 Arcadia Expands Programs, Relationships in Cuba
 While Arcadia’s programming in Cuba has ramped up rapidly over the last year, the initial groundwork has been years in the making, coming to fruition through connections, tenacity, existing strengths in global education and in some way, a bit of luck and good timing.
Warren Haffar, dean of International Affairs at Arcadia, credits Pam Martin-Molina, a 2003 graduate of Arcadia’s master’s program in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, with opening doors for Arcadia in Cuba. Martin-Molina had traveled there many times with her Cuban-born husband and had seen the effects of the embargo on the island nation. She envisioned creating a non-government organization to facilitate dialog between the two countries, and after graduating from Arcadia, founded Molimar Export Consultants to work with companies selling agricultural and medical supplies to Cuba. When federal regulations “opened up” two years ago, said Haffar, Martin-Molina helped Arcadia make the necessary connections, including finding its educational partner, the University of Havana’s Center for U.S. and Hemispheric Studies. In addition to Martin-Molina’s advocacy, Arcadia was able to capitalize on its existing global education infrastructure to seize this unique opportunity. Read more.
Innovative Teaching Spotlight: Using Active Learning to Teach International Humanitarian Law
 Sometimes innovative teaching means hiring a sniper and being left behind on the battlefield. But it’s all worth it for Valparaiso University Assistant Professor Amy Atchison who pondered how best to teach International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and its disheartening history of violations to her students. Thinking that active learning might work, Atchison reached out to the Red Cross, which serves as the repository for IHL. They responded with the Raid Cross activities, which allowed Atchison to give the students a context for IHL violations and ease the intensity of the material with inventive exercises.
For many of the activities, Atchison divided the 15-student class into opposing factions in a simulated war. In one exercise, she taped pictures of targets – some military, others civilian or cultural – to bottles and cans. Students were given ammunition (balls, Nerf guns) and had to decide which targets to pursue. Students knew IHL prohibited them from attacking civil and cultural targets, but they hit them anyway, either because they were close to a military target or out of retaliation for an opponent’s move. Each team had either a soccer ball or a football as a nuclear weapon, and both sides used them. Read more.
An International Partnership in Health
By Glynis Jones, ‘14 Nazareth College
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| Impromptu interaction with locals that were setting up for a Theyyam festival. Jones said, "The children were always drawn to us, especially to have us take their photos and then show them on our phones." |
March 7, 2013 marked the beginning of a journey where the lives of many were changed through a simple act of kindness. Nine Nazareth College doctor of physical therapy students and professors Jennifer Collins, PT, Ed.D. and Elizabeth Clark, PT, DPT traveled 8,700 miles from Rochester, N.Y. to Kerala, India to help develop a clinic, modeled after Nazareth’s own physical therapy on-campus clinic, that will provide care to the underserved in the Kannur area.
During their trip, the students and faculty were able to exchange cultural and medical philosophies and treatments. Nazareth students were taught by Kerala students how to practice the healing treatments of an ancient medical philosophy called Ayurveda. During this process of evaluation, the patient is assessed based upon their very nature and how they function as individuals. Holistic models of care such as this are often taught at Nazareth as students are prepared for their future in the medical field. Read more.
Nazareth Announces Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute with $6.5M Major Gifts
 Nazareth College President Daan Braveman announced the Wellness and Rehabilitation Institute at Nazareth College after receiving a commitment of $6.5 million in gifts from supporters of this next generation health care initiative. The $16.5 million Institute, set to open in fall 2014, physically expands on the existing educational and clinical facilities of Nazareth’s School of Health and Human Services. Read more.
Samford Announces Business Building Plans, Major Gift
 Samford University's Brock School of Business has launched a campaign to build a new state-of-the-art business school on Samford's campus. Birmingham insurance executive Gary Cooney, a 1974 Samford graduate, publicly announced his pledge to give the Brock School of Business at least $12.5 million to help grow business education programs at Samford. Cooney is vice chairman of McGriff, Seibels and Williams, Inc. Read more.
