Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5204 USA
(269) 387-2380

Updates in Academic Affairs: April 21, 2014

Academic affairs year in review: new colleagues, notable grants, high honors

Dear Colleagues:

As the academic year comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your work on behalf of our students, our institution and our community.

Our collective commitment to moving WMU forward as a leader in higher education is reflected in our many accomplishments during the 2013-14 academic year. I would like to highlight just a few of our successes:

  • We welcomed new administrators to continue leading a number of our academic colleges and units, including: Dan Guyette, dean of Fine Arts; Dr. Ming Li, dean of Education and Human Development; Dr. Carla Koretsky, dean of the Lee Honors College; Dr. Edmund Tsang, interim dean, Engineering and Applied Sciences; Dr. Wolfgang Schlör, associate provost, Haenicke Institute for Global Education; and Dr. Nancy Mansberger, director of Academic Collective Bargaining.

  • The following WMU faculty and academic affairs staff members were recognized for excellence in their fields of expertise and service at the 2013 Academic Convocation:

    • Dr. Daneen Wardrop, Distinguished Faculty Scholar
    • Dr. Alan Kehew, Distinguished Service Award
    • Dr. Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Distinguished Service Award
    • Dr. Holly Nibert, Distinguished Teaching Award
    • Paul Solomon, Distinguished Teaching Award
    • Dr. Sarah Summy, Distinguished Teaching Award
    • Dr. Chris Coryn, Emerging Scholar Award
    • Dr. Michael Famiano, Emerging Scholar Award
    • Dr. Kristina Wirtz, Emerging Scholar Award
    • Jill Hamilton, Make a Difference Annual Service Award
    • Jennifer Morrow, Make a Difference Award Service Award

  • The following academic affairs staff members were recognized as recipients of the Make a Difference Award during the 2013-14 academic year for their extraordinary contributions to the community.

    In particular, I would like to recognize the staff members from academic affairs who were named as semi-annual award recipients:

    • Bonnie Ayers, Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
    • Joanne Beverage, English
    • Mary Lou Brooks, geography
    • Bruce Carpenter, chemistry
    • Shona Drake, Haenicke Institute for Global Education
    • Myla Edmond, College of Arts and Sciences
    • Paul Hildenbrand, Haworth College of Business
    • Tracey Kauppila, College of Aviation
    • Nancy Landsberger, civil and construction engineering
    • Patrick Niemi, theatre
    • Dorilee Schieble, history
    • Tammi Smith, College of Arts and Sciences Advising
    • Debbie Uldriks, Haenicke Institute for Global Education
    • Mariann Vorva, Center for Academic Success Programs
    • Paige Warner, First-Year Experience

  • The Graduate College and the Graduate Student Advisory Committee celebrated the inaugural Graduate Student Make a Difference Awards on April 12, recognizing graduate students who are making a significant positive impact in the lives of their fellow graduate students. Please join me in congratulating this year’s honorees:

    • Chartanay Bonner, Ph.D. student in chemistry
    • Eric Mendes, master’s candidate in comparative religion
    • Eric Denby, master’s candidate in history
    • Sean Fields, Ph.D. student in behavioral analysis
  • The Zhang Legacy Collections Center opened in October, providing a new permanent home for the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections.
  • The College of Aviation celebrates 75 years of Aviation Education at WMU in 2014.
  • The overall number of students in the Lee Honors College climbed to a record high 1,642 in fall 2013.
  • For the first time, the WMU campus in downtown Grand Rapids served as an official venue for the 2013 ArtPrize competition.
  • The Lifelong Learning Academy has grown to more than 500 members in two years, and has secured external funding from the Bernard Osher Foundation’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes grant.
  • The New Issues Press anthology Poetry in Michigan/Michigan in Poetry was named a 2014 Michigan Notable Book. In addition, New Issues Press earned a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
  • WMU received a $500,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health for a wide range of autism services.
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $1.4 million grant to a multidisciplinary team of WMU researchers led by civil and construction engineers to create one of 33 transportation research centers at colleges across the United States. WMU serves as the lead institution in the project with Tennessee State University, University of Texas-Arlington, Utah State University and Wayne State University.
  • A U.S. Department of Education grant of more $4 million was awarded to the WMU educational leadership team in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology to continue to improve the line of work with school principals.
  • The Princeton Review honored the Haworth College of Business as one of the 295 best business schools for its MBA program, based on a high regard for its academic programs and a review of institutional data.
  • Dr. Stephen Wolfinbarger, professor of music, was named the 2013 Michigan Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in recognition of excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
  • The Center for the Study of Social Policy—CSSP—named WMU's Center for Fostering Success as one of 15 programs around the nation making a critical difference in the lives of foster care youth. The 15 programs were selected from among more than 130 nominees and they were chosen after a rigorous review.
  • The Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology received a $1.6 million Injury Prevention, Physiological and Environmental Health Award from the Department of Defense, Defense Health Program, Military Operational Medicine Joint Program Committee 5, led through an investigator with the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory.
  • In 2014, the Office of Information Technology implemented a new state-of-the-art video system in all residence halls, University apartments and other locations with television service, providing 120 digital channels, 74 of which are high definition.
  • WMUK hosted the national broadcast of the National Public Radio program “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me” at Miller Auditorium.
  • WMU joined the Generation Study Abroad Commitment Initiative with the goal of increasing study abroad participation by 50 percent by 2019.

This is a small snapshot of the important accomplishments within academic affairs. Although I am not able to list or acknowledge every department, unit and individual by name, please know how grateful I am to you all for your work to advance our mission.

Best wishes to you for a safe and productive summer.

Sincerely,

Tim Greene
Provost and vice president for academic affairs

Announcements

  • The Office of the Provost will host a meeting for all non-bargaining unit staff members in academic affairs on Friday, April 25, in the Fetzer Center’s Putney Auditorium. To accommodate normal business hours and operations, two meeting times will be available, from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. and from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Supervisors are encouraged to accommodate staff participation in these meetings.

    The purpose of the meetings is to provide updates in academic affairs and answer any questions staff members may have. As a way to thank our administrative staff members for their many contributions to keeping our departments and units running smoothly, beverages and bakery items will be available before each session.

  • To mark the end of the academic year, please join us for a special Tuesday with Friends event from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the Fetzer Center. Fetzer staff members have planned a Caribbean-themed menu for this year-end celebration. A cash bar also will be available. Fridays with Friends mixers will resume in the 2014-15 academic year.