In litteris proficere volo, malo diligere Jesum
Volume 12, Issue 10 – April, 2012 Concordia University, Saint Paul
The Faculty Bulletin can be accessed directly from the Academic Affairs web page: http://concordia.csp.edu/academicaffairs/Faculty_bulletin/index.html. Or go to the Faculty/Staff Portal, click on “Academic Affairs,” and then click on “Faculty Bulletin.” The bulletin emphasizes faculty policy and business issues, upcoming events, professional development opportunities, and deadlines. News items for the faculty and the Concordia community are publicized through the weekly CSP Update. Articles for publication in the Faculty Bulletin may be submitted via email to at least five working days prior to publication. The next issue will be sent on
May 1, 2012. The submission deadline for articles for the next issue is April 26, 2012
DH=Dining Hall BEC=Buenger Education Center BMCA=Buetow Music Center Auditorium
GC=Gangelhoff Center GMC=Graebner Memorial Chapel
April 4 – 9, Wednesday – Monday Easter Break; no classes for Traditional Students
April 18, Wednesday Academic Honors Convocation (11:00 am in BMCA)
Research and Scholarship Symposium (following Convocation in BEC)
April 24, Tuesday 11th Annual Poehler Lecture (7:00 pm in BMCA; reception in BEC)
April 25, Wednesday Retirement Chapel Service – Rev. Dr. Tom Trapp (11:00 am in GMC)
April 26, Thursday Faculty and Staff Recognition Dinner (5:00 pm in BEC)
May 4, Friday Last Day of Classes for Traditional Students
May 7 – May 10 Finals Week for Traditional Students
May 10 – 11, Thursday, Friday Board of Regents Meeting
May 10, Thursday Baccalaureate (7:30 pm in GMC)
May 11, Friday Faculty Business Meeting (10:00 am in BEC)
Service of Sending (11:30 am in GMC)
Commencement Ceremony – CAS, CBOL, COE, CVM traditional
programs (7:30 pm)
May 12, Saturday Commencement Ceremony – CBOL, COE degree completion programs (10:00 am)
Commencement Ceremony – Graduate programs (2:00 pm)
May 14, Monday Semester Three begins for Degree Completion and Graduate Programs
May 16, Wednesday Strategic Planning “Circles” work day (some faculty and staff)
May 17, Thursday Faculty Retreat/Prof. Development Activity– Critical Thinking and Writing
(Dr. Stephen Brookfield; EML Department Faculty; 8:30 am to 4:30 pm)
Grades due for Traditional Students (12 noon)
May 21, Monday Summer School Session #1 begins for Traditional Students
Follies of Science" Book Talk by Eric Dregni on Wednesday, April 11 at Noon
Where’s my jetpack? Robot Servants? Hovercrafts? Follies of Science explores the utopian promises and other bizarre predictions that never came true: radium suppositories, blimp superhighways, mile high buildings, and foam homes. Professor Eric Dregni and his brother Jonathan Dregni will show yesterdays’ visions of the future.
Join the Library as we celebrate National Library Week (April 8 – 14) with a book talk and multimedia presentation by author and Concordia professor Eric Dregni (and his brother Jonathan). The event will take place on the Main Level of the Library Technology Center on Wednesday, April 11 at 12:00 pm (noon).
Student Course and Instructor Feedback Process
The Course and Instructor Feedback process is being made available to students electronically through the CSP Portal one week prior to the end of courses and for two weeks after the end of courses. The administration of the process has been “outsourced” but the content of the instrument will include the same 12 questions as were used in the fall. A “pilot” process will be used this spring. Faculty will also be able to add their own questions to the instrument and provide comments in the reporting section. Beth Peter, Director of Administrative Computing the of the Office of Institutional Research, will be visiting college meetings to share more information.
Reminder to Meet as Scheduled – Break Weeks and Finals Week
Faculty are reminded that all classes scheduled to meet during “break weeks” (e.g., April 2 and 3, 2012), should indeed meet. It is quite problematic and confusing to students when some faculty decide not to hold classes while others follow the published course calendar. Also, all classes for traditional undergraduate students are required to meet during finals week for some sort of culminating activity. This spring finals are scheduled for May 7 through 10, 2012.
