The global progress-based publication praises Adney for her work as a motivational speaker, consultant and author of Community College Success, a guide for first-generation, low-income and minority students financially and emotionally struggling in their collegiate years.

Isa Adney graduated from Stetson University in 2009 with a major in communication studies. In February 2012, Adney published her first book, Community College Success.

Adney credits her two years at Stetson University as providing motivation for her to write and publish her own book.

“The biggest influence was the undergraduate research project. I loved the process and found it invigorating and challenging,” Adney said. “I knew the steps to take after completing the research project and started getting mentors to help with my book just like I did at Stetson.”

In particular, Adney credits her mentor and senior research advisor Rebecca Watts, Ph.D., associate professor of communications and media studies, for preparing her to take on the challenge of writing a book.

“It was really her mentoring, meeting with her every week and seeing that a big project, when broken up into small steps, week by week, is absolutely doable,” Adney elaborated. “Having her there made it feel less scary. And once I had done it once, doing it again didn’t feel scary anymore.”

While Adney’s book is centered on community colleges, her tips and analysis is universal for students of any institution.

“Even though I only attended Stetson for two years, I got many opportunities because of my professors,” Adney states. “Use your professor’s office hours and take their advice. Build a solid relationship with them.”

Recognized by the White House as a “community college superstar,” Adney’s official website is dedicated to helping college students maximize their educational experience in order to prepare for the future. Adney is overwhelmed by the magazine’s acknowledgement of her work.

“I felt very honored. I was very surprised honestly. It just makes you feel good when you are doing this type of work from home.”

In addition to her website and her book, Adney hosts a Youtube show speaking with money management and collegiate consults.

While Adney works through different media channels, she maintains a plan of success for all college students and young adult professionals.

“The main message is that opportunities happen through people. Through friends, mentors, professors.  Contrary to popular opinion, the best time to network is when you are young,” Adney said.

Adney is the first in her family to graduate from college. After her community college experience at Seminole State College, Adney was awarded the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship in order to attend Stetson. She completed her M.Ed in training and development from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

by Maurie Murray

]]> http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/06/stetson-alumna-pushes-the-world-forward/feed/ 0 http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/06/stetson-community-serves-central-florida/ http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/06/stetson-community-serves-central-florida/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:00:26 +0000 Mary Anne Rogers http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/?p=7720 Community leaders, professors, and students identifying social and environmental problems in central Florida have the opportunity to team up with Stetson University’s Community Based Research (CBR) programs to conduct valuable research that can assist in developing social and environmental solutions.

Sociology professor John Schorr, Ph.D., teaches a CBR course which gives students the opportunity to work with faculty members in their majors.  The next CBR course will be offered in the spring of 2014.

Information gathered for faculty and student projects focuses on service-learning projects in which academic information learned inside the classroom is applied to the issues of social and environmental justice under review. Community partners are invited to team up with the students from an academic department that best suits their needs. Community partners come from local organizations covering: community and economic development, education, and environmental awareness, youth empowerment, health/elder care, global issues, ESOL and animal advocacy and cancer advocacy.

In the picture, computer music 2 students from the classes of digital arts professor Nathan Wolek, Ph.D., are teaching sound synthesis and hardware controllers at the Spring Hill Boys & Girls Club.

“I think what we do is we help community partners better understand the problems they have identified,” Schorr said.  “Most community partners we work with don’t have the resources to hire professional consultants, so we fill that gap for them. We try to focus on social justice issues, and our research benefits both the community and the students who have the opportunity to learn how to do applied research.”

CBR program director and professor of political science William (Bill) Ball, Ph.D., encourages faculty and students from all departments to team up with programs relating to their curriculum.

“I try to coordinate other faculty and students; encourage students to take it on,” said Ball. “The main idea is to support our community partners. It is not an easy thing to do. But I help faculty find students to work with.”

During the 2012-2013 school year several projects completed by various student and faculty members displayed the versatility of the program.

For instance, communications majors Keighla Burns and Kristin Erichsen partnered with the Volusia Department of Emergency Management to assess disaster responses for an Edgewater, Fla. mobile home community after a major tornado caused severe damages in December 2012.

Health science major Deonna Graham and sociology major Michael Barnett teamed up with the Florida Department of Health for Volusia County for a study of fluoridated water resources and tooth decay problems for impoverished children in Deltona and DeLand.

Recently, Stetson’s CBR program held their annual awards recognition ceremony. Marcos Crisanto, community organizer for the Farmworkers Association of Florida, was the recipient of the 2013 Community Partner of the Year award.

