Featured Archives - ��

�� Captures Gold in Two National Communications Competitions

phos-beacon — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 21:57:09 +0000

�� recently earned top honors in two national advancement and marketing communications competitions for its communications and branding campaigns for its popular speaker series and for its new neurodiversity television show.

The College’s Office of College Communications won a Gold award in the Marketing|Branding Programs – Institution Wide category for its entry “The �� Salon Speaker Series — Digitized!” in the 2021 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III Awards competition.��

The Gold award honored the �� Salon Speaker�� Series’ innovation and impact in elevating the profile and branding a small, niche liberal arts school as a sober, rigorous liberal arts institution that is actively involved in both the discourse of the day and in educating, edifying, and entertaining the community in which it operates. It also commended the College’s successful transition to a virtual program amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The ability to regroup and create an outstanding series with previously unused resources should be recognized. �� and their team created a connection and outreach to their alumni, community partners, and thousands that would have not normally become engaged with the program,” the judges noted.

Moreover, “The �� Salon Speaker Series — Digitized!” also collected a Bronze award in the “Communications Pivot” category for ��’s pivot of rising above the COVID pandemic. In the world of COVID, the series — like many in-person events — faced a devastating prospect: cancellation. Instead, the College took its heralded in-person speaker series to both broadcast and digital platforms. The programs combined recorded lectures with live Zoom Q&As and then disseminated the content through a televised hosted broadcast shared globally on social media. In this category, The University of Virginia and The Citadel scored gold.

“A college of our age and scope — and this region in Central Florida — is very fortunate to have a lecture series that brings world-class authors, journalists, academics, musicians and performers right to our front door. Beyond our campus, thousands of citizens in this region have learned of �� through this valued series,” said Richard J. Killion, vice president for institutional advancement.��

Killion praised the Office of College Communications — led by communications director Darryl E. Owens — for the “foresight, hard work, planning and sheer determination” that helped bring “us a sense of normalcy, by ensuring that the show went on. In doing so, [Owens] did it in innovative fashion and earned �� national recognition.”

The CASE competition fielded nearly 800 entries and pitted advancement and communications professionals from colleges and universities in nine states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia. Winners were announced via Zoom on Jan. 28.

Here are the CASE winners: ��

Additional recognition

In addition to the CASE awards, the Office of College Communications also collected more hardware in the 8th Annual Education Digital Marketing Awards.

The comms team won two Gold awards, one in the Branded Content & Entertainment for Online/Interactive category for its “�� Makes ‘A World of Difference’” entry, and another in the Total Digital Marketing Program category for “The �� Salon Speaker Series — Digitized!”

The team also was recognized with a Bronze award in the Total Digital Marketing Program for “�� Makes ‘A World of Difference.’”

“A World of Difference” is a ��-produced monthly magazine show that celebrates and supports families rearing children with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, and other learning differences.��

The Education Digital Marketing Awards salutes the best educational websites, digital content, electronic communications, mobile media and social media. Colleges, universities and secondary schools from across the country compete in 37 categories and 14 groups. A national panel of higher education marketers, advertising creative directors, marketing and advertising professionals and our editorial board judges the entries.

Here are the Education Digital Marketing Awards winners:

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Juried Art Exhibition Showcases Versatility of �� Artistry

phos-beacon — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 20:49:39 +0000

Art, by definition, involves getting creative.

And creativity is exactly what the �� studio art department mustered this month after the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the college into remote learning mode and scuttled plans for a traditional celebration of the Seventh Annual Juried Student Exhibition.

The exhibit opened to the public March 2. It was scheduled to culminate April 2 with a reception and awards ceremony, but the pandemic put the kibosh on that.

With a traditional, in-person winner reveal out of the question, studio arts faculty unveiled the winners in a recording to ensure this year’s talented crop of student artists were not wholly shortchanged in receiving their due.

