Retention Commitee

As a university, Dominican attempts to keep all of it's students enrolled from semester to semester, year to year. We are so committed to this, there is even a Retention Committee, headed by Associate Dean of Students Norah Collins, to keep our retention rates high.

Right now, colleges across the country are suffering from low retention rates. Reasons students leave vary from personal to financial reasons and everything in between. There are also sub committees that focus on particular students who have statistically been more likely to drop out or transfer. Some of these committees include students of color and freshman.

Yes, I know about the GSSW

Dominican extends beyond the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences to the graduate programs. One of these programs is the Graduate School of Social Work. I know this because I feel like I get at least an email a week from them.

No, I haven't changed my major. The GSSW just feels the need to tell me about their open houses or q&a sessions all the time. I know that they send these emails to everyone, seeing the "TO" line is just the entire Dominican community, but it's still annoying. I get tons of emails everyday from classes or clubs or my mom. I think th GSSW should just send the emails to people who are interested, ie not me.

TV & Radio at Dominican?

Going by what my colleagues mentioned in posts that can be found here and here, I think adding a separate TV & Radio program at Dominican would be an invaluable asset to the way the University approaches academics.

Having a radio station or a TV station or both at Dominican would truly boost us to the level of a phenominal university. Having TV & Radio here would bring in so many communications students and people from the community interested in media. It could also be a resource through which students studying any discipline could get involved, generate discussion over important issues and make their voices heard. Adding these to the academic program at Dominican would take time, but the time spent developing such a reality would be worth it.

Perhaps leftover fundraising money could be put to good use on this interesting academic program?

White Boards

It seems in most of my classes my instructors are frustrated when they go up to the white boards in Parmer classrooms to write an example or term for the class to see. It turns out that most of the markers supplied at these boards for the instructors' writing pleasure don't work. Most of the time when this happens, instructors will get upset for a moment, make a comment on the lack of usable marker, then improvise a solution that may take a few minutes to hash out, i.e. lowering the view screen and firing up the projector and typing out whatever they needed to say on computer instead of writing it down on the board.

Often it's not just one marker that doesn't work, but all of the markers that may be in the little tray at the bottom of the boards. Are these markers just left in the respective classrooms for all to use and when they run out...too bad? Or are the instructors expected to bring their own marker simply so they can efficiently and effectively teach their classes? Someone should at least be in charge of supplying working markers so that instructors can make the most of the resources available to them.

DU Email Hypocrisy

One thing that had always been stressed here at Dominican is to check your DU email. Check it, check it, check it. Anything from class work to important campus news could be sent to that email address so CHECK IT!

Why then, may I ask, do half the faculty and staff NOT use their Dominican email address? This may just be a silly pet peeve of mine, but I hate it when professors refuse to use their DU address and insist that you send messages to their Yahoo account instead. I understand that when you may have 12 different addresses it can be hard to check them all, but IT offers ways to forward all email to a different account.

I just feel that because students can always find anyone at DU email (through the universal address book on Outlook) and it's the way all us students are required to communicate, faculty and staff should be required to use their DU email.


Photo taken from myDU.

Polish Proficiency Test?

According to myDU, a Polish proficiency test will be administered Wednesday next week. I know that Dominican offers classes in Italian, German, Spanish and French, but I had no idea there was anything for Polish offered here.

I'm just curious: Why would there be a proficiency test on campus for a language the University doesn't offer? I thought the point of proficiency tests was to test out of having to take a foreign language or prove you could speak it fluently for major requirement purposes? Maybe the University is planning on offering the class in future semesters and they want to gauge the level of interest?

Does anyone else know anything about this?

College Does Not Have to Equal Boring

I have two classes on Tuesday, both of which today had guest speakers. The first was my seminar class where a professor from the biology department who spoke about Natural Selection. The other class was American Empire where a foreign corespondent came to speak about working in the field. Both classes were interesting and gave a new insight on course that were becoming, well, predictable.

The use of outside speakers and other learning aids are underutilized to say the least. I feel that while, yes, this is college, classes don't have to be boring. Lectures day in and day out get repetitive and less effective as the semester goes on. Courses with engaging professors and varied class time are always the ones I look forward to and always the ones I get the most out of. More professors should look into alternative teaching methods to keep college as educational, and entertaining, as possible.

Amazing Possibilities Campaign Wraps Up

Dominican's "Amazing Possibilities" financial campaign has finally finished collecting money. The outcome? A cool $53.5 million, according to a headline on the Dominican homepage. So where is all this money going?

According to the campaign brochure, available in .pdf format here, the initial goal of the campaign was to raise $50 million for four different items: facilities, endowment, program support and the annual fund. The purpose of this fund raising was to expand Dominican's enrollment to potentially include 4,000 students by 2012. The plan designates certain amounts to be granted to each item on the list described above: $33.5 million going to facilities, $5.5 million to the endowment, $5 million to program support and $6 million to the annual fund.

So now that the campaign is complete, where does the extra money go? Is the university still paying for the new buildings, or is this extra money going to be put towards academics?

According to the brochure, a good chunk of the initial $50 million raised that doesn't go toward Parmer Hall, the parking garage and the Early Childhood Education Facility should be going toward academics. Program support and the endowment include academic programs and financial aid money for students, in addition to other issues that require money, such as student retention and recruitment.

Coming off such a successful campaign, I'm anxious to see what this extra financial boost brings to Dominican. We've already seen the incredible new buildings. With all that extra money, hopefully students will see more great academic programs and unique educational opportunities. That is, if our new buildings are fully paid for.

