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  • Publications (documents)
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• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2012-06-15_Vol78_No05_02

June 15th, 2012 WESTERN CAROLINIAN Page 2 NEWS Western Carolinas Teaching Fellows Discover friendship Tyler Auffhammer, Staff Writer On Thursday, May 17, Western Carolina Universi- ty welcomed over 500 North Carolina Teaching Fellows to campus on their annual Discovery Trip. The Teaching Fellows Discovery Trip gathers up all freshman Teaching Fel- lows from the 17 N.C. cam- puses that host the Teaching Fellows Program and sends them on a journey across the state on 11 charter buses. Along the way, the fresh- - man education majors visit local schools, businesses and communities to get a better feel for the state as a whole, the diverse neigh- borhoods and the multitude of people that inhabit them. The trip also serves as an opportunity for students to get an idea of where they would like to apply for a teaching position after they graduate. This years Discovery Trip began in Greenville at East Carolina University on Sunday, May 13, where over 500 of the freshman Fellows met to hear the opening cer- emonies. Following their bus meetings at ECU, the stu- dents would visit local school districts throughout the state over the week-long trip, along the way spend- ing their nights at UNC Pembroke, North Carolina Central University, Lenoir- Rhyne University and fi- nally ending their week at SUBMITTED PHOTO Last month, WCUs Teaching Fellows welcomed over 500 North Carolina Teaching Fellows to campus. Western Carolina Univer- sity. When the Fellows arrived at WCU, it was Campus T- Shirt Day, so every Fellow was wearing the campus T- shirt design of their respec- tive campus cohort. On Thursday evening, the Discovery Road Show 2012 took place inside the Ramsey Center, where stu- dents could sign up to par- ticipate in the talent show. Singers, musicians, comedi- ans and spoken word poets took to the stage to show- case their talents. WCUs Teaching Fellows cohort banded together and sang the Fight Song and Alma Mater a cappella to much applause despite not hav- ing much time to practice throughout the week. After the Road Show, the WCU Teaching Fellows presented their director, Dr. Jacqueline Smith, with a to- ken of their thanks for all of her love, support and dedi- cation to Western Carolinas program. All of the campuses dis- banded on Friday morning to return home, but many of the students gained knowl- edge and friendship that will last a lifetime. Peter Peltack, a WCU Teaching Fellow, said of his experience, I cant re- Mountain native named dean of WCU WCU News Services Darrell Franklin Parker, dean and professor of eco- nomics in the Johnson Col- lege of Business and Eco- nomics at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., is the next dean of the College of Business at Western Carolina University. Parker is filling a vacan- cy created by the departure of Ronald A. Johnson, who stepped down from the po- sition in 2010. The appoint- ment is effective July 1. A native of Buncombe County, Parker is no stranger to Western North Carolina. He grew up in Weaverville and graduated from North Buncombe High School. He received his bachelors degree in mathematics and economics at the University of North Carolina Asheville before going on to earn his masters and doctoral de- grees in economics from Purdue University. He also is no stranger to WCUs increasing emphasis on community engagement and partnership, said Beth Tyson Lofquist, interim pro- vost, in announcing the ap- pointment Monday, May 14. Among Darrell Parkers strengths are his understand- ing of the importance of con- nections with the external community and his ability to make and solidify those con- nections, Lofquist said. He also has a proven track re- cord of excellence in teach- ing as well as outstanding in- ternal communication skills and leadership, both within the college that he leads and across the entire campus. Parker said he is look- ing forward to returning to WNC and taking a leader- ship role in a university he has watched from afar. T have had a natural in- terest in Western Carolina and have known about its commitment to community engagement throughout the region for years, he said. The entrepreneurship pro- grams that WCU offers on- line at the bachelors and masters levels are great examples of a continuing commitment by the College of Business to regional eco- nomic development. These high-quality programs can help adults who are working in or starting a small busi- ness finish their degrees or start the next one. Another example of that commitment is WCUs mas- ters degree program in proj- ect management, which is top-ranked among accredited online business programs, he said. T have had a great sea- son as dean in the Upstate of South Carolina, Parker said. The opportunities at WCU give me a chance to continue to serve the region and ex- pand to the next level. Prior to becoming dean at USC Upstate in 2006, Parker held the William Freeman Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise and served as di- rector of the School of Eco- nomic Development at Geor- gia Southern University. He previously was a pro- fessor of economics at Win- throp University, where he was named Winthrop Uni- versity Distinguished Pro- fessor in 1999; awarded the First Union Excellence in Teaching prize in 1991; and received the 1988-89 Phi Kappa Phi award for Excel- lence in Teaching. From 1990 until 2001, he served as director of the Winthrop Economic De- velopment Center, which he founded. His areas of specialization include gen- Dean's List more than a list of names Lex Menz, Co-Editor-in-Chief Every semester, the Deans List for each college is pub- lished. For Western Carolina University students, the stu- dent must meet the follow- ing qualifications to make the Deans List: 3.5 grade-point average out of a 4.0 on a se- mesters work of 12 hours or more and no grade of a D