Academic Insights: June 2017 by pvamuAcademicInsights

JUNE2017

ACADEMICINSIGHTS Happy summer and congratulations again to all of our May 2017 graduates! If you missed Prairie View A&M University’s commencement convocation festivities on May 12-13, we had a great time. On Friday, State Representative Dr. Alma A. Allen delivered an inspirational message to our graduate candidates, and on Saturday, Attorney Ricky Anderson brought a powerful speech to our baccalaureate graduates. We are extremely grateful for their kindness shown to our graduates, and their influential words of wisdom. On behalf of the faculty and staff here at PVAMU, we salute our graduates and their tremendous efforts. We fully expect them to become Proud Productive Panthers as they embark upon this next chapter in their lives. Over the next few months, the campus of PVAMU will be bustling with excitement from younger students as they join us for a variety of events. Hundreds of incoming freshmen will be on “The Hill” for one of four Orientations, as well as our Summer Bridge Programs. In addition, we are hosting numerous Summer Camps, which you can check out at www.pvamu.edu/camps. In fact, many of our younger students attend one of PVAMU’s 22 partnering school districts. On May 19, for Academic Signing Day, we brought on a whopping 18 school districts! It was a wonderful time at Prairie View, to say the least. We had superintendents, administrative assistants and scholarship recipients present from all 18 school districts. Be sure to read more about this event in our “in case you missed it…” section, because, for many students, attending a partnering school district now makes pursuing higher education a reality. In conclusion, we look forward to growing with our new, returning, and prospective students this summer and fall. To faculty, staff, and administrators here at PVAMU, thank you, as always, for what you do.

IGNITE your passion IGNITE your passion

OFFICE FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS academicinsights@PVAMU.EDU | 936-261-2175 | Felecia M. Nave, Ph.D., Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

TEACHING

Faculty, Staff and Student

STANDOUTS

Mission-Critical Big Data Analytics Workshop Teaches Participants about Big Data Research By Marchita Shilo

So what exactly is big data? A quick google

immense. This workshop was designed to help

Excellence in Research and Education for Big

Prairie

View

A&M

University’s

Center

search would tell you it is extremely large datasets

teach participants how to advance big data

Military Data Intelligence (CREDIT) hosted a two-

that can be analyzed computationally to reveal

research.”

day workshop on May 16-17, 2017.

patterns, trends, and associations, especially

“The second annual Mission-Critical Big Data Analytics

workshop

covered

relating to human behavior and interactions.

state-of-the-art

“The government and many businesses invest

research and development in big data analytics,”

extensively in big data research. Big data

said Dr. Lijun Qian, Principal Investigator and

analytics finds applications in almost all areas

Director of CREDIT and Professor of Electrical

such as business, cyber security, healthcare and

and Computer Engineering at PVAMU. “We had

biomedical research, national defense, and

speakers from multiple universities and companies,

even social networks,” said Qian. “It has become

including United Technologies Research Center

an integral part of our everyday life, and the

(UTRC), Nvidia, and IBM. We also had hands-on

impacts to the nation, society and human life are

The U.S. Department of Defense sponsored the workshop, along with UTRC, Nvidia, and IBM.

training, technical presentations and a student poster competition.”

IGNITE your passion | To learn more about CREDIT and next year’s workshop, head to credit.pvamu.edu.

RESEARCH

Faculty, Staff and Student

STANDOUTS

PVAMU Students Spend Part of Their Summer Satisfying University’s Research Mission By Marchita Shilo

Five

Prairie

View

A&M

University

students

research training in water quality and on-site

are spending the month of June at Texas A&M

wastewater treatment systems. They will also

University. They, along with ten other students

learn the process of the hydrologic cycle, how

from various universities, are participating in

water moves over the landscape and through

the Water Quality Fellowship for the Research

the soil.

Experience for Undergraduates (REEU.)

“These things are important because water

“The annual five-week, all expenses paid,

resources are a precious commodity for everyone.

REEU summer program is a National Institute of

They sustain the quality of life we enjoy on a day-

Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-funded program

to-day basis,” said Ali. “Protecting and sustaining

PVAMU shares with TAMU,” said Dr. Ali Fares,

our water resources is a key to our prosperity.”

Associate Director of Research in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences, who serves as Co-Principal Investigator with several TAMU colleagues. “REEU is open to freshman and sophomore

undergraduates

agriculture

science, environmental/agricultural engineering and related majors.” From June 1-30, a multidisciplinary team of extension

specialists,

agricultural

engineers,

hydrologists, and soil and water scientists from PVAMU and TAMU will support the program. Students will receive hands-on education and

At the end of the program, students will earn three hours of college credit. In addition, they will be qualified to set up for an exam to become certified wastewater treatment operators. They will also learn valuable extension professional skills. “There is a big demand for people with these skills who are also certified. These students are likely guaranteed a job post-graduation, in the on-site wastewater treatment job sector, at the state and federal level,” said Ali.

IGNITE your passion | Students can apply for next summer’s REEU program at www.pvamu.edu/cahs/reeu.

SERVICE

Faculty, Staff and Student

STANDOUTS

PVAMU Instructor, Students Teach Younger Generation Importance of Financial Literacy By Marchita Shilo

Here are a couple of facts for you – recently,

so she knew about the program beforehand. She

only about 57-percent of adults in America were

and I traveled to New York last summer to train in

able to pass a basic financial literacy test and,

the program, and it really helped. Since then, I

according to the National Foundation for Credit

have perfected the program and really made it

Counseling, more than half of adults in the U.S.

my own,” said Harvey.

currently do not have a budget. “I think part of an individual’s success is based on two key things: Education and how they manage their money,” said Danny Harvey, an instructor of finance at Prairie View A&M University’s College of Business. Since the spring of 2016, Harvey has made it his mission to increase financial literacy.

