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Volume XXIV No. 8
• Feb. 25, 2000
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The Campus Currents is distributed every
Friday. If you would like to include an item in
the newsletter send it to Campus Currents, Unit
9512 or by e-mail to Campus
Currents. Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.
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Open
house set for National TRIO Day 2000 - Top
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| In recognition of National TRIO
Day, the Student Support Services and Upward Bound
offices at Black Hills State University will hold
a TRIO Day 2000 open house on Monday, Feb. 28,
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Student Union
Multipurpose Room. TRIO programs, such as
Student Support Services and Upward Bound, are
federally funded and have been serving
academically at-risk and financially eligible
student populations for over 30 years. Nearly
2,000 TRIO programs are now in place at over
1,200 colleges, universities, and community
agencies nationwide and serve some 780,000 young
people and adults from financially and culturally
diverse settings.
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Student support
services will also hold a noon awards ceremony to
recognize its Eminent Scholars (3.0 cumulative
gpa or higher) as well as the recipient of the
$500 essay scholarship. Faculty, staff and
students at BHSU are welcome to attend the open
house. Refreshments will be served. For more
information, contact Sharon Hemmingson, director
of student support services/student assistance
center at 642-6371.
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Sandau
and Smock receive Matty awards - Top
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| Black Hills State
University faculty were among those who received
the first-ever Matty Awards recently. Al
Sandau, associate professor of theater at Black
Hills State University, was presented a special
"Angel in the Wings" award at the
Matthew's Opera House Matty awards.
Sandau received the award for being available
on the shortest of notice to fill even the most
outlandish requests, according to Matthews Opera
House director David Whitlock.
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Louise Smock, a
retired BHSU professor, was honored with the
Lifetime Achievement Award. With five decades
invested into the Opera house so far, Smock is
still active and will be directing the latest in
the Nunsense series later this year. Similar
to the Academy Awards, the Matty Awards honors
actors, actresses, directors, set designers,
vocalists, stage managers and the many others who
make the Matthew's Opera House shows successful.
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Residence hall association recognizes employee achievements - Top
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| The Residence Hall
Association (RHA) of Black Hills State University
has recently recognized individual students and
staff from each of the four residence halls in
different categories. Staff members of the month
are: David Steele, Ranchester, Wyo.; Connie
Nicholas, Spearfish; Mark Nore, Belle Fourche,
and Dave Stahl from Goodwin. The hall
governors of the month are Melanie Shurtz,
Gillette, Wyo.; Nicole Swanson, Pukwana; Chris
Klucas, Pierre; and Dean Sigman from Martin. Those students listed as residents of the month are:
Josh Lund, Groton; Pat Sibson, Mitchell; Nikki
Underwood, Brookings; and Judy Locati from
Spearfish.Wenona
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Cook Hall was
awarded “Hall of the Month” for their
group effort to raise money for their custodian
whose father died. Recognition for
floor/community of the month was awarded to
Thomas second south, and program of the month was
awarded to Pangburn for their Christmas party.
The RHA represent the elected leadership of the
residential students. In addition to policy
development, the RHA provides opportunities for
individual development in the areas of service,
learning and citizenship. Each month, RHA
recognizes various individuals and halls for
extraordinary achievement.
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Class
plans safe spring break activities - Top
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| Black Hills State
University class students will sponsor several
activities promoting a safe spring break for all
university students. Students in Dr. Larry
Tentinger's Substance Use Education class are
hosting the activities beginning Monday, Feb. 28
through Wednesday, March 1. Spring break for
Black Hills State University students begins
March 4.
An obstacle course using fatal vision glasses
will be set up in the Market Place of the David
B. Miller Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday. The big class project will be
Wednesday, March 1 from
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11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
when students wearing the fatal-vision goggles
will drive a car in the parking lot of Lyle Hare
Stadium. Activities are planned on the main
level of the Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 29 and Wednesday, March 1 to
promote safe sex. A parked wrecked car filled
with empty cans will be placed in front of the
Student Union for the duration of the safe spring
break recognition. Students will have the
opportunity to guess the number of cans to win a
prize.
For more information on any of these projects
contact Tentinger at 642-6042.
