Greetings for February ---
This month starts as winter tries to invade Bowling Green. Some snow fell last night but no longer exists. Tonight it is forecast to try again. As most of you know, I’ll accept this trace of snow as my allotment for this year and be happy. Ginny had her fun last week as she slid down the hill with our grandson Jake in Des Moines. Molly says, grandpa you always miss all the fun. Well, the thumb brace will keep me out of the fun this year. (Who knows what I will have for an excuse next winter!) The thumb is doing fine, I'm told by the doc, and I only have to wear the brace two more months.
This just in... the Associated Press reported that "Punxsutawney Phil" did not see his shadow on which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter. The legend has little meaning here in Kentucky, though. Even if "Phil" had seen his shadow, spring is just around the corner here so we won’t have too many more weeks of cold weather.
There are many activities at the regional campuses to read about this month again including a report showing the trend of their growing enrollments. We spotlight more of our staff’s community involvement again this month in the DELO Pride section. The second year winter term final numbers are in and show a record breaking enrollment. Further down, you'll see some special Winter Term class activities that Bill Oldham got us extra media coverage of.
Congratulations to Laura Ricke for her promotion to Program Director. At the rate she and her staff are growing Cohort Programs, I'll have to be concerned soon about keeping my job. It's fine Laura... I work for you and the rest of the staff anyway.
DELO will have another team to represent us at Community Education’s Spell-a-Bration this year. I hope many of you can join me (in the cheering section, of course) on February 26th to watch the action and root for the team. The staff involved with credit courses off the BG campus, as well as staff at the regional campuses, have the new semester wheels-up and flying high. Way to go team! And of course our non-credit activities never stop since the semester dates hold no boundaries for them. Keep on keeping on.
I've completed all of my annual performance evaluations for another year, and it is truly a pleasure to review again the outstanding leaders we have in DELO. Thanks folks, you are the people whose successes allow me to have great achievements to share with the provost at my own evaluation...it's coming up soon.
By the way, I took some time to review our many unit web pages this morning and was once again totally impressed. Review your own pages as well as those of your colleagues when you get a chance. You will be amazed and impressed at all the things DELO is involved with.
Have a good month...
Don
Winter term students and faculty were treated to pizza, compliments of DELO Winter Term and Dr. Bayless. As you can see, the pizza was thoroughly appreciated.
For the second year, we have been pleased to host a professional development workshop for middle and high school teachers, as well as college instructors, in our area. This year we had 27 participants representing 18 different middle schools, high schools, and the WKU-Glasgow center. Classroom Convergence focused on the new KY Core Content, Depth of Knowledge, and strategies for their effective implementation. The workshop is conducted by Doug Jenkins who also teaches Astronomy and Physics classes here at the Glasgow Campus.
Dr. Bayless presents Glasgow Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Atwood with framed pictures taken at the Glasgow Homecoming Kick-Off Bonfire. The photos were presented to the fire department in appreciation for coming to stand guard each year when we have the bonfire.
Julie Anne Williams
Julie Anne Williams, News Director of WCLU radio station, is new to the station and was here to learn about Glasgow Regional Center. James McCaslin and Dr. Bayless were pleased to give her a tour of the campus.
The Glasgow Campus was selected as one of the sites to be connected to Governor Fletcher’s Open forum on the projected budget surplus. Our facilitator was Ryan Smith, from the Office of Field Services in Elizabethtown. The electronic forum was attended by Glasgow Mayor Darrell Pickett, Barren County Judge Executive Davie Greer, Executive Vice President of Glasgow Barren County Chamber of Commerce Ernie Myers, IDEA Director Scott Luth, Brian Dale (with the Cave City Convention Center) and Dr. Bayless.
The first Blood Drive of 2007 was held at the Glasgow Campus. The threat of bad weather didn’t deter the quarterly blood drive from taking place. Our thanks go out to all of those who donated.
Dr. Ransdell addressed the Owensboro Rotary on January 24th. He spoke about the expansion of programs and buildings for the Owensboro Campus.
Owensboro’s Night Facilitator, Mike Gilmore, braves the cold to set up classes for the Spring Semester.
Pam Janoski’s ELED 406 class "enjoys" studying meal worms!
Bea Cobb and Gail Ledford relax after attending the Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC) seminar in Monterey, CA. They attended the seminar with Mary Ann Flowers (left) from ECTC. Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges are colleges and universities dedicated to helping servicemembers and their families get college degrees. Military students can take courses in their off-duty hours at or near military installations in the United States, overseas, and on Navy ships.
Judy Loomer, project manager for the Servicemembers Opportunity College, was the main speaker at the SOC seminar which Bea Cobb and Gail Ledford attended in January.
Sue Kilianski, IDE/Technology Specialist for the Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox Regional Campus enjoyed Christmas break in Mainz, Germany. She was able to visit with her daughter, whose husband is stationed in Germany.
Elizabethtown Regional Staff provided programs in a number of area schools during January. Pictured is Dr. Ron Stephens discussing the advantages of college degrees with Elizabethtown High School students on Career Day.