“While it saddens us that we could not share this occasion in person, we wanted to continue the tradition of announcing winners and pinning awards next to each selected work,” said Dustin Boise, an assistant professor of art, who oversees the Kristin Michelle Mason Art Gallery at �� in Leesburg, Fla.

The student exhibition featured paintings, drawings, and sculpture from more than 30 students. Students of all classifications and various majors participated.��

During the academic year, studio arts faculty (Russ Bellamy, Boise, and Kim Watters) collect student artworks and slate pieces for the exhibition based on the artist’s creative risk-taking and mastery of skill.

Faculty later prepare their selections — without the including the name of the artist or title of the work — for professional display, curate and install the works in the Mason Art Gallery later to be judged by someone outside the �� community.

This year’s juror, ��is an associate professor at the College of Central Florida and professional artist who has a multi-media practice. He appraised the entries and assigned awards for: Best of Show; Best Two-Dimensional; Best Three-Dimensional; and five Honorable Mentions.

After the judging, studio arts faculty added title cards featuring the artist’s name and title of the artwork next to the piece.

Of this year’s competition, Clutter said, “in the end, judging this show was a pleasant experience. Many more pieces were just edged out of receiving awards, and another judge may easily have chosen different works. With a limit of awards, narrowing down is always difficult. �� students should be proud of the work they are creating and encouraged to keep striving to that next level within their art.”

The Kristin Michelle Mason Art Gallery and Studio Arts Department hopes to reschedule a reception for this exhibition this fall.��

In the meantime, here are this year’s Juried Student Exhibition winners:

Best of Show: Elana Karol, “Merry-go-round”

Best Two-Dimensional: Kyle Richardson, “The Colorful Swish”

Best Three-Dimensional: Connor Cremo, “Wooden Boxes”

Honorable Mention: Emily Marra, “Still Life No. 1”

Honorable Mention: Emily Marra, “Emerald Waters”

Honorable Mention: Elana Karol, “Ammonidea”

Honorable Mention: Marcos Allen, “Tree”

Honorable Mention: Jon Ritter, “The Well Taken Pathway”

To view the recording of the announcement of the winners, click here:

To read the juror statement, click here: Art Show Juror Statement

To view all the honored works, visit: ��

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Virtual Awards Program Salutes Real Leadership on �� Campus

phos-beacon — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:25:07 +0000

Dr. Kerry Greenstein presides over the Zoom broadcast of the 2019-20 �� Leadership Awards.

COVID-19 quarantining stole the proud victory strolls to the podium, but �� student affairs officials determined not to allow the pandemic to steal the moment from deserving students.

Rather than cancel the 2019-2020 �� Leadership Awards, the college shifted into the-show-must-go-on mode and took to cyberspace to salute this year’s crop of leaders and staffers.

Broadcast using Zoom videoconferencing, the April 16 ceremony recognized inductees of the college’s academic honor society Psi Tau Omega, student ambassadors, orientation leaders, peer tutors, student employees, faculty advisers and other categories.

“I decided to still do the Leadership Awards and to do it through Zoom,” said Dr. Kerry Greenstein, dean of student affairs at ��. “I just felt like this was a great way to get everyone together and to celebrate the accomplishments from the year. Some of the recipients were seniors and so we really wanted to give them the chance to have their moment.”

Some highlights:��

Haven Eckstein won the Dean’s Excellence Award.��
Isabela Chavez and Sydney Culver won the Student Ambassador Award.
Sydney Culver, Alexandra Hancock, Lucas Frank-Holzner, Christopher Hornburg, Kyle Joyce, Nicholas Nelson, Katherine Ramsey, and Hannah Watson received Leadership Achievement Awards.

For Culver, the Leadership Award was validation of her strides in maturation and posture since coming to campus.

“I am developing communication skills to help in my career, for example, looking at other people’s perspectives,” said Culver, 20, of Redondo Beach, Calif., a rising junior majoring in anthrozoology.

