University Business (UB) magazine recently announced the spring 2016 honorees of its Models of Excellence program—a national recognition program that honors institutions that have implemented innovative, effective, and interdepartmental initiatives that bolster student success. Four of the eight honorees are CIC members: Colorado College was recognized for its Bridge Scholars Program, Concordia University Wisconsin for its Comfort Dog Program, Mercy College (NY) for its Personalized Achievement Contract Program, and National University (CA) for its Veteran Student Academic Intervention Program. In addition, Duquesne University (PA) was one of six winners at UBTech’s annual Harman Innovation Awards that celebrate innovative AV and IT use at higher education institutions. In the June awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Duquesne received the People’s Choice Award for its FlexTech Classrooms.

 

The Research Corporation for Science Advancement named the 2016 Cottrell Scholars earlier this year. The program champions top early-career teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Three of the 24 winners are faculty members at CIC institutions: Kathryn Haas, assistant professor of chemistry at Saint Mary’s College (IN); Eliza Kempton, assistant professor of physics at Grinnell College (IA), and Dmytro Kosenkov, assistant professor of chemistry at Monmouth University (NJ).

 

This spring, the Office of Naval Research honored Laura Kloepper, assistant professor of biology at Saint Mary’s College (IN), with a 2016 Young Investigator Program (YIP) award that recognizes research efforts by professors in the first five years of their academic careers. Kloepper’s submission, “Biologically Inspired Approaches to Overcome Mutual Interference by Active Sensor Systems,” was one of 47 projects chosen.

 

In May, the Washington Consortium of the Liberal Arts announced the winners of its inaugural Champion of the Liberal Arts in Washington State (CLAWS) award, which honors individuals and institutions advocating for the value of the liberal arts, particularly those demonstrating a commitment to working with diverse student and community populations. Vi Boyer, president and CEO of the Independent Colleges of Washington, won the individual CLAWS award.

 

Justin Phillips, a graduate student studying addictions counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University who is also the founder and executive director of Overdose Lifeline, Inc., was honored several times recently for her work raising awareness about the heroin epidemic and increasing access to naloxone, a medication used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose. In April, she received a Jefferson Award for outstanding public service, was honored as one of the White House’s Champions of Change, and received the 2016 Richard M. Fairbanks Circle of Hope Award.

Southern Wesleyan University (SC) is working to give people with intellectual disabilities and head or spinal cord injuries a chance to be a part of the life of the college. The university is partnering with the Disabilities and Special Needs Boards of Pickens and Anderson counties and of South Carolina to plan a residential community in which students who are studying special education and adults with special needs will be roommates. Phase I of the project will include a 9,371-square-foot apartment-style living space to be built on 3.4 acres of university property; completion is expected by August 2017.

 

Bloomfield College (NJ) recently announced a scholarship program aimed at motivating students to do better in high school and prepare themselves for college. Through the online platform, Raise.me, students can now earn “micro-scholarships” from Bloomfield College starting in ninth grade for a wide range of individual achievements. (For example, students can earn $700 for each A in a core or fine arts course.) Raise.me is a social enterprise focused on expanding access to higher education, especially among low-income and first-generation students. In another project, Bloomfield College and the Bloomfield School District have joined forces to create an internship for the college’s special education majors. This spring, the partnership placed four Bloomfield College students into classrooms for students with autism at Oak View Elementary School. The partnership delivers authentic experiences to future special educators and provides additional assistance to the school district’s applied behavior analysis teachers and their classrooms.

 

This spring, Olivet College (MI) and Lansing Promise—a post-secondary education scholarship program that provides financial assistance to high school graduates within the Lansing School District—announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Olivet will provide Lansing Promise-eligible students with the opportunity to have an immersive, residential educational experience below the cost of tuition, room, and board at Michigan State University. Olivet is the only private liberal arts college represented as a Lansing Promise institution.

 

The University of Saint Joseph (CT) announced a partnership with Hartford Promise, an organization devoted to the financial and academic support of Hartford’s college-bound students. Hartford Promise will award scholarships of up to $20,000 to eligible Hartford students attending an accredited four-year college or university, and up to $5,000 to those attending two-year institutions. The University of Saint Joseph will supplement the program by offering eligible students a housing scholarship for four years.

 

Newberry College (SC) in April entered into an agreement with the Charleston School of Law to expand opportunities for students interested in pursuing the study of law and to make those studies more affordable. Under the agreement, Charleston School of Law will award a $5,000 renewable scholarship to Newberry graduates who are admitted to the law school.