Farmworkers Association of Florida’s Pierson base also teamed up with Stetson students Alexandria Delgado and Alicja Duda for interviewing Mexican migrant farmworkers concerning their understanding of workers’ rights laws in Florida.

Anyone interested in working with Stetson’s CBR program is encouraged to contact Professor Ball either by email (wball@stetson.edu) or by phone (386) 873-7536.

by Maurie Murray

Stetson University Housing & Residential Life along with Goodwill Industries of Central Florida held a donation drive on campus from May 1 to May 10, and 12 large bins (68 x 62 in.) were placed in 10 residence halls. Students received email notification and signs were posted explaining the items would be donated to Goodwill. All of the bins were at least half full and the majority of bins were overflowing with items students wanted to donate.  Students donated several bins of clothes along with many other items including but not limited to clocks, sporting equipment, cleaning supplies, toys, storage containers and books. This donation drive was the first time in recent years that students had an easy option to help donate items when moving out of their residence halls and Housing & Residential Life hopes to continue the drive in the coming years.

Goodwill Industries of Central Florida’s mission is “Building Lives that Work” and they convert unneeded items in the Central Florida community into job opportunities. Goodwill Industries of Central Florida serves Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties and provides 26 retail stores where people can shop and donate. In addition, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida offers free job search assistance at their Job Connection Centers. Goodwill Industries estimates that it takes approximately 24 pounds of donated goods to help provide services to one individual. Stetson University donations will directly help 110 individuals in the central Florida community with vocational assistance.

by Barbara Hawkins

Stetson Residential Life Coordinator |Department of Housing and Residential Life

In addition, the overall pass rate for Stetson graduates with a bachelor’s degree who were taking the test for the first time is 75 percent, also the highest pass rate in Florida. These are typically students who have earned a bachelor’s degree and take sections of the CPA exam while enrolled in the Master of Accountancy (M.Acc.) program.

For Michael Bitter (pictured), Rinker Distinguished Professor of Accounting and chair of Stetson’s M.E. Rinker, Sr. Institute of Tax and Accountancy, the results of the CPA exam reflect the dedication of the program’s students.

“I think that the strong pass rates are indicative of the quality of our accounting program and the quality and tenacity of our accounting graduates,” Bitter said.

The overall pass rate for all test takers with a bachelor’s or advanced degree is 48.9 percent world-wide.

Offered throughout each year, the Uniform CPA exam is a 14-hour, computer-based exam compromised of four sections: auditing and attestation; business environment and concepts; financial accounting and reporting; and regulation. Candidates take one section of the exam per sitting and must pass all four parts of the exam in order to be eligible to obtain a CPA license.

Nearly 100 percent of students who earn a M.Acc. from Stetson secure a position, primarily in public accounting, prior to graduation. To assist students in finding a position, Stetson hosts recruiters from Big Four firms (PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young), regional CPA firms, corporations and government agencies.

Stetson’s accounting curriculum provides the 150 credit hours required for a CPA license. Each year, undergraduate and graduate students at Stetson take the CPA exam.

by Maurie Murray

“I don’t have any plans to make a version available for purchase,” said William “Tandy” Grubbs, professor and chair of the Chemistry Department. “One of the main reasons that the game has been such a big hit in the science education community is because it is free. My father was fond of reminding me ‘you get what you pay for.’ I finally proved him wrong.”

Since the release of the game in fall 2010, new developments of the game now include free app versions for the Android and Apple phones and tablets. However, the online computer version, according to Google Analytics, has been accessed by over 150,000 users from 178 different countries (including all states and territories of the United States) and is still being used worldwide.

Android app downloads total about 5,000 and Apple app downloads total to about 50,000. “The iPhone and iPad numbers are pretty impressive,” said Grubbs.

With a tremendous popularity of users, the idea of promoting Mahjong Chem internationally was long overdue. During the last six months, Grubbs worked with Luciano Violante, a chemistry major at Stetson, as well as a collaborator in Brazil, to create translated versions of the game. Languages include Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian.

by Kim Charles

The Hatters will immediately be eligible to compete for the MAAC title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championship. Stetson’s rowing program had previously competed without a conference affiliation.

“We are thrilled to be the newest associate member of the MAAC women’s rowing conference,” said Alicia Queally, Stetson Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator. “It is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to be part of a conference that offers them the chance to row in the NCAA Championships. I know that Coach (Mark) Wilson cannot wait to announce to his team this exciting news. Of course, this would not be possible without the vote of confidence from the MAAC rowing membership and its Presidents. We thank them for this amazing opportunity.”

The MAAC, headquartered in Edison, N.J., will have nine member institutions competing in women’s rowing in 2013-14, including Canisius, Drake, Fairfield, Iona, Jacksonville, Marist, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, and Stetson.

