Meeker returns fulltime to
Institutional Advancement; Albers named athletic director -
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| Meeker |
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| Albers |
Steve Meeker, vice president for Institutional Advancement at Black
Hills State University, will return fulltime to the advancement office
in order to focus all of his efforts on his duties there. Since the fall
of 2003, Meeker has also been serving as athletic director. Jhett
Albers, associate athletic director, will take over as athletic
director.
Dr. Thomas Flickema, president of BHSU, announced the changes
Thursday
and praised both individuals for their dedication and hard work.
“Steve has done a marvelous job for us as athletic director,”
Flickema stated. “He took over the athletic department at a time of
uncertainty and confusion and created a positive environment and made a
series of decisions that will have a profoundly positive effect on the
long range development of the athletic program. He stepped in at a
critical time and handled all challenges superbly.”
According to Flickema, Meeker brought the athletic department through
a difficult time, including a Title IX review, and now turns the
position over to Albers who has shown strong leadership and
decision-making skills.
“Jhett has impressed everyone with his ability to make sound
judgments and his organizational skills,” said Flickema. ”He has been
associate athletic director for two years and understands the needs of
the athletic program and the role of the athletic director. We are
delighted to have an individual of Jhett’s qualifications available.”
Meeker says he is excited to once again focus all of his attention on
leading campus fundraising efforts to raise money for academic
scholarships and capital needs.
“It’s important to enhance our fundraising efforts for the entire
campus and I’m dedicated to doing that,” Meeker said. "As vice president
of institutional advancement for Black Hills State University, I am
entrusted with raising funds for BHSU to support building endeavors,
acquire the latest equipment, fund endowed chairs, and most critically,
underwrite student scholarships. That is what I'm committed to doing.”
Albers will continue to serve as head volleyball coach and is looking
forward to taking over the athletic director duties.
"In the past two years as associate athletic director, I’ve had the
experience of being surrounded by quality people, not just in the
athletic department and Young Center, but in all areas of the university
campus, as well alumni, boosters and members of our community who all
contribute to the success of an athletic department. I am grateful for
this opportunity and looking forward to the future role of athletic
director at Black Hills State University,” Albers said.
Both Meeker and Albers are graduates of BHSU and have longstanding
records of exceptional and dedicated service to the university.
Meeker first began working at BHSU in 1986 as an admissions
counselor. He was later named coordinator of enrollment management. In
1990 he was named director of advancement, and in 2001, Meeker was
promoted to his current position as vice president for institutional
advancement. Meeker is a native South Dakotan who graduated from Britton
High School in 1980 and BHSU in 1984.
Albers served as the head varsity volleyball coach at Spearfish High
School prior to joining the coaching staff at BHSU in 1999. Albers
earned a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a master’s degree in 1991 from
BHSU.
Regis
University staff visit BHSU campus to learn about retention program -
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A
six-member team of staff people of Regis University in Denver, Colo.,
recently visited Black Hills State University to discuss details of a
successful retention program instituted at the university. The Regis
staff members met with Ven Thompson, director of institutional research,
Dr. Joe Valades, director of retention, and other members of the
retention center at BHSU.
The Regis staff members
initiated the visit after hearing Thompson and Valades present at a
national retention symposium earlier this year. Thompson and Valades
presented a paper, “Establishing a First-Time, Full-Time Retention
Center” at the Consortium for the Student Retention Data Exchange
Symposium in Dallas, Texas. The paper was among seven papers that were
chosen for the consortium’s best practices track.
“They are looking to advance
their retention efforts and after hearing our presentation at the
national symposium, they requested a site visit for additional details
and insight,” Valades said. He noted that they are most interested in
establishing an early alert system, known as PASS, similar to the one
BHSU is currently using.
The customized computer
program PASS, an acronym for Program for Academic Student Success,
provides early alerts of potential problems which leads to early
intervention via personal contact. The system, which was created and
developed by Thompson, integrates current data and creates a system for
faculty to easily and quickly notify the retention office of potential
problems. Through PASS, faculty have access to class rosters and are
asked to make referrals when they notice extended absences from class or
other potential problems. The faculty referrals are sent directly to the
retention office where staff members evaluate the concern and determine
the best way to respond. Last year, the PASS system received more than
900 referrals.
“Overall, I think it was a
very successful visit,” Valades said. “There was excellent open dialogue
among the staff people.
He noted that Regis is
seeking a program that will include faculty input submitted
electronically. An electronic system would be especially useful at Regis
because they have a large contingency of online students.
The BHSU retention program at
BHSU was established in 2002 at the direction of Dr. Thomas Flickema,
BHSU president, following the creation of a statewide task force on
retention. Since then the retention rate at BHSU has increased steadily
and is currently at the highest rate in 10 years.
