the whetstone: late march 2011
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The Whetstone: Late March 2011 The Independent Voice of Wesley CollegeTRANSCRIPT
The WheTsToneThe independenT newspaper of wesley College
Late March 2011
Special edition: are WeSley Faculty underpaid?
Wesley’s 12 HigHest Paid emPloyees
(total: $1,389,712)
The Whetstone/ Kim Manahan
....and Who’S making the money
also in tHis issue: Founder’s Day awards
Wesley tuition increases 5 percentNew technology in Cannon
“Shhh... They’re serving ‘wabbit.”
www.whetstone.wesley.edu
Source: IRS 990 Form 2009-2010
Students may want to reconsider the way they treat their professors.
Many Wesley College students think their pro-fessors are highly paid.
Most are not.Some are getting paid even lower than their
high school teachers, and on average they are paid nearly $10,000 less in most categories.
Compared to 29 similar institutions, Wesley College professors are paid below average, report-ed the National Center for Educational Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter), a government database.
Wesley faculty was paid an average of $47,284 in 2009-2010, as opposed to the overall average of $55,248, statistics say.
That average is in sharp contrast to the top dozen highest-paid employees of Wesley College – including administrators – who made more than $1.3 million last year – nearly 10 percent of the total salaries paid out to the entire college.
For the past two years, Dr. Jeffery Mask, profes-sor of religion, has not seen an increase in his pay.
“My contract salary for the last two years is and has been $65,070,” said Mask, who has been with Wesley for 20 years, and who is a full professor with tenure. Professors are divided into assistant, asso-ciate and full, and salary is in part based on those categories.
“The contract amount does not reflect a $2,400 reduction in pay that occurred last year when the college did not budget for an increase in our health insurance premium and passed it on to us,” Mask said.
The new contract given to faculty on March 15, including the comment, “Raises will be considered in the fall when they know what enrollment will be.”
Other professors also expressed their discon-tent.
“It’s ironic that part of the Founder’s Day theme is enriching the present, and once again we have failed to budget for appropriate salary increases,” said Dr. Jeffery Gibson, professor of English.
Eric Nelson, vice president of finance, said that there has been no salary freezes recently for faculty.
“We covered budgeted salary increases when doing our planning if they are sustainable by the budget,” Nelson said.
But many professors see things differently. Dr. Jack Barnhardt, associate professor of
psychology and department chair, says he makes more than the average Wesley associate professor ($49,000) but less than the average associate profes-sor at similar schools ($57,000).
Barnhardt also is department chair, which en-titles him to more money.
“We do a lot of stuff outside of teaching that doesn’t deal with class,” Barnhardt said.
Although Mask’s salary is above the national average, he says that it does not suit his position.
And he thinks the school knows this. “The institutional assessment commissioned by the board of trustees in May 2006 noted that Wes-ley faculty are underpaid relative to comparable colleges in the region.” he said.
Dr. Malcolm D’Souza, professor of biology, is listed as the highest-paid professor at Wesley, mak-ing $128,965. Although some or most of this may be from grants, D’Souza chose not to talk about his salary.
Dr. Thomas Sturgis received $139,189 when he acted as Vice President of Academic Advancement in 2008-2009.
The following year he took a minor pay cut when he went back to being a faculty member.
After taking sabbatical in the fall and teaching four courses in the spring, he received $113,878, the second highest-paid professor.
Sturgis also denied comment. With the salaries Wesley offers, it is going to
be difficult bringing in quality professors, Barnhardt said.
“Our salary scale, if one exists, probably means that some good prospect chose to go somewhere else,” Mask said.
Professor Susan Bobby, who teaches English, said she makes less than $50,000.
