A message from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs No Images? Click here Greetings from Campus Activities!Built on the foundation that leadership is not only about serving in a particular role or holding a position but more about growing and learning through a process of involvement and making positive social change in the community. The Office of Leadership and Student Involvement has continued to instill this philosophy into each of our programs and initiatives for our WCU students. This fall, our LEAD LLC’s piloted Degree Plus; we had over 120 first-year students attend Cat Camp Leadership Exploration; 79 students attended the Disney Leadership Experience trip; we created 2 new positions on the SGA Executive Board, the Director for Government Outreach and the Director for Community Engagement; and we had over 200 students enrolled in a LEAD transition class (LEAD 140, 150-156). In addition, we have started adding new features to our OrgSync online community to assist in collecting data and connecting students to our 170+ Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) and have seen an increase in new users. The Whee LEAD conference will be held in February and we will host our Annual Celebrate Excellence Student Leadership Awards on April 17, 2018. Whether it’s any of these programs or initiatives, or others including our i-LEAD workshops/speaker series, the international leadership experience class during the spring semester followed by our trip to Spain in the summer, C.O.R.E. Fest, or having our RSOs donate over 300 holiday cards for soldiers stationed overseas, we like to say we enhance student leadership skills and aid our students in finding ways to get involved while at WCU. Lastly, as we approach the conclusion of the fall semester we would like to take the time to thank you, our campus partners, for another productive and impactful semester. We look forward to more opportunities to work with you in the new year. We wish you all a great holiday season! Dance MarathonOn Saturday, November 4th, 2017, Western Carolina University held its seventh Dance Marathon (DM). This year’s fundraising total was another record-breaker at $29,209.14, almost $8,000 more than last year’s $21,510.72. Of the 200 WCU students, faculty, staff, and local community members registered to participate in this year’s event, over 70% received donations to support the event. DM 2017 played host to six Miracle Families (families that have been positively impacted by the funding raised through programs such as Dance Marathon), all of whom took time to share their stories with all in attendance. This year’s event saw 24 teams created. Phi Mu won the transformation trophy and Last Minute Productions won the highest team fundraising total trophy and the most spirited team trophy. DM inducted Brandon Falls into the prestigious Comma Club, a designation only given to those individuals that raise $1,000 or more. The event was the culmination of a year’s worth of events held to raise funds and awareness for the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals, specifically the Greenville Health System’s Children’s Hospital. DM 2017 was led by a student executive committee and most of the team had the opportunity to attend the Dance Marathon Leadership Conference. While at the conference, students were given context, content, and best practices – knowledge which they brought back and applied to DM. The Executive Committee was advised by Stephanie Sue Rowell, Shauna Sage, Karen Walker, Jeff Hughes, and Brandon Lokey. Institutional Data - Where to Find itWhether you need basic student demographics or institutional data to benchmark against, the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness (OIPE) has the data you need. OIPE is in the process of transitioning from static Fact Books to a more dynamic data display using Tableau Public. Their Tableau site includes student demographics, retention and graduation and UNC strategic plan related data visualizations. The data shown in Tableau is based on official university data frozen on census day. Catalytics is a system that the university's Business Intelligence team has developed to allow easier access to Banner reports. Access to Catalytics is granted on a case by case basis with the permission of your supervisor. The data in Catalytics is refreshed at 3:00 am each morning and is meant to allow users to access and monitor data in real time. Data in Catalytics is not official university data and not meant to be shared publicly. New Scholarship Portal: Scholarship ManagerScholarship Manager has replaced ScholarCat. We have retired the old ScholarCat system and have officially begun the Scholarship Manager era. A few highlights of the new system:
The student application for the 2018-2019 academic year was launched on October 3rd and, as of November 14th, we had received 851 completed applications with another 1,462 in progress! The new system seems to be providing a much improved experience for our students as we are more than 300 applications ahead of where we were on January 3, 2017. Access to the application is via the “apply for scholarships” link in MyWCU for any student who has MyWCU login credentials. (New students do not have to pay their deposit in order to apply for scholarships!) The deadline for the undergraduate student application is February 1, 2018. The deadline for the graduate/doctorate student application will vary by program.
