What`s Up - Widener University

What’s Up
Vol. 10, Issue 1
September 2, 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Summer Cultural Immersion
Trip Introduces Students to
the Gullah/Geechee People
2
Points of Pride: The Class of
2019 Breaks Widener Record
2
Faces of Widener:
Kim Braun
3
Two Opportunities to Help
Others
3
Ottino Named Assistant Dean
of the College of Arts and
Sciences
4
Widener Welcomes
New Faculty
4
Liberian Delegation Visits
Delaware Law
5
Biomedical Engineering
Students Win Design
Competition
5
Bussom’s Video Series Draws
an International Audience
6
Snapshots from the Class of
2019’s First Week at Widener
6
Spotlight on Sports:
Widener Football Preview
7
Noteworthy
7
Two-Week Peek
8
Story Idea?
Send story and
noteworthy ideas and
items to Allyson Roberts,
alroberts@widener.edu
Colby Receives 2015 Lindback
Award for Distinguished Teaching
Dr. Normajean Colby, assistant
professor and coordinator of
pediatric nursing in the School of
Nursing, received the 2015 Lindback
Foundation Award for Distinguished
Teaching.
“Our winner is not new to Widener;
she has been part of the Widener
family since 1983,” Interim Provost
Jerry Greiner said. “Unlike many other
faculty, she has seen Widener from
many perspectives: student, alumna,
preceptor, instructor, lecturer and now
assistant professor. She has studied
the benefits of interprofessional
education and has shared this
knowledge not only in the classroom
with Widener students, but also with
practicing professionals in other
organizations.”
A three-time Widener alumna,
receiving her bachelor’s, master’s
and doctorate from Widener,
Colby attributes her success to her
professors and coaches. “They were
such great role models and provided
me with characteristics and attributes
to emulate,” she said. “Widener took
my education personally, and that is
what I attempt to do for my students.
I’m fortunate to be a part of the
Widener family and to work with such
dedicated individuals. It really is an
absolute honor to be recognized by
them for doing what I love to do.”
The Lindback Award is given to a
faculty member who has demonstrated
a history of teaching at the highest
level. It is endowed by the Christian
R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation,
a Philadelphia-based foundation
that provides grants to institutions of
higher education for the promotion
Dr. Normajean Colby, center, is
the 2015 recipient of the Lindback
Award. She is pictured with
Interim Provost Greiner, left, and
Interim President Wilhite.
of excellence in teaching. The honor
is bestowed annually to a member of
Widener’s faculty.
Colby has been a nurse educator at
Widener for more than 20 years. She
teaches a variety of undergraduate
courses for freshmen to seniors and
also at the PhD level. She serves as
an adviser in the School of Nursing
and is currently the coordinator of
the pediatric nurse program and an
adjunct professor in the School of
Human Service Professions.
Colby also teaches a service learning
elective that focuses on nurses as
teachers responsible for imparting
healthcare education in practice. The
course encompasses theory and
compliance, while students work
with a variety of populations in their
placements. She was named a service
learning faculty fellow for her work on
the course.
This year Colby is looking forward
to supporting the university’s
sustainability initiative and plans to
focus a part of her freshman seminar
course around the topic.
1
Points of Pride…
Summer Cultural Immersion Trip
Introduces Students to the Gullah/
Geechee People
“Spiritual” and “life-changing” are
how junior psychology major Angela
Pote describes the recent cultural
immersion trip she attended to the
Gullah/Geechee Nation along the
South Carolina and Georgia coasts.
As an older student, she found
herself forming a close bond with
Queen Quet, chieftess of the Gullah/
Geechee Nation, and continues to
talk with her. Pote has even made
preliminary plans to take her friends
and children to visit Quet and her
people.
Queen Quet taught a linguistics
class for the 10 Widener students on
the trip, explaining that her melodic
language grew out of the merging
of different African dialects. The
Gullah/Geechee people descended
from west and central African ethnic
groups whose people were brought
to the New World to work as slaves
on plantations. During the class,
Queen Quet also discussed how the
Gullah/Geechee people developed
codes—often communicated through
song—so that they could send
messages to one another on the
plantations, such as “safe to escape
tonight” or “stay put.”