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Theatre
will present a musical fairytale - Top
The Black Hills State University theater
department will present “Into the
Woods” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
in Woodburn Auditorium Feb. 24-26 at 8 p.m., and
a Feb. 27 matinee at 2:30 p.m.
Story
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Alumni
compete in a mile run - Top
Keith Lein was the winner of the eighth annual
alumni mile with a time of 4:44.9. Eighteen
former BH runners competed in the one mile race
at the Young Center President's Day weekend.
Story
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Minutes
of the Feb. 2 faculty senate meeting - Top
The faculty senate met Feb. 2, 2000, at 3:15
p.m. in Jonas 110.
Story
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Minutes
of the university assessment committee - Top
Minutes of university assessment committee
meeting Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. in Jonas 103.
Story
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Minutes
of the Feb. 15 graduate council meeting - Top
Minutes of graduate council meeting Tuesday,
Feb. 15 at 3:20 in Jonas 305. Present were:
Earley, Molseed, Chrisman, Lee, Alsup, B. Silva,
Follette for Steckline. Absent were: Cook, D.
Swartz, Sander, Montross, and Erickson.
Story
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Instructional
improvement committee taking applications for
course releases - Top
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| The instructional
improvement committee is ready to receive
applications for course releases for the
2000-2001 school year. Course releases are
available to any full-time faculty member with
the approval of his/her dean and department
chair. Course releases will be for one semester
during the regular academic year. Consideration
will be given for summer stipends for faculty
unable to apply for a course release for the
regular academic year because of documented
departmental staffing problems.
Course releases may be granted to:
- design a new course which will be infused
with technology or offered through the
internet;
- redesign an existing course so that it is
infused with technology or offered for
internet delivery;
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- design a new course or redesign an
existing course to be presented
collaboratively with other BHSU faculty;
- significantly redesign an existing
course; or
- design a new course.
Proposals for course releases will be reviewed
by the instructional improvement committee in
March so that the recommendations may be made and
approved by April. Proposals should be submitted
to the grants and special projects office,
Woodburn 220, by the last Friday in February, and
will consist of a proposal following the
specified format. A copy of the guidelines and
proposal format are available from the grants
office web page or by contacting your dean or
department chair for a hard copy. Ten copies of
the proposal are needed so that each member of
the IIC can review it. Proposal writers may be
requested to make an oral presentation to the
committee in support of a proposal.
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Funds
available through instructional improvement
committee - Top
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| 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
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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. Proposals
for grant funding will be reviewed by the IIC on
a monthly basis. The deadline for submission will
be the last Friday of each month; a decision will
be made as soon as practicable on each proposal.
Ten copies of the proposals should be submitted
to the grants and special projects office, W220,
or to the chair of the committee, Sharon Strand.
Proposals will consist of proposal and budget
outlines following the specified format available
at the grants and special projects web page.
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Faculty-research
committee has funds available - Top
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| The faculty-research
committee has funds available for the current
fiscal year. Write a short (about three-page)
proposal. Proposal forms are available at the
academic affairs office. Deadline is March 25. It
is anticipated that successful applicants will
request support for faculty release time,
research equipment, travel to research sites,
research support for the production of creative
work. Preference is given to new applicants
particularly in the areas of education, business,
social sciences and humanities. Two three-hour
release times are available for fall 2000 and
spring of 2001.
Funds for two three-hour release times are
available for the spring and fall 2000 semesters.
You can apply now.
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The applicants are
encouraged to contact the committee members for
advice prior to completing their proposals. The
members are John Alsup, Steve Anderson, Lyle
Cook, Tom Cox, Daniel Farrington, Abdollah
Farrokhi, chair; Jim Hess, Kathleen Parrow, Shane
Sarver and Rob Schurrer. The research
committee will not provide salary. The committee
may approve payment to student or non-student
research assistants. Mail ten copies of your
proposal to unit 9550.
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New Faculty
Profile
By Dawn Taggart
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Dr.
Connie J. Pollard
 “I
would like to be in the forefront of
totally dismantling the labeling
process,” stated Dr. Connie J.
Pollard, assistant professor of education
at Black Hills State University.
