Leadership Council
April 18, 2019
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Hill 339
Notes
In attendance: David Hough, Denise Cunningham, Janice Duncan, Stephanie Huffman (ZOOM), Stephen Kleinsmith, Dennis Lancaster, Travis Marler, Juli Panza, James Satterfield, Emmett Sawyer, Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Sharon Lopinot
Guest: Minor Baker
Emmett met with Dr. Gearl Loden, Nixa Superintendent of Schools, and some of his staff to develop a Memorandum of Understanding. They identified issues that will continue to be worked on. Nixa has a Cadet Corp for students that are interested in teaching. One of the teachers from Nixa was identified to teach CFD155 for dual credit. Students will be able to use this as a gen ed course for graduation. The school will be given graduate level credit hours based on the enrollment in their class that can be used by any of their faculty to work toward a degree/certificate. Dean Hough and Superintendent Loden signed the MOU, and all in attendance agreed to move forward post haste. Josh Chastain will meet with Denise to work out the graduate credit hours and identify the most appropriate course and instructor to teach same. Emmett said they are also talking with people at Republic School District to see if they would be interested in doing something similar.
COE will issue a public call for comments on the quality of the EPP programs at least sixteen weeks prior to the November 3 – 5, 2019 CAEP site visit. Dean Hough asked the Writing Team to discuss with other IHEs what they did in this regard. He also has asked Dr. Barri Tinkler to contact the WT and explain how the University of Vermont fulfilled this component of CAEP. Dr. Huffman said she knew all about this and is an annual reviewer for CAEP, so she will share what the University of Central Arkansas did last year as part of their CAEP review.
Every year the Provost’s Office approves graduate assistants for our college. The Dean expects COE to have the same number of GA positions this year as last. Department heads noted that we need to be more strategic in terms of need. That is, we should not simple replace GAs with new GAs but should, instead, determine needs, prioritize these, and then make GA allocations accordingly.
Discussion:
– Place them where they could be used by the most people
– Some people do not know how to use them
– The culture should be for grad assistants to learn how to do something specific so they can then do it for us rather than to just do things we don’t know how to do ourselves
– Some are used for clerical work; graduate assistants should not be answering the phones
– Some grad assistants are shared by a program and work with their faculty as they are needed
– They should have their job duties/expectations explained to them prior to hiring
– Dean Hough asks for a review of graduate assistants twice a year to make sure they are doing what they were hired for
Juli attended a kick-off meeting and user training for SignalVine Monday. SignalVine is a texting software package the university purchased for a one-year pilot program, which will be evaluated upon completion. COE Education Advisement, the Academic Advisement Center and COB Business Advisement offices will all participate. The pilot will involve 5,500 students. The program can be used to filter lists, such as a 3.0 GPA or higher, your specific advisees, etc., and can be used on your computer and/or phone. The purpose is to be able to get in touch with students regarding important matters, not just simple reminders. Juli’s group will get more information on this at a meeting on Tuesday.
At the Administrative Council meeting on April 10th Dean Hough attended, one of the topics was about sponsoring a bear statue. Clif Smart is funding the actual cost of the bear statues. The sponsoring unit will pay for the design and painting, approximately $1,750 to $4,500 depending on the design. The first step is to submit a project request form with the suggested location and design for the statue, if known. Planning, Design and Construction can help develop a concept and location if requested. The Dean asked if the group thought this was a good idea. Everyone agreed it was and encouraged the Dean to move forward with a design team. Janice suggested asking the Greenwood art teacher to work on this. After further discussion, the Dean agreed to form a COE Bear Statue Design Team comprised of Jennifer Grace, Julie Bandy, and Denise Reinert. The Dean will also invite by way of his Post any other interested individuals to participate in the design.
The Dean reminded everyone who completes personal financial disclosures to have them submitted by May 1st, or there will be a $10/day fee charged. The Provost’s Office has sent multiple reminders to individuals.