“The award shows that I am good at working with people. I have learned so much doing the work I do on campus. Winning a Leadership Achievement Award helped me feel even better about the work I do on campus and the �� community. It was nice to be recognized and appreciated for what I do for students before they come to ��, as they become new students, and the help I give them as they go through their years at ��.”

What the Zoom virtual awards ceremony lacked in intimacy and electricity the technology more than made up in its ability to bring together students, faculty, parents, and alumni from around the world in a moment of communal celebration, Greenstein said.

In all, 188 students, parents, and faculty tuned in.

“Even more than the categories and winners, for me, the night symbolized what �� is all about,” he said. “It was so reassuring to see how much everyone was cheering for each other and congratulating each other. I’m also extremely encouraged by the potential that is so evident in our students and their ability to serve as leaders. We have some amazing students and when put in the right situations, they really can do anything.”

View the full list of nominees and winners.

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�� Staffer Hopes Donated Bike Colors Exercise into Campus Life

phos-beacon — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 17:40:26 +0000

When it comes to getting around, there’s riding … and then there’s riding in style.

Heather Wohlfeil figured the �� community would prefer the latter.

Enter the “�� Bike.”

The funkiest set of wheels this side of the Partridge Family’s magic mushroom school bus is a “functional art bike” that Wohlfeil, a learning specialist at the Leesburg, Fla. college, donated to the athletic department on behalf of her late aunt, Carol “AC” Holcombe.

Inspired many years ago by a magazine image of a painted bicycle, Holcombe tricked out her own replica. Holcombe, an educator and artist, passed away in November and Wohlfeil brought her aunt’s creation to campus for a week in February. Her plan: gauge from students’ responses whether they would be keen to ride this unique set of wheels.

“I had a student say, ‘This could be the official �� Bike!’ I loved the response, and so it is with great pleasure that I donate this bike to ��,” she said.

Wohlfeil’s notion: add an artistic touch to promoting the health and wellness of �� students, faculty, and staff.

Even beyond keeping your ticker ticking and helping to melt away the extra pounds, “when you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called neurotransmitters, including dopamine, which help with attention and clear thinking,” according to WebMD. “People with ADHD often have less dopamine than usual in their brain.”

�� is a nonprofit liberal arts school and America’s first baccalaureate school to educate primarily students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.

Fresh off a bike shop tune-up, would-be cyclists can check out the splendiferous ride from the athletic department and go for the ride of their lives.

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�� Students Test Career Waters at Annual Diversity Job Fair

phos-beacon — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 23:26:17 +0000

Esteban Lopez (yellow tie) and Jeremy Neilson (striped tie) joined students to Diversity Job fair.

Looking to get a leg up on ever-competitive job market, 10 �� students grabbed copies of their resumes and attended the 10th annual Florida Blue, Florida Classic Career Expo & Diversity Job Fair earlier this month at the Amway Center.

The trek was part of the college’s continuing efforts to bolster job opportunities for graduates of America’s first accredited college or university to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.

�� students joined more than 5,000 jobseekers hoping to convince at least one of more than 100 companies in attendance that they are the missing piece in the company’s success puzzle.

Employers included Walt Disney World Resorts, University of Central Florida, United States Tennis Association, Orlando Health, Hilton Grand Vacations Co. LLC, and Florida Hospital.

Organized by , the event verged on one of the largest in the region. Last year’s job fair drew more than 5,400 jobseekers, according to OrlandoJobs.com.

Roger Lear, president of OrlandoJobs.com, stressed in a press release the value of diversity-centric job fairs: “So many people ask me how a ‘diversity’ job fair is different from other job fairs. It’s simple: Employers understand that the more diversified their workforce becomes, the more profitable their companies will be.”

To prepare for their shot, �� students drilled with Jeremy Neilson, Career Development Instructor, rehearsing with mock interviews and fine-tuning resumes and cover letters “to get ready and take full advantage of this great annual opportunity,” said Esteban Lopez, director of corporate and academic outreach at the Leesburg liberal arts school.