 Six NAC&U Members Named to Princeton Review’s Green Guide
Drury University, Ithaca College, North Central College, Pacific Lutheran University, Stetson University and Westminster College were mentioned among the 322 most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada, according to The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges. It is the fourth straight year that Drury has been named to the list. For more information: Drury | North Central | Westminster |
Sage Names New Deans
Donna Heald, PhD, has accepted the position of dean of Russell Sage College,  to replace Sharon Robinson, PhD, who is retiring after 10 years as dean. Heald comes to Sage from Fordham University, where she was associate dean for science education and director of pre- health professions advising. She begins her role at Sage on July 1. Read more.
Sage also has appointed Albert Orbinati as dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education at Sage College of Albany. Orbinati previously served as the director of online and non-traditional programs at Utica College, where he was instrumental in developing online programs in cyber security, heath care fraud, homeland security and second baccalaureate degrees in nursing. He begins his new role on August 15. Read more.
 Outstanding Scranton Student Named Among Elite National Truman Scholars
Vivienne Meljen ’13 completed her undergraduate studies in biology at The University of Scranton in just three years while maintaining a 3.9 GPA and participating in multiple research and community service projects. Already accepted to six medical schools, Meljen can now add an esteemed national honor to her resume. She is one of just 62 students from 54 colleges in the nation selected as a 2013 Truman Scholar. Read more.
NAC&U Students Present Research to Members of Congress
 Manhattan College student Alberto Morgante ’13 has a pet peeve: not enough politicians have science and engineering pedigrees.
“So many of them come from business and economics backgrounds,” says Morgante, who is majoring in civil engineering. “Nothing against those fields, but how can they truly understand the infrastructure projects they’re funding?”
Morgante had the opportunity to educate those politicians when he traveled to Capitol Hill to present his latest research on how to build bomb-resistant tunnels in a post-9/11 era. Morgante is one of 60 undergraduates across the country selected to participate in “Posters on the Hill,” designed to bring Congressional delegates up-to-speed on some of the most cutting-edge federally funded academic projects. The initiative is sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research, a nonprofit organization that fosters collaboration between undergraduates and their professors.
Katie Moore, a Stetson University student, presented her research on a motivational fitness app for smartphones that uses body sensors that provide a customized routine and ensure the user is performing at one’s target heart rate. Ithaca College junior psychology majors Briana Faringer and Megan Long presented research conducted with eye tracking technology which sought to explain why language gaps begin in infancy for children whose mothers have no schooling beyond high school. Caitlin Murphy, a student at Pacific Lutheran University, also presented her research at the event. For more information: Manhattan.
Educating a New Generation of Entrepreneurs
 Higher education’s role in educating entrepreneurs has come a long way in Belmont University Professor Jeff Cornwall’s career. In the 1970s, when the idea of entrepreneurship as a major was emerging, Cornwall started businesses as a college student. His grandfather and father were entrepreneurs, so it came naturally to him. Yet although he was a good student, at least one professor suggested that college wasn’t the place for someone who wanted to start and grow businesses.
Today there are thousands of programs for entrepreneurs, including the nationally recognized one at Belmont that Cornwall, now the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship, was recruited to build in 2003. Recently named Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), NAC&U asked Cornwall about the factors that help entrepreneurs to succeed.
Cited among the top programs in the country – Fortune magazine featured them among five schools to consider for entrepreneurship in 2010 – Belmont produces a high number of graduates that go on to start their own businesses, compared to many other top-ranked programs. Cornwall said that Belmont’s characteristics attract and foster the kind of student that wants to start a business. For one thing, Belmont’s smaller size allows them to be more student-centered, and that results in strong relationships between faculty mentors and students which often continue after graduation. Faculty also keep close tabs on economic, political and cultural trends and build their findings into the curriculum. Since undergraduates tend to have a rosy outlook, said Cornwall, Belmont works to ensure they have realistic expectations. Read more.
Harvard Researcher Cathy Trower to Speak at Summer Institute
 Cathy Ann Trower, research director at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a nationally renowned expert on faculty work/life issues, will speak at this year’s NAC&U Summer Institute. Last June, Trower published “Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction,” based on research that surveyed more than 15,000 tenure-track faculty at 200 institutions. The survey was based on five themes: tenure clarity, work-life balance, support for research, collegiality and leadership. Trower used that data to discuss best practices and provide detailed advice on increasing employee satisfaction in her book.
This year’s Summer Institute will be held June 19 – 21 at The University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. Registration information will be available in April. Read more.
Videos Added to NAC&U YouTube Channel
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