Collaborative Nursing Education Project Moves Forward NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 � Email This Post � Print This Post � Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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TOP STORIES Collaborative nursing education project moves forward NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

Duke University awarded $7,668 to Barbara St. John, associate professor of nursing, in continuing funding for a collaborative project to develop EVENTS strategies to better prepare students for the challenges of providing health care with 21st-century technology.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Tags: Barbara St. John, grants, nursing

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TOP STORIES Burton, Tyson Lofquist present at SACS meeting NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS Carol Burton, assistant vice chancellor for undergraduate studies, and Beth Tyson Lofquist, associate provost, recently presented a session entitled “E is for Engagement: Faculty Roles and the QEP” at the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in Atlanta.

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TOP STORIES Campus participates in Angel Wings program NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS Dozens of members of the Western Carolina University campus community have contributed gifts this year through the Angel Wings program to meet the wishes and needs of children and families through the Jackson County Christmas Store. The store’s wares come from gifts and donations made by programs such as Angel Wings and area merchants, churches and community members. For more information, contact Lisa Wilson at (828) 227-7303. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

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AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT From left, Ashlen Dean and Sarah Jennings, student oce assistants, assist with the Angel Wings program.

WCU women's soccer players, from left, Katie Kole, Kellie Oberholtzer and Samantha Hodge volunteer at the Jackson County Christmas Store.

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TOP STORIES Campus to turn off electrical power Monday, Dec. 28 NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS All Western Carolina University campus electrical power will be turned o Monday, Dec. 28, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to allow Duke Energy to replace a switch, which is in imminent danger of failing, on a Duke Energy transformer feeding power to the campus.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The outage will affect all campus facilities including the BB&T Bank building and the Young Drive Apartments. Resale customers will not be affected.

Faculty and staff members are asked to make accommodations for items that require refrigeration.

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TOP STORIES Cortland Review publishes recordings of Catherine Carter’s poems NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The Cortland Review published two poems by Catherine Carter, assistant professor of English, as well as audio files of Carter reading the poetry.

Carter said Bruce Frazier and his students assisted with recording her reading of the poetry. “I feel very lucky to have worked with them,” said Carter. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Click here to read and listen to Carter’s poetry in the Cortland Review.

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TOP STORIES Costa and Railsback present at Darwin conference in Portugal NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 15, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

Jim Costa, professor of biology and director of Highlands Biological Station, and Brian Railsback, dean of the Honors College, recently EVENTS presented complementary papers in the same session at an interdisciplinary conference at the University of Porto in Portugal. The conference, “(Dis)Entangling Darwin: Cross-Disciplinary Reections on the Man and his Legacy,” was jointly sponsored by the Faculty of Letters and the Centre PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES for English, Translation, and Anglo-Portugese Studies at the University of Porto.

Costa presented “New Landscapes and New Eyes: The Many Voyages of Charles Darwin,” and Railsback presented “Two Voyages, One Destination: Charles Darwin and John Steinbeck.”

“The conference was as educational as it was fascinating, with participants from across the globe presenting on Darwin-themed topics from across CALENDAR the arts and sciences,” said Costa. 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds Tags: Brian Railsback, Jim Costa 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream'

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TOP STORIES Janice Holt awarded grant to enhance teacher services NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The University of North Carolina awarded $110,000 to Janice Holt, director of the Oce of Alternative Licensure, to continue enhancing services and developing new services to recruit, license, train and develop a quality teacher base for public school districts in North Carolina.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Tags: grant, Janice Holt

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TOP STORIES Jim Costa wins grant to support Highlands Nature Center NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources awarded $73,798.85 to Jim Costa, professor of biology and director of Highlands Biological Station, to support the activities of the Highlands Nature Center, located on the HBS campus. Overseen by education specialist Patrick Brannon, the Highlands Nature Center oers an extensive range of school and public outreach programming throughout the year. The PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES grant will also support two summer environmental education internships, Nature Center operations, and design and installation of new exhibits highlighting some of the latest research conducted at the Highlands Biological Station.

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TOP STORIES Commencement to honor fall class, summer grads along with legendary NOTEWORTHY NEWS teacher and notable alumnus ACHIEVEMENTS December 18, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

UPDATE: Fall commencement 2009 was canceled because of severe weather conditions. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

The late Josena Maria Niggli, a bigger-than-life writer and teacher who led the development of Western Carolina University’s theater arts program, will be honored with a posthumous honorary doctor of arts degree during fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 19.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center.

