12 minute read
Campus Update
CU receives designation as Non-Land Grant College from USDA
Cameron University has received designation as a Non-Land Grant College from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The certification serves as official acknowledgement that CU has a functioning agriculture program. It also presents new funding opportunities as there are grants available from the USDA that are restricted to certified Non-Land Grant Colleges.
Student Enrichment Center funded by $2.1 million grant
Cameron University has received a five-year grant of $2.1 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions program, which will fund a new student success focused office on the Lawton campus. The program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education to help them become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve traditionally underrepresented student populations by providing funds to improve and strengthen the institution's academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability.
Dr. Marge Kingsley, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, will provide overall supervision and retain ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the practices and improvements supported by grant funds will be utilized in accordance with Cameron’s grant proposal.
“As part of Cameron University’s continuing commitment to student success, we recognized that the Strengthening Institutions program could make a significant impact on the university’s ability to provide wrap-around services to at-risk and underrepresented students,” Kingsley says. “We wholeheartedly believe that adding the Student Enrichment Center to our campus will play a major role in student success.”
Cameron’s Student Enrichment Center will focus on increasing persistence and completion rates, providing at-risk students with a
variety of resources designed to help them complete a college degree, increasing the number of full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students and increasing the number of students with work-based learning experiences that are aligned with in-demand industry sectors or occupations. The center will also provide resources to help increase students’ knowledge of personal financial literacy and other skills aimed at building personal financial understanding and responsibility. The grant will allow the addition of nine employees to the Cameron staff. The center will be headed by a Coordinator of Student Success/ Title III Director, who will serve as the chief liaison between the U.S. Department of Education and Cameron University. Four student success coaches will work individually with at-risk students to ensure their academic success, while a community resource coordinator will work with underserved students to ensure they have access to community resources as needed, which could include food stamp applications, housing issues, and other non-academic issues.
A work-based learning experience coordinator will direct the “CU Learn to Earn” program, which is designed to provide workbased learning experiences for at-risk students. A financial resources specialist will conduct financial literacy workshops on different topics and will provide personal financial counseling to at-risk students. The center will also hire an administrative assistant who will coordinate clerical duties.
U.S. Department of Agriculture provides $412,000 grant to establish distance-learning network in Southwest Oklahoma
CU will receive more than $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a distance-learning network that will be used to improve learning opportunities for students in 28 rural schools across southwest Oklahoma.
Cameron’s $412,090 grant will be used to link the university’s Duncan and Lawton campuses to 28 rural school districts in Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Grady, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens and Tillman counties. CU will use interactive video technology to provide high school students access to college-level coursework, including those in the STEM fields.
Cameron University, which has more than 25 years of experience in the distance-learning field, will deliver the appropriate STEM courses to rural high schools that will enable students to satisfy high school graduation requirements while simultaneously earning college credit applicable to their future degrees.
The network will allow teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals to continue their education and advance their career goals. Professional development will be provided through access to workshops, training and the latest research in the field of teaching and instructional delivery with an emphasis on STEM coursework. Parents, students and counselors can participate in training sessions and workshops explaining the process of enrolling in college, including the financial aid component.
The project will also focus on distance learning presentations about the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program. These will be geared to students, parents and counselors to ensure eligible students will receive access to the scholarship program.
Yet another facet of the project will connect end-user schools with mental health resources at Cameron to increase awareness of mental health issues and provide training.
Cameron University celebrated Earth Day with members of the Lawton Northeast On-Line Branch Lions Club, who donated an Eastern Redbud to the university. This marks the 12th consecutive year the group has donated a tree to Cameron. The tree was planted on the north side of Aggie Gym, joining the club’s previously donated Eastern Redbuds, which bring brilliant pops of color each March.
The members of the Lawton Northeast On-Line Branch Lions Club donated two Red Oaks to Cameron in 2009. Beginning in 2010, they have contributed Eastern Redbuds, which have been planted around Aggie Gym to bring brilliant color to the Cameron campus each spring.
