school’s fate on their chosen one seemed like a no-brainer. After all, he already had been with them, more or less, for 20 years.


“If that (surrendering day-to-day control of the school to a lay person and lay-religious board) was not done, I’m not sure what Xavier would be today or maybe even open today,” says Sister Patricia Suchalski, president of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and vice chairwoman of the 17-member Xavier board of trustees.


A Xavier alum who attended the school the first year Francis was appointed president, Suchalski recalls the new president as “a man of great faith, great intelligence and a good reader of people.” He’s still the same, she says.


In speculating on why he was chosen as president, Francis thinks the sisters said, “‘If we’ve been running this school for 50 years, isn’t it time to test whether one of our graduates can run the university?’” With the wind at his back, solid support from the new board and the sisters who groomed him, Francis took the reins of the school, gathered a team of trusted lieutenants and brought Xavier back from the brink.


Saving Xavier meant making some tough choices, including canceling the school’s robust, and costly, intercollegiate athletic programs in football, basketball, volleyball and track and field. By the same token, the new president was careful to protect the programs that had helped distinguish the school over the years, such as its College of Pharmacy and other science and pre-medicine programs. They were prized legacies of Drexel’s era and would be built upon to save the school, not sacrificed, Francis said.


Saving the school also required raising more money. And that Francis and his new leadership team did relentlessly.


Today, Xavier is quite a different place from when Francis inherited it with heavy debt and an endowment of about $1.8 million. The old wooden barracks have been replaced by modern air-conditioned buildings for classes and housing. Before Hurricane Katrina knocked the wind out of New Orleans and most of the Gulf Coast, total enrollment had reached 4,000 students (it’s now about 3,400). While women increasingly constitute a majority of the student body, it is now majority non-Catholic and less than 75 percent Black. Asians, particularly Vietnamese students from the New Orleans area, make up the largest share of Xavier’s 25 percent non-Black enrollment. Xavier’s endowment is now valued at more than $133 million, and the institution has not reported a deficit in more than 30 years.


As for Hurricane Katrina, the devastating storm that ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Xavier has more than weathered the storm thanks in large part, observers say, to Francis’ unyielding sense of optimism about the ability to get things done.


Although waters from the hurricane and subsequent flooding consumed the campus and forced Xavier to shut a few days after the school year started, Francis declared that the school would reopen in January 2006, no questions asked.


It was a bold decision, given the fact that the school sustained major water damage and that Francis and several dozen staffers had lost their homes to the storm.


To the astonishment of many, including his staff, the school did reopen as planned, a move that minimized the loss of faculty and students and delayed graduation of seniors by only three months. Xavier is rebuilding its enrollment, actively acquiring property adjacent to its campus that was abandoned after the storm and is engaged in a capital construction program. This program includes a new school of pharmacy pavilion funded with a post- Katrina “windfall” gift of $17.5 million from the government of Qatar. It also is building a new chapel in honor of Drexel, who was canonized in 2000 and declared a saint by the pope based on her life’s work and evidence of at least two instances in which she performed miracles.


“[Xavier has] grown in local, regional and nationwide competitiveness,” says Dr. Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund and a past president of neighboring Dillard University in New Orleans. Lomax applauds Francis’ tireless efforts on behalf of Xavier and the city. “He eats, sleeps and drinks Xavier,” Lomax adds, with an admiring laugh. “He eats, sleeps and drinks New Orleans.”


While leading the effort to revive Xavier after Katrina, Francis also was appointed by then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco to head the state’s hurricane recovery board. In that volunteer post, which he held for more than two years, Francis oversaw the distribution of more than $12 billion in federal aid to disaster-stricken parishes (counties) across the state.


He recalls the heavy workload that was required to rebuild his school and help oversee his state’s recovery. Francis notes, in a somber tone, that, while the official death toll from the storm is estimated at about 1,600, many people who lost everything in the storm simply “died from broken hearts.”


“It’s not really behind us. It will be with us for a while,” he adds.


From a political perspective, many people wonder aloud how Francis has kept his job so long, given anecdotal estimates that college presidents in these times usually last about seven years. Presidents at private colleges tend to last longer than those at public universities, as private school chiefs are more insulated from the day-to-day politics of state government boards and legislators, observers say. Still, they must deliver or they are usually out the door.


For sure, those observations provide some political insights into explaining Francis’ successful tenure. There are some other practical factors, he and others suggest, that also explain his tireless energy and personality.


“It’s got to be the Cajun stuff,” says veteran Xavier accounting professor Clifford Wright, who has taught at the school 42 years. “They are super charming. He’s Cajun. He’ll admit it. He knows his roots.”


Francis, who keeps time with a Mickey Mouse watch he received as a gift from one of his daughters, jokes that he gets his energy from the liquid part of his diet. “I drink Mississippi water, unfiltered,” he says with a hearty laugh.


Seriously, Francis says, “I like my job. You get energized by what you do, by working with people and you get energized by helping to make something better.” Those personal, non-academic observations help explain his longevity and why he never gets tired, he says.


There is lots of work ahead, says Francis and his top colleagues.