The event is open to everyone, and tickets are not required for admission. CALENDAR 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Niggli was born in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1910, on the eve of the Mexican Minds Revolution. Political turmoil forced her family to ee to the United States 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond when she was 3 years old. Niggli published a book of poetry while earning a the Glass Matrix bachelor’s degree in Texas, and she wrote a three-act play for her thesis 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara while earning a master’s degree in drama from the University of North Tyroler Carolina at Chapel Hill. 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show Niggli wrote plays, short stories, novels and screenplays during the 1930s and 'Livin' the Dream' 1940s and worked in radio, television and lm, scripting programs and writing for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and 20th Century Fox. LINKS A graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, Niggli held Calendar teaching positions at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Higher Education NewsWatch Greensboro before joining the WCU faculty in 1956 as journalism instructor and director of drama. WCU Hub

Niggli was regarded as a sensation and inspiration to legions of students AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT during her two decades of teaching at WCU. Productions at the university’s Josefina Niggli Little Theatre became so popular that patrons drove in from Asheville on a winding, two-lane road to see them. The theatre was later renamed in her honor. Steve Carlisle, associate dean of the Honors College and a former Niggli student, said the professionalism that she instilled in her students “opened a lot of doors for us.”

“She turned wild horses into show horses,” Carlisle said. “I can’t imagine what my life would be without her.”

Niggli retired in 1976 and lived in Cullowhee until her death in 1983. With the 100th anniversary of her birth occurring in 2010, WCU’s Oce of Undergraduate Studies is coordinating a campuswide celebration of her life.

The Dec. 19 commencement ceremony also will include the awarding of an honorary doctor of arts degree to bluegrass musician and WCU alumnus Marc Reagan Pruett. Jordan Parsons of Cullowhee, a graduating senior and member of WCU’s Honors College, will deliver the primary commencement address.

WCU’s fall class includes approximately 650 students who are currently completing academic requirements to receive their degrees. Other graduates who completed degree requirements during this year’s summer school sessions and who have already been conferred degrees also are eligible to participate in the Dec. 19 commencement.

WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo will preside over commencement and deliver the charge to the fall semester degree candidates and summer graduates.

The commencement audience should enter the Ramsey Center through one of four upper concourse doors. Those with physical disabilities should use the northeastern upper entrance, adjacent to the stands of E.J. Whitmire Stadium. Students take part in WCU commencement. By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES Mary Adams’ book of poetry published NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The chapbook “Commandment” by Mary Adams, associate professor of English, was recently published by Spring Street Editions as part of a chapbook contest series established by poet laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer.

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TOP STORIES Mexico visit fruitful for art, language NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

A exploratory trip to San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, proved educational for Martin DeWitt, director and curator of the EVENTS Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum, and Hartwell Francis, director of WCU’s Cherokee language program.

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Higher Education NewsWatch Students at the Universidad Intercultural perform in an original drama in the Tseltal language. WCU Hub (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis)

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Martin DeWitt, director of WCU’s Fine Art Museum, at the Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas in San Cristóbal. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis) A sign at the Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas reads “hope” in Spanish and indigenous languages. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis)

The two traveled to Mexico over the Thanksgiving break, along with their wives and Luzene Hill, a program associate with the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts, a partner of WCU and Southwestern Community College on the Qualla Boundary.

DeWitt and Hill’s purpose was to discover artists in the region they might invite to show work and visit their institutions as part of a series of exhibits planned for next fall, pending approval of a grant request. While in Mexico, they met Margarita de la Peña, an artist who works in a variety of media and most recently has concentrated on installations. Her work is contemporary but references the indigenous culture as well as feminist issues, DeWitt said.

“She would be a perfect t,” said DeWitt, who with his wife, Sharon, has traveled often in Mexico. The couple are active in Asheville Sister Cities, who have adopted San Cristóbal.

Francis made the trip in an unocial capacity, but was interested to learn about eorts to revitalize traditional languages in the region. A visit to the Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas impressed him. The institution recently graduated 237 students who are procient in one of four Mayan languages or in Zoque, the language of a Mexican indigenous group.

WCU’s Cherokee language program trains education students to deliver course content in the Cherokee language. The Universidad Intercultural students primarily apply their language skills in careers related to sustainable development, alternative tourism, culture and language, and intercultural communication. However, at WCU the education students start as language novices, where at Universidad Intercultural, many enter the institution’s various programs already familiar with a particular endangered language.

“It was a very different stage of language maintenance and revitalization down there,” Francis said.

There is an important similarity, however. Like WCU’s Cherokee language program, Francis said, Universidad Intercultural must develop most of the course materials it uses in its language programs. “It makes it much more dicult when you have to create all the materials that you need to teach,” he said.

