| 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 May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Anna Browning (Photo courtesy Josh Crawford) Josh Crawford (Photo courtesy Josh Crawford) NOTEWORTHY NEWS Children’s book by WCU staff member and alumnus to be published A 32-page children’s picture book by Anna Browning, a 2009 WCU alumna and an administrative support associate in Writing and Learning Commons, titled “Tanner Turbeyfill and the Moon Rocks” goes on sale Friday, May 10. The book, illustrated by Josh Crawford, a 2010 WCU alumnus, shares the story about boy whose tree house turns into a spaceship that takes him to the moon so he can gather the moon rocks he has always wanted. “The story began as an educational adventure, born out of my love of space,” said Browning, who has worked as a prekindergarten teacher assistant and earned bachelor’s degrees from WCU in communication sciences and disorders and from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in English Browning said the story took several days to write but three months to revise. “It changed from a dull, educational tale to a magical, thrilling story that I think kids will love,” said Browning. The book, which is being published by Diamond DMT Publishing, is the ????????rst in a series. A book release event will be held at The Vine in Waynesville on Saturday, June 1, from 4 to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.anna-browning. com. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS College hosts memorial, names awards in honor of Janice Holt The College of Education and Allied Professions will hold a brief ceremony in honor of the late Janice Holt, who was WCU’s executive director of teacher recruitment, advising and career support, on Monday May 6. The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. at the grassy area at the west end of the Killian Building, where a dogwood tree has been planted in honor of Holt, who died unexpectedly Nov. 1. Two student awards named in Holt’s honor also will be presented. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Cooper-Duffy recognized for work assisting Alaska students Karena Cooper-Duffy, assistant professor of special education, and a group of her students were recently recognized in the spring newsletter of Alaska’s Special Education Service Agency for materials that created to assist parents and teachers working with Alaskan children with special needs. WCU students made adapted visual cues for textbooks, children’s literature and other reading materials to help students with severe disabilities access the general curriculum. The WCU students also created visual cues to help students with severe disabilities know how to complete daily living skills and create a connection with Alaska teacher and students. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Zackery Keys, a graphic designer who works at WCU, designed the cover of “A Going Concern.” Brian Railsback and his daughter Cadence Railsback climb the infamous Angel’s Landing trail in Zion TOP STORIES Dean’s post-apocalyptic novel raises money for daughter’s mission trip Not long after reading Cormac McCarthy’s dark, post-apocalyptic novel “The Road,” Honors College dean Brian Railsback was haunted by questions – questions that eventually drove him to write and recently publish “A Going Concern.” What if most of the human population was ????????nished but the rest of the world was ????????ne? Was it possible to write a post-apocalyptic story that wasn’t completely dark? Could there be a story that had death, doom and destruction with a sense of humor? “The notion just really intrigued me, and I lay awake at night wondering how that would play out and what it would be like,” said Railsback. He dreamed up someone ill-equipped to survive – someone who was not a scientist, not knowledgeable or spiritual, and who was wrapped up in popular culture. The character that emerged was Trent Sheets, a 42-year-old guitarist in a band called Subculture who ????????ed to the woods near Cullowhee after a disastrous concert. Sheets discovers most of humanity has succumbed to a virus and decides to travel home across the country to Southern California. “The book started writing itself,” said Railsback, who worked on it primarily during work breaks for several years. “I never knew what was around the corner or what was going to happen next. I have always loved that kind of ????????ction – where you are discovering things right up to the minute with the main character.” Sheets led Railsback on a journey, as summarized on the book cover, in which he “escapes packs of wild dogs, meets dying remnants of humanity, loses the only healthy woman around, picks up a very unhealthy teen, … jams at the last radio station, ????????nds one thriving town that kicks him out and ????????nally comes home to Southern California – a land of sunny beaches, unchecked wild????????res and unlimited booze.” Railsback titled the book “A Going Concern” to capture the story’s exploration of the future of humanity – will we thrive or fade away? Award-winning author Ron Rash, Western Carolina University’s Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture, said the book is an excellent novel. “Brian Railsback has taken the bleakest of human scenarios and within it found decency, and hope,” said Rash. Railsback said he ????????nished the book in 2009 and sent some queries to literary agents but put the writing project aside until his daughter, Cadence Railsback, shared her interest in participating in the World Race. Adventures in Missions, a Christian organization, sends “World Racers” in squads to 11 countries in 11 months to “serve ‘the least of these’ while amongst real and raw community,” according to the World Race website. To participate, his daughter, who is graduating this month from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree in ????????lm studies, will need to raise at least $15,000. Railsback o????????ered to self-publish the book, an experience that would help him learn about the emerging e-book industry, and direct all proceeds from sales to support her fundraising e????????ort. He enlisted the help of Zackery Keys, a graphic designer who works in WCU’s creative services, to design the book. Keys said as part of his work on the project he read “A Going Concern” multiple times and, although not usually a fan of post-apocalyptic literature, enjoyed the story. “I found the book a refreshing take on the whole approach,” said Keys. Struck by the road trip element of the story, he designed a cover that depicted the RV the main characters travel in and an airplane crash that was significant in the narrative. Railsback’s daughter said she also would not describe herself a fan