 

Thomas College’s (ME) new Pathways Program allows Maranacook High School students to take enough dual enrollment and online courses to graduate with their high school diploma and their associate’s degree from Thomas. The Pathways Program consists of courses on campus in a one-week intensive format in the summer, online courses delivered by Thomas College faculty to Maranacook students, and dual enrollment courses delivered at Maranacook by instructors who meet Thomas College requirements as adjunct instructors.

 

Wabash College (IN) and the local Montgomery County Health Department will collaborate to educate Wabash students about the role of public health in communities and to promote public health as a potential career path for the students. Wabash students will intern at the health department, learning about local public health issues and providing the health department with additional assistance to implement local programs, such as mosquito monitoring and control and educational campaigns.

 

Westmont College (CA) in May announced the completion of Strength for Today, a comprehensive drive that funds initiatives and facilities advancing leadership, affordability, and innovation. Originally set at $75 million, the campaign raised more than $153 million, becoming the largest in the college’s history.

 

In April, Lebanon Valley College (PA) received $10 million, the largest gift in the college’s history, to build a new health sciences building. The building will house the college’s physical therapy, athletic training, exercise science, and future health profession-related programs. It will be named after longtime donors Edward H. and Jeanne Donlevy, who made the gift. Edward Donlevy served on the board of trustees from 1975–2011.

 

McKendree University (IL) recently announced the most ambitious fundraising goal in its 188-year history—a $40 million capital campaign to support the renovation of Voigt Science Hall and Holman Library. Before launching the public phase of the campaign in May, the university had raised almost $25 million of its goal in donations and pledges.

 

A $2.5 million estate gift from James R. Rinker (1958) of Binghamton, New York, led to the May groundbreaking for a 26,000-square-foot addition to Trine University’s (IN) Best Hall of Science. Trine’s School of Health Sciences was named the Rinker-Ross School of Health Sciences in Rinker’s honor. The $6.6 million expansion project will add seven laboratories, 12 offices, and group study spaces to Best Hall, along with 140 new parking spaces.

 

Westminster College (MO) announced that four alumni couples donated a total of $2 million during the spring alumni weekend to help the institution carry out its mission. Also this spring, Sacred Heart University (CT) received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to support math and biology majors who are considering teaching careers. The Robert Noyce program supports college efforts to graduate highly qualified STEM teachers for high-need school districts. Sacred Heart’s Biology and Mathematics Educator Scholarship Program will provide tuition assistance to 18 Robert Noyce scholars in those two subjects.

 

Newman University (KS) in May received two large gifts for its Facing Forward campaign to renovate and build new science facilities. The Tom and Myra Devlin Family made a gift of $500,000 to support the upcoming Bishop Gerber Science Center. And the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, awarded a $250,000 grant in support of the campaign.

 

Anderson University (SC) established in June a new College of Health Professions, comprised of four distinct schools: the existing School of Nursing, and new Schools of Human Performance, Allied Health, and Physical Therapy.

 

In May, Doane University (NE) announced that it elevated its education department to a College of Education to provide the infrastructure to serve students fully as the program expands.

 

The University of St. Thomas (TX) Houston School of Education and Human Services recently launched a doctorate in ethical leadership. The program prepares students to sit for the superintendent certification test, a requirement to assume senior administration positions in educational settings.

 

DePaul University (IL) has launched the first-ever in the U.S. MA program in refugee and forced migration studies. The courses are taught by faculty members in psychology, business, law, public management, political science, history, public health, and communications, and students will intern with organizations such as the American Red Cross, RefugeeOne, and World Relief Chicago.

 

This spring, Drury University (MO) launched a master’s degree in nonprofit and civic leadership that blends online and evening classes for working professionals. Leaders of local political, economic, and cultural organizations will serve as guest lecturers and mentors, and students will have opportunities to collaborate and network with faculty of Drury’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership. About half of all employees in the university’s community work for nonprofits.

 

Loras College (IA) will offer a new graduate program in school counseling this fall. The two-year program includes seven core courses in psychology and three clinical courses in school counseling. Taught by faculty in both psychology and education, the curriculum is designed to prepare students for licensure as a school counselor in Iowa.

 

Tusculum College (TN) will offer a new master of science degree in family nurse practitioner this fall. The program will be housed in the Ronald H. and Verna June Meen Center for Science and Mathematics, where the students will have access to state-of-the-art equipment specialized for their degree.

 

The Cedarville University (OH) School of Nursing is expanding its online master of science in nursing program by reinstating a revamped nurse educator track. The track is designed to prepare students for a career in an academic setting, allowing them to train future nurses to work in the health care industry.

 

Bridgewater College (VA) has established its first graduate degree program, a master of science in athletic training, building on one of the college’s most in-demand undergraduate programs. The college will welcome its first group of graduate students in May 2017.

