Juniata College (PA) students have been using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to create digital maps in many of their classes. Here, an assistant professor of environmental science and information technology helps students map every environmental restoration and remediation project through Pennsylvania. Juniata is in the third year of a collaborative GIS project with the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Photo credit: courtesy of Juniata College.

Winning Fulbright Awards
The number of Fulbright scholars from CIC institutions has increased dramatically over the years. From 1992-93 through 1998-99, CIC colleges and universities produced an average of 19 Fulbright scholars each year, while in the past five years, from 1998-99 through 2003-04, the number nearly tripled to an average of 48, with an all-time high of 58 faculty scholars in 2001-02. This year, Fulbright awards went to 46 CIC faculty members.

Teaching and Learning Outside the Classrooms
A biology professor at Drury University (MO) and his students are tracking the water quality of Missouri and Arkansas rivers. The project will help establish benchmarks for drainageways and data-driven strategies for protecting them, while offering undergraduate students a chance to work with field protocols at a level usually not available until graduate school. Working with the James River Basin Partnership, Stephen Jones and his students have already measured the health of several creeks, rivers, and lakes—and found an increasing impact of development along these areas. Also at Drury, students have been given the opportunity to conduct research aboard a NASA jet known as the “Weight-less Wonder.” The experiments, carried out during four separate flights since 1998, attempted to model orbital motion using a force other than gravity. NASA was so impressed by the students’ research that they allowed a fourth flight (overlooking the “three flights only” clause of the Weight-less Wonder program).
     M.B.A. students at Xavier University (OH) have been traveling on buses to the men’s correctional section of the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, to see first-hand the consequences of bad judgment. Xavier’s director of the Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, Jeff Scheeler, first put forth the idea of prison visits while serving as a Supreme Court Fellow in 1999. This year, he and 31 students made the trip to Lexington where, over the course of the day, they spent time talking with inmates and participated in discussion groups on various topics. Scheeler’s goal is to open students’ eyes to white-collar crime, in an era scarred by business scandals like those at Enron,WorldCom, and Tyco International.
     Faculty members and administrators at Warner Southern College (FL) are rising to the challenge to meet a need for more qualified teachers in Florida (due to a state-mandated smaller class size). The college has developed new teacher education scholarships and focused on training high-quality teachers for their communities. Their efforts have especially paid off over the past five years, as 100 percent of teacher education graduates have passed the Florida Teachers Certification Exam (FTCE) and received placement. Mercy College (NY) is also playing an important role in training teachers—specifically, teaching individuals who switch careers to teach in some of New York City’s most troubled public schools. Under a new program called Teaching for Results, Mercy has expanded its “teaching fellows” to nearly 700 students from 150 last year. The effort was recognized by First Lady Laura Bush, who visited Mercy in September to applaud the successful program.

Recognizing Success
After 35 years as president of Alverno College (WI), Sister Joel Read has stepped down from her presidential post. She leaves behind a legacy of success at Alverno that goes beyond her roles as president, professor, education leader, and role model. She succeeded in strengthening academic programs focused on improving the personal and professional development of women, and she led Alverno to the completion of a $45.5 million capital campaign. In 1986, Sister Joel was named one of a handful of college presidents who have broken new educational ground in the past 100 years in the book, The Many Lives of Academic Presidents; and in 1988 she received CIC’s Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service.
     CIC president Rita Bornstein of Rollins College (FL) was one of two recipients of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University’s most prestigious award, the Henry A. Rosso Medal, for lifetime achievement in ethical fundraising. The medal is presented annually to individuals who have shown a dedication to emphasizing the ethics and values of philanthropy, and Bornstein was chosen for her “exceptional leadership during her years of service in higher education administration.” Congratulations are due as well to a Susquehanna University (PA) professor of English, Gary Fincke, who recently won the Flannery O’Connor Prize for fiction writing.
     Several other awards were presented to CIC members this fall: Saint Michael’s College (VT) became the 270th college in the U.S. to be invited to establish a Phi Beta Kappa chapter on its campus. Phi Beta Kappa is regarded as the preeminent American honor society dedicated to promoting excellence in the liberal arts. To be considered, an institution must have a faculty with at least 10 percent Phi Beta Kappa members. The communications department at Elizabethtown College (PA) was one of two in the nation to be honored as a program of excellence by the National Communication Association (NCA); and Dominican University (IL) received the 2003 American Dietetic Association Diversity Action Award for significantly increasing its enrollment of minority students and by implementing a high school student visitation center.
     Congratulations to Michael Miller, president of University of St. Thomas (TX), who was recently appointed as Archbishop and Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome.