Senior accounting major Frank Davis
was impressed how the Gullah/
Geechee culture had remained intact,
noting how many still knew—and
proudly sang—these songs. Davis
played his own role in preserving
the culture by setting up a printer for
Queen Quet for scanning to digitize a
Gullah/Geechee archive.
“This archive is not only important for
the Gullahs, but also for the rest of us
as it helps us understand how things
were during the time of slavery so
that we can move forward,” he said.
All of the Widener students spent
time volunteering to help the Gullah/
Geechee people. The trip itinerary
The Class of 2019 Breaks
Widener Record
With contribution from Kelsey Styles,
’17, communication studies
Last week, Widener University
welcomed the largest class in history
onto Main Campus. Members of the
Class of 2019 moved in on Aug. 26
thanks to the help of faculty, staff,
administrators and upperclassmen.
Their first few days of orientation were
filled with getting to know the campus
and learning more about Widener.
Widener students spend the day
volunteering to help the Gullah/
Geechee people while on a
cultural immersion trip.
also gave the students time to
explore the cities of Savannah,
Ga., and Charleston, S.C. While
in Charleston, they stopped at the
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal
Church, the site where nine people
were shot and killed in June. The
preacher was a Gullah.
“The Gullahs have emerged from this
incident as they always have—with
forgiveness and strength,” Pote
said. “Their past is not an anchor
holding them down, but a propeller
pushing them forward; we can learn
from them to create a world where
everyone works together.”
The cultural immersion trip was
organized and led by Melody
Buckholt, assistant director for
International Student Services and
Programs, and Dr. Thomas Benedetti,
associate professor of Italian and
Spanish.
On Aug. 28, they participated in
Convocation on Memorial Field.
Interim Provost Jerry M. Greiner,
Interim President Stephen C. Wilhite,
and Student Government President
Nicole Gilette, ’16, all urged them
to make the most of their college
experience. Wilhite left the students
with this resounding message:
“Search for a meaningful life.”
Following Convocation, students
filed through the Bown Dome (they’ll
walk in the opposite direction at
Commencement) and walked to the
front of Founder’s Hall where they
sang Widener’s fight song and took
turns rubbing the noses of the Pride
statues for good luck.
For more information on Convocation,
read the Blue and Gold.
For photos from Convocation, click
here.
“Throughout the trip, we constantly
talked about what we had seen
and done, and each evening, we
gathered for a Q-and-A session,”
said Benedetti. “It was one of the
best experiences I’ve had, and I think
the students were changed by their
willingness to fully participate in the
experience through seeing, hearing,
sensing, feeling and reflecting.”
2
Faces of Widener: Kim Braun
master’s in library science from Drexel
University and then served as a public
librarian for the J. Lewis Crozer Library
in Chester, Pa., for several years.
Braun seamlessly transitioned into
her role at Widener, applying her
meticulous researching skills to
investigating possible donors.
Kim Braun,
Prospect Researcher
In her role as a prospect researcher
within the Office of Development, Kim
Braun researches publicly available
information to find individuals who are
likely to give to the university.
“I spend time researching where an
individual’s or company’s interests
lie and what affinities they have with
Widener and try to match them with
appropriate giving opportunities,”
Braun said.
A Widener alumna, Braun developed
an interest in research as a history and
French major. She went on to earn a
Two Opportunities
to Help Others
Clothing Drive
Take some time this fall to clean out
your closet. The English Department
and English Club are running a
women’s career wear/business and
professional attire clothing drive
throughout the month of September.
The clothing will go to women’s
mentorship groups in Chester: young
women entering the workforce and
older women re-entering society postincarceration.
At Widener, Braun works closely
with the gift officers, helping build
profiles on prospects that include
background information on alumni and
other possible donors. To build such
profiles, she uses a research database
that allows her to manipulate data to
identify specific target audiences.
