LSU'S Biweekly Newsletter for Faculty & Staff
October 10, 2003 |
VOL. 20, NO. 4 |
According to a recent survey of U.S. practitioners, the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology was ranked as the department with the strongest historical geography program in North America.
In the survey, conducted by geographer Douglas Hurt of California State University-Fresno, LSU’s historical geography program ranked above those of Syracuse University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Texas-Austin and the University of British Columbia.
In addition, the annual journal “Historical Geography,” which is published by Geoscience Publications in the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology, was ranked as the second most-important journal for historical geographers, and one of its LSU co-editors was honored as well. Carl O. Sauer Professor Craig Colten, who co-edits the volume along with Assistant Professor Dydia DeLyser, was ranked as “one of the most outstanding living historical geographers.” Colten specializes in environmental historical geography, urban environments and Louisiana and the South.
LSU Geography faculty are actively engaged in a variety of research projects, including the landscapes of tourism in the American Southwest, environmental equity in Louisiana, transforming the agricultural environment in Mexico and even evolving patterns of terrorism.
This most recent ranking joins an earlier one that placed the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology as the number one cultural geography program in the country, in a tie with the University of Texas-Austin.
“ Hurt’s ranking is an acknowledgement of the prominent historical geographers who preceded the current faculty – scholars such as Carville Earle, Sam Hilliard and Fred Kniffen – but it also underscores our commitment to maintaining an outstanding program in honor of their contributions,” Colten said. “What is truly remarkable is that it places LSU among the elite geography departments across the continent and indicates that all these departments share a commitment to historical geography.”
LSU Theatre Assistant Technical Director Stephen Barr turns off the lights for the evening in a building that only a couple of weeks ago hosted LSU’s summer commencement ceremony and is best known for hosting indoor track meets. But today it is serving a different purpose. In the days since Hurricane Katrina passed over the Gulf Coast, LSU’s Carl Maddox Field House, along with the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, or PMAC, next door, was transformed from an athletic venue into a full-fledged medical facility.
The PMAC started out as a medical triage facility, but was soon turned into a field hospital, while the Field House sheltered special-needs patients. At the request of Earl K. Long Hospital’s Walter Cain, M.D., Barr was asked to help transform the Field House into a special-needs hospital.
“ It’s kind of a weird request. It’s something you don’t expect to do,” Barr said. “This place started off from what I understand as a 40-bed special-needs shelter. We transformed it into a 411-bed hospital.”
That 411-bed hospital, along with the facilities set up at the PMAC, became the nation’s largest acute-care field hospital ever created in U.S. history.
“ In a very quick manner, the previous relationships that the state Department of Health and Hospitals has had with LSU was a foundation for creating the largest acute-care field hospital in the nation’s history,” said Chris Trevino, M.D. “The result of that is that the citizens of Louis-iana were provided the best possible emergent care in as timely a manner as possible. We went from 0 to 800 beds in four days.”
Barr had worked on large scale projects before, but nothing had prepared him for this. Two years ago, he worked as a crew chief for Superbowl XXXVIII’s pre- and post-game ceremonies, but he had no experience designing a hospital.
“ This is what we needed, therefore I wasn’t going to say no,” said Barr, who had been working 14-hour days since the shelter opened. “I was going to do whatever I could to make sure this happened.”
Early on in the process, “just make it happen” became the team motto for the volunteer staff.
“ I was looking at Dr. Cain and he said, ‘Can you do it?’ and I said, ‘Dr. Cain, we’re going to make it happen,’” Barr said. “From that point on, we didn’t stop until we made it happen, and here it is.”
Organizing the Volunteer Effort
With the PMAC and Field House set up as medical shelters, the need for volunteers arose, and the LSU community answered the call like never before. The LSU administration called on its student government leaders to help organize the volunteer efforts of students, faculty and staff. Student government, in turn, organized a volunteer hotline and Web site for volunteer registration.
“ We created the whole system overnight,” said Michelle Gieg, student government president. “We had no idea that by the end of this, we’d be staffing 80-90 people per shift to work two hospitals, essentially.”
“ It turned into an operation that was bigger than any that I’ve ever seen students in the LSU community united in. That’s been a really cool experience to see so many people coming out for this for the same goal. I’m just really honored to be a part of it,” she added.
LSU junior Crawford Leavoy was given the assignment to manage the volunteer hotline. Housed in the Manship School of Mass Communication and E.J. Ourso College of Business’s Public Policy Research Lab, students, staff and volunteers fielded more than 1,000 calls per day from individuals in the LSU community wanting to volunteer or house displaced individuals or emergency personnel.