of the genre but that she enjoyed the book, adding that she was not 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 National Park. surprised her father would write a post-apocalyptic story. “He and my two older brothers are always scheming about what they would do in a zombie apocalypse,” she said. “It’s a common conversation around the dinner table. I feel confident we would be well-prepared.” Cadence Railsback said she wants to participate in the World Race to gain perspective about how the rest of the world lives, and she expects to have raised enough money and acquired the gear needed to be able to participate starting in July 2014. She said she is moved by her father’s support through the book. “It’s amazing,” she said. “It makes me feel like he really supports what I am trying to do. It also makes me feel very humble to know that I am so loved. This is a project that he spent at least five years of his life on that he handed over so readily to help me.” The book is not Railsback’s ????????rst. High Sierra Books published his novel “The Darkest Clearing” in 2004. Awards for his writing include the Prose for Papa (Hemingway) award, which was bestowed in 2006 for his short story “Clean Break.” “A Going Concern” is available at Amazon online. For more information, contact Brian Railsback at 828-227-2101 or brailsba@wcu.edu. By Teresa Killian Tate Tags: A Going Concern, Brian Railsback, postapocalypic fiction, postapocalyptic novel, World Race © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Drury invited to review N.C. Arts Council grant applications Denise Drury, interim director of the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University, has been invited to serve as a grant panel reviewer for the North Carolina Arts Council. The panel will meet May 16 in Raleigh to review and discuss applicants. Drury also serves as chair of the arts section for the North Carolina Museums Council and serves on the board of the Jackson County Arts Council in Sylva. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | WCU alumnus Andy Miller traveled to Kenya last summer and plans to return as part of an initiative to build a well in the village of Gerleich. (Photo courtesy Andy Miller) NOTEWORTHY NEWS Event on May 4 to support Kenya Water Initiative started at WCU A fundraiser for an initiative to build a well in Kenya that started at Western Carolina University will be co-hosted by Oskar Blues Brewery and held at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville on Saturday, May 4. Christopher Pedo, international student adviser at WCU, began working with Andy Miller when Miller was a student at WCU to organize an effort to raise money to build a well in the village of Gerliech, where residents sometimes have to travel as far as 20 miles to retrieve water. The fundraising event will begin at 6 p.m. Attendees will enjoy live music as well as appetizers and be able to purchase or sample Oskar Blues beer for $3. Participants are asked to donate $20 to the cause. Miller said $2,000 is needed to move forward with constructing the well this summer. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Faculty members to lend expertise to Cherokee symposium Several WCU faculty members will present at the Cashiers Historical Society annual symposium focusing on Cherokee history Thursday, May 23, in Cashiers. Presenters include Tom Belt, Cherokee language instructor; Robert Conley, Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies; and Anna Fariello, an associate professor who works in Hunter Library’s digital archives. Titled “The Cherokee: Ancient Trails, Talking Leaves, Broken Treaties,” the one-day event will run from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. at the High Hampton Inn. Attendance price is $50 and includes an outdoor lunch based on traditional Cherokee recipes. For reservations and more information, call 828-743-7710. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | TOP STORIES Green college guide features WCU For the third consecutive year, Western Carolina University has been listed by The Princeton Review as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in North America. WCU is included in the fourth annual edition of “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges,” which was released in conjunction with the recent celebration of Earth Day. Schools were chosen for inclusion in the guide based on a 50-question survey conducted at hundreds of four-year colleges. The education services company analyzed data about the schools’ course o????????erings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation to measure their commitment to the environment and sustainability. “We are truly pleased to recommend Western Carolina University along with all the ????????ne schools in this book to the many students seeking colleges that practice and promote environmentally responsible choices and practices,” said Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review. A pro????????le of WCU in the book mentions the university’s focus on energy conservation – in particular, the program Reducing Our Carbon Paw Print, which raises awareness about the ecological and economic benefits of conserving energy and successfully reducing energy consumption on campus. The profile notes that the program has resulted in a 10 to 15 percent reduction in energy usage through behavior modification alone. The Princeton Review also praises other university initiatives, including its use of six electric vehicles and e????????orts to meet the United States Green Building Council standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for buildings, also known as LEED certi????????cation. The student group EcoCATS is praised for leading e????????orts to green the campus and launch a variety of projects such as recycling drives, Campus Sustainability Day, the Clean Energy Fee, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival and the Earth and Wellness Celebration. “Western has a proud history of integrating sustainability into all aspects of our university,” said Lauren Bishop, campus energy manager. “However, there is still more that we can do and we look forward to continuing on expanding our efforts.” For more information about WCU’s sustainability initiatives, contact Bishop at lbishop@wcu.edu or 828-227-3562. By Randall Holcombe 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Hartley named to journal editorial board Roger E. Hartley, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Public A????????airs and director of the Master of Public A????????airs Program, was recently named to the editorial board of American Review of Politics. In addition, Hartley’s article “Moving Past Crisis . . . Promoting Parity: How E????????ective Intergovernmental Relations Can Help Build a More Co-Equal Judicial Branch” was published in the New England Law Review in April. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | The College of Education and Allied Professions held a ceremony in honor of the late Janice Holt, who was WCU’s executive director of teacher recruitment, advising and career support, on Monday May 6, and planted a dogwood tree in her memory. A plaque at the base of a dogwood tree in honor of the late Janice Holt, who was WCU’s executive director of teacher recruitment, advising and career support. NOTEWORTHY NEWS Holt honored at ceremony A ceremony on Monday, May 6, honored the late Janice Hooper Holt, who was Western Carolina University’s executive director of teacher recruitment, advising and career support, with the planting of a dogwood tree near the Killian Building and awarding of two student awards named for Holt. Holt, of Webster, died unexpectedly Nov. 1, at the age of 58. A faculty member in the WCU College of Education and Allied Professions, Holt was a National Board certi????????ed teacher who arrived at WCU in 2000 after more than two decades in Jackson County schools. She was instrumental in developing the university’s programs to support beginning and career teachers and maintain partnerships with regional schools. She had been in her current position since 2010. Holt held bachelor’s (1976), master’s (1977) and education specialist (1987) degrees in middle grades education from WCU. In 2012 she earned her doctorate in educational leadership from WCU, receiving the American Educational Research Association’s Research on Teacher Induction special interest group’s ????????rst Dissertation Award. Holt said her work supporting beginning teachers in Western North Carolina sparked her interest in the topic that developed into her dissertation, which examined teacher retention and student achievement. Holt was named the 1999 National Science Teachers Association/Space Foundation National Space Educator of the Year. At WCU she taught the methods courses for the School of Teaching and Learning and the freshman seminar for the WHEE Teach Living Learning Community. WHEE Teach has emerged as a shining star of best practice and commitment from the College of Education and Allied Professions and was recently honored by the North Carolina Association of Residence Halls with the Silver Seymour Community of the Month award. The community has grown from one cohort of 25 students to 50 students this year and is expected to grown again this fall to 75 students. In addition, Holt received grants totaling more than $1.5 million that focused on the support of beginning teachers and college access. Those who wish to support the Janice Holt Scholarship Fund can write a check payable to the WCU Foundation and note that it is for the Janice Holt Scholarship Fund. Send checks to Brett Woods, O????????ce of Development, 201 H.F. Robinson Building, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C., 28723. Gifts also may be made online at Make Your Online Gift. Select the College of Education and Allied Professions from the “area of giving” drop-down box and note in the comments box that the gift is for the Holt scholarship. For additional information, contact Woods at bwoods@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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Tess Branon TOP STORIES Honors College students primed for graduate school Western Carolina University’s spring graduating class includes 174 undergraduate students who will be receiving their diplomas as members of the university’s Honors College, and if past trends are any indication, many of those students will soon transition to graduate schools, including WCU’s, to begin work on their master’s, doctorates and other graduate degrees. Informal surveys conducted in previous years indicated that at least 45 percent of Honors College students continue on to graduate study, said Brian Railsback, dean of the college. Also, fully two-thirds of this year’s graduating students who responded to an Honors College survey in April are planning to go to graduate school. In comparison, a 2012 U.S. News and World Report survey of colleges and universities indicated that an average of 27 percent of college graduates across the nation enroll in a master’s program within one year of graduation. When Honors College students arrive on campus as freshmen, many are unsure of what they want to do after they graduate, but a few show up with a plan already set, Railsback said. Tess Branon came to WCU from Apex in the fall of 2009 to begin work on a double major in chemistry and biology. She will be graduating in May and will receive the Honors College diploma and medallion along with her peers in the college. Branon said she arrived at WCU already planning to continue on to graduate school and with the thought in her mind that she would eventually transfer to a bigger university to improve her chances of getting into the graduate school of her choice. Things didn’t turn out that way. “I ended up loving it and staying,” she said. Branon, who has recorded a perfect 4.0 grade-point average during her time at WCU, was accepted for admission by several of the most prestigious graduate schools in the nation, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University. She has decided to pursue her doctorate in chemistry at MIT, which is located in Cambridge, Mass., and will bene????????t from a combination of tuition waivers and salaried teaching and research assistantships worth more than $67,000 per academic year. Branon said she received a high level of support from the Honors College sta???????? and her home academic departments – chemistry and biology – as she went about the process of working on her academic pro????????le to increase her chances of getting into the graduate school of her choice. She expects to work on her doctorate for ????????ve years, and then to enter a post-doctoral program. Her ????????rst year at MIT will include taking some classes and teaching other classes, but after that her focus will be on research in chemical biology. She has not decided on a de????????nite career path. “Coming back to Western Carolina to teach is something I’ve thought about a lot,” she said. Branon said she has been impressed by her fellow students in the Honors College’s graduating class. The group is composed of “a lot of hardworking, intelligent people, and I think it shows in where we’re going,” she said. The April survey indicated that many Honors College students are planning to enroll in WCU’s Graduate School, while others will begin graduate study at other institutions. Taylor Fie of Clyde graduated summa cum laude (with highest honors) with a bachelor’s degree in English at WCU last December and will be attending the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill starting in the fall. Another Honors College student from Haywood County, Tyler McKinnish of Canton, will receive his bachelor’s degree in biology in May and also will be attending the School of Medicine at Chapel Hill in the fall. Another graduating senior, Lindsay Carter of Apex, has been accepted into the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. Other Honors College seniors are making plans for graduate study at institutions such as Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Clemson, Michigan State, Kentucky, Iowa, Kentucky and Louisville. 