Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Communication
Review Quarterly December 2016
President’s Office
Thank you This holiday season, I want to extend a sincere “thank you” to all faculty, staff, students and alumni. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your president throughout the last nine years. The journey has been filled with many achievements and forward momentum. As we rush toward winter break, I would like to take a few moments to reflect on highlights of the fall semester. A significant high point of the semester was the naming of the Zeigler College of Business. This is truly a landmark event in the history of both Bloomsburg University and the College of Business. The naming of the Zeigler College of Business helped to propel the university pass the $50 million goal of the It’s Personal Campaign. Surpassing the goal early is a testament to how passionate our alumni and friends are about our university and its mission. Another highlight is the progress we are making toward the development of the employment satisfaction taskforce. The committee, representative of the university community, has been selected and will meet before the end of this semester. The committee is charged with providing short- and long-term recommendations to address the challenges outlined in the employee satisfaction survey administered in 2016.
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Office of the President Carver Hall Bloomsburg University 400 E. Second St. Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301 Email: president@bloomu.edu Blog: bupresident.blogspot.com www.bloomu.edu/president ON THE COVER: A National Guard Lakota helicopter lands on the Academic Quad as part of Bloomsburg’s weeklong celebration of veterans in November.
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I encourage everyone to take time to reflect, relax and reenergize during this special time of the year. Robbie and I wish you peace and happiness during this festive season and in the year ahead. Sincerely,
David L. Soltz, Ph.D. President
Bloomsburg University is an AA/EEO institution and is accessible to disabled persons. Bloomsburg University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion,sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and university policies.
Presidential Search Update
President’s Office
Terry and JoAnn Zeigler College of Business Bloomsburg University’s College of Business has been named the Terry and JoAnn Zeigler College of Business. Terry Zeigler ’76, president and CEO of Datacap Systems Inc., Chalfont; his wife, JoAnn Schultz Zeigler ’77; and Zeigler Family Foundation collectively contributed the largest philanthropic gift to the Bloomsburg University Foundation to name the university’s College of Business. The combination of an outright $5 million gift, endowed to provide immediate support, and a deferred gift from Zeigler Family Foundation, to strengthen the College of Business, is one of the largest gifts from an individual donor in the history of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. Terry and JoAnn are dedicated to improving opportunities and the marketability of BU students by providing them with increased access to entrepreneurial programs and practical experiential learning opportunities. The gift also pushes the university past the $50 million goal of It’s Personal: The Campaign for Bloomsburg University.
Bloomsburg University Council of Trustees has selected executive search firm Witt/ Kieffer to assist in the national search for a new president who will build on Bloomsburg’s past and lead for the future. A series of forums were held on December 5 and 6, to seek input from faculty, staff, students, and community members to develop the leadership profile for our next president. A presidential search webpage has been created to keep the university community updated and informed on the progress.
Strategic Planning and Resource Council (SPARC) 2015-16 Report Impact 2015 was adopted in fall 2010 and the Strategic Planning and Resource Council (SPARC) was established to help guide the plan and its stated goals. Since 2010, SPARC has refined its role, defined how it collects data, enhanced the grant application process, changed its membership and perhaps most importantly, revised the original plan Impact 2015 into an updated plan, Impact 2017. The Strategic Planning and Resource Council 2015-16 Annual Report is a high-level view of select areas.
New programs and delivery sites Bloomsburg introduced new programs designed to meet the workforce needs of the commonwealth. These include:
Academic Affairs
College of Education Special education minor. This 18-credit minor, administered by the Exceptionalities department, provides students with core content related to the education of individuals with disabilities. Deaf education minor. An 18-credit minor designed to enhance many different professionals wanting to work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. College of Liberal Arts Linguistics minor. A program designed to encourage student exploration of linguistics and its significance across disciplines through focused research and discussion. College of Science and Technology Shandong University of Technology vice president, Dr. Ruicheng Du (left), presents a silk painting to BU President David Soltz.
Bloomsburg signs agreements with Shandong University Bloomsburg University recently signed two articulation agreements with Shandong University of Technology in Shandong, China. The first is a 2+2 agreement in computer science which will allow students to attend BU for two years and graduate with a degree from Shandong and a degree from BU. The second is an agreement for a 2+2 program in economics, followed by an optional year at BU to complete an MBA. Bloomsburg has had a relationship with Shandong for 10 years and is currently hosting six students from Shandong.
Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership. The program has been expanded to include Center City Philadelphia and Bloomsburg’s campus.
BU Military Friendly at Silver Level BU has earned the title of Military Friendly School from Victory Media, publisher of GI Jobs magazine, for the third year – the first as a silver level award. As A Military Friendly School silver level, BU is ranked in the top 10 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country working to embrace military service members, veterans and spouses as students ensuring their success on campus. Bloomsburg celebrated veterans with a week of activities from Nov. 7 to 11 that included a photo exhibit, military information panel with Brigadier Gen. Tony Carrelii and a “Touch a Truck” day that included Lakota helicopter. More…
Work on BU’s new residence hall continues with the structure on track to open for fall 2017. Work this summer included the concrete foundation and base along with the placement of the building steel framework. The seven-story, $61.9 million structure will house 394 students in 138 suites on the upper six floors. The ground floor will provide space for the University Store, dining services, mailroom and interactive learning spaces. The building is BU’s first suite-style residence hall.
