Archives: Higher Ed
Big news about big bucks (and a few more details about that soccer stadium)
At the State of the University on Wednesday, the big news was all about the big bucks– a recent $1 million anonymous gift to the university for a soccer stadium and the $45,000-plus savings possible for those students selected for Lynn’s new 3-year degree program. As the Sun-Sentinel’s Scott Travis reported, the Lynn Degree 3.0 initiative “will start next school year and will be available to freshmen who receive at least a 3.0 grade point average their fall semester and maintain or improve their GPA during the spring semester.”
Exciting stuff. And the 3.0 marketing materials are already moving. The table tent above will be going on the road with Lynn’s admissions officers beginning immediately. (That’s our Lynn design team, Andreia Brunstein and Shaun Aaron in the background.)
As for the soccer stadium, here are a few more details you didn’t hear about Wednesday. The site selected for such a facility is the current intramural field (west of the deHoernle Center) and is expected – according to our most recent athletics master plan – to have approximately 1,000 seats.
Last but not least in this rundown of State of the U news: if you were at the fourth annual address by Dr. Ross, you saw the person below snapping pictures from a variety of angles. Some of those pics have been loaded to our Facebook page. And the photographer? None other than CIC grad and master’s student (and marketing photographer!) Carolina Gonzalez. The photographer on this blurry shot? Me. Yes… that’s why we have Carolina shoot the important stuff!
Making our mark in the Chronicle of Higher Education
For the first time in recent history, Lynn University is running ads with The Chronicle of Higher Education… ads I thought you might like to see. They nicely capture some of the things that makes Lynn so distinctive, not to mention some of the nice things our friends have been saying about us recently.
Why the Chronicle? Well, says our marketing director Carol Herz, the Chronicle is academe’s grey lady — a weekly publication that can safely claim to be on the table of every chancellor, president, dean and vice president at the country’s community colleges, public universities and, last but certainly not least, private colleges and universities. In short, it’s required reading for educators at the college level – as well as all those freshly minted PhDs on the job market (if you ever handle a copy, you’ll see what I mean. The classifieds section has got to be the envy of print publishing, whatever the industry!)
Ad that appeared in the Chronicle's annual "Diversity" issue.
Being within their pages puts us in good company. And it allows us to tell the adminstrators, professors and others who may be eyeing Lynn from afar, just what we’re all about.
"Making Our Mark" ad appearing now.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Lynn’s been in the Chron recently. The Washington,DC-based publication has written about “the voice of Lynn” (Joe Carey, in the College of International Communication), talked to our president and CIO Chris Boniforti for a piece on “When Generations Collide,” and ran several letters from our adminstrators and cabinet members, among other things.
But the only rival to our ad series in total impressions? Dr. Ted Curtis. Mr. Sports Management, as I like to call him (with apologies to the “Other Mr. SM”, Dr. Chad Barr), has been featured several times in the last three years in the Chronicle. This past March, it was his Yankees J-Term class that caught their attention. Before that, it was the sports management Final Four class.
But that’s enough about that. What I want to know is, what do you think of the ads?
Lynn MBA is world class
The Ritter Building – full-time home of the College of Business and Management – at Lynn.
The September 14, 2009 edition of Business Week confirms that Lynn University is on to something.
See, here at Lynn we say we’re “international” a lot. And with good reason. Our curriculum? Internationally focused. Our student body? Uniquely rich with international students. And our efforts to send students abroad to see the world first hand? Uncommonly successful.
But did you know that many of Lynn’s graduate programs are also structured after an international model? They are. Not only can you specialize in international business, but the most ambitious students in the MBA program, for example, can also complete the degree in one-year – an accelerated timeline more common in Europe than North America (where two-year programs are the norm).
And this approach to MBA education is now becoming the preferred approach for many students. In that recent Business Week story titled “B School: The view at the gate,” the magazine reported that one-year MBA programs are now the preferred option abroad. The story reported on findings from an annual survey by QS World MBA Tour, which polled some 4,000 MBA applicants from 35 countries about their program and career preferences. For the first time ever, applicants expressed greater interest in the one-year MBA than the two-year programs.
Of the survey respondents, the story said, 44 percent preferred a one-year program. Forty-three (43) percent still prefer the two-year option. The switch was the “first in the survey’s 11-year history,” Alison Damast reports.
Having studied in the Lynn MBA program myself, I’ve been asked about it by several off-campus students – not to mention my banker wife, who is now enrolled. While I enjoyed the pace of the program (among many other things), I’ve also warned several that doing it full speed isn’t for everyone. But if you’re a rip the band-aid off, type, maybe it is! Apparently, the world is full of those types right now.