11th Annual Poehler Lecture Set for April 24, 2012 (BMCA, 7:00 pm)
This year’s speakers for the 11th Annual Poehler Lecture on Faith and Learning are Dr. Dale Trapp, Professor of Physics and Earth Science, and the Rev. Dr. Thomas Trapp, Professor of Theology and Hebrew. This lecture is an annual event designed to explore how faculty members connect their Christian faith with both their academic discipline and their experiences in leadership roles in higher education. Since the program’s inception in 2002, Poehler Lecturers have been selected on the basis of their excellence in their academic disciplines and their maturity in the Christian faith. Dale and Tom both joined the faculty at CSP in 1982.
Retirement Chapel Service for Rev. Dr. Thomas Trapp on April 25, 2012
Please join the campus community on Wednesday, April 25 as we honor the career, ministry, and contributions of faculty member Rev. Dr. Thomas Trapp on the occasion of his retirement. The campus community is invited to a special Chapel service at 11:00 am, in Graebner Memorial Chapel, followed by a reception in the Cross of Christ Fellowship Center. You are welcome to send letters or cards that will be presented to Tom at the retirement service. Please send all submissions by Friday, April 2, to Kathy Haeg (x8730) in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Some Academic Reorganizing Possible
Conversations are ongoing about how to best organize the academic units at Concordia University in order to enhance our academic efforts and be of service to students. The Dean’s Council has had several discussions about these matters. The goals of the Office of Academic Affairs related to this are primarily to:
1. bring faculty closer together in targeted areas in order to work better together and to "cross
pollinate",
2. generate further efficiency (and perhaps reduce administrative costs in favor of adding a
faculty position or two),
3. develop better synergy between some departments in order that new, strong, and strategically
focused academic programming might be developed and in turn elevate the academic quality at CSP and enroll more students engaged in these areas,
4. better balance the supervisory workload (i.e., colleges of similar size if possible).
We have already moved two departments (Christian Ministry, Religion and Theology) from the College of Vocation and Ministry to the College of Arts and Sciences and used the money we will save on a college dean’s position to fund a new faculty position in Information Technology. Further reorganization will take place effective July 1, 2012. If you have any thoughts about such, please talk with Lonn Maly, Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Office of Cohort Advising Integrated with School of Continuing Studies
In order to better accomplish our mission of supporting students all the way through graduation and to become more efficient, two units that operate under different parts of the Office of Academic Affairs are being integrated. The Academic Advisors who work with undergraduate degree completion students and graduate students will be moving to the School of Continuing Studies and reporting to Carol Klempka, Director of the School of Continuing Studies. Some changes are in place including a name change – they will be known as Academic Counselors, paralleling the language we currently use with our Financial Counselors. The changes are effective immediately but any physical moves – if deemed advisable – will occur during the summer months.
Search Committees for Faculty Positions
Eight searches for tenure-track and/or term faculty are currently underway or just completed:
Accounting – a replacement position
Chemistry – a replacement position; just concluded
Communication Studies – a replacement position
Information Technology – a new position
Kinesiology and Health Sciences – a replacement position
Mathematics – a replacement position; just concluded
Teacher Education (cultural competency directed) – a replacement position
Teacher Education (special education) – a replacement position
Search committees include the following faculty and staff. We pray for God’s direction and richest blessings for these processes.
Accounting: Michael Dorner, Chair; Fred Bartling, Steve Manderscheid, David Woodard, and Dennis Zimmerman.
Chemistry: Shellie Kieke, Chair; Leanne Bakke, Rick Benson, Nancy Harrower, Mark Press, and Susan Hanlon. Matthew Cuellar has accepted the position effective August 1.
Communication Studies: Alan Winegarden, Chair; Jeff Burkart, Basma Ibrahim DeVries, Kevin Hall, and Jean Rock.
Information Technology: Rob Krueger, Chair; Jonathan Breitbarth, Katie Fischer, and Joel Schuessler.
Kinesiology and Health Sciences: Eric LaMott, Chair; Richard Brynteson, Phil Johnson Angela Nippert, Mark Rosenwinkel, and Michael Walcheski.
Mathematics: Sarah Jahn, Chair; Richard Brynteson, Rich Carter, Rob Krueger, and Sue Starks. An offer has been made to Branden Stone.
Teacher Education (Special Education): Sally Baas, Chair; Monica Murray, Sue Starks
Attendance Monitoring Requirement
Concordia University,as a recipient of federal monies, isrequired to monitor student attendance. Based upon currentfederalstandards, regulations stipulate records be fully maintained by all instructors which can clearly identify a student’s last date of attendance.