According to Valades, the
mission of the retention center at BHSU is to offer a student-centered,
service-oriented office focused on ensuring student success. The center
provides assistance and information to students, faculty and staff in an
effort to maintain student enrollment, enhance student satisfaction with
their university experience and facilitate academic success.
Although the BHSU retention
rate is still below the national average, the rate is currently the
highest it’s been in the last decade. The retention rate for freshmen at
BHSU has increased steadily since the program was established.
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Ven Thompson, director of institutional research at BHSU,
explains details of the BHSU retention effort with Kelly McBride
Hartman, director of the Enrollment Communication Center at
Regis University in Denver, Colo. The Regis staff members
initiated a visit to Black Hills State University after hearing
Thompson and Joe Valades, director of retention, present at a
national retention symposium earlier this year. |
Yellow Jackets to host bonus
basketball game - top
The Black Hills State University men’s basketball team has added a
home game to their previously released schedule.
The additional game, in which the Yellow Jackets will play the
University of Great Falls Argonauts, will be held Monday, Dec. 19 at 7
p.m. in the Donald E. Young Sports and Fitness Center gymnasium.
The Yellow Jackets are currently 3-0 in the conference. Their next
regularly scheduled game will be Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. the University of
Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Then the Jackets will host the annual Perkins
Classic at the Young Center Thursday, Dec. 29 and Friday, Dec. 30 at 8
p.m. The tournament will feature BHSU, South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology, Dana College and Concordia University.
University Assessment
Committee minutes - top
The University Assessment Committee met Wednesday,
Dec. 14 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Meier Hall Conference Room.
Present were: Earley, Siewert, Sarkar, Hagerty, S.
Hupp, Romkema, and Alsup. Absent were: D. Wessel, C. Cremean, and Brandy
Sickler.
Assessment plans of new general education and
institutional requirements:
- Hagerty reported that the General Education
Committee was still working on but had not found an acceptable way
to measure student learning in global issues/globalization.
Undergraduate research/creative activity and
writing intensive requirements:
- Chair reported that the deans were doing a sample
of syllabi to make sure that the new requirements were being listed
in the syllabi of those courses designated by faculty as meeting
this requirement.
- Chair reported that about half of the assessment
plans had been submitted with some given permission to submit next
semester. Chair asked each of the members to read the plans and try
to decide if those plans would actually accomplish the goals of the
institution. The committee will begin to review and approve or
disapprove them in January.
- There was considerable discussion about what
constitutes a successful assessment plan.
The next meeting will be Monday, Jan. 23 from 12 to 1
p.m. in the Meier Hall Conference Room.
Grant opportunities announced -
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Below are program materials received in the Grants Office, Woodburn
309, through Wednesday, Dec. 14. For copies of the information, contact
the office at 642-6204 or e-mail requests to
grants@bhsu.edu. Fellowship
information will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin board near
the information desk.
Interpreting America's Historic Places: Implementation Grants
(NEH)
Implementation grants for Interpreting America's Historic Places
through the National Endowment for the Humanities support public
humanities programs that exploit the evocative power of historic places
to address themes and issues central to American history and culture.
Projects may interpret a single historic site, a series of sites, an
entire neighborhood, a town or community, or a larger geographical
region. The place as a whole must be significant to American history,
and the project must convey its historical importance to visitors.
Applicants for implementation grants should have already done most of
the planning for their projects, including consultation with scholars
and programming advisers, identification of the key humanities themes,
articulation of program components, and performance of relevant
research.
Deadline: Feb. 6, 2006. A link to the full announcement is
available at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/NEH/OPUB/OPO/NEH-BR-02062006/Grant.html.
National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on
People, Prosperity, and the Planet (EPA)
The third annual P3 Grants are being announced by the Environmental
Protection Agency. P3 competition will provide grants to teams of
college students to research, develop, and design solutions to
challenges to sustainability. P3 highlights people, prosperity, and the
planet – the three pillars of sustainability – as the next step beyond
P2 or pollution prevention. The P3 Award program is a partnership
between the public and private sectors to progress toward sustainability
by achieving the mutual goals of economic prosperity, protection of the
natural systems of the planet, and providing a higher quality of life
for its people. EPA and its partners offer the P3 Award competition to
respond to the technical needs of the developed and developing world in
moving towards the goal of sustainability. See the P3 Award website (www.epa.gov/P3)
for details about this program.
Deadline: Feb. 20, 2006. More information can be found at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/EPA/OGD/GAD/EPA-G2006-P3-Z6 /Grant.html.
