MichaelStrickland

President David Alexander announced the hiring of Dr. Burton Webb as vice president for academic affairs. Webb is an experienced administrator, scientist and teacher-scholar, and has served in leadership and in the classroom at Indiana Wesleyan University. He earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Indiana University School of Medicine, a master’s in biology from Ball State University and a bachelor of science in zoology from Olivet Nazarene University.

We are delighted that Dr. Burton Webb will be Northwest Nazarene University’s next Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Webb has a unique set of academic training and administrative experience. His background as an immunologist, his gifts in the classroom, his broad research experience, his familiarity with a variety of educational programs and delivery modes, coupled with his understanding of and commitment to Christian higher education in the Wesleyan tradition, make him extremely well qualified to lead NNU's growing and dynamic educational enterprise,” said President Alexander.

As a senior administrator, Webb will have a key role in leading the institution forward in mission and vision fulfillment. As the University’s chief academic officer, the vice president for academic affairs works with the University President, the faculty and deans and the President’s Cabinet.

Webb’s 16 years in higher education at Indiana Wesleyan University have taken him beyond the research labs and classrooms. Since 2009, he served as associate dean for the School of Physical and Applied Sciences and for the five years previous he was the chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, with a one-year hiatus as interim dean for the College of the Arts and Sciences.

“There is an incredible tradition of caring for students combined with academic excellence at NNU. I am humbled and honored to have this tremendous responsibility. It is my prayer that we can work together with the faculty, administration, trustees and alumni to uphold the academic mission of the university as we move into the 21st century,” said Webb.

Raised in the Free Methodist Church, Webb began his personal relationship with Christ at a young age. Today he is an involved and committed Christian and church member, along with his wife Kay, who grew up in the Church of the Nazarene in Southern Indiana. Kay also graduated from Olivet Nazarene University and now holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology. The Madison Park Church of God (Anderson, IN) has been their church family for almost 15 years where he serves on the board of elders. In addition to singing in the choir and participating in small group ministry, he also served several terms on the administrative board.

Regarding Webb’s philosophy of Christian higher education, he states, “For many institutions the pursuit of academic excellence has morphed into the formation of 22-year-old experts who lack the ability to fully contextualize their knowledge into the framework of a larger world. Therefore, it is my belief that the best-trained scientist is the one who can place his petri dish next to his poetry and grasp the beauty and complexity of both. There is great strength in broad, cross-disciplinary education that includes excellent instruction in the liberal arts as well as a specific major area of study.”

Core to the heart of the purpose of Northwest Nazarene University is the integration of faith and learning. “[Faculty] must add layer upon layer, building up both understanding and faith. We are responsible to point our students toward a kingdom definition of the life well lived,” said Webb.

Dr. Burton Webb succeeds Dr. Samuel Dunn who is retiring after nearly 15 years of service to the University. Webb will begin his new leadership responsibilities July 1, 2010.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People, one must be responsible because All of Creation is related. And the hurt of one is the hurt of all. And the honor of one is the honor of all. And whatever we do effects everything in the universe. -- Native American Proverb

Shoshonean Nation geographically existed over the territories from Mexico to Canada. We were hunters and gathers who moved with the seasons to gather various foods and products. We called ourselves the names of the food we ate (Augi Dika, Tuka Dika, Coo chun Dika) from our geographical areas. Some of the tribes composed of the nation are tribes known today as the Shoshones, Bannock, Paiute, Comanche, Hopi, Ute, Cahuilla, Mission, and other linguistic Uto Aztecan speaking groups.

the Tribes official website reads. Over the years, the relationship between the Tribes and higher education has been in need of enrichment. Idaho State University faculty, staff and community members have spent many years discussing ways to improve the student experience for native Americans, increase their numbers in the university population, and how to reach out more efficiently to groups that have often expressed a sense of alientation from the community. While many smaller initiatives have taken place over the years in this vein, Fortunately, ISU has presented a powerful, creative, new answer to the problem. A keynote presentation by Larry EchoHawk, U.S. Department of Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, is among the highlights of a photo mural unveiling and Memorandum of Agreement ceremony between the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Idaho State University scheduled Feb. 17. The events mark recent efforts to develop a much closer relation between the Tribes and ISU. According to Libby Howe, director of University Relations:

Playing off the discussions with ISU, the Tribes and EchoHawk's office are also sponsoring a series of meetings between the leaders of Native American tribes in Idaho, including representatives from the Shoshone- Bannock, Coeur d’Alene, Shoshone-Paiute, Kootenai and Nez Perce tribes. The tribal leaders meetings, which are not public meetings, will be hosted at ISU.

