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SHSU Update For Week Of Aug. 12
- Activities To Welcome Students To Bearkat Nation
- Conference To Share ‘Innovative’ Teaching Techniques
- Photo Contest Deadline Approaches
- Human Recovery Training Offered to Law Enforcement
- Professors Carry On Tea Room Tradition In England
- Room Named For College Leaders
- CJ Brings On Two Project Leaders
- Today@Sam Seeks Fall Calendar Info
- Submit Update Items Here
Activities To Welcome Students To Bearkat Nation
From moving in to putting the university’s motto into action and celebrating campus diversity, students entering the “Bearkat Nation,” or just returning to campus from summer break, can share in the multifaceted college experience in a week’s time through a series of events sponsored by the Department of Student Activities.
The annual “Welcome Week” will “lay down the welcome mat” for students by providing a host of activities designed to introduce students to their new “home away from home,” according to Brandon Cooper, associate director of Student Activities.
Student Activities’ annual Welcome Week will kick off on Aug. 25 by lending a helping hand to students moving into residence halls, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. across campus.
"New Student Move-In is the first program that students are exposed to when coming to SHSU, and rightfully so,” Cooper said. “It truly shows students that Bearkat hospitality and friendly spirit that we are known for. Bearkats helping Bearkats is what this event focuses on, by having various student organizations and groups extend a helping hand to those moving back to their SHSU home.
“We have done this program for approximately 15 years, and it just continues to grow,” he said. “Last year Coach (Willie) Fritz and the football team helped, as well as various Greek groups, and SHSU’s religious organizations.”
Groups that want to participate should check in at the Lowman Student Center Paw Print and will receive a free lunch. Organizations should sign up ahead of time in the Student Activities office, located in LSC Suite 328.
That evening, new students will receive their formal welcome to SHSU with New Student Convocation, during two ceremonies at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the Gaertner Performing Arts Center.
Other highlights of the week include putting the university’s motto into action with the Bearkat Service Project on Aug. 27; Sammypalooza, featuring Ludacris and the All-American Rejects, also on Aug. 27; and Casino Night, on Aug. 29, from 6-10 p.m. in the LSC Ballroom.
“For Casino Night the Program Council has real casino equipment brought in, and students are given ‘fake’ money to play with, with the opportunity to win prizes,” Cooper said. “This is truly one of the largest and most successful programs of Welcome Week.”
On Aug. 30, the Multicultural Student Services program will “promote and highlight the great diversity we have at SHSU” during Unityfest, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area.
Welcome Week will culminate with a Bearkat Picnic at Austin Hall on Aug. 31. Students can enjoy a free lunch at 11:30 a.m.
For information on these programs, or for a full schedule of events, contact the Department of Student Activities at 936.294.3465, e-mail studentactivities@shsu.edu or visit http://www.shsu.edu/~slo_sad/.
Conference To Share ‘Innovative’ Teaching Techniques
The SHSU Professional and Academic Center for Excellence will work to “inspire innovative teaching” through a series of workshops on Aug. 23 through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences 2012 Teaching Conference.
Open to all university faculty members and teaching assistants, presentations will be held from 1-5:30 p.m. in the CHSS Building.
The conference will feature keynote speaker Stephen Brookfield, an award-winning author who has taught in England, Canada, Australia and the United States and whose work covers adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods and critical theory.
Brookfield, who currently teaches at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, will discuss "The Critically Reflective Teacher: Face-to-Face and Online."
In addition, faculty-led breakout sessions will cover such topics as “Making Peace with your Students,” “SHSU Faculty Innovations in Online Education,” “Humor in the Classroom,” “Learning about SHSU Student Backgrounds, Motivations, and Behaviors,” and “Assisting Students to Reflect on/Learn from Their Experiences.”
The deadline to register is 5 p.m. on Aug. 22.
The free conference is sponsored by the CHSS, PACE, and the Center for Academic Community Engagement.
PACE will also host a New Faculty Investment, during which the most recent additions to the SHSU family can meet with representatives from various departments and learn about teaching-improvement and research opportunities, on Aug. 22, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Lowman Student Center Room 320.
For more information, contact Marsha Harman, PACE director, at pace@shsu.edu or 936.294.2689.
Photo Contest Deadline Approaches
Avid amateur photographers have a few weeks left to get exposure for their work and compete for cash prizes as part of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum’s third annual amateur photography contest.
Submissions for the eight different categories are due by Sept. 14.
The contest annually recognizes non-professional photographers in the categories of “Huntsville,” “Sam Houston Museum,” “Landscape” “Floral,” “People,” “Architecture” and “Animals.” A “Youth” category is also available for photographers 16 years old and younger, whose work can be on any subject matter.
Prizes will include $200 for “Best in Show,” $100 for “Curator’s Choice,” and $20 for first, $15 for second, and $10 for third place in each of the categories.