This past spring, Harvey and his students taught at Waller High School.

really made each lesson seem more real.” In the near future, Harvey hopes to expand the reach of his financial literacy program. “Ms. Alisha Lowe helped me jump start the program by introducing me to funding from a PVAMU service learning grant. As I look to grow the program, Dr. Michelle Gehring has been assisting

“I set up case studies for Waller High School’s

me with identifying and applying for larger outside

National Honor Society group, using real life and

grants,” said Harvey. “My whole plan is to take

immediate situations, such as how to save up for

the program to more schools. I believe our role,

a vacation and negotiate lower interest rates on

as an institution of higher learning, is to take what

student loans,” said Harvey. “But the icing on the

we’ve learned to the public, especially to youth,

cake was having college students at the helm. It

because they are our future.”

“Every month, I take a group of PVAMU students to a local high school,” said Harvey. “With my help and lesson plans, they are able to teach younger students about the basic principles of money management, including how to create a budget, save money, pay off student loans, raise credit scores, file taxes, and plan for retirement.” Harvey’s lessons are part of a nationwide effort called the Cowin Financial Literacy program, developed at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “Assistant Dean of the College of Business Carolyn Davis graduated from Teachers College,

IGNITE your passion | To join or learn more about Harvey’s financial literacy program, email him at djharvey@pvamu.edu.

Faculty, Staff and Student STANDOUTS Dr. Ryan Beard

, Prairie View A&M University’s Director of Assessment, Accreditation and Reporting,

was elected to serve on the LEAP Texas Board of Directors for the 2017-2018 academic year. Launched in 2005, LEAP Texas is a national public advocacy and campus action initiative of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. The mission of LEAP Texas is to provide a structure through which Texas’ public and private institutions of higher education can communicate, organize, and develop plans and policy recommendations that address their common interests of student success and the improvement of higher education in Texas.

The Houston Chronicle featured

Dr. Debbie Jones-Tyrone

, Clinical Assistant Professor

of Nursing in Prairie View A&M University’s College of Nursing, in their list of Top 10 nurses, during 2017 National Nurses Week. According to the Chronicle, “It is impossible to speak with Dr. Jones-Tyrone without noticing the palpable passion she has, not only for nursing, but for her students. Shepherding her students through clinicals, she is not only a teacher, but a role model and chief encourager. She sets the bar high for her students and is committed to the success of each one.” Each this

spring,

group,

the panel

Chronicle selects

receives the

Top

multiple 10

nominations

Honorees

for

the

National

Salute

Nurses

Week.

Nurses To

www.chron.com.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars presented

Ms. Kimberly Gay

, PVAMU’s Librarian,

Head of Reference and Information Services, with Region 5’s “Advisor of the Year” award. According to the NSCS, Ms. Gay was nominated based on her “Strong Leadership [skills], her consistent support of the NSCS Chapter at Prairie View A&M University, and for her work with the NSCS National Advisor Task Force.” Region 5 covers seven states (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota) with about 55 chapters. Ms. Gay is Region 5’s first “Advisor of the Year” from an HBCU, since the organization was founded in 1994. The NSCS chapter at Prairie View A&M University was founded in 2005, and the chapter currently has more than 700 active members.

IGNITE your passion

Top

view

all

150,

and

honorees,

from visit

Twelve PVAMU Students to Get “The 369th Experience”

Faculty, Staff and Student

STANDOUTS

By Marchita Shilo

Twelve freshmen and sophomore students from Prairie View A&M University’s Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences will participate in the historic recreation of the 369th Experience World War I Centennial Band, a musical tribute to the men of the Harlem Hell Fighters Band. “The whole idea is to have them recreate this historic band and recreate their sound,” said Dr. Timmey Zachery, PVAMU’s Director of Bands. “It’s a tremendous honor for our students, because the original band was the first to introduce jazz as an art form to Europe.” According to the 369th Experience website, “The 369th Experience is part of a series of events endorsed by the World War I Centennial Commission. It is sponsored in part by The CocaCola Foundation to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I. A key component

France; and a host of other historical locales,”

Guard Division Band and participate in the

according to the website.

International Historic Brass Band Symposium at

Zachery said, “It’s a two-year, fully paid experience. Furthermore, our students will serve as ambassadors for PVAMU and the U.S., when they travel overseas.” Director of Bands Dr. Isrea Butler at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore will lead the band. He will also lead weekly virtual rehearsals, separated by instrument group. “It’s amazing how musicians from across the U.S. will be able to practice together, without having to be in the same room,” said Zachery. The band’s first public performances are scheduled from July 9-16, 2017, as part of The Historic Brass Society’s International Historic Brass Symposium in New York City.

of this celebration is the recreation of the 369th

“While in New York, they will also attend a

Regimental Band which, in its original form,

leadership training from the 42nd National

the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at New York University. A number of special activities are also being planned in Harlem, where the 369th band originated,” said Zachery. International performances are tentatively scheduled for June and July 2018 and 2019. “Around here, we do so much. From being invited to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to this new honor with the 369th Experience, our students are definitely getting the full experience, and that’s important,” said Zachery. “I imagine PVAMU will benefit in ways that we cannot even fathom. Our students will be on the shores of France, so they will be able to bring back innovation, leadership skills, performance techniques, and most importantly, life experiences.”

consisted of 65 African American and Puerto Rican gentlemen who charmed the hearts and minds of Americans and Europeans.” In total, 75 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the United States will take part in the recreation. “This new 369th Experience Student Band will be taught the history and repertoire of the original Harlem Hell Fighters Band. They will retrace their steps, performing at centennial celebrations in New York City; Brest and Paris,

IGNITE your passion | To keep up the band’s performances, visit www.pvamu.edu/marchingstorm.