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INSIDE THIS EDITION: Message from Dr. Young
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Provost’s Update
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Faculty & Staff Achievements
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Community Involvement
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New Faces
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Goodbyes
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Regional Campuses Advisory Board
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Regional Parties
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Regional Parties
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Regional Parties
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Students In the News
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Student Services
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Education Recruitment
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Joint Use Library
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Do you have anything to contribute to the Knight News? Please email all submissions to Megan Haught at mhaught@mail.ucf.edu
Knight News Team Executive Editors: Dr. Denise Young Dr. Lauren Miller Newsletter Coordinators: Megan Haught Marilyn Borges
2009
“It is the mark of an educated mine to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~ Aristotle, Aristotle’s Metaphysics “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.” ~ Gilda Radner “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” ~ Charlie Chaplin
Southern Region Main Numbers Cocoa: (321) 433-7821 Palm Bay: (321) 433-7838
ChinaVine Exhibition: Expressions of China
Beautiful sights imbue our daily lives but it can be the images of other worlds that capture our senses the most. For Ian Hernand, Blair Remington, Sharon Weaver, and Tomas Valladares this has proven true. Funding from the College of Arts and Humanities and the dedication of Professor Kristen Congdon provided these UCF photography students with the opportunity for a remarkable journey through China. The images they captured are featured in an exhibition titled “ChinaVine: Expressions of China.” This project, funded in part by the CAH Interdisciplinary Research Award, was unveiled on April 30, 2009 on the second floor of the BCC/UCF Joint Use Library on the Cocoa Campus. The event was opened with remarks from Dr. Denise Young, the Associate Vice President of the Cocoa and Palm Bay Campuses, Dean Jose Fernandez of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Kristin Congdon, a professor with the Department of Philosophy. The four artists commented on their experiences, showed a video presentation, and discussed their photographs. The presentation was followed by a reception provided by the Cocoa Campus. The exhibit will remain on display on the second floor of the Joint Use Library of the Cocoa Campus through June 1, 2009. More information on the ChinaVine project can be found at chinavine.ucf.edu
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Please welcome the
Message from Dr. Young Keeping Momentum The past year has been full of unusual circumstances for higher education in Florida, including unprecedented budget cuts. Despite the uncertainty, our campuses have kept their momentum and accomplished many impressive activities in addition to providing an excellent education and services to our students. The list below provides highlights of our region’s contributions to the President’s five goals and the strategic plan. Thank you to everyone for your part in this productive year. Goal 1: Offer the best Undergraduate education available in Florida. • The total number of SCH for web courses taught by Southern Region faculty was 12,065 (not including summer). Southern Region faculty taught 29.7 percent of all Regional Campuses web sections. • The total number of SCH for the Southern Region, including all location designations (those other than Cocoa or Palm Bay, i.e. “South Off”), levels, and colleges but excluding web was 29,099. This is a 19.9% increase from 2006-2007 to 2007-2008. • 323 2007-2008 baccalaureate graduates from UCF’s Cocoa and Palm Bay campuses • Of the total Veteran Benefits distributed to UCF in 2008 ($5.1 million), approximately $408,000 (13%) was disbursed at either the UCF Cocoa or UCF Palm Bay campuses. • The Direct Connect to UCF advisor met with 920 BCC students to inform them about Direct Connect and sign them to the program. This is a 42% increase from 2007; advisors from UCF Cocoa and UCF Palm Bay visited over 110 BCC classes to promote academic programs on the two campuses; up 73% from last year. • A graduate student in Health Management and Informatics was selected to represent UCF in the annual national essay competition of the American Health Care Executive • UCF Palm Bay Psychology majors established a new chapter of the Psi Chi national honor society. • An SGA student received the Founders Scholars Award for Excellence in Academic Achievement • An undergraduate student was the recipient of Student Government Regional Student Achievers Scholarship & received the Founder’s Scholar Award • Three undergraduate Psychology majors won awards at the UCF Showcase of Undergraduate Research. The first place winners for Social Sciences I and Social Sciences II and the second place winner for Social Science II were Palm Bay students