Congressman Klein and President Ross huddle on campus
President Ross and Congressman Klein following an Aug. 13 visit.
U.S. Congressman Ron Klein made a low-key visit to campus last week to break bread with President Ross in the Schmidt Building.
In addition to catching the Boca Raton Democrat up on all things Lynn, Ross and Klein discussed a wide range of topics including the new G.I. Bill (Klein is a big supporter, and Lynn an early adopter of the newly revised program), state education funding, and national education policy. Said Klein, a former state Senator and a longtime proponent of state spending for education, the “biggest dividends” from government spending come in the education sector.
The visit came at the tail end of what was a very long day for both parties involved. Our president was on the road at 6:30 a.m. that morning heading to Orlando to huddle with a committee of select Sunshine State Conference presidents who were choosing a new commissioner. And while officially on recess, Klein had spent the day visiting his campaign offices around the district and catching up with constituents. The two paused at the end of their meet and greet for the quick photo above (yes, I’m “that guy” – the one that won’t let a visit go undocumented).
The visit, Klein said, was his fourth or fifth to Lynn as an elected official. And he proved it – talking up our Fighting Knights teams (soccer especially), international focus (a focus he shares, as he sits on several foreign relations committees in Congress), and campus beauty. (The sorts of things that I never tire of hearing! Here’s hoping he’s back for visit 6 or 7 soon.)
A thoughtful voice tackling what Miami Herald called ‘the sex offender mess’
Dr. Jill Levenson, associate professor and chair of human services at Lynn University, is sometimes in the unenviable position of being on the right side of a tough issue. A licensed clinical social worker who got her start 20 years ago as a child protection social worker, she is a nationally known expert on sexual violence and has become a respected authority on, among other things, laws aimed at protecting children while punishing, tracking and rehabilitating sex offenders.
Yesterday morning’s Miami Herald included an editorial by Fred Grimm that dissects South Florida’s own ’sex offender mess’ – a problem that some believe is the result of housing restrictions that have kept registered offenders clustered in tight communities and, as is the case in Broward County to our south, in a homeless sect nestled under an interstate overpass.
In an effort to find a better way to protect the county’s children, Broward recently created an independent commission to examine new alternatives. Chairing the commission is our own Dr. Levenson, whose work has shown, among other things, that rules imposing housing restrictions on sex offenders can sometimes create more problems than they solve (as may be the case in Fort Lauderdale).
In his editorial today, Grimm applauded the work of this commission.
“The task force charged by the Broward County Commission with finding a way out of the conundrum created by sex offender residency restrictions has listened to experts, crunched numbers and discussed a dismaying array of unintended consequences,” he wrote.
“They discussed better solutions than laws that forced registered sex offenders into homelessness; that left parole officers with no alternative but to send them to live under a highway bridge; that encouraged sex offenders to cluster in neighborhoods with less restrictive ordinances.
…
They pushed beyond the emotional stuff and dug for what made sense.
It was the kind of thoughtful examination needed to sort out a complicated and volatile problem.”
What stuck out to me were those two words: “thoughtful examination.” If you know Dr. Levenson, you know those two words fit her well. She applies her more than two decades of field work and expansive research to projects aimed at finding real solutions. Sometimes, this approach – favoring research over knee jerks – has drawn scrutiny from some corners where voters and lawmakers favored fast action to a slower, if more productive, approach. But more and more people in government (as in Broward County) and the media (like Grimm) are seeing the value in that method.
I, for one, was glad to see this approach (so common to university faculty in general but especially, Dr. L) gaining traction here at home. Bravo Jill! And best of luck to you and the commission.
Charlie Wilson talks about the Red Army, Afghanistan and Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson, the former Texas Congressman hailed in the 2007 hit film “Charlie Wilson’s War” was on campus today to talk to students and special guests about his background as the man credited with helping Afghanistan drive out the Russians in the late 80s (and, therefore, effectively mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War). I just returned from the lunchtime lecture and can tell you a few interesting things about this guy:
The man loves his country, his dog (whose death inspired his political career) and the movie based on his best selling memoir. And I can also tell you Wilson, who was known as “Good Time Charlie” for his party reputation while in Congress, also doesn’t dispute the facts of that reputation… but does “want everyone to know he was single at the time,” as he pointed out today with a smile.
