Academic Affairs Newsletter - Message #17

IUPUI is regarded as a national leader in creating programs and structures in support of undergraduate student success, particularly throughout the first year of college. Despite these efforts, improvements in one-year retention have tapered off, and there remains a stubborn achievement gap at both the undergraduate and graduate levels between majority students and students of color.

To address this challenge, a small group of senior leaders formed a Strategic Information Council in order to identify and address potential barriers to student success. This past March, the council hosted a Summit on Student Retention and Success that involved academic deans, members of the Diversity Cabinet and members of the Enrollment Management Advisory Council. Participants engaged in conversations regarding three domains that shape students’ experiences – academic affairs (e.g., policy, curricula, faculty development), student support services (e.g., financial aid and scholarship disbursement, advising, and career counseling), and community--with the goal of thinking creatively about new ways of structuring the student experience within and across schools. Deans were charged with taking these conversations back to their schools for further dialogue and action planning. Themes from the summit will be revisited at the Council of Deans’ Retreat in August, followed by an Enrollment Management Summit in November, 2018, with the goal of eliminating achievement gaps and improving outcomes for all IUPUI students.

The Office of Academic Affairs has been working to ensure that the leadership programming offered at IUPUI is better coordinated, and that key leaders (e.g., new department chairs) are expected by their supervisors to engage with it at least throughout much of their first year in the role. At the same time, discussion at the February Academic Deans meeting revealed that we have gaps in our offerings (e.g., faculty who may want to be leaders in the future have few means of exploring this possibility). Finally, it was pointed out that IUPUI offers several academic programs that include faculty with deep expertise on various aspects of leadership, yet we rarely take full advantage of that potential by engaging them as expert advisors. To respond to each of these things, EVC Kathy Johnson has appointed a Leadership Advisory Council. The council draws upon the expertise and perspectives of faculty and staff from multiple disciplines and schools:  SPEA, Human Resources, Kelley, Organizational Leadership, Educational Leadership, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  

Under the direction of Gina Gibau and Margie Ferguson, the council is tasked with identifying the gaps in IUPUI’s current leadership development offerings and helping to develop an appropriate curriculum to assure high quality leadership with an eye toward succession planning to assure the future success of our campus. The recommendations of the council will become the foundation for future leadership programming and support at IUPUI. Many thanks to Khaula Murtadha, Charlie Feldhaus, Larry Smith, Jane Williams, Sara Johnson, Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow, and Juletta Toliver. After its initial recommendations, the council will continue to meet with the a subset of the Chancellor’s Cabinet to provide advice on leadership development activities, to assess the quality of our undertakings and to ensure continuous improvement.  

IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning were launched in 1997 as learning outcomes common to all undergraduate degree programs at IUPUI. Twenty years ago they received much national attention and praise, including kudos from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as having been influential in shaping their Essential Learning Outcomes. They later spawned similar frameworks for campus learning outcomes at the graduate and professional level (Principles of Graduate and Professional Learning) and for the co-curriculum (Principles of Co-Curricular Learning).

Unfortunately the PULs had become a bit stale, having not been reviewed in well over ten years. Furthermore, having separate PULs and Principles of Co-curricular Learning implied a lack of connection between learning in and outside the classroom, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We are tremendously grateful to a team of faculty and staff leaders, led by Dr. Kristy Sheeler, that took on the challenge of refreshing and integrating the PULs and the Principles of Co-curricular Learning. After months of discussion and thoughtful feedback from various faculty groups, consensus coalesced around the Profiles of Learning for Undergraduate Success (PLUS), which will help ensure that all IUPUI students can communicate, innovate, and engage local and global communities to solve the problems of the 21st century. IUPUI PLUS was endorsed by the IUPUI Faculty Council on May 1, 2018, and we look forward to spending the upcoming academic year on planning that will help to ensure that they are woven throughout courses, curricula, and co-curricular experiences as well as communicated effectively to students, faculty, staff, and community stakeholders.

Kristy Sheeler was named the executive associate dean of the IUPUI Honors College on January 1. What do you really know about her? What does she dream about when she’s not working? Who would she be in the witness protection program? Watch this video to find out!

See the story of Kristy's appointment here.

Everyone has a story. An IUPUI story. Like the time your office was on 38th Street in the old Burger Chef building or when a book brigade was formed to transport library books from the old library to the new University Library. Or maybe you met your significant other here. You get the picture...er...story, right? Why not share your IUPUI story? It's a great one! 

The 50th Anniversary of the campus begins this summer. We're looking for stories to add to the anniversary website and for usage in promotional materials. Won't you consider sharing your wonderful IUPUI story with everyone? Go here and click on "share your own story." While you're there, read the other stories that have already been shared. Like we said, everyone has a IUPUI story. Share yours today!

May 1 was the last Faculty Council meeting of the year, and it capped a lot of activity. The “new PULs” (see earlier article in this newsletter) were approved, after already passing through the Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Committees. Look for much more on that topic next year.  The constitutional changes that were sent out to a vote last month *passed,* so that we now have an up-to-date council membership: 60 at-large seats (all tenured/tenure-track) and 40 unit representatives (which can be non-tenure-track, clinical or lecturer) as each school decides. The vice president for the council stays the same: Jeff Watt, and the incoming president is John Watson, past chair of the IFC Faculty Affairs Committee and a faculty member in the School of Science. Congratulations to them both!

Rachel Applegate 
IFC President

The Chancellor's Academic Honors Convocation was held on April 20. Congratulations to all of the awardees listed here! Photos from the event can be found here.

Learn to mediate disputes and overcome communication challenges between individuals and among small groups – mark your calendar and plan to attend 2018 Mediation Training.

Hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and led by Dan Griffith, director of conflict resolution and dialogue programs in the Office of Intercultural Literacy, Capacity and Engagement, this course is particularly beneficial to anyone involved in the dispute resolution process.

Join the three and one-half day training in August; 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. August 7, 8, and 9 and 8:30 to 11 a.m. August 10 in conference room 309 in the Campus Center to learn and practice the mediation process, participate in realistic role-plays, and explore complex conflict situations and mediation challenges.

This course is open to the IUPUI campus and the general public, the $150 registration fee includes textbook, training material, course instruction, morning and afternoon break service, one lunch, and HRCI credit.

For more information or to register, call Emily Kempski, EO specialist in the Office of Equal Opportunity (317-274-2315) or write to ude[dot]iupui[at]ikspmeke.

• May 11: IUPUI Celebration of Black Graduates
• May 12: IUPUI Commencement
• June 22: Mandela Washington Fellowship Program Wecome Reception
• June 27: Mandela Washington Fellowship Program Meet, Mingle, and Listen

• Academic Affairs Events Listing – Use this link to view and register for upcoming Academic Affairs workshops, training, and important events that pertain to YOU!
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