She teaches more classes than the normal
By Kim Manahan & Chloe DawsonThe Whetstone
Image description.Staff categoryHorizontal Bar chart with 4 groups with 2 items per group.X scale titled Number of staff.Group 1, Instruction/ research/ public service.Item 1, Your institution 100.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 123.Group 2, Executive/ administrative/ managerial.Item 1, Your institution 15.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 36.Group 3, Other professional (support/service).Item 1, Your institution 43.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 73.Group 4, Non-professional.Item 1, Your institution 35.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 82. Shapeline, Label: ShapeInstitutionLegend, Label: Your institution ShapeComparisonGroupLegend, Label: Comparison Group Median (N=29) ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine1, Label: ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine2, Label: End of image description.
Image description.Academic rankHorizontal Bar chart with 7 groups with 2 items per group.X scale titled Average salary.Group 1, All ranks (N=29).Item 1, Your institution $47284.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $55248.Group 2, Professor (N=29).Item 1, Your institution $58179.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $65632.Group 3, Associate professor (N=29).Item 1, Your institution $49038.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $56843.Group 4, Assistant professor (N=29).Item 1, Your institution $39481.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $49484.Group 5, Instructor (N=28).Item 1, Your institution $35819.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $41895.Group 6, Lecturer (N=6).Item 1, Your institution No data.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $45732.Group 7, No academic rank (N=3).Item 1, Your institution No data.Item 2, Comparison Group Median $40537. Shapeline, Label: ShapeInstitutionLegend, Label: Your institution ShapeComparisonGroupLegend, Label: Comparison Group Median ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine1, Label: ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine2, Label: End of image description.
Image description.Revenue sourceHorizontal Bar chart with 5 groups with 2 items per group.X scale titled Percent.Group 1, Tuition and fees.Item 1, Your institution 96.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 89.Group 2, Government grants and contracts.Item 1, Your institution 2.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 7.Group 3, Private gifts, grants, and contracts.Item 1, Your institution 4.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 14.Group 4, Investment return.Item 1, Your institution -3.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) -11.Group 5, Other core revenues.Item 1, Your institution 2.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) 4. Shapeline, Label: ShapeInstitutionLegend, Label: Your institution ShapeComparisonGroupLegend, Label: Comparison Group Median (N=29) ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine1, Label: ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine2, Label: End of image description.
Image description.Expense functionHorizontal Bar chart with 7 groups with 2 items per group.X scale titled Dollars per FTE.Group 1, Instruction.Item 1, Your institution $4321.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $6542.Group 2, Research.Item 1, Your institution $0.01.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $0.01.Group 3, Public service.Item 1, Your institution $0.01.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $13.Group 4, Academic support.Item 1, Your institution $645.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $1283.Group 5, Institutional support.Item 1, Your institution $2202.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $3551.Group 6, Student services.Item 1, Your institution $2802.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $3239.Group 7, Other core expenses.Item 1, Your institution $6450.Item 2, Comparison Group Median (N=29) $0.01. Shapeline, Label: ShapeInstitutionLegend, Label: Your institution ShapeComparisonGroupLegend, Label: Comparison Group Median (N=29) ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine1, Label: ShapeComparisonGroupLegendLine2, Label: End of image description.
0 25 50 75 100 125Number of staff
Non-professional
Other professional(support/service)
Executive/administrative/
managerial
Instruction/ research/
public service
82
35
73
43
36
15
123
100
Staff category
Your institution Comparison Group Median (N=29)
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000Average salary
No academic rank (N=3)
Lecturer (N=6)
Instructor (N=28)
Assistant professor (N=29)
Associate professor (N=29)
Professor (N=29)
All ranks (N=29)
$40,537
$45,732
$41,895$35,819
$49,484$39,481
$56,843$49,038
$65,632$58,179
$55,248$47,284
Academic rank
Your institution Comparison Group Median
-25 0 25 50 75 100Percent
Other corerevenues
Investment return
Private gifts, grants, and contracts
Government grantsand contracts
Tuition and fees
42
-11-3
144
72
8996
Revenue source
Your institution Comparison Group Median (N=29)
$0 $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000Dollars per FTE
Other coreexpenses
Student services
Institutional support
Academic support
Public service
Research
Instruction
$0$6,450
$3,239$2,802
$3,551$2,202
$1,283$645
$13$0
$0$0
$6,542$4,321
Expense function
Your institution Comparison Group Median (N=29)
nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter
Wesley College faCulty salaries (in dark blue), Compared to average salaries of 29 similar institutions
amount during the school year and three additional ones during the summer.