Men’s Soccer Player named first team Academic All-American Bloomsburg University men’s soccer player Josh Smith (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) has been named a first team CoSIDA (College Sports information Directors of America) Academic AllAmerica for NCAA Division II men’s soccer. It’s the second straight year that Smith has been named a first team Academic All-America by CoSIDA. Smith is the top honor graduate in the college of science and technology. More ...
Administration and Finance
Student Affairs
Residence hall on track
Emergency preparedness exercise BU Police and law enforcement partners from the State Police and area municipal departments, including Bloomsburg Town and Police, participated in an emergency exercise training with members of the campus community in November. The activity simulated an emergency situation and was designed to evaluate our emergency preparedness to benefit both the university and local residents. Observations from the evaluating firm will be used to enhance BU’s emergency response processes and structure. As part of the drill, components of Bloomsburg University’s emergency notification system, including campus sirens, were tested. BU tests the emergency notification system once each semester.
Enrollment Management
Performance Funding update for year four Bloomsburg University received $3,369,776, of a total pool of $39,061,000, in the fourth year of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education Performance Funding Program for FY 2016-17. Last year, Bloomsburg received $2,965,371. Out of a possible ten performance points, Bloomsburg earned 6.83 points, the same amount as the prior year. Bloomsburg met the following measures or sub-measures: n Closing the first-time freshmen achievement gaps, or six-year graduation
rates, between Pell recipients and non-Pell recipients and between underrepresented minority (URM) students and non-URM students (1.00 point); n Closing the access gaps between first-time Pell freshmen and first-time URM freshmen and low income and URM Pennsylvania high school graduates (1.00 point); n Peer component of student persistence of freshmen to the third year (0.33 points); n Student learning assessment in critical thinking and writing (1.00 point); n Closing the access gaps between Pell transfer students and URM transfer students and low income and URM Pennsylvania high school graduates (1.00 point); n Private annual funds raised (1.00 point); n Facilities investment (1.00 point); n Percent of seniors participating in at least one high-impact practice (0.50 points). Bloomsburg did not meet the following measures or sub-measures: n Degrees conferred and undergraduate degree to FTE undergraduate
enrollment ratio (1.00 point);
n Faculty diversity for non-majority faculty and female faculty (1.00 point); n Annual improvement of student persistence to the third and fourth years
(0.67 points); n Percent of freshmen enrolling in first-experience courses (0.50 points).
More information can be found through this Performance Funding PDF.
Winter session enrollment Winter session will run for 18 days, from Monday, December 19 to Friday, January, 20 with a break from December 26 through Monday, January 2. A maximum of seven credits can be taken during the winter term. Sixty online courses and 14 on-campus classes are offered.
University Advancement
Air Force scholarship announced Campaign surpasses goal The It’s Personal Campaign has raised $60,013,208 in donations and pledges, surpassing the original goal of $50 million. The university will continue to seek campaign contributions through June 2017."We gained strong momentum early on in the It’s Personal Campaign and the public launch last year galvanized our university community. Reaching the goal early is a testament to how passionate our alumni and friends are about our university and its mission," said President Soltz. "But our work is not yet over. As we head into the final months of the campaign, we need to continue our efforts to secure even greater support toward each of the campaign's priority areas.”
Professional Experience Grants (PEGs) Eighteen students were recently awarded professional experience grants for winter session and spring semester. Bloomsburg University’s professional experience grants are awarded to assist students with professional learning experience expenses. The awards, funded by Bloomsburg University Alumni and the Student Success Fee, help students explore their chosen career paths and work alongside colleagues and faculty mentors. To date, 28 students have received monetary awards to participate in experiences such as, faculty mentored research, academic internships, study abroad, professional conference presentations, service projects and other-career related experiences. The average grant per student is $1,700. Questions about academic career experiences or Professional Experience grants should be directed to professionalu@bloomu.edu.
The Bloomsburg University Foundation recently received a gift to establish the Edwards Scholarship award, which will benefit BU students with a family member who is a current or previous member of the United States Air Force. The $2 million gift, received from the estate of Charles Picek, was donated to endow the scholarship fund in honor of his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Bloomsburg alumni Katharine Bierman Edwards, Class of 1915, and Lt. Gen. Idwal Edwards, Class of 1914. More ...
What’s happening on campus? Read the e-newsletter, The Week Ahead, and check the Today page to stay up-to-date on campus events, including performances, lectures and special activities, many free and open to the public. You may also submit items to be published in The Week Ahead to efoster@bloomu.edu.
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