VOLUME 26 * ISSUE 2* APR 2021 Passing the Baton Leadership Webinar Series News & Announcements Virtual Initiations New Life for URJHS Chapter Adviser Mentor Program Chapter Highlight: Kappa Alpha Member Highlight: Kitty Coffey Passing the Baton By Ginger Phillips-Schiller Kappa Omicron Nu has seen a lot of change in the past decade. The leadership changes have moved us from much loved Executive Director Dorothy Mitstifer, who served for 50 years, to her protégé Lisa Wootton Booth, to me – as someone with a background in FCS and a doctorate in adult education. Having served two years, I now find myself in the position to pass the baton again to my very capable colleague Holly Roseski. Looking back on my time as Executive Director of KON I could not be prouder. The past two years for KON have been some of the most interesting in the past decade. When I stepped into the role, some of the regular operational programs had stagnated. Processes, templates, and operational details were lost. I cannot underscore enough the value of standard operating procedures, knowledge transfer, and templates to an organization’s daily functioning. Being able to call a board meeting, decide on project priorities, update processes, or put out a simple newsletter moved from work that is operational to a project as we researched history, found tools to build, manage, or host, and recreated processes. Working together with the Board of Directors we have done so much work and come so far. We have recruited new board members, reestablished healthy board term cycles, and added a Treasurer. Corporate operations have been updated, from the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws to updating our bookkeeping system. We have reestablished communications in social media, email outreach, and producing our Dialogue newsletter – not just annually, but quarterly. We are now getting quarterly detailed reports on our website’s performance. We have gone from badly wanting to update the website but not knowing where or how to Dr. Ginger Phillips tackle such a large job, to be able to back it up, quantify the size of the job, and begin to tackle the project by taking down duplicate links, reorganizing content logically, and beginning to archive old content. We created a series of educational content for the year in the form of five leadership webinars. We have held two annual meetings: Conclave in 2019 and Assembly of Delegates in 2020. KON has given out scholarships and grouped them into a singular timeframe to eliminate tracking down each one. Last but certainly not least, we helped guide chapter leaders through the pandemic with virtual initiations. These changes were critical steps in helping KON move forward. I was delighted to help in my role. Perhaps my best accomplishment was to recruit Holly Roseski to the team as it is her talent and dedication that has strongly contributed to many of these important changes and revivals of things dear to Kappa Omicron Nu members. Though I will be stepping down as Executive Director, I will still be staying on in the role of Academic Director to help finish the project of establishing the new process for producing URJHS. This journal is so important to KON and the human sciences. Journal articles by our undergraduate members over time are outstanding, and it is imperative this content is secured to remain available and become indexed for others to view over the years. Though my role has KAPPA OMICRON NU’S DIALOGUE 1 changed, I am looking forward to this new chapter in Kappa Omicron Nu’s book, as I work with Holly and we move forward into KON’s future. Leadership Webinar Series In February and March KON proudly presented a series of four free webinars on an assortment of leadership topics as selected by our chapter advisers in a recent survey. The administrative offices were delighted to have industry legend, Carolyn Jackson, as our distinguished speaker in this series. The topics covered ranged from writing skills to emotional intelligence to networking, and we had 28-47 registrants in each webinar. Our leadership hopes that KON students can use this valuable information to further their leadership skills and advisors can develop their annual program around this content. Thanks to all of our attendees who came out to attend our sessions. For those who were unable to make the sessions, you can attend by finding the recordings at kon.org. • You Are What You Write – Social Media Posts, Emails, Text Messages • Emotional and Social Intelligence in Facilitating Interactions • Networking for Fun and Effectiveness • Being Your BEST You – Authentic, Confident, and Self-Aware In addition to the Carolyn Jackson series, Kappa Omicron Nu was also pleased to present Human Resources expert Katie Chick presenting a webinar on Left: Carolyn Jackson. Right: Katie Chick Tips From a Career Insider. The event on April 7th had 38 participants, who