Asbury College staff member presenting at AIKCU Technology Symposium

On June 15-16, AIKCU held its 3rd annual Technology Symposium at Bellarmine University. The keynote was presented by Al Lind, Vice President for Information and Technology at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The presentation is now available as a PDF for download:

CPE's Al Lind delivers the keynote at the AIKCU Technology Symposium

AIKCU Technology Symposium Keynote - Al Lind, CPE VP for Info & Technology

See more photos from the AIKCU Technology Symposium on Flickr

WILMORE, KY—Asbury College is hosting a day of celebration for the Andrew S. Miller Center for Communication Arts groundbreaking on Saturday, June 27.

Schedule of Events:
10 a.m.        Communication Arts Center Celebration in Hughes Auditorium
11 a.m.        Groundbreaking at the Building Site
7:30 p.m.     Communication Arts Showcase – with special guests Dean ’53 & Lory Jones Reception immediately following in the Student Center
10 p.m.        Best of the Highbridge Film Festival in the Student Center

Today more than 300 students are majoring in journalism, communications, media communication, and theatre and cinema performance. The school also offers minors in leadership, public relations, and theatre and cinema performance. Asbury College is constructing a state-of-the-art to match the caliber of students we are attracting through these rapidly growing programs.

The groundbreaking will also kick off the public phase of the Building Windows of Opportunity Campaign. Former Disney actor Dean Jones ’53 and his wife, Lory, are serving as honorary campaign co-chairs.

The new facility will be named in honor of Asbury College Alumnus, former Board of Trustees member and retired Salvation Army Commissioner, Andrew S. Miller, known as a model communicator and servant to God and man.

Learn more at www.asbury.edu.

With more than 150 majors, there are a lot of options for students who attend Kentucky’s independent colleges and universities. And all AIKCU institutions infuse their entire curricula - from the humanities to the health sciences - with the liberal arts values that produce skills (communication, problem solving, inquiry and analysis, critical thinking, global awareness, etc.) employers want and need in new graduates. [For a great report on the connections between liberal education and the workforce, check out College Learning for the New Global Century].

With all those choices, what degrees are students graduating with? Here are the Most Popular Majors at AIKCU Institutions for 2006-07 graduates. Note that this only includes first majors, and many students will choose to double major or combine a major and a minor (that may or may not be from a related discipline).

Download Most popular majors at AIKCU institutions (PDF)

COLUMBIA, Ky. — A group of Lindsey Wilson College students, faculty and staff will participate in the equivalent of the choral Final Four next week in Carnegie Hall.

The eight LWC students, alumna and faculty member will be part of a performance of  Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” on Monday night in New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The performance - which will merge more than 175 vocalists - will be accompanied by the New England Symphonic Ensemble.

“The honor of being selected to perform at Carnegie Hall is to the classical musician what winning the Final Four is to a college basketball team,” said LWC Associate Professor of Music and Religion and Director of Choral Programs Gerald Chafin. “I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of our choral students to perform at this level of musicianship.”

Chafin will take six Lindsey Wilson students to next Monday night’s concert: Molly Atkinson of Louisville, Ky.; Jenny Burdine Pine Knot, Ky.; Allison Chafin of Columbia; Katelin Frederick of Hustonville, Ky.; Tyler McCubbins of Magnolia, Ky.; and Josh Stephens of Stearns, Ky.

Also performing will be alumna Sara Hargis. Currently an LWC admissions counselor, Hargis was a member of the Lindsey Wilson Singers and she participated in the college’s inaugural Carnegie Hall appearance.

Monday night will be the third time Lindsey Wilson students have performed at Carnegie Hall concert — the other two were in 2002 and ‘06.

“It is a great deal of work to prepare for this concert, but students discover that it is worth the effort,” Chafin. “It’s an experience they will cherish and remember for the rest of their lives.”

Students, who were selected for the program last fall, have spent the last seven months learning Vivaldi’s popular vocal work. When they get to New York City, they will spend three more days of intensive rehearsals.

“In addition to the workouts, we’ll enjoy getting to know the approximately 175 other singers who are participating in the collaborative project,” Chafin said.

Hargis recalled her 2002 performance on the stage of legendary Carnegie Hall, calling it a “surreal moment.”

“Walking onto the stage at Carnegie Hall for the first time was such a surreal moment,” she said.

Atkinson said she has heard a lot about the special feeling singers get when they walk onto the historic Carnegie Hall stage.

“Everybody I have talked to that has gone on this trip says it’s one thing to see a performance on the stage of Carnegie Hall, but it’s a whole different thing when you step out on the stage and look into the crowd,” said Atkinson, who will be a Christian ministries senior in 2009-10. “They say it’s breathtaking to step out and look into the crowd.”

For McCubbins, Monday night’s concert will be the perfect end to his college career. Last month, he received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Lindsey Wilson.

“When I found out about the opportunity, I knew it was a chance of a lifetime to sing on the stage in Carnegie Hall, so I didn’t want to pass it up,” he said.

Monday night’s performance will be especially meaningful to the Chafin family as Chafin’s daughter, Allison, will be among those performing.

“A special honor for me is the opportunity to share the Carnegie stage with my daughter, Allison,” Chafin said. “I’m certain it will be a priceless moment for us.”

Lindsey Wilson already has a connection with Shulamit Hoffmann, the conductor of Monday night’s concert. During the trip’s planning stages last spring, the Lindsey Wilson Singers performed at the Los Altos United Methodist Church, Hoffmann’s home church in San Francisco.