More information:
Amazing Possibilities Campaign Video
Amazing Possibilities Website

Green Academics

I, like everyone else in consumerism America, have been swept up in the green movement. Yipee for the environment, sustainability, and chalk free classrooms?

In my latest read The Green Book, there are countless ways to go green in nearly every aspect of life, including school. There are little tips and tricks that can save a school some money and save the earth some green. One of the things that was brought up was using white boards instead of chalk in classrooms. The elimination of chalk dust can aggravate asthma and reduce the amount of chemicals in the air that are used to clean classrooms.

Another tip was to use online resources as much as possible to cut down on the amount of paper that is used for handouts and textbooks. With the internet being so accessible now, this seems like a small task that could make a big difference.

Dominican prides itself in being a "green" university, but what else can still be done? I know that many of my professors have started putting material on Blackboard or myDU in order to save some paper. Parmer Hall is a certified "green building" because of the steps the school has taken to reduce waste in its construction and upkeep.

What else has the school done in order to do its part in the environemnt? What types of things can still be improved?


Image courtesy of www.thedeathbox.com

A very interesting lecture

Next Tuesday, October 28, Dominican will be hosting a very interesting lecture on brain research in Parmer 108 at 6 p.m. Dr. Jeff Lewine of the Alexian Brothers Center for Brain Research will be lecturing on Neuro MEG technology, a new kind of method for mapping the brain and learning more about conditions such as autism. Dr. Lewine practices Magnetoencephalography, which is basically mapping magnetic fields caused by electrical activity in the brain to create an accurate image of the brain.

Even though I have little to no knowledge of neuroscience, this lecture seems extremely interesting; if I didn't have class at the time it's being held, I would attend. But it's a chance to learn more about the extremely complex human brain, and what doctors are doing to try and find cures for the most challenging medical diagnoses.

The mystery of the midterm

College midterms. Something that no one looks forward too, but seems to come just as the leaves will fall off the tree. As a junior, I have seen my share of midterms…. That is, until now. It seems while all of my friends are cramming for tests or staying up all night to write papers, I have been able to enjoy the cool weather and Halloween fun. For some reason, maybe I just picked all of the right classes, this semester has been severely lacking in Midterm drama. Yes, I have some scattered papers or small assignments here or there, but nothing like the whirlwind that seems to have caught much of the school. Please understand, I by no means am upset by this phenomenon.

 

I just hope it won’t catch up to me during finals. 

Adding courses....

According to some of my sociology friends, the department may be requiring all majors to take a certain writing class in order to graduate, even though this class was not in their original bulletin. According to the Academic Advising Office, students are only required to take the courses for their majors as outlined in the bulletin they received during their orientation. This being said, the sociology department would be breaking the rules by requiring this writing class. According to junior Rosana Godinez, sociology major, the whole thing is "ridiculous". 

 

I agree. The school clearly states that in order to graduate in your chosen major, you are required to meet the fulfill the requirements set out in you bulletin. Many students are double majors or just have a lot of things going on. Schedules are an exact science. Adding a requirement as a junior or senior could cause some students to graduate late. The whole thing is, well, ridiculous.  

The Dominican Admission Process

Dominican's homepage features an online application and visitation for potential students called "Discover Dominican." I had recently heard of a "Discover Dominican" event that is to take place on November 8, so I decided to reflect a little more on the new process of admissions and on how I came to visit Dominican the first time.

This program is apparently catered towards groups of 10 or less, with visiting students being able to access all sorts of online material for the university, including an application for the event and for admission. This approach to courting prospective students must be a new method they instituted recently. Four years ago, the only way the Admissions department was able to persuade me to visit the university was by repeatedly calling my home and then later switching to letters promising fairly large sums of financial aid. As an average high school slacker, I was flattered that a university wanted anything to do with me and seemed genuinely interested in having me visit the campus personally to soak up the atmosphere and get a feel for Dominican. This was part of the reason why I took the plunge and went with Dominican.

I remember when I first visited Dominican, it was only my parents and myself visiting that day. We were shuffled around campus, I sat in with a class while my parents talked figures with the Admissions people, and they took some notes on my interests so they could figure out how to get me to attend Dominican. And they seemed very interested in figuring out an arrangement that would benefit me. They were looking out for my future before I even made any decisions or told them I was even impressed with things. It was this hands-on and extremely personal process that made me feel like I was wanted somewhere; like these people who were trying to get to know me were interested in things other than getting my tuition money.

While it seems that the Admissions process at Dominican is still fairly personalized, I think other than going to big group orientations and tours, prospective students should be curious to visit on their own or with parents, not as just another name in a special group designed to entice students to the institution. It just seems to me like Dominican should focus more on the individuals in this process. I'm sure these groups probably help a lot of prospective students and make them feel like they're a part of something great and present opportunities to meet people. But I'm willing to bet that if a prospective student were to go through the personalized meetings and visitations, they'd feel more comfortable with the whole situation. Making the decision on a college is a HUGE step and a major life decision that effectively influences everything else in one's life. I'm also willing to bet that these anxious high school juniors and seniors would feel a lot more comfortable with a personalized admission process: no group visitations, seminars, meet and greets, etc. I know that feeling like I was more of an individual than just a name was the major thing that brought me to Dominican. Getting to have one-on-one meetings with Admissions staff and faculty members made me truly feel like an adult out in the world at last, able to make my own decisions, and individual ones at that; no group influence or tacky admission programs to make me feel like someone was holding my hand through everything.