 

The University of Denver’s (CO) Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science now offers a one-year master’s degree in cybersecurity. The fast-track, experiential degree will equip students from any undergraduate discipline with the technical foundation for an accelerated career in the fastest-growing industry in the nation.

 

Husson University (ME) will launch six new programs this fall: an MS degree in pharmacology; MBA degrees with concentrations in biotechnology and innovation, and in risk management; and BS degrees in biochemistry, data analytics, and exercise science.

 

Campbell University (NC) will launch a new bachelor of science in engineering program this fall. The first concentrations will include mechanical and chemical/pharmaceutical engineering; future concentrations may include electrical and biomedical engineering.

 

King’s College (PA) announced in May that it will offer bachelor of science degree programs in civil and mechanical engineering beginning in the 2017–2018 academic year. The two traditional four-year programs will be offered in addition to the cooperative 3-2 dual degree program in engineering that King’s established with the University of Notre Dame in 2013.

 

St. Thomas Aquinas College’s (NY) School of Education has introduced a new bachelor of science degree in early childhood and childhood education (birth–grade 6). The program offers dual certification.

 

In the spring, Malone University (OH) began offering an online program for teachers to gain an endorsement as a gifted-student intervention specialist. The endorsement will help teachers identify gifted students, differentiate the curriculum to meet their needs, and support other teachers in meeting the needs of gifted students. This fall, Malone’s School of Business and Leadership will offer majors in marketing and finance.

 

McDaniel College (MD) this spring launched Encompass Distinction, a new academic program in innovation and entrepreneurship that is open to students in any major. The program combines courses, off-campus learning experiences, and mentorship for students to gain broad-ranging skill sets required for enterprise management.

 

Indiana Wesleyan University this fall will offer a new major in design for social impact. The major includes a 48-hour core that engages students in private, civic, and community partnerships to create solutions to persistent social problems using a holistic approach to the design of systems, places, and spaces. As part of the Art and Design division, students will take core art classes combined with specialized design for social impact classes, such as human centered design, social innovation, and grant writing/fundraising.

 

Dean College (MA) will launch a bachelor of science in sport fitness, recreation, and coaching this fall. The new program will prepare students for careers in coaching, physical education, exercise science, and more.

 

Starting this fall, Westminster College (MO) will offer a sports and entertainment business management degree directed by Jack Croghan, one of the region’s top sports and entertainment industry leaders. Students enrolled in the program will study marketing, sales, financials, venue operations, logistics, and law and management related to sports and entertainment.

 

In May, Bethel College (IN) began a pilot initiative that offers bilingual adults a new option for obtaining a bachelor’s degree. The Spanish-assisted business degree is the first of its kind in the United States and is geared toward Hispanic adults who wish to earn a college degree but have stayed out of the classroom due to language barriers. When students begin the program, classes are taught by Spanish-speaking professors and class discussions and assignments are predominantly in Spanish. As students approach the completion of their degree, classes and assignments are in English. The curriculum is identical to what is taught in Bethel’s current business program.

 

The new “Finish Up” program at Westminster College (MO) will help adults with some college credit complete their degree. With flexible class schedules, students in the new bachelor of arts in leadership degree can gain credits for work experience or prior college credits.

 

 

In April, Robert Morris University (PA) dedicated Scaife Hall, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences’s new 30,000-square-foot home. Giving the nursing school its own dedicated building for the first time, Scaife Hall houses classrooms and laboratories, faculty offices, and the Regional Research and Innovation in Simulation Education (RISE) Center. The latter features high-tech suites for controlling, observing, and learning through human or computerized-mannequin simulation health scenarios. (Photo courtesy of Robert Morris University)

Moravian College (PA) is constructing a $23 million academic building on its Main Street Campus to house its expanding health sciences, nursing, public health, and other health-related programs. The 55,000-square-foot building, named the Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Center for Health Sciences, will feature leading-edge technology, enhanced classrooms and research labs, a health informatics computer lab, a virtual cadaver lab, and creative spaces for student and faculty interaction.

 

Gannon University (PA) acquired a former Verizon Call Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, in April. The multi-story building will be used as the university’s interim library during the large-scale renovation of the Nash Library that began this summer. The Nash Library project will create new entrances and 29 new study rooms and will incorporate a green roof, a computer lab, and the STEM and Writing Center.

Effective July 1, Cabrini College (PA) changed its name to Cabrini University, and Tennessee Wesleyan College changed its name to Tennessee Wesleyan University.

 

In May, Centenary College (NJ) officially changed its name to Centenary University, and Doane College (NE) changed its name to Doane University.

 

The University of Saint Francis (IN) will open a new campus in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, this fall. The town’s former chamber of commerce building will house the university’s business school and media entrepreneurship training in the arts program. The music technology program also will move downtown, into another historic, renovated building.​