“I do think the administration is aware that we are overworked and, for some us, underpaid,” Bobby said.
Bobby said she has to keep as strict a budget now as she did when she was in college to make ends meet.
According to the IRS 990 form, which must be filled out annually by non-profits, the seven employees who earned more than $100,000 in 2009-2010 include Dr. William Johnston, president of the college ($267,933), Eric Nelson, ($102,476), Dr. D’Souza, ($128,965), Chris-topher Malone, a former employee of the college who worked out of the New Castle Campus, ($119,450), Dr. Sturgis, a history professor, ($113,878), Dr. Lucille Gambardella, head of graduate studies for nurs-ing, ($113,712), and Paul Olsen, director of advisement, ($112,917.)
Also listed in the top 12 were Michael Drass, athletics direc-tor, who made $86,640; William Firman, former dean of enrollment, $86,874; Mary-Alice Ozechoski, dean of students, $90,200; Dr. Pa-tricia Dwyer, vice president of academic affairs, $72,917; and Chris Wood, vice president of institutional advancement, $93,750.
Total salaries paid to Wesley College employees in 2009-2010: $14,554,578
Total salaries paid to Wesley College employees in 2008-2009: $13,955,854
Total revenue for Wesley College in 2009-2010: $42,733,982
Total expenses for Wesley College in 2009-2010: $42,940,954
Total deficit of Wesley College in 2009-2010: $206,973
other numbers
Statistics show Wesley faculty make less than average pay
2 WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDU March 2011
The wheTsTone - sTaff - spring 2011
Editor-in-ChiEf: Kim manahan ([email protected])Managing Editor: melissa Boyd ([email protected])Co-Managing Editor: Chloe dawson ([email protected].
edu)onlinE Editor: Jamie pruiTT ([email protected])
PhotograPhy: CoChise luCas, raChael nissim
Staff WritErS: lamesha green
Kasey lynn Kelly morgan
niCK hanCoCK ColleTTe o’neal
Kyle pequeno
ashley simpson
adviSEr: ViCTor greTo
onlinE adviSEr: dr. Tery griffin
By Kim ManahanThe Whetstone
The price to attend Wesley will get higher in the fall.
Tuition will increase by five percent next school year to nearly $21,000, said Eric Nelson, vice president of finance.
Wesley is not alone. Many schools across the country are increasing their tu-ition.
The University of Delaware’s tuition will be increasing eight percent to $24,240 for out of state students. This year, it cost $19,775 to attend UD.
Nelson blames anticipated inflation and said that the past two deficits in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 have nothing to do
with the increase. “We budget tuition rates based upon
projected levels of expense for the next academic year,” he said.
Blame operating expenses, he said.“This year we have been hit with an-
other large increase in health insurance,” Nelson said. “Utilities are going up, cost of food increases and the pressures on the overall economic conditions of the world certainly are all contributing factors.”
Last year, Wesley paid $1,608,224 to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware for insurance, and the year before paid $1,653,117, almost $50,000 less.
“We have a lot of contracts tied to in-flation,” Nelson said. “We are remodeling
the bathrooms in the residence halls and need cash.”
The bathrooms in Roe, Gooding and Williams halls that need the most work will be remodeled, he said.
Nelson said that the administration will officially notify students of the increase on April 1, about two months after it was ap-proved at a board of trustees meeting in February.
Nelson said that the school will help students any way they can with paying.
“The budget by [President] Obama in-cluded no cuts in it for financial aid,” he said. Last year, tuition increased by 2.5 percent, but in the early 2000’s, there was a nine percent increase.
The average tuition and fees for private non-profit four-year colleges is $27,293, said CollegeBoard.com.
For a public four-year college it is $7,605 for in-state students and $11,990 for out of state students.