While I'm sure that these personalized experiences are a big part of the admission process, I think that Dominican should seek out the students, instead of simply having them fill out applications and read information on admission web pages. The personal experience is what makes going to Dominican such a positive experience, and I believe that by starting off students on such a path from the very beginning, prospective students can get a great taste of the full experience that awaits them once they come to Dominican.

Dominican Videos page: is the University making the most of it?

Dominican recently started a new videos page about two weeks ago. And it seems the site has already been relegated to the backburner for DU web projects.

As mentioned in my last post on this little innovation, the page features a few brief news videos posted to a web page for all to access. Although this is a revolutionary effort on the part of the university to give outsiders and insiders a glimpse of all Dominican has to offer, it appears the site has already fallen into disuse by those responsible for its creation.

The page has not been updated since I last posted about it nearly two weeks ago. Now, I may be expecting too much of this new institution, but I thought it was actually going to be regularly updated with short news stories and videos documenting lectures, student activities and other happenings on campus, sort of like an occasional Internet-only version of your garden variety TV news features. But there are still the same videos of Lund Gill Chair Stephen Kinzer's recent lectures and a couple of features portraying different events and occurrences on campus that took place in late August and early September. There have been improvements made since the site's initial start up, most notably each video receiving its own individual page. However, I couldn't figure out how to even get to the videos page; I had to follow my link from my previous post. It turns out the page is located on the Dominican homepage instead of somewhere where students are likely to access it, such as the myDU portal.

This seems a little silly to me. Frankly, I'm not surprised; it seems many websites started by individuals at Dominican fall by the wayside and are updated a few times when just starting out before being left to forever clutter the internet with outdated and/or irrelevant information. I think this opportunity is something that's not being realized to its fullest potential. This videos page could not only give the University some much-needed publicity if organized and promoted accordingly, but could also give students a resource for information about what's going on around campus. Event organizers always lament about a lack of attendance at on-campus events, but perhaps organizers could make use of this page and could advertise events or give students a "heads-up" about things they otherwise might not have thought twice about. This resource shouldn't be something completely controlled by the Marketing and Communications Department; it should be a resource the entire community can use to promote, inform or even educate their fellow Dominicans.

Isn't it Strange?

Since last year, I've realized that my classes have become increasingly intertwined. By this I mean that the subject matter in most of my classes, no matter what the subject, always seems to line up.

For example, last week my senior seminar class had a discussion about narratives and how they're essential to the nature of human life. I won't go into detail here as it was a pretty lengthy and complex discussion, but it was a fascinating concept that I had never really given much thought. Later that night, as I was preparing a Blackboard online post for my History 300 class, I came upon a passage in the text I was quoting from discussing narratives. The narrative concepts discussed in the history text closely mirrored those of my seminar class from earlier that evening. I was once again surprised by how well my classes' subject matters had lined up again. That is to say, I was very well prepared for my History 300 discussion the next day. I had never thought that those two classes, a liberal arts seminar and a class about the methodology of studying history, would be entirely on the same page simultaneously.

This "lining up" trend has become increasingly common throughout my years at Dominican. I know this essentially what a college-level course of study is supposed to accomplish, but I had never really considered that my advisers would be able to perfectly sync up my classes so that everything would tie together so well, with the same exact topics being discussed in two or more very different courses in the same day or week. Sometimes this seems to happen constantly for weeks on end; it feels as if I'm in one massive course, with class periods spread out over several days, subjects and instructors, yet still I feel like I'm learning one larger concept.

Phabulos Photo Essay

Here is a little photo essay that was created for the online journalism class this whole blog sprung from! The photos feature staff and students from the Dominican University Art Department. Below are captions with more information! Enjoy!

Sophomore Jess Myers critiques a classmate’s work in her Introduction to Design Applications course last Tuesday night. Myers, along with others in the course, describe the art and suggest the meaning behind it. All students take turns sharing their art and receiving criticism.

Jasmine Samuels works on her sculpture quietly and focused. She is also using a roller blade as the object of her work. Samuels along with the ten or so other students in the class, talk only briefly in between hammer strikes. The whole class is committed to their work, often coming after class is over to continue their projects.

Juniors Ashley Boyd and Kacey Hahn look over their negatives last Tuesday night. Both photography students, Boyd and Hahn put in hours of time outside class working on their art. Hahn enjoys photography but laughs, “I don’t know what I want to do with my life.”

Professor Hannah Jennings listens quietly and sips her soda as her students critique each other’s work in Introduction to Design Applications last Tuesday night. Jennings gives her input and helps leads a discussion, but allows time for each student to give his or her opinion.

Jennifer Raplan-Ortiz continues her Polaroid camera sculpture. She wears an old t-shirt over her clothes because the plaster dust can be quite messy. She carefully angles the chisel and hammer to get just the right chip. These projects have just been started, but are already taking shape.

Junior Kacey Hahn takes a short break from staring at negatives last Tuesday night. Her latest assignment features all kinds of cracks on the human body. She is working far beyond class time and wonders about the other homework that waits for her.

Student Jennifer Raplan-Ortiz asks for assistance from professor Noelle Allen Wright in her 3D Design course last Wednesday in the basement of the Priory. Raplan-Ortiz is making a plaster sculpture of a Polaroid camera and needed help getting the right angles. Allen offered a few pointers, but allowed Raplan-Ortiz to finish the bulk of the work herself.

Several paintings wait on the floor of the hallway on the fourth floor of Lewis. These paintings are to be hung on the first floor, near the Dean of Students Office. According to Jeffrey Cote de Luna, the university often purchases or shows student artwork. Several photography pieces can be seen just off of the Parmer Atrium.