“I focus on giving pattern changes,
as well as those who have not given
or have recently given a gift to the
university,” she said. “I alert the gift
officers about donors we should be
focusing on.”
While Braun’s main responsibilities
are on prospect research, she also
supports a number of research projects
for the Office of Advancement, as well
as specific program-related projects
for the schools and departments,
Drop-off points will be in Old Main,
University Center and Quick. Dr.
Janine Utell, chair of English, has also
offered to collect bundles of clothes in
person. Contact Utell at ext. 4527 or
jmutell@widener.edu.
Please only donate clothes in good
condition. Again, donations will be
accepted Sept. 1–30.
School Supply Drive
The Office for Community
Engagement and Diversity Initiatives
is sponsoring a school supply drive
for the children of the Widener
Partnership Charter School now
including the law schools, to help
inform decision making. She has
recently focused on supporting the
new deans for each of the law schools
by gathering important information on
donors.
Braun finds her position rewarding
because the gifts she helps bring
in can impact a student’s college
experience.
“I like that you can see evidence of
your impact when a donor gives a
gift and how it directly benefits our
students,” she said.
One of the highlights of her time as a
Widener employee was helping plan
the scholarship reception last year
where students had a chance to meet
the donors behind the scholarships
they received.
Braun remains on campus even
after the workday is done as she
is currently pursuing her master’s
in public administration. In her free
time, the Media, Pa., resident also
enjoys reading and traveling with her
husband, Nick. They visited Maine
earlier this summer.
through Sept. 8. Drop-off boxes are
located in the lobby of University
Center and the ground floor of Old
Main by Campus Safety.
Suggested donations include ink
pens, wide ruled paper, #2 pencils,
two-pocket folders, tissues, hand
sanitizer, crayons, colored pencils,
washable markers, glue sticks,
erasers, composition books,
Ziploc bags, pencil cases, rulers,
highlighters, etc.
3
Ottino Named Assistant Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences
department chairs. She serves as
a main point of contact for queries
related to the College and will help
communicate the College’s programs
and values to both internal and external
audiences.
Stephanie Ottino
Widener alumna Stephanie Ottino has
joined the College of Arts and Sciences
as assistant dean. In this new role,
Ottino offers data analysis, problemsolving and project management
support to the College of Arts and
Sciences dean, associate deans and
Ottino is a May 2015 graduate of
Widener with a M.Ed. in Student Affairs
Leadership. For her practicum, she
worked under College of Arts and
Sciences Dean Sharon Meagher to
offer logistical support for the college’s
civic engagement initiatives. In addition
to helping with student recruitment,
planning, assessment and evaluation for
various civic engagement opportunities,
she also helped research funding for
future projects.
“I am excited to remain a part of the
Widener University community and
work with Dean Meagher and the
College of Arts and Sciences faculty
in this new role,” said Ottino. “The
faculty and administration are dedicated
to creating transformative student
experiences, and I feel lucky to assist in
carrying out their visions.”
Ottino cultivated her organizational skills
by combining industry experience as a
production planner for LaFrance Corp.
with her experience in higher education
and classroom learning. She earned a
B.S. in organizational and community
leadership from the University of
Delaware in May 2011.
“The search committee noted that
Ottino’s unusual combination of
experience prepares her well for the
diverse projects and initiatives that are
led by Arts & Sciences faculty and staff.
I am excited to be working with her,”
said Meagher.
Widener Welcomes New Faculty
Elisa Esposito, assistant professor of
psychology;
Charlotte Marshall, visiting assistant
professor of psychology
Science:
Kristen Anderson, lecturer in biology;
Saurabh Gayen, assistant professor
New faculty and administrators pose with Dr. Brigitte Valesey
(pictured far left) during orientation.