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The BCC-UCF Writing Center, a collaborative effort between the UCF Cocoa campus, the BCC Cocoa campus, and the UCF University Writing Center, served 646 UCF and BCC students in the Spring 2008 and Fall 2008 semesters. Professional staff from both institutions and peer consultants from UCF provided these services through this unique partnership. In order to deepen the connection between writing and research through the use of librarian assistance, the BCC-UCF Writing Center permanently relocated to the BCC-UCF Joint-Use Library on the Cocoa campus. Faculty member was elected as the Psi Chi (Honor Society) Southeastern Regional VP (2008-2010)
Goal 2: Provide international focus to our curricula and research programs. • AVP served as chair of university’s international strategic planning committee Goal 3: Become more inclusive and diverse. • Local diversity speaker, Dr. Joe Lee Smith, spoke before the UCF Diversity Initiatives Diversity Breakfast to Southern Region faculty and staff • The Palm Bay Assistant Director continues to serve as the planning committee chair for the Hispanic Advocacy Coalition – Empowering/Responding (HACER) assisted in the recruitment of bilingual individuals to volunteer and provide services to the community. Participated in Hispanic Heritage Month Goal 4: Be America’s leading partnership university. • The UCF Board of Trustees meeting was held at the BCC-UCF Joint Use Library in September and the BCC and UCF Board of Trustees signed a joint resolution to reaffirm their partnership in higher education. This partnership has served as a model for expanding access to affordable higher education for the Space Coast and enabled more than 12,000 students to earn baccalaureate degrees through the “2+2” articulation program. The resolution and the event celebrated the successful partnership between BCC and UCF and the 25th anniversary of the jointuse facility in Cocoa, the Clark Maxwell Lifelong Learning Center.
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Please welcome the
Provost’s Update June Update Students, Faculty and Staff:
Helping students
By any measure, the past two years have produced the worst economy most of us have ever experienced. Like other state agencies, UCF has been confronted with an economic decline and budget reductions that have impacted every aspect of our university.
We will do everything we can to assist the roughly 1,100 students who are enrolled in the affected programs of study. Colleges and departments are developing “teach out” plans to ensure that courses and faculty are available to accommodate students in the affected programs.
Since July 1, 2007, $77 million in recurring funds have been cut from the university’s budget, including the recently announced $38 million cut to UCF’s 2009-10 fiscal year budget.
UCF will work with undergraduate students who are within 36 credits of completing their majors to ensure they are able to take the courses required to graduate. Undergraduates who require more credits will have the option of shifting to other related programs at UCF, or to transfer to another institution with our help.
In this time of unprecedented economic crisis, UCF has worked to protect students and faculty and staff members from the full effects of the decline. However, the impact of the most recent reduction means we must fundamentally change our response. After careful consideration, university leadership will recommend limited academic program eliminations to the UCF Board of Trustees at its July meeting. Most UCF students and faculty and staff members are best served through these targeted measures, rather than through additional across-the-board cuts to all programs. Earlier today, deans from the College of Business Administration, College of Sciences, College of Engineering and Computer Science, and College of Health and Public Affairs met with faculty and staff members who will be affected by the proposed eliminations. In all, we have proposed eliminating five programs that will affect about 50 faculty and staff members. A complete list of the proposed program eliminations has been posted to the Budget Resource Center Web site. The programs will be phased out over the next two years and will save UCF about $6.1 million. Faculty and staff members in those programs will remain with the university through the end of the spring 2010 semester. Some faculty and staff members may be provided continued employment until the end of the spring 2011 semester to help the remaining students complete their degrees. The budget cut also will impact university administrative programs: a 3.1 percent ($3.7 million) cut will be phased in to the administrative budget. That percentage is the same overall cut that the program eliminations represent to UCF’s academic budget. UCF’s faculty and staff members make outstanding contributions to our university, and program eliminations are not a reflection on their work. Rather, the severity of this economic crisis has forced us to take this action.