“The addition of Stetson women’s rowing brings another fine program into the MAAC,” notes Marshall Foley, Associate Commissioner for Championships at the MAAC. “With automatic qualification into the NCAA Championship, the depth and competitiveness of MAAC Women’s Rowing has improved markedly over the past few years. Stetson certainly continues that trend and we look forward to hosting the team at the MAAC Rowing Championships.”

The Stetson rowing program was established in 1988 and hosted its first regatta in 1992, winning four of the seven races against the University of Florida. The Hatters practice and compete out of the International Rowing Center along Lake Beresford and are under the direction of Head Coach Mark Wilson.

“We are very excited to be accepted into the MAAC as a rowing affiliate member,” Wilson said. “Stetson and the MAAC seem like a perfect fit and we are eager to be in a conference that takes rowing seriously and has a long tradition with solid programs.

“As a coach it is wonderful to put goals in front of my team, and having a true conference championship to lay in front of them and say, ‘Go for it!’ is very exciting,” Wilson added.  “I know that we will have our work cut out for us in the coming years but the opportunity to race for the largest contest in women’s rowing is going to be very exciting.”

This past season marked the first year that the MAAC received an automatic qualifier in the NCAA Division I Rowing Championship. Marist College represented the MAAC at the Indianapolis Rowing Center at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

In 2012 the MAAC co-hosted the NCAA Division I, II and III Rowing Championships at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, New Jersey, where the conference also hosts their annual rowing championships.

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contributed to this report.

For more on all Hatter sports, go to GoHatters.com.

Moore first presented this project in Stetson University’s Showcase 2013 program held on campus on April 16. The goal of her research is to “develop a motivational fitness application for a smartphone.” The application would allow an engaging and guided exercise routine by wearing a wireless heart rate monitor that collects fitness data, and then displays heart rate performance on the device. The benefits from this modern way of exercising would include weightless equipment and the freedom to work out as preferred.

Through Stetson’s SURE grant program, students illustrate how to be daringly significant. And with the help of Stetson University’s math and computer science professor Hala ElAarag, Ph.D., Moore was able to do so effortlessly.

“Katie’s research was one of 60 selected from 850 abstracts submitted this year, with an acceptance rate of seven percent,” stated ElAarag. “Katie has previously presented this research at the annual consortium of computing sciences in colleges: southeast region, held in Marietta, Ga., where she won first place. In addition, Katie presented her research at the third annual Florida undergraduate research conference held at the University of Florida.”

For the second time in six years, ElAarag and her students represented Stetson University on Capitol Hill. In 2007, Andrew Moedinger, who also conducted SURE research under ElAarag’s supervision, presented on the Hill. Moedinger now has a very successful career working at Google as a software engineer.

“I was very excited to participate again this year in this prestigious event,” ElAarag said. “Undergraduate research plays an important role in undergraduate education. Katie and I are very happy we got the opportunity to promote undergraduate research on Capitol Hill.”

Information regarding the Posters on the Hill conference can be found at this website: http://www.cur.org/conferences_and_events/student_events/posters_on_the_hill/.

Funding for Moore’s project was provided by the Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) grant.

by Kim Charles

Stetson MBA student Kate MacFarlane (pictured left) presented a research paper at The Finance, Global Management, Economics & Information Technology Research Conference in New York on “Information Communication Technology and Gross Domestic Product of Communities and Nations.” The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge (JAABC) organized the event. MacFarlane’s research is expected to be published in JAABC in September.

Shahram Amiri, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Decision and Information Sciences at Stetson and co-author of the study (pictured right), has previously completed extensive studies on the impact of information and telecommunication technology in communities and developing nations. His research provided the foundation for MacFarlane’s case study and subsequent findings. Also pictured, center, is conference organizer Dr. Turan Senguder, CEO & Executive Chair, JABRC (Journal of American Business Review, Cambridge).

“The significance of Kate’s research is that she moved beyond the hypothesis that ICT has an impact only on the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes and the economy,” said Amiri. “She examined the ICT impact in a larger context, as a catalyst for socio-economic improvement and GDP. Only 13 percent of research submitted to the JAABC is accepted for publication and presentation, so this is a great accomplishment.”

MacFarlane completed her research by conducting a case study over several months on Singapore’s growing information communication technology resources. Her report analyzed networked readiness, government involvement, education and human capital development and technology utilization.