Ashley Richardson works on her plaster sculpture of a roller blade. She wears safety goggles to protect her eyes from the plaster chips. Midway through class, Richardson is asked to remover her headphones, much to her dismay. Richardson continues to hammer away, hoping that a roller blade will soon form.

Junior Ashley Boyd takes a much-needed break from her photography work. She has been looking at her contact sheet for some time and is getting tired. Boyd is also a graphic design major and spends much of her time here on the fourth floor of Lewis.

This is a photo essay I assembled for the Online Journalism class about a day in the life of returning student Austin Hall. I followed Austin around during a typical busy day around Dominican to gain some insight into how he stays fit and healthy, how he gets around and what its like to work the library desk in the Cyber Cafe for six hours at a stretch. Below are captions for the photos.

1.) Austin's Bicycle: Returning student Austin Hall rides this bicycle, 16 miles each way from his apartment each day to get to classes at Dominican. "It used to have fifteen speeds," says Austin, who purchased the bike three years ago for $80 from a pawnshop. "Now its only three."
2.) Austin in transit (photo by Austin Hall): Austin riding his bicycle through his "halfway point," the intersection of Foster and Central Park Blvd. at 7:15 a.m. Monday. Austin rides from his Andersonville apartment in Chicago a total of 32 miles each day, unless weather is foul enough to warrant driving his 1987 Ford Country Squire station wagon to class.
3.) The Remains of a Nutritious Breakfast: The remnants of Austin's healthy breakfast of milk, grapefruit, a fruit cup and assorted nuts, all brought from home except for the fruit. "I just like eating healthy," he says. "I eat grapefruit and nuts for breakfast instead of Lucky Charms."
4.) Homework before Class: Austin types his LAS 379 response paper concerning Pope John Paul II's "On Human Work" in the Technology Center before class Monday morning. He frequently comes to the Tech Center to work on homework throughout the day, as his two jobs make it difficult to get everything done at home.
5.) Lunch: Chicken salad and a glass of water round out a green and healthy lunch at noon in the dining hall. "I like lots of fiber, lots of protein in my lunch to keep me going through the day," he said.
6.) Gym: Austin works out on the rowing machine in the Fitness Center at 12:20 p.m. on Monday afternoon. "I usually try to make it to the gym two or three times a week for a half hour to forty-five minutes at a time," he said. "I mostly lift weights to keep up my upper-body strength, but today I decided to try something different."
7.) Voting booth: Austin attempts to remember if he has registered to vote at a voter registration booth in the Rebecca Crown Library Link on Monday. After years of voting for the Green party, he switched to the Democrats a few years ago after moving to Chicago from Nashville.
8.) Job: Austin squeezes in some extra homework while working as a desk attendant at the Library Resource Desk in the Cyber Café at 5:15 p.m. Monday. He works the resource desk Monday nights for six hours in addition to working his other part-time job as a chef at a Chicago restaurant.
9.) Dinner at work: Austin sips a fresh fruit cup for dessert after eating a turkey sandwich for supper at the Resource Desk at 7:28 p.m. Monday. In between eating dinner and attending to his job at the desk, he also researches scholarly articles for an English paper on cultural studies.
10.) End of the Day: Austin is the last person to leave the Cyber Café after closing at midnight, following the troubleshooting of the printer to help a student print 65 pages at 11:58 p.m. He leaves the Cyber Café to begin the 16-mile bicycle journey back to Andersonville. Tomorrow he starts the process all over again.

Dandy Dietetics

On Friday, November 21, the Nutrition Department will be holding a Diversity in Dietetics Workshop. This workshop will consist of several speakers about the world of dietetics and the role it plays in our lives. For more information on this workshop or to RSVP, contact Dr. Jill White.

There's prizes!!

Midterm grades

In a meeting I was at recently, there was much discussion among the administration about whether or not midterm grades would be beneficial to students. The idea would be that students would have a better understanding of how there were doing in class if students had a concrete grade by mid semester. Do you think that these grades would be helpful to us students? Do many classes lend well to grading in the middle of the course?

Who knew there were so many opportunities for studying abroad?

The past two days, the University held a Study Abroad Open House event in two separate locations. I stopped by the open house in the Parmer Atrium on Tuesday afternoon, and quickly noticed that there were so many programs I had no idea existed.

There were so many opportunities for programs in Europe (London, Paris, Nantes, Milan, Florence, Salzburg, Ireland, Salamanca). I didn't know that Dominican had a program for two locations in France, or that there were programs for Salzburg, Austria or Ireland. I was also unaware of a program in Buenos Aires.

One of my big regrets about college so far is that I never seriously considered studying abroad for a semester or two in some new and exciting place. My sophomore year, I briefly courted the idea of studying in South Africa at the University of Stellenboch for a semester, but my hopes were quickly dashed upon finding out they had no programs for journalism or sociology majors (I was considering Sociology for a second major at the time). Hopefully since then, the programs have been expanded to provide the same experiences for all majors. I would recommend to those who haven't considered it to do so. You never know where a completely new and foreign experience might take you.

Some more information on study abroad can be found here.

The Best Way to Relieve Stress

Recently, I had been having problems with stress.