Widener welcomes the following new
faculty to Main Campus:
School of Engineering:
Jonathan Akins, assistant professor of
biomedical engineering;
Keivan Davami, assistant professor of
mechanical engineering
School of Human Service
Professions:
Social Work:
Margo Campbell, assistant professor;
JaNeen Cross, assistant professor;
Jolynn Haney, assistant professor;
Matthew Myrick, clinical assistant
professor;
Eric Stein, clinical assistant professor
Human Sexuality:
Brooke Wells, associate professor
College of Arts and Sciences:
Social Science:
School of Education, Hospitality, and
Continuing Studies:
Katia Ciampa, assistant professor of
reading;
William Merchant, clinical assistant
professor of research and statistics
School of Nursing:
Regina Barusevicius, instructor;
Jihane Hajj, assistant professor;
Audrey Klein-Kauffman; lecturer;
Karen May, assistant professor;
Mary Marquis, lecturer;
Donna Sabella, associate professor;
Magdeleine Vasso, assistant professor
4
Liberian Delegation Visits Delaware Law
Delaware Law
School played
host to a legal
delegation
from Liberia
last week in a
program that
marshalled
some of the
state’s top
Delaware Law student leaders, from left, Johanna
legal and
Peuscher-Funk, Sabrina Hendershot and Brian
academic
Panella talk at the opening luncheon with J.
figures to
Nhinson Williams, executive director and CEO of
the New Liberia Foundation.
share their
insights on
law school adjunct faculty, joined
Delaware’s legal and business
with Judge Kent A. Jordan of the
climates.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
The “African Justice and Business
Circuit, in leading the group’s first
Program” drew two members of
session, held at the law school.
Liberia’s Supreme Court, a judge
It focused on Delaware and U.S.
with the Liberian Circuit Court and
Constitutions.
the nation’s solicitor general for
“You had 50 states to choose from,
a four-day visit that began at the
and we’re very happy you came to
law school. The school partnered
Delaware,” Holland said.
with Wilmington law firm Potter
Anderson & Corroon LLP to present After visiting the law school,
the program under the direction of
the delegation spent two days
Associate Attorney Ryan Cicoski, a
at Potter Anderson and a final
2010 Delaware Law alumnus.
day at the New Castle County
Courthouse, meeting with judges.
Dean Rod Smolla welcomed
Event speakers included Delaware
the group while acknowledging
Attorney General Matt Denn; former
Liberia’s modern leadership and
Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron
its commitment to the rule of law.
T. Steele; Delaware Law faculty
The United States shares that
members Lawrence A. Hamermesh,
commitment and a surprisingly
Paul Regan and Bruce Grohsgal;
similar constitutional history, he
representatives of Lawyers Without
said. Smolla was pleased the
Borders, Thomson Reuters, the
delegation chose to visit Delaware
Delaware Secretary of State Office,
to learn more. The nation of four
Potter Anderson, multiple other law
million people is on the west coast
firms and more.
of Africa.
“This state has been an enormously
influential beacon on American law
generally, and the whole global
approach to corporate law,” he
said.
Delaware Supreme Court Justice
Randy J. Holland, a member of the
Biomedical Engineering
Students Win Design
Competition
Last month, six biomedical engineering
students represented Widener
University’s School of Engineering at the
Biomedical Engineering Society’s Coulter
College, a training program focused on
translation of biomedical innovations.
One aspect of the program is a design
competition in which the Widener team
won “Best Presentation.”
During the four-day program in Coral
Gables, Fla., student design teams were
guided by faculty and clinical experts
through a dynamic process designed
to help them better understand how
innovations can meet clinical needs.
By the end of the program, participants
learned how to balance clinical benefits
and a viable commercial model.
This was the first year Widener
participated in the program with the
support of faculty advisers Dr. Anita
Singh, assistant professor; and Dr.
Zhongping Huang, associate professor.
Dawn Ferry, director of the Center for
Simulation and Computerized Testing,
was also a clinical collaborator. The
Widener student team consisted of
seniors Bridgette Saverine, Max Spencer,
Lindsay Stoy and Tom Zamorski, and
juniors Holly Sinnott and Aubrey Volpe.
More than 200 students from 20
universities participated in the
competition, which is supported by the
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.
For photos of Coulter College, visit Flickr.
Conversations focused on
Delaware laws and trial practice,
bankruptcy practice, the rule of law
in facilitating foreign investment,
mediation, criminal and jury trials
and more.