EchoHawk will deliver the MOA keynote talk "The Federal Trust Relationship with Tribes: Past, Present, Future" at 11 a.m. Feb. 17 in the ISU Rendezvous Complex's Suites. EchoHawk – the former Idaho Attorney General, Idaho legislator, tribal general counsel and Bannock County Prosecutor – now oversees and coordinates policy decisions for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education.

The MOA ceremony, open to the public, will also feature welcome remarks by ISU President Arthur Vailas and Fort Hall Business Council Chairman Alonzo Coby. The MOA ceremony will be followed by the unveiling of a mural created from a photograph in the Smithsonian’s Eugene Leonard Collection, which depicts a band of Northern Shoshone camping at a traditional gathering place on tribal lands in front of Red Hill, which is now part of the ISU campus. There will also be a "Celebrating of Culture, Sharing of Education" Traditional Feed and Powwow open to the public beginning at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Pond Student Union. The community feed begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Canoe Room and will be followed by the Powwow Grand Entry at 7 p.m. in the Ballroom. The feast and Powwow are sponsored by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Idaho State University, and will be hosted by the ISU student organization Native Americans United.

This Memorandum of Agreement and the mural unveiling stand as a concrete foundation for Idaho State University and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to further develop our relationship and the services we provide to Shoshone-Bannock students and their community," said Steve Adkison, Associate Provost at ISU. "We are honored that Assistant Secretary EchoHawk can join us on this important occasion.

According to the Tribes:

The mural shows how Red Hill has been a historic gathering place for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and this new Memorandum of Agreement will help to ensure that more tribal members will gather here now and in the future as students at ISU," said Laverne Beech, Public Affairs Manager for the Tribes. "The memorandum is an important starting point in formalizing the relationship between ISU and the Tribes and in figuring out better ways to recruit and retain tribal members as students at the university.

For more information on the MOA agreement, mural unveiling and traditional feast/Powwow, contact Adkison, ISU Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, (208) 282-4024, or Laverne Beech, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Director of Public Relations, (208) 478-3818. Shoshonebannocktribes.com says that the community of Fort Hall, along Interstate 15, is the largest population center on the reservation. The ruins of the fort are located on the reservation. The total population of the reservation was 5,762 at the 2000 census. There are 5,191 enrolled tribal members. 3,809 currently live on the reservation with 1,382 who live off the reservation. Compared to the demographics of American citizens where the baby boomers compose the greatest population statistics, Fort Hall has opposite percentage figures for the same age group.

The Fort Hall Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Shoshone and Bannock people in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north of Pocatello, and comprises 2,110.514 km² (814.874 sq mi) of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power, Bannock, and Caribou counties. Founded in 1863, it is named for Fort Hall, a trading post that was an important stop along the Oregon Trail and California Trail in the middle 19th century.

Also see: My Crosspost on the Big Orange.

A Google software program called SketchUp, which was intended largely for architects and design professionals, has found a very unexpected and welcome fan base-children with autism. SketchUp is entertaining kids with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as well as providing them with skills that might one day help them as they age out of school and into the workforce.

The University of Utah, Google and Universal Studios Creative hosted a free workshop and tutorial on the SketchUp software for parents and teachers of children with autistic characteristics. The SketchUp workshop took place on Saturday.

Original Google SketchUp designer Chris Cronin discussed the history of SketchUp along with Steve Michael Gross, Universal Creative designer, demonstrated how he used the program in designing Harry Potter, Transformers and King Kong, among other films. The presentations were followed by a hands-on workshop.

Cronin recalls the first connections made between the software program and ASD, explaining that a number of years ago he and his colleagues began receiving emails and phone calls from users saying that their kids had jumped on their computer and created some amazing things in SketchUp, and their kids happened to be on the autism spectrum.

"We heard this enough times that we decided to investigate what the link might be between SketchUp and ASD," he says. "We spoke to our local autism community in Boulder, Colorado and they quickly made the connection between 3D software and the visual and spatial skills that are present in many people on the autism spectrum."

Once the connection was made, Cronin and colleagues started an official, volunteer program at Google called Project Spectrum (http://sketchup.google.com/spectrum), a partnership between SketchUp and educational outlets, to get the software into the hands of kids and teens with autism for free.

Gross first became aware of SketchUp three years ago when he was hired to do 3D conceptual design for Nickelodeon. "We created the entire Nickelodeon Universe theme park in SketchUp. It's a very intuitive modeling program with simple commands."

