The Department of First-Year Programs garnered national recognition for the 10th consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report’s “2013 America’s Best Colleges” edition. Kennesaw State was listed as one of only 23 institutions across the country, and the only one in Georgia, recognized for its First-Year Experience. The magazine began highlighting colleges and universities for their commitment to first-year students in 2004, and KSU has made the list each year. The national recognition was not only featured on the university’s homepage, but it was also publicized in the Kennesaw Patch. Click here to read the full article.

The New York Times’ blog on energy and environmental issues, “Green,” utilized a student-created Public Service Announcement from one of Prof. Ken Hill’s  KSU 1111 classes in its Sept. 20 discussion of college students raising awareness about water conservation. Each semester, several  professors who teach KSU 1111, the globally focused first-year seminar, require students to create a PSA to educate fellow students about one of the seven global challenges discussed in the course. The management of key global resources like food, energy, and water is one of those challenges, and Prof. Hill’s students created an entertaining yet informative PSA to highlight the need to conserve water. The PSA assignment is a version of the “Save the World” assignment originally developed by Dr. Martin Shapiro from California State University – Fresno. Click here to read the blog.

First-Year Convocation features University College alumnus as speaker

Approximately 900 members of the Class of 2016 along with their family members and friends joined Provost Harmon, members of the President’s Cabinet, academic deans, and University College faculty and staff at First-Year Convocation Aug. 26 in the Convocation Center. They welcomed alumnus Richard “Gip” Gayle back to campus as the featured speaker at this annual event honoring first-year students and welcoming them into the KSU community of learners. Gayle inspired the audience with his message of perseverance as he related his personal journey of recovery from a gunshot wound that delayed his college career by five years. After a recovery that his doctors termed “miraculous,” Gayle became a member of KSU’s Class of 2008 and graduated in May 2012 with a bachelor of science in integrative studies with specialty areas of leadership studies and coaching.

Gayle’s journey to KSU and his decision to pursue an integrative studies degree, offered through University College’s Department of University Studies, was featured on the KSU homepage following his graduation. Click here to read the University Relations’ article.

Honors student provided national scholarship

The KSU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, a national honor society, recently announced that Plamen Mavrov, an honors student, was awarded one of the society’s Study Abroad Grants.  These grants are designed to help support undergraduates as they seek knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad.  Fifty $1,000 grants are awarded each year by the PKP national headquarters. Mavrov was recognized in the August 2012 monthly newsletter for Phi Kappa Phi.

Staff member given KSU’s top award for excellence

Catherine Bradford, who will be starting her eighth year in University College in October, was honored as the KSU Staff Member of the Year at the Aug. 15 Staff/ Administrator Awards ceremony. While she was specifically recognized for her accomplishments as the Thrive Graduation Coach during the program’s inaugural year, Bradford's many roles and achievements during her tenure at KSU were noted. Cathy was recently promoted to Learning Communities Director in June and is performing a dual role this year as she continues to serve as Thrive Graduation Coach. Click here to read the full article on the faculty, staff, and administrators honored during the Opening of School awards ceremonies.

Textbook adopted and adapted by Dalton State College

Faculty members from the Department of First-Year Programs were pleased to see chapters that they wrote for Foundations of Academic Inquiry, the custom-published textbook used in all first-year seminars at KSU, adopted for use in Dalton State College’s textbook for its FYES 1000: First Year Experience Seminar course this fall. Professor Matthew Hipps, Dalton’s FYE Director, was so impressed with many of the chapters in the KSU text that he adopted a majority of its chapters and adapted them to meet the needs of the seminar course and Dalton State students. The publisher of both texts, Hayden- McNeil, will be showcasing both textbooks at academic conferences and publishing trade shows in the next several months.

Degree director’s education abroad experience celebrated by Coles College

Prof. Shannon Ferketish, director of the Integrative Studies degree program, is working collaboratively with Prof. Nancy Prochaska from the Coles College of Business on an education abroad experience to Jamaica. Ferketish and Prochaska will take a group of students who are enrolled in “Leadership in Service” this fall to the island in December to help build and furnish part of a school. The trip was recently highlighted in the Coles College of Business newsletter. Click here to read the full article.