“We’re doing our best to keep financial aid intact,” Nelson said.
Until enrollment is determined, there will be no increases in faculty salaries, the college said in contract forms recently giv-en to professors.
“We aren’t making any announcements on this at the present time,” Nelson said.
Tuition to increase 5 percent
By Sky WestWhetstone Contributor
The Wesley cafeteria served four types of cooked rabbit during lunch on Feb. 22.
Rabbit was the secret ingredient in an Iron Chef competition be-tween Aramark chef John Finney and Wesley sophomore Brad Mayer.
Finney made fried rabbit with vegetables as well as rabbit stew, but Mayer won the competition with his rabbit fradiablo (cooked in spicy marinara) and rabbit in plum sauce.
Sophomore Victoria Faught loved the new menu item.“None of my friends wanted to try it, so I did,” she said. “It tasted
sort of like dry chicken. I didn’t like the fried rabbit, but the rabbit stew was excellent.”
Mayer received $50, a 25-piece bucket of fried chicken and a 2-li-ter bottle of soda for winning the competition.
“Rabbit may have cost a bit more money than chicken or beef,” said executive chef of Aramark, Pete Buoncristiano. “But I want to broaden students’ horizons by giving them a chance to try new things.”
Not all students were fond of the meal. “I don’t think they should serve rabbit,” said sophomore Niharika
Patel. “I’m a vegetarian and I think it’s unethical to eat animals in general. To me, it’s like if someone killed a human and was serving it for lunch.”
Sophomore Kyle Dixon was hesitant to try the rabbit. “I didn’t eat it,” he said. “It sounds disgusting to me. But at least
it’s different, and some of my friends said they liked it.”Freshman Jason Chen agrees that rabbit is not for everyone. “I don’t eat at the cafeteria because I work at the mall, so I usually
eat there,” he said. “But I’ve had rabbit at restaurants before. It’s dif-ferent, and I don’t personally like it, but there’s nothing morally wrong with serving it.”
Alicia Seewald, a senior, appreciates the added variety, but be-lieves that the food staff should spend their money on serving healthier foods.
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous for them to serve rabbit,” she said. “It’s not a common food here. Kudos for being adventurous and chang-ing up the menu, but what we need is more healthy foods to choose from. As of now, all they have is salad; everything else is processed.”
“Some students may have turned up their nose at the thought of eating rabbit,” said Buoncristiano, “But we had 50 pounds of rabbit and we sold out completely.”
Students devour 50 pounds of rabbit; some disgusted
Wesley Hosts Water color exHibit
The Whetstone/ Cochise Lucas
By Nick HancockThe Whetstone
After four years, William Firman has left Wes-ley.
Firman, who was Dean of Enrollment Manage-ment since 2007, left in February to take a job at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, as vice president for enrollment management and marketing.
“I’m sure he saw this as a natural progression in his career,” said Dr. Patricia Dwyer, vice president for academic affairs.
Firman offered no comment about his depar-ture.
A search team has been formed to fill Firman’s position.
Last year, Firman was paid $86,874. “Members are reviewing applications, holding
phone interviews and arranging campus visits for the selected candidates,” Dwyer said.
In 2009, Firman brought in the largest class in Wesley’s history.
He has 17 years of experience, which he used at four different colleges.
Dean of Students, Mary Alice Ozechoski, is temporarily filling Firman’s position until a replace-ment is hired.
Wesley bids Firman farewell
March 2011 WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDU 3
“Great things await” at Founder’s Day
By Nick Hancock The Whetstone
After 88 students received more than $100,000 in scholarships at the annual Founders Day ceremony on March 16 the Schwartz Center, Wes-ley College unveiled its new slogan.
“Great things await.”Performa Higher Education, a branding and marketing company,
chose these three words to define the college.In August, the Jesse Ball DuPont Fund awarded the college $113,150
for branding and marketing research, to develop a new website, advertise-ments, logo and slogan.
The template of the new website was also shown at the end of the ceremony.
