T h u r s d a y, j a n u a r y 1 4 , 2 0 1 6 | U s i s h i e l d . c o m | v o l . 4 6 i s s u e 1 7
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Second strategic plan more concise The 2016 Strategic Plan consists of three general points to be developed more fully with time.
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by gabi wy news@usishield.com @ShieldsterGabi
THING YOU DO, YOUR WORLD COULD CHANGE IN A SECOND - Heather Platt
former USI track & cross country runner
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Photo courtesy of photo services
‘No-brainer inductee’ enters Hall of Fame by sarah Loesch sports@usishield.com @ShieldsterSarah Heather Platt spent three years as a runner at USI before she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “As amazing as my running career was, it ended very abruptly and really quickly,” she said. “Yes, I accomplished a lot, but I never got a degree.” Now, she will be inducted into the USI Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class by a nine-member committee. Platt said her only tip to her induction was a message left on her phone from athletic director Jon Mark Hall. “I really didn’t know anything at all,” she
said, “I knew Hillyard wanted to me to be in the hall of fame, but I had quite a different view.” To be eligible to enter the USI Athletic Hall of Fame, a former athlete does not have to graduate from the university, they simply have to have good academic standing and be 10 years removed from being a student-athlete. Platt was the first female national champion at USI after she earned the title in the 3,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships during her 2004 season. She also earned the GLVC Freshman of the Year honor in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field in 2002-03. “She is one of the most decorated female student-athletes from USI,” Hall said. “...She is kind of a no-brainer inductee.” Platt said her most memorable races are the ones when she ended with an unexpected time.
Head coach of track and field and cross country Mike Hillyard said this isn’t necessarily a trait that solely reflects Platt, but a lot of distance runners. “All distance runners, they love that personal record,” Hillyard said. “She was very timedriven.” Hillyard said Platt did anything to win, something he said was a rare gift at the Division II level. “She honestly had the best race instincts of any athlete that I’ve ever coached,” Hillyard said. “She just knew how to win. When the gun went off she never thought about pain or discomfort.” Despite all of her success, Platt said it is hard for her to talk about her running career because of how it ended.
President Linda Bennett didn’t want a several-inchthick Strategic Plan, so the first document spanning from 2010 to 2015 had six points and fit neatly on a folded brochure. The new Strategic Plan launching in 2016 reduces those six points to an even shorter three: Learning Excellence, Access by Design and Expansion. “Learning – not just student learning, but everyone’s learning. I think students are drawn to individuals who are excited about their learning,” Bennett said. “That may seem obvious, but the most obvious thing needs not to be taken for granted. There needs to be intention.” She said the point addressing access applies to both diversity and outreach to the community. “I’m interested to see how we grow, because our potential is just tremendous,” Bennett said about expansion. “The quality has always been here, but we’ve been way too modest about it.” While the three main points have been determined, Bennett said the concepts haven’t been fully fleshed out yet. She said the university has learned valuable lessons since developing the university’s first Plan in 2009. “(After the economy crashed in 2008), we ran into certain budget realities,” Bennett said. “We found some changes we could make. Some changes don’t take big dollars. Some take just human spirit.” In order to develop the plan, Associate Professor of Health Services Kevin Valadares, along with Assistant Professor of Political Science Matthew Hanka, conducted a university-wide environmental scan beginning in August 2013. With the results of the scan in mind, Bennett devised the new points. Bennett took the concept
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Pott College receives grants to impact STEM education by gabi wy news@usishield.com @ShieldsterGabi The Teaching Eagles program and the university graduate program for high school teachers received more than $700,000 in separate grants from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to use through 2017. The program, which mainly provides scholarships to education majors, received a grant continuation of $476,496. The commission gave the university $286,941 to support high school teachers pursuing graduate courses in math, biology or chemistry. With the Teaching Eagles’ grant continuation effective through 2017 added to the initial $835,000 received to launch the program, Teaching Eagles has accumulated over $1.3 million since 2014. “There’s a teacher shortage, not just here, but everywhere across the country,” said Kelly Sparks, assistant professor of education and director of the Teaching Eagles program. “It’s getting worse, especially in the STEM (sci-
ence, technology, engineering and mathematics) field.” The Teaching Eagles program is unique in that it offers scholarships not only to students pursuing secondary education teaching degrees, but also those who pursue elementary education, Sparks said. “A lot of universities just focus on the secondary,” she said, “but elementary is where it all begins.” Sparks said to be a part of the Teaching Eagles program, education majors must apply and once accepted, are expected to participate in events, outreach opportunities and seminars. Upon completion of the program, all students are required to apply for teaching positions in Indiana. The grant, totaling $286,941, will be used to increase the offerings of both online and traditional courses in math and science as well as provide scholarships to high school teachers pursuing graduate degrees, said Mathematics Department chair Rick Hudson.
Photo by alyssa smith | The Shield
Erin Dobson, a junior public relations and advertising major, rides on her hoverboard given to her as a gift for Christmas in the parking lot at Eagle Village Apartments Tuesday. Dobson only uses hers around her apartment due to the current ban of the scooters on campus.
University bans hoverboards by bobby shipman editor@usishield.com @ShieldsterBobby Dillon Baker isn’t too excited about walking to class. A few months before the school year began, the freshman business management major got his first hoverboard, a self-balancing, twowheel motorized board that
has been rising in popularity. “(The university is) trying to take away everything, but I understand,” Baker said. “I wouldn’t want someone else’s gadget to set my stuff on fire. Safety prevails.” University Relations sent out an email Jan. 7, stating all hoverboards are banned from campus. Baker said he used the
board strictly for transportation purposes, reducing the time it took for him to travel across campus. “Walking to class was probably an average of six to eight minutes,” he said. “On the board, I would get to class in probably three.” A rise in reports of hoverboard-related fire incidents prompted the university to
make this decision. “Effective immediately, the university has placed a ban on the use of and storage of hoverboards on all university property, including campus housing,” the email states. “As we are aware that these were popular holiday gift items, we are notifying you to refrain from bringing these to campus with you.”
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Watch for the Spring 2016 edition of
coming in febuary
A guide to usi athletics