May 2017 Provost Report, B4

B4, Create a Learning Environment that Attracts Intellectually Motivated Students:

College of Arts and Sciences

Graduate Education Programs

Graduate programs in Education (Educational Leadership) and Counselor Education (Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling) continue to enjoy robust enrollment.

"MFA of the Americas"

Our newest graduate program, the Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, known as the "MFA of the Americas" is in its second year. The second residency was held in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in June 2016, and we welcomed the second cohort of students at the January residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida this year.

Florida Language Consortium

Through the Florida Language Consortium, we have successfully piloted courses in Russian and Arabic with Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University beginning in 2015. Instruction is provided through synchronous video conferencing, with an instructor at one institution teaching students in multiple classrooms.

Food Studies

A small group of faculty is working on a proposal to create an interdisciplinary program in Food Studies. They are looking at programs at other institutions, considering the market for such a program, and drafting curricula. We intend for this program to include aspects of the natural sciences, the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and business.

Graduate Office in Flagler Hall

We are establishing an office for Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences on the first floor of Flagler Hall. This office, located in a recently renovated space, will house the directors of graduate programs in Education and Counselor Education and the MFA of the Americas.

School of Business Administration

Building the Prince Entrepreneurship Program

Under the leadership of the Director, Dr. Bill Jackson, and the newly appointed Assistant Director, Lou Paris, the Prince Entrepreneurship Program is poised to become a signature program within the School and University.

  • Development of an entrepreneurial "idea lab."

  • Increase student engagement activities

College of Law

Academic Success and Bar Preparation Services

In January 2017, we welcomed Nina Hayden, a College of Law graduate, to our faculty to serve as Professor of Practice and Director of Academic Success and Bar Preparation Services. Professor Hayden previously worked in the area of bar preparation writing and grading exam questions for the State of Florida and other state bars.

International Programs

This year's Spring Break was an historical lesson for 11 second- and third-year law students who traveled to Havana, Cuba for five days as part of Professor Jason Palmer's one-credit course on Cuban Legal Systems and Society. Law students met and spoke with Cuban lawyers about the Cuban legal system and their current legal issues.

Veterans Affairs

With an increasing number of veterans requiring legal and medical assistance in the Tampa Bay area, the College of Law Veterans Law Institute partnered with Bay Pines Veterans Administration Healthcare System, Bay Area Legal Services, and Gulfcoast Legal Services on a medical-legal partnership.

Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience

The Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience collaborated with the Center for Community Engagement to nominate Stetson as a partner institution under the Peace Corps Prep Program. The proposal was accepted and a memorandum of agreement was signed with the Peace Corps in December. Stetson joins the University of Florida and Florida International University as the only Peace Corps Prep universities in our state.

The Executive Director successfully represented Stetson before the Volusia County Council to gain approval for amendments to the BPUD development order to accommodate changes to the Stetson Aquatic Center. The County Council approved the zoning amendment in October and the revised site plan in November.

The Executive Director has made numerous public presentations on water-related issues at various public forums and conferences around the state. This establishes the Institute as an important stakeholder and convener for policy options around water-related issues in Florida.

Institute-affiliated faculty members Clay Henderson, Chris DeBodisco, and Dennis Dickerson have been appointed to key committees of the Indian River Council which directs restoration efforts of the Indian River Lagoon.

The Institute hosted its first scientific conference in February. The Florida United Malacologists held their eighth colloquium which highlighted recent research in mollusks. One of our students, Stephanie Schreiber, presented her senior research on nitrate levels in Blue Springs.