LSU Shreveport will host a press conference on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. to announce the State of Louisiana Board of Regents matching funds in the amount of $240,000 to establish and enhance five professorships at LSUS. The LSUS Foundation and LSUS Alumni Association will also announce the 2009-2010 Annual Campaign. The event will be held on the 3rd floor of the Noel Memorial Library at LSUS.
The following professorships were established at the $100,000 level with the initial investment of $60,000 from each donor and $40,000 in matching funds from the Board of Regents:
· Pete and Linda Ballard Endowed Professorship in Accounting
Professor recipient: Dr. Carl Smolinski, associate professor of accounting
· Hubert and Patricia Hervey Endowed Professorship for the Museum of Life Sciences
Professor recipient: Dr. James L. Ingold, professor of biological sciences
· Miriam M. Sklar Endowed Professorship for Theoretical Math and Physics
Professor recipient: Dr. Richard Mabry, professor of mathematics
In addition, the Board of Regents awarded matching funds in the amount of $80,000 to enhance the AEP/SWEPCO LaPREP Professorship to the AEP/SWEPCO LaPREP Super Professorship. Dr. Carlos Spaht, director of LaPREP and professor of mathematics at LSU Shreveport serves as the professor recipient for this professorship.
Finally, the Board of Regents awarded $40,000 in matching funds to establish the Dalton J. and Sugar Woods Endowed Scholarship for First Generation College Students at LSUS. This endowment was established by Michael and Tracie Woods.
To establish an endowed professorship or first generation scholarship, a university must raise $60,000 in private donations, which the Board of Regents will match with $40,000 for a $100,000 endowed professorship or first generation scholarship. A super professorship is established with a private gift or gifts of $120,000, which the Board of Regents will match with $80,000. The funds are invested and its earned income benefits the recipient of the professorship or scholarship. The principal amount is never distributed. The Board of Regents Endowed Chairs and Professorships Program helps LSUS attract and retain valuable faculty members.
LaPREP, a two-summer math and science enrichment program for middle and early high school students, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $65,647 from The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier – Eugenie Torr Gras and Justin Gras Fund. The grant will allow LaPREP to continue the program into 2010 which was questionable after a veto by Governor Bobby Jindal cut $250,000 earmarked for the program in the 2009-2010 state budget.
"I am extremely excited," said Dr. Carlos Spaht, director of LaPREP and professor of mathematics at LSUS. "This means that LaPREP is alive! We still need more money to continue with all the expansion efforts that we began this year, but we are going forward in anticipation that it will come."
LaPREP is a two-summer enrichment program which identifies, encourages, and instructs competent middle and early high school students, preparing them to complete a college degree program, in math, science or engineering. With emphasis on abstract reasoning, problem solving and technical writing skills, participants attend seven weeks of intellectually-demanding classes and seminars, interspersed with field trips and recreation. Class assignments, laboratory projects and scheduled exams are integral parts of LaPREP. Second-year participants are also presented with an additional seminar, Financial Independence for Life, which presents a curriculum of personal financial topics that enable students to begin a journey toward financial freedom.
Other current funding for LaPREP includes grants from The Grayson Foundation and The Governor's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program.
For his work with LaPREP, Dr. Spaht was awarded the 2007 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Chancellor Vincent J. Marsala honored Dr. Paul Sisson, dean of the College of Sciences at LSUS, with the Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award at the LSUS Foundation Appreciation Dinner Thursday evening at the University Club.
"Dr. Sisson has been instrumental in working to get the Ph.D. program in Bioinformatics established at LSUS," said Dr. Marsala. "He has also done much work in getting several Masters programs started at our university. This service award is well deserved."
Dr. Sisson has been a member of the LSUS faculty for 15 years. Other awards he has received include Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 2002, induction into the honor society Phi Kappa Phi, the Student Government Association Professor of the Year for two consecutive years and the Outstanding Faculty Performance Award for Teaching and Service in 1997 and 2000.
Dr. Carlos Spaht, professor of mathematics at LSUS for 35 years, was named 2007 U.S. Professor of the Year in the Outstanding Master's Universities and Colleges category. Four educators across the United States will be given the award today at a ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Washington in Washington, D.C.
Sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the awards recognize professors for their influence on teaching and their outstanding commitment to undergraduate students. A state Professor of the Year was also recognized in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Spaht is a veteran teacher who remains convinced that there is always more to learn about teaching and motivating students. Spaht builds rapport with students as a pathway to learning, reaching them through a combination of lectures, small interactive groups and class projects. In one of his favorite courses, he teaches math majors to prove math theorems themselves. Spaht also created the LaPREP program in 1990 for high ability middle and high school students to encourage them to attend college and study math and science. Spaht and Harvey Rubin, professor of finance at LSUS, also created Financial Independence for Life which presents a curriculum of personal finance topics, which helps students begin a journey toward financial freedom early in life. Students learn the importance of financial planning, money management, income protection and investments. Each year, Spaht and his team spearhead a fundraising campaign in order to pay for the programs. Because many of the students come from low income families, LaPREP charges no tuition or fees and also provides free lunches, transportation and books.