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 When academically high-achieving students join the Honors College as freshmen, the top priority for the honors sta???????? is to encourage those students to immediately begin considering what they are going to do after they get their bachelor’s degrees, Railsback said. “We want Honors College students to start thinking about what happens after graduation the first day they’re here,” he said. “That’s what we’re all about.” The Honors College sta???????? consults with students about service learning, undergraduate research, study abroad and internships, and how those components ????????t into the fabric of their educations at WCU, Railsback said. At the end of their ????????rst six weeks on campus, honors students complete a learning plan that they will follow to meet their educational goals at WCU. They also enter into honors contracts for various courses as they progress through their educations, pledging to complete a special project or activity that will take them deeper into a subject area. All those e????????orts are concentrated on one goal – improving the academic profile of the individual student for entry into graduate school or a career, he said. Railsback said the counseling and mentoring provided by himself and the college’s associate dean, Steve Carlisle, and pre-professional adviser, Emily Sharpe, is just one aspect of the support provided on campus to Honors College students, who also bene????????t from meetings with their academic advisers as well as from their interactions with many WCU faculty members in the classroom. For more information about WCU’s Honors College, contact the college at 828-227-7383 or email Railsback at brailsba@wcu.edu. By Randall Holcombe Tags: Western Carolina University Honors College © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Human resources students assist N.C. nonprofit organizations Students in the master’s degree program in human resources o????????ered through the Department of Human Services served as HR consultants to four nonprofit organizations in North Carolina as part of their coursework this spring. Under the supervision of Marie-Line Germain, assistant professor of human resources and leadership, and working with graduate student Olivia Graham, who served as liaison between the students, professors and organizations, 12 teams of five to seven students each helped their clients address a specific human resources need. Four teams worked with the nonpro????????t organization Dorcas Ministries associated with Christian Community in Action Inc. located in Cary. One team revised and updated the employee handbook. A second team revised policies and procedures. The third team updated the nonpro????????t’s volunteer handbook. A fourth team created an employee performance evaluation system, including forms and processes. Howard Manning, executive director of Dorcas Ministries, said the organization leaders had recognized several human resources needs after the recent acquisition of a larger facility that necessitated an increase in the size of the staff. “We needed a set of human resources policies and procedures to make sure we were providing fair and bene????????cial opportunities for our employees and volunteers,” said Manning. “We were struggling to develop a strategy to accomplish this without having a human resources department. Dr. Germain and her teams provided an invaluable resource for us at exactly the right time. This allowed our small sta???????? to focus on work related to our mission and strategic plans. The teams were very professional and thorough. They delivered a final product that not only meets our current needs but will be useful as we continue to grow.” Two teams worked with Liberty Corners Enterprises Inc. located on Coxe Avenue in Asheville. One team focused on developing a performance appraisal process. The other developed a step-by-step orientation process, including forms, checklists and presentation tools. Tonya Andrews, ????????nance director of Liberty Corners, was a key point of contact for the students, who ensured that the products developed were tailored to the organization’s needs. Merry Michalsen, who served as a team leader for the group that assisted with creating an orientation process for Liberty Corner Enterprises, described the experience as a tremendous opportunity to get hands-on experience working with a nonpro????????t organization in ways that many have not had the chance to do. “This truly shows that an online education doesn’t have to remove you from that real world — it just allows you to see it and access it in a different way,” said Michalsen. Two teams worked with the Asheville Buncombe Community Relations Council located on South French Broad Avenue in Asheville. One team developed a performance evaluation process that included forms, step-by-step instructions and checklists. Another team created a volunteer handbook. Sarah Nunez, the nonpro????????t’s executive director, said the organization was delighted to have the opportunity to work with the WCU students and faculty. “The projects produced by the teams were beneficial to our internal structures and will assist our organization for years to come,” said Nunez. Three teams worked with Asheville City Schools Foundation located on Mountain Street in Asheville. One team worked on updating the nonpro????????t’s employee handbook. A second team created a performance evaluation process that included forms and instructions. Kate Pett, executive director of the foundation, said she was grateful for the assistance. “We will joyfully be implementing these tools in the coming weeks, and I am con????????dent that they will enhance our ability to serve children and our community,” said Prett. Cortne Schanbacher, one of the graduate students who worked with Asheville City Schools Foundation to create a performance appraisal process and forms, said the hands-on consulting experience was rewarding and invaluable. “We were able to help an amazing organization