“Children must have
a sense of belonging. Having children
leave their peer group and classrooms for
instruction tends to send a message to
the child that they are incapable of
succeeding in the regular classroom. And,
unfortunately, this is what their peers
and teachers in the class begin to
believe also. There is more diversity in
our classrooms now than ever before,
whether it is due to family background,
ethnicity, language, skill level, etc. I
believe it is more beneficial for all
students if teachers and schools begin to
develop ways to meet this diversity
through lower teacher-student ratios and
by providing teachers more time to
collaborate and plan for various student
needs. We need to look at changing the
system of public education rather than
determining which children don't `fit'
the system.”
Pollard believes it's
time we stopped calling children names,
using labels such as slow, slow learner,
or learning disabled. Words do hurt, is
the point she makes. However, she also
feels that some good has been done.
“We've done great
things for the mentally and physically
impaired,” said Pollard. She
remarked that teaching in special
education has changed from more of a
behaviorist approach where teachers
believed they could 'fix' kids to
recognizing personal learning styles and
accommodating for individual needs.
Pollard, who recently
joined Black Hills State as a full-time
faculty member, enjoys teaching
introduction to special-education classes
where she works mostly with future
elementary-education teachers. She said,
“That's when they have to define
themselves as a teacher.”
Pollard said her
philosophy on teaching is this;
“we're all teachers and we're all
learners – I like to see it as a
collaborative process.”
Her educational
experience includes a bachelor of arts
degree with an emphasis in psychology,
guidance, and counseling received in
1974, and a master of arts degree with an
emphasis in learning disabilities
received in 1976, both from the
University of Colorado. She also earned
two degrees from the University of
Wyoming which are a specialist in
education administration, 1989, and a
doctor of education with an emphasis in
education administration, 1992.
Pollard has extensive
work experience in education. She began
her teaching career in 1976 as a resource
room teacher for the Park County School
District in Powell, Wyo. She also
obtained experience as an education
diagnostician and elementary school
principal.
In 1981 Pollard traveled
to Gaborone, Botswana in Africa for a
ministry of education project which
involved consultation to elementary
school classroom teachers; it included
improving and standardizing instructional
methods. In describing Africa, she
commented, “A major impact to me was
the immense poverty. Some children only
had the one to two cups of `mealy-meal'
(a ground corn mush), provided at school
through the Save the Children Foundation,
to eat for the day. During the dry season
they would often take this home to share
with their families.” Pollard noted
that she was “impressed with the
knowledge of the general population. When
“Time” magazine hit the
newsstands there would be a line of
people three to four blocks long waiting
to buy a copy.”
She is a licensed
professional counselor, and a nationally
certified school psychologist, as well as
being a certified teacher with the State
of Wyoming Department of Education, and
South Dakota Department of Education.
Pollard also holds a membership with the
Association of Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Pollard has acquired
additional professional training on
subjects such as “How the Brain
Learns,” “Play Therapy,”
“Group Dynamics,”
“Behavior Styles Profile,” and
“Creating Effective Schools.”
Pollard's plans for the
future include a desire to get some
courses on-line through the internet; she
would some day like to go over-seas to
Africa again as a remedial curriculum
consultant.
As for hobbies, Pollard
said, “I really enjoy the outdoors.
I own property at Sand Creek and I plan
to build there.” She learned about
the Sand Creek area approximately 10
years ago and said, “I like the
solitude it offers and the wildlife. I
have lived in Wyoming for most of the
past 20 years and feel a definite kinship
with the area, so I am glad I still have
a connection.” She also enjoys
tennis and hiking.
Pollard hails from
Loveland, Colo., but said she loves
Spearfish because it is small and also
because of its geographic location.
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Weekly Campus Calendar
BHSU events are shown in gold, Spearfish
Chamber events are in gray. Submit
items or send to media relations, Unit 9512,
BHSU.
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Friday, Feb.25
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Saturday, Feb.26
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Sunday, Feb.27
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Monday, Feb.28
| TRIO Day Open
House, Student Union multipurpose room |
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Tuesday, Feb.29
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Wednesday, March 1
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Thursday, March 2
| Green & Gold
luncheon, Cedar House, noon |
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Friday, March 3
| Preview Day,
High school students will visit campus |
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Saturday, March4
Spring break
begins Destination Imagination
Tournament (formerly Odyssey of the
Mind)
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