YEAR IN REVIEW:
Preparing Future Faculty 1997-1998
1996-1997: Preparation
Internal Funding:
PFF received internal financial and staff support from the College of Arts & Sciences, the Office of Graduate Studies, and the Teaching Council.
External Funding:
PFF received external grant support from the National Communication Association and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Participating Departments:
The Departments of Communication Studies, English, Mathematics & Statistics, and Sociology joined PFF.
Advisory Committee:
The PFF governing body was established. This body, called the PFF Advisory Committee, is composed of representatives from participating UNL academic departments, the Teaching Learning Center, the College of Arts & Sciences, the Office of Graduate Studies, and Distance Education. Ronald Lee was appointed PFF Director and Loreen Olson was appointed PFF Project Coordinator.
Local Partner Institutions:
Local partner institutions agree to participate: Creighton University, Doane College, Metropolitan Community College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Distant Partner Institutions:
Distance partners agree to participate: Grambling State University [Chadron State College has agreed but not yet fully integrated into the program].
Fall Semester 1997-1998: Program Begins
Kickoff Dinner:
Sunday, August 24, 1997 at the Wick Alumni Center. This event brought together for the first time PFF Fellows, PFF Partner faculty and administrators, and UNL faculty and administrators. Orlando Taylor, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Howard University, delivered the keynote address. Dean Taylor established one of the first PFF programs.
Visits to Partner Campuses:
Each PFF Fellow was assigned a faculty mentor at a partner campus. Fellows visit partner campuses from two to six times a semester.
The University of the 21st Century:
Colloquium session on September 8, 1997. Miles Bryan, professor of Educational Administration, Alan Seagren, Director of the Center for Study of Higher Education, and Daniel Wheeler, Office of Professional & Organizational Development, made presentations.
PFF National Conference:
National meeting of participating PFF universities in Washington, DC, September 18-20, 1997. UNL was represented by Merlin Lawson, Dean of Graduate Studies, Suzanne Ortega, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Ronald Lee, Director of PFF, Loreen Olson, PFF Project Coordinator, and Mark Rousseau, professor of Sociology and PFF partner from University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Academic Missions:
Colloquium session on September 22, 1997. Discussants included Robert Abel, Division Chair of Social Sciences, Metropolitan Community College; John Flocken, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Evelyn Haller, professor of English, Doane College; Thomas Mans, Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Creighton University; Richard Quinn, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nebraska Wesleyan University; and Eugene Taylor, professor of Mathematics, Grambling State University. With the help of Marie Barber and her staff from Distance Education, this session employed T-1 video conferencing to bring Omaha, Lincoln, and Grambling together.
Hiring Process
Colloquium session on October 6, 1997. Discussants included Deborah Smith-Howell, Chair of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha; David Iaquinta, Chair of Sociology, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Richard Wolters, Humanities Division Chair, Doane College; Gregory Zacharias, Chair of English, Creighton University; John Magini, Division Chair of Mathematics, Metropolitan Community College; Curtis Baham, Dean of the College of Education, Grambling State University; Rolland Dewing, Chair of Social Science, Chadron State College; Robert Doxtator, Chair of English, Chadron State College; and Monte Fickel, Chair of Mathematics, Chadron State College. With the help of Marie Barber and her staff from Distance Education, this session employed T-1 video conferencing to bring Omaha, Lincoln, Chadron, and Grambling together.
Teaching Dossiers:
Colloquium session on October 10, 1997. Laurie Bellows, instructional consultant with the Teaching & Learning Center, laid out various approaches to documenting good teaching. Partner faculty led discipline-specific breakout sessions. Discussants included David Price, chair of Communication Studies, Doane College; Laurie Scheuble, chair of Sociology, Doane College; Davender Malik, professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Creighton University; and Steve Dunbar, professor of Mathematics and Statistics, UNL.
Planning Visit to Grambling:
Loreen Olson, PFF Project Coordinator, visited Grambling State University on October 23-24, 1997. Loreen laid the groundwork for the PFF Fellows visit this coming June.
General Education:
Colloquium session on November 3, 1997. Discussants included Georgianne Mastera, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Presentation of Teaching Dossiers:
Colloquium session on November 17, 1997. Discipline-specific breakout sessions were led by Ronald Lee, professor of Communication Studies, UNL; Helen Moore, professor of Sociology, UNL; Steve Dunbar, professor of Mathematics, UNL; and Judith Slater, professor of English, UNL.
Survey of PFF-Like Activities:
A survey of UNL graduate programs to ascertain the presence of PFF-like activities on the campus was distributed on November 23, 1997. Conducting this survey is a requirement of the Pew Charitable Trusts grant.
Site Visit by PFF National Office:
Howard Anderson, professor of English and former Dean of the Graduate School at Michigan State University, visited UNL on November 24-25, 1997, on behalf of the national PFF office. During his visit, Anderson met with Dean Merlin Lawson and Associate Dean Suzanne Ortega of Graduate Studies, Dean Brian Foster of the College of Arts & Sciences, the members of the PFF Advisory Committee, and the PFF Fellows. In addition, Anderson and Lee met with faculty and administrators at the five local PFF partner institutions. Anderson, also, spoke on the telephone with Professor Eugene Taylor of Grambling State University. Anderson’s evaluation letter is included in the accompanying material.
