Bethany Trivia
What originally stood at today’s Kirkpatrick Hall?
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bethany Trivia
Which departments at Bethany have the most honors societies?
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Securing the Green When Going Green
(The State Journal, August 4, 2011 - by Scott D. Miller)
During the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the steering committee of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), representing signatories from 667 higher education institutions throughout America. In June, I chaired a panel discussion in Washington about practical ways to finance sustainability and renewable energy initiatives on college and university campuses.
The ACUPCC, according to its website, is “a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate.”
Given the worldwide scale of pollution and climate change, that may be a tall order. But we think it’s a great idea to equip higher education institutions with resources not only to foster discussion about global environmental issues, but also to develop action plans as practitioners of energy conservation and efficiency.
From the earliest Earth Day activism in the 1970’s, colleges and universities have played a key role in raising environmental awareness. The protests and petitions of a previous generation have been succeeded on many campuses by an institutional commitment to stewardship of resources. From recycling to constructing more energy-efficient buildings to commissioning environmentally-smart campus master plans, higher education has gone green—or has plans to do so.
But good intentions cost money. As with heavy industry, retrofitting campuses to be environmentally friendly can be expensive.
A working committee within the ACUPCC identified financing as a significant barrier to implementing sustainability on campuses. One of the goals of the Climate Commitment, therefore, is to identify available funding strategies for budget-sensitive institutions. A second goal is to encourage the federal and state governments to increase support to signatories that practice or envision energy efficiency, conservation and renewability.
Ultimately, we hope to create a plan to help a specified percentage of the higher education community reduce on-campus energy consumption by 50% and achieve 100% renewable energy use by 2022. The Climate Commitment is designed to move colleges and universities away from the notion that efficient and renewable energy projects have to pay for themselves; rather, we urge our fellow institutions to allocate funding for sustainability initiatives as part of their strategic planning process.
There are many practical issues to be addressed along the way, of course. Among other topics, the Climate Commitment is examining the following: What mechanisms are in place, or should be put in place, to measure the costs and benefits of climate action plans and communicate with stakeholders? How can we quantify the economic benefits of greenhouse gas reduction and sustainability initiatives within existing accounting systems? Should sustainability-related debt be viewed differently than other forms of debt by accounting firms, creditors and ratings agencies?
As with reaching most lofty goals, real change comes slowly. Colleges and universities, which serve multiple constituencies, can be resistant to the kind of broad, comprehensive policy-making that underlies environmental success. But with the Climate Commitment identifying workable campus projects, gathering buy-in from governing boards and addressing issues of budget support, higher education can, in turn, serve as a resource model for other organizations.
In April the ACUPCC launched a web page intended to become a clearinghouse for ideas and information about identifying and securing financing opportunities for sustainability initiatives: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
We look forward to finding answers to the complex questions related to environmental stewardship. Going green doesn’t have to be a painful journey, but it is one that requires organizational commitment and financial planning to ensure success.
During the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the steering committee of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), representing signatories from 667 higher education institutions throughout America. In June, I chaired a panel discussion in Washington about practical ways to finance sustainability and renewable energy initiatives on college and university campuses.
The ACUPCC, according to its website, is “a high-visibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth's climate.”
Given the worldwide scale of pollution and climate change, that may be a tall order. But we think it’s a great idea to equip higher education institutions with resources not only to foster discussion about global environmental issues, but also to develop action plans as practitioners of energy conservation and efficiency.
From the earliest Earth Day activism in the 1970’s, colleges and universities have played a key role in raising environmental awareness. The protests and petitions of a previous generation have been succeeded on many campuses by an institutional commitment to stewardship of resources. From recycling to constructing more energy-efficient buildings to commissioning environmentally-smart campus master plans, higher education has gone green—or has plans to do so.
But good intentions cost money. As with heavy industry, retrofitting campuses to be environmentally friendly can be expensive.
A working committee within the ACUPCC identified financing as a significant barrier to implementing sustainability on campuses. One of the goals of the Climate Commitment, therefore, is to identify available funding strategies for budget-sensitive institutions. A second goal is to encourage the federal and state governments to increase support to signatories that practice or envision energy efficiency, conservation and renewability.
Ultimately, we hope to create a plan to help a specified percentage of the higher education community reduce on-campus energy consumption by 50% and achieve 100% renewable energy use by 2022. The Climate Commitment is designed to move colleges and universities away from the notion that efficient and renewable energy projects have to pay for themselves; rather, we urge our fellow institutions to allocate funding for sustainability initiatives as part of their strategic planning process.
There are many practical issues to be addressed along the way, of course. Among other topics, the Climate Commitment is examining the following: What mechanisms are in place, or should be put in place, to measure the costs and benefits of climate action plans and communicate with stakeholders? How can we quantify the economic benefits of greenhouse gas reduction and sustainability initiatives within existing accounting systems? Should sustainability-related debt be viewed differently than other forms of debt by accounting firms, creditors and ratings agencies?
As with reaching most lofty goals, real change comes slowly. Colleges and universities, which serve multiple constituencies, can be resistant to the kind of broad, comprehensive policy-making that underlies environmental success. But with the Climate Commitment identifying workable campus projects, gathering buy-in from governing boards and addressing issues of budget support, higher education can, in turn, serve as a resource model for other organizations.
In April the ACUPCC launched a web page intended to become a clearinghouse for ideas and information about identifying and securing financing opportunities for sustainability initiatives: www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org.