Lions members Vivian Silverstrim and Doug Rice (front row) are joined by CU’s John Osborne, Albert Johnson Jr. and Julie Cunningham to commemorate the planting of an Eastern Redbud on the CU Lawton campus.
Cameron University celebrates Earth Day with tree donation from Lawton Northeast On-Line Branch Lions Club
Nalley recognized for mentoring efforts
A CU professor is one of five southwest Oklahoma mentors recognized by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and their community mentoring organizations during National Mentor Month in January.
Dr. Elizabeth Ann Nalley, CU longtime chemistry professor, was selected for her involvement in the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Through the program, underrepresented college students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are paired with faculty mentors to learn research skills.
Nalley and mentee Theresa Hinkle (BS, 2020), a Cameron biology and chemistry major, were matched for two years.
“Dr. Nalley has been there for me, offering me personal counsel and support during a hard time in my life,” Hinkle said. “To be honest, before Dr. Nalley’s help, I questioned if I would even finish college. Now I’ve graduated last December with not one, but two degrees and have no doubt I’ll be competitive for any doctoral program.”
“Dr. Nalley has been a tireless advocate for underrepresented students in STEM,” said Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence director Brenda Morales. “She has mentored more than 100 undergraduates by providing them experience through chemistry research. Dr. Nalley’s mentorship has allowed students to gain valuable research experience that has led them to a successful completion of their undergraduate careers as well as pursuit of master’s and doctorate degrees.”
Additionally, Dr. Nalley helps students prepare to present their research at scientific conferences.
Three Cameron employees were honored as recipients of the university’s Staff Awards for Excellence. Nominations were made by CU students, faculty and staff. Leslie Cothren, Director of Campus Life, was honored with the Staff Award for Excellence in Student Success. “It is not unusual to find Dr. Cothren on campus at all times meeting with students and providing them support,” wrote the nominator, noting that Cothren goes above and beyond in meeting the award criteria.
Kelly McClure, Director of Information Technology Services, received the Staff Award for Excellence in Campus Stewardship. The nominator stated that McClure and his IT team worked diligently for the past year to meet the sudden increase in technology needs for students, faculty and staff, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Renee Roach, Assistant Registrar, received the Staff Award for Excellence in Service. The nominator cited Roach’s ability to build trusting relationships with students, co-workers, staff and faculty, noting “She devotes time and attention to troubleshoot issues, assess problems and develop resolutions to the issues.” The nominator acknowledged Roach’s outstanding customer service, explaining that she plays an integral role in implementing the many systems and processes across campus that enhance the student experience.
Cameron University faculty members Dr. Ioannis K. Argyros, Dr. Shaun Calix, Dr. Danyelle Lee, Dr. Michelle Smith, Dr. Jan Thomas, and Dr. Aubree Walton have been honored with awards recognizing their contributions to Cameron’s academic community.
Dr. Michelle Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Education, received the 2020-21 Harold and Elizabeth Hackler Award for Teaching Excellence, Cameron’s highest faculty honor. Smith was nominated by one of her students, who wrote, “What is the sheer definition of teacher excellence if not to inspire change and growth inside whole classrooms at a time and who does this wholeheartedly? Where could knowledge go to find the person with the ability to instill itself into future generations to ensure its everlasting life without a shred of doubt or misgivings? How do you fix a broken world if you’re only one person and you are driven to shape and guide future educators of the universe? The answer is simple: you seek Mrs. Smith for all her many talents.”
Smith describes her teaching philosophy as “REAL,” an acronym for relationships, engagement, applicable, and love of learning. She believes effective teaching begins with establishing relationships, which then leads to engaging students in class.
She is committed to instilling a love of learning in her students. “Teachers with passion inspire learning. It is important to be passionate about the career path one chooses in order to do it for most of one’s life. Teachers should be passionate, life-long learners.”
The Bhattacharya Endowed Lectureship for Excellence in Research Award was presented to Dr. Ioannis Argyros, Professor of Mathematical Sciences. Argyros has a prolific portfolio of research in topics including mathematical analysis, applied mathematics/analysis, management science, wavelet and neural networks, mathematical economics, and mathematical physics. He regularly involves his students in research, as he strives to empower students through teaching, research and mentoring. He serves as an advisor to students in addition to mentoring their research projects and providing guidance as they present papers and talks at professional and academic conferences.