The Einhellig Graduate Interdisciplinary Forum is May 4th. Submissions are now closed. This event showcases graduate student research through oral, poster and performance presentations. This is a great way for graduate students to get their research recognized. Faculty should remind grad students of this event early enough in the fall semester for them to prepare and submit a presentation.
On May 7, Dr. K, Emmett, and Steve Jones will meet in West Plains with Lori Wilson, Superintendent of West Plains School District, to discuss the feasibility of starting a MATL cohort there.
Search Updates
Denise: All searches are completed. Their last hire was Dr. Hazzan Raza.
James: ATLL has one search under way and another will be posted soon for two new consultants.
Janice: The kindergarten opening has been filled pending BOG approval.
They are looking at references for the Spanish and Math positions.
They have interviews scheduled next week for the PE/Coach opening.
Around the Table
Janice Duncan
They passed AdvancED accreditation. Yesterday was Grandparent’s Day for grades K-5. The students did a wonderful music presentation. Contracts are being mailed out today.
Dennis Lancaster
CFO and West Plains held a Rural Schools Partnership Forum on April 4th. CFO works with over 100 school partners throughout southern Missouri. A good number of superintendents and principals from the area attended. This was a good regional approach.
Emmett Sawyer
Kimberly Stormer held the Middle School MAP Conference yesterday. Over 400 students were in on campus. The Advisory Councils for RFT are providing good feedback this year.
Denise Cunningham
She met with Michelle in the Admissions Office to discuss the virtual campus tours. We need to decide in the next two – three weeks what we want in it. Denise will work with Juli and get back to us.
Minor Baker
Minor is working with Dr. Mike Dawson, Springfield Public Schools, regarding his ELE500 students. This fall they will attend Weller Elementary once a week, which will allow them to be familiar with how schools start the year and processes during the year. Minor is also working on having his ELE501 students at Robberson Elementary once a week. They would work with faculty and administration. The Early Childhood faculty met with Dr. Dawson earlier in the year regarding embedding EC practicum placements in Springfield Public Schools.
James Satterfield
James received notice that he, Michelle Satterfield, Michele Smith and Ronda Bishop will be teaching classes in China this summer for two weeks. This is a great opportunity. In the fall he will discuss opportunities with COE faculty.
Stephen Kleinsmith
He is working with Grant Schwarz, faculty and staff, to create 30 second videos tied to the COE Strategic Plan. The videos will be shown at the College Meeting on August 16th and some may be used for recruiting. Let Stephen know of any ideas you may have. He is having a meeting regarding the Bear in Every Building on April 30th. The group is planning a soft opening in August in Camdenton and anticipate having 24 teachers in place next year. The program should continue to grow each year. Stephen is looking for a date in July to have a Staff Professional Development regarding “Finding Your Balance”. Let him know of days that won’t work. Spread the word to teachers and COE students about the Recruiting & Retaining Quality Teachers Presentation on April 26th, 10:30 a.m. – noon, Hill 001. Beth Davey, 2018 MO Teacher of the Year will present and there will be a panel discussion. Vicki Schmitt is going to present with Stephen today in Logan-Rogersville about the Internship Academy and their research project which looks at how effective our beginning teachers are over the years. Two other presentations at other locations are coming up.
Travis Marler
Some faculty members contacted him with interest in obtaining their own data. He showed them the Share Point application which allows people to save/share information regarding quality of programs. This will be demonstrated at the next CIS meeting.
Juli Panza
Today is Mission Diploma Day. Advisors will contact and inform students that have left the university, but were close to earning their degree, ways/options regarding completion. A search has been initiated to replace Cindy Thieman. There is a new DESE admission policy potentially starting this Fall. Institutions will be able to use the ACT cut score instead of the MOGEA for admission. The cut score for education is 20. Approximately one-third of students bring their ACT scores with them. They are looking at how many would not make the cut and then have to take the MOGEA. Juli, Dean Hough, and Ximena will meet with EPPC to discuss this and see what it looks like for elementary, middle school, and secondary.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
Submitted by Sharon Lopinot, Executive Assistant II
Dean Hough asked the department heads to stay and discuss a few issues.