Francis imagines a possible exchange between the schools, or perhaps a faculty member accompanying a group of students to the Mexican university. “It would be an inspiration to our students,” he said. “They would be able to see these people living and speaking the language instead of just having the language in the classroom.” Universidad Intercultural administrators were receptive to the idea of a collaborative relationship, he said.

Lois Petrovich-Mwaniki, director WCU’s Oce of International Programs and Services, said establishing personal contact with another institution is very important in fostering a relationship.

“That’s a good way to initiate it,” Petrovich-Mwaniki said. The relationships the university has established with institutions in China hinged on visits. “It really does depend on the country. In China, they are very keen on personal relationships,” she said.

Beyond that, systematic contact between the institutions is essential. And gestures such as sending a performance group along with an upper administrator to the potential partner shows “we’re serious about establishing a relationship with them,” she said. For instance, WCU plans to send the Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet to China in spring.

National and international conferences often are excellent places to woo others interested in fostering exchange, Petrovich-Mwaniki said. Once institutions agree to a formal exchange, the Oce of International Programs and Services facilitates a memorandum of understanding or a contract to address details.

More photos from the Francis and DeWitt’s San Cristóbal travels are below:

By Jill Ingram Hartwell Francis, director of WCU’s Cherokee language program, on a street in the Mexican city of San Cristóbal de las Casas. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis)

The cathedral of San Cristóbal. (Photo courtesy Martin DeWitt) A view of San Cristóbal from the cathedral steps. (Photo courtesy Martin DeWitt)

Antonia Bosquez Hernandez, a weaving cooperative member, prepares tortillas and ground pumpkin seeds for visitors. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis) Plants for use in making paper at Taller Leñateros, a Mayan artists workshop that produces handmade paper, books, prints, natural dyes and more. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis)

Produce for sale at a central market stall in San Cristóbal. (Photo courtesy Hartwell Francis) A market in San Cristóbal. (Photo courtesy Martin DeWitt)

Palenque, the ruins of a seventh-century Mayan city in the present-day Mexican state of Chiapas. (Photo courtesy Martin DeWitt)

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TOP STORIES Mountain Heritage Center wins grant to help bring Cherokee artisans to NOTEWORTHY NEWS Mountain Heritage Day ACHIEVEMENTS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | EVENTS

Peter Koch The Jackson County Arts Council awarded $600 to , education associate with the Mountain Heritage Center, to hire three Cherokee artisans PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES for Mountain Heritage Day.

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TOP STORIES N.C. mediation organization led by WCU professor wins funding NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency awarded $127,584 to the North Carolina Agricultural Mediation Program, whose executive EVENTS director is Jayne Zanglein, assistant professor of business law, to provide North Carolina with skilled mediators to help parties with an agriculture dispute regain focus by creating an environment of trust and facilitated communication.NCAMP maintains a panel of trained agricultural mediators PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES who provide mediation services as a vehicle to examine all facets of a dispute to bring about an agreeable resolution for all parties involved. NCAMP has been in existence since 2006 and mediates disputes across the state. Currently, NCAMP has active cases in ve counties. In addition, NCAMP recently facilitated a meeting between local apple growers and congressional representatives to help them formulate a response to pending regulatory changes that would adversely affect apple growers.

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TOP STORIES Q&A with Debbie Hyatt NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS Debbie Hyatt, ticket and reservation manager at Ramsey Regional Activity Center, is hosting a Be The Match bone marrow donor registry drive at Asheville Ballroom & Dance Centre from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, in honor of her sister. In addition, a recruiter from Be The Match will be available to register potential bone marrow donors at A.K. Hinds University Center from 12:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, and Wednesday, Dec. 9, and PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10.

The Reporter: What inspired you to coordinate a Be The Match Registry drive?

Hyatt: My sister, Shari, needs a bone marrow transplant. She CALENDAR has been in remission since her rst diagnosis of leukemia in 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern 2006, but was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in Minds October. I just learned that I am not a match, and my parents 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond and brother are not eligible to donate bone marrow. The 70 LINKS percent chance of a nonrelative bone marrow match for my Calendar sister inspired me to get involved and help others in need of a transplant. For some, the chances of nding a nonrelative bone Higher Education NewsWatch marrow match are very low. American Indians or Alaska natives, WCU Hub for instance, have a 1 percent chance of nding a nonrelative bone marrow match in the registry. African-Americans have an AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT 8 percent chance. The more people who register, especially people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, the better the odds for nding a match – a cure – for every patient. I joined the registry at the drive on the WCU campus hosted by the Kappa Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in October.

