13
Consolidated Annual Report, Planning Document, and Budget Request
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Western Illinois University
February 24, 2014
CURRENT YEAR
Fiscal Year 2014
Accomplishments and Productivity for FY14
1. Brief review of the department’s goals and objectives for FY14.
Mid-term goal met: hiring a Unit B, anthropology instructor, hiring a Unit B, sociology instructor.
Mid-term goals in process: refining assessment of the anthropology major and the sociology major
(undergraduate; graduate); facilitating graduate sociology student recruitment; gaining approval for hiring
two new tenure track, assistant professor of sociology positions (one at WIU-QC; one in Macomb);
gaining approval for hiring a new tenure track, assistant professor of anthropology position.
Long-range goals in process: gaining approval for a new B.A. in sociology at the WIU-QC campus;
implementing the B.A. in anthropology as a “signature program” at WIU; gaining approval to implement
a “new emphases” proposal for the undergraduate sociology major; upgrading electronic classroom
equipment and instructional carts; broadening instructional technology development; strengthening
quality of graduate sociology student mentoring; refining studies of anthropology and sociology.
Classroom requests in process: 318 Morgan as an electronic classroom; new instructional cart.
Equipment requests in process: double-sided printer and fax machine in main department office;
digital camera; digital video recorder; high quality scanner; smart classrooms.
2. List of most important department accomplishments for FY14.
a. Enhanced Culture for Teaching and Learning
· Maintain rigor and high academic standards
~Positive assessment results for undergraduate anthropology and sociology programs were: anthropology majors performed better than non-majors on two learning outcomes, undergraduate sociology majors performed better than non-majors on three learning outcomes—as students’ levels in each undergraduate program increased, so did the number of questions answered correctly on the learning outcomes.
~Positive assessment results for the graduate sociology program were: on two theses and four non-thesis papers, graduate sociology students met or exceeded expectations in the written and oral presentations of their work; three graduate sociology students met expectations on the “theory” learning outcome of the comprehensive exam, four graduate sociology students met expectations on the “methods” learning outcome of the comprehensive exam.
~For graduate sociology students who failed to meet expectations on the comprehensive exam (four of these students on the “theory” learning outcome; five of these students on the “methods” learning outcome), our graduate sociology adviser held conferences to go over the results and developed strategies for succeeding in retaking this exam.
· Support for Quad Cities Riverfront campus
At department meetings and noon hour, brown bag presentations, codec was provided for
our two sociology faculty at WIU-QC. In Summer 2013, four Soc 451 sections were taught
at WIU-QC, as 1 s.h. weekend courses.
· Continue to expand scope of the Centennial Honors College
A sociology faculty taught two honors sections (GH 302: Postmodern Thought; GH 302:
Native American Spirituality). A sociology faculty directed a senior honor’s thesis (Soc 497).
A sociology faculty proposed and had approved a new honors course (GH 302: Power
and Control).
· Increase course based civic learning, internships, and service-learning opportunities
A sociology faculty supervised six students in service-learning projects in Soc 365 and Soc 424G of the spring semester—students worked with Mosaic and the Macomb Parks Special Recreation/Special Olympics. A sociology faculty supervised a service-learning project in Soc 494: Internship. A sociology faculty supervised service-learning projects in two fall sections of Soc 100 and in two spring sections of Soc 100.
A sociology faculty supervised an internship for a graduate student at the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. A sociology faculty supervised an undergraduate internship (Soc 494) at Family Resources, Inc. A sociology faculty supervised Soc 694: Graduate Internship—the work of the graduate sociology student began and had not been completed.
· Support undergraduate and graduate research opportunities
At the 2013 Undergraduate Student Research Day at WIU, a sociology faculty mentored a research project (on body image in American society). At the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society (2013), two graduate sociology students presented separate papers (see Appendix B). Our department partially funded the conference expenses of these two graduate sociology students.
During spring 2013 and fall 2013, a graduate sociology assistant was assigned to perform work tasks needed in the grant research of our sociology faculty for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. During 2013, an anthropology faculty had a graduate sociology student funded as a graduate assistant from a National Science Foundation grant on “flood mitigation in the rural Midwest” (see Appendix B).