Dr. Jeffery Gibson, associate professor of English, gave the welcom-ing speech to the audience, followed by Chaplain Erica Brown, who de-livered the invocation.
Dr. Peter Angstadt, who retired last year from his job at Wesley after 43 years, gave the keynote speech, and spoke about the changes the school has seen since 1967, the effects of the Vietnam War and the peaceful dem-onstrations that students gave that reformed some of Wesley policies.
The only technology the campus had in the 1960s were two coin-operated phones, Angstadt said.
“The important tradition that has remained the same at Wesley since the beginning is the faculty’s dedication to the education and success of students,” he said.
Scholarships and departmental awards were then given to 88 students. Wesley Dessesow and Antonique Vinson, accompanied by Dr. James
Wilson, led the audience in singing the Alma Mater at the opening of the ceremony, and performed again at the end of the ceremony.
award reCipienTs aShbrook fund
gaBriel fernandez
ElizabEth and Stan barbEr SCholarShiP fund
Brandi goTT
robyn J. boSWEll MEMorial SCholarShiP
TraVis alano
dr. and MrS. hEnry gEorgE budd ii SChol-arShiP
mia BroCCo
WilliaM t. and hazEl r. Cloud MEMorial SCholarShiP
Jade moffeTT
vaughn SMith CollinS SCholarShiP
CynThia Correia
dr. PrESlEy SPruanCE doWnS MEMorial fund
Jarrius ashley and samanTha weiss
grEgory J. flor MEMorial SCholarShiP
william sloCum
andrEW JoSEPh gEyEr SCholarShiP
TrisTin Burris
ruSSEll griEr SCholarShiP
melissa earley, samanTha russum and maTT Tappan
norMan M. and ElEanor h. groSS SCholar-ShiP
Jasmine oden, danielle anThony and Jennifer grillo
WilliaM randolPh hEarSt EndoWEd SChol-arShiP
Tamara BaCKus and Brenda hollingsworTh
grovEr hErMann SCholarShiP
JessiCa BarranCo
thoMaS S. holt SCholarShiP
miChael monTiCChio
iSabEl hoPE JaCkSon MEMorial SCholarShiP
Taylor harVey
Martin W. JEnSEn MEMorial SCholarShiP
ashley reed
C. dElaWarE and Marian d. lightCaP ME-Morial SCholarShiP
louise Kai
Mr. and MrS. riChard C. MCMullEn SChol-arShiP
Kasey lynn
John MontgoMEry SCholarShiP
Kamisha green
MErEdith and robErt ParkEr honor SChol-arShiP
Carle ax
riChard Paul PEPPEr MEMorial SCholarShiP
hawa Turay
thoMaS and EMMa roE EndoWEd SCholar-ShiP
KesTer garraway
WilliaM W. and olivE t. SharP SCholarShiP
elizaBeTh wallaCe
John P. StrudWiCk PErSEvEring aChiEvEMEnt SCholarShiP
amanda eddy
JuliuS and bErnadinE tudor SCholarShiP
eriCh gillespie
thEodorE a. h. o’briEn SCholarShiP
Kelsey Kohel
MiniStry aWardS
reV. Jason Blundon memorial sCholarship
erVin wallaCe
dr. and MrS. alton E. loWE SCholarShiP
amanda feTTerolf
buSinESS adMiniStration
rEynoldS du Pont EndoWEd SCholarShiP
heaTher Bailey, daVid gorsKi, niCholas John-son, william morris,
Chelsea praTT, eriK shellenhamer, JessiCa szoKe and niKiTa szoKe
roland o. JonES SCholarShiP
KeVin zaia
gEorgE P. MClaughlin, Jr. MEMorial SCholarShiP
alyse oBermeyer, James pediTTo and megan Varga
harry PalMEr SCholarShiP
Kayla Kelly
EngliSh
lEWiS WEllS MErit SCholarShiP
KaiTlin eVans
EnvironMEntal SCiEnCE
mona lynn Casey enVironmenTal sCholarship
greg mCKee
WilliaM f. Milbury MEMorial SCholarShiP
Taylor hendriCKs
libEral artS
JoSEPh and Mary bEllMEyEr aWard