“ I consider what I’ve been doing as nothing. There are people in student government who have done so much more,” said Leavoy. “It’s amazing to see people who have lost everything, and they’re willing to give everything that they have left.”
At the call center, volunteers who called were placed in a database for a future volunteer opportunity. As schedules were finalized, volunteers were called back to be given their shift assignments. After a week, the callback database had more than 2,000 volunteers in it with the call center making about 750 outbound calls per day.
Initially, the student government office was responsible for organizing the non-medical volunteers at the Field House, but was asked to assist in staffing non-medical volunteers at the PMAC as well. Eighty-five volunteers were scheduled to work shifts from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., there were usually 30-60 volunteers on the shedule. The registration and scheduling system helped to streamline the entire process.
“ Volunteers in a time of crisis need very specific, clear information,” Gieg said. “You give them a clear sense of what’s ex-pected of them so we don’t have any problems over there. That was our main focus, how to do this well, so people get a good grasp on what they’re expected to do.”
By having LSU students, faculty and staff performing tasks such as housekeeping, handing out meals, moving patients, and assisting when needed, the medical staff could focus on its main task of treating the patients.
Continuing to Help
In the time since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, LSU has taken many steps to help individuals affected by this tragedy. The LSU Office of Public Affairs, along with numerous staff volunteers, manned LSU’s 24-hour Hurricane Information Center hotline. The information center was available to answer questions and provide information to those affected by the storm. The center fielded more than 6,500 calls.
The LSU Foundation, along with campus administrators, established the Hurricane Katrina Student Relief Fund, and all donations to this fund will directly assist students whose lives have been greatly affected by the storm. More information is available at www.katrinasrf.com. LSU’s student government will continue to be involved in the effort. In the near future, they will hold fund-raising campaigns that coincide with upcoming LSU football games to raise money for the Hurricane Katrina Student Relief Fund. They also plan to maintain the volunteer database and distribute it to volunteer organizations such as Volunteer Baton Rouge and the American Red Cross.
Another student government effort that has moved to the forefront is assisting displaced students from universities in New Orleans that have enrolled at LSU.
“ Our first purpose in student government is to serve the needs of students primarily, and right now, I think students need things more than they ever did before and it’s more immediate than ever before,” Gieg said.
The student government office has established two hotline numbers at 578-8728 and 578-8729 for current and transfer students. The hotline is available to help answer questions students may have, such as where to park, how to obtain an LSU ID, or the location of late-night computer labs.
“ I think everyone knows Baton Rouge will never be the same, in that, LSU will never be the same,” Leavoy said. “We have learned so much. We’re learning a lot about streamlining our university and making it more efficient. Being able to communicate clearly now makes it so much easier to communicate when our life returns to some semblance of normalcy.”
At the beginning of the fall semester, LSU welcomed more than 70 new faculty members to its ranks. In order to prepare these new faculty for their first day in the classroom, LSU conducted a two-day Provost’s Seminar on Teaching. The seminar provided an opportunity for seasoned faculty to share information, tips and experiences related to teaching at LSU with new faculty.
Provost Risa Palm welcomed 19 new faculty to the seminar held Aug. 10-12, in the Energy, Coast and Environment Building Rotunda Conference Room. Sessions on teaching were led by the staff of the Center for Faculty Development and experienced faculty. These sessions covered topics such as course design, syllabus construction, first day of class, learning styles, classroom management, assessing learning, lectures that engage students, and an introduction to Blackboard. Participants received packets containing handouts on the materials covered and contact information for the other participants and facilitators.
Meeting faculty from other disciplines and experienced teachers provided the opportunity for collaboration and finding mentors. New faculty commented on how much they appreciated the orientation and the opportunity to meet faculty mentors who are so enthusiastic about teaching. They also enjoyed getting to know other new faculty who face the common problem of moving and starting somewhere new. The program was such a success in helping new faculty settle in a new environment and prepare to teach their courses that plans are underway for future seminars.
The seminar culminated with Provost Palm presenting certificates of completion that participants can add to their teaching portfolios. She noted that seminars such as this can help new faculty get a “fast start” towards a successful career in the academy. The opportunity that the new faculty had to observe and interact with some of LSU’s best and most experienced teachers was an important step in getting oriented to their new lives in Baton Rouge.