Dr. Shaun Calix, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, was honored with the Faculty Award for Excellence in Service. Calix, who was nominated for his service as faculty advisor for the Native American Student Association, was cited for his “support and encouragement for us to be who we are as students while representing our culture,” according to the nominator. The nomination cited Calix’s willingness to go “over and beyond in recognizing this student organization on campus.”
Dr. Danyelle Lee, Associate Professor in the Department of Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences, was honored with the Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Student Research. One nominator described Lee as “an outstanding mentor who had the biggest impact on my time at Cameron.”
The student nominator described her work with Lee on a research project, saying, “It is from this oneon-one learning experience that I was able to obtain skills in the research lab that could not have been taught in a classroom setting.”
Dr. Jan Thomas received the Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching. A classroom teacher at Tomlinson Middle School in Lawton, Thomas has served as an adjunct at Cameron since 2014, teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in the Department of Education. In her statement of teaching philosophy, Thomas notes that she genuinely loves teaching and serving others, adding, “I understand relationships, collaboration and motivation are key to student success. Therefore, I try to incorporate human, unique hooks and teaching strategies that are outside the box to reach my students.”
The Faculty Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching was presented to Dr. Aubree Walton, Professor of Business. Walton has been teaching online classes since 2004. Rather than rely on publisher content that doesn’t suit the disciplines she teaches, Walton personally develops her own online pedagogy. This includes creating recorded lectures with note-takings, utilizing student video demonstration assignments, incorporating recorded group case discussions, hosting a virtual open house for online students and more. She states that many students have expressed a desire for more studentto-student interaction, so she created tools to meet that need.
CETES’ Lankford honored as Woman of the Year
Dr. Samantha Lankford, Director of the Center for Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurial Studies at Cameron as well as SW Regional Director for the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center (OKSBD), was named Woman of the Year by Lawton Business Women. The honor recognizes Lankford’s service running the LBW Student Mentorship Program, which was the only LBW program to operate successfully during the past year due to the pandemic.
Cameron continues to host summer Lawton Farmers Market
After hosting the winter Lawton Farmers Market in the Animal Sciences Complex annually since 2016, CU will continue its collaboration with the Southwest Growers Association by hosting the summer Lawton Farmers Market in the Cameron Stadium parking lot. A variety of locally-raised seasonal produce, eggs, plants, meat and other offerings will be available each Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon through October 30. The Lawton Farmers Market will move to its new building, which is currently under construction, in November. CU alumnus Dr. Edward Legako, president of the Lawton Farmers Market, has been instrumental in bringing the weekly event to the Cameron campus.
Cameron University and CU-Duncan continue as Certified Healthy Campuses
Both campuses of Cameron University have once again been designated as Certified Healthy Campuses – Lawton campus for the 10th consecutive year and CU-Duncan for the seventh year in a row. Both designations are at the Excellence level, the highest in the program. The designation is awarded by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) in conjunction with the Oklahoma Academy, The State Chamber of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Turning Point Council.
The program has 83 criteria based on the American College Health Association’s “Standards for Practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education” as well as the American College Health Association’s Healthy Campus 2020 initiative. Both the CU Lawton and Duncan campuses met more than 60 percent of the criteria required for Excellence designation. Cameron University activities and policies that factor into the Certified Healthy Campus designation are numerous. They include status as a tobacco- and vaping-free campus, workplace health and nutrition education, opportunities for physical exercise activities such as intramural sports and the Aggie Rec Center, and availability of medical and mental health services to students. Additional programs include management support for healthy workplace environments and sharing wellness activities, such as the Cameron University Community Garden and the Aggie Mile walking trail, with the community.
The inclusion of health and well-being concepts as part of the core curriculum, established relationships with internal and external partners to improve existing health and well-being programs, numerous volunteer opportunities for members of the campus community, multicultural activities, services for veterans and accessible indoor and outdoor spaces for those with disabilities, are just a few of the other criteria that Cameron meets.
