| Summary: | The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 31, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Sandra Saunders, assistant professor of English at WCU, featured 'The Historian,' a novel by Elizabeth Kostova, in her popular literature course. Kostova is but one of the many accomplished authors set to appear during WCU's Spring Literary Festival. Elizabeth Kostova TOP STORIES 2011 Spring Literary Festival boasts premier authors It’s upon us: The ninth annual Spring Literary Festival is April 3-7 on the WCU campus. “This year’s festival features more best-selling and award-winning authors than ever before,” said Mary Adams, festival director and associate professor in the WCU Department of English. “We wanted to appeal not only to academics but to all people who love to read.” The festival has a long tradition of bringing established and emerging literary talent to Western North Carolina, with two highly anticipated events bookending this year’s event. Starting things o????????, Elizabeth Kostova, author of “The Historian,” will read and take questions at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, in Illusions, in the University Center. “The Historian,” a tale of three generations of historians on the track of the original Dracula, was the fastest-selling debut novel in American publishing history. Rob Neufeld, book critic for the Asheville Citizen-Times, will moderate a live Web simulcast of the Kostova event to allow remote viewer participation. The program will be broadcast on the Citizen-Times website, www.citizen-times. com. Neufeld wrote a feature story for the Citizen- Times about “The Historian” and the students in WCU professor Sandra Saunders’ “Popular Literature and Culture” class, who are reading the book this semester. Ending the festival is author Alan Weisman, whose “The World Without Us” was a New York Times best-seller and named best non????????ction book of 2007 by both Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly. The book, translated into 30 languages, explores the fate of the natural and manmade environment should humans suddenly disappear. Weisman will read and speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the recital hall of WCU’s Coulter Building. Neufeld, who calls Weisman “the new face of science,” wrote a review of Weisman’s book that can be found here. If Kostova and Weisman are buns on the lit fest burger, then poetry is much of the meat. Just prior to the Weisman reading, three former N.C. poets laureate, Fred Chappell, Kathryn Stripling Byer and Cathy Smith Bowers, will be honored with a reception (for individuals 21 and older) at 5:30 p.m. in Illusions in the A.K. Hinds University Center. Byer writes a thoughtful and timely blog. Bowers is the state’s current laureate. Chappell is a proli????????c (and beloved) writer of prose as well as poetry; he retired in 2004 after teaching English for 40 years at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Also on the poetry front: April 4 in the U.C. theater, the Gilbert Chappell poetry reading (work by student poets) at noon, and a reading by Ginger Murchison and Délana Dameron at 4 p.m. Dameron’s debut collection, “How God Ends Us,” won the 2008 South Carolina Poetry Book Prize; Murchison is founder of Georgia Tech’s poetry program and reading series. And “A????????rilachian” poet Frank X Walker, author of four poetry collections, will read at 4 p.m. April 6 in the U.C. theater. Other festival authors are: – Don Lee, author of two novels, “Wrack and Ruin” and “Country of Origin,” as well as a story collection, “Yellow” (7:30 p.m. April 4 in the U.C. theater) – Lee Martin, author of the novels “The Bright Forever,” a ????????nalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, “River of Heaven,” “Quakertown” and the forthcoming “Break the Skin” (4 p.m. April 5 in the U.C. theater) – Bret Lott, best-selling author of 12 books, most recently the novel “Ancient Highway,” as well as “Jewel,” which chronicles a family after the birth of a child with Down syndrome and was an Oprah’s Book Club selection (7:30 p.m. April 5 in the U.C. theater). Lott also will speak at 2 p.m. April 3 at the Macon County Public Library in CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Alan Weisman Franklin. That library and others in the region received copies of at least one book by each of this year’s featured authors through a $5,000 Arts and Audiences grant from the N.C. Arts Council. “We’ve found that audiences and authors alike get more out of the speakers if they are able to read books ahead of time,” Adams said, explaining the intent of the gift. – Susan Vreeland, author of several art-related novels, including the “Girl in Hyacinth Blue” (made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame production in 2003), which traces an alleged Vermeer painting through the centuries, revealing its in????????uence on those who possessed it (7:30 p.m. April 6 in the U.C. theater) – David Gessner, author of six books of literary non????????ction, including “Sick of Nature,” “Soaring with Fidel” and “Return of the Osprey,” which was chosen as one of the top 10 non????????ction books of the year in 2001 by The Boston Globe (4 p.m. April 7 in the U.C. theater) Admission to all festival events is free, and authors will sign works after each reading. Literary Festival sponsors include WCU’s Visiting Writers Series; the Department of English; the Arts and Cultural Events Series; the O????????ce of the Chancellor; the O????????ce of the Provost; the Division of Student A????????airs and the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. The project also received support from the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. Visit the Spring Literary Festival website at www.litfestival.org to ????????nd a full schedule of events and information about festival authors. For more information about the festival, contact Adams at 828-227-3270 or by e-mail at madams@wcu.edu. Visit the festival website at www.litfestival.org, where expanded content this year features links to reader guides and to Facebook discussion pages. By Jill Ingram © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 6, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS 5-K races scheduled at WCU in March, April Runners will have an opportunity to choose from a full slate of 5-K races that will be held at Western Carolina University in coming weeks. Advance registration for all the races is available at active.com. The action starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 12, with the Cullowhee Hold ’Em, sponsored by WCU’s Athletic Training Student Club. The race will begin at WCU’s Hunter Library. Runners will get a playing card each half mile to form a poker hand, and the runners with the highest poker hands win prizes. The fee is $12 for students and $20 for nonstudents. More information is available by calling Jay Scifers at 828-227-3511. The Western Carolina PEAKS 5-K Night Race