5
Bussom’s Video Series Draws an
International Audience
For the past
year, Lisa
Bussom,
senior lecturer
in the School
of Business
Administration,
has
unintentionally
marketed
Widener
Lisa Bussom
University to
students and
professionals around the world.
The Widener name has reached
these individuals through a video
series Bussom created with the
original intention to aid students in
her Operations Management 352
course. After making the videos
live on YouTube, however, Bussom
realized that her videos—which bear
the Widener name—were reaching
viewers as far away as Australia.
Since posting her first video last
summer, Bussom has created 43
total segments in her Operations
Management Video Series and
amassed quite an international
following. Views are inching close
to 45,000, and people from nearly
130 countries, including Bulgaria,
Finland, Qatar and Jamaica, have
now benefitted from one or more
videos in the series.
that students benefit from repeated
review of the material in a technical
course like Operations Management.
Snapshots of the Class of
2019’s First Week
at Widener
“The curriculum doesn’t allow for
repeated review of the material
during class time, but I thought I
could give a review of key points
and give practice problems through
videos,” Bussom said. “I saw
viewership spike before exams and
homework due dates, and I found
that international students especially
appreciated the video content and
the ability to go back and review the
lectures at their own speed.”
The style of the videos may have
also contributed to their success.
They are short and tight, focused on
one key issue. Bussom appears on
screen along with PowerPoint slides.
After a year of using the videos in
four sections of her course, Bussom
amassed hard data to compare her
students’ testing scores to those of
her students in the four sections of
the course the previous year.
“The students with access to the
videos scored consistently higher
on exams when you looked at the
middle 80 percent of each of the
groups,” Bussom said. “The videos
did not make a significant impact
on the lowest or highest performing
students.”
While Bussom was initially shocked
to see viewership of her videos
rise and gain an international
following, she does attribute some
of their popularity to the fact that all
business students in both MBA and
undergraduate business programs
will be exposed to an operations
management course.
Bussom has also collected
positive feedback from students at
Widener and from other institutions
throughout the world who have
written to her. Furthermore,
an instructor in Canada asked
permission to use the series, and a
business consultant in Spain asked
permission to share it with a client.
To create the video series, Bussom
received support from the Frank
C. Lordi Endowed Fund Summer
Grant intended for research leading
to pedagogical innovation and
teaching excellence. She had read
Bussom plans to continue adding
videos on an as-needed basis and
welcomes new viewers interested
in learning about Operations
Management.
6
Noteworthy
Peter Garzia, who teaches an
online information systems course
for the Center for Continuing
Studies, was featured in a story
and video about his involvement
coaching his son’s special needs
soccer team as part of AAA’s
“Start Your Journey” campaign,
an effort—in partnership with
the Philadelphia Union—to help
celebrate families’ journeys in
support of their young athletes.
Dr. Dawn
Gulick,
professor
of physical
therapy,
recently served
as an athletic
trainer/physical
therapist for
the U.S. National Team during
the Parapan American Games
held in Toronto from July 10–26.
The Parapan American Games
are a regional qualifying event for
the Paralympic Games in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
Dr. Rebecca
Jones,
associate
professor
of political
science,
published
“The effects of
active learning
environments:
How simulations trigger affective
learning” with Peter Bursens
from the University of Antwerp in
European Political Science, Vol.
14, Issue 3.
Dr. Daniel Robinson,
professor of English, traveled to
Rydal Mount in the Lake District
of the United Kingdom, the home
of poet William Wordsworth, for
the Aug. 8 launch of the Oxford
Handbook of William Wordsworth.
Robinson co-edited the text
with Richard Gravil, chairman
of The Wordsworth Conference
Foundation. Robinson and Gravil
presented a signed copy of the
book to the curator of Rydal
Mount, Peter Elkington.
Spotlight on Sports:
Widener Football
Preview
KYW Newsradio’s Matt Leon recently
interviewed Head Football Coach Mike
Kelly and junior Sean Titus about the
upcoming season.
