Page 20 - Laker Connection 2014

CampusUpdate
AmeriCorps Members Make a Difference During Alternative Break Trip
Sixteen AmeriCorps students, along with Jen- nifer Welch, AmeriCorps program coordina- tor and Dr. Samuel Maddox, associate professor of psychology, volunteered at Give Kids the World, a 70-acre nonprofit storybook resort where children with life-threatening ill- nesses and their families are treated to a week-long, cost-free fantasy vacation.
While the reward of service is often in the performance of the service, AmeriCorps received a special reward via a post on Clay- ton State’s Facebook page from Bruce Nagy, of Kamloops, B.C., Canada, whose family was staying at Give Kids the World. In part, Nagy’s Facebook post said...
“I cannot say enough about how wonder- ful everyone treated us all during our entire stay!....Right now I am holding back some tears, trying to express how much your cam- pus group from Clayton State, on both occa- sions that they visited the Village, (helped). How heartwarming they all were, courteous, the smiles... they were all so amazing!!!”
In addition to Welch and Maddox, the AmeriCorps “Team Orlando” consisted of Jes- sica Dent, Sara Diggins, Josee Dolce, Keyauna Hopkins, Catherine Hutchins, Exell Jackson, Samantha Lapier, Joel Lymon, Christopher Manning, Jevon Miller, Nicholas Reed, Hillary Rimes, Venus Royster, Breanna Simpson, Rac- quel Valadez and Whitney Smith.
Exceptional Results From SACS
Reaffirmation Visit Says President Hynes
The SACS Commission on Colleges Visiting Committee completed its decennial reaf- firmation visit to Clayton State University last week with an exit presentation that typ- ified what Clayton State President Dr. Thomas Hynes characterizes as an “exceptional” result.
Hynes notes that while the final reaffirmation decision on Clayton State’s accreditation will officially be made at the December 2014 meeting of the SAC- SCOC Board, the visiting committee’s recommendations are invariably ac- cepted.
“In our case, the committee left with
no recommendations for additional work
to demonstrate compliance with the ac- creditation principles,” he says. Hynes,
who himself has been part of 16 such
visits as an evaluator or as a university
under review, adds that this is the first
“no recommendation” report he has experienced.
In addition, the Committee also praised the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) -- Partnering Academics and Community Engagement, or PACE — and found it was an acceptable plan for Clayton State to move forward.
Dean of Assessment and Instructional Development Dr. Jill Lane and Professor of Psychology Dr. Antoinette Miller have led the University’s SACS-related efforts for nearly two years in what Hynes refers to as a “massive undertaking.”
Clayton State Fourth on AffordableCollegesOnline.org Listing of ROI for Georgia Colleges Universities
Two years ago, James magazine called Clayton State University a “Best Buy” among Georgia colleges and universities. Now, Clayton State has gathered a similar en- comium from another source, AffordableCollegesOnline.org.
At a time when officials from President Obama on down are calling for higher education to become more affordable, AffordableCollegesOnline.org has a list of 188 Georgia institutions ranked by their ROI (Return On Investment) to students.
The list ranks Clayton State fourth in the state, (and third among public colleges and universities in the state) behind Georgia Tech, Southern Poly, and Emory Univer- sity and ahead of, among others, the University of Georgia. It is also worth noting that Clayton State’s tuition is the third-lowest among the top 25 colleges and universities on the list.
18 THE LAKER CONNECTION