I'd been bombarded for weeks with assignment after endless assignment for my classes, set upon by the hounds of financial responsibility (even more so with the looming financial crisis), barely managed to make it to my campus job on time and struggled to live up to my responsibilities as co-editor-in-chief of the Dominican STAR. I was at the breaking point a few weeks ago. The academic powers that be seemed have thrown everything they could at me: papers, projects, newspaper production, meetings, lectures, obligations, the list goes on and on. My social life was rapidly decaying and at the same time it felt like I had no time to myself.

But then I finally began reciting a mantra suggested to me by a family member: "It can wait."

My family realized, through phone conversations and the occasional visit back home, that I was falling apart under the weight of my commitments. So my parents suggested I take it easy and tell myself that things can wait; my personal health and sanity come first.

After a much-needed weekend hiatus from school life, spent on the couch at home and at a good old fashioned rock n roll show, I felt like a new person. By getting out of my stressful environment, going home, and immersing myself in a favorite band for a few hours, I found I could suddenly deal with everything. All I needed to do was step back for a second.

Service Learning

To pursue truth, to give compassionate service, to participate in the creation of a more just and human world. This should be familiar to all of those in the Dominican community as a part of our motto. These ideals are sewn throughout all aspects of life at this university. One place in particular is in the Service Learning department.

Students can participate in Service Learning in a variety of ways. One of the most literal is by having a service learning component added on to one of your classes. With this a professor would assign some sort of service as a part of a class grade. Often times, these courses meet less or have less homework in order to make time for the service element. A professor may integrate the service more or less depending on the course. Service destinations could include anything from serving food at a homeless shelter to cleaning up Thatcher Woods. The student would then either discuss the service in class, or have a written assignment on it to further analyze the experience.

Service Learning is a very unique way to teach without books or essays. It gives students an opportunity to have hands on experience and create their own thoughts. This type of learning comes from the heart of Dominican’s values because it give students a broader sense of the world around them.

For more information, visit the Service Learning Website

A different way to teach....

Many professors use lecture as their primary forms of educating. Others prefer class discussion or the use of visual aid. In one specific communications course, the instructor prefers not to show up at all.

The class is Interpersonal Communication. The professor is Ric Calabrese. Every few class periods, Calabrese breaks the students into small groups and has them teach themselves. That is, one student is chosen as the facilitator and Calabrese doesn't come to class that day. Is he lazy? Maybe, but the more appropriate guess would be that Calabrese feels that by not coming to class, his students will be more open and candid with the discussion.

It is an interesting approach to teaching, and so far seems to be surprisingly effective. Students still show up and have a decent discussion about the topic at hand. Of course, cutting the class short by 15 minutes never hurt anyone so these students may or may not have taken this liberty. Still, the class period is by no means wasted and seems to be educational.

It is safe to say that Professor Calabrese learned something in his umpteen years of teaching. While this may not be the most orthodox way of educating the youth of our nation, it seems to give students a different perspective about college and education in general.

Or he could be lazy.

Recipe Box

The Recipe Box Atrium Café is the product of students in the course Quantity Food Production and Service, Nutrition 407. In this course, students learn how to plan, prepare, serve, and clean a large meal. It is a culmination of the students’ nutrition and organizational skills. Each week, a different student is chosen as the Kitchen Manager. This individual is responsible for planning and organizing the menu and making sure the food is properly prepared and served. Customers are given evaluations at the end of the meal to assess the meal, service, and overall experience. Students are asked to use these critiques as a way to assess their performance and improve.

For more information or to RSVP contact Judy Beto.

Lund-Gill Chair to give speech on the importance of history

Lund-Gill Chair Stephen Kinzer will be presenting a talk about the importance of history in the 21st century tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7, in the Martin Recital Hall. The lecture is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

This lecture should be a great opportunity for journalism and history students to learn from one of the pros; Kinzer was a foreign correspondent for the New York Times for 30 years, and always knew the history behind the nations and revolutions he's covered throughout his exciting career. Kinzer is an engaging speaker, and he always keeps his audiences interested in the points he raises in his lectures through his extensive historical knowledge and wealth of personal stories and experiences.

Find out more about Kinzer here.

Dominican Unveils New Video Page on myDU

Dominican has just premiered a brand new videos page on myDU. The site currently features a few short news story videos, including excerpts from lectures by Lund-Gill Chair Stephen Kinzer, a news story covering 2008 Academic Convocation and DU Fest, as well as a segment entitled "A Week in the Life of DU," which features clips from several events that occured the week of September 7-13.

According to the post on myDU announcing the start of the page, new videos covering campus events will be posted frequently.

Seminar. Unique to DU and I wonder why.

Seminar is a uniquely Dominican creation. It is a course that all students from all disciplines have to take in order to graduate. The point of this course is to study the "BIG questions" in life and get other perspectives on them.

However, while seminar can be interesting at times, this year especially it seems to fall flat. I am often bored with the questions asked, the responses, and the overall feel of this course. While I understand that it helps us become well rounded individuals, I'd honestly rather sleep in.

Have you all found the purpose in seminar? Or do you too find it leaves something to be desired?

Fulbright Scholarship

Many students want to make a difference after they graduate. I think this would be the hope for most individuals, but at Dominican especially because of our "caritas et veritas" lifestyle. One way to do this may be the Fulbright Scholarship program.

With this, students can live overseas to help teach, do research, or lecture. It may be an interesting way to get a taste of other volunteering opportunities. The foundation gives several different types of grants. The qualifications are as follows:

• Are a U.S. citizen, and
• Are a graduating senior; hold a B.S./B.A. degree; are a master's or doctoral degree candidate; or are a young professional or artist, and
• Are thinking of studying, teaching or conducting research abroad, and
• Are in good health

For more information, contact Kathleen Houlihan.