The Reporter: What are the chances of any patient who needs a bone marrow transplant finding a match?

Hyatt: Fewer than four of 10 patients receive the transplant they need. Barriers include lack of a matching donor or inability to pay health care costs. Every year, more than 10,000 men, women and children get life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, and do not have a marrow donor in their family. To live, they need to nd an unrelated marrow donor whose tissue type matches their own. If more people joined the registry, more patients would find a donor. Debbie Hyatt looks at a picture of her sister Shari. Hyatt is hosting a Be The Match bone marrow donor registry drive in Shari's honor.

The Reporter: Are you and Shari friends as well as sisters?

Hyatt: Shari is my best friend, my hero, my condante and my shopping partner. She was the maid of honor at my wedding. She loves sports and she is an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves, NASCAR, Carolina basketball and football. We like the same movies, hate each other’s music, share each other’s books. She has a cat. I have a dog. She loves the city. I love the country. We know each other’s secrets. I am 10 years older than she is, and she reminds me of that fact quite often.

The Reporter: When did Shari find out she would need a bone marrow transplant?

Hyatt: Shari’s oncologist in Charlotte referred her to the Duke Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program in November. Shari, Mom and I traveled to Durham for the initial visit and after the doctor’s review of Shari’s medical records, she was told that she would need a transplant. Since I was not a match, her doctors will search the National Marrow Donor Program registry to find a nonrelative match.

The Reporter: Who can qualify as a potential bone marrow donor?

Hyatt: To join the registry, you need to be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patient in need and meet health guidelines. You can visit www.bethematch.org for more information on conditions that would prevent you from joining the registry.

The Reporter: What will happen specifically at the registry event from the time someone walks in to the time the person leaves?

Hyatt: The eligibility process should take about 20 to 30 minutes. Four swabs of cheek cells are taken at the drive and sent to the national headquarters to determine the donor’s tissue type. Potential donors also complete a brief health questionnaire and sign a consent form to have their tissue type listed on the registry. If you are called to be a potential donor, there is no cost to you and any travel costs are reimbursed.

The Reporter: Would you speak to the kind of side effects and recovery time that can be associated with bone marrow donation?

Hyatt: Doctors most commonly request a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is similar to giving blood platelets. During the collection, donors may experience a tingling feeling or chills. These eects go away shortly after donating. Marrow donation is an outpatient surgical procedure, and donors feel no pain during the marrow donation process. Afterward most donors feel some soreness in their lower back for a few days or longer. Most donors are back to their usual routine in a few days. I cannot speak to how critical a bone marrow donation can be to someone else’s health. Getting patients to transplant quickly is often critical. For Shari, not receiving the transplant may result in the return of leukemia.

The Reporter: How many potential donors are you hoping to register at the Be The Match drive?

Hyatt: Between the drive on Dec. 8 at the Eaton Corporation in Arden and Dec. 12 at Asheville Ballroom & Dance Centre, our goal is 500. The Dec. 12 drive in honor of my sister will take place at the Asheville Ballroom & Dance Centre, 991 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. We have more than 30 volunteers working this drive, live music and light refreshments. Pepsi donated drinks, and Sam’s Club of Asheville donated cookies. I would like to make this a yearly event.

The Reporter: What are some other ways to support the Be The Match Registry?

Hyatt: Other ways to get involved and help support patients needing bone marrow transplants include making a tax-deductible contribution to the Be The Match Foundation, volunteering time and spreading the word to others about how they can save a life.

The Reporter: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Hyatt: It’s the season for giving. Give life! Please attend the drive in Asheville. I have applied to the Be The Match Foundation to serve as a volunteer ambassador to assist the organization in the accomplishment of its mission. Hopefully I can make more people aware of the Be The Match registry and assist in bringing more drives to Western North Carolina.

Interview by Teresa Killian Tate and printed in edited and condensed form

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TOP STORIES Ron Rash wins second Sir Walter Raleigh Award NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor of Appalachian Culture at Western Carolina University, is recipient of the 2009 Sir Walter EVENTS Raleigh Award for Fiction for his fourth novel, “Serena.”

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES The award is presented annually by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association in recognition of works of fiction that exhibit “creative and imaginative quality, excellence of style, universality of appeal, and relevance to North Carolina and her people.”