expand on their HR processes and gain valuable knowledge at the same time,” said Schanbacher. Another team worked on an independent project creating a portion of a human resources handbook for nonpro????????t organizations, which Germaine will continue to develop. “The projects also were rewarding for students, who overwhelmingly reported they bene????????ted personally and professionally from this consulting experience.” said Germain. For more information, contact Germain at 828-227-3959 or mgermain@wcu.edu. Tags: WCU Service Learning, Western Carolina University Human Resources Program 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Kossick presents lectures at ECU and at North Dakota meeting Dr. Mark A. Kossick, professor of nursing, presented three lectures April 11 as a visiting professor to graduate nurse anesthesia students at East Carolina University. His lectures were “Essentials of EKG Interpretation for the Anesthesia Provider,” “Critical Assessment & Interventions for Invasive Hemodynamic Data” and “Anesthesia for Patients with Valvular Heart Disease.” He also served as a lecture faculty at the annual spring educational meeting of the North Dakota Association of Nurse Anesthetists in Fargo, N.D. His lectures were given April 20 and were titled “Cardinal Skills for Accurate Interpretation of Myocardial Ischemia,” “ST Segment Deviation Algorithm: A Comprehensive Approach” and “Anesthesia Update on the Management of Atrial Fibrillation.” 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Melissa Wargo TOP STORIES Melissa Wargo named chief of staff Melissa Canady Wargo, assistant vice chancellor for planning and effectiveness at Western Carolina University, will be the institution’s next chief of staff. “Melissa Wargo brings an exceptionally strong skill set to the position of chief of staff. In addition to a keen analytical mind, she has an excellent reputation on and off the campus for her ability to bring together a diverse collection of faculty, staff, students, alumni and community representatives to find common ground and a sense of shared direction in developing our university’s strategic plan,” Belcher said. “She sees the big picture and understands how things work in the University of North Carolina system, as well as at the regional and community levels. She will be able to hit the ground running and have an immediate impact as the university meets the challenges and opportunities ahead,” he said. The appointment of Wargo, which is effective June 1, concludes a national search that began in January and was conducted by a seven-member campus committee. Chaired by Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student affairs, the committee presented three unranked finalists to Belcher for his consideration. “The search committee members did exactly what I asked them to do by bringing forward three extremely well-qualified candidates for my consideration for this important position in the university administration,” Belcher said. “They did their job well by making my job difficult.” In her role as assistant vice chancellor for planning and effectiveness, Wargo guided the university through a nearly yearlong strategic planning process. She led a 36-member committee in drafting a strategic plan titled “2020 Vision: Focusing Our Future,” which was approved last June by the WCU Board of Trustees. Wargo currently serves as co-chair of the university’s master planning committee, which is charged with creating a comprehensive plan that will guide the development and improvements of the campus over the next several decades. The 17-month master planning process is directly related to the university strategic plan, and entails a detailed examination of the university’s infrastructure, including transportation; technology and utilities; possible location of new buildings; utilization of existing space; and parking and greenways. Wargo will assume the role of chief of staff as the university is in the first phase of a process of institutional restructuring. In addition to serving as the principal aide to the chancellor on important university operational matters and leading the university’s government relations activities, Wargo will oversee WCU’s communications and public relations functions and a new marketing unit that is being formed from several existing offices. Reporting directly to the chancellor, the chief of staff is a member of the university’s senior leadership team, sits on the Executive Council and provides coordination for the achievement of strategic directions, goals and initiatives for the Chancellor’s Division. Wargo said she feels “tremendously honored” to be selected as WCU’s next chief of staff. “This is an exciting time at Western and it will be my privilege to serve the university in this new role,” she said. “I am particularly looking forward to working with Chancellor Belcher and other campus leaders as we implement the ‘2020 Vision’ strategic plan. Fortunately, my job will be made easier because of the excellent foundation built by my predecessor, Dianne Lynch, and the dedicated staff in communications and public relations, marketing and government relations.” Wargo arrived at WCU in January 2006 as director of assessment before becoming an assistant vice chancellor in January 2009. She previously served as director of assessment at Texas Christian University, coordinator of reports and institutional research associate at the University of Texas at Arlington and coordinator for institutional research and assessment at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City. She earned her doctorate in history, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in anthropology, all at the University of Texas at Arlington. Lynch, the current chief of staff, announced in December her plans to retire after a 37-year career with the state of North Carolina, including various leadership roles for nearly 20 years with the Jackson County School System. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Metcalfe named one of top 20 medical and nursing professors in North Carolina Sharon Metcalfe, associate professor of nursing at Western Carolina University, was included in Online Schools North Carolina’s list of the Top 20 Medical and Nursing Professors in North Carolina. The professors were selected based on recent accomplishments and accolades. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | An image of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s LeConte Lodge by Thompson Brothers Commercial Photographers is among images from the park’s archives available through a new Western Carolina University digital collection of historic Appalachian photographs. This image of a Carolina lily (Lilium michauxii) by Bertram Whittier Wells (1884-1978), part of a series of 20 photographs depicting botanical specimens of the Great Smoky Mountains, is from Western Carolina University special collections and now available online as part of Hunter Library’s new digital collection of historic Appalachian photographs. TOP STORIES Online photo archive grows through WCU-Great Smokies partnership Western Carolina University joined forces with Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the latest addition to its digital collections, housed at Hunter Library. “Picturing Appalachia” is a collection of more than 1,000 early 20th-century photographs that provides a glimpse into the life, culture and natural landscape of the Southern Appalachian mountains in and around Western North Carolina. The collection includes images by popular Great Smoky Mountains National Park photographer James E. Thompson, whose work is housed at park headquarters in Sugarlands, Tenn. A memorandum of understanding between the university and the park allowed Hunter Library to digitize the historic photographs. “It just makes them a lot more accessible to people around the world,” said John McDade, museum curator at the park. Not only can people access the images more easily, but it also protects the images from handling, McDade said. Thompson and his brother, Robin (whose work also is in the new collection), ran the Thompson Brothers Commercial Photography business in Knoxville, Tenn., making images for park supporters and various other regional tourism and business interests. WCU sta???????? also selected groups of pictures from Hunter Library’s own special collections, including work by George Masa, who photographed and documented the Mount Mitchell Motor Road, giving tourists a glimpse of America’s highest peak east of the Mississippi. Masa is well known for working with Horace Kephart, an authority on the cultural and natural history of the region, to build support for establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The collection also comprises the work of other, lesser-known photographers, including A.L. Ensley, a Jackson County farmer who photographed families in formal portraits at his home studio. “It is these pictures – along with the growth of the railroad and the publication of various travel brochures – that have made Western North Carolina a popular travel destination,” said Anna Fariello, associate research professor at Hunter Library who coordinates digital archiving efforts. Users can search “Picturing Appalachia” by photographer, source institution or by topic, which includes botanicals, cities and towns, portraits, industry, landscapes, transportation, and travel and tourism. Descriptions included in each entry include biographical information about the photographer and other facts. Images from other photographers, including R.A. Romanes, who documented communities and towns in WNC and counties in north Georgia and east Tennessee, are planned for addition. To complete the collection, the library’s digital production team also will scan and upload a number of 19 th-century travel brochures. Functioning as an open-access database and interactive, educational Web-based resource, the images are part of a growing online archive resulting from the library’s digital initiatives program. “Picturing Appalachia” takes its place along with the library’s other digital collections, including ones for the craft revival, Cherokee traditions and Kephart, as well as the sound collection “Stories of Mountain Folk,” all of which can be accessed from www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/. The digital collection has grown in large part through partnerships with entities including the WCU Mountain Heritage Center, John C. Campbell Folk School, Southern Highland Craft Guild, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual and the N.C. Office of Archives and History. “As a regional public institution and through collaboration with cultural partners, Hunter Library is committed to building regionally oriented, historically significant digital collections of broad research interest,” said Dana Sally, dean of library services. 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 The “Picturing Appalachia” project was made possible through an award of $71,574 from the State Library of North Carolina. The university and Great Smoky Mountains National Park will partner again for Hunter Library’s next digital collection, which will focus on the park’s history, Fariello said. For more information, contact Fariello at 828-227-2499 or fariello@wcu.edu. By Jill Ingram Tags: Picturing Appalachia, WCU digital archives, WCU digital archives picturing appalachia, WCU Great Smoky Mountains National Park digital archives, WCU Great Smoky Mountains National Park digital archives picturing appalachia © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Chancellor David O. Belcher and members of the Western Carolina University Pride of the Mountains Marching Band celebrate receiving an invitation to participate in the 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. Wesley Whatley, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade creative director, presents David Starnes, director of athletic bands at WCU with a commemorative drum head. TOP STORIES Pride of the Mountains to participate in Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains is one of only 10 marching bands selected from across the nation to perform in the 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. Macy’s Parade o????????cials were on campus Thursday, April 25, to surprise the 400 members of the WCU marching band with news of the invitation to participate in the 2014 edition of the annual holiday event. Members of the band had assembled in the theater of A.K. Hinds University Center under the pretense that they were attending a mandatory organizational meeting. And, when Chancellor David O. Belcher came into the room, one student shouted, “Belcher is going to march with us next year!” But when Wesley Whatley, the parade’s creative director, broke the news, unveiled a parade banner and presented a commemorative drum head to David Starnes, director of the Pride of the Mountains, the student musicians burst into applause and cheers. They then showered Starnes with a rain of colorful confetti. “David Starnes continues to push forward the legacy of musical excellence at Western Carolina University and we are so proud to have this enormous and exciting band join our ranks for the very first time on Thanksgiving Day 2014,” said Whatley, head of the parade’s band selection committee. The invitation to perform at the Macy’s Parade is the latest accolade bestowed upon the WCU marching band, Belcher said. “It is a supreme