will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, March 25, from Scott Residence Hall. The race is sponsored by the PEAKS program, part of WCU’s Department of Residential Living, and proceeds will benefit Relay for Life. An early entry fee of $15 is offered through Friday, March 11. For more information, call Laura Ansley at 828-227-3232. The second annual Spring Sprint 5-K will be hosted by the WCU Physical Therapy Student Association at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 2. The race will begin at the campus picnic area. All runners will receive a post-run breakfast, T-shirts and gift bags. The entry fee is $12 for students and $15 for others. A $5 special is available for students, but it does not include a T-shirt. For more information, call Brandon Vanhook at 828-380-1347. The Full Spectrum Farms 5-K Walk and Run will be held Saturday, April 16, to bene????????t Full Spectrum Farms, a Cullowhee residential facility for adults with autism. The 5-K will begin at 9 a.m. and the Kids Fun Run will start at 8:30 a.m. near the Courtyard Dining Hall. The race is being hosted by the WCU National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and Campus Recreation and Wellness. Early entry fees, available until Thursday, April 14, are $15 for WCU students and individuals over age 55, and $20 for nonstudents. The early registration fee for the Fun Run is $3. T-shirts are guaranteed for those who register by Tuesday, March 29. For more information, call Sandy Terhune at 828-227-8805. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 31, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Aaron Ball (center) TOP STORIES Aaron Ball named a top professor in UNC system Aaron K. Ball, professor of engineering and technology at Western Carolina University, has been named one of the best teachers in the University of North Carolina system in recognition of his ability to bring real-world experiences and examples from his private sector career into the classroom. Ball, who teaches in WCU’s Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology, is among 17 recipients of the UNC Board of Governors Awards for Excellence in Teaching, announced Tuesday, March 29. Tom Ross, UNC system president, is scheduled to present Ball with the award at WCU’s commencement ceremony Saturday, May 7, for students from the colleges of Business, and Health and Human Sciences and from the Kimmel School. Ball also will speak at the Graduate School commencement ceremony Friday, May 6. A faculty member at WCU since 1977, Ball has developed an extensive array of industry partners across the Southeast that has led to research, internship and service projects for his students, including assistance with design issues for Caterpillar Inc., hands-on experience with production and testing for Snap-On Tools and basic research with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the U.S. Coast Guard. Ball, who coordinates WCU’s master of science degree program in technology, regularly wins rave reviews from his students, many of whom have gone on to careers in engineering, technology and education in Western North Carolina. “Within his classes, there is a sense that you are part of something that is dynamic, allowing for more of everyone’s ideas, which promotes larger and open thinking and response, stimulating out-of-the-box independent and open discussions within the lecture topic,” said former student Marta Fakhoury, market analyst with Volvo Construction Equipment. Fakhoury called Ball “the very best instructor I have ever had.” William L. McDaniel II first saw Ball at work in the late 1970s as a student in his classes, and now works alongside him as a WCU faculty colleague. “Dr. Aaron Ball is the consummate college professor. His intelligence, wisdom, experience and common-sense demeanor differentiate him from his peers,” said McDaniel, assistant professor and director of off-campus engineering technology programs. “Although he is one of the most intelligent people I know, his motto of ‘plain talk is easiest to understand’ has stuck with me for 30 years and counting.” Ball holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University and a doctorate of education with a concentration in industrial and manufacturing engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He received the 2009 Outstanding Teaching Award from the southeastern section of the American Society for Engineering Education, which recognizes faculty members who have made exceptional contributions to engineering or engineering technology education through outstanding classroom performance. Ball has been nominated on three previous occasions for the UNC teaching award. He received the Kimmel School’s teaching and scholar awards in 2009, its George W. Reeser Outstanding Faculty Award in 2008, and the College of Applied Sciences Faculty Scholar Award in 2005. In describing his teaching philosophy, Ball said one of the greatest challenges is striking a balance in keeping up with the latest technological advances while also ensuring that the basic foundations for critical, independent thinking are in place. “Today, more than at any time in history, students must be equipped with skills for a changing technical society,” he said. “It is not only our responsibility, but also our duty and professional obligation, to prepare our students to become productive members of a global society. They must be familiar with and active users of systems that are current to a changing world.” Ball and the other award recipients of the UNC honor, representing an array of academic disciplines, were nominated by special committees on their home campuses and selected by the Board of Governors Committee on Personnel and Tenure. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Established by the Board of Governors in April 1994 to underscore the importance of teaching and to reward good teaching across the university, the awards are given annually to a tenured faculty member from each UNC campus. Winners must have taught at their present institutions at least seven years. No one may receive the award more than once. By Bill Studenc © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 9, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS An invitation to dinner | Photo slideshow The exhibit “A Dinner Party with Women in History” will run through Friday, April 1, in the University Center Showroom. Sponsored by Intercultural Affairs in recognition of Women’s History Month, the exhibit features 13 “place settings” that are artistic representations created by WCU students and staff of women from family members to those important in history, including musician Ani DiFranco; Madam C.J. Walker, a black entrepreneur of hair care products; and Susan G. Komen, whose fight with breast cancer helped spur a global fight against the disease. For more information, contact Sarah Carter, associate director of resource services for Intercultural Affairs, at sacarter@wcu.edu or 828-227-2617. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Western Carolina University's Paws charges onto the field. TOP STORIES Are the only ‘Catamounts’ left in WNC at WCU? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent declaration that the eastern cougar is extinct spawned a column by naturalist Don Hendershot in the Smoky Mountain News titled “Only Catamounts left in WNC are at WCU.” But exactly what kind of cat WCU had in mind when adopting the “Catamount” as the mascot – whether cougar, mountain lion, bobcat, puma, panther or lynx – has been debated for as long as the Catamount has been the mascot, said Doug Reed, WCU’s retired public information director, in a 1981 Western Horizon article called “The Changing Cat.” Hendershot said “cougars/catamounts” are in the genus Puma and once roamed the mountains of Western North Carolina, with the last documented in the Smokies in 1920. “Even before white settlers, these great cats were likely rare because of range requirements,” said Hendershot. “Western cougars are moving eastward, but I believe there are several obstacles to catamounts re-establishing, without assistance, viable eastern populations. ” The 2011 Random House Dictionary de????????nes “catamount” more broadly, as “a wild animal of the cat family, especially the cougar or the lynx.” At the University of Vermont – the only other four-year university to have a Catamount as its mascot – the creature takes on characteristics more representative of a mountain lion, said Sean O’Connell, head of the WCU biology department. “In Vermont, where I lived for a few years, catamounts meant only mountain lions and not bobcats or other wild cats,” said O’Connell. The adoption of the Catamount as the Western Carolina mascot in 1932 took place as C.C. Poindexter, football coach and organizer of WCU’s ????????rst department of athletics, took an interest in ????????nding a new name for the Western Carolina team dubbed the The Teachers (and nicknamed The Yodelers, according to some reports). Poindexter expressed a preference for the Catamounts, and an on-campus contest in 1932 to pick a new moniker came down to the Mountain Boomers, which were small, di????????cult-to-catch ground squirrels that scampered around the wooded Cullowhee campus, and the Catamounts. The Catamount mascot depicted in a 1930s rendering did not have features of a speci????????c type of living breed of catamount, but reports say that about that time a wildcat about 18 inches tall – a bobcat-sized cat – was caught in the hills around Cullowhee. Hendershot said bobcats, which are solitary and shy, are smaller than cougars and typically have tan to grayish coats with black spots or smudges, short tails with black tips and weigh, on average, 20 to 30 pounds. “The record argues for the bobcat, which naturalists say is one of the toughest of all animals, frequently besting even a wolverine,” said Reed in the Western Horizon article. For Steve White, retired director of sports information at WCU, the bobcat is what he has always associated with the Catamount. “We actually have one up here on our hill at Buzzards Roost that I see sporadically,” said White, who described it as about the size of a medium- to large-sized dog – much larger than a conventional cat. “You’ll be coming up at night, and they will run across the road. One time I was out walking on the road between the Printshop and Norton Road and saw it running through the woods.” To him, the Catamount has a strong connection to what it means to be part of WCU. “Look at the uniqueness,” said White. “They are a relatively unique breed of cats, and we are one of only two four-year institutions in the country to have the Catamount as a mascot. I’ve heard coaches talk about its spirit and ????????erceness, as being the ‘undercat’ – small in relationship to panthers and cougars and mountain lions, but with the spirit and ????????erceness to fend for itself and survive. Coaches have tried to instill that even if you have the disadvantage, that even if there are not as many of you, that you have to ????????ght like a Catamount.” Of course, the depictions of the Catamount over the years have ranged from ????????erce to friendly – so friendly that Chancellor John W. Bardo described one version as “huggy cat.” When a new mascot and logo for WCU athletics was adopted in 2008 on the 75th anniversary of becoming the Catamounts, Bardo said part of the goal was to be more in keeping with the original thinking behind CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT Western Carolina University’s Paws charges onto the field. the selection of the name “Catamount.” “We believe our new look better re????????ects the strength and agility of the native mountain cats of Western North Carolina,” said Bardo. At the least, watching the evolution of the mascot over the years has been interesting, White said. “Sometimes it was a cat with a bob tail, sometimes it was more cat-ish looking and more human-looking,” said White. “What I know for sure is that the Catamount is still alive and well here in Western North Carolina.” WATCH VIDEO: “What is a Catamount?” By Teresa Killian Tate © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 24, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Book by Adams and Martin attracts attention from piano pedagogy journal, national conference The recently published book “Hanon Restored: Charles-Louis Hanon’s Five Finger Exercises Restored to His Original Design” by Andrew Adams, assistant professor of piano, and Bradley Martin, director of the musical theatre program, has attracted international attention. Stipes Publishing in Illinois recently published the book, which is about reinventing a classical technical collection used by pianists around the world. This spring, the largest piano pedagogy journal in England, Piano Professional, will feature an article about their research. In addition, the book will be showcased at the Music Teacher’s National Association’s national conference in Milwaukee. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 7, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Campus catering goes green The catering component of WCU Dining Services now has a full line of compostable and biodegradable wares available for use at all events at no additional charge as part of an effort to expand the organization’s increasing participation in sustainability and green practices. “Working closely with our disposable wares supplier, we have been able to acquire dinner plates, reception plates, clear cups in both nine and 16-ounce sizes, and hot cups that are compostable,” said Greg Smith, location manager for WCU Dining Services. “Additionally, we are anticipating the arrival of biodegradable flatware and trash bags.” Blue trash cans with a recycling logo will be used to collect all biodegradable and compostable trash in one receptacle at events. “We have struck an agreement with a local company to collect this waste on a weekly basis, whereupon they will utilize them in their composting facility,” said Smith. “As is the case with most environmental initiatives, we will be asking for your cooperation in helping us ensure that only compostable or biodegradable items are deposited in the specially-marked cans.” Smith said WCU Dining Services strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible within the established practices of its current catering guidelines. When booking an event to be catered through WCU Dining Services, requests for compostable and biodegradable items should be made in the “special comments section” on CaterTrax website. For more information, contact Page Cummings, catering coordinator, at 828-227-3969. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 2, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Painting of John H. "Jack" Wakeley Jack Wakeley (third from left) laughs with, from left, Gurney Chambers, former dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions; Dale Pounds, former dean of the College of Applied Sciences; TOP STORIES Campus celebrates multifaceted life of Jack Wakeley In a memorial service in which tears ????????owed and frequent laughter reverberated throughout the Coulter Building recital hall, friends and colleagues of the late Jack Wakeley shared stories about a beloved administrator and educator, touching on topics ranging from golf, poker and racquetball to academic meetings, outdoor art and community involvement. Western Carolina University faculty, administrators, sta????????, students, athletes and alumni gathered Thursday, Feb. 24, to celebrate “the multifaceted life” of John H. “Jack” Wakeley, a former vice chancellor for academic a????????airs who served as the university’s interim chancellor during the 1994-95 academic year. Wakeley died at his Cullowhee home on Friday, Feb. 18, at the age of 78. After bagpiper Michael Waters led Wakeley’s wife, Sue, and other family members into the recital hall to the sounds of “Danny Boy” and “Amazing Grace,” the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet got the service o???????? to a light-hearted start with a performance of the up-tempo jazz selection “Lassus Trombone.” “It’s a happy piece, even a silly piece, but it’s a wonderful piece because Jack loved it, and it celebrates his life, his spirit and certainly his wit,” said quintet member Dan Cherry. Sharing remembrances of Wakeley were Tony Hickey, professor of sociology; Roger Bacon, retired professor of chemistry; Danny Williamson, head coach of track, ????????eld and cross country; and three of Williamson’s student-athletes. “I know that this is supposed to be a sad moment for us because we all did love Jack. But when I think about Jack and think about my relationship with him and his contributions to the campus, all I can really do is smile,” said Hickey, who was dean of WCU’s Graduate School when Wakeley came to the university as vice chancellor for academic affairs in 1987. Hickey said he was the only dean who had opposed the hiring of Wakeley for the position, and that he was pleasantly surprised that Wakeley never brought up the topic. “Weeks went on, months went on, and Jack never said a word about it,” Hickey said, until after the two had worked out a particularly sticky issue. “Jack looked at me – and he had this way of first being steely-eyed, and then crinkling them – so he did one of those looks and he said, ‘Surprised you, didn’t I?’” During Wakeley’s time as interim chancellor, he established a series of ice cream socials on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center. At one of those events, a faculty member came up to Wakeley and began to ponti????????cate on the sociological, psychological and organizational bene????????ts of such an event, Hickey said. “The guy ????????nished and says, ‘Don’t you think that’s why these are a good idea?’ And Jack looked up and said, ‘No, I just like ice cream,’” he said. Bacon spoke about how he and Wakeley struck up a friendship on the racquetball courts of the Ramsey Regional Activity Center, with games becoming more frequent as both men retired, including a friendly match just a few days prior to Wakeley’s death. But Wakeley was active in retirement in more ways that just racquetball, Bacon said. He also volunteered in a local guardian ad litem program, serving as an advocate for young people who found themselves in trouble with the legal system. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT and Tony Hickey, professor of pscyhology and former dean of the Graduate School. (Photo courtesy of the Wakeley family) John H. “Jack” Wakeley (right), a former vice chancellor for academic a????????airs who served as the university’s interim chancellor during the 1994-95 academic year, served as a volunteer coach for WCU track, field and cross-country teams. WCU track, ????????eld and cross country student-athletes and Coach Danny Williamson walked across campus together to attend the memorial service for Jack Wakeley. “Jack was one of the few willing to take on the tough cases. Most everybody tries to avoid teenagers if they possibly could, but Jack would work with teenage boys,” he said. “Jack will be sorely missed, both on and o???????? the racquetball court.” Student-athletes Stephon Roach, Jane’t Carothers and Jamie Van Pelt were among the track, ????????eld and cross country team members who walked to the memorial service from the gymnasium of Cordelia Camp Building in “A Walk of Honor for ‘Doc.’” A longtime volunteer coach for the programs, Wakeley and his wife created an endowed scholarship fund to provide ????????nancial assistance one male and one female student athlete in track, ????????eld or cross country every year. “I have been worried about what I would say because the words I wanted to say would not do the man justice and I didn’t want to miss a key,” said Roach, a senior middle-distance runner from Reidsville. “He made an impact on my life just by being right there. He was that inspiration and light that guided us each and every day. When you were having a bad day, he was able to give you that strength and wisdom that you were in desperate need of. He was wise. He was strong.” Carothers, a senior high-jumper and sprinter from Charlotte, called Wakeley the funniest man she ever has met, and said he was a positive in????????uence on the teams. “It didn’t matter how bad you thought you were, Doc would say, ‘No, you got it. Just one more time. Just one more time,’” she said. “His positive energy was amazing. No matter how bad you might hurt, you look at Doc and then you could do nothing but smile.” A junior from Tampa, Fla., who holds the school record in the discuss-throw, Van Pelt spoke about how a dinner at the Wakeley house after he made it to regional competition helped him overcome a rough start to his college career, because it made him realize he had a family on campus. “Everyone sitting there with ‘WCU track and ????????eld’ on your chest, you’re a part of it,” he said. “Whenever you would see Doc and ask how he was doing, he would say, ‘Better now that I’m talking to you.’ Doc was the type of person who believed that everyone he came in contact with made him better as a person and made him grow and adapt as a human being. I don’t know about that, but I do know that, for those of us who came to know him, we are all better for it.” Williamson, who guided his indoor track and ????????eld team to a second-place ????????nish in the Southern Conference Indoor Championships that began the day after the service, read a list of words to describe Wakeley. “Brilliant, generous, smart, witty, humorous, supporter and friend, that’s Doc Wakeley right there,” he said, also reminding the crowd that Wakeley had been a track athlete and an accomplished boxer. “With all the things that have been said about Doc, if we all turn out to be like him and we all stay in Cullowhee and at Western Carolina, I guarantee you that Cullowhee and Western Carolina will be a better place.” Williamson also shared several funny anecdotes about Wakeley’s days as a volunteer coach. “Every summer before the season began he would come into my o????????ce and say ‘I want you to know I’m ready to report for work.’ I’d say, ‘OK Doc,’ and then I’d tell him when the ????????rst meeting is. And he’d go, ‘The salary is the same, isn’t it?’” he said. In the 15 or so years that Doc and Sue Wakeley have been a????????liated with track, ????????eld and cross country at WCU, Williamson said he could count on one hand the number of conference championship meets they had been unable to attend – and there are two championship meets every year. “It’s going to be tough this year, but we’re going to take you both with us, maybe not in body, but in mind and spirit,” he said, as he unveiled a large photograph of the Wakeleys. Robert Holquist, professor of music, suggested that a plaque with the Wakeleys’ names be a????????xed permanently to a seat in the recital hall. “They’re always here. Not only that, but they’re always anywhere there’s something going on on campus – academics, art, drama, musical theater. They are everywhere, and we’ll surely miss him,” said Holquist, before performing “The Greatest of These Is Love.” At the conclusion of the service, the Rev. David Reeves told the congregation: “I don’t think anybody here has to wonder if the world is a better place for Jack having been in it.” Among those in attendance was Dennis Benson, campus exterminator and another frequent racquetball partner. “I remember after Jack’s cataract surgery, his racquetball game went up a notch. He said something about being able to see the ball again. He was the oldest player in the locker room, but he had been an inspiration to us for years. Out on the courts he was just as competitive as an 18-year-old,” Benson said. “Jack was always upbeat and in good humor. I never recall him speaking ill of others. He sincerely liked people,” he said. “When he met someone new he always introduced himself as ‘Jack’ no matter what the person’s age or station in life – he was not pretentious.” Wakeley came to WCU as vice chancellor for academic a????????airs from Memphis State University, where he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. During his tenure as the university’s chief academic o????????cer, Wakeley was responsible for numerous changes in the academic program, including the addition of WCU’s ????????rst doctoral degree and a master’s degree program in physical therapy. He served as interim chancellor at Western Carolina after the retirement of Myron “Barney” Coulter in 1994 until the 1995 appointment of current chancellor John W. Bardo. He led the university in developing a strong program in educational assessment and an increasing emphasis on teaching and learning. He fostered programs to promote and encourage faculty professional development, including support for faculty scholarly assignments. Wakeley stepped down Jack Wakeley took part in many gatherings held outside on the campus of Western Carolina University. (Photo courtesy of the Wakeley family) Jack Wakeley enjoyed travel and spending time outdoors. (Photo courtesy of the Wakeley family) from administration at WCU and returned to teaching as a full professor of psychology in 1996. He retired from WCU in 1999. To make a memorial contribution to the Sue and Jack Wakeley Scholar Athlete Award Fund for Track, Field and Cross Country, visit the website http://give.wcu.edu for online giving; send a check to Western Carolina University, O????????ce of Development, 201 H.F. Robinson Administration Building, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723; or call 828-227-7124 (toll-free at 800-492- 8496) to make a gift using American Express, Discover, MasterCard or VISA. By Bill Studenc © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 15, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Caudill presents at intercultural relations conference Michael Caudill, human communication instructor in WCU’s Department of Communication, presented “Practicing Cultural Competence in Calamity” at the Intercultural Management Institute’s 12th Annual Conference on Intercultural Relations, held March 10-11 in Washington, D.C. Caudill’s presentation focused on how individuals from di????????erent cultures respond to sudden crises with di????????erent expectations, fears, explanations, coping mechanisms and strengths, and how communicating with multiple cultures a????????ected by extreme stress or post-traumatic stress disorder is different – or, as Caudill says, how “doing more of the same at a faster pace won’t work.” CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 17, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Tom Ross, president of the University of North Carolina system, shared at a meeting at Western Carolina University what traits he believed the next WCU chancellor should have. TOP STORIES Chancellor search now in hands of UNC president The search committee tasked with helping select Western Carolina University’s next chancellor has recommended a ????????nal slate of candidates, and that list is now in the hands of the president of the University of North Carolina system. The search committee has been working since late October to help identify a successor for John W. Bardo. Chancellor at WCU since March 1995, Bardo announced last fall his plans to step down from the position this summer. After interviewing a number of top candidates during a series of “airport interviews” March 4-5 in Atlanta, the search committee provided a list of ????????nalists to the WCU Board of Trustees for consideration. The WCU board, during a special meeting Tuesday, March 15, agreed on a list of at least three ????????nalists that has been forwarded to Tom Ross, UNC president, who will make his recommendation to the UNC Board of Governors for final approval. Search committee chair Steve Warren, who also is chair of the Board of Trustees, said the committee is on schedule to meet its goal of having a new chancellor named and ready to lead the