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Undergraduates in a cohort program will have a different plan to complete their degrees and should talk with their program director. All affected undergraduate students should contact their college’s academic advisors next week for more detailed information. Master’s students who have completed 50 percent of their coursework, or who were enrolled full-time in fall 2008 or spring 2009 and plan to continue to enroll full-time, should be able to finish their programs. Affected graduate students also are encouraged to make appointments with their program directors. The Future While I have experienced economic downturns earlier in my career, nothing compares to the depth and duration of the current crisis. Although a tuition increase, a slight increase in non-recurring state funds, and temporary federal stimulus money will delay the full impact of the most recent budget cut, the university still faces a significant budget deficit. In fact, additional program eliminations may become necessary if more state-mandated reductions occur. Now, and in the future, our goal for managing budget cuts will remain the same: to preserve the university’s core educational and research programs to allow UCF to emerge from the economic downturn in the best position possible. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, President John Hitt, and the UCF leadership team, thank you for all you have done to support UCF during this difficult time. Now more than ever, our university needs your continued dedication and excellence.
Sincerely, Terry L. Hickey, Ph.D. Provost and Executive Vice President
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Faculty & Staff Achievements Dr. Roger Handberg, Prelaw Advisor for the College of Sciences, conducted an overview of the law school admissions process and answered questions raised by prospective applicants. The session took place on Thursday, March 26, 45 PM at the UCF-Cocoa, Building 3, Room 260 & Via Polycom to: UCF-Daytona, Building 140, Room 209, and UCF-Palm Bay, Building 3, Room 208 Dr. Barbara Kinsey, associate professor of Political Science, made a paper presentation on the topic of immigration in Western Europe at the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, April 2-5, 2009. Tenure was earned by Dr. Donna Malvey, associate professor with COHPA, and Dr. James Katt, associate professor with the Nicholson School of Communication. Dr. Donna Malvey, Barbara Alderman, and Andy Todd wrote the article, “Blogging and the Health Care Manager”. It was accepted for publication in the journal The Health Care Manager and will be published this summer. Congratulations to Jessica Pardee, associate professor of Sociology, for her Ph.D. which she defended successfully in March 2009.
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Please welcome the Nan Williams, adjunct professor with CEdu, had a busy and distinguished several months beginning with receiving the Career Service Award from the Florida Art Education Association in October 2008. She has also received the Southeastern Art Educator of the Year award from the National Art Education Association in April, and honored at the UCF Appreciation Breakfast as the first recipient of the Nan Parker Williams Scholarship, which was created by one of her former students. Nan also gave 2 presentations at the April National Art Education convention in Minneapolis and had her article “Set the Stage - Run the Show!" accepted by Advisory, the publication of NAEA. Dr. Lauren Miller, Dr. Denise Young and other UCF Southern Region employees participated in the 3rd College Access Summit held February 19, 2009 at the Fairwinds Alumni Center. In April, Dr. Denise Young served as a member of SACS Reaffirmation Committee. Faculty Coffees, hosted by Dr. Denise Young, were held in both Cocoa and Palm Bay in February and April. These sessions have an open agenda and provide opportunity for discussion and socialization.
In February 2009, Andrew Todd received notification of his promotion to UCF Assistant Librarian.
Mentoring Breakfast The Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) and the Office of Diversity Initiatives hosted the 15th annual mentoring breakfast named in memory of Joseph C. Andrews, former UCF Librarian, whose life truly embraced the spirit of mentoring. The mentoring breakfast was co-sponsored with the UCF Student Government Association (SGA) under the theme: Dreams for a New Age. The Breakfast was held on Thursday, February 12, 2009 from 8:00a.m.10:30a.m., in the Pegasus Ballroom, UCF Student Union. The keynote speaker was Dr. Farrah Gray, who at the age of 24 has been named one of the most influential men in America by several national organizations. He defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14! Dr. Gray is internationally recognized for his ingenious economic mind, commitment to students and the development of values such as leadership, integrity, and scholarship. One of the goals of the BFSA and the Office of Diversity Initiatives is to assist the University in enhancing the academic success of students by encouraging faculty and staff to participate in the LEGACY Mentoring Program, as well as other student mentoring relationships. The intent of the Mentoring Breakfast is to celebrate the formal and informal student mentoring relationships at UCF and to continue to promote the value of faculty and staff mentoring as an effective strategy for student recruitment, retention, and success. Angel Edgecombe and Angie Jones attended. UCF
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Writing Center The BCC-UCF Writing Center on the Cocoa campus is fully established in their new facility in Cocoa’s Joint-Use Library and will be entering its third year. Student use has tripled, and they’re ready to hire new peer consultants-graduate and undergraduate-to start in the Fall 2009 semester. They are looking for all students from across the disciplines who like to write and who enjoy working one-on-one with other students. Their consultants participate in initial and ongoing training, so experience is not necessary. But faculty recommendation is essential, as they pride themselves on employing UCF’s best. The Writing Center offers their peer consultants valuable and challenging part-time work experience with hours that fit their schedules. Please encourage your writers to visit our website, www.uwc.ucf.edu to find out more about us. On the staff page, http://www.uwc.ucf.edu/TheConsultants/consultant_home.htm, they’ll find an online application.