honor to add this invitation to participate in the 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to the long list of accomplishments of Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band,” Belcher said. “We were proud of the Pride for winning the 2009 Sudler Trophy for collegiate marching bands. We were delighted when they were selected to march in the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade . And we are absolutely ecstatic that our band members will be sharing their talents and creativity with the millions of people who will watch the Macy’s Parade, both in person and on television,” he said. The Sudler Trophy, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation, is considered the nation’s ultimate honor for college and university bands and has been called the “Heisman Trophy” of the collegiate marching band world. When the WCU marching band appeared in the 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., it won “favorite band” in a poll conducted by KTLA-TV, earning 72,287 votes – 40 percent of all votes cast in the poll and more than any of the parade’s other musical groups. The band is looking to make that same kind of impact on Thanksgiving Day next year, said Starnes. “We are honored as well as excited to represent Western Carolina University, the School of Music and the entire Catamount Nation on national television in the 2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Starnes. “It is undoubtedly one of the greatest events a band student of any age can experience and we feel privileged to o????????er our members this opportunity. Our band program has received numerous national honors that carry great prestige. However, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has not been a part of our resume – until now.” Founded in 1924, the world-famous event attracts more than 3.5 million spectators lining the streets of New York, and 50 million at-home viewers. 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 “When you are the best band in the land, you might as well share it with the rest of the world,” Belcher said. WATCH A VIDEO OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT By Bill Studenc © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | WCU students, from left, Charlie Howard, Joseph Bertucci, Matt Stenger, David Stroup and Courtney Barrow help deliver new recycling bins donated to WCU through the Alcoa Foundation Recycling Bin Grant Program to sites across campus. Matt Stenger, a junior from Hendersonville and member of WCU’s track and field team, had reported the need for recycling bins at athletic events to WCU’s energy manager. Stenger assisted with selecting locations for new bins and placing them on campus. TOP STORIES Recycling bins donated to WCU placed on campus Western Carolina University volunteers recently placed on campus the majority of 75 new recycling bins received through the Alcoa Foundation Recycling Bin Grant Program. WCU was one of 35 colleges and universities that received a donation of recycling bins as part of the program, which is an effort to help schools boost recycling and is tied to the foundation’s partnership with the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and the College and University Recycling Coalition. The program also has ties to the national RecycleMania recycling competition in which WCU participates. WCU’s recycling rates have increased 55 percent since 2009, said Lauren Bishop, energy manager at WCU. “What that tells us is that there is a huge need to add more bins on campus,” she said. “We are truly grateful to the Alcoa Foundation and Keep America Beautiful for selecting us as a recipient.” The recycling bins enabled WCU to expand its recycling program to athletic facilities, where students such as Matt Stenger, a junior from Hendersonville and member of WCU’s track team and field team, had reported to Bishop that there was a need. Stenger assisted with determining locations for the new recycling bins and with placing them on campus. “The more we recycle, the more money we save by avoiding landfill costs, and it is better for the environment,” said Bishop. For more information, contact Bishop at lbishop@wcu.edu or 828-227-3562. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Salary Task Force shares information on WCU Hub The Salary Task Force has posted notes from the question-and-answer session at a recent forum and other related documents on the WCU Hub intranet site. If accessing WCU Hub from off campus, log in first at vpn.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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | ACHIEVEMENTS Shapiro honored with 2013 Clinical Achievement Award David A. Shapiro, the Robert Lee Madison Distinguished Professor of communication sciences and disorders at Western Carolina University, was bestowed the 2013 Clinical Achievement Award by the North Carolina Speech, Hearing and Language Association at its annual spring convention in Raleigh. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS SLIDESHOW: Community enjoys art student-created miniature golf course Students challenged with using line, color, mass and other kinetic elements to present risks and rewards in a miniature golf course as part of a three-dimensional design honors project shared the fruits of their labor – the Wacky Western Miniature Golf course – on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center in early May. Students Angel Butler, Jessica Grant, Katana Lemelin, Elizabeth Mosher and Cole Johnson created the golf course as a work of art itself almost completely from found and second-hand materials. They incorporated challenges such as requiring a golfer to send a ball through a Slinky. In addition, the students placed works of art within the course. “The art students applied their talents and created something that could be enjoyed by children and adults,” said Richard Tichich, professor in the School of Art and Design. “A father was calmly teaching his son how to hit the ball. At the same time, four older students were competing as if it were the Masters tournament.” The course will open again Saturday, Sept 21, at the Jackson County Green Energy Park’s Youth Arts Festival in Dillsboro. The annual festival features art, music, green energy and community fun. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS SLIDESHOW: WCU celebrates Earth and Wellness Day Western Carolina University’s Energy Management office and Campus Recreation Center hosted activities in honor of Earth and Wellness Day on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center on April 24. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Camera gift to WCU to be celebrated at Controlled Chaos Film Festival Western Carolina University will celebrate a gift from Sony of a state-of-the-art F65 camera at the Controlled Chaos Film Festival on Friday, May 3. The camera, one of less than a dozen gifted to ????????lm programs across the nation, o????????ers cutting-edge features including a higher resolution than any previous digital motion picture camera. The festival features student-created films and will be held in the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center and begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | Chancellor David O. Belcher (right) applauds as Lou Gershenson from Sony joins him on stage at the Controlled Chaos Film Festival to celebrate the gift from Sony to WCU of an F65 camera (left). Arledge Armenaki (right), associate professor of cinematography, and student Abby Taylor check out a lens port on the Sony F65, a camera recently gifted to Western Carolina University. TOP STORIES Sony gifts state-of-the-art camera to film program Western Carolina University celebrated the gift of a state-of-the-art professional camera from Sony valued at nearly $100,000 on Friday, May 3, at the fifth annual Controlled Chaos Film Festival of student productions. An F65 CineAlta camera, the equipment o????????ers cutting-edge technology and a higher resolution than any other digital motion picture camera available today. Sony had roughly 400 pre-orders for the camera worldwide when the company began shipping the F65 in January 2012, and this year gifted fewer than a dozen to up-and-coming ????????lm programs across the nation. “We are thrilled to be selected to receive one of these cameras, which are designed to shoot major feature ????????lms to be projected in the biggest and best theaters in the world,” said Jack Sholder, director of WCU’s Motion Picture and Television Production Program. “This camera will help us better prepare our students to work in the industry and to understand and gain experience with some of the most high-end equipment there is.” While many movie theaters commonly project ????????lms in 2,000- pixel de????????nition, the F65 features an advanced 8,000-pixel sensor and is Sony’s ????????rst professional camera to capture footage in a resolution of more than 4,000 pixels. The demand for 4K is increasing with more than 13,000 theaters worldwide now equipped with 4K projectors and with 4K television sets coming on the market. The camera was used to shoot “After Earth” with Will Smith and “Oblivion” starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Fox Sports is using the F65 to produce more detailed replays in high definition. Arledge Armenaki, an associate professor of cinematography who was integral in working with Sony to secure the gift for WCU, described the camera as a formidable piece of equipment that is a quantum leap in camera technology. “This camera has an astounding image resolution with a tremendous exposure latitude,” said Armenaki. “It can see into bright highlights and deep shadows. It surpasses the resolution for 35 mm film, the gold standard. It’s amazing.” Upon hearing Sony would give an F65 to WCU earlier this semester, students in the ????????lm program cheered. Andrew Dyson, a junior from Spartanburg, S.C., majoring in motion picture production, said he’s excited about the kinds of shots students will be able to achieve with the camera’s cutting-edge capabilities. Students often rent advanced camera equipment for their senior thesis ????????lms to be able to enhance the quality of the footage – footage that students will be able to surpass with the F65. Martin Meredith, enterprise and strategic accounts manager at Sony, said the company works closely with university and higher learning institutions across the country. Meredith was among representatives who visited WCU last fall to learn more about the program and its needs, and to participate in educational programming for students and faculty. “We were impressed with the caliber of the students we met at WCU,” said Meredith. “There was a high level of energy.” 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 Meredith said Sony representatives will return to campus to host a learning session related to the camera when it is out????????tted and look forward to hearing from students about how they are using the F65 to create films and the details of their experiences with the equipment. For more information, contact Sholder at 828-227-2324 or jsholder@wcu.edu. By Teresa Killian Tate Tags: F65, Sony, WCU Motion Picture and Television Production Program, Western Carolina University film program © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 8, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | WCU students Tim Kay, Stiles Burr, John Gilliam and Chris Kidd competed as a team at the College Sport Research Institute Conference. (Photo courtesy Kadence Otto) NOTEWORTHY NEWS Sport management team competes in case study competition WCU sport management’s inaugural undergraduate research team placed sixth out of 13 universities in the case study competition at the College Sport Research Institute Conference at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in April. Kadence Otto, associate professor of sport management, accompanied the team of students, Tim Kay, Stiles Burr, John Gilliam and Chris Kidd, to the event. 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 © 2013 Western Carolina University. SEARCH Search Home About Archives Subscribe Contact WCU Home May 1, 2013 ???????? Email This Post ???????? Print This Post ???????? Share | NOTEWORTHY NEWS Student-designed miniature golf course opens for play May 2-3 The Wacky Western Miniature Golf designed and built by students will open on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center at noon Thursday, May 2. The nine-hole course, which ????????ve students built as part of a three-dimensional design honors project, features not only student art but also creative miniature golf challenges, such as putting a ball through a Slinky. The students made the course using primarily found or second-hand items. Opening play on the course and establishing the “par” for each hole will be sculpture teachers Jan Parker and Brad Wines; Brian Railsback, dean of the Honors College; and Matt Liddle, director of the School of Art and Design. The course will be open for play on the University Center lawn on May 2 and Friday, May 3. For more information, contact Richard Tichich, professor in the School of Art and Design, at 828-227-2464 or rtichich@wcu.edu. CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER TOP STORIES NOTEWORTHY NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS EVENTS PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Fo
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