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College Honors Couple Who Helped Author Writing Success for Students

phos-beacon — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 16:42:34 +0000

Dr. Patricia Campbell addresses members of the Weiner family and �� President George Hagerty during Robert & Jane Weiner writing center dedication.

The �� community Saturday saluted a pair of benefactors and celebrated their generous legacy — one that each year writes new chapters of success — during the dedication of the Robert & Jane Weiner Writing Center.

Staged during the college’s annual Parent’s Weekend, �� staffers, students, and members of the Weiner family joined together to reflect on the generosity of the couple whom family members described as “warm, caring, loving and generous” and the tangible results of their gift.

�� alums Scott Diamond and Talia (Kohan) Diamond attended the ceremony with family members Allen M. Kohan and the Weiner’s children, Marilyn Weiner Kohan and Jerome Bookin-Weiner.

Conceived as a support to help students develop their critical thinking skills through the focus on a student-centered, process-driven model, the Robert and Jane Weiner Writing Center has a well-traveled history.

“We ultimately want students to be more confident with their writing as they head into the world,” said Richard Davidson, director of the writing center.

Launched during the tenure of �� President Deborah Brodbeck, what the college originally called simply the Writing Center was born out of the need to provide additional support to �� students — many who struggled with writing because of writing disorders.

While the space was small — it occupied the office now held by Dr. Richard Perrone — it proved effective in boosting students’ writing aptitude, teaching research paper writing, and how to properly cite sources using APA, MLA, Chicago, and other citation styles.

The second move landed the writing center in the space now occupied by the college’s math lab.

In August 2005, the Robert & Jane Weiner Writing center formally opened in the college’s education building housed in the area now occupied by the anthrozoology department.

Favorable reviews of the college from their granddaughter, Talia (Kohan) Diamond, class of 2009, stoked their generosity.

“It gives me a lot of gratitude when I come to visit the writing center and I see the students work so hard with our staff,” said Dr. Shelly Chandler, �� provost. “I see that name on the wall (Robert and Jane Weiner) and I think of Talia often.”

Today, the Robert & Jane Weiner Writing Center is ensconced in its fourth home, inside the Compass Center.

The Weiners benevolence extended beyond ��. The couple endowed the annual Jane L. and Robert H. Weiner Lecture in the Fine Arts for visiting lectureships in 1984 at Dickinson College, their children’s alma mater. In addition, they couple endowed the Robert H. Weiner Fund for Staff Training or the Jane L. and Robert H. Weiner Museum Endowment, both at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, where Mr. Weiner was executive director emeritus.

The Weiners were married 66 years until Jane Lasner Weiner’s death in 2008. Mr. Weiner passed in 2016.

“They have been able to help students at a college that specializes in helping students,” Jerome said.

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�� Psych Group Students Roll Up Sleeves to Help Region’s Hungry

phos-beacon — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 02:07:43 +0000

Behavioral Science Organization members help sort produce during a recent volunteer stint at Second Harvest Food Bank.

Realizing Central Florida needs all hands on deck to deal with its growling hunger problem, a crew of �� students who are members of the Behavioral Science Organization last week volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in Orlando.

Second Harvest, a private, nonprofit outfit, collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 550 feeding partners in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties. Last year alone, the food bank provided nearly 56 million meals to food pantries, soup kitchens, women’s shelters, senior centers, day care centers, and Kids Cafes.

The Behavioral Science group (BSO) — including Shivan Garg, Jasmine Gelman, Shale Arora, Samantha Chavez, Allie Schug, Claire Wilbur, and Matt Conley — pitched in by sorting produce. Dr. A.J. Marsden, an assistant professor of human services and psychology at �� in Leesburg, Fla. and BSO advisor, and former student Caroline Chapin also lent a hand.

�� is a nonprofit liberal arts school and America’s first accredited college or university to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students who learn differently.

