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Happy New Year! Spring 2012

Happy New Year! Spring 2012. Updates from Departments. Announcements and Introductions: Biology Chemistry and Biochemistry Geology Physics and Astronomy Mathematics and Statistics Nursing. Updates from Centers. Academic Advising and Student Services Center Science Research Center

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Happy New Year! Spring 2012

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  1. Happy New Year! Spring 2012

  2. Updates from Departments Announcements and Introductions: • Biology • Chemistry and Biochemistry • Geology • Physics and Astronomy • Mathematics and Statistics • Nursing

  3. Updates from Centers • Academic Advising and Student Services Center • Science Research Center • Statistical Consulting Center • STEM Research and Learning Center

  4. 16% decreaseover 2 Years

  5. STEM Center Upcoming Events for Spring and Summer 2012 February – STEM Day: Science Explosion East Texas high school sophomores and juniors will spend the day with SFA faculty and students. Day includes speakers in STEM careers, discoveries and competitions in Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Girl Scout STEM Day (2nd annual) Young Girl Scouts participate in STEM activities designed by SFA professors and assisted by SFA undergraduate and graduate students. Approximately 100 girls attended last year’s STEM day. March – Expanding Your Horizons The SFA STEM Research and Learning Center will partner in this conference that is designed to interest middle school girls in mathematics and science and encourage them to pursue STEM career April – STEM Community College Summit SFA and area community college  STEM faculty meet to discuss joint STEM initiatives and effective articulation. SFA Hydrodays Four-day field-intensive workshops designed to introduce high school juniors and seniors to the science of hydrology. Summer – Math and Science Camps Two one-week camps for students in 4th and 5th grade Two one-week camps for students in 6th and 7th grade SMASH Camp (Summer Math and Science Highlights) Week-long camp designed to provide incoming SFA freshmen math and science majors with the tools and knowledge they need to be successful during their first semester.

  6. Announcements and Updates from the College and the University • Roll out of new Learning Management System – January 26 • Bright Ideas Conference – Wednesday, April 11 • Deadline for proposal submission: February 1 • European Studies Consortium – Summer 1, 2013 • Deadline for proposal submission: January 31, 2012 • QEP: Dr. Brian Beavers, Dr. Jeremy Becnel, Dr. Brent Burt • Faculty Senate Campus-wide Faculty Survey: Dr. Brian Beavers

  7. Campus Master Planning Committee – outcomes to date • SACS Accreditation Review – results and forecast • Assessment – where we are • College Majors’ Fair – what we learned

  8. So… as a College • Where are we going? • What are our strengths? • What are our challenges?

  9. The STEM Initiative …capturing the attention of our students in sciences and mathematics … • Today, only 23% of college freshmen declare a STEM major … but just 40% of those receive a STEM degree within 6 years (about 6% of the total 3.6 million student population). We cannot make progress if these students are leaving STEM fields. (Arne Duncan, 2009) • Today, for the first time in history, America’s younger generation is less well-educated than its parents. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010)

  10. Taking Ownership in Recruitment and Retention • Admissions and Enrollment Management • College of Sciences and Mathematics • How to get involved…

  11. We demonstrate excellence in… • Teaching • Research and Scholarly Activity • Service

  12. Why Students choose SFA • Close to home (31%) • Offers my major (14%) • Nice/pretty campus (13%) • Family/friends attended/attends (11%) Source: SFA Strategic Plan

  13. SFA Fact Book 2011, Prepared by the Office of Institutional Research

  14. “Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)” – The New York Times, November 4, 2011 • Encouraging signs: Surveys show the number of college freshmen interested in majoring in a STEM field on the rise. • Challenge: Studies found that roughly 40% of students planning engineering and science majors end up switching to other subjects or failing to get any degree. (Increases to 60% when pre-medical students are included. • Action to date: Association of American Universities (representing 61% of the largest research institutions) announced a 5-year incentive to encourage faculty members in the STEM fields to use more interactive teaching techniques.

  15. STEM Activities on the SFA Campus Student Focused Instruction Quality Teacher Preparation Interactive Learning

  16. Engaging K-12 Students … Middle School students High School Students

  17. Keeping them Interested …

  18. What about the research that we do?

  19. Faculty/Student Research supported through the STEM Research and Learning Center Biology – Preliminary Extraction of Amaranth DNA Production Of Enzyme Inhibitors In Milk By Lactobacillus Fermentation For Use As Prolyl Peptidase Inhibitors Effects of Male Color, Parasite Load, and Territory Quality on Mating Success and Fitness in Painted Buntings, Passerina ciris Geology – Spatial Hydrogeochemical Characterization of the Colorado River: Delineation of Subaqueous Karst Springs at Colorado Bend State Park, Texas Mathematics – Infusing Vertical and Horizontal Connection into In-Service Teacher Training Measuring Student Success and Teacher Retention as Measures of Effectiveness of Grant Funded Programs A Study of Algebra/Geometry Connections in a Multicultural Classroom

  20. Research Grant Activities - Teacher/Student Focused Texas Middle and Secondary Mathematics Project: Leadership Initiative, Math/Science Partnership (Targeting Grades 4-12 Mathematics Teachers) National Science Foundation Texas Leadership Initiative: Mathematics Instruction Transformed (Texas LIMIT) (Targeting Grades 4-12 Mathematics Teachers) National Science Foundation Talented Teachers in Training for Texas (T4) (Targeting SFA Math/Science Majors – Preservice Teachers and Middle and Secondary prospective STEM majors) National Science Foundation Math, Science, Technology Teacher Preparation Academy (Targeting Secondary Math and Science Teachers) Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Statewide At-Risk Tracking and Intervention Program for Nursing Students (Targeting At-Risk Nursing Majors) Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

  21. The STEM Initiative … Catch the Vision! The future of our nation and people depends not on just how well we educate our children generally, but on how well we educate them in mathematics and science, specifically.” Senator John Glenn, Ohio

  22. Final Thoughts… When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.Helen Keller Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.Harold R. McAlindon

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