Academic Affairs News

Dear Colleagues,
 
As we move into the last week of classes, here are a few updates from Academic Affairs:
 
Provost’s Council
Thank you to those of you who volunteered to serve on the new Provost’s Council.  I am thrilled with the level of interest as shown by the very large number of people who responded. It will take me a while to read through all of the emails but I hope to be able to announce a list by the end of next week.
 
University Faculty Awards
It was my pleasure to attend last week’s celebration of college-level faculty award winners, and it was my privilege to announce the winners of the university-level awards.  Please join me in congratulating:
 

• Faculty Teaching Award - Melanie Autin, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Ogden College of Science and Engineering
• Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award - Rachel Tinius, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport, College of Health and Human Services
• Faculty Public Service Award – Holli Drummond, Professor of Sociology, Potter College of Arts & Letters
• Faculty Student Advisement – Carol Jordan, Instructor I of Theatre and Dance, Potter College of Arts & Letters
• Part-time Teaching Award – Stacy Edds-Ellis, Instructor of Education Administration, Leadership & Research, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

 
Blackboard Updates
WKU Blackboard is scheduled for an upgrade / migration to the cloud on Saturday, June 29 through Monday, July 1, 2019.  Blackboard will be unavailable those three days. All Blackboard operations are expected to be fully restored by 8:00 AM on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Faculty will be able to create Fall 2019 course sites beginning Tuesday, July 2, 2019.  For more information on the upgrade and features, please visit our upgrade webpage: https://www.wku.edu/its/blackboard-upgrade.
 
Finally, this is the most enjoyable time of the academic year when we celebrate the successes of our faculty and students.  The award ceremonies, performances, and expositions have been truly inspiring and remind me of the incredible dedication and energy committed by so many of you to our students and their Hilltopper experience each and every day.  Please feel free to share your action photos from these events with us at: S:\UNIVERSITY-WIDE-SHARED\2019 Academic Affairs_Students in Action Photos, so that we can promote what we do so well – applied student learning.

Sincerely,
 
Cheryl L. Stevens, PhD
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Western Kentucky University