Dressing for the classroom and online education

As I sit with my cuppa tea this morning and read the Chronicle of Higher Ed and Inside Higher Ed a few stories caught my eye.

  • Sartorial Study Suggests Professors Should Wear What They Want (subscriber link, this is a free link for 5 days)- A psychology instructor at North Hennipin Community College came to this conclusion after a brief study with four sections of a class. The study clearly has its limits and as the scholar points out, context is everything. When I first started teaching as an assistant professor I was all of 28 and I always wore a tie, even though in New Orleans most male faculty did not. I certainly think first impressions are important and I have never felt that wearing “formal” clothes (somehow I don’t think she meant a tux or evening gown) kept students from feeling that I was accessible. Granted, we don’t wear academic gowns to classes anymore (but they do at the University of the South!) but I think dressing well for the classroom sets the tone.

“I work at a college where professors wear a variety of things,” she says, “Some wear suits and ties and others wear shorts, so regardless of which class I was dressing for, I didn’t really stand out.”

That would not be true at every institution, Ms. Konheim-Kalkstein observes. “My husband is going to start teaching at West Point,” she says. “If he showed up in sneakers, I think he would have a much stronger reaction there from his students.”

Notably, the report attributes much of the success in learning online (blended or entirely) not to technology but to time. “Studies in which learners in the online condition spent more time on task than students in the face-to-face condition found a greater benefit for online learning,” the report says.

The note above in the IHE summary pointed to something that I have been wrestling with in terms of online education. The question has come up as to whether or not an honors course could be offered online. My instinct is to say “no” but I am not so sure. One of the key elements to an honors seminar is discussion and I have often found in my online courses (I have taught Intro to Hebrew Bible online many times) that because students are required to post to the online discussion board where they have to compose a message the discussion is often more thoughtful and everyone has a chance to be heard. Still mulling on this….

Finally, the Chronicle has “What They’re Reading on College Campuses.” No real surprises here. I had thought about #2 for our college’s summer reading project: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Details on the funeral for Emily Trump

The details for Emily’s funeral can be found along with an obituary at the Melpezzi Funeral Home website.

Funeral services will be 1:00 PM Friday at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2000 Chestnut Street, Camp Hill. Visitation from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM Thursday at Malpezzi Funeral Home, 8 Market Plaza Way, Mechanicsburg.

Emily was an enthusiastic supporter of the Springfield Thon, which supports the Four Diamonds Fund, memorials may be made in her memory to Springfield House Thon, C/O Shreyer Honors College, Simmons Hall, University Park, PA 16803.

Note: The address given above will not actually go to Springfield House THON. If you would like to send a gift to our office we will hold all gifts for the Springfield House THON:

10 Schreyer Honors College
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802

Details on the funeral for Jonathan Quigley

UPDATE: Jon’s obituary appeared today in The Sentinel.  They request that in lieu of flowers, contributions in Jon’s name may be made to Penn State Thon through “ATLAS THON” c/o Dan Levy, 619 Sweetwater Drive, Langhorne, PA 19053. (Please place Jon Quigley on the memo line).

A student has provided the information for the viewing and funeral:

Viewing:
Malpezzi Funeral Home

Wednesday 10am - 4pm and 6pm - 9pm

8 Market Plaza Way
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(off Market Street across from Sheetz)
(717) 697-4696
www.malpezzifuneralhome.com

Funeral:
West Shore Evangelical Free Church

Visitation - 10:30am to 12:30pm
(if you are coming in Thursday, this is a time to see Jon before the funeral)
Service - 1:00pm

1345 Williams Grove Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
(717) 697-0226
www.becominglikejesus.org

Two Penn State students killed in accident

It is with great sadness that I share the news with the Schreyer Honors College community that two Penn State students died today from injuries suffered in a vehicle accident. Sophomores Jonathan Quigley and Emily Trump, a Schreyer Scholar, were in an accident early on the morning of June 6. I do not have many details, this story from The Sentinel was written before Emily passed away this afternoon in the hospital. (UPDATE: A few more details are available in this follow up story.)

Our deepest sympathies go out to their families and friends. They were well loved and appreciated by those in the college and will be deeply missed.

“May light perpetual shine upon them.”

College application essays are hard, even for college presidents

Last year the Wall Street Journal challenged ten presidents of US colleges and universities to answer one essay question (which WSJ selected) from the president’s institution’s application. This story has discusses the process and the results and includes some very good consideration about writing such essays.