Widener went 10–0 during the regular
season in 2014, winning the Middle
Atlantic Conference. The team
qualified for the NCAA Tournament
and advanced all the way to the
national quarterfinals before losing
to Linfield. Their final record for the
season was 12–1.
The Pride are the unanimous pick
to win the conference again in 2015
according to the MAC preseason poll,
and Kelly is excited about his second
season.
Dr. Daniel Robinson, center,
presents a signed copy of the
Oxford Handbook of William
Wordsworth to Peter Elkington,
curator of Rydal Mount. His coeditor Richard Gravil looks on.
“Guys are progressing,” Kelly told
KYW Newsradio. “We’re not where
we want to be yet but I think we’re
making good progress and it’s just
a really good group of guys to work
with…We’ve changed our offensive
system a little bit; I think it fits our
players even better than what we
were doing last year and our guys are
adapting to it well. When you’ve got
your quarterback back that is 18–5 as
a starter, that makes you feel pretty
good.”
For the full audio interview, go
to http://philadelphia.cbslocal.
com/2015/08/27/college-footballpreview-widener-pride-3/.
7
Two-Week Peek
A Look at the Next Two Weeks
in Widener Events
Wednesday, Sept. 2
10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Student
Organizations’ Table Day; Delaware Law,
Main Law Building, The Strine Atrium
Constitution Day Lecture:
“Civility and the Engaged
Citizenship”
Thursday, Sept. 3
12–2 p.m. Widen-er Your World:
Global Communication Workshop;
University Center, Room F
Friday, Sept. 4
8–9 p.m. Stargazing; Widener
Observatory
7 p.m. Field Hockey vs. Immaculata
University; Home
9 p.m. Debut of Lone Brick Theatre
Company at Philadelphia Fringe
Festival; Historic Rittenhouse Town
Tuesday, Sept. 15
6:30 p.m. Hispanic Heritage Month
Movie Night: Walkout; University
Center, Room F
Saturday, Sept. 5
Sunday, Sept. 6
4 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. The College
of New Jersey; Home
Wednesday, Sept. 9
4–5:30 p.m. Dean Rod Smolla speaks
with returning students; Delaware Law,
Main Law Building, Ruby R. Vale Moot
Courtroom
7 p.m. Women’s Volleyball vs. Messiah
College; Home
Dr. Jim Vike, associate dean of
the Social Science Division and
associate professor of political
science, will deliver the Main
Campus Constitution Day lecture
on “Civility and the Engaged
Citizenship.”
The lecture addresses a
fundamental question about the
nature of contemporary civic life—
what are the generally accepted
expectations and responsibilities
of modern citizenship?
8–9 p.m. Stargazing; Widener
Observatory
Vike will examine the competing
perspectives of civic duty and
engaged citizenship and also
explore factors that may promote
informed and civil political
participation in a deeply polarized
era.
Saturday, Sept. 12
When: Wednesday, Sept. 16
12–1 p.m.
8:30 a.m. Mock LSAT; Widener Law
Commonwealth
Where: Lathem Hall
7 p.m. Field Hockey vs. Neumann
University
Friday, Sept. 11
1 p.m. Football vs. King’s College;
Home
Monday, Sept. 14
11 a.m.–1 p.m. Involvement Fair;
University Center Atrium
1 p.m. Football vs. Rowan University;
Home
12–4 p.m. Dean’s Picnic; Widener
Law Commonwealth, grounds of the
Student Organizations Building
7–8 p.m. Baila! With the Spanish
Club for Hispanic Heritage Month;
University Center, Room A
7 p.m. Women’s Volleyball vs. Bryn
Mawr College; Home
Wednesday, Sept. 16
12–1 p.m. Constitution Day Speaker:
Dr. Jim Vike on “Civility and Engaged
Citizenship”; Lathem Hall
4–5 p.m. Advice and a Slice Career
Workshop; Kapelski 339 A
6–7:30 p.m. Widener SBDC Business
Ownership Series begins; Widener
SBDC
7 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. Delaware
Valley College; Home
8