The Behavioral Science Organization and Dr. A.J. Marsden

Cassandra Bergman, president of the Behavioral Science Organization, said the group was happy to do what it could to help battle the plague of food insecurity throughout the region. Google dictionary defines food insecurity “as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.”

“People who volunteer there support their mission and their mission is very much aligned with the Behavioral Science Organization which is all about helping the community,” Bergman said.

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New Director Takes Reins at Center for Student Success

phos-beacon — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 17:29:54 +0000

Sheryl Nichols recently was appointed the new director of the Center for Student Success at ��.

Nichols, who for the past three years served as an admissions counselor with the enrollment management team, succeeds Dr. Andrea Brode, who retired from the role.

The promotion, she said, will allow her to “continue empowering, encouraging, and supporting students and families on their journey towards abundant living.”

The Kingston, Jamaica native earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the State University of New York at Oneonta, where she served in U.S. military. Nichols also holds a master’s degree in human services counseling from Regent University. She is pursuing an Ed.D in educational leadership with a concentration in Educational Psychology also from Regent.

Passionate about professional and community service, Nichols recently finished her term as secretary of the board for the Florida Association of Higher Education and Disability. Similarly, she continues as ��’s liaison to Rimes Early Learning Center, supporting the campaign to boost attendance in Lake County Schools.

In addition, Nichols — who earned conference basketball Player of the Year honors and a 2006 induction into the SUNY Oneonta Hall of Fame for the Red Dragons — helps coach the �� men’s basketball club.

Nichols’ vision includes creating a more student-centered focus at the center.

“With my team of learning specialists, I hope to make the Center for Student Success just that — the center of the student success — through the streamlining of processes and communications that support their first-year experience more closely,” she said. “Being aware of your strengths and the best ways to use them, may often be a key to overcoming all sorts of challenges.”

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Regional Employers Seek ��’s Best and Brightest at Annual Job Fair

phos-beacon — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 01:16:48 +0000

Matt Berger knows the value of a good suit.

“One thing that I’ve learned over the years that you dress for success,” he says. “If you were a good suit, they notice.”

Dressed in his two-button gray business suit, Berger hoped the companies and organizations on hand Wednesday for ��’s annual job fair would take notice of his sartorial flair and his gussied up resume.

“Organizations always need people who can adapt to diverse situations and circumstances,” said Esteban Lopez, director of corporate and academic outreach at �� in Leesburg, Fla., America’s first college or university accredited to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students who learn differently. “Individuals who learn differently can possess such abilities because they regularly must think creatively about matters that people without such impairments take for granted, such as how to solve problems and accomplish even the simplest tasks.”

In all, the college hosted recruiters from 15 regional employers: Aflac; Barker Law Office; Blue Green Vacations; CareerSource Central Florida; Central Florida Disability Chamber of Commerce; Central Florida Health; Faneuil; Fry’s Lyon Project; Leesburg Regional Medical Center; LifeStream; Manpower; Massey Services; Morrison Pre School; Orlando Utilities Commission; and The Salvation Army.

Such an eclectic and expansive showing of companies, noted Dinorah Ramos, director of the Career Development Center, affords students invaluable opportunities to “make good contacts with employers.”

Berger, a senior business management major who is graduating in May, was eager to show recruiters he was the problem-solver their companies needed.

With the table set with so many companies to choose from, the job fair was a jobseeker’s smorgasbord. Still, Berger stuck to his diet — sampling opportunities from three companies: Aflac, Blue Green Vacations, and Manpower.

“All three of those companies were very great, very supportive. I think they’re the best three for what I’m looking for in the Orlando area.”

Aflac, for instance, offered his the prospect of finding flexible opportunities in his field. Blue Green offered a path into the hotel industry, he said, while Manpower explained employment prospects were bright both locally and in New Jersey from where Berger hails.