She's, well, distinctive

Dominican University offers two special options for students who wish to go through their college career with a little more, well, work. These, of course, would be receiving a degree with distinction.

Oh, well, distinction sounds nice! And yes, maybe it is. But it is also a heck of a lot of work with a questionable outcome. To receive a degree with distinction, students are required to complete a project in their field of study. This project is intended to be BIG. It can be anything from a research paper to a series of photographs, depending on your major. A proposal is due by the end of your first semester junior year.

The intention, then, is that you would spend the remainder of that year, your summer, and all of senior year conquering this project. Besides nearly two years of planning and headaches, what does this little asterisk next to your name really mean? It provides the student with more experience in their field, but you have the rest of your life to do that.

As a student struggling on whether or not to take on this challenge, are there any suggestions of why one would put themselves through this?

Update on the Scholarship Letter

As those of you who read this post know, I had a little confusion with the Alumni Office about a scholarship letter this past week. I later received another email which explained that I should have received prior emails the office had sent and that my letter was due last Friday.

So I went in to clarify the matter.

Apparently , there was a snafu in their email lists. The office did not have current email addresses for a good majority of the names on their list of individuals who were to submit scholarship thank you letters. I was informed I was one of these people.

It turned out to be a simple mistake after all. 'No matter,' they said, 'Get us a letter whenever you can, preferably by Monday.'

Now although I have prepared my letter, I forgot to submit on Monday. 'No matter,' I said, 'I'll get it in tomorrow.'

Many in my same situation may not have had this luxury, or may not even know about the whole thing. For those people, wait for it, there's more: according to an anonymous source in the office, if students do not turn in their letters by October 6, they apparently lose their scholarship. Fair enough, but how will everyone who didn't receive an email in the first place find out about this deadline? Will they lose their scholarship as a result of the University's error?

Brennan School of Business Offering GMAT Prep Course

The GMAT, or Graduate Management Admission Test, is a huge deal when it comes to making the decision about attending Graduate School. Luckily, Dominican's Brennan School of Business is offering a course that will help prepare you for this challenge.

According to a post on myDU, the course will last for eight weeks, and will consist of instruction on the quantitative, analytical and verbal sections. The class kicked off today, September 30 at 6:30pm, and continues every week on Tuesdays from 6:30-9:30pm, with a final session concluding the course on November 18. Total cost for enrollment is $450, which includes a textbook for the class.

More information on the GMAT and the Brennan School of Business:
More Information on the GMAT
Register for the Prep Course
Brennan School of Business

Study Abroad...At Home!

DU is all about studying abroad. Many of the values this school was founded upon involve having an open mind to those of other cultures and religions. Because of this, we have many programs that can take student to Milan, London, Ghana, and......Montana?

Yes, even those who have a fear of flying can share in study abroad opportunities, well, perhaps study domestically would be more appropriate. As well as our over seas trips, Dominican also offers several service learning programs in the good ol' U.S. of A. Next semester, yours truly will be headed to Montana is conjunction with Theology 381, a Native American religion course. During the 15 day trip, we will be camping and helping out at several Native American reservations. At around $200 per student, this two week domestic study is a shorter, and cheaper, alternative to some of its foreign counterparts. Plus, it fufills both a theology and multicultural requirement. Not bad, huh?

So if you are moy malo at a foreign language or just can't seem to rack up the cash, look into a study abroad that may not be so abroad. It's bound to be just as educational and awesome as anything you can get by plane.

Library Workshops

For students new to college, the ways of research or Dominican University, the ever-helpful library workshop might just be your key to academic success on those long research papers or even if you're just looking to learn more about the research process. The Library Workshops have been nothing but helpful in my experience, and the librarians are always willing to help you out on even the smallest of problems when it comes to using the databases, searching the online catalog or ordering a book from IShare.

Although students looking to attend the workshop need to sign up with the Registar's Office, the hassle is worth it. The next workshop will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, September 30, from 2 to 3:20pm.

Contact the Registrar at 708.524.6774 for more information.

Lund Gill Chair

Stephan Kinzer, journalist and historian, is Dominican's Lund Gill Chair this year.

Don't worry, no one else knows what that means either. This year, Kinzer is teaching a course titled "American Empire" as well as giving lectures throughout the semester. But how did he get picked for this position? And more importantly, who picked him?

According to the Dominican Website, "The chair is named for former Dominican University President Sr. Candida Lund, OP, and former English professor, Sr. Cyrille Gill, OP." But there is really no mention of who is eligible for this position or how the final individual is chosen.

Freshman Blues

Many freshman enter college bright eyed and bushy tailed. Eager to start a new section of their lives, they can only imagine the good times and friends that wait just beyond the reach of their parents.

What they may not imagine, however, is the college work load. As the school year gains momentum and classes begin to pick up, are freshman prepared to handle the academic pressures of school? Several new students have spoken to me about the pressure to perform with little guidance from their professors or advisors. Many workshops and even courses had been created in the past to help assist with this transition, but those tools seem to be a thing of the past. In particular, the university previously offered a course called ID 101, or the Dominican Experience. This 1 credit course featured different college survival tips and an introduction to the school.

Unfortunately, this course is no longer offered. What is the school doing now to help the freshman succeed in the college world?

New Exhibit at O'Connor

The Art Department welcomes its newest exhibit by artists Bill Guy and Ulrike Muller titled "Public Spaces, Private Moments". This work takes a look at people having very intimate moments with themselves in wide open spaces. The exhibit is in the O'Connor Art Gallery through October 18. Take a look at one of the photographs.

