Vol 120 | Issue 6
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Publishing since 1913
Independent Student Newspaper of Sam Houston State University
Check out ‘Best of Huntsville’ competition, pg. 6
Visit us on Facebook: “The Houstonian SHSU”
Basketball teams beat SELU, pg. 5
INDEX Viewpoints ....... pg. 2 A&E ................... pg. 4 News .................. pg. 3 Sports................. pg. 5
The instant feedback classroom MOLLY WADDELL Associate News Editor We’ve all had that class where students walk in, open up their laptops, and trudge their way through an endless PowerPoint slide. One political science professor’s interactive lectures keep students away from constantly checking Facebook and Twitter. Stacy Ulbig, Ph.D., was announced as the recipient of the “Excellence in Teaching” award for 2011. “I couldn’t believe I had been nominated, so when I actually won I thought there was some kind of mistake,” Ulbig said. Ulbig has the students’ in mind when teaching; while doing so, she recognizes that the students’ attention spans run short. “It’s not anything against the students,” Ulbig said. “It’s
just human nature to be easily distracted. As a professor, my teaching philosophy is to give them purpose for their learning and to keep them interested.” Ulbig said that her philosophy on teaching comes from an understanding of the difficulty and frustration of going to college without “having a purpose for learning.” “I was a first generation college student,” Ulbig said. “In my own experiences, I never knew why I was doing the things I was doing in class – all the reading and papers. It is so much easier for me to be motivated when I understand the reasons I’m doing something.” Ulbig said the last thing she wants to do is talk for an hour and a half so she gives in class quizzes, which students answer using answer clickers, to change the pace of class and get the students attention again. Students tell Ulbig that the quizzes make them stop and think about what they wrote down. Ulbig has been teaching since 2001, previously teaching at Missouri State University before coming to Sam Houston State University in 2007. “I love teaching because I receive instant feedback,” Ulbig
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I love teaching because I receive instant feedback. The other parts of my job...can take forever...I learn something every day.
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Ulbig receives teaching award for interactivity
-Stacy Ulbig, Ph.D.
Photo courtesy Today@Sam
RECORD OF RECOGNITION: In addition to her current award, Ulbig was previously recognized for her excellence in teaching by the Political Science department in 2010 and by the MSU College of Humanities and Public Affairs in 2005.
said. “The other parts of my job such as research and service can take forever for me to receive feedback. With teaching it is instant; I feed off of the students’ energy. The students are teaching me too when they ask questions that I have to go look up to answer, I learn something new every day.” This is not the first award
Ulbig has received; she has also been recognized in her teaching excellence by the SHSU department of Political science in 2010, and by the MSU College of Humanities and Public Affairs in 2005. Frank Fair, a philosophy teacher, is the chair of the Excellence in Teaching committee. The committee is comprised of seven
other faculty members nominated by the Faculty Senate and approved by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. According to Fair, the process starts out with solicitations of nominations from students, faculty, —
AWARD, page 3
Alumni donate $1 million endowment fund to COBA MOLLY WADDELL Associate News Editor Two Sam Houston State University business alumni have established a $1 million endowment at the university, according to a university press release. Charles Amato and Gary Dudley have established the AmatoDudley College of Business Administration Dean’s Chair Endowment, which will provide funding for the enhancement of programs within the COBA. The endowment will also help attract and retain eminent scholars, as well as meet emerging student needs. Mitchell Muehsam, the Dean of Business Administration, will serve officially as the AmatoPhoto courtesy Today@Sam Dudley Endowed Chair for the DONATING DUO. Charles Amato and Gary Dudley are graduates from COBA, and will administer the endowment. the SHSU College of Business in 1969 and 1970 respectively.
Book review to showcase ‘prestigious works’ for primary, secondary students MISTI JONES Senior Reporter The Department of Library Science will present its first “Let the Heart of a Book Touch the Heart of a Child” Book Review event in the Eleanor and Charles Garrett Teacher Education Center, Room 279, from 2-3:30 p.m on Wednesday, Feb. 8. All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the review, sponsored by the Professional and Academic Center for Excellence, the College of Education and the Department of Library Science. The event will be headed by Rosemary Chance,
“We are extraordinarily appreciative of the generosity demonstrated by Mr. Amato and Mr. Dudley,” Muehsam said. Since the funds will provide a “maximum amount of flexibility,” the dean is allowed discretionary use of the endowment’s earnings in what he views as the college’s areas of greatest need, from faculty and student professional travel, development, and scholarly research, to other priorities and opportunities that benefit the college, according to Muehsam. “In a time of diminishing state funds, contributions from alumni and the private sector allow the college to maintain its pursuit of excellence,” Muehsam said. “Their confidence will motivate us to provide even greater services to our students.” Dudley and Amato are co-
Ph.D. and Teri Lesesne, Ph.D. as they introduce and review a variety of available children’s books. The Book Review will feature 50 award-winning books published in 2011 for the elementary through high school levels. This event will target all ages and provide a broad selection of books for all attendees to see and hear. “The purpose is to shed some light,” Robert Ellis, Research Assistant at PACE, said. “We want to let everybody know that there are [fictional] and informational books that are worth reading. We’ve got a wide range of books from fantasy to historical fiction to even poetry.” There is not a limited number of space for the event; however, anyone who wants to participate must reserve a spot for the event beforehand with PACE by Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. “We want to make sure we have a book for those who reserve a spot and that they have a name tag —
REVIEW, page 3
owners of the San Antonio-based Southwest Business Corporation (SWBC), a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of insurance, mortgage, and investment services to financial institutions, businesses and individuals. The San Antonio-based SWBC is multi-faceted company with offices across the country and more than 1,400 employees. They are also part owners of the San Antonio spurs. Dudley and Amato met in middle school while growing up in La Porte. Although they lost touch in their teen years they met up again in the mid- 60s when they pledged at the fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, at SHSU. They each received a —
ALUMNI, page 3
SGA seeks new members after old members resign AMANDA MORGAN Contributing Reporter Within in the Student Government Association (SGA) there are thirty-five senators who collectively represent more than 17,000 students. Earlier this semester, three of SGA’s thirty-eight senators, resigned from their positions within the organization. This is only an eight percent turnover of the overall SGA membership. Justin Haynes, former SGA
Caucus Chair, unofficially resigned from his position within SGA earlier this semester. “I have a firm belief that all politicians on any level should have term limits to keep unfair influences to a minimum due to seniority,” he said. Although Haynes will no longer be a part of SGA, he does not regret his three years in the organization and the service towards the students. —
SGA, page 3
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