"I believe that God put us here to serve Him by serving our fellow man," Spaht said. "And I really believe that I've done this to the best of my ability. When I first heard I won the award, in my prayers I thanked God and I realized that I really had tried to do the best that I could in that area. I've given all that I could in teaching my classes, making certain that I was prepared, putting everything I had into getting LaPREP going. It was a lot of hard work and I had a lot of setbacks, but I didn't give up because I felt like it was something that I could do that God had put on my heart."
The U.S. Professors of the Year program, created in 1981, is the only national initiative specifically designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring.
"This year's four national Professors of the Year have had a tremendous impact on teaching and student learning in math, science and engineering at their institutions, in their communities and beyond," says John Lippincott, president of CASE. "They exemplify teaching at its best, bringing a commitment to student learning and a passionate devotion to their field of study that inspires students and challenges them to take on even the most demanding subjects."
Lee S. Shulman, president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, notes that these teachers are "exemplars for all of us in the community of educators."
"They have demonstrated a dedication to their fields and to their profession and have used their own wisdom in ways that motivate and transform their students," Shulman says. "They instill both deep understanding and a love of learning, those dual accomplishments to which all fine teachers aspire."
This year's U.S. Professors of the Year winners were selected from a pool of more than 300 nominees. Judges select a national winner in each of four categories - baccalaureate colleges, community colleges, doctoral and research universities and master's universities and colleges - and then name state winners from other entries that meet the program's demanding criteria.
TIAA-CREF, a financial services and retirement investment organization, is the primary sponsor for the awards ceremony. Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honorary, will sponsor an evening Congressional reception for the winners at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Other sponsors include the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association of University Professors, the Association of Community College Trustees, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Council of Independent Colleges and the National Council of University Research Administrators.
About Carnegie: Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an Act of Congress, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education." The improvement of teaching and learning is central to all of the work of the foundation.
About CASE: The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is one of the largest international associations of education institutions, serving more than 3,300 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 55 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information and standards in the fields of education fundraising, communications and alumni relations.
About TIAA-CREF: TIAA-CREF is a national financial services organization and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.
For a complete feature story on Dr. Spaht, see the Fall 2007 LSUS magazine at www.lsus.edu/pr.
For more on the U.S. Professors of the Year, click on www.usprofessorsoftheyear.org.
Louisiana State University in Shreveport was selected as one of 42 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico to receive a 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant, which is designed to transform teaching and improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of technology.
During the 2007-2008 academic year, HP Technology for Teaching grant projects will impact more than 6,000 higher education students. LSUS will receive an award package of HP products and a faculty stipend valued at more than $68,000.
Each of the HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients will use HP wireless Tablet PCs to enhance learning in engineering, math, science, or computer science. Tablet computers obtained through this grant will be used at LSUS in the design or redesign of courses in both math and physics. A new math class entitled Wavelets, Mathematical Art, and Complex Numbers will use tablet technology to integrate the guidance, creation, and display of student artwork. In particular, the professor will use the classroom set of wireless tablet PCs to collect and evaluate student work in real time and to feed back to the class exemplars that model salient points. Similarly, revisions in the physics classes will be centered on student problem-solving on the tablet computers. Student solutions will be evaluated in class and exemplars will be presented immediately to promote problem-solving skills.
Dr. Cynthia Sisson, Principal Investigator of the grant and Chair of Chemistry and Physics at LSUS, had this to say: “We’re excited about the opportunities these tablet computers give us to change the way students learn in our classes at LSUS. Tablet computers will allow students to participate in a way they never have in the past, and will allow professors to evaluate their work while still in the classroom. By presenting ‘best examples’ to students, we think we can increase student learning. We’re also delighted that this grant comes with cash component, so we will be able to fund stipends for local High School and Community College teachers who are interested in taking the ‘Fractal and Mathematical Art’ math class that will be developed using this technology.”
Dr. Paul Sisson, Dean of the College of Sciences, said “The College sees technology as a tool for learning, not as an end to itself. LSUS is committed to increasing the technology available to faculty and students to enrich the learning environment; this grant is just one of many examples.” The College of Sciences awards Bachelors degrees in Math, Physics, and five other disciplines, and is currently expanding its offerings at the Masters level. The College is also in the process of seeking approval to offer a PhD in Bioinformatics, a cutting-edge multi-disciplinary field that calls upon the expertise of faculty across the sciences at LSUS.
In 2007, HP is awarding 172 K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico more than $7 million in mobile technology, cash and professional development as part of its 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant program. Since 2004, HP has contributed a total of $36 million in HP Technology for Teaching grants to more than 650 schools worldwide. During the past 20 years, HP has contributed more than $1 billion in cash and equipment to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations around the world.
“HP empowers students and teachers to succeed through innovative uses of technology and training,” said Sidney Espinosa, director, Philanthropy Program, HP. “We invest in schools to increase educational attainment and contribute to the development of a skilled, diverse workforce in the future.”