Image courtesy of the O'Connor Art Gallery

Choose Your Own Major: Interdepartmental Major Option

When choosing Dominican, new students often select the one or two single majors they feel best serve their needs or desires for the construction of a successful and fulfilling career post-graduation.

However, one particular course of study most incoming students ignore is the interdepartmental option.

Page 18 of the 2006-2008 Undergraduate Bulletin for the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences lists the interdepartmental option, which essentially gives students the freedom to create their own major.

The process begins with a student submitting a plan of study for review. This plan, according to Dean of Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Carlson, should consist of a title for the major, a rationale, and a list of courses, complete with an outline of how the courses will fit together to create the customized major.

Upon completion of a plan of study, the plan is then submitted for review first to the Dean of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences. The Dean consults the draft, deciding which courses would work and which courses would not, then points the student in the right direction on revising and completing a draft of the plan.

Faculty members who teach the majority of the classes from which the plan is composed then review the draft and decide individually and informally amongst themselves whether or not the program would feasibly work. Individual decisions help to shape the final rationale and list of courses and requirements before faculty members eventually sign off on a final product the student can then call his or her own.

Students pursuing this option are typically advised by faculty members within the selected discipline or those faculty members who instruct the majority of the student’s courses while pursuing the custom major.

With seemingly carte-blanche access to classes and options when building one’s own major, it’s surprising how little, if anything, Dominican students know about the interdepartmental option.

Senior Alina Markova had never heard of the plan.

”I didn’t know about it,” she said of the option. “But I think it’s awesome, and I would do it if I weren’t trying to graduate this year.”

”If I had known about [the interdepartmental option], I would have combined things. I think majors are too general; plus, most of my classes I feel relate to each other anyway, so it would be a good decision for me,” she said.

An idea this unknown and revolutionary would have to be new, right?

”The interdepartmental option goes back at least 20 years,” says Carlson. “In my six years at Dominican, fewer than five students have done this. In most cases, it’s not the student’s only major; it’s often added as a second major or minor.”

”We’ve been trying to promote it more, and as a result, we’d had more interest [recently]. The idea of creating your own major is introduced to every freshman and transfer student.”

Peter Taylor, chair of the history department at Dominican, believed the option was a good idea, but also saw some flaws to the idea.

"One problem that I have seen with such majors as students propose them is that they turn out to be collections of classes, often too many," said Taylor.

"An academic concentration needs to have a rationale, a plan, and some kind of course which can function as an integrating experience for the courses in the major. There is always the danger that students do not appreciate the importance of the methods courses many majors offer and use this option to avoid them since they really are difficult."

Senior Eric Florance thought that while the program sounded interesting, it has its limitations.

”I think it's definitely suited towards certain majors. I’m a biology-chemistry major, and personally, I think it would be very difficult for a science major to make good use of the interdepartmental option, since Dominican might not offer some necessary courses I would need to create a major that would suit my own needs,” he said.

Florance suggested offering the option as a sort of partnership plan between a faculty member advisor to a student creating his or her own major.

”I think as a student it would be hard to program everything needed for a major by yourself,” said Florance.

So why do very few students style their own major using the option?

”I think on the one hand students just don’t know about it,” says Carlson. “They’re apprehensive about the idea. They ask: will it count? Will I be marketable?”

”Some people might be afraid to do it; afraid it won’t be acknowledged.”

Florance also agrees with the question of marketability, saying it is the only factor that would have held him back from making the decision to create his own major three years ago.

In the end, Carlson believes that while it may not be a popular option among Dominican students, the interdepartmental option represents the spirit of education.

”We have it as a symbolic statement that says: ‘take charge of your own education’,” said Carlson. “This is a statement about finding your own authentic voice.”

”If I had it my way, I’d abolish every course, so everyone would be forced to do this option. It’s a fragile, slender placeholder of hope that students will think for themselves; it stands for students’ capacity to be self-directing and take charge of their education.”

Links:
Office of the Registrar
Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Majors Page

Scholarship Letter?

Last year, I received a scholarship from a very generous couple to support my education in journalism at Dominican. In return for their kind favor, the university had me prepare a letter thanking them for their donation and I attended a scholarship brunch, during which I met with the couple and had a great time.

This year, I received the same scholarship again. However, instead of contacting me directly to attend a "letter writing session" to prepare a letter to my generous donors, and notifying me that I even had the scholarship in the first place, they notify my parents.

I received a phone call last night from a family member, who informed me the University wants me to attend this letter writing session (which apparently is mandatory) and the brunch in October. This letter writing session takes place this week (tomorrow and Wednesday, to be exact). When were they going to notify ME? I would have had no idea had my parents neglected to mention the letters coming in from the University. On top of all this, I have prior commitments to other organizations and classes during these information sessions. Maybe if I had been notified ahead of time, I would be able to make it to the sessions, let alone be aware I had these obligations.

I'm 21 years old. The least the university could do at this point is trust me to take care of my financial obligations and send me a letter notifying me that I have to be somewhere at a certain time, especially if it's mandatory. I don't have a problem writing a letter to my donors, or going to a scholarship brunch. However, I feel like my independence has been called into question. Or perhaps there was a mix up in the bureaucracy?

This isn't really a huge issue, but I'm a little annoyed.

I'm also curious if this has happened to anyone else?