Rash will pick up his award at a February meeting of the association in Greensboro. CALENDAR He also won the Sir Walter Raleigh Award in 2006 – that one for his third novel, “The 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, World Made Straight.” Modern Minds 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Published in October 2008, “Serena” tells the story of timber baron George LINKS Pemberton and his ruthless wife, Serena, who come to the North Carolina mountains Calendar to create a timber empire. The book drew widespread praise from critics across the nation after its release. A New York Times reviewer complimented Rash’s “elegantly Higher Education NewsWatch fine-tuned voice” and listed the book as one of her 10 favorites of 2008, and “Serena” WCU Hub made the “best of 2008” lists of Publishers Weekly, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle. The book also was No. 7 in online AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT retailer Amazon’s list of the 100 best books of 2008.

A native of Boiling Springs, Rash teaches Appalachian literature and creative writing Ron Rash at WCU. His next book, a compilation of short stories titled “Burning Bright,” will be released in March.

By Randall Holcombe

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TOP STORIES Season’s Greetings NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS

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LINKS Calendar It is with a spirit of much gratitude that Deborah and I bring you season’s greetings this year. Higher Education NewsWatch

The Western Carolina University community has faced many challenges with the economic downturn, but despite WCU Hub those challenges – or perhaps in some cases because of them – you truly have come together as a community and

have made a difference in our world. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

The difference is evident in our service.

Among the many eorts this year that originated on our campus was the 25th annual Tuckaseigee River Cleanup, the largest single-day river cleanup project in the nation. Also, many of you joined me in reaching out to the people of the nearby municipality of Dillsboro to begin assisting them however we can as they rethink the town’s Deborah and John Bardo economic strategies in light of changes to tourist traffic and businesses.

Your eorts do not go unnoticed. In 2009, the Corporation for National and Community Service named WCU to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for “exemplary commitment to service and civic engagement.” Thank you for participating in and involving our students in the many service-learning efforts at WCU that benefit not only our students, but also our neighbors in need.

The difference you make also is evident in our achievements.

On campus, our student enrollment grew this fall to 9,429 – the largest total student enrollment in the university’s history and a 4 percent increase from last year. We opened two new, state-of-the-art buildings: the Courtyard Dining Hall and the 426-bed Balsam Hall. We also broke ground on a new $46 million health sciences building, which is scheduled to open in 2012.

O campus, we continued to gain attention and accolades on a national level. One achievement of which I am particularly proud is the bestowing of the Sudler Trophy, the nation’s highest and most-coveted award for college and university marching bands, on our very own Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. Our musicians and directors invest many, many hours in the band, and their eorts bring a lot of life and vibrancy to our campus. I hope all of you will join me next year as we send them off in style to take the spotlight in the nationally televised 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade.

In addition this year, we surpassed the $40 million goal for the university’s rst comprehensive fundraising campaign and announced that more than $51 million has been raised for endowed scholarships, professorships and programmatic support. It would not have been possible without you.

Deborah and I thank you and we hope that the holiday season for you and your family will be a safe and happy one.

Best Wishes, John and Deborah Bardo

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TOP STORIES Submissions sought for Faculty Scholarship Celebration Week exhibit NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 3, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

Preparations are under way for the 2010 Faculty Scholarship Celebration Week exhibit, which will recognize and celebrate scholarly works by faculty and EVENTS sta. The deadline for faculty members to submit books and articles, music scores, art works, CDs, PowerPoint presentations, and other samples of accomplishments from the past year is Jan. 22. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES

Faculty Scholarship Celebration Week, to be held Feb.15-19, highlights the WCU community’s creativity, ingenuity, collaboration, tradition and wish to share knowledge.

“Over time, the focus of the faculty works in the exhibit has broadened and expanded, reecting the faculty’s desire to excel and to share their knowledge with others,” said exhibit coordinator Alessia Zanin-Yost, a reference librarian and visual and performing arts liaison at Hunter Library. CALENDAR “What better place than the library to celebrate everyone’s achievements.” 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minds The exhibit will provide a focal point to engage faculty, sta and students to talk about what it means to be scholarly. “It’s fun to wander over to the 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond library and see what other people are doing,” said James McLachlan, professor of philosophy and religion. “I’ve discovered books and articles by people the Glass Matrix I’ve known and others I’ve never met but who are working on topics that are interesting to me and sometimes even related to my own work. Looking at 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara what my colleagues have done and are doing makes me happy to be working at Western Carolina.” Tyroler 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' Seeing the accomplishments of the entire faculty brought together for display in one place is an inspiring experience, said David Shapiro, WCU’s 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show Robert Lee Madison Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Seeing and talking to colleagues about their 'Livin' the Dream' scholarly endeavors renews our passion, Shapiro said, and experiencing “the creative intellectual and aesthetic talents of others indeed is a celebration of all that we enjoy in this valley of the lilies and the most positive side of human potential. It gives us pause to wander in awe and to celebrate the remarkable people, our colleagues and friends, with whom we are a community. It is always the right time to celebrate that which unites us.” LINKS Calendar Works that will be featured in the displays are those that have been subject to a professional, refereed peer review with expectation of dissemination Higher Education NewsWatch and cover a broad range of inquiries, investigations, and personal work making original, intellectual, or creative contributions to their discipline. All works that fit this scholarly definition and were produced in 2009 will be accepted. WCU Hub