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Community Involvement Marilyn Borges, Assistant Director of Administrative Services, and Dr. Lauren Miller, Director of Academic Support Services, represented UCF at the 5th Annual Lead Brevard 4 Under 40 event held Friday, February 20, 2009 which celebrated Brevard County's next generation of leaders. Dr. Lauren Miller was a presenter. UCF, along with BCC and FIT, helped sponsor the awards. Last fall, Patsy Dyson, Office Assistant for the Joint Use Library, became a member of the Rolling Readers of Space Coast. She visits once a week and reads a story to a wonderful class of first grade students at Fairglen Elementary School in Cocoa. The students enjoy books from all genres but especially love stories about dragons. Angel Edgecombe and Angie Jones, advisors for the Southern Region, joined their Central Florida colleagues for a casual and delicious lunch at Sunset Harbor Yacht Club as they shared ideas and information in a special planning session to prepare for the spring conference in April. Dr. Beatriz Robinson, State Chair of FLOWHE, joined them to discuss the conference. Dr. David Harrison, Vice Provost for Regional Campuses, hosted a Regional Campuses State of the Union Town Hall Meeting via Adobe Connect on March 27th. Many Southern Region employees participated both from their own offices or in classrooms with others. As a member of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Dr. Denise Young represented UCF at many EDC sponsored events and meetings this spring, which include: The Community Welcome Reception in honor of Robert D. Cabana, the New Center Director for Kennedy Space Center and two EDC Board of Directors Meetings. Dr. Denise Young represented UCF at a reception honoring Ms. Leslie Hielema, President of the Orlando Chamber of Commerce. The reception was hosted by Florida Institute of Technology.
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UCF was represented by Dr. Denise Young at the CivMil Annual Commander's Banquet and the CivMil February meeting held at Manatee Cove Golf Course at Patrick AFB. In January, Dr. Denise Young attended the Women's Leadership Luncheon sponsored by the Heart of Florida United Way and the University of Central Florida. Lynn Sherr, an ABC News Correspondent was the keynote speaker. Dr. Denise Young served on a Focus Group which assisted in the process of selecting the new Brevard County School Board Superintendent. The BCC Board of Trustees met on Monday, February 16, 2009 for the official opening of the B.W. Simpkins Fine Arts Center located on the Cocoa Campus. Dr. Denise Young attended. UCF was represented by Dr. Denise Young at Brevard Community College's Black History Month Program held February 25, 2009 on the Palm Bay Campus. Dr. Denise Young was a participant on an United Way Community Impact Team which made site visits to various agencies that have programs that help elementary school through high school youth build toward a positive future by developing essential life skills and attitudes, by participating in structured organizations and community activities and interacting with committed adult mentors and volunteers. The team provided budget recommendations for next year. Dr. Denise Young became a member of the Brevard Workforce Development Board of Directors in May. Brevard Workforce is a collective effort to boost economic development and promote Brevard County making it competitive in the global marketplace.
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New Faces Melody Alicea has joined Student Services as the Program Assistant. Welcome to Cocoa, Melody. Connie Allgood who has been one of our Student Ambassadors during the 2008-2009 academic year began working at Business Services Reception Desk on Friday, May 15th. Diana Solyts has joined us from BCC's IBTC to work in in Advising and also assist Enrollment Services.
Suzanne O’Neill is a new senior intern coordinator in Brevard County working with both special education and elementary education interns. Previously, she served as an ESE Special Education Staffing for the Brevard Public Schools for approximately 11 years and earned her Ed.D. in 2007 from the University of South Florida. Julie Ulrich has moving across the hall to suite 121. She will keep some of her current duties and also assist Dr. Young, Dr. Miller and Darlene .