Sharing Experiences at Partner Institutions:
Colloquium session on December 1, 1997. PFF Fellows shared experiences and offered feedback on their first semester PFF experiences.
Presentation to the Council of Graduate Schools:
Ronald Lee, PFF Director, presented a talk on the UNL PFF experience at the Council of Graduate Schools national meeting in Washington, DC on December 5, 1997.
Presentation to the Graduate Council:
Ronald Lee, PFF Director, made a presentation to the University of Nebraska Graduate Council on the Preparing Future Faculty project on December 9, 1997.
Spring Semester 1997-1998: Program Continues
Visits to Partner Campuses:
Each PFF Fellow was assigned a faculty mentor at a second partner campus. Fellows visit partner campuses from two to six times a semester.
New Faculty Experiences:
Colloquium session on January 19, 1998. Discussants included Rachel Pokora, professor of Communication, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Steve Gunkel, professor of Sociology, Doane College; Donna Pawlowski, professor of Communication Studies, Creighton University; Gavin LaRose, professor of Mathematics, Nebraska Wesleyan University; and Beth Ritter, professor of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Diversity I:
Colloquium session on February 2, 1998. Helen Moore, professor of Sociology, UNL, facilitated the session. Discussants included Jim Lewis, chair of Mathematics, UNL, and Ken Tucker, Vice President of Recruitment and Retention of Multicultural Students, Southeast Community College.
Assessment I:
Colloquium session on February 16, 1998. Robert Brown, distinguished professor of Educational Psychology, UNL, facilitated the session.
Assessment II:
Colloquium session on March 2, 1998. Discussants included Deborah Smith-Howell, chair of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha; John Magini, division chair of Mathematics, Metropolitan Community College; Dana Goodrich, division chair of Communication and Humanities, Metropolitan Community College; Gavin LaRose, professor of Mathematics, Nebraska Wesleyan University; David Iaquinta, chair of Sociology, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Eugene Taylor, professor of Mathematics, Grambling State University; and Gregory Zacharias, chair of English, Creighton University.
Campus Life at Liberal Arts Colleges:
Colloquium session on March 30, 1998. Discussants included Kathy Shellogg, Assistant Vice President of Student Life, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Richard Rossi, Assistant Vice President for Student Services, Creighton University.
Diversity II:
Colloquium session on April 6, 1998. Helen Moore, professor of Sociology, UNL, facilitated this session.
Learning and Instructional Technology:
Workshop was held on April 25, 1998. Presenters included Roger Bruning, professor of Educational Psychology, UNL, and Christy Horn, co-director Center for Instructional Innovation, UNL. Specific instructional-technology application sessions were facilitated by Charles Ansorge, professor of Health and Human Performance, UNL; Deborah Minter, professor of English, UNL; John Orr, professor of Mathematics, UNL; and Vanessa Gorman, professor of History, UNL.
Capstone Retreat:
Saturday, May 2, 1998 at the Lied Conference Center in Nebraska City. The retreat brings together 1997-1998 PFF Fellows, 1998-1999 PFF Fellows, Partner faculty and administrators, and UNL faculty and administrators. The purpose of the retreat is to evaluate the past year and plan for the coming year.
Summer 1998: Program Continues
Orientation to Teaching Distance Courses on the Satellite:
Colloquium session was held on June 11. The session was led by Bee Gatliff, program specialist, Academic Telecommunications, Division of Continuing Studies.
Visit to Grambling State University:
From June 13-16, 1998, four PFF Fellows visited Grambling State University and work with mentors in their respective disciplines. Helen Moore, professor of Sociology, UNL, will lead the visit.
PFF National Conference:
Summer conference meeting June 20-23 at Colorado College, Colorado Springs. Merlin Lawson (Dean of Graduate Studies), Ronald Lee (PFF Director), Loreen Olson (PFF Project Coordinator), Roger Wiegand (Graduate Committee Chair, Mathematics), Gavin LaRose (partner faculty member, Nebraska Wesleyan, Mathematics), and Lynn Harter (1998-1999 PFF Fellow, Communication Studies) attended.
Visit to a Distance Course Taught by Satellite:
Colloquium session was held on June 24. PFF Fellows observed a music theory course taught by Catherine Mallett and Glenn Nierman of the School of Music.
Orientation to Teaching Distance Courses on the Web:
Colloquium session was held on July 1. The session was led by Marie Barber, Assistant Director of Distance Education, Ben Lass, Instructional Technology Specialist in the Department of the Distance Education, David Allen, Curriculum Specialist in the Department of Distance Education and Assistant Professor of English, and Jim Knippling, Instructional Designer in the Department of Distance Education.
Talking with Faculty Constructing Web-Based Distance Courses:
Colloquium session was held on July 8. The session was led by Charles Ansorge, Professor of Health and Human Performance, and Robert Gorman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics.
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