Continuing to rebuild the enrollment is key. The school’s infrastructure was built to serve 4,000 students, the level it surpassed in 2005, a few days before Hurricane Katrina shut down everything in New Orleans’ low-lying areas like the Xavier campus. While making a steady comeback from the 700 freshmen it lost after Katrina, the school’s enrollment today is still down 20 percent from its peak.


“We’ve got to get more students to sustain those fixed costs or consider a substantial increase in price in tuition or downsizing,” says Calvin Tregre, Xavier’s senior vice president for administration and Francis’ key budget man for more than two decades.


Tregre, a no-nonsense man with a dry sense of humor, says the goal of reaching at least 800 new freshmen a year is complicated by low high school graduation rates, particularly in Louisiana, and the fragile economic status of many entering students. “We have about 500 students who show and can’t pay their first tuition installment,” Tregre says.


Tregre, whom had served as top fiscal officer before becoming senior vice president, says the school is doing all it can to hold its costs in line, even as it engages in its ambitious construction projects and aggressive property acquisition efforts. School staffers took a lower than normal pay raise this year, saving Xavier more than $1 million in salary costs.


Francis, who Tregre describes as the most informed college president in America when it comes to school finances, is driving hard bargains on what the school pays for abandoned properties it’s seeking. “He thinks people should give us the property,” Tregre joked.


In his recent annual start-of-the-year pep talks to faculty and staff, Francis, noting the steady enrollment recovery, cautioned his colleagues about the prospects of enrollment reaching the 4,000 mark anytime soon, explaining it’s not just some people’s worry of another hurricane coming that could impact the school’s future.


“Our enrollment rebound has been on target,” he told the staff meeting. “That’s a miracle, especially given the fact that federal dollars are starting to dwindle.” He told them forces at work in Congress want to make significant cuts in federal student aid and that, too, could complicate enrollment efforts.


“Will we ever get back to where we were (before the hurricane)?” he asked. “Not necessarily,” Francis said, noting that the entering class in the fall of 2005 exceeded 1,000 students. “But, we are not looking for numbers. We are looking for a quality education for our students. It’s not a question of being large. It’s a question of being quality.”


The crowd nodded in agreement.


Not forgotten in the thinking about the school’s future is the somber realization by Francis and his leadership team that no one, not even him, will last forever. It’s just that no one, from his veteran lieutenants to students to trustees, wants to envision Xavier without Norman Francis.


Zervigon, the board chairman, says board members have gone through several scenarios of a succession plan, hastening to add, “But I hope we never have to implement it on my watch. I hope he lives to be 110,” Zervigon says. “You can find a successor,” Zervigon adds, yet, “you can’t replace him.”

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Peerless

Peer Review Vol. 12, No. 3: Emerging Trends and Key Debates in Undergraduate Education

Faculty Quality—A Forty-Year Perspective from a University President

By Norman C. Francis, President, Xavier University of Louisiana

http://www.aacu.org/blast/prblasts/summer2010.cfm

Peer Review Vol. 12, No. 3: Emerging Trends and Key Debates in Undergraduate Education

FAMU News: NOAA Awards FAMU $15 Million to Train a New Generation of Scientists

October 28, 2011
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida A&M University (FAMU) has been awarded an education and research grant totaling $15 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to meet the agency’s workforce needs in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) that support NOAA’s mission. This is the largest single grant awarded in the history of the University.

“One of the highest criteria used to determine the quality of a university is the level of extramural funding and quality of research taking place by faculty and the funding obtained for them to conduct research on a regular basis,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “This announcement proves that Florida A&M University meets that standard of excellence.”


With 30 percent of the grant designated for scholarships, FAMU has partnered with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Delaware State University, Jackson State University, University of Texas at Brownsville, and Creighton University as well as three National Estuarine Research Reserves; Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary; the Gulf of Mexico Alliance; and, the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System. The grant will provide funds to support students as they pursue NOAA-relevant education, research, and training in environmental science. This grant supports enhancing environmental literacy from K-12 to the doctorate level.


“Our education efforts will focus on training and graduating under-represented minorities and utilize research as a vehicle to educate students, and develop skills relevant to the new economy,” said Michael Abazinge, professor and interim director of the School of the Environment who also serves as the principal investigator for this significant award.


The award will support the NOAA Environmental Cooperative Science Center (ECSC), FAMU as the lead institution with its partners to focus on the following goals:
• Increasing the number of well-trained and highly qualified scientists and managers, particularly from under-represented minority groups entering the NOAA workforce and other resource management entities;
• Improving the scientific bases for coastal resource management and to develop tools and research products to characterize, evaluate, and forecast coastal and marine ecosystem responses to natural and human induced stressors; and,
• Facilitating community engagement related to the function and relevance of coastal ecosystems and the services they provide to society.


“The magnitude of this environmentally-focused research and training award is critical to our region, nation and to the world, as we develop best practices to govern us in all areas of our existence,” said K. Ken Redda, professor and acting vice president for research.