Those We’ll Miss Darlyne Egan has taken a new position as Project Specialist for Service Learning will BCC in Palm Bay.
Mary Raymond, formerly the Business Services Coordinator for the Brevard Campuses, left early in the semester. Mary now works for Dr. James Drake on the Renee Jernick resigned her position as the Office BCC Cocoa Campus as the Director of Budget ManageManager for the College of Business. She will be working ment and Executive Assistant for the Office of the as an Administrative Support Specialist in the President.. President’s Office of BCC on the Cocoa Campus. Ashley Harper will be working as the Office Manager for the Patty O’Neal has moved on from working as an advisor College of Business until the position can be posted and for the UCF Brevard Campuses. hired. Nick Pantloni transferred to a new office with UCF Regional Headquarters in Orlando as a Coordinator of Academic Support Services.
Regional Campus Advisory Board The Regional Campus Community Advisory Board (CAB) --Southern Region --for the Health Management and Informatics Department held its second meeting on January 30, 2009 at the Cocoa Campus. Community board members include health care executives from the local hospitals and medical group practices. The meeting was lead by the Board's President, Chris Sorensen, Health First VP and Chief Compliance Officer. The Dean of the College of Health and Public Affairs, Michael Frumkin, updated the group on COHPA activities. Dr. David Segal, Dept. of Health Professions, provided an overview of the new Bachelor of Health Sciences program. Dr. Aaron Liberman, Interim Chair of the Department of Health Management and Informatics updated the group on department activities including a new master's degree program in Health Management and Informatics. Other HSA faculty from the Orlando campus were in attendance and also provided information on important activities in the Department. Dr. Donna Malvey, Regional Campus faculty, announced that Angel Edgecombe, UCF Advisor for the Southern Region has been appointed to serve on the Board. She also discussed the success of graduate student mentoring efforts, including recent publications by regional campus students. The next Regional Campus CAB will meet on April 24.
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It’s So Long But Not Farewell (left and right) Nick Pantloni
Nick Pantloni, an advisor in the Cocoa Advising Office, has transitioned into a new position with Regional Campuses in Orlando. He is working with the Learning on Demand initiative and assisting with other Regional Campuses advising activities. A party was held on January 22nd to celebrate this new path for Nick, as well as to remember this is not good-bye. Nick will still be visiting us here.
(left) Patty O’Neal, Sue Sorenson, Teresa Youngman, and Al Davis
Chocolate Overload The Southern Region hosted Valentine’s Day parties on the Cocoa Campus on February 12 and Palm Bay Campus on February 13. Faculty and Staff chocoholics supplied the goodies to the enjoyment of all. The parties were fun and even the sugar addicts went away on a rush. We were all well and truly sugared out that week. (below) Patty O’Neal, Angie Jones, Dr. Lauren Miller, Teresa Youngman, and Megan Haught (right) Angie Jones and Patty O’Neal
Baby, It’s A Boy Congratulations to Shakira Guice! She’s expecting a boy and the Cocoa Campus celebrated by throwing her a baby shower. There were gifts, tasty hors d’oeuvres, and a festive punch complete with UCF rubber ducky. Attendees were asked to submit their own baby pictures for a game of Match that Face. Her son, Benjamin, made his much anticipated debut on March 13, 2009.
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(right) The conference room all dressed for the shower.
(left) Angie Jones, Shakira Guice, and Kristina Watkins
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The World Would Not Run Without Them Every spring the time rolls around to celebrate those who make everyone’s lives easier. This year we gave hearty thanks (and very tasty cake) to those who’s hard work and dedication keep things running smoothly around here. Happy Administrative Professionals Day to the amazing UCF support staff!
(left) Sue Sorenson
(right) Leslie Williams, Renee Jernick, and Dr. Lauren Miller
(left) Darlene, Kraft, Teresa Youngman, Angel Edgecombe, Al Davis and Dr. Lauren Miller
(left) Mary Lou Wade, and Julie Ulrich
To The Other Side of the Lot At the end of the semester, the Cocoa Campus lost another valuable employee, Renee Jernick. Renee has held many positions in Cocoa in the past decade. She will be working for BCC on this campus so we will still be able to visit. Congratulations on the new job, Renee!