Sponsors included the Office of Academic Affairs and the Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Session leaders included Lynn Evans, Art Crawley and Ed Koch of the Center for Faculty Development who were joined by award-winning faculty: Professors Katie Cherry, psychology; Stacia Haynie, political science; George Stanley, chemistry; Fawn Ukpolo, curriculum and instruction; Bill Wischusen, biological sciences. Barbara McManus of the Center for Faculty Development was the conference coordinator.
Faculty members hired after Hurricane Katrina, as well as existing faculty, are offered the chance to attend the workshops covered during the Provost’s Seminar. The workshops are offered individually through the Centers for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, or CELT, and are free.
The workshops are listed on the CELT Web site at www.celt.lsu.edu. By clicking on the “workshops” link, faculty can view the workshops offered, as well as register for a workshop of their choice.
Those workshops included at the Provost’s Seminar are listed in the Teaching 101 and 102, Blackboard @ LSU and Teaching Large Classes workshop series. Other workshops available to faculty and staff are listed on the site, as well. For more information, call 578-1135.
The LSU Student Health Center has achieved a three-year term of accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, or AAAHC, according to Arthur A. Goulas, assistant vice chancellor for Student Services and director of the Student Health Center.
Status as an accredited organization means the LSU Student Health Center has passed a series of rigorous and nationally recognized standards for the provision of quality health-care, set by the Accreditation Association. More than 2200 ambulatory health care organizations across the United States are accredited by the AAAHC.
“ Accreditation underscores our long-standing commitment to providing the highest possible levels of quality care to the campus community,” said Goulas. “We are pleased and proud to have our efforts recognized with this accreditation.”
Ambulatory health-care organizations seeking accreditation by the AAAHC undergo an extensive on-site, peer-based survey of its facilities and services. Not all ambulatory health-care organizations seek accreditation; not all undergoing the on-site survey are granted accreditation.
Among the types of ambulatory health-care organizations that can seek AAAHC accreditation are ambulatory and office-based surgery centers, single and multi-specialty group practices, college health centers, dental group practices, community health centers, occupational health centers and managed care organizations.
The LSU Student Health Center is composed of the Medical Clinics, including pharmacy, diagnostic imaging, laboratory and several specialty clinics; Mental Health Service; and the Wellness Education Department. The Health Center has been accredited by AAAHC since 1989.
The LSU School of Art is asking for donations of art supplies for evacuees who are being housed and educated in the Baton Rouge area.
“ Art is such a powerful means of achieving those true expressions of loss, fear, confusion, grief and most important, hope, that words cannot convey,” said Stuart Baron, LSU School of Art director. “No donation would be too small. This is only one form of positive intervention, coming quickly from the entire country, that will enable the people and artists of the greater New Orleans area and Mississippi to sustain any possibility of a future.”
Non-toxic art supplies such as drawing pads, sketchbooks, pencils, markers, watercolor sets, crayons, charcoal, printmaking supplies, sculpture tools, rulers and t-squares are being accepted. The supplies will be distributed to children and adults now living in shelters in the Baton Rouge area, children attending public schools where the budgets are strained due to the influx of students, college art students from New Orleans now enrolled at the School of Art at LSU and professional artists who have lost not only their supplies, but their life’s work.
Donations can be dropped off at the School of Art office at 123 Art Building on LSU’s campus. For more information, call 578-5411.
The request for proposals for the 2006 Council on Research Summer Stipend Program has been posted on the Office of Research & Graduate Studies Web site at www.research.lsu.edu/ssp_rfp.htm.
Applications from faculty members of the professorial ranks - assistant or associate, tenure-track or research - must be submitted by 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31, to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, 130 David Boyd Hall. One original and three copies of each proposal are to be submitted to this office through the appropriate department head. In a separate document, the department head must rank applications to show the departmental priority for funding and a copy should be attached to each proposal.
The program awards are intended for faculty development. Assistant and associate professors in the arts and humanities with at least a nine-month appointment may apply. Only assistant professors with at least a nine-month appointment in the sciences, engineering or social science disciplines may apply. For this competition, arts and humanities disciplines are defined as architecture, art, comparative literature, English, foreign languages, history, humanistic studies, music, performance arts, philosophy, religious studies and theater.
There will be an informational workshop for the program on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m. in the Hill Memorial Library lecture hall. Faculty will benefit greatly from the workshop, as they will have an opportunity to talk with Council on Research members who can help them with their proposal ideas.
For more information or questions contact Council on Research Summer Stipend Program Director Todd Pourciau, assistant vice chancellor, at 578-5833 or tpourciau@lsu.edu.