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Leadership conference to focus on building Georgia students' skills
By
Joshua Preston
North Georgia's 2009 annual Regional Leadership Conference will take place April
2-4, bringing together students, faculty and staff from Georgia's colleges and
universities to discuss the topic of engaged leadership and how to prepare
students for the challenges of the next decade.
The conference will allow faculty members and students to share information and
learn from practical experiences on different college campuses, and students
will be able to showcase various accomplishments their leadership roles have
afforded them.
North Georgia, a state-designated leadership institution, recognizes the need
for leadership development programs that prepare students to become leaders in
the 21st century. The annual leadership conference is part of a continuing
university initiative to teach students fundamental leadership skills and train
them to be public- and private-sector leaders.
North Georgia has also created a broad range of organizations to give students
practical experience in shaping and influencing group dynamics. The largest and
oldest of these is the university's military program, in which cadet leaders
manage and train more than 600 of their peers on a daily basis.
"This conference gives students an opportunity to talk about leadership and what
they consider to be important now as a student and in the future as they
graduate," Dr. Michele Hill, conference program director, said.
The April 2-4 conference in Dahlonega will highlight student leaders and groups
from across Georgia and identify how they have been successful in their
leadership roles. Attendees will share their ideas and experiences on how to be
influential on their campuses and become more involved in their local
communities.
"Students have many different ways in which they work as leaders, and they want
to share those experiences," Hill said. "The students presenting are from many
different majors and leadership roles."
A call for proposals went to more than 40 of Georgia's public and private
colleges and universities, and faculty mentors and students are invited to
submit proposals through March 16. Several presentations at the conference will
include how leadership relates to topics such as diversity, ethics, women,
development and education.
"At North Georgia, we provide leadership instruction to every new incoming
student, which gets the student involved or thinking about their leadership role
from their first semester," Hill said.
That approach allows North Georgia to build a foundation for students to
contribute to solutions or activities that enhance the campus. Hill wants to
spread the "early engagement" model and show the real-world application that
leadership is taking in the lives of many students.
"For those attending, they will see ways in which leadership is important on our
campus, other campuses and as a part of their future," she said.
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Students, alumni connect through phonathon
By
Kate Maine
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Jennifer Collins
(Photo: Debbie Martin)
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Jennifer Collins, a senior
from Blue Ridge, Ga., has taken on a special task at North Georgia for each
of her four years of college — helping raise money for the university
through the annual phonathon. Her above-average performance as the top
pledge-getter — she has raised more than $16,000 in four years — has made
her a valuable asset to the project's success.
The phonathon
is an annual operation that transforms the university's Alumni
Center into a call center that employs students to phone alumni and
parents to secure gifts to the North Georgia Fund, which provides
financial support to all of the university's academic departments
and co-curricular activities.
Collins, a
marketing major, said the experience has helped her appreciate the
importance of alumni support to the institution.
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Fundraising takes on
increased priority at state institutions
The
Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia
(USG) recently elevated the importance of fundraising
for all USG institutions as a means to increase revenue
to maintain the quality of the education they provide.
In
January, the USG Task Force on Philanthropy, which is
chaired by North Georgia President David Potter,
presented a systematic survey of what each school is
doing with regard to fundraising and received direction
to proceed with a plan to set philanthropic targets for
USG campuses.
The
task force is charged with assessing the ability of USG
institutions to raise private funds and proposing
improvements. Its report showed that while Georgia is
one of only seven states with two or more public
universities ranked among the Top 100 university
endowments, there is plenty of room for Georgia's public
colleges and universities to further increase revenue.
"Information on fundraising in higher education is very
limited, so this data is extremely valuable," Potter
said. "It gives us a baseline from which to work on
improvements and monitor our progress."
The
task force also recommended an initiative to strengthen
fundraising capacity — particularly at the state and
two-year college sectors, where philanthropic endeavors
are under-developed as compared to other sectors — with
the goal of each campus having at least one full-time
professional dedicated to philanthropy, and having the
board, the USG campuses and their affiliated foundations
undertake initiatives to provide resources to increase
fundraising staffs and the capacity of USG institutions
to conduct effective fundraising.
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"It has
helped me understand that it takes more than tuition to support the
university," she said. "I've enjoyed talking with alumni and hearing
their stories about how North Georgia has developed through the
years."
This year's
phonathon was conducted Feb. 8 through March 5 and used 67 student
callers to contact about 17,000 constituents. Chris Church, director
of annual giving and manager of the phonathon, said the students'
hard work paid off with 1015 gifts or pledges totaling more than
$54,000.