The exercise showed just how challenging it is to write a college essay that stands out from the pack, yet doesn’t sound overly self-promotional or phony. Even some presidents say they grappled with the challenge and had second thoughts about the topics they chose. Several shared tips about writing a good essay: Stop trying to come up with the perfect topic, write about personally meaningful themes rather than flashy ones, and don’t force a subject to be dramatic when it isn’t.

Perhaps next year I should do the same thing with our essay questions. What do you think? You can read the full article here.

$1M gift to endow the Jerry Polis Family Honors Scholarship

The announcement of this tremendous gift to the SHC went out on the Penn State news wire today. I have had the opportunity to get to know the Polis’ over the last two years and they are a wonderful couple who are thoroughly committed to Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College. It was our students who  inspired the the Polis’ to give their gift.

“I was incredibly impressed with the quality of the students and what they were doing,” Polis recalled, “They are really motivated. At that point, I felt this was something I would want to support.”

Be sure to read the full story at Penn State Live. The news wire announcement:

Gift to Schreyer Honors College reflects Penn State’s lifetime impact

Listen to a conversation with Jerry Polis, and his Penn State connection
comes through loud and clear. “The biggest thing Penn State taught me was how
to think, and I believe that’s helped me a lot in life,” said Polis, who
graduated from the University in 1953 with a B.A. in commerce and has lived in
Nevada ever since. “I feel like Penn State was very good to me, and I would
like to be able to repay it in a small way.” Repayment came recently in the
form of a $1 million commitment from Polis and his wife, Lotty, to establish
the Jerry Polis Family Honors Scholarship to benefit students in the Schreyer
Honors College.

Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/39839/nw1

Graduation photos in Beaver Stadium

I thought our graduating seniors and parents might be interested in this bit of news.

Graduation photos in Beaver Stadium

Ever dream of running out of the tunnel at Beaver Stadium? Here’s your chance - The Penn State All-Sports Museum is pleased to announce that a photographer will be at the stadium from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday May 16 and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday May 17 for those who would like to commemorate their time at Penn State with an image taken in the heart of Nittany Nation. Come create a lasting memory and show your Penn State pride on your graduation.

Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/39656/nw63

Proud parents

The medal ceremony is just around the corner and Eisenhower Auditorium will be bursting with proud parents, friends, and family members. I wonder if any will have an honors tattoo…

Frazz - May 7, 2009

Frazz by Jef Mallet

Quick Notes: Scholar Commencement speakers & twitter

Today is the last day of classes and we are fast approaching graduation! This past Monday was thesis turn-in day and, in fact, I am currently listening to an album produced by Scholar Andrew McLean for his thesis. He is a Chemistry major but wrote, performed, and produced an album for his thesis in music technology. (You can visit his myspace site here.) Some of our students will recognize Andrew since he lead The Pulse, the band that performed for the last two years at our SHO Time orientation event Late Night with the Dean.

Medal Ceremony CongratulationsAs we move towards commencement the university has posted the list of spring 2009 commencement speakers. What is exciting for us is that we have no less than three Scholar alumni who will be speaking!

  • David Han, ‘88 Sci, 05g will be addressing the PSU Harrisburg graduates
  • Greg Lucier, ‘86 Eng will be addressing the PSU Engineering graduates

Congratulations to all our soon-to-be graduates!

Finally, there was a recent study about social media and its effect upon the ability of people to empathize. A Collegian reporter interviewed me for an article which appeared online today. You can follow me on twitter at SHCDean.

Scholar Alumna article “How to Invest for ‘Flation”

This past weekend was our External Advisory Board meeting, Scholar Alumni Board meeting, and our Scholar Reunion. Present at most of these events was Scholar Alumna and Business Week Personal Finance Editor Lauren Young. I thought I would point out the beginning of a new series of articles she has on “‘Flation” (Stag, In, or De?).

How to Invest for ‘Flation

Posted by: Lauren Young on April 27

Which way is the economy heading next? Is it inflation, deflation, and stagflation? Overwhelmingly, most of the 50 advisers and analysts I interviewed for a story about ‘flation in the most recent issue of BusinessWeek think the U.S. economy is headed on an inflationary path.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be highlighting arguments from some of my sources as well as their investing advice. Here are some investment ideas from three folks who are in the inflationary camp.