(right) Dr. Lauren Miller and Renee Jernick
(left) Renee Jernick, Elaine Cruz, Leslie Williams, Dr, Lauren Miller, Patsy Dyson, and Brent Dalyrmple
Student Welcome Days (left) John King speaking to a student in Palm Bay (right) Students enjoying lunch by Sonny’s in Cocoa
(left) Patsy Dyson from the UCF Library in Cocoa speaking to students in Palm Bay
(right) UCF staff members Terry Exum, John King, Shakira Guice, and Jim Smith
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(right) Jim Smith and SGA greeting students in Palm Bay
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She’s All Grown Up After 2 years working in Advising while completing her B.A. in Interpersonal/Organizational Communication, Christina
Williams has finished her time with UCF and will be leaving. She will be moving to Lynchburg, VA, to earn her
Master's in Human Services with a specialization in Christian Counseling at Liberty University.
Congratulations, Christina, and good luck
Thank You For All You Do On Wednesday, May 28 a Staff Appreciation luncheon was held on the Cocoa Campus. It was a much appreciated thanksgiving for the efforts and dedication of UCF regional staff during these tough times. Both Dr. Denise Young and Dr. David Harrison spoke at the opening of the meal.
(left) Dr. David Harrison, Dr. Lauren Miller, Mary Lou Wade, Dr. Barbara Kyle, Ashley Harper, Julie Ulrich, Darlene Kraft, Teresa Youngman, Elaine Cruz, Patsy Dyson and Dr. Denise Young
(left) Cathi Evens, Kristina Watkins, Dr. Denise Young, Sandy Smith, Jim Smith and Patsy Dyson
(right) Julie Ulrich, Teresa Youngman, Ashley Harper, Leslie Williams, Elaine Cruz, Dr., David Harrison, and Mary Lou Wade
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(right) Lynn Mitchell, Julie Ulrich, Teresa Youngman, Ashley Harper, Leslie Williams, Elaine Cruz, Mary Lou Wade, Dr. Lauren Miller, and Dr. Barbara Kyle (left) Cocoa buffet offerings
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Students in the News Keila Rooney, graduate student in the UCF Health Services Administration program, has been awarded the 2009-2010 Administrative Fellowship with Health First, the largest healthcare provider in Brevard County. “The selection of Keila for the fellowship breaks a long-time tradition of UF graduates as Health First fellows,” said Chris Sorensen, VP of Corporate Risk Management\Chief Compliance Officer. The one year paid fellowship entails comprehensive exposure to the numerous components of the Health First system as well as executive project assignments by various departments. Approximately 95% of the fellows that complete the one year term move on to pursue executive level careers throughout the Health First system. Keila also had her essay, "Consumer-Driven Healthcare Marketing: Using the Web to Get Up Close and Personal," chosen as the best paper for the Richard J. Stull Student Essay Competition in Healthcare Management. Both Keila and her academic program will be given cash awards for this honor. Click here for more information about this honor. Samantha McGill, a 2007 graduate of the UCF Palm Bay EC program is recognized in the Florida Today for an outstanding Dr. Seuss program she has implemented for the last two years at Sea Park Elementary. After receiving her degree in EC, Sam went on to become certified as a media specialist and received a grant to fund these activities. Palm Bay student, Birdie Wilkie, has been named to the Who’s Who Among Students at UCF for the 2008-2009 school year. She joined others honored at the banquet held on main campus on April 7th. ECE students in Palm Bay volunteered at the Very Special Arts Festival held at the Brevard Zoo on April, 15, 16, and 17, 2009. UCF students worked with Brevard students with special needs doing art and physical activity projects. They were invited to design and "man" an activity for next year's festival! Also, ECE Honor students in Palm Bay from ECE are designing assessment tools for the MOTE Marine Lab's Mommy and Me Program in Sarasota. The ECE students hope to visit over the summer to see their tools in action. They submitted a proposal to ECA to present on their project in September. The Palm Bay and Cocoa research teams presented at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence on the Orlando campus, and won an Honorable Mention ($150.00 award). This was research led by Drs. Mottarella, Whitten, Murdoch, and Lavooy. Six students presented this research with the faculty members at the Southeastern Psychological Association in New Orleans in February, as well. Every student who attended SEPA is a Psi Chi member (Cocoa or Palm Bay). The title of the presentation: Student evaluation of online instructors: Does gender matter? UCF