All works need to be submitted using the form available at http://hunterlibrarynews.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-faculty-scholarship-celebration.html. AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT

The Faculty Scholarship Celebration Week is sponsored by the Honors College, Oce for Undergraduate Studies, Graduate School and Research, Coulter Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence, and Hunter Library. For more information, e-mail Zanin-Yost at [email protected] or call (828) 227-3398.

Click here to read about the inaugural Faculty Scholarship Celebration Week in 2009.

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TOP STORIES Tickets for ‘An Evening With Garrison Keillor’ sold out NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 1, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

Western Carolina University’s Fine and Performing Arts Center has sold out of tickets for a March appearance by Garrison Keillor, host of the popular EVENTS public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion.”

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES An acclaimed author, storyteller, humorist and musician, Keillor will take center stage in WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Monday, March 8.

Keillor hosted the rst broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” in

St. Paul, Minn., on July 6, 1974. The show ended in 1987, resumed in CALENDAR 1989 in New York as “The American Radio Company,” returned to 5/29/2017 Ancient Forms, Modern Minnesota, and in 1993 resumed the name “A Prairie Home Minds Companion.” More than 3 million listeners on more than 450 public 5/29/2017 Print Plus One: Beyond radio stations now hear the show each week. the Glass Matrix 5/29/2017 Water Portraits: Barbara Keillor’s most recent role included playing himself in the movie Tyroler adaptation of his show. He also is the author of 12 books, including 6/9/2017 Musical Variety Show 'Livin' the Dream' “Lake Wobegon Days,” “The Book of Guys,” “The Old Man Who 6/10/2017 Musical Variety Show Loved Cheese,” “Wobegon Boy,” “Me: By Jimmy ‘Big Boy’ Valente as 'Livin' the Dream' Told to Garrison Keillor,” “Love Me” and “Homegrown Democrat.” His newest novel, “Pontoon,” was released in the fall of 2007. LINKS Keillor has received numerous awards, including a Grammy Award for Calendar his recording of “Lake Wobegon Days.” He also has received two Higher Education NewsWatch Cable ACE Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recently WCU Hub was presented a National Humanities Medal by the National

Endowment for the Humanities. He was inducted into the Radio Hall AFRICA! MORE THAN A CONTINENT of Fame at Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications in 1994.

“An Evening with Garrison Keillor” is sponsored by the Oce of the Chancellor and the Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series. Garrison Keillor (Photo by Brian Velenchenko) Reserved seat tickets for “An Evening with Garrison Keillor” were $25. Ticket sales were started early to enable patrons to purchase tickets as holiday gifts, said Paul Lormand, Fine and Performing Arts Center director. For information, contact the FAPAC box oce at (828) 227-2479 or online www.wcu.edu/fapac.

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TOP STORIES CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES WCU homepage, events calendar to get ‘tune-up’ NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS Western Carolina University concluded a three-year implementation of a full Web redesign this summer, and now it’s time for the rst tune-up, said Dirk Herr-Hoyman, director of Web services. When the tune-up takes eect in the next few weeks, visitors to WCU’s homepage will be greeted with revamped news and events sections featuring a feed from a live campus events calendar; links to WCU social networking sites such as Facebook and PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Twitter; a lighter color scheme; a less cluttered page header intended to make the page easier to navigate; and an improved WCU site search engine.

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A draft of the tuned-up WCU homepage (above) features social networking links, a new format for university news and current information about campus events

A draft of the new, comprehensive WCU events calendar Web page oers both list and monthly grid viewing formats. Visitors will be able to mouse over or click on an event for more information.

The modifications addressed in the first tune-up were driven in part by the need to improve online publicity about campus events.

“Last year’s interactive audit of the WCU Web site by Stamats consultants conrmed what many of us already knew – the Web is the rst place many people go to find out what’s happening at the university,” said Bill Studenc, senior director of news services.

Laura Hu, e-marketing coordinator for WCU, said the tuned-up homepage will not only contain a link to a new comprehensive campus event calendar but also preview select upcoming “hot” events.