Gross has used SketchUp at Universal Creative to design Harry Potter, Transformers, King Kong, The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster, Universal Hollywood Bowl Music Plaza and stage and various other secret projects unannounced at this time. "At Creative, SketchUp is used throughout the design process from conceptual design to final drawings, renderings and animations. It is a great design tool," he adds.

"We wereexcited to offer this workshop for parents and teachers of children with ASD," says Cheryl Wright, chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Studies. "The focus of this event was on special abilities not the disabilities of autism."

Wright added parents and teachers who could not make it to the workshop but would like to be involved to email sandy.stark@fcs.utah.edu. "We are interested in exploring the characteristics of children who might benefit from the program and how the program might enhance the development of some children," she says.

For more information about Google SketchUp, visit http://sketchup.google.com/spectrum.html.

Below is one of the best pieces I've lately seen, regarding how social media is rapidly changing, and in some cases, taking over our lives. This diary offers one person's solution to what many feel are growing problems.

***

By Julie Fanselow,

Here's my resolution for 2010: I won't log onto Facebook - or anywhere else online, for that matter - until after I've put in three hours each weekday morning of working without the 'net.

I love being a netizen, and I especially love Facebook. My time at the Idaho Democratic Party coincided with the period when seemingly everyone signed up here. During the 2009 Idaho Legislature, Democrats and our allies used it to organize everything from a campaign calling for better child care laws to protesting the first-ever state budget cuts to our neighborhood schools. Just before the end of the year, Facebook helped rapidly spread awareness of the gubernatorial campaign of Keith Allred, who promises to move beyond hyper-partisan politics to get Idaho working again. Facebook is, hands down, the best organizing tool that political, social and community activists have today. Anyone drawing a paycheck as an organizer of any sort can now justify being on Facebook throughout one's workday.

Facebook has its personal rewards, too. From reconnecting with friends to seeking advice, it's always a cool place to hang. But I have to be honest: Too often, I find myself spending way more time on Facebook than I intend to. It's a diversion in the best sense of the word, and in the worst. There are, as my fellow writer Patti said the other day, too many shiny things to distract me from the work at hand. Some of my side trips on Facebook may well lead to a story idea or a connection that will bring a paycheck, but most will not. Now that I'm self employed again, it's important that I spend my time wisely.

Yet my resolution to stay offline each morning springs from something deeper than a desire to be productive. I feel a strong pull toward reclaiming some of the style of writing life I had when I started as a freelancer in the early 1990s. Most of us had email and were taking part in forums or list serves, but the World Wide Web was still in its infancy, so research and writing generally meant the sort of thing I'd learned in journalism school and practiced as a newspaper reporter: Interviewing people face to face, or at least on the phone. Showing up at an event. Going to the library or a museum archive and reading. It was all very slow and focused, and it took some real effort for me to become distracted.

Two decades into the Internet era, distraction is our way of life. We have access to tsunamis of information, and I find myself willingly chasing tangents every few minutes, if I am online. My brain has adjusted to keep up with the deluge. My soul has not. And that is why, for the start of 2010, anyway, I will be practicing media-less mornings.

From the time I begin work each morning until no less than three hours later, I will be reading and writing and creating, but I won't go online to do any of it. It will take the discipline of having a plan for things I can do each morning without the Internet. Invariably, as I write or read, I will feel a pull to go online to check a fact or scan my emails or take one quick peek at my live news feed here at Facebook. But I'll resist.

Can I do this in an era when we are all expected to be hyper-connected and always available? I think so. I do not plan to fall off the grid. I will be reviewing emails and phone messages by late morning each day, and I am sure I'll be online every weekday afternoon, checking facts, researching stories, and - yes - getting caught up on Facebook.

But I'm not attempting this shift for anyone but me. After a decade spent as one of Idaho's pioneering political bloggers and someone who had to soak in an increasingly toxic bath of news and opinion nearly 24/7 for half a dozen years, my soul needs a break. No one needs my immediate reaction to anything, and the subjects I most want to write about this new decade - livable cities, neighborhood renewal, education, the arts, travel, history - are ones that require more reflection and rumination, anyway. I want to spend hours rather than minutes developing my ideas before I share them with the world. I also, generally speaking, want to be paid for most of what I write.

The Two Thousand-Oughts were a decade of intense acceleration. This is just one writer's way of saying "enough." It's time for me to slow down and think and live a more deliberate life, if only for a few hours each day.

Julie Fanselow is an independent writer in Boise, Idaho.
Reprinted with permission from the author.

You just have to vote for a family values mother and business owner who is pictured with a shotgun on her website.

