- Kicking off the new year: The Student Advising Center worked with over 400 students last week through drop-ins, helping them get enrolled and adjust their schedule for the semester. Welcome Back, Students!
- Congratulations to biology graduate student Eric Wilson and Dr. Bill Jensen (Associate Professor, Biology)! Eric presented at the recent 61st Annual Meeting of the Central Mountains and Plains Section of The Wildlife Society (TWS), held earlier this week in Manhattan. Bill was co-author of the presentation. As president of the Kansas TWS chapter, Bill chaired the local organizing committee for this seven-state section of TWS. Several ESU alumni were in attendance, including Dan Haines, Bob Hamilton, Shane Hesting, John Kraft, Lucas Kramer, Jared McJunkin, Pam Moore, Brian Obermeyer, Andrew Page, Matt Peek, and Jeff Prendergast (these folks are employed by state or federal conservation agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, or are grad students at other universities). ESU alumna, Kristen Hase, led a field trip for many of the attendees at the nearby Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.
- Our new students moving in and General Assembly on Aug. 14 drew plenty of media coverage. Our local media covered the events — The Emporia Gazette (http://bit.ly/1JmRJwx) and KVOE radio (http://bit.ly/1U6Pp4U). KSNT TV in Topeka sent a reporter who spent most of the day on campus — http://bit.ly/1NBD2tj. And WIBW sent a reporter and camera man — http://bit.ly/1Lx7Act.
- Speaking of Move In Day, social media was filled with photos and positive comments about the enthusiastic welcome to campus. Said one mom: “Keys locked in my daughter's car and campus police to the rescue, you guys were wonderful, thanks so much for making this less stressful than it needed to be!!” Another: “I was highly impressed with how smoothly your move-in operation goes!” We couldn’t have done it so successfully without all the faculty, staff and returning students who turned out as Hornet Helpers.
- Emporia State opened ACES (Academic Center for Excellence and Success) on Monday, Aug. 24. As part of Phase 1, ACES, ESU’s new student success center, will offer undergraduate students free tutoring for a number of areas, including biology, chemistry and psychology. Located in a student-friendly, technologically equipped environment, ACES will help students learn how to be successful at ESU. ACES is located on the second floor of the William Allen White Library. For more: http://bit.ly/1fGS8Py
- The Division II Athletics Directors Association (DII ADA) recently announced 65 Emporia State student-athletes have earned DII ADA Academic Achievement Awards. The Academic Achievement Award recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level that maintain a 3.50 cumulative GPA in at least four semesters of college level work. For more: http://bit.ly/1i2FDzt
- Five Emporia State Ambassadors and two Student Foundation students attended the national CASE ASAP conference in Washington D.C., Aug. 6 through 8. They spent three days learning how to improve current programs and implement new ones. Candace Cote also was a presenter at the conference; she presented on Recruitment and Training of New Members.
- The business honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma, qualified for Highest Honors for the 2014-2015 academic year. This status is indicative of a campus where academic excellence is valued and where the faculty officers of the chapter work diligently to enhance the BGS stature on campus.
- More feedback from parents… Darcy Johnson of Financial Aid, Scholarships and Veterans Services, shared a conversation she had with a father of a student-athlete. He commended “Emporia State University on the level of service he has received with every interaction he’s had with us,” Darcy wrote. “His daughter goes to [a Division I school in another state] and he said he has not received near the level of service there that ESU provides.”
- More athletic news: Emporia State softball coach Julie LeMaire has signed nine players to attend Emporia State and play softball for the Hornets in 2016. For more: http://bit.ly/1MVljNr
- Teamwork: Collaborative efforts among the ESU Parking Department, Information Technology and Fiscal Affairs helped streamline this year’s faculty and staff parking permit sales process by accepting online payments for the first time. The parking tracking software (T2 Flex), ERP system (Banner) and online payment solution (Touchnet Marketplace) were integrated, allowing the enhancement to occur. In addition to online permit sales, ESU full-time employees also could elect to pay through payroll deduction. With the success of this joint project, online student parking permit sales are an achievable goal for next fall. Student parking citations can already be paid online.
- The Emporia State soccer team is slated for eighth in the 2015 MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll released today. It is the highest preseason ranking for the Hornets since getting tabbed for eighth in 2011 in the then nine team MIAA. For more: http://bit.ly/1fGMP2y
- Dr. Clint Stephens is the new director of Leadership Studies and assistant professor at Emporia State University. Clint was coordinator for Leadership Studies at Iowa State University before coming here. He will teach courses in the leadership minor at Emporia State.
- Dr. Joyce Thierer (Social Sciences) will appear Sept. 6 at the Alcove Springs Symphony on the Trail as Grower, a Woman of the Earth Lodge. For more: http://bit.ly/1NBDjwq
- ESU is offering eight First-Year Student Seminars (University 101) this fall, the largest number so far. These seminars help students figure out how to do college. The curriculum of the seminars is based on Strengths, using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment; so students learn more about themselves while negotiating college, all with a more positive (strengths-based) perspective.
- John Schoppert, director of Library Services at Columbia Gorge Community College, is this year’s winner of the ACRL-Oregon Award for Excellence. John is a 2012 graduate of the Oregon MLS program of the School of Library and Information Management. The ACRL-Oregon Award for Excellence is a project-based award given annually to an individual or group whose project or initiative has significantly improved academic libraries or librarianship in Oregon.
- Hornet Connected Learning in The Teachers College is hosting the Kansas Higher Education E-Textbook Summit on Oct. 30. Proposals were due Aug. 24. More information can be found at www.emporia.edu/teach/hcl/.
- After a 48-year career in higher education/student affairs and serving for 20 years at the University of Texas at Austin as the executive director of Housing and Food Services, Dr. Floyd Hoelting ’68 has retired. Floyd is a distinguished alumnus of Emporia State University and has served on the Alumni Board of Directors. He has spoken to nearly 500 college campuses about his innovative approach to housing and food services, always incorporating organizational diversity, sustainability, leadership and personal wellness into the campus’s educational environment. Congratulations, Floyd!
- Congratulations to ESU alumnus Dr. Melissa Swager Adkins (B.S. Mathematics, May 2010)! Melissa received her Ph.D. in mathematics last May from Colorado State University. She is currently employed as a systems engineer with Northrop Grumman in Aurora, Colorado.