· Support special program for Women in the Sciences and Government
An anthropology faculty (upon support of our department chair and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences) was granted, during fall 2013, an Affirmative Action Administrative Internship in Facilities Management (Scott Coker served as the administrative mentor). This internship enabled a course release for this faculty member.
· Support scholarly/professional activity
As reported in Appendix B, our sociology and anthropology faculty produced professional writings (1 book, 6 refereed journal articles, 5 book chapters, 2 book reviews, 20 conference papers, 1 conference poster presentation, 2 grant reports, 7 grant awards). Further, as shown in Appendix B, sociology and anthropology faculty supervised and/or advised: 3 sociology master’s theses (in process), 1 LAS master’s thesis (in process), 2 completed graduate sociology non-thesis papers (and one other in process), 2 conference papers of graduate sociology students; 1 podium presentation at the WIU Undergraduate Research Day.
b. Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability
· Implement zero-based funding and identify further costs savings to meet challenges in the FY15 budget
Our department chair and department secretary met with the Dean and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, during summer of 2013, to determine ways to make cuts in the total operating budget of our department for fall 2013 to the end of June 2013. Based on our past practices of department spending, these cuts to this total operating budget were agreed upon as reasonable. Every effort was made to adhere to the limits of this decreased departmental budget for our sociology and anthropology program during the fall to the end of June fiscal period. At this point, it does not seem fiscally sound to identify and implement further cuts (i.e., cost savings) in the current total operating budget of our department. During FY13 and up to the present, spending of our department budget was very closely monitored and executed with much caution.
· Identify alternative funding sources
Each year, sociology and anthropology faculty apply for internal and external research grants, with some success at receiving approved funding—generally at a very minimal level. The major continual funding source of the department is the six-figure annual research grant, received from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (every year since the 1980s)—see Appendix B; from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, this DCFS grant total is $209,019.
An anthropology faculty had a graduate sociology student funded (during 2013) as a graduate assistant from a National Science Foundation grant of 2012-2015 ($295,291) on “flood mitigation in the rural Midwest” (see Appendix B). A sociology faculty had a Department of Natural Resources grant for an “Outdoor Recreation Survey” of 2013 ($46,500) and an anthropology faculty had a Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation grant of 2010-2013 ($17,438). Some additional minimal funds were raised during FY14 for our department though university letter mailings and phonathons—each are directed to our department alumni.
· Develop college priorities in fundraising
At this point of time, these types of priorities have not been specifically considered, nor have our faculty and department chair pragmatically dealt with them. It thus remains “not applicable” in our department, until such fundraising is concretely discussed, seriously proposed, and directly undertaken in the future.
c. Enhance Academic Affairs Role in Enrollment Management and Student Success
· Develop undergraduate, graduate, and international recruitment plans for each department/school
As requested, our faculty and our department chair met, during fall 2013, with Dr. Ronald Williams, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, to discuss the need for our department to develop a formal recruitment plan for students. Our graduate committee developed and submitted a recruitment plan for graduate sociology students. Our student recruitment and retention committee developed and submitted a recruitment plan for undergraduate anthropology majors and undergraduate sociology majors.
Upon consultation with our department chair, both of these plans were combined into a single document titled: “Departmental Student Recruitment/Retention Plan,” which
listed various recruitment activities for undergraduate, graduate, and international students. This plan was submitted to Dr. Williams and it is included in Appendix A.
Specifically, in terms of recruitment, our faculty held meetings for our majors (undergraduate/graduate sociology and undergraduate anthropology) and our department website manager updated information about: our department newsletter; Sociology/Anthropology student club activities; general course developments; latest job trends pertaining to our students.
Our graduate sociology adviser made a recruiting trip to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Wheaton College of Illinois during spring and fall 2013. There, regarding our M.A. in sociology program, our graduate adviser gave a PowerPoint presentation and distributed various materials including: our M.A. admission and program requirements, its flat sheet, WIU cost estimates and fast facts; lists of completed theses, faculty specializations, and “Where are our M.A. Graduates now?”