had an informative and engaging hour. Ms. Chick presented an honest, personal reflection on how potential job candidates can best position themselves for a strong and successful job hunt and career. The event brought tips and advice that our attendees are sure to find helpful for years to come. Much thanks to our excellent speakers for their time and for sharing their wisdom with our KON members! News and Announcements Conclave 2021 Date CORRECTION: Note that the date for this year’s Conclave has moved from September 25 to October 2nd. We look forward to seeing you then! Look for more information on kon.org/events. Chapter leaders don’t forget to elect or appoint your Chapter Delegate now in the spring! As the program is being developed, suggestions of speakers and topics are invited. Send suggestions to [email protected] Call for News and Photos: We would like to highlight the accomplishments of our members and chapters! Send us photos, videos, or just words telling us about your recent accomplishments. This may be content for social media, a promotional video, or the next edition of Dialogue. Please send your news to [email protected] We Want YOU! They say you get out of a volunteer organization what you put into it. Please join us in participating in some of our excellent volunteer and research opportunities. Call for Research: Think fast! May 1 is the due date for the Coordinating Council of Honor Societies (CCHS) call for research presentations in the human sciences. The winner will receive a $1,000 prize and will present their research in a national event. Learn more and apply at https://kon.org/awards KAPPA OMICRON NU’S DIALOGUE 2 Call for Research: KON has announced an Undergraduate Student Research Competition. Though it takes place at Conclave in October, we request your abstract submissions over the summer on a rolling submission basis. If you’re looking for an extremely low-pressure way to present at a national conference – this is it! Take an hour, submit your abstract, and add an impressive accomplishment to your resume. Learn more and apply at https://kon.org/events/ Call for Volunteers: KON is now accepting applications for the below listed roles. Learn more and apply at https://kon.org/board/ • Board of Directors: Second Vice Chair • Board of Directors: Treasurer • Board of Directors: Student Board Member (1) • Committee Member: Nominations and Elections (2) • Committee Member: Publications Committee (2) • Committee Member: Awards (multiple) Virtual Initiations With pandemic quarantine impacting our chapters across the nation, many chapter advisers had the challenge of figuring how to carry on with initiations. How does one give the appropriate solemnity and official feel to a ceremonial occasion when conducting proceedings via Zoom? To lend a hand the national office offered three virtual initiation ceremonies for the office to coordinate and lead in February, March, and April 2021. Though certainly unusual, the events went off beautifully. We were honored to have journal writing expert Sue McGregor speak on fundamentals in journal writing as compared to a class research paper. Also in attendance were esteemed department heads and faculty as well as the appropriate KON advisers and chapter leaders, and close family and friends. Ten KON chapters participated, initiating 123 students (56 at the first, 39 at the second, and 28 at the third). There was a wide range in the number of students per chapter ranging from 1 to 40. Congratulations to all of our new initiates at the represented schools: • Omicron Alpha Beta at the University of Maine • Omicron Alpha Psi at California State University Long Beach • Kappa Delta Psi at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff • Nu Alpha Epsilon at Georgian Court University • Omicron Alpha Upsilon at University of Delaware • Kappa Beta Epsilon at Prairie View A&M University • Kappa Delta Rho at Olivet Nazarene University • Nu Alpha Nu at Oswego State University at New York • Nu Alpha Omicron at the University of Florida • Kappa Delta Mu at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University New Life for URJHS Ginger Phillips and KON’s Publications Committee are working hard on resurrecting URJHS. For any new members unfamiliar with the publication, URJHS or the Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences. URJHS was first created in 2001 by Dorothy Mitstifer leading a group called the Undergraduate Research Community (URC) composed of strong Universities, and non-profit organizations. The URC and journal have largely fallen by the wayside, it was truly a personal passion of KON’s former Executive Director Dorothy Mitstifer. In the past several months KON has been taking steps to resurrect URJHS. We are looking to not only have the publication produced again but are also looking to officially move all issues to an official publishing house.