Preservation and Access Education and Training Grants (NEH)
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announces the
following grant opportunities in promotion of the humanities. These
grants support national or regional (multi-state) education and training
programs on the care and management of, and the creation of intellectual
access to, library, archival, and material culture collections. Eligible
projects include:
- the development and presentation of courses and programs on the
care and management of collections for staff in cultural
organizations who are responsible for the day-to-day care of
collections;
- the development and presentation of courses or programs that
focus on the skills and knowledge required to provide or enhance
intellectual access to humanities collections;
- graduate programs in preservation and conservation; and
- preservation field services that serve a multi-state region and
provide surveys, consultations, workshops, reference services, and
informational materials to the staff of institutions responsible for
the care of humanities collections.
Deadline: July 3, 2006. See
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/NEH/OPUB/OPO/PE/Grant.html for
details.
National Network for Environmental Management Studies Fellowship
(EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the NNEMS
program in 1986 to foster a growing interest among higher education
students in environmental careers. The NNEMS program is a comprehensive
fellowship program that provides students an opportunity to participate
in a fellowship project that is directly related to their field of
study. The NNEMS program is sponsored by EPA’s Office of Environmental
Education (OEE). Only applications submitted by associate,
undergraduate, graduate, and advanced students will be considered under
this announcement.
Deadline: Feb. 13, 2006. The link to the full announcement is
available at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/EPA/OGD/GAD/EPA-OEE-06-01/Grant.html.
National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program
The Department of Interior through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreement
Program (CAP), has a requirement by which the Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) will facilitate forming partnerships among the Federal
and non-Federal sectors to assist in building the NSDI. The purpose of
the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreements
Program (CAP) is to fund innovative projects in the geospatial data
community to build the infrastructure necessary to effectively discover,
access, share, manage, and use digital geographic data. The NSDI
consists of the technologies, policies, organizations, and people
necessary to promote cost-effective production, and the ready
availability and greater utilization of geospatial data among a variety
of sectors, disciplines, and communities. Specific NSDI areas of
emphasis include: metadata documentation, clearinghouse establishment,
framework development, standards implementation, and geographic
information system (GIS) organizational coordination.
Deadline: Feb. 1, 2006. A link to the complete announcement
can be found at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/DOI/USGS/OAG/06HQPA0007/Grant.html.
Faculty Research Committee funds
available - top
The Faculty Research Committee has funds available for the current
fiscal year. Proposal forms are available on the Grants Office
website.
It is anticipated that successful applicants will request support for
research equipment, travel to research sites, support for the production
of creative work, or release time for research or creative work.
Preference is given to new applicants, particularly in the areas of
education, business, social sciences and humanities.
The committee reviews proposals on an ongoing basis. Applicants are
encouraged to review submission requirements and to contact the
committee members for advice prior to completing their proposals.
Committee members are Steve Andersen, Dan Bergey, Dorothy Fuller,
Vincent King, Tim Molseed, Rob Schurrer, David Siemens, Sheng Yang, and
Kathleen Parrow, chair.
Applications are now being accepted for the first meeting in the
spring semester. To be considered at that meeting, applications need to
be submitted to the Grants Office, Woodburn 212, by Thursday, Jan. 26,
2006.
Proposals are now being accepted electronically. To submit a proposal
electronically, attach it to an email and send it to
PeggyGubbrud@bhsu.edu. A
signed original must also be submitted to the Grants Office, Unit 9504,
or delivered to Woodburn Hall 212.
Instructional improvement grants
available - top
The Instructional Improvement Committee (IIC) encourages, through
monetary grants, the application of existing knowledge to specific
teaching situations to improve the quality of instruction at BHSU.
Any full-time faculty member, full-time adjunct faculty, or other
full-time staff member engaged in student instruction may apply for
grant funds administered by the committee. Grant funding will normally
be available up to a maximum of $1,000 per project. Priority will be
given to projects that will have a broad-based, visible, continuing
impact of instruction across faculty members and/or disciplines. Funds
are available for development of materials and methods to improve
teaching and learning, equipment to enhance teaching and learning,
travel to conferences or workshops which enhance teaching and learning,
and bringing consulting lecturers and teaching specialists to campus to
offer presentations to and/or with faculty and teaching-support staff at
BHSU.
Faculty members who apply for grants to support travel to a
conference or workshop are limited to receiving no more than one grant
every three years. In the other categories, priority will be given to
those who have not received an IIC grant in the last academic year.
Proposals for grant funding will be reviewed by the IIC on a monthly
basis. Proposals are being accepted through Friday, Dec. 30, 2005, for
consideration at the next meeting. The deadline for proposals to be
considered at the February meeting is Friday, Jan. 27, 2006.
Proposals are now being accepted electronically. To submit a proposal
electronically, attach it to an email and send it to
PeggyGubbrud@bhsu.edu. A
signed original must also be submitted to the Grants Office, Unit 9504,
or delivered to Woodburn Hall 212. Proposals must consist of the
proposal and budget outlines following the specified format available on
the Grants and Special Projects
web page.
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