My family wishes Christy Perry the best in her campaign for Idaho State Representative, Canyon County District 13B.

Boy, do I love this state!

See: http://www.christyperryforidaho.com/

 

 

Given the choice of munching on a rocket ship or broccoli (yuck!), who wouldn’t want to eat a rocket ship? Monsters, of course! MONSTERS DON’T EAT BROCCOLI (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers/Ages 5–8) by Barbara Jean Hicks with illustrations by Sue Hendra is a rollicking picture book that will have young readers laughing out loud as monsters try their hardest to avoid eating anything green—while parents will approve of this nondidactic celebration of vegetables!

In this hilarious story, monsters insist that they simply do not like broccoli. They’d rather snack on tractors, a rocket ship, or even a “wheely, steely stew”—just as long as it’s not broccoli! So when they suddenly find themselves munching on “a clump of giant maples and their yummy, gummy bark,” they’re shocked to discover that broccoli is actually delicious!

With vibrant illustrations coupled with rhyming text and the singsong refrain, “Fum, foe, fie, fee, monsters don’t eat broccoli!” MONSTERS DON’T EAT BROCCOLI will make little ones think twice about turning up their noses at vegetables!

Publishers Weekly said: “With a toe-tapping beat and loud, splashy spreads, this paean to mealtime chaos will charm small monsters everywhere.”

Barbara Jean Hicks is the author of Jitterburg Jam, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book and a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2005; and The Secret Life of Walter Kitty (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007), which was an Amazon.com Best Picture Book of the Year and received high praise from reviewers. Hicks writes for children with the “goal of instilling in [them] a sense of the possible; I want them to know what choices they have, learn to choose wisely, and believe they are capable of accomplishing what they are truly committed to.” Barbara Jean Hicks lives in California. Readers can visit her online at www.barbarajeanhicks.com.

Sue Hendra is the illustrator of more than seventy children’s books. She lives in Brighton, England.

From the time the National Gallery on Writing opens for viewing on October 20, 2009, until June of 2010, Americans will be able to see just how writing is changing. Viewers will see firsthand compositions that matter to their authors. This picture, different from collections of school or work writing, will allow NCTE, and its 15 national partners, to begin reshaping a writing pedagogy to better develop writers of the future.

Hugh Burns of Texas Women's University documents the changes we're seeing in writing in his 1-minute video "Kairos 14.1 Disputatio Text," while children's author James Cross Giblin speaks about the great satisfaction he gets from writing a sentence that "clearly, simply, and visibly" says just what he means to say.

This is exciting news for those of us who teach basic writing and composition.

There are over a half million dollars of in-kind scholarships available through the Miss Idaho USA and Miss Teen Idaho USA pageants and their partnership with Lindenwood University.

In response to concerns from Idaho parents, teachers and school administrators, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has reintroduced bipartisan legislation to bring needed reforms to the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) Act.  The Enhancing Flexibility for Effective Schools (EFES) Act is similar to legislation previously introduced by Crapo and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas).

Both Senators and their staff members consulted with education leaders, school board members and interested citizens from their respective states on what kinds of changes are needed for NCLB to work better.

“Education works best when local parents, teachers and administrators are able to control decision-making,” Crapo said.  “These reforms will bring needed relief from the unneeded and unintended consequences of what overall is very good legislation.  The NCLB Act has improved the performance of many students, but uncertainty over the adequate yearly process assessment models and dealing with the special needs of some students were not adequately addressed in the original program.  This new legislation sets up more appropriate policies for tutoring and other supplemental services, that will make it easier for students with disabilities or language difficulties to be fairly tested and assessed, and that ensure schools have the special education teachers they need to help their students.  With school starting soon, we all want our children to receive the best education possible, and I will continue to push for reasonable, realistic improvements that will benefit Idaho’s students as well as many others throughout the nation.”

“I have heard from several Arkansas teachers, administrators, parents, and students about what aspects of our nation’s education policy work and what changes are needed,” Lincoln said.  “Educators continue to tell me, don’t lower your expectations of us, just give us realistic goals we can reach and the tools to help us reach those goals. There is no issue more intricately connected to the future prosperity of our nation than the quality of our public schools.  This bill will give schools the flexibility and the tools they need to help students succeed while maintaining important accountability measures.”

Crapo said bipartisan efforts, such as the EFES Act, are critical to success in a divided Senate.  In addition to flexibility, the new legislation gives school districts more input into the selection of supplemental service providers, who can provide tutoring assistance to children in the district.  Currently, districts have little or no say in determining the qualifications of those providers.