or F. Larry Hammer, WCU registrar, sat down with The Western Carolinian to explain how this semesters Deans List compared to previous se- mesters and why the Deans List is important. This past spring semes- ter, 1,900 students made the Deans List out of 7,353 eli- gible students. Compared to spring 2011, there was an in- crease of 189 students making the Deans List. In the spring of this year, Education and Allied Profes- sions had the highest percent- age of students to make the Deans List with 34.44 per- cent of their majors on the list. The Fine & Performing Arts College followed with 30.86 percent with Arts & Science behind them at 25.95 percent. The Health & Human Science College, which has the high- est number of students within their college at 2,054, placed a close fourth with 25.61 per- cent. Theres nothing unset- tling about the trend of data in the Deans List, said Ham- mer. Hammer continued that the Deans List shows that for this semester and the fall se- mester of 2011, which had the same number of 1,900, more students are not only meeting the facultys expectation but also excelling academically. Hammer also believes that it means students are more in- telligent, more engaged and more focused. The Deans List is a won- derful way to show family, friends and peers how well a student did for the semester in their class work. Tts important to students when students do well. They want to be recognized, said Hammer. Local newspapers pick up Western Carolinas Deans List and publish the names so that hometowns recognize their neighbors and friends. If ever there is a name missing, Hammer and_ his staff will get calls asking why _a Students name did not ap- pear. Hammer explained that every call is taken seriously and investigated. Sometimes, mistakes happen if a professor was late with a grade or if the student did not keep their ad- dress information up to date. Compared to other UNC- System universities, it is dif- ficult to compare on a number standpoint because each uni- versitys Deans List is slight- ly different from the other. North Carolina State Univer- sity is similar but has two dif- ferent qualifications. The NC State student may be placed on the List with a 3.5 or high- er GPA with 12-14 hours of credit or a 3.25 or better GPA with 15 or more credit hours. Ifa student receives an F or an incomplete, they cannot place on the List whatsoever. If the incomplete is resolved, they ally describe Discovery in one quote, to be honest. I went in with the notion that I was going to find the area in which I wanted to teach, but I came out knowing that I dont care where I teach. I just want to make an im- pact here in N.C. Through talking to the rest of the WCU Teaching Fellows in our Campus Meeting that seemed like the general no- tion from everyone. We all just want to make an impact in the classroom. Peltack also said, See. ing the WCU Teaching Fel- lows reach out to other co- horts and bond with them made me glad to be part of the program. We were all so cohesive, not only with our own cohort, but with oth- ers as well. Seeing one big family with the same pas- sion made me realize that Discovery is more than just knowing where you want to teach. Hailey Hildebran, anoth- er Western Carolina Fellow, said, The Discovery trip was more eye opening than] could have imagined. It was -a wonderful learning expe- rience for me, and when we had returned back at West- ern, our cohort was stronger than ever. It was like being back home with family. For those who have not heard, the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program has been cut out of the state budget, meaning that no more new classes of Fellows will be recruited. However, the cur- rent Fellows will still be supported until they gradu- ate. Even with the knowledge that they could be the final class of N.C. Teaching Fel- lows, it is good to see how this group of talented young people at Western Carolina University banded together to build bonds of friend- ship that will no doubt serve them well as North Carolina public school teachers. College of Business eral economics and business, regulatory economics, labor economics, public econom- ics and international busi- ness. The College of Business at WCU, which is fully ac- credited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, has more than 50 full-time faculty members and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The col- lege consists of programs in accounting, finance, infor- mation systems, econom- ics, business administration and law, sport management, global management and strategy, entrepreneurship, sales and marketing, and hospitality and tourism. The college also houses the Center for Professional Selling and Marketing and the Center for Entrepreneur- ship and Innovation, and is home to one of the 17 re- gional offices of the North may then be applicable for that semesters List. UNC Chapel Hill recent- ly changed their Deans List, according to Hammer. They have the following require- ments for students who en- rolled in undergraduate stud- ies after fall 2010: a GPA of at least 3.5 with no grade of a C or lower for work in at least LYvEe natiom ticketmaster PARKER Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center. Louis Buck Jr., who holds the Wesley Elingburg Distinguished Professor- ship of Business Innovation at WCU, has been serving as interim dean since 2010. Formerly chief financial of- ficer for the competitive businesses of Consolidated Edison in New York, Buck is retiring this summer. 12 credit hours. Physical education activity courses do not qualify. To see if you made the 2012 spring Deans List, go to the registrars webpage page at http://www.wcu. edu/428.asp and search for your name _ alphabetically and by your county of resi- dence.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2012-06-15
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.50" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2012-06-15_Vol78_No05
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library