During 2013, our graduate sociology adviser also sent a recruitment letter to 28 departments of sociology and anthropology (nearly all were in Illinois, some others were in Iowa, Michigan, and California). With our graduate committee, our graduate sociology adviser developed (and is now implementing) a four page set of “mentoring guidelines”—which addressed expectations on theses, non-thesis papers, graduate internships, and the nature of faculty mentor-mentee relationships.
· Continue to expand Distance Learning opportunities
Our department has added a new online course (Soc 313: Self and Identity), which will be taught for the first time during spring 2014 (it was in its initial development during fall 2013). Currently, there are three online anthropology courses and eight online sociology courses. These are: Anth 110, 249, 315; Soc 100, 200, 300, 313, 360, 370, 487, 488. Notably, Dr. Rick Carter, Director of the School of Distance Learning, commonly provided funds for teaching of the Soc 487 and Soc 488, which are taken primarily by students in the Open Learning Fire Service program. He also funded our other online anthropology and sociology courses, as much as can be possible during the summer and semester sessions.
· Provide opportunities for non-degree seeking students
Not applicable.
· Increase participation in the Building Connections mentorship program
An anthropology faculty (Heather McIlvaine-Newsad) and three sociology faculty (Robert Hironimus-Wendt, Elgin Mannion, Craig Tollini) served as Building Connections mentors during 2013.
· Implementation of revised First Year Experience (FYE)
Department meetings included discussions of possible changes in the structure of FYE classes and future department delivery of these classes, including 1 s.h UNIV 100. A few faculty expressed an interest in teaching a UNIV 100 section, but it did not take place up to this time. During fall 2013, eleven FYE sections of Soc 100 and two FYE sections of Anth 100 were offered—as regularly done past semesters. During spring 2013, as requested, only two FYE sections were offered each in Soc 100 and in Anth 110.
· Review campus-wide advising procedures
Throughout the academic year, our undergraduate sociology adviser and graduate sociology adviser are in a constant review of campus-wide advising procedures. With other WIU advisers, our undergraduate sociology adviser regularly attended advising meetings and workshops sponsored by the Advising and Academic Services Center at WIU. Likewise, our graduate sociology adviser regularly becomes acquainted with developments about advising upon attending meetings of graduate advisers: in the College of Arts and Sciences and at the WIU School of Graduate Studies.
· Enhance access, equity, and multicultural initiatives for entire campus community
A sociology faculty was a planning committee member, Illinois Association for Cultural Diversity (including Expanding Cultural Diversity Project and Dealing with Difference Institute at WIU) and an advisor of Western Against Slavery, WIU; a sociology faculty was a member of the McDonough Quality of Life Committee; a sociology faculty was a member of the WIU Minority Health Committee and a member of the Western Organization of Women’s Promotion of Equity Study Committee; a sociology faculty was a member of the Affirmative Action Administrative Internship Committee; a sociology faculty was a member of the Committee for the Study of Masculinities and Men’s Development.
d. Focus on International Recruiting and Educational Opportunities
· Increase the number of international students
During FY13, two of our graduate sociology students were from Turkmenistan, one other was from Nigeria, and another was from Saudi Arabia. In particular, a sociology faculty was involved in increasing studies of international students at WIU through: membership and participation on the Council of International Education; founding and serving as past president of Phi Beta Delta (an international honor society for students and scholars). At the study abroad fair, this sociology faculty promoted the international honor society and endeavored to recruit prospective members. During international week, this sociology faculty presented talks promoting cultural educational activities.
· Increase number of study abroad participation and opportunities
Study abroad courses were scheduled (with approval of our department chair) for students at: Ritsumeikon Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan (Anth 279: Cultural Anthropology); University of Ghana, Leggon, Accra (Anth 379: Research and Ethics; Soc 379: Independent Study); University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana (Soc 462: Political Sociology); Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland (Soc 379: Northern Ireland: Conflict, Identity, and Peace); Semester at Sea, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA--multiple city/country (Soc 379: Globalization & Social Responsibility).
During summer 2013, an anthropology faculty taught a study abroad course in Celle and Berlin, Germany (Anth 379/679: Cultural Anthropology in Germany); 5 students enrolled.