The ECSC was established in 2001 at FAMU through a national competitive process. This five-year award was made to a team of academic institutions led by FAMU. Through this award, ECSC will increase the number of scientists, particularly from under-represented minority groups in environmental, coastal, and oceanic sciences. Of the over 180 postsecondary student participants, ECSC has graduated 19 Ph.D. degree recipients, 41 master’s degree holders, and 56 bachelor’s degree recipients, since 2006. Graduates of ECSC, a part of FAMU’s School of the Environment, has a 100 percent placement rate. Eight are working as employees of NOAA, while others are employed by state or other governmental employees or as researchers in university settings.


“We’re committed to developing problem-solving skills as we engage undergraduate majors and graduate students from varied disciplines, including biology, chemistry, physics, math and other STEM areas needed to address and resolve environmental issues,” said Charles H. Jagoe, distinguished professor in the School of the Environment.


Those problem-solving skills are being put to use in the laboratories in the School of the Environment.


Currently, two students, LaTrisha Allen and Kali Farris, are conducting research under the leadership of Jagoe. Allen, a second-year Ph.D. research student, and Kali Farris, a third-year master’s degree student majoring in environmental science marine toxicology, are examining and conducting different analysis of several fish species to determine their exposure to the oil released in the BP Oil Spill.


This grant will also provide educational opportunities for students and teachers in the local K-12 school districts through summer workshops, Brain Bowl competitions and others enrichment activities. K-12 student participants will learn how environmental decisions impact the social and economic structure of their communities.


The Environmental Sciences Institute, which is currently referred to as the School of the Environment, was established in 1995 and became a school in 2011. It is one of several new innovative programs at Florida A&M University. The FAMU School of the Environment is a multidisciplinary unit that offers a wide range of services to students, governmental agencies, private sector companies, communities and other organizations.


The grant awarded to the School of the Environment is budgeted over the next five years, ending on June 30, 2016. For more information on NOAA’s Environmental Cooperative Science Center at Florida A&M University visit http://www.ecsc.famu.edu

FAMU News: NOAA Awards FAMU $15 Million to Train a New Generation of Scientists

New Connections: Increasing Diversity of RWJF Programming - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Research and Evaluation Topics - http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/research-evaluation-topics
Building Human Capital

Childhood Obesity
Coverage
Pioneer
Public Health
Quality/Equality
Vulnerable Populations

Apply for a Grant - http://www.rwjf-newconnections.org/apply-for-grant

Junior Investigators

New Connections’ grants for Junior Investigators extend for a period of 24-months for up to $75,000 to conduct projects based on RWJF team research and evaluation priorities. Junior Investigators are expected to commit between .25 - .75 FTE during the grant period. In addition to providing support for the researcher’s time, the award can be used to cover research expenses including support for mentors and methodological training.


New Connections is also dedicated to supporting the Foundation's pledge to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. In support of this goal, the program offers special solicitations specifically targeting childhood obesity related research for Junior Investigators through collaboration with Healthy Eating Research and Active Living Research national programs.


New Connections is working with the Public Health Law Research (PHLR) national program office to offer opportunities in the field of public health law research. PHLR-New Connections grant opportunities will be offered in the Round 6 CFP released for Junior Investigators in February 2011.


Mid-Career Consultants
New Connections research and/or evaluation funding opportunities for Mid-Career Consultants consist of grants or contracts of up to $75,000. The grant period for consultants is 12 months. Past Calls for Proposals (CFPs) for Consultants have focused on evaluation, syntheses, and qualitative work although consultant projects may span an array of topics.

New Connections: Increasing Diversity of RWJF Programming - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Call for Abstracts: Achieving Health Equity through Access, Advocacy, Treatment, and Policy Development

01/13/2012 – Abstract Submission Deadline

01/30/2012 – Abstract Notification

We are soliciting abstracts for podium and poster presentation. More specifically, we seek scientific and/or informative abstracts that reflect the focus of the conference. This year's conference will focus on replicable multidisciplinary collaborative models and approaches from the clinical, research, and community arenas that integrate all levels of providers to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities. Selected abstracts will be presented during poster sessions or podium presentations during Concurrent Scientific Sessions.


Visit http://xula.the1joshuagroup.com  for more information about the Xavier University of Louisiana CMHDRE's Fifth Health Disparities Conference.


Abstract Themes
Abstracts are categorized in broad thematic areas. Please note that reviewers have the authority to reassign categories as necessary. Therefore, it is important that you review the following categories before submitting your abstract to ensure optimal results.


1.0 Disease Process and Disparities
1.1 Cancer
1.2 Diabetes
1.3 Heart Disease and Stroke
1.4 Kidney Disease
1.5 Other

2.0 Health Maintenance / Prevention
2.1 Nutrition
2.2 Overweight / Obesity
2.3 Lipid Management
2.4 Other


3.0 Health Services / Policy
3.1 Public Health Infrastructure
3.2 Healthcare Systems and Practices
3.3 Disparities in Health Care
3.4 Other 4.0 Social Determinants of Health


4.1 Environmental Health
4.2 Community Intervention
4.3 Other


5.0 Other
5.1 Community-Based Program
5.2 Research
5.3 Women's Health
5.4 Men's Health

Call for Abstracts: Achieving Health Equity through Access, Advocacy, Treatment, and Policy Development