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On May 6, 2009, most of the 2009 Early Childhood Palm Bay graduates attended a luncheon that included a presentation by the Brevard School District's Recruiter and the Teacher Certification Specialist. The Brevard County Recruiter has the students' names and contact information and offered to assist them in finding a job with the school district in the fall. The Certification Specialist walked the students through the procedures to become certified after graduation and also offered her assistance to them. Palm Bay Cornerstone students, supervised by Charlie Viggiano, had a busy semester with their service learning projects as part of their degree program with the College of Business. The local non-profit organizations that they assisted were Operation Now, Operation Shoebox, South Brevard Women’s Center, Florida Boxer Rescue, Candlelighter’s of Brevard, and the Melbourne Art Festival. A total of $6200 in cash was raised along with an estimated $5000 in non-monetary donations. While these numbers were lower than previous years, local businesses and UCF students rose to the challenge during this tough economic climate. Congratulations and thank you to these students! A spring induction was held by PsiChi on the Cocoa campus. This induction raised the campus to 15 active members at this time. The UCF Cocoa Nursing Program had an active semester by participating in numerous community events. They assisted with the UCF Wellness Fair on March 25 by helping man the event as well as providing blood pressure screenings. They then helped raise money during Pasta for Pennies which benefits children with Leukemia and Lymphoma. A large contingent of Cocoa Nursing students attended the National Nursing Conference in Nashville, TN in April with Krisann Draves, a Nursing professor. Other events Nursing Program students participated in this semester are VA Standdown, Parrish Day of Dance, Brevard County Schools Smoking Cessation, and several campus activities.
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Student Services and Student Government SGA Partnering to Support Success SGA in collaboration with Recreation and Wellness Center (RWC), Regional Campuses Student Services (RCSS), and the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) have been working to develop a continuum of new recreation and wellness programs and activities to support the success of Regional Campuses Students. SGA through this outstanding collaborative effort was able to expand recreation and wellness events and resources. The UCF Cocoa and UCF Palm Bay student teams and advisory groups on the regions went into action to support the initiatives. Student feedback regarding their needs for recreation and wellness was gathered through questionnaires and student advisory groups. New foosball tables, pool tables, a ping pong table and game stations were high on the student priority list and were purchased. UCF Cocoa SGA initiated Game Day tournaments to showcase the new recreation equipment available in the student lounge. The Game Day tournaments included food, pool, ping pong, foosball and lots of student, faculty and staff laughter.
Recreation and Wellness Fair provided fun ways to learn about being healthy". Unique to UCF Palm Bay was collaboration with Brevard Community College to co-sponsor with SGA fall and spring UCF/BCC Health and Wellness Fairs. UCF Palm Bay SGA student representative Laura Raymond stated "The collaboration enabled us to expand vendor participation that we would not have had without them". The Spring UCF Palm Bay/BCC event included a blood drive, bone marrow screening and a fund raiser for Relay for Life. UCF Palm Bay Student Steve Lloyd commented the UCF Palm Bay Wellness Fair was "...filled with fun and games for a good cause in an exciting atmosphere". Next on the horizon for the team, is working together to create a student driven plan for future recreation and wellness activities.
Over the past year, cooperative agreements were established for regional campuses student access to area fitness centers to include the YMCA (UCF Cocoa), and In-2-Fitness (UCF Palm Bay). Bowling Knights was implemented as a joint event for UCF Cocoa and UCF Palm Bay and the word is out on how much fun is had at Bowling Knights. Student participation has gone from filling 1-2 lanes to filling every lane at the last Bowling Knight. SGA and the RWC lead the charge to facilitate wellness fairs. Adding Wellness Fairs on the regional campuses was well received. A total of 649 students participated in the Cocoa and Palm Bay Regional Wellness Fairs. Regional Campuses, Victim Services, Dispute Resolution Services, Health Services, Counseling, and Alcohol Edu provided resource information to students attending the fairs. The events on each of the campuses included massage therapy, resource tables, community vendors, blood pressure checks, and dance and exercise demonstrations. UCF Cocoa Student Deanna Blake stated "the vendors gave very good information especially positive ways to improve your health" and UCF Cocoa student Rebecca Schilling "felt the UCF
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Orientation Dates Summer & Fall 2009 Cocoa: 9 am to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 Wednesday, June 17 Thursday, July 30 Wednesday, August 19 Palm Bay: Noon to 4 pm Thursday, May 7 Thursday, August 6 Please contact the Student Services Office at (321) 433-7950 for more information.