Forming International Partnerships
Wilson College (PA) has partnered with Effat College, a Saudi Arabian women’s college founded by Princess Lolowah Al-Faisal. The partnership is a reflection of the shared commitment of both institutions to educate future women leaders who can shape public policy in their respective countries. Beginning next summer, a group of Effat students will study U.S. history and culture at Wilson, and Wilson students and faculty will have the opportunity to study abroad at Effat. The first Wilson exchange student is expected to study at Effat in the Spring 2004 semester.
     Nazareth College (NY) president Robert Miller has signed agreements with six major universities abroad, as part of an effort to create a global network of sister institutions. The institutions now partnered with Nazareth are: Semmelweis Medical University in Budapest, Hungary; University of Pécs in Pécs, Hungary; Uzhgorod National University in Uzhgorod, Ukraine; Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic; Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (EDHEC) in Nice, France; and Università degli Studi “G. D’Annunzio” in Pescara-Chietti, Italy.
     Another important global partnership has been formed between Bluffton College (OH) and Vietnam’s An Giang University. The “Bending Bamboo” project helps Vietnamese and American students learn from each other, while bridging the gap between a rich nation and a developing country. Students from both institutions discuss mutually agreed upon questions about development and confront the legacy of the Vietnam War. “Bending Bamboo” got international recognition recently when Bluffton representatives were selected as one of the 12 panels at a conference in Thailand. Bluffton’s panel was the only one with student participants.
     Another noteworthy partnership to report: Thailand’s Ministry of Education has chosen Edgewood College (WI) as an educational partner to help Thai students prepare for the global economy.

Students, faculty, and staff from Charleston Southern University (SC) gathered to mark the groundbreaking of an $11.3 million, 54,000 square-foot science building. The facility will greatly enhance the University’s science facilities for current students and provide a recruitment incentive for potential students. Photo credit: courtesy of Charleston Southern University.

Sustaining the Environment
A new “Gemcar” has been driving around Houghton College (NY) this fall, the latest addition to a fleet of campus vehicles. The Gemcar is a totally electric, zero-emission, four-seat vehicle donated to the college by Daimler-Chrysler Corporation. The car can be legally driven on roads with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less. It plugs into a standard 110-volt wall outlet for charging. Houghton was selected to receive the car due to its membership in the Clean Cities Coalition.

Turning Around
Bellevue University (NE); Chatham College (PA); Muskingum College (OH); Rocky Mountain College (MT); and University of the Ozarks (AR) were featured in the August 1 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education for surviving economic hard times by seeking community support and creating new programs. The lead article on Rocky Mountain highlighted an endowment increase from $700,000 to nearly $20 million, enrollment doubled to 800 students, the renovation of several historic buildings, the completion of a new student center and state-of-the-art library, and the removal of a structural deficit in 1994. The college also added new programs designed to meet community needs, such as aviation, equestrian studies, and a physician assistant degree.

Increasing National Security
Shenandoah University (VA) has received one of 12 grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support curricular development in bioterrorism—part of $4.4 billion in federal spending on bioterrorism preparedness. Shenandoah won over other universities across the country for the $309,579 grant, which will help further what the university has already done to improve response training to terrorist or other disasters—namely, the creation of the First Responder Training Center in Loudoun County (VA).
     In another federal effort to increase national security, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded $4.67 million in grants to 17 Hispanic-serving colleges and universities. Three of the grants, which will be used for equipment to enhance science programs, were awarded to CIC institutions: Barry University (FL) for “Implementation of an Integrated Laboratory System in the Microbial Sciences;” Mercy College (NY) for “Facilitating and Enhancing the Biotechnological Learning Experience;” and Our Lady of the Lake University (TX) for “Enhancing Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Science Education and Research for Chemistry.”

A new Center for Ethics, Science, and Technology recently opened at Viterbo University (WI) and was dedicated in October. The $11 million building houses new state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for all of Viterbo's science classes, as well as additional space for distance-learning classrooms. Photo credit: courtesy of Viterbo University.

Getting Grants
The biology department at Elizabethtown College (PA) has received $100,000 from the Whitaker Foundation to strengthen student/faculty research and provide 13 student research stipends for summer 2004. The college has already used a portion of the grant to purchase an ultracentrifuge to separate biological molecules, and an ultraviolet microscope digital camera. In addition, the grant will provide funds to develop and implement a program designed to build excitement campus-wide and regionally for the sciences—through speakers, interdisciplinary research, and the creation of a publication of student research endeavors. Another science-minded CIC member, Albright College (PA), received $200,000 from State Senator Michael A. O’Pake to support the design and construction of a planned new Science Center, as well as a $50,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to purchase new instruments for the chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and environmental sciences departments.
     A number of other impressive grants have been awarded to CIC members this fall: The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Cedar Crest College (PA) $281,000 to develop the Science Majors Actively Recruited for Teaching (SMART) program, with the goal of providing exceptional teaching experiences to future mathematics and science educators. Merrimack College (MA) and five community partners received a $295,000 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to develop an after-school program to assist 180 middle school students with homework and provide hands-on enrichment in science and math. California Lutheran University was awarded $1.1 million from Campus EAI (Cleveland) for assessment and planning services, on-site training for system administrators, and future upgrades to help keep CLU on the cutting edge of information technology. The U.S. Department of Education’s Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program has granted $139,000 to Mount Mary College (WI) to help globalize the college’s curriculum and train faculty members to broaden the perspective of their respective courses. In addition, The Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha, WI has awarded $299,937 to Ohio Northern University’s College of Engineering to help raise public awareness of the importance of engineering as well as encourage students to choose and stay with engineering as a career choice; Utica College’s (NY) Institute of Gerontology has received $449,697 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support an interdisciplinary training program for faculty members from HBCUs to increase the number of allied health professionals sensitive to cross-cultural aging issues; a Tri-State University (IN) alumnus, Clifford Sponsel of Santa Barbara, CA, recently contributed $1 million toward the renovation of Sniff Hall, an administrative building that will house the new “Sponsel Administration Center;” and University of St. Francis’s (IL) College of Nursing and Allied Health was awarded nearly $100,000 by the Retirement Research Foundation (Chicago) to further the study of geriatric nursing and help to improve the future health care to older adults.