“We found numerous data that showed that there was a positive correlation” between ICT and growth in GDP, MacFarlane said. “Future research can build on this to examine and measure the impact of ICT on the economic growth and prosperity of developing nations, and determine best practices for success,” said MacFarlane, adding that she plans to continue her research on this topic.

by Maurie Murray

Professor Bauer was presented the Branton Excellence in Teaching Award, given annually to a full-time professor who has made outstanding teaching contributions inside and outside the classroom, and by example.

Professor Kaye received the Dickerson-Brown Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship, presented to a faculty member who has produced outstanding works of scholarship and has contributed significantly to the enhancement of the academic reputation of the College of Law.

Professor Podgor received the Homer and Dolly Hand Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship, established by Stetson Law alumna Dolly Hand and her husband, Homer, to applaud faculty members who are not only dedicated teachers, but who also have notable achievements in scholarship or creative work in their areas of expertise and who have made a difference in their local or larger communities. Podgor is the Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor at Stetson.

Law Dean Christopher Pietruszkiewicz (pictured right) presented the professors with their awards during Stetson’s Honors and Awards program as part of the college’s May commencement activities.

View and download your favorite photos of Stetson University College of Law commencement, family celebration and honors and awards here:

» Spring Commencement

» Family Celebration

» Honors and Awards Ceremony

» Tower Photos

Williams, the 21^st head coach in program history, takes the helm at Stetson after 13 years of collegiate coaching experience.  A native of Macon, Ga., Williams played point guard at Oklahoma State. He had a lengthy career as a professional player, including a stint with the Chicago Bulls where he was a part of the 1993 NBA Championship Team, before starting his coaching career.

“I’m excited,” Williams said of the opportunity. “Stetson is a University that I played in the past when I was at Florida State, and to be able to lead this program means an awful lot to me and my family. I knew back when I first started that my ambition was always to be a head coach. For Stetson University to give me this opportunity, I’m very grateful. I’m humbled, I’m grateful, and the truth of the matter is that I’m ready to go to work.”

“Stetson University is privileged to be able to call Corey Williams our new men’s basketball head coach,” Altier said.  “Corey is a winner, he has worked with and played for some of the finest minds in the world of basketball and as such he understands the discipline, commitment and strategy that is needed to be successful.  Everywhere Corey has played or coached his teams have won and won big, and I am excited to have him as a part of the Stetson team.”

“Corey has the perfect blend of coaching talent and personal warmth that we were seeking,” Stetson University President Dr. Wendy Libby said.  “He will be a great and winning head coach for Stetson University.”

Most recently, he was an assistant coach at Florida State. His career with the Seminoles coincided with the team’s “winningest” five-year period, beginning in 2007-08. During this time, the team won its first ACC Championship in basketball, had a school-record run of four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, had four consecutive years of double digit wins in ACC play, produced five NBA Draft picks, had 16 wins over nationally ranked teams and appeared in the national rankings in four straight seasons.

Meet the Williams family (l to r): Jourdan, Corey, Jr. (CJ), Nicole, and Corey, Sr.

“The recent success of the Atlantic Sun Conference men’s basketball schools, particularly Florida Gulf Coast University’s historic run in the NCAA tournament, coupled with Stetson’s much improved season, elevated the stature of the Stetson coaching job,” Altier went on to say.  “Consequently, we received tremendous interest from outstanding coaches across the country, whose experience and credentials were far superior to those in any coaching search I have been a part of at Stetson.”

Williams assisted in the development of the Seminoles into one of the best programs in the ACC with the perseverance that has also made him an outstanding recruiter of top talent. Williams’ recruiting roots have allowed him to bring the nation’s top talent to wherever he has coached.

Williams was instrumental in Florida State’s run to the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament as well as the 2012 ACC Championship. He helped lead Oral Roberts to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as a coach and Oklahoma State to consecutive NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances as a player.

With victories over fifth ranked Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Williams helped the Seminoles advance to within one win of the Elite Eight for only the third time in school history. The Seminoles’ wins over Notre Dame and Texas A&M marked only the second time in school history that Florida State defeated ranked teams in consecutive games during the NCAA Tournament.

Williams also facilitated Florida State’s reputation as one of the nation’s top defensive teams. The Seminoles have achieved national renown in multiple statistical categories. Williams’ defensive background helped Florida State finish the 2010 and 2011 seasons as the field goal percentage defense national statistical champions. The Seminoles ranked fifth nationally in that category in 2012.

The Seminoles’ .363 opponents’ field goal percentage in 2012 was the lowest mark by an ACC team since 1960 — a span of 52 years — and was the seventh lowest mark in ACC history.

Williams, 43, earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Oklahoma State in 2002. He and his wife, Nicole, have two children: Jourdan (13) and Corey, Jr. (9).

Read more about Corey Williams and Stetson basketball at GoHatters.com.