Submissions will be judged in a private session by a panel of judges, and winners will be contacted by phone.
All entries and the winners will be featured in an exhibit Oct. 15 through Dec. 14 in the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education Center Exhibition Gallery.
The cost per entry is $5 and only cash will be accepted as payment.
Photographs must be submitted as full 8-by-10-inch glossy prints, unmounted, unframed, and with no border, without exceptions.
Photographers may enter as many categories as they like, but no more than two photographs will be accepted per contestant per category.
Each photo entry must have its own entry form, which can be found, along with more information and rules for the contest, at www.samhouston.memorial.museum/News/.
Application forms can be picked up at the museum any time during museum hours, or downloaded directly from the museum website.
For more information, contact exhibits curator Casey Roon at 936.294.3292 or cmr022@shsu.edu or marketing coordinator Megan Buro at 936.294.3839 or mlb044@shsu.edu.
Human Recovery Training Offered to Law Enforcement
**Aug. 17 update: Due to a lack of participation, this event has been canceled for the time being.
The Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility at Sam Houston State University is offering a three-day training for law enforcement officers on the surface recovery of human remains on Aug. 20-22.
The program will include classroom instruction on identifying human remains and different types of search methods, during which officers will learn how to tell the difference between human and animal bones and briefly discuss determining the sex, age, and stature of the victim. The class also will address the difference between contemporary and archeological remains and focus on the use of taphonomy to determine the postmortem interval.
The training also will provide intensive, hands-on experience with real human remains.
Sibyl Bucheli, a forensic entomologist at SHSU, will provide information on entomology and the proper techniques for identifying and collecting insects that may offer vital forensic information in the case.
“The overall goal of this training is that when law enforcement is called out to a scene—for example if a civilian calls police to say they have found skeletal remains—that they are able to properly recover all of the remains and as much evidence as possible,” said STAFS director Joan Bytheway.
During the recovery process, officers will learn the proper mapping techniques for the crime scene, including the use of baseline, triangular or polar coordinates.
The course also will provide training on the use of mapping equipment and will stress how to recover all the evidence at the scene and its critical importance in the case.
The training is open to law enforcement agents only. The cost of the course is $500, and participants can earn credits from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education.
A state-of-the-art research and training facility, STAFS is only one of four willed-body facilities worldwide that does research and training to advance academic and technical knowledge on forensic science applications to crime scene and criminal activities, particularly on human bodies.
In addition to providing research opportunities in anthropology, toxicology, criminology, geology, chemistry and microbiology, the facility provides training for students, teachers, forensic specialists and law enforcement.
Professors Carry On Tea Room Tradition In England
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| Rafael Lara-Alecio, Sue Brindley and Beverly Irby took a break for afternoon tea at The Copper Kettle while in Cambridge. —Submitted photo |
Beverly Irby, Texas State University System Regents' Professor and associate dean for Sam Houston State University’s College of Education, and her colleagues have taken their work with English-language learners overseas.
Irby, along with Texas A&M University professor Rafael Lara-Alecio and Cambridge University professor Sue Brindley, recently met in Cambridge, England, to discuss dialogic teaching and literacy development for English-language learners, as well as the editing of international journals.
They toured Cambridge University King's College and the King's College Chapel, one of the great statements of late Gothic architecture; observed punting on the River Cam; and held their own discussion in the historical fashion of many Cambridge professors and alumni, such as C.S. Lewis, Lucy Cavendish, and Stephen Hawking, over afternoon tea at The Copper Kettle, a small tea room cafe with spectacular views across the street from King's College, according to Irby.
Additionally, Lara-Alecio and Irby met with a lead researcher for The Children's Society in Leeds, England, and also provided the keynote speech, “Longitudinal Research Regarding Language Acquisition Programs for English Language Learners,” for the Oxford roundtable at the University of Oxford.
Irby also met with the Routledge: Taylor and Francis publishing team while in Oxford regarding the journal she edits, called Mentoring and Tutoring, and other publishing opportunities.
Room Named For College Leaders
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| Colleagues celebrate the naming of the �Dr. Genevieve Brown and Dr. Beverly J. Irby Center for Research in Educational Leadership� with Dean Brown (center) during a reception in July. —Submitted photo |
A room in the Eleanor and Charles Garrett Teacher Education Center has been named after two long-time leaders in the Sam Houston State University College of Education.
The “Dr. Genevieve Brown and Dr. Beverly J. Irby Center for Research in Educational Leadership” highlights “the importance of two women in educational leadership who worked to ensure a legacy for future students,” according to Sheryl Serres, assistant professor of counseling.
Brown and Irby have been praised for their commitment to assisting students in leadership advancement and for embodying the SHSU motto—“The measure of a Life is its Service.”
“Dr. Brown was a key figure in developing a proposal for the educational leadership doctorate and both Dr. Brown and Dr. Irby were key team members in initiating the educational leadership doctoral program, which was the first of several College of Education doctoral programs now offered today,” Serres said.