Western Kentucky University honored 24 seniors from eight Elizabethtown area high schools during Tuesday’s High School Honors Dinner at the State Theater. Front row (left to right): Kaela Smith, Dayna Parrett, Lynelle Fowler, Krystal Martin, Kelsea Fulkerson, all of Central Hardin; second row: Stefanie Green, Central Hardin; Virginia Hamilton, Jennifer Humkey, both of Bardstown; Glennis Logsdon of Hart County; Melanie Newton of Nelson County; Timothy Hahn of Bardstown; Christopher Hart and Kelsey Paschetto, both of Central Hardin; back row: Luther Hughes, WKU associate vice president for Enrollment Management; Brent Holsclaw, Bardstown superintendent; Nannette Johnston, Hardin County superintendent; Lyric Angus of North Hardin; Stephen Green of Nelson County; Lindsay Buchanan, Christopher Colonna, both of John Hardin; Micah Bennett, Ann Marie Givans, Zachary Greenwell, all of Meade County; Faith Manion of Grayson County; Christopher Prather, Nicholas Asher, Nicholas Desjardins, all of Central Hardin; Mitch Crump, Meade County superintendent; Craig Cobane, director of WKU Honors Program; John Casper, Nelson County instructional supervisor; WKU President Gary Ransdell.
Dr. Don Swoboda discusses WKU opportunities with North Hardin High School student Lyric Angus and her father, Mr. Chuck Angus.
Students enrolled in ELED classes were invited to an informal Teachers and Tea on January 18. This was an opportunity for the students to get to know the instructors. It also allowed the students to become familiar with technology such as Blackboard, Electronic Portfolio, and WKU email system.
The Teachers and Tea was a time for a little fun also.
Click here http://www.wku.edu/delo/reports/enrollment06.pdf for the Fall 2006 Total Regional Campus Enrollment Report. The regional campus enrollment has risen significantly in each of the last 5 years shown in the report. Congratulations to the DELO staff at each of the regional campuses for all of their hard work!
Laura Ricke
Laura Ricke was recently promoted to Director of the Cohort Programs. This honor recognizes Laura for her leadership abilities as well as the past and projected growth of the Cohort Programs. Please join us in congratulating Laura!
Emergency providers, outdoor professionals and Western Kentucky University students participated in Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training during the 2007 WKU Winter Term. The course was coordinated by WKU Continuing Education.
Class participants learned how to deal with medical emergencies when they are miles from help and dialing 911 is not an option.
Students had a chance to test their rescue skills on the WKU south lawn and during a mock logging accident at Lost River Cave. It took students about 20 minutes to locate the victims in the middle of the woods at night. Once found, the victims' injuries had to be treated on spot to the point where they could be evacuated, he said. Both the Bowling Green Daily News and WBKO-TV did feature stories on the mock rescue.
Jenni Perry, Juliana Martins and Amanda McGaughey distributed information about the Correspondence Study in January at the Downing University Center on main campus and in the Greenwood Mall. To learn about the programs offered through Correspondence Study click here.
DELO and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) partnered for three events during the 2007 Winter Term. On January 4, Winter Term students and faculty enjoyed a free lunch at Fresh Foods (photos below). Several students munched on popcorn while watching a free showing of the Prestige in the DUC movie theater on January 9. Hot chocolate and cookies helped fuel studying for finals on January 17.
WKU Restaurant and Catering Group employees showed off their skills
during the 2006 Wedding Celebration.
The Party 1 Superstore 2007 Wedding Celebration will be at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on Saturday, February 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People will be able to visit numerous booths displaying wedding and reception options. The WKU Restaurant and Catering Group will be on hand to show off their work. Tell everyone who is planning a wedding in the future about the show!
Info: (270) 842-4281 • www.bgwc-commed.org
Pam Wilson (left) and Randolph Hollingsworth
On January 29, Pam Wilson, WKU Distance Learning Coordinator, and Randolph Hollingsworth, KYVC Council on Postsecondary Education, presented an overview of the Quality Matters Online Course Peer Review program to the Council of Chief Academic Officers at their regular meeting at the CPE in Frankfort. The Council of Chief Academic Officers is chaired by WKU Provost, Dr. Barbara Burch.
Sue Parrigin
Sue Parrigin has been named as an Ambassador for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. The Ambassadors Club is a group of Chamber volunteers whose mission is to enhance partner participation in Chamber activities and to serve as a liaison between the general partnership and the staff and board of directors. Sue is also Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southern Kentucky (CASA) and was re-elected to another term on the Board of Directors for the Leadership Bowling Green Alumni Association.
Dr. Marilyn Brookman
Dr. Marilyn Brookman, Associate Dean, DELO and Director, WKU-Owensboro, is involved in many organizations including:
will be an occasional feature which will list some of the many outside activities DELO employees are involved in. These could include, but are not limited to...
When you are involved in any activity, whether it is within a campus organization or away from work, you are also representing your department, DELO and WKU. Many times this opens the door for opportunities to fulfill the community outreach mission of DELO.
We need YOU to make work! This is your chance to help let everyone know about some of the great things DELO employees do. Please submit your information to Bill Oldham, DELO Marketing Manager, by the end of the month.
While the weatherman and the calendar may still say "winter", it’s already time to think about Summer at WKU! (Summer Sessions, that is.) Click here http://www.wku.edu/summer/ to see the newly updated Summer Sessions website. It might even bring a little bit of warmth into your day!