Art Exhibit

An interesting new art exhibit is currently housed in the O'Connor Gallery on the fourth floor of Lewis Hall. The artwork of Bill Guy and Ulrike Muller, entitled "Public Spaces, Private Meoments," will be on display in the gallery until October 18. All art students or fans of art are sure to find this exhibit intriguing.

For more information on art exhibits by students and outside artists, be sure to check myDU or wander up to the O'Connor Gallery and have a look.

Attention Seniors!

The Registrar began holding Graduation Audits for the classes of 2008-2009 on Monday, September 15. Students should be registered for all coursework and classes before scheduling an audit. Remeber, you NEED an audit in order to graduate!

Audits can be scheduled with the Registrar in Lewis 115, or by calling 708-524-6774.

Online Tutor

According to Bob Greewald from Learning Resources, a tutor is available for online chat on Sunday nights. This student worker would there to help answer last minute questions about grammar or another specific writing issue. As of now, the hours of this service are unclear and may be changing soon. This could be a unique resource for students to use.

Academic Success

Robbi Byrdsong-Wright is no longer the Director of Multicultural Affairs. She was named the Associate Dean of Academic Success. As of now, there is no one filling her position and no efforts to change that. What will happen to the office of multicultural affairs without Robbi?

Life After DU

Career Development wants to make sure you are ready for what lies beyond Dominican. To help, on Saturday, October 11, they are offering the opportunity to take the practice LSAT, GMAT, GRE and MCAT tests. It is completely free, but you do need to sign up in advance. These tests can costs hundreds of dollars for the real thing, so it couldn't hurt to see how you might do for free. Contact Career Development if you have any questions.

Literary London

According to a post on myDU, the Literary London program will have its first info session on Tuesday, September 16 at 2:15pm in the Rebecca Crown Library's Springer Suite, room 002. The program consists of a class (English 247) and an optional study tour of London over spring break in March for a fourth credit for the class.

Additional information can be found here.

El Salvador

Students who studied abroad in El Salvador last May will be sharing their experiences and observations in the Lewis Longue on Wednesday, September 17 from 6:30-8:30pm. The event is sponsored by Study Abroad, OLA and the Sociology Department.

In addition, there will be information sessions for the Election Observation and Democratic Participation class (STA 299), to discuss this year's spring break trip to El Salvador. Sessions will be held Tuesday, September 23 at 2:30pm and Wednesday, September 24 at 3:30pm. Both sessions will be held in Parmer 018.

These sessions should provide an interesting glimpse into a unique study abroad program.

Major websites

Did you know there are websites for each individual major offered by the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences? Most of these sites either link to a main department (such as communications or psychology for example) or are simply informative pages detailing requirements and contacts for each major.

But one site cuts above the rest: The Art department. Aside from having a beautifully designed site with links to contact information, a gallery and a study abroad link for their European programs, the site also prominently features beautiful artwork by a Dominican student on the homepage. There are even links to individual pages on art department faculty members where visitors can learn about the professors and catch up on their recent work. It is by far the best site for any program at Dominican I've seen thus far. Perhaps other majors should follow their example and spruce up their websites a bit?

Department of Art, Art History and Design website

Graduate/Proffesional School Fair

Graduating this year and not quite ready to leave school? Check out the Chicago Graduate and Professional School Fair on Thursday, October 2nd at the UIC Forum. This fair is free and will have information from hundreds of schools from all over the country. Check out Career Development for more information.

Who?

When was the last time you walked down the crowded halls of the first floor of Lewis and noticed the lonely registrar's office? Unless you are a senior in need of an audit, it's probably been quite some time since you thought about this office. With technology taking the lead as the main form of class registration and communication, what else does the registrars office provide for students? Need more information for your opinion? Visit the Registrar's website.

Learning Resources

Learning Resources, located in the lower level of Parmer Hall, may offer more than you think. The center has expanded over the last year to include more than just writing help. Tutors are available for math, reading, business, science, and more. Check them out to start this year off on the right foot.

A Reminder!

Today, Wednesday, September 10, is the last day for undergraduates to declare satisfactory/fail option for a course or drop courses for Fall 2008! Courses can be dropped online via MyDU or at the Office of the Registrar. Make sure you're ready to go for Fall 2008!

Environmental Science Major rumor addressed

I recently heard a rumor that Dominican's Environmental Science major had been cut from the curriculum. According to the 2008-2009 Undergraduate Bulletin, this is not the case. Dean of Rosary College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Jeffrey Carlson directed me to page 82, which indicates the major is still part of the curriculum. Environmental Sciences professor Dr. John Tandarich also claimed to have heard nothing of the major being cut.

Has anyone else heard anything concerning this strange rumor?

Rosary College of Arts and Sciences website

The Mystery of the Major

This school year, like many others, has come all too quickly. Many freshman, sophomores, and maybe even juniors have been struggling with the thought of committing to a major all summer. Some will end up changing their minds next semester or end up in a career that has nothing to do with what they studied. Most work places only require a college degree, without much care of what its for. What can DU do to help students pick a major without anxiety or regrets?

Greetings!

Greetings and here is your second welcome from the Dominincan University Academic Affairs blog. If it is academically related, we will be talking about it. This can be anything from our core curriculum to the honors program to our grades. Academic Affairs may be the unforgotten department on campus, but we'll be sure to shed some light on something that affects us all.

First Official Post

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Dominican University Academic Affairs blog! This is a brand-new way to look at academic news on campus, with updates being posted regularly. Feel free to comment on posts and suggest things you'd like to see covered, and also feel free to suggest ideas, address rumors you might have heard, and any other burning questions about Academics at Dominican.