Some incredible accomplishments

The wonderful thing about our university is the fact that there is so much progress, success and accomplishment. Kudos to our University Information Technology Team (UITS) and CIO Abraham George for their exceptional leadership in tough budget times. We are making great progress with Strategic Goal #5, referencing best-of-class technology platform. Recently, our UITS colleague Bob Dively was quoted in a University Business article about the development of our Google Mobile Apps. This articles now one of the "top 5 must reads in the higher ed blogosphere ..." http://universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1515 Over the weekend I watched our baseball team sweep St. Leo in a double header, our men's and women's tennis teams beat Tuskeegee, and read about our Rifle Team win the Regional Sectional at The Citadel, in their first season of competition. Sunday afternoon I watched the 12 students in Professor Earle Coleman's studio (Professor Coleman is the William and Isabelle Curry Eminent Scholar Chair in Voice in the Schwob School of Music) perform their Studio Recital. From Brahms to Berstein, Franz Schubert to Richard Rogers the students were magnnificent. Truth be known, this is all reflective of a great, engaged university.

Chemistry major's work pays off with graduate school admission

Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our more engaged students, Ryan Josefsberg. Ryan was a junior majoring in chemistry and president of the Campus Nerds student organization. His leadership skills were evident, and the geometric growth of Nerdacon at Columbus State University has been impressive. I asked Ryan about his academic plans, and he indicated his interest in chemistry research. I suggested he might want to speak with my friend Dr. Paul Neitzel, head of chemical engineering at Georgia Tech. They did. Ryan was very shortly thereafter admitted into the chemistry and biochemistry ten-week research program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. His experiences were extraordinary, only slightly enhanced by the $5,000 in financial support received for his research. Yesterday, I received a note from Ryan indicating he has been admitted into graduate school at Georgia Tech, where he will study inorganic and biochemistry. What was more compelling was, after alerting his parents, his next stop was to see Dr. Floyd Jackson, chair of chemistry and a true mentor to Ryan. Congratulations to Ryan and the faculty for a truly wonderful odyssey.

A Great Global Program

This week, Columbus State University reiterated our commitment to global education and civil discourse by hosting a unique study-abroad opportunity and evening panel presentation. A team from Israel's renowned Arava Institute, affiliated with Ben Gurion University was joined by Columbus State University Environmental Science Professor Dr. Troy Keller and former CEO of the Columbus Water Works and honorary doctorate holder Billy Turner for a fascinating discussion on "Trans-Boundary Water Issues". The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) is the premier environmental education and research program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges. Hosting this in Columbus provided a unique parallel to the water issues between Georgia, Florida and Alabama in the U.S. and between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians in the Middle East. A Palestinian civil engineer was joined by her colleague, an Israeli scientist, both alumni of Arava. Additionally, David Weisberg, Executive Director of Friends of Arava participated. The discussion was lively and engaging. It involved global socio-political-economic issues and while opinions varied, the consensus belief was that solutions must involve all parties. Attendance was terrific and questions from the audience were probing. This is truly reflective of a supportive and challenging university environment.