We look forward to finding answers to the complex questions related to environmental stewardship. Going green doesn’t have to be a painful journey, but it is one that requires organizational commitment and financial planning to ensure success.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Hello to Hot, Hopeful August
(The President's Letter, August 2011)
August, with its promise of things to come, is one of my favorite times of the year. For many, summer 2011 will be remembered as a time of searing heat and the July release of “Deathly Hallows 2,” the final film in the Harry Potter series, when viewers said “goodbye” to Hogwarts, Harry and friends after ten wildly successful years. On the Bethany College campus, though, the summer has been a time not of fantasy but of bustling activity and the hard work associated with preparation for another academic year.
Click here to read more.
August, with its promise of things to come, is one of my favorite times of the year. For many, summer 2011 will be remembered as a time of searing heat and the July release of “Deathly Hallows 2,” the final film in the Harry Potter series, when viewers said “goodbye” to Hogwarts, Harry and friends after ten wildly successful years. On the Bethany College campus, though, the summer has been a time not of fantasy but of bustling activity and the hard work associated with preparation for another academic year.
Click here to read more.
Bethany Trivia
What did the Grace Phillips Johnson Arts Center originally serve as?
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Bethany Trivia
What were the first societies established at Bethany College?
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Bethany Trivia
Who was the first female President of Bethany College?
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Click here to see the answer and other Bethany Trivia questions.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Reflecting on What We Have Done—and Need to Do
(The President's Letter, July 2011)
July marks the mid-point of the summer for most of us. At Bethany College, this also means the start of a new fiscal year. In less than two months, faculty will return to greet the next generation of Bethanians.
While the Independence Day weekend gives Americans a chance to celebrate a historical milestone in the life of the nation, for our College it provides an opportunity to reflect on its golden past and a future filled with possibility and promise. This weekend provides an opportune time to put into context the extraordinary history of this state’s oldest degree-granting institution.
Click here to read more.
July marks the mid-point of the summer for most of us. At Bethany College, this also means the start of a new fiscal year. In less than two months, faculty will return to greet the next generation of Bethanians.
While the Independence Day weekend gives Americans a chance to celebrate a historical milestone in the life of the nation, for our College it provides an opportunity to reflect on its golden past and a future filled with possibility and promise. This weekend provides an opportune time to put into context the extraordinary history of this state’s oldest degree-granting institution.
Click here to read more.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Greater Attention Equals Greater Retention
(Enrollment Manager, July 2011 – by Scott D. Miller and Marylouise Fennell)
Nearly 40 percent of students who entered baccalaureate degree programs this academic year will fail to complete their degrees within six years, if recent patterns continue. The implications of this trend are grave, both for our nation, which badly needs qualified workers ready to fill key jobs in emerging sectors, and for the non-retained students themselves. Current research underscores and enhances what we have long known: greater attention to student-centered issues equals greater retention.
“What we almost always find when we are retained by institutions with slipping retention is that the little things that make all the difference to students have slipped through the cracks,” says Dr. Joe Pace, a nationally-known specialist in student retention and Chairman of the Board, PX2 Youth and Higher Education, who also serves as program director, facilitator and speaker for The Pacific Institute in Seattle, WA. Retention requires a laser-like institutional focus, he emphasizes, and just a small lapse in attention to student needs and expectations can result in a critical slippage in students.
“Often, when we explore the root causes, we learn that an institutional self-study or other internal event has caused the institutional leadership to ‘take its eyes off the ball’ with regard to student-centered initiatives just long enough to negatively affect retention,” Pace notes. “Seldom is the college or university even aware of the lapse until it shows up in enrollment statistics.”
The economic impact on the institution can be critical, he notes.
Because replacing a student costs, on average, eight times what it costs to retain him or her, it behooves an institution to focus on retention of current students with the same intensity which it seeks to enroll new learners.
Bolstering student connectivity with faculty, staff and administrators pays significant enrollment dividends; Pace’s research shows that students persist at measurably higher rates when they make a direct, positive connection with an individual in each of these categories. He calls them “model mentors,” employees who are both caring and knowledgeable about the organization’s mission. Engagement with faculty and fellow students is particularly important, he points out. Further, it doesn’t matter the level of the administrative contact. In fact, often custodians in residence halls or cafeteria workers with whom a student enjoys consistent, caring contact can make the difference in the student being retained or transferring to another institution. “Edupreneurs”—half educators, half entrepreneurs as Pace calls them, are employees who are both student-centered and have positive expectations of students, making a big difference in a school’s retention rate.
“Teachers need an intelligent heart—knowledge about their subject and the heart to know how to reach students,” he emphasizes. “The same is true of other departments.”
“These individuals with what we call ‘intelligent hearts’ become translators for the institution,” Pace says. “We find that students at the highest risk of leaving are those who have not created these meaningful connections.”
Pace’s observations confirm our own experience that retention deserves the very highest levels of attention from vice presidents of enrollment and chief enrollment (admissions) officers, starting from the top down to faculty and staff. Presidents must embrace this model, setting the tone and priority for the entire institution.
Dr. Scott D. Miller is President of the College and M.M. Cochran Professor of Leadership Studies at Bethany College in West Virginia. Now in his third college presidency, he has served as a CEO for 21 years.
Dr. Marylouise Fennell, RSM, a former president of Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA, is senior counsel for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and principal of Hyatt Fennell, a Higher Education Search Firm.
They have collaborated on six books, including “Presidential Perspectives“ (2008), “President to President: Views on Technology in Higher Education” (2009) and “Economic Prosperity in the Next Decade” (2010). Both serve as consultants to college presidents and boards.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
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