university by July 1. “Although I cannot tell you speci????????cs about the candidates, I can tell you this: The quality of those who want to be your next chancellor is outstanding, and their credentials are stellar,” Warren said in correspondence to the campus community. “The reason is simple. It is because of the leadership of Chancellor John Bardo over these past 16 years, and it is because of the contributions of all of you who teach and work at Western Carolina to help implement a shared vision of excellence,” he said. “Together, you have taken this university to another level. Everyone wants to play on a winning team, and Western Carolina is a winner.” The Board of Trustees appointed the 16-member search committee on Oct. 29, with its membership drawn from WCU faculty, students, sta????????, alumni, trustees and community members. Throughout the process, the committee has worked with Jerry Baker of Baker and Associates, a national executive search ????????rm with o????????ces in Winston- Salem and Atlanta, and with Ann Lemmon, associate vice president for human resources for the UNC system. At the committee’s ????????rst meeting on Nov. 16, members received their o????????cial charge from Ross, who provided the group with a long list of the characteristics and qualifications he would like to see in WCU’s next chancellor. The committee scheduled a series of open forums designed to solicit public input in the process. Members spent four hours listening Nov. 22 as faculty, sta????????, students, alumni, community neighbors and fans of intercollegiate athletics shared their thoughts about the university’s next chancellor and the future direction of WCU. Committee members used what they learned during those sessions and from responses to an online questionnaire to develop a detailed position description and leadership statement designed to attract highly qualified candidates to the job. Those documents were finalized in December. From a large number of applicants and nominees collected by Baker and Associates, the committee identi????????ed a pool of candidates for further consideration and examined extensive biographical information about each of the candidates. The committee gathered Feb. 15 at the o????????ces of AdvantageWest in Asheville to narrow the pool to those candidates who were invited to participate in the o????????-campus interviews earlier this month in Atlanta. For more information, visit the search committee website at chancellorsearch.wcu.edu (link no longer active). By Bill Studenc CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 7, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Christina Reitz presents at national conference Christina Reitz, assistant professor of music history, recently presented “Music as a Political Weapon” at the Nineteenth Century Studies Association’s National Conference held in Albuquerque, N.M. Reitz shared research centered on music of the Temperance Movement as well as political songs written during the campaign of Grover Cleveland. In addition, she moderated the session “The Meaning of Money” during the conference. Reitz serves the association as a member of the board of directors and the publicity committee and will host the conference next March in Asheville. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 8, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Don Connelly performs in WCU's 2010 production of “Campbell’s Playhouse: ‘A Christmas Carol’ 1938.” Don Connelly, left, produced WCU's presentation of “Campbell’s Playhouse: ‘A Christmas Carol’ 1938,” and Bruce Frazier (right) was the musical director. TOP STORIES ‘Christmas Carol’ radio show re-creation wins national award For the second consecutive year, a Western Carolina University re-creation of a classic radio show is winner of a top award in the national Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts. Western Carolina’s production of “Campbell’s Playhouse: ‘A Christmas Carol’ 1938” has received an award of excellence for long form production in the festival’s faculty audio competition. Don Connelly, head of the university’s communication department who produced the show, will accept the award as part of the annual BEA convention in Las Vegas in April. The Festival of Media Arts received more than 900 entries this year, said Clark Greer, competition chairman and professor of communication at Point Loma Nazarene University. “Campbell’s Playhouse: ‘A Christmas Carol’ 1938” was presented to a sold-out audience on Dec. 9 in WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center. A minute-by-minute re-creation of a 1938 Campbell’s Playhouse radio adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” that starred the legendary Orson Welles, the WCU show used Welles’ personal script. The production starred Arthur Anderson, who reprised his role of the Ghost of Christmas Past that he performed in the original version more than 70 years ago. Age 88 when he appeared at WCU, Anderson was 16 when he performed with Welles in the 1938 broadcast. Connelly partnered on the academic-based entertainment event with director Steve Carlisle, a stage and screen veteran who is associate dean of WCU’s Honors College, and musical director Bruce Frazier, the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Electronic and Commercial Music. The team previously collaborated on the 2008 live radio show production of Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” and 2009’s nationally acclaimed Veterans Day tribute “On the Home Front, Nov. ‘44,” which won two top honors in the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts. In addition to being seen by a live audience, “Campbell’s Playhouse: ‘A Christmas Carol’ 1938” was broadcast by WWNC-AM of Asheville as part of its Christmas Eve programming. For more information about WCU’s communication programs, visit the Web site http://communication.wcu.edu. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS City Lights hosts reception for WCU authors City Lights Bookstore will host a reception celebrating recent publications by Western Carolina University faculty at 7 p.m. Friday, March 18. Featured authors will be English faculty Elizabeth Heffelfinger and Laura Wright, and Bill Anderson, professor emeritus; Jane Brown, an anthropology instructor; and Anne Rogers. Heffelfinger and Wright are co-authors of “Visual Difference: Postcolonial Studies and Intercultural Cinema.” Anderson, Brown and Rogers are co-editors of the “Payne-Butrick Papers,” a collection devoted to Cherokee history and culture up through removal. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Clubs sponsor Parents’ Night Out on Friday, April 1 The WCU Health and Physical Education majors club and Parks and Recreation Management majors club are sponsoring an evening of organized games and active play for children ages 3 and older from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 1, in Reid Gym. There is no set fee for children of faculty and staff members to participate in Parents’ Night Out, but donations are welcome. Contact club sponsor David Claxton, professor of health, physical education and recreation, at claxton@wcu.edu or (828) 227-3556 to make a reservation with the number of children and the ages of the children who will participate by noon on Monday, March 30. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 9, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | TOP STORIES College of Education, Allied Professions announces reorganization Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions will consolidate several academic programs into a new School of Teaching and Learning and restructure two existing departments, a reorganization designed to save more than $250,000 in administrative and overhead costs. The restructuring, effective July 1, is part of an ongoing process of program analysis and prioritization taking place at Western Carolina as the university responds to the projected loss of approximately $8.6 million in state funding for the 2011-12 fiscal year. The moves will reduce the number of departmental-level units in the college from five to three and trim associated administrative expenses, said Perry Schoon, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions. “Cutting administrative costs in order to preserve faculty and staff positions is one of the strategies that will help this college in the long run,” Schoon said. “I am confident that this new, more efficient structure will ultimately lead to a more effective college that can soon begin to grow faculty positions.” The CEAP reorganization comes as university leaders call for a thorough examination of the number of academic programs, concentrations and departments at WCU in an effort to develop more efficient ways to deliver courses and services. “The College of Education and Allied Professions is to be commended for going through this process of self-examination,” said Linda Seestedt-Stanford, interim provost. “I laud those in the college for their efforts to prioritize resources to save jobs and maintain the highest level of academic quality in our programs.” Under the reorganization, the School of Teaching and Learning will house the current stand-alone elementary and middle grades education department, and programs in educational foundations, secondary education, and health and physical education. In addition, programs in special education will move to the new school from its current home in the human services department. The faculty-led Center for Mathematics and Science Education also will be housed in the new school. The moves will create an academic unit with 37 faculty members. Dee Nichols, currently head of the elementary and middle grades education department, will be director of the school. The college’s educational research faculty will combine with the psychology department, resulting in a unit of 21 faculty members. The research faculty will continue to serve the doctoral program, along with other graduate programs throughout the CEAP. David McCord will stay in his position of psychology department head. Dale Brotherton will remain head of the human services department, which already is home to a variety of diverse programs too small to constitute individual departments, Schoon said. Programs in birth-through-kindergarten, counseling and human resources will stay in the department, while parks and recreation management, master’s degree programs in school administration, college student personnel and community college administration, and the doctoral program in educational leadership will be added, for a department of 27 faculty members. The changes will result in two fewer department heads in the college. No departmental staff members will lose their positions. Instead, they will be merged into the new three-unit structure, and one retiring staff member will not be replaced, Schoon said. “We have a wealth of capable, dedicated faculty, who love to teach,” he said. “Our mission will be better accomplished if those talented, core faculty are actually teaching our students, rather than directing or administering myriad programs, which then have to be delivered by temporary and adjunct instructors.” Other colleges and academic units at WCU also are involved in a similar process of program prioritization, a review process that is ongoing, Seestedt-Stanford said. By Bill Studenc CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 13, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Conley speaks at Sequoyah Birthplace Museum Robert J. Conley, Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, recently delivered a free lecture at Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, Tenn. The lecture focused on a Sequoyah’s life and the controversies experienced. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 2, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Counseling and Psychological Services earns accreditation The International Association of Counseling Services recently con????????rmed that the WCU Counseling and Psychological Services has met the criteria for accreditation set by the University and College Counseling Services Board of Accreditation. The nearly 2-year accreditation process required WCU to compile detailed information and host a site visit. “It is clear that your center o????????ers an e????????ective and comprehensive program of services that makes a vital contribution to the quality of student and campus life,” said Michael Mond, chair of the IACS University and College Board of Accreditation, in a letter to John Ritchie, director of WCU Counseling and Psychological Services. “In its review, the board was appreciative of the excellent support provided by your administration for additional positions, the good working relationship with the university community and particularly the Student Health Center, the center’s responsiveness to crises, and the efforts in developing your pre-doctoral training program. The center appeared to be well run and moving in a positive direction.” WCU sought accreditation after a series of events. In 2006-07, the Student Government Association called for WCU to expand support for University Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services. Then, a health service student group appointed by Bob Caruso, former vice chancellor for student affairs, made a number of recommendations to trustees, including increasing the health fee and hiring additional clinical therapists in CPS. In fall 2007, Ritchie speci????????cally identi????????ed accreditation as a goal when he met with Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student a????????airs. A few months later, the UNC Campus Safety Task Force recommended that all UNC campuses have accreditation for their counseling and psychological services units. For more information, visit the WCU Counseling and Psychological Services website, send an e-mail message to counselingcenter@wcu.edu or call 828-227-7469. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 17, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Dining hall offers $4 special to faculty and staff March 18 The monthly $4 lunch and dinner special for faculty and sta???????? will be o????????ered upstairs at Courtyard Dining Hall from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 18. Participants need to identify themselves as faculty or staff when paying the cashier. For more information, contact Mike Doppke, director of WCU Dining Services, at 828-227-7396. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Drinking water exceeds quality standards Drinking water supplied by the Western Carolina University Water Plant to the university community exceeded all federal and state standards and requirements for quality, according to the Annual Drinking Water Quality Report. The 2011 Water Report is available from links on the F a c i l i t i e s Management website or can be downloaded directly at http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/WordDocs/WCU_2011_Annual_Drinking_Water_Report.docx. Questions may be directed to Kristy Maddy, Water Treatment Plant Supervisor, by phone at 828-227-7224 or by e-mail at kmaddy@email.wcu.edu. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 31, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Earth and Wellness Day event set for April 13 An Earth and Wellness Day celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center. The event features live entertainment, local vendors, stress relief, wellness screenings, food and giveaways. For more information, contact Lauren R. Bishop, energy manager at WCU, at 828-227-3562 or lbishop@wcu.edu. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 8, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Faculty members to present at Appalachian studies conference WCU faculty members will present as part of a panel titled “Cherokee Studies: Multiple Paths to Understanding” during the 34th annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference, March 11-13 at Eastern Kentucky University. WCU presenters and their topics are Jane Eastman, director of the Cherokee studies program, “Pottery Analysis as an Avenue to Explore Early Cherokee Food Ways”; Anna Fariello, associate research professor in Hunter Library, “Sustaining Tradition: The Formation of an Artisan Cooperative on the Qualla Boundary”; Hartwell Francis, director of the Cherokee language program, and Tom Belt, program coordinator and instructor, “The Use of Technology in Post-Secondary Cherokee Language Instruction”; and Lisa J. Lefler, director of the Culturally Based Native Health Programs, and Pamela Duncan, assistant professor of English, “Rooted in the Mountains: A Free Symposium that Integrates Indigenous Science with Health and Environment.” CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 16, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Fariello to be part of regional think tank Anna Fariello, associate research professor in Hunter Library and director of the Craft Revival project, was invited to participate in the ninth annual Think Tank, March 24-26, sponsored by the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design at the Kellogg Center in Hendersonville. This year’s discussion will focus on exploration and collaboration, ways to advance craft practice and theory in education, and conceptualizing the place of the individual artist outside the studio. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: LINKS Calendar Higher Education NewsWatch WCU Hub AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT © 2011 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home March 31, 2011 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Chris Cooper talks with students about their crowd-sourcing policy assignment. Jeanne Dulworth leads students in an exercise in which they explore improving communication with clients. TOP STORIES Teaching awards finalists announced Seven Western Carolina University faculty members are nominees for annual awards that honor the high quality of teaching at Western Carolina University. Nominees for the 2011 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching award are Chris Cooper, Jeanne Dulworth, Alexander S. Macaulay Jr. and Wes Stone. The award will be bestowed Tuesday, April 12, at the annual Spring Awards Convocation. Nominees from WCU for the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching are Aaron K. Ball, Julie Johnson-Busbin and L. Alvin Malesky Jr. The BOG Teaching Award will be presented to Ball, who was recently announced as the recipient, at WCU’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 7. 2011 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award Nominees: Chris Cooper, director of the Public Policy Institute and associate professor of political science and public a????????airs, joined the WCU faculty in 2002. Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from Winthrop University and a master’s degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Tennessee. Courses Cooper teaches range from policy analysis to American government. Teaching a tough concept: Cooper said one of the most challenging concepts he strives to convey is how, contrary to general opinion, political parties can be good for American democracy. “I structure my entire political parties course around this topic. On the ????????rst day, I assign a manifesto written in the 1950s about the importance of ‘responsible political parties.’ I then tell them that a re????????ection on this manifesto will be their only ????????nal exam question. By the end of the semester, students have a much better understanding of how parties can be good. I came up with this idea by reading two things in the same week. I was reading through old copies of the American Political Science Review and came across this old manifesto, and I was reading scholarship of teaching and learning literature about how it helps student learning to be more explicit about your learning goals. The two ????????t together naturally.” Making a difference: An undergraduate student who took his ????????rst political science course from Cooper soon changed his major to the ????????eld. “He then took all of my classes and eventually enrolled in our master’s degree program in public a????????airs, where he studied to become a county manager. Today he is a manager in a small town in North Carolina and has maintained the sense of humor and personality he had as an undergraduate student while becoming a true professional.” Jeanne Dulworth, assistant professor and director of the undergraduate social work program, joined the WCU faculty in 2000. Dulworth earned a bachelor’s degree from WCU and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina, both in social work. Courses Dulworth teaches range from “Social Issues, Policies and Programs” to “Rural Community Advocacy.” Teaching a tough concept: Dulworth tries to help her students think critic
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