That such a large contingent of companies answered the call to recruit on ��’s campus owes to greater awareness of the bleak employment prospects of Floridians with disabilities, Lopez says.

Two years ago, a Florida Chamber Foundation study found that 76.3 percent of Floridians with a cognitive disability were unemployed.
”Yet many of them desperately desire to earn a paycheck, become independent, and recompense society with their work, while enriching organization and its workforce in many ways,” Lopez said.

These citizens, he said, could bring a passionate work ethic and an invaluable creativity to the workplace.

“Today’s Job fair is another example of ��’s commitment to provide a recruitment platform for this untapped source of talent, while expanding partnership and inclusion throughout the Sunshine State,” Lopez said. “These days, student who learn differently represent real value, we sometimes ask, ‘how can we secure future wealth and welfare in our society?’ We tend to forget that the answer is our students.”

Berger certainly hopes at least one companies decides he is their answer. And the job fair, he says, allows quality employers at least to consider him and his classmates in their staffing questions.

“Every year the college keeps growing and growing and more companies and opportunities come to help [us] students, “Berger says, “and I think it’s amazing for all students to get a chance to find work after college down here.”

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Disability Workshop Introduces Educators to ��’s Success Secrets

phos-beacon — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 21:42:03 +0000

�� Drs. Shelly Chandler and Andrea Brode (seated) conduct a session during a recent College Disability Workshop.

There’s one cardinal rule for magicians: never reveal your secrets.

Yet, �� rated the number one school for students with disabilities by BestValueSchools.com last did just that. �� faculty, staff, and students revealed the magic behind the liberal arts school’s peerless 70 percent four-year graduate rate for students with learning differences during a workshop for college disability educators.

“It’s important to share the ‘secret sauce’ as it’s all about helping student achieve academic goals,” says Stephanie Knight, �� director of admissions, who helped organize the workshop. “Just because they [other students] aren’t physically on our campus doesn’t mean we can’t provide a service to them.”

Designed to empower disability offices to build collaborations across campus, assess college readiness, and foster student success, “Cultivating Campus-wide Collaborations to Support Student Success” workshop attracted educators from throughout Florida, but also drew attendees from Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas for the two-day skull session, Feb. 22-23.

“Not only did they provide such a wealth of information and such a unique approach to many things, it also provided us all with the chance to network and talk with others in the field,” said Danielle Dietz, a learning specialist for the Learning Partners Program at Louisburg College in North Carolina. “Often we are the only ones on our campus that focus on disability issues, so being in a room full of knowledgeable and passionate educators was just good for the soul.”

�� President George Hagerty opened the first workshop �� has hosted for college disability professionals by outlining the glacially slow evolution of higher education in effectively addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities.

LD graduates, Hagerty explained, are far more likely to enjoy purpose and career engagement if they believe professors cared about and inspired them, were partnered with a mentor who encouraged the graduate to pursue ambitions, and enjoyed an internship that allowed graduate to apply what he or she was studying.

Other sessions explored the �� teaching model, social-emotional intelligence, the college’s Breakthrough Semester program, evaluations and diagnostics, faculty training, and the learning-specialist model.

Moreover, current and former students at �� America’s first college or university accredited to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences added their voices and perspectives to the sessions.

In the end, Dietz said the sessions introduced innovative insights into better serving students with learning differences. Insights she’s eager to try out.

“I would so love to see some ways that we could use their faculty training model and apply it in a way for us to lead our own professional development at our home institutions,” she said. “What the faculty are doing at �� needs to be shared with their colleagues at other schools. What’s good for LD students is good for everything. Good teaching is just good teaching.”

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Featured Archives - ��������

�������� Captures Gold in Two National Communications Competitions

Juried Art Exhibition Showcases Versatility of �������� Artistry

Virtual Awards Program Salutes Real Leadership on �������� Campus

�������� Staffer Hopes Donated Bike Colors Exercise into Campus Life

�������� Students Test Career Waters at Annual Diversity Job Fair