“It was a pleasure for our students to meet her and begin talking about the Carnegie Hall concert,” Chafin said. “We’re looking forward to Monday night.”

Chafin noted that on the previous two trips to New York, the students experienced several surprises that made the experiences even more meaningful. For example, during the 2002 trip, students visited the site of the former World Trade Center less than a year after it had been demolished by terrorists.

Hargis remembered singing “Be Still My Soul” at Ground Zero in 2002 as the last beam from the World Trade Center was removed from the site.

“That was a moment that touched my heart in a way that nothing else had before,” she said.

Readers can follow the Lindsey Wilson Singers’ trip to New York and Monday night concert at Carnegie Hall on Twitter. Beginning on Friday, June 26, Hargis will update the Singers’ Twitter page with pictures, comments and sounds. To follow her on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/lwcsingers.

AIKCU welcomes its newest member president: Dr. Jeffrey K. Metcalf, the President-Elect of Kentucky Christian University

Kentucky Christian University announced during its May commencement that Dr. Jeffrey K. Metcalf would succeed President Keith P. Keeran to become the 5th president in the University’s 90 year history. Dr. Metcalf is a Kentucky Christian alumnus who joined the administrative staff in 1996, serving most recently as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Upon announcing Metcalf’s appointment, Kentucky Christian University Board of Trustees Chairman Ken Perkins III of Caldwell, OH, remarked: “Dr. Metcalf brings to the office of President a unique blend of administrative skill and academic excellence….He is a man of faith, who believes the best days of Kentucky Christian University are ahead of her. Dr. Metcalf is also a 1987 graduate of KCU and therefore has a very personal love for and attachment to the University.”

President Keith P. Keeran, who is retiring after 22 years of service as President, applauded the decision by the KCU Board:

“Dr. Metcalf knows KCU like few others and from the inside out. He has already demonstrated the courage to make difficult administrative decisions and has proven himself to be a capable leader and solution provider. His priority is clearly that of protecting the integrity of the University’s Christ-centered mission and its educational programs. Dr. Metcalf is also recognized throughout the south as a higher education leader and his appointment as President of the University will be warmly welcomed by other college and university presidents and education agencies throughout the region,” said Keeran.

After graduating with honors from Kentucky Christian University, Metcalf went on to complete master and doctoral degrees at the University of Louisville.

He served in a number of administrative roles during his 13 years at the university, the last six as Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has been particularly active in the accreditation processes, both for KCU’s accreditation and in the regional accreditation community. He has served regularly as a peer evaluator and evaluative committee chair for the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Read more about the announcement, including a statement from President-Elect Metcalf, on KCU’s website.

The episode featuring Dr. Cox and Chowning discussing the role of independent higher education in Kentucky can be seen in its entirety here. Other episodes of “Dialogue on Public Issues” can be accessed from Campbellsville’s site.

The event will be held at the Cumberland Inn at the University of the Cumberlands, in Williamsburg, KY, on July 14, 2009. The half-day session will run from 8 AM to 12:30 PM EDT.

The audience for this training is described as “higher education campus presidents, key staff members, safety committees, and incident management teams.” WVU staff has also suggested that campus executives may wish to invite local police chiefs or other emergency responders from the community to participate as part of a campus team.

Register Now!

There are a maximum of 50 slots available for the workshop. In recognition of the critical nature of this type of training and as a courtesy to our sister organization in Tennessee, TICUA, we will also be extending an invitation to TN’s independent colleges and universities to participate.

Participants should register online through AIKCU.org by July 1, 2009. Again, this valuable training is offered at no cost to the individual or institution thanks to HSP @ WVU and a  federal grants. (Should registrants exceed 50 we will institute a waiting list.)

A block of rooms at the Cumberland Inn will be reserved for those participants who need to make lodging arrangements. Contact http://www.cumberlandinn.com or 800.315.0286.

Register Now!

A full course description appears below:
——-

Homeland Security Planning for Campus Executives
Presented by Homeland Security Planning at West Virginia University

Course Description

The goal of this workshop is to support the U.S. Department of Homeland Security program for improving the planning and preparedness capability of higher education institutions by helping campus executive leadership understand principles of campus preparedness and by providing them with examples, tools, and resources for homeland security planning. Each participant will receive a participant guide and a CD-ROM. This course is designed for a minimum of 25 individuals and 50 maximum.

Course Objectives

* Identify components of homeland security as they apply to higher education institutions

* Identify principles of homeland security crisis planning that can be applied to your campus

* Identify the role of training, equipment, and exercises for campus crisis planning and emergency response that can be applied to your campus

* Identify the key components of a risk communication plan for emergency response that can be applied to your campus

Target Audience

This workshop’s target audience is higher education campus presidents, key staff members, safety committees, and incident management teams.

Course Length

4.5 Hours

Cost

All training and course materials are free for a limited time and are funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Training and Exercise Integration Secretariat.

This week’s graph follows up on our earlier report on the growth in spring degrees awarded by AIKCU institutions. AIKCU institutions accounted for 27 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded this spring. Total degrees at all levels - from certificate to doctorate - increased by 15 percent from 2008 to 2009, and by 32 percent over the last five years. Bachelor’s degrees increased by 9 percent and 23 percent over those same respective time periods.

Download AIKCU Spring Degrees Graph (PDF).

To see the spring degree numbers for both AIKCU and the public sector, see the CPE press release.