eriKa Tanase
MEdia artS
SaMuEl r. JohnSon SCholarShiP
anTonio gary
MuSiC and PErforMing artS
WilliaM a. hughES MEMorial SCholarShiP
ViCToria hodgson-faughT
WilliaM h. and laura griffin lurty MEMo-rial SCholarShiP
KurT poKoisKi
Moor MuSiC SCholarShiP
TraVis geiser and ronald Trappier
Sharon d. robErtS rEMSburg MEMorial SCholarShiP
JonCara marshall
rogin-kniPE SCholarShiP
aBigail shaffer
nurSing
ruth W. holt nurSing SCholarShiP
reBeCCa zimmermann
ElizabEth SCott rugg MEMorial book aWard
Jennifer grillo
dr. hoWard b. WarrEn EndoWEd SCholar-ShiP
Jennifer posT
MEdiCal tEChnology
thEodorE a.h. o’briEn SCholarShiP
oliVia hampTon, laura hinKle and shannon perry
annual aWardS
ColonEl ErWin t. koCh aWard
miles liTTle
John PElzEr aWard
Chloe dawson
QaiSSaunEE aWard
melissa saVin
aluMni aSSoCiation
lEWiS a. WEllS MEMorial SCholarShiP
Carle ax
MildrEd b. SPEnCEr MEMorial SCholarShiP
Jasmine oden
WESlEy CollEgE aluMni SCholarShiP
CharminTa Brown
SCott d. MillEr lEadErShiP aWard
niCholas Johnson
aWardS for aCadEMiC ExCEllEnCE
aCCounting
TraVis Vogl
aMEriCan StudiES
roBin spangenBerg
buSinESS adMiniStration
ChrisTopher donisi
biology
JaCi Knapp
biologiCal ChEMiStry
Brian mahon
EduCation
undergraduaTe - Kyle weller
graduaTe - KaTelyn Chiolan
EngliSh
aliCia seewald
EnvironMEntal StudiES
eriC Buehl
hiStory
ChrisTopher hall
amanda sanChez
kinESiology
farryn Kauffman
lEgal StudiES
Julianna Bonsu
libEral StudiES
midline esTimaBle
MathEMatiCS
melissa earley
MEdia artS
TrisTin Burris
nurSing
undergraduaTe - Jessi messiCK
graduaTe - margareT heTriCK
PolitiCal SCiEnCE
mereTe aanes
PSyChology
KirK wiTTing
frEShMan ChEMiStry aWardS
ashley harmon and gaBriel fernandezwww.wearewesley.eduThe new layout for Wesley’s web page.
The Whetstone/ Cochise Lucas
4 WWW.WHETSTONE.WESLEY.EDU March 2011
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www.whetstone.wesley.edu and leave your feedback!
I went to a vocational high school, where my specialty was biotechnology.
You’d think biology made me happy.Well, that’s what I thought, too.You know, when you go four years thinking
you love something, and then you see it for how it really is, and your whole point of view has changed, it’s a little scary.
I thought I loved biology, because in high school I did. I took Biology I at Wesley my senior year of high school, and I didn’t really like it, but I thought I was going through an extreme case of senioritis.
I did have senioritis my last year of high school – but I certainly didn’t my last semester, starting out with 17 credits. However, I ended up dropping one of my major requirements, and get-ting a C in another. In my entire high school career, I had gotten two B’s. Let’s just say that the past two C’s – Biology 1 and Chemistry 1 – were shocking.
Then I started Organic Chemistry, which was really just a bad idea. I mean, I already was lost in my studies. I had no idea what I was doing in Chem 1, so how was I going to pass Organic? Well, I went for it anyway. Mostly because I had no idea what I would want to do with my life other than some-thing I’d thought about all the time in high school as my “dream job.” A doctor – I was shooting for the stars!