Update from the Chair of the Staff SenateWestern Carolina University’s Staff Senate is an elected body that represents the university’s permanent, non-faculty employees. The Staff Senate is committed to representing and communicating the needs and priorities of the WCU staff. This past October we administered the Staff Senate Survey which was completed by 43% of staff members. Thank you for taking the time to participate and letting your voice be heard! Currently, we’re working through the analytics of the survey and in the beginning stages of discussing what the Staff Senate’s top priorities should be over the next two years based on the results. Our goal is to disseminate our findings and the Senate’s top priorities to the entire campus in early 2018. As many of you know the Staff Senate funds a scholarship for children of WCU staff members. The scholarship is awarded annually and we hope to continue to grow the scholarship fund to enable us to award several scholarships each academic year. The Staff Senate is in the midst of its yearly holiday ornament fundraiser. If you don't have your ornament yet, there is still time to purchase one to enjoy for this holiday season and contribute to the scholarship fund! Staff Senate is a representative body which welcomes input and collaboration. If you have any concern or issue on your mind, I will make myself available to hear your thoughts. You can also reach out to your elected representatives who may be easier for you to contact, either physically or organizationally. Each of you is welcomed to attend any of our Staff Senate monthly meetings to hear what we’re working on and an opportunity to have your voice heard. Our regular meetings are on the second Wednesday of every month at 8:30 am. Locations will vary in the spring semester, so please check out our monthly newsletter for upcoming meeting locations. Happy Holidays from Staff Senate! Mandy Dockendorf Online Storage - OneDriveOneDrive is a free, personal online storage that you can choose to use at home or work. Your files are available from any device by going to your WCU Office365 account or using the OneDrive mobile app for your phone. OneDrive-Western Carolina University will provide 1 TB of online storage for staff members. It’s available with Office 2013 but will run optimally with Office 2016. All OneDrive-Western Carolina University content is private until you decide to share it. To access OneDrive, connect to your Outlook email via your web browser and click on the blue and white keypad icon to the left of 'Office 365' in the top header. For more information including informational articles on OneDrive, please visit the IT Self-Service portal. Professional Development OpportunitiesAs a member of Western Carolina University staff, you have access to many talent development resources designed to enhance professional skills and promote both personal and professional development. We encourage you to review campus training offerings and work with your manager to select the programs that best support your professional development goals. Human Resources Training | Coulter Faculty Commons | IT Trainings Whee Lead Conference Registration & Call for ProposalsRegistration is now open for the annual Whee Lead Conference. This year's conference will take place on Saturday, Feb 17 at the UC. The theme is "Leading at Performance Level" with our Keynote Speaker, Curtis Zimmerman. Don't miss out on this free leadership and professional development opportunity! We are also looking for presenters for the breakout sessions. Please follow the 'call for proposals' link for more information. Register to attend | Call for proposals Questions, please contact Leslie Cavin AnnouncementsUniversity of North Carolina System President Margaret Spellings announced Tuesday, Nov. 28, the naming of Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar as acting chancellor of Western Carolina University. The very next day, Carol Burton, WCU’s associate provost for undergraduate studies, agreed to step into Morrison-Shetlar’s shoes by taking the role of acting provost. See the full article in The Reporter. Staff Highlight: Assistant Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate EnrollmentPhil Cauley began working at WCU as an admission counselor in 1984. A two-time graduate of WCU (BA in English in 1983 and an MS in Human Resource Development in 1990), the student life aspects of his undergraduate experience enriched his education immensely. “I competed in 23 different intramural sports and was involved in a dozen student organizations as a student, and my involvement in one particular organization, Western Gold (the predecessor of EnTOURage), led to my professional calling.” He has served WCU in many roles and currently serves as assistant vice chancellor for undergraduate enrollment. Phil is active in his church where he serves as a Sunday school teacher, group leader and deacon. His hobbies include writing, kayaking, hiking, biking and fishing. Phil's wife, Susanne, is a WCU alumna, and teaches 3rd grade at Hazelwood Elementary School. They have two teenagers, David and Sarah, who attend Tuscola High School. Phil Cauley
Staff Highlight: Director of Event ServicesDevon was hired in August of 2014 to serve as the Director of Conference Services in Campus Services. In October, his title changed to Director of Event Services. Devon is originally from Williamsburg, VA and earned a BSBA from Christopher Newport University. Devon is married to Beth Nease, professor in WCU Nursing School, for 26 years. The couple relocated to Cullowhee to live in the mountains and work in a university setting. When not on campus, Devon enjoys fishing, hiking, and riding his motorcycle. Devon Nease
Student HighlightThomas Caprariello is a junior Computer Information Systems major from Huntersville, NC. He serves as Vice President for EnTOURage, the student tour guide organization under the Office of Admissions, and will continue on as President for the 2018-19 academic year. He helps ensure quality experiences of campus tours, open houses, and other related events for perspective students and their families. During home football games, you can find him helping out Paws around the grandstands. During the summer of 2017, Thomas also worked with Conference Services as a Conference Assistant, providing customer service to a multitude of guests coming to WCU’s campus. Thomas CaprarielloHoliday WishesThe holiday season is a time when we remember the blessings of the past year and look forward with eager anticipation to new opportunities that await us. We pause to give thanks for the many colleagues, friends, and family members who make our lives so rich and full. Wishing you all peace and joy during the Holiday Season and throughout Important DatesDecember 8, 2017 Last day of classes |