Church said
the 2008 campaign used 42 callers to attempt calling 6,500
prospective donors.
"This past
year's effort secured commitments of about $50,000, but with the
current economic climate, we really had to increase the staff and
number of prospects to reach a comparable level of support this
year," she said.
An incentive
to encourage gifts this year was the opportunity for new or
increased gifts to be doubled through the support of an anonymous
$50,000 challenge gift that is matching any new or increased gifts
to the North Georgia Fund up to that amount.
The students'
role in this project provides an invaluable connection for alumni,
according to Church.
"The alumni
learn when talking with students that the experience at North
Georgia today reflects the same values and traditions that were a
part of the student experiences of their generations," Church said.
"It is important to our donors, especially alumni, to feel that
connection to the university and a common bond with today's
students."
She added
that the students also learn and grow through their participation in
the project.
"The students
often start out nervous about making persuasive calls, but, with the
proper training, they end up having great conversations with alumni
and parents and learn how precious North Georgia is," she said.
Collins,
recalling a conversation she had with a 95-year-old alumna, said,
"She told me how much North Georgia meant to her, how grateful she
was to the school, and that she thought about North Georgia every
day."
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Service Spotlight
 Tiffany
Yeoman
Staff Associate, Career Services
Yeoman, who is a 1998
graduate of North Georgia and has worked at the university
for more than three years, became a member of the Career
Services staff this past July.
How do you
interact with students in your job?
Our job at Career Services is to help students with resumes,
determining majors, and job searches. Each year, we put on a
career fair, and will help students in any way that we can.
If we can't help, we'll try to find someone who can. I work
with students to schedule appointments with career
counselors and employers interviewing on campus. I also
collect student resumes and schedule interviews for them.
What is your
favorite thing about your role?
My role in Career Services is filled with
variety, and that's what keeps it interesting.
What is your
favorite thing to do outside of work?
I'm a homebody, so I love spending time with
my family, friends and cats. I have also become a member of
a group at the university that is hiking the North Georgia
portion of the Appalachian Trail, and recently went on my
first hike.
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Take note...
CTLE offers
class in teambuilding
Explore
ways to increase group co-operation
while maximizing individual
contributions. Michele Hill,
assistant professor in psychology &
sociology, will present sessions to
explore the tools and techniques
necessary to monitor and evaluate
the processes and the results
obtained in the team approach. Join
her in the Center for Teaching and
Learning Excellence, room 380 in the
Library Technology Center, March 12,
12:45 - 2:10 p.m., and Friday, March
13, 3-4 p.m.
Don't you wish you had a V8?
An introduction to the Vista 8
migration
The
University System of Georgia is
migrating from GeorgiaVIEW Vista 3
to Vista 8, the latest version of
Blackboard's Learning System, and
this month North Georgia will begin
its phase of the migration with
complete conversion to Vista 8 by
fall semester 2009. To learn more
about the Vista 8 environment, see
newly enhanced teaching tools, and
learn more about the differences
between Vista 3 and Vista 8, join
Judy McHan, of the Information &
Instructional Technology office, for
one of the following sessions. The
location for each of the sessions is
the Center for Teaching and Learning
Excellence, room 380 in the Library
Technology Center.
Friday,
March 13, 10 - 11 a.m.
Friday, March 13, 2 - 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 26, 1 - 2 p.m.
Friday, March 27, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Legislative
Update highlights education
legislation
Learn
about legislation under
consideration by the General
Assembly that is of significance to
the University System of Georgia
(USG) by checking out the current
issue of
Legislative
Update. This week's issue
includes information on House
Resolution 532, by Rep. Sharon
Cooper of Marietta, which would
create a Joint Study Committee on
Nursing Education in Georgia. The
resolution was introduced on March 3
and passed out of the House Health
and Human Services Committee on
March 6. If approved by the General
Assembly, the committee would
consist of 15 members of the
legislature, the nursing community
and the general public, and would be
staffed by the University System of
Georgia's (USG) Center for Health
Workforce Planning and Analysis. The
chair of the House Human Services
Committee and the chair of the
Senate Higher Education Committee
would serve as co chairpersons of
the study committee. If passed by
both chambers and signed into law by
the Governor, the study committee
would meet during the interim
between sessions.
Additionally, a new issue of
The System
Supplement, a monthly
report of University System of
Georgia news is available online.