Before I went to my vocational high school, though, I did have other dreams. I had thought about being a music teacher, but I’m way too ner-
vous to sing solo in front of so many students all the time!
This semester, I decided I couldn’t take any more of this science! I decided Education K-8 would be my major, because I’ve already been a teacher’s assistant in many different volunteer po-sitions, and have always loved it.
People questioned my decision like there was no tomorrow. I mean, it is a rather large change – Biology major to Education K-8 with a content in English. I also want to get certified for teaching special needs children, which is what I had thought about doing if I were to become a doctor, so it’s really not all that different. Just a different side of the story.
People didn’t question me because of the change, though. Most people thought I was “stu-pid” because Wesley’s Education program had lost one of its accreditations.
To be honest, it was one of the reasons I had waited at least a month before even saying the thoughts aloud.
But our education program is on the right path to regaining accreditation, and I’ve had many staff and administration members tell me so. I’ve also had a family friend from the Department of Educa-tion tell me Wesley was working hard to regain the accreditation. So I’m not really worried.
To change or not to change was a big deci-sion to make, but I think it was one worth thinking about. It was a choice I made that will affect me the rest of my life and I’m happy I made it.
oPinionTo change, or not to change
By Melissa Boyd“Great things await…”If someone had told me that
five years ago, I probably would have looked back at them and laugh. Actually, I would probably have laughed at them when they said it.
Sounds like something out of a bad movie.
After the unveiling of Wesley’s new marketing scheme at the end of the Founder’s Day ceremony, I have heard people say that one of our marketing students could have done a better job – and for a lot less money.
Wesley received a grant of more than $113,000 to give to a marketing company to create a slogan, advertisements and so on, and they came up with three words: “Great things await.”
I’m not an expert on market-ing and branding or what kind of research was conducted, but I’m convinced that one of our market-ing students could have definitely come up with something less corny.
So what awaits at Wesley that is so great?
Some of the professors here are amazing, yes; there are good student organizations, yes; and if you can throw a football, your
grades don’t seem to matter much – so there is hope for those who nearly flunked out of high school.
What else though? If a prospective student reads
this, here are some things I can contribute that they may not tell you before you come here:
The food selection is not what you see at open house, not all dorms are like Malmberg Hall, and scenic down town Dover may be on one side of campus, but if you’re inter-ested in buying crack-cocaine, just walk a block the other way. Oh, and Wesley’s graduation and reten-tion rates are below average.
No – because then Wesley would not seem so appealing.
While the advertisement may be true, it is also false; as is those of any other college. No one wants to make themselves look bad, but false advertisements are mislead-ing.
Any higher education institu-tion needs money to run, non-profit or not – so any institution is going to try to attract as many people as possible.
So take the new slogan or brand with a grain of salt – like you would anything else that is brand-ed: it’s one-sided.
By Kim Manahan
Believe none of what you see, and none of what you hear
Cannon Hall’s technology will be updated this fall.
The classrooms will be equipped with Star-boards, a touch technology from Hitachi that allows Web browsing and the ability to pull up different documents.
Starboards will also work with the new wireless being put in Cannon.
“A lot of instruments require Web access so with Wi-Fi we are not limited to a particular room,” said Dr. Malcolm D’Souza, professor of biology.
The technology also recognizes hand-written let-ters and changes them into a typed font.
Students will be able to use the board simultane-ously with others, and professors will be able to ac-cess different monitors around the campus.
“This is a great advantage for any student that is involved in research,” D’Souza said.
Starboard can also record a lecture, which can be saved as a movie on JICS for any student who missed class.
The IT Department will have one in next month so they can demonstrate the best techniques for pro-fessors.
As the Starboards are being installed during the summer there will be training sessions for any pro-fessors who are interested.
“Anytime the college can leverage technology to improve the learning experience students will benefit and that makes a Wesley College a better choice,” said Jody Sweeney, head of information technology.
By Chloe DawsonThe Whetstone
tecHnology
Cannon Hall is getting starred