“This preview, a short list of events dynamically updated with fresh content, will better promote the wide variety of events oered to the region,” said Huff. “Visitors to the homepage will have easier access to information about all the public events happening on campus.”

In addition, the tune-up addresses a need to improve the method and the speed of updating news information on WCU’s homepage. “This tune-up will enable us to more immediately provide breaking news and important announcements, such as weather-related schedule changes or emergency information, to the campus community and beyond,” said Studenc. “The homepage also will help us more eectively highlight the many success stories of Western Carolina – of our students, our faculty, our academic programs and our service to the region.”

The tune-up process got under way when Herr-Hoyman and Web services sta member Amy Walker began meeting with representatives from public relations and creative services interested in improving events publicity and news immediacy on the WCU Web site.

“Both of these urgent needs led us to rethink how the space on the homepage was being used,” said Herr-Hoyman. “We also looked at where our peers in higher education have gone with their Web sites and noted what worked well for others that could be incorporated as part of our tune-up.”

Many institutions are driving Web visitors directly to interactive networking sites, and the WCU tune-up will include adding links to WCU’s pages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other sites. “WCU connects with many of its constituents through social media tools, and we are thrilled to be able to offer our Web audiences easier access to these various communication channels from the WCU homepage,” said Huff.

The most noticeable visual changes to the WCU Web site will be to the events page, which will be powered by the new comprehensive events calendar tool, and to the homepage, which will incorporate modications such as reducing the number of large photos from one to two. “Having a visual hierarchy is important in design in order to help people more easily see – and nd – what is most important, and this new layout better accomplishes that,” said Rubae Schoen, director of creative services and WCU brand manager. “Along those same lines, the removal of the gold background on the homepage opens up the page to the entire window instead of conning it to a small visual area. The white background also allows for the use of a full color Western Carolina logo.”

The design modications, led by Schoen and senior designer Katie Martin, are being programmed into the site by Jed Tate, Web developer, with assistance from Web services staffers Herr-Hoyman, Walker and Melissa Young, and should go live in the next few weeks.

The rapid pace of advances in technology and Internet capabilities make Web site tune-ups necessary to ensure the site continues to perform well, said Herr-Hoyman. He anticipates additional tune-ups this spring and summer will bring to the WCU Web site more dynamic elements, such as slideshow and video players; more variety in “landing pages” such as admissions.wcu.edu in order to personalize a page’s look and function to the specic needs and strengths of the office; and development of a WCU Web style guide that defines acceptable page color, logos, navigation aids and more.

“We also expect to increase the width of the pages by about 25 percent,” said Herr-Hoyman. “In the past three years, typical screen sizes have increased from about 800 pixels by 600 pixels to 1,024 pixels by 768 pixels. Increasing the page size will allow us to t in new things and rethink what sizes we allocate for text, navigation and so on.”

Herr-Hoyman said he is available to discuss Web site problems, ideas and requests with the campus community by e-mail, phone or in-person. “I also like to have group conversations to have some cross-fertilization of ideas, which can happen if there’s interest,” said Herr-Hoyman. “Together we can develop and implement modifications at a modest cost that truly raise the quality of the experience for visitors to our Web site.”

By Teresa Killian Tate

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ACHIEVEMENTS CATEGORIES | THE REPORTER

TOP STORIES Vincent Hall wins grant NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The Jonas Center awarded $15,710 to Vincent Hall, director of the nursing school at WCU, to support a project implementation in North Carolina to create a multiregional model to increase the proportion of baccalaureate nursing students in the United States.

PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES Tags: grants, nursing, Vincent Hall

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TOP STORIES Watch a slideshow from WCU holiday concert NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 14, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS Western Carolina University’s School of Music presented is annual “Sounds of the Season” holiday concert Dec. 6 in the concert hall of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. The School of Music’s primary scholarship fundraiser each year, the concert featured performances by WCU groups including the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, University Chorus, Early Music Ensemble, Musical Theatre Singers and Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet. PHOTOS | WCU NEWS SERVICES In addition, the show featured an honors children’s choir, an appearance by Santa and a reading by WCU faculty member Steve Carlisle of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

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TOP STORIES Dillsboro community members tour campus NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

EVENTS The developing partnership between Western Carolina University and Dillsboro took another step forward recently as town merchants and leaders visited campus to tour laboratories and other facilities, and to find out how WCU students are engaged in assisting the region.

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Dillsboro town members tour WCU's campus.

Dillsboro comunity members visit engineering and technology labs on the WCU campus.

Dillsboro community members tour the WCU campus as part of a university-town partnership.