“Drs. Brown and Irby have demonstrated their passion for education and for our students by creating a significant scholarship endowment for future female graduate students in educational leadership,” she said. “The department of educational leadership was among the first in the university to offer coursework for students outside of traditional face-to-face classes. Under Dr. Irby's leadership as chair of the department, more than $3 million was garnered in grants to help fund tuition for graduate students.”
A ceremony was held over the summer to formally recognize their accomplishments. Among the attendees were faculty members, community members, and representatives of numerous school districts.
CJ Brings On Two Project Leaders
A longtime employee and a 30-year veteran of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice were recently appointed project team leaders for Sam Houston State University’s Correctional Management Institute of Texas.
Sharese Hurst, who has worked for CMIT since 2000, was promoted to project manager, overseeing all jail management programs. Jeffrey Marton, retired director of training for TDCJ, will be a project coordinator for programs in mid-level and senior corrections leadership.
“Both Sharese and Jeff are dedicated and committed to our CMIT core focus of serving the correctional professional through training and professional development,” said Doug Dretke, CMIT executive director.
Before joining CMIT, Hurst was an adult probation officer in Walker County for 10 years. She will manage a number of CMIT’s programs for jailers, sheriffs, wardens, and other criminal justice-related personnel. She also will continue to serve as executive director of the Texas Jail Association and her division will be the secretariat for the Texas Probation Association.
“I’m not really changing hats, just adding a few more,” said Hurst. “I have a lot of field experience and the jail association has helped me learn even more.”
Hurst is working to bring CMIT programs out to the counties that need them. Due to budget cuts, many jurisdictions can’t afford to send their correctional officers to Huntsville, so Hurst is lining up certification programs for jailers locally. Among the classes expected to be offered off-site are Interpersonal Communications, Basic Spanish for Jail Facilitators and Suicide Prevention, all key requirement for basic, intermediate on advanced jailer certifications.
“Sharese continues to do an exceptional job in working with county corrections across the state and across the country in providing critical training to jail leadership as well as in her role as executive director for the Texas Jail Association,” said Dretke. “Her new position will enable the Institute to continue to build our program and technical assistance capacity as we serve as a resource to correctional professionals.
At TDCJ, Marton was responsible for the training of 39,000 employees a year, including pre-service, in-service, leadership development, specialized training and ancillary training programs.
“Jeff brings a tremendous amount of expertise to the Institute through his experience within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice both from serving in senior and executive level positions and with his experience in training,” said Dretke. “We are extremely fortunate to have him join our incredible group of people already working within the Institute and look forward to working with him as we continue to develop and deliver leadership training to the field.”
Before becoming director of training at TDCJ, Marton served as warden at six institutions which included custody levels that ranged from maximum, medium and low risk custody facilities, a psychiatric facility, a substance abuse program facility and a small transfer hub.
“It’s a passion of mine – the training side,” said Marton. “I don’t consider it a job. It is something that I enjoy, and it allows me to be stable in a location. It’s hard for me to call it work.”
Today@Sam Seeks Fall Calendar Info
The University Communications Office is now collecting information on campus events for its fall calendar pages.
Departmental calendars or events can be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu or faxed to 294.1834. Please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.
Information collected for the Today@Sam calendar pages, at /calendars/, is used by various media outlets, as well as the Communications Office for news stories and releases.
All information, including story ideas and update items for Today@Sam, should be sent a minimum of a week in advance of the event in order to make necessary contacts and write a story.
To see a full list of the Today@Sam submission guidelines, or to access submission forms for news or feature stories, calendar submissions, or hometown releases, visit /guidelines.html.
For more information, call 936.294.1836.
Submit Update Items Here
In order to assist members of the Sam Houston State University community in publicizing events, the SHSU Communications Office (Today@Sam) is now requesting that students, faculty and staff submit information about events, accomplishments or ideas for feature stories online.
Submission criteria and guidelines, including deadlines, have now been placed online, at /guidelines.html. This information is also accessible through the “Submissions” link in the right-hand navigation on Today@Sam.
From there, those submitting ideas can access forms that will allow them to provide detailed information about their idea, as well as attach event calendars, vitas/resumes or photos, depending on the type of submission.
Ideas submitted to the SHSU Communications Office are directly utilized in several ways: as news stories, “slider” or SHSU home page stories, hometown releases, and on the Today@Sam calendar.
If your submission qualifies for distribution, we will either contact you for more detailed information, or we will edit the information using SHSU/journalistic style and forward the final release to the appropriate media.
All information is verified before release, so please provide complete, accurate and timely information. Please type all responses in appropriate upper and lower cases.
For more information, contact the Communications Office at 936.294.1836 or today@sam.edu.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
Aug. 9, 2012
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Associate Director: Julia May
Manager: Jennifer Gauntt
Located in the 115 Administration Building
Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