As faculty members we all have the responsibility to follow up with students who are not attending class. We must report students with excessive absences to Renee Rerko, Director of Traditional Advising. Send an email to Renee . You need to notify Renee if:
· a student has not attended your classat allafter the first week of the semester
· a student misses more than two weeks of class in a row
The student will then be contacted to better understand his or her intentions to remain a student at CSP. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Renee at or 651-603-6318.
Faculty and Staff Invited to Participate in Strategic Planning Retreat
From President Tom Ries
Faculty and Staff are invited to participate in a one-day Strategic Planning Retreat on Wednesday, May 16, here on campus.The retreat focus is Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats. We will be looking at the University through 10 separate lenses and a planning team will evaluate the University through its particular lens.The 10 teams and their facilitators are shown below.
If you are interested in participating, you will be asked to attend the entire retreat, which will run from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm. You can ask to serve on one specific team, or allow team leaders to select you.The day will begin with a plenary presentation and strategy update, followed by team SWOT analysis, followed by another plenary session to look at opportunities, followed by an exercise to prioritize opportunities. It will be a full day. Lunch will be provided as well as a pizza and refreshment time at the end of the day.
Please contact Jill Simon by email () before April 20 to indicate on which team you have an interest in serving.
Planning Teams and Facilitators
Academic Support Services – Miriam Luebke
Allied Health – Don Helmstetter
Athletics – Thomas Saylor
Business – Bruce Corrie
Church Work – Jim Gimbel
Faculty Development – Rob Krueger
Fine Arts – Keith Williams
Graduate – Michael Walcheski
Humanities – David Lumpp
Student Life Services – Jason Rahn
Academic Advising Center Creates Online Resources for Faculty & Students
The Academic Advising Center is currently working on creating online resources for both faculty and students regarding policies and procedures, NSO training, online registration, and other important advising information. Two of these resources can be found on the Academic Advising Website: http://concordia.csp.edu/academicadvising/Training_Modules/Academic_Policies/index.htm &http://concordia.csp.edu/academicadvising/Training_Modules/Online_Registration/index.htm
Before the fall 2012 semester, faculty advisor training will be available on Blackboard. This training will be required for all faculty advisors and will be a great resource for advisors toutilizewhen working with their advisees.
If you have any questions regarding these new resources or have any suggestions for advising-specific trainings, please let Renee Rerko () know!
Summer School Student Support and Course Syllabi Information
From Dr. Miriam Luebke
If you are teaching courses in the traditional curriculum this summer, please note some changes in availability of support services during the summer. These alternate paragraphs should be included in section XIX of all summer 2012 syllabi.
Student Support Services for Summer Term – The instructor strongly encourages you to discuss your course progress or concerns. The accelerated nature of summer courses makes it extremely important that you talk with your instructor AS SOON AS you sense difficulty. If you have a disability that will require special accommodations, you need to contact Disability Services to arrange the necessary academic accommodations and provide the course instructor with the Accommodation Plan (VISA). The Disability Services office is located in the tunnel in LU 124 or LU 115. Again, because of the accelerated nature of summer courses, you should make these arrangements before the course begins, if possible. Since Counseling Services are closed in the summer, if you find that personal problems are interfering with your ability to concentrate or troubling you beyond the point where friends and family can be helpful, please consider visiting with the University Chaplain, Pastor Todd Stocker (), 651-641-8213.
The Writing Center is available during the summer, so go ahead and use the most recent syllabus blurb:
The Writing Center is a place for all students, whatever their skill level, to receive free, one-on-one help with writing assignments. Students may visit the Writing Center at any stage of the writing process: brainstorming, creating outlines, revising paragraphs, adding the finishing touches, or any point in-between. The main Writing Center is located in LU 116, and the satellite location, the Writing Center Nook, is in the Library to the right of the Reference Desk. Online tutoring is also available for students in Concordia’s many cohort programs. For both face-to-face and online sessions, students are encouraged to schedule appointments in advance to ensure a time slot. NEW ONLINE SCHEDULING IS NOW AVAILABLE. For more information on scheduling procedures, hours, and policies, or to learn more about the Center, please visit our website at http://concordia.csp.edu/writingcenter.