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Education Recruitment On February 18th, Sheryl Schagen, Education Coordinator, presented at the Educational Leadership Team meeting for Brevard Public Schools in Viera, where she asked school administrators to encourage more teachers to participate in the supervision of UCF education interns. During the presentation she announced that UCF will be offering a free one-week graduate level clinical supervision course at the Cocoa campus this June. Teachers who complete the course and supervise the required number of interns will be eligible for up to 6 credit hours of graduate course work at UCF, tuition free. There are currently 69 teachers registered for the course. Many are interested in the MEd in Reading, which is offered at the Cocoa campus! This spring, approximately 108 College of Education students successfully completed their internships in Brevard County schools. UCF's partnership with Brevard Public Schools continues to make a difference in the community!
Sheryl Schagen, Education Coordinator, participated in the annual Titusville Chamber of Commerce Career Fair at the Titusville BCC campus on April 21st, where she distributed information about Direct Connect and UCF programs offered in the Southern Region. Representatives of Brevard Community College were also on hand to discuss Associate degrees and BCC's long-standing partnership with UCF. The College of Education hosted three information sessions for BCC students in March and April. Sheryl Schagen, Education Coordinator, was on hand to provide information about teacher-education program requirements and admission procedures. In addition, each Program Coordinator provided a special surprise!
On March 25, 2009, BCC students interested in Early Childhood Education attended a reception at the UCF Palm Bay campus where they received a warm welcome from Program Coordinator, Nancy Brasel, who gave the attendees free children's books to start their own personal libraries! Exceptional Education, March 26, 2009 On March 26, 2009, at the UCF Cocoa campus, BCC students interested in Exceptional Education were treated to a special show by Dr. Dan the Magic Man, who taught them the magic of helping those who need it most! The attendees also participated in a special magic trick that taught them the importance of collaboration. Elementary Education, April 1, 2009 An Elementary Education reception was hosted by Dr. Karri Williams at the UCF Cocoa campus on April 1, 2009. Dr. Williams gave a special reading of one of her favorite children's books which captured the attention and the hearts of the those who attended the reception. They also walked away with a free children's book!
UCF Joint Use Library UCF Nursing students presented a Cultural Health Promotion poster session in the BCC/UCF Joint Use Libraries (Cocoa and Palm Bay Campuses) in February and March 2009. An invitation to view the eight posters was extended to the nursing faculty and students of Brevard Community College. On March 9, 2009, Patsy Dyson along with Maggie Stubbe of the BCC Joint Use Library participated in a Read-Across America event sponsored each fall and spring by the National Education Association. The BCC Pre-School children and their teachers were invited for a Dr. Seuss book reading followed by an art activity. Patsy Dyson also set up a book display celebrating the March birthdays of Dr. Theodore Seuss Geisel and also Kate di Camilllo who is the author of the Tale of Despereaux; a movie that was released in December 2008.
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UCF employees from the Cocoa and Palm Bay Regional Campuses donated a basket full of UCF items for “Worlds Connect @ Your Library”, the theme for the celebration of National Library Week. The basket was won by a UCF student, Tanara Newton, a student from the Nursing Department. This fun event occurred during the week of April 13-17, 2009 at the BCC/UCF Joint Use Library, Cocoa campus. Two new tables of books were on display in the BCC/UCF Joint Use Library during the month of April. The tables show cased a wonderful selection of books that celebrated both the month of poetry and books written by twenty-four children’s authors. Melissa Toepler, BCC Wellness Center Coordinator, initiated “Stride for Pride” walking teams at BCC Palm Bay. The Literary Striders, which includes the Palm Bay Joint-Use Library, Palm Bay Security, and the Palm Bay Cashier combo, took top walking honors in the first month of the competition for a team average of 263, 584 steps! Barbara Alderman is the Team Captain.