Completing Campaigns
Bay Path College’s (MA) “Seize the Day, Seize the Dream” campaign surpassed its $9 million goal this fall, fulfilling the college’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign in its 100-year history. As a result, Bay Path has built and dedicated the new Blake Student Commons; renovated its business, communications, and technology center; created the Sullivan Career Development Center; and added new bachelor’s degree programs in information technology, forensic science, and biotechnology. Converse College (SC) completed the most successful capital campaign in its history: $82.5 million in private gifts for college academic programs, facilities, and endowment. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (IN) announced the success of its $21 million campaign, “Taking the Lead for Women, the Woods, and the World.” And, Tiffin University’s (OH) “Invest in What Matters” campaign raised over $11 million, making it the largest in the university’s history.

At Warren Wilson College (NC), an Environmental Chemistry class conducted alligator research at the University of Florida. The students assisted in a project to study the effect of pollution on alligator health. Preliminary data found more deformed alligators in the lake with higher levels of chromium than in the pristine lake. Photo credit: courtesy of Warren Wilson College.

Dedicating New Facilities
Several CIC members have announced new facilities on their campuses: Messiah College (PA) dedicated its newest and largest academic building, Boyer Hall, a 95,000 square foot facility that will house the School of Education and Social Sciences, as well as the School of the Humanities; Mount Mercy College (IA) dedicated a new business and science center, Basile Hall; Hoehl Welcome Center was unveiled this fall at Saint Michael’s College (VT)—designed to welcome prospective students and their parents, and more commonly known as the “living room” on campus; and Carroll College (MT) has dedicated its new Civil Engineering Laboratory—a 39,000 square foot facility that will provide more materials, hydraulics, machinery, and structures-testing capabilities to students and faculty. The dedication of Juniata College’s (PA) new Shuster Hall, a multi-purpose research and residential building, marks the first step in creating a lakeside residential research station where students will “live and breathe” science for an entire semester in a natural environment; Saint Leo University (FL) recently dedicated two new residence halls on its campus, to offer apartment-style living for 180 students; and Mount Saint Mary College (NY) also dedicated a new $14 million residence hall on its campus, Sakac Hall.

Announcing New Programs
Utah has one of the lowest percentages of minority students enrolled in graduate school, and Westminster College (UT) is working to change that statistic. The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the college a $1.1 million grant to support a new program, the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, aimed at helping low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students earn doctorate degrees and become better represented in graduate school.
     A new interdisciplinary Holocaust Studies program is underway at Albright College (PA). The degree will provide critical lessons on the history of the Holocaust, investigation of universal human behavior, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible citizen. Back in 1993, Albright established a Holocaust Resource Center that consists of more than 2,000 volumes and 150 videos, as well as dozens of taped interviews with survivors and liberators. Loras College (IA) is offering a new major in integrated visual arts, a program that combines studio-based art, graphic design, digital skills, and interactive multimedia. It will provide the groundwork for careers in animation, graphic design, print production, and web design. College of Santa Fe (NM) unveiled a new bachelor’s degree in documentary studies. The program will draw upon the expertise of the college’s arts and sciences faculty, and appeal to students looking for a way to be more actively involved in current issues. Courses will emphasize international fieldwork and artistic expression. Utica College (NY) is now offering a master of science in liberal studies. The degree will serve the diverse needs of the adult learner seeking intellectual development, personal enrichment, and career advancement. Quincy University (IL) is offering a new graduate degree in counseling in response to the need for continuing and advanced education for area human services professionals. Sweet Briar College (VA) will offer its first two graduate degrees this year—a master of arts in teaching (MAT) and a master of education in differentiated curriculum and instruction (MEd). And finally, Caldwell College (NJ) has launched a master of business administration (MBA) degree this fall. The program will incorporate intensive business courses in all disciplines as well as other courses reflective of today’s business environment, emphasizing information technology.

Seton Hill University (PA) unveiled an artist’s rendering of its new recreation complex, designed by Celli-Flynn Brennan Turkall Architects & Planners. Photo credit: courtesy of Seton Hill University.

Changing Identities
Point Park College attained university status this fall and is now Point Park University (PA). Immaculata University (PA), after 83 years as a women’s institution, has begun admitting men and will become fully coeducational.

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Last updated: December 2003
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