Accompanied by WCU Chancellor John Bardo and his wife, Deborah Bardo, about two dozen Dillsboro representatives began their visit with a general orientation session in the Admission Oce. The group then proceeded to tour the Center for Applied Technology, Fine and Performing Arts Center, Center for Service Learning, the new Balsam Hall and other oces before gathering with university representatives for dinner at the Courtyard Dining Hall.

The tour Monday, Nov. 30, was a follow-up to an October meeting held in Dillsboro during which the town’s residents and university administration, faculty and staff began discussing in detail what the university can do to help the municipality boost its tourism economy in light of the decision by Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to cease operations in the town.

Betty Farmer, professor of communication and special assistant to the chancellor for the Dillsboro project, said the Dillsboro merchants and leaders were invited to campus to give everyone involved “a chance to get to know each other a little better,” but also to give Dillsboro’s residents a sense of the university’s capabilities in terms of the assistance it can offer the town.

The day after the tour, Janet Chinners, treasurer of the Dillsboro Merchants Association, said she and her husband, John Chinners, the association’s incoming president, were impressed that WCU is nding “new and innovative ways of doing things,” and the couple is excited about that ingenuity being directed at making Dillsboro a stronger draw for visitors. The Chinners own the Dillsboro business Country Traditions.

“We were extremely impressed with the caliber of training the university is providing its students,” Janet Chinners said. “WCU is obviously doing a good job preparing them to go out in the workplace to compete for jobs.”

Farmer said the next step in the process of forming the partnership will be a meeting involving core groups of representatives from the town and university. In addition to Farmer, WCU’s representatives at that meeting will be Gibbs Knotts, head of the Political Science and Public Aairs Department, and Wendy Cagle, regional director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center. Following that gathering, a written partnership proposal will be developed, Farmer said.

“Together, we will identify some clear, measurable and feasible objectives that can be Related Posts: accomplished in the next two years, and we also will identify some long-range goals,” she said. Chancellor, WCU representatives go to “We will present this proposal to the larger Dillsboro community early in the spring semester.” Dillsboro to hear needs, requests Since their Nov. 30 visit to campus, Dillsboro ocials also have indicated that they would like to Chancellor announces partnership host a tour of the town for WCU representatives, Farmer said. with Dillsboro as part of university focus on state, regional needs

Dillsboro Green Energy Park tapped for art school partnership By Randall Holcombe

Tags: Betty Farmer, Dillsboro, John W. Bardo, QEP, Quality Enhancement Plan, service, service learning

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TOP STORIES WCU professor teaches in the Netherlands NOTEWORTHY NEWS December 7, 2009 Email This Post Print This Post Share | ACHIEVEMENTS

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Downtown Middleburg is pedestrian-friendly. (Photo by Chris Cooper)

Three years ago, Western Carolina University joined a consortium designed to bring faculty and students from institutions around the world together in an interactive, international learning community that helps promote a more transatlantic perspective. This semester, Chris Cooper became the rst WCU professor to teach in the Netherlands for the Middleburg Center for Transatlantic Studies as part of three-and-a-half week faculty exchanges open to member institutions of the MCTS consortium.

“The consortium was set up as a way for faculty and students to have an educational overseas experience with faculty and students from institutions around the world, and we are excited to see our faculty benet and hope to encourage WCU students to participate as well,” said Lois Petrovich- Mwaniki, director of international programs and services at WCU. Consortium members include institutions based in Australia, Germany, Hungary Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The center, formerly the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies, recently relocated to Middleburg in the Netherlands and partnered with the Roosevelt Academy, an International Honors College of Utrecht University. “With the new aliation with Roosevelt Academy, our students are able to take courses there – a top-notch, exclusive institution – as well as through the center,” said Petrovich-Mwaniki.

Cooper, associate professor of political science and public aairs, will be in Middleburg until Dec. 21 teaching a course in political communication. “This is a great program,” said Cooper. “I’m having a great time and am learning – both from the people of Middelburg and from my students. WCU students who want to learn in an international setting but without the language barrier should strongly consider coming here.”

Gibbs Knotts, head of the political science and public aairs department, will participate in the faculty exchange from July 12 to Aug. 6. Knotts will teach a course about regional identity and politics in which students will apply lessons from the American experience to an exploration of regional identity and politics in European states. “The course concludes by focusing on the ways identity will shape politics at the state and European level in the 21st century,” said Knotts.

In the fall, the consortium’s faculty exchange opportunities will transition from three-and-a-half week blocks to more traditional semester schedules.

Tags: Chris Cooper, Gibbs Knotts, International Programs & Services, Lois Petrovich-Mwaniki