Having seen the movie starring Tom Hanks a few months back, I wasn’t disappointed by the real deal. He’s as sharp and smart (and funny) as you might expect. He opened his lecture with the story of how he got into politics – to avenge the death of his dog who was killed by a neighbor and local politician. To avenge the death, Wilson (at the age of 13) went around town to tell people about how the neighbor poisoned his dog. As he said today, after seeing the guy lose the election by 16 votes, he “fell in love with America for the first time.”
He used that experience as a catalyst – first to serving his home state of Texas as a state representative and then as his district’s rep at the national level. Today he talked about all the figures he knew then and even offered us his take on the current situation in Alfghanistan, which he admitted to feeling was unwinnable in most respects and probably brought on by the lack of a US “end game” after helping expel the Russians over 20 years ago.
During the Q&A session I even squeezed in a question, asking how Wilson liked the movie. “I loved it,” he said. Seems he was often on the set and even offered some advice along the way – “which they never took” he said, laughing.
Interesting guy. I didn’t see this morning’s session with our students, but word is he was even more entertaining and enlightening there. Sorry I missed it.
If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out. See the trailer here. You won’t be disappointed!
Lynn on the little screen
With the Oscars on my mind and a few pieces of news to share, I thought I’d pass along some links for Lynn University people and events on the little screen. First, a month or so ago CSPAN aired its recording of our second Dialogues of Innovation speaker, Princeton professor and author Melissa Harris-Lacewell. That lecture, filmed before a packed house in January, is now available online – check it out. (And yes, I realize they list the lecture as having occurred at Princeton in the preview window – but the actual segment that aired gets it right.)
The star of 'Burn Notice'… that is, the star after our own Mr. Simpson.
Potentially more exciting than that (hard to imagine as that is), one of Lynn’s own had a role in Friday’s episode of the USA Network hit ‘Burn Notice.‘ Drama department chair Adam Simpson was on the show (see full episode online) playing a boat captain and trafficker. If you’re in a hurry, you can find Adam by back tracking 17:28 from the end. Adam, you may remember, was one of the faculty members that led the January Term course that performed original works off Broadway in NYC this year.
Also on the tube on Friday was residence hall director Christina Johnson who ‘won’ SGA’s “Kiss a Pig” competition Friday afternoon. CBS 12 was there to catch Christina in the act of a six second smooch – possibly the longest six seconds in recorded history. I’m without a link at the moment but once I get it I’ll upload. We’ll definitely have it on the Lynn University Facebook page in a day or two. Check it out.
Happy faculty; 12 days of one-on-one; and a question about canal muck
In this morning’s InsideHigherEd.com, editor Scott Jaschik writes about a recent TIAA-CREF report that showed the various levels of satisfaction among full-time faculty members across the country. It includes some very interesting details. For one, full time faculty are a happy lot. As Jaschik reports:
“A new national survey by TIAA-CREF found that 53 percent of faculty members are “very satisfied†with their jobs and another 43 percent are “somewhat satisfied.†Only 2 percent were “not at all satisfied.†By comparison, a recent national survey of Americans in all fields found that only 42 percent reported being “very satisfied,†with another 38 percent “somewhat satisfied.â€
The study also found that those faculty are, by and large, agreeable to sending promising students into careers in academe as well. This was especially surprising for me as I recall my own academic career and many a prof warning me about considering a life in the tower (or in our case, greenhouse). Come to think of it, that probably had more to do with this student’s prospects/talents than the higher ed job market itself. (sigh)
Check out the study (which includes some very telling comparisons of where Gen X and Boomers differ on several things) here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/01/faculty.
Speaking of happy faculty, next week seniors begin darkening the door steps of their advisors offices for registration. Diane Dicerbo says each class basically has three days to get in, get registered and get going (that’s 12 total days, folks). This is, as most of you know, the first time that the process has been totally one-on-one in some time. It’s a shift that I first heard Diane and Gregg Cox discuss at an Arts & Sciences faculty meeting in September. Look for a possible story and photo on the process next week in the Sun-Sentinel. (Note: Angela Rogers and Diane are also making time for an interview next week with Dean & Provost Magazine on the subject. And you thought you were busy!)
And finally… let me ask about muck. Or gunk. Or whatever it is at the bottom of the canal that runs along our northern border. On my way into the north lot this morning I paused just long enough to snap a photo of a clean up occuring roadside (and test the patience of the car behind me). This crane like thing was pulling sticks, stones and brown goo out of the canal. Why? I wonder. I will look into it… and report back!
By the way, whoever you were that graciously allowed me to pause and snap this photo this morning, thank you. I’ve lived in South Florida long enough to know that deserved a beep. I appreciate (and here honor) your restraint.