Toastmasters Club forming
Presentation skills are crucial to
success in the workplace, yet many
people lack the confidence to speak
to an audience. If you find yourself
in that category, consider joining
the Toastmasters International
chapter now forming at North
Georgia. Toastmasters has been
around for more than 84 years and
offers members the opportunity to
practice and enhance their
communication and leadership skills.
If you are interested in joining
this new group, mark your calendar
to attend the next meeting on
Thursday, April 2, at 12:45 p.m. in
meeting room B of the Hoag Student
Center. Details about Toastmasters
are available
online.
Alumni
After Hours
 Nearly
150 alumni participated in the
Alumni After Hours event in
Gainesville on March 5 at the
Northeast Georgia History Center.
Sponsored by the North Georgia
Alumni Association and the Mike
Cottrell School of Business, the
event was the first of its kind for
North Georgia alumni living and
working in the Gainesville area, and
gave participants the opportunity to
socialize with each other and meet
faculty and staff members from the
university. The Alumni Association
looks forward to holding similar
events in other communities in the
coming months.
Pictured: Alumnae Abby Branan '05,
Leanne Gilleland '01, and Leslie
Fowler '81 served on the committee
that helped produce the Alumni After
Hours social.
Choirs to present post-tour concerts
The NGCSU
Singers and Le Belle Voci will
present two "homecoming" concerts,
following their spring break concert
tour of Scotland and England. The
concerts will be March 30 at
Dahlonega Baptist Church and March
31, in the chapel at Gainesville
First Baptist Church.
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Le Belle Voci |
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Both programs
will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets
are $5 for adults and $2 for
students and children (NGCSU
faculty, staff, and students
admitted free). The choirs will have
just returned from touring Scotland
and England (March 12-21) where
concerts are scheduled in the Auchterardar Parish Church
(Scotland), Wakefield Cathedral
(England), Lincoln Cathedral
(England), New Life Church (Scunthorpe,
England) and All Souls Church
(London, England).
Computer classes added
Due to
a great response to Continuing
Education's recent Microsoft
Office computer classes for
NGCSU faculty and staff, they
have scheduled two more classes
in April.
-
PowerPoint 2007
—
Basic
course: Friday, April 3, 9
a.m. - 12 noon
-
Word 2007 (transition from
2003) —
3 hour course: Friday, April 10, 9 a.m. -
12 noon
Each
class is limited to 15 students
and registrations will be
accepted on a first-come,
first-served basis. These
classes are free of charge;
however, a deposit check of $25
per class is needed to hold your
seat. Your check will be
returned to you at the beginning
of class. If you cancel at least
24 hours in advance of the class
start date, your check will be
returned. Choose the class that
meets your needs and call
Continuing Education at ext.
1918 to register.
[Back]
Campus in Action
Gessell presents at conference
Dr. Donna Gessell,
director of regional engagement and English
professor, presented a paper,
"'Deep Play': Notes on Teaching a Jane Austen Course
Using Experiential Learning Techniques," at the 35th
annual meeting of the Southeastern American Society
for Eighteenth-Century Studies in Charlotte, NC, on
March 6.
Chesnut honored for foreign language education
Dr. Jim Chesnut,
professor of modern languages, received the
President's Certificate of Excellence Award from the
Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) at
its annual conference in Atlanta this past week. The
award honors Chesnut's contributions to the state
foreign language educators-- K-12 AND post
secondary, as well as his leadership as past
president of FLAG, past president of Southern
Conference on Language Teaching, and his current
participation on the national board of the American
Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages.
Dr. Elizabeth
Combier, also a professor of modern languages,
is the new president-elect of FLAG.
Nursing faculty, students participate in state
conference
North Georgia College &
State University nursing faculty, students and
alumni were well represented at the Georgia
Association for Nursing Education (GANE) Conference
held in St. Simons, Ga., Feb. 19-21. Faculty and
students were involved in numerous committees,
governing boards, as well as presenters of podium
papers and posters.
In
addition nursing faculty, current fulltime students
and recent graduates of the MS in Nursing Education
attended the conference. Many alumni presented
papers or posters, and the current students assisted
with moderating rooms and assisting conference
organizers.
The nursing faculty who
participated are: (front row) Nancy Stahl, Kathy
Callahan, Brenda Smith and Myra Clark; (back row)
Jan Partin, Patti Simmons, Dr. Michelle Byrne, Olga
Turner, Dr. Nancy Cyr, Teresa Payne, Dotty Gabrels,
and Janet Melton. (Not pictured, Dr. Marina Slemmons).
North Georgia faculty and staff are invited
to submit news of professional accomplishments for the Campus in
Action section to
digest@ngcsu.edu.
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