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A Most Impressive Incoming Class

Posted on May 16, 2013 7:12 am by Alyssa

Granting nearly 25% of NC State's undergraduate degrees, CHASS awards more undergraduate degrees than any other college at the university.

Take a peek at the statistics of admitted and incoming students, and you will have no doubt that while the size of the college is impressive, the quality of entering students is outstanding. And by the numbers, the incoming freshmen class of 2013 is more extraordinary than ever:

390 incoming students
86.5 percent in state, 13.5 percent out-of-state
40.4 percent in top ten percent of graduating class
1212 average SAT (Math and Critical Reading) score
4.30 average high school GPA
6 Park Scholars

 

Prospective students in Caldwell Lounge on March 11, 2013.

Prospective students in Caldwell Lounge on March 11, 2013.

Earlier this spring, Caldwell Lounge filled with many of these students shortly after they had been admitted. CHASS held visitation events to give newly admitted students and their parents a chance to meet with departmental advisers, attend classes, and get their questions answered by faculty members and current students.

While they were here, a couple of prospective students shared some of the reasons they applied to CHASS.

Sarah Jackson of Henderson, N.C., found CHASS was so appealing that she refrained from even applying to university other than NC State. As the daughter of an alum, Jackson spent a lot of her childhood in Wolfpack red. Although this piqued her interest of the university, Jackson was drawn to CHASS by her experiences with the college during summer camps for high school students. Keeping up with the college's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) online for most of high school, Jackson is impressed by the department and its accomplishments and hopes to enroll as a Political Science major this fall.

Dean Braden sits down to speak with prospective students, including Paxton Rizzo, and parents over coffee.

At the other end of the college-application-process spectrum, Paxton Rizzo threw her hat into the ring at 12 different universities. The Winston-Salem, N.C., senior aims to major in Psychology and Criminology. Rizzo can pinpoint the exact moment that CHASS caught her attention: last fall Rizzo read about Dr. Sarah Desmarais joining the  college faculty. Desmarais’ experience as a forensic psychologist and background in mental health and criminal justice are in line with Rizzo’s plans and aspirations.

As the college celebrates its 50th year, it's clear: the caliber of CHASS students continues to rise, and their opportunities to explore and learn continue to expand.

By Alyssa Putt, CHASS Communication Intern

CHASS Staff Awards 2013

Posted on May 14, 2013 2:54 pm by Lauren Kirkpatrick

2013 CHASS staff award nominees Cristina Carrillo, Lillie Kirby, Melonie St. John, Betty Byrum, Christina Hobbs, Carrie Bekerman, Faye Walker, Marianne Latz, and LaTonya Tucker.

The college held its annual Awards of Excellence luncheon on April 29, 2013, to recognize and honor CHASS staff, whose efforts, competence, and enthusiasm keep the college humming. Nominations for the Awards for Excellence are based on achievement in outstanding service, innovation, public service, safety, heroism, and human relations. This year’s CHASS nominees demonstrate commitment to service, quality of work, and dedication to excellence.

Carrie Bekerman with Dean Jeff Braden

CHASS IT staff member Carrie Bekerman received the CHASS SPA award for excellence. Carrie is a web and applications developer. Since she joined the college in 2009, she has exemplified outstanding service and innovation. She addresses challenges of all shapes and sizes that are thrown her way, often in extremely short timeframes. Invariably, the requirements around her projects have constantly evolving requirements, and Carrie has often had to create full systems from scratch that enable the college to streamline processes. While on-the-fly changes would fluster many competent programmers, Carrie adapts and implements revisions in quick fashion and with an amazingly calm and professional demeanor.  Those who have had the privilege to work with her say Carrie consistently goes above and beyond to meet all system requirements and to anticipate other needs before they arise. She exhibits a “can do” attitude in finding creative solutions and is  diligent in addressing problems that pop up.

Other SPA nominees for the CHASS Award for Excellence were similarly outstanding: Cristina Carrillo, Psychology; Lillie Kirby, School of Public and International Affairs; Melonie St. John, Institute for Nonprofits; LaTonya Tucker, History; and Faye Walker, Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Betty Byrum with Dean Jeff Braden

Betty Byrum, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration, received the CHASS EPA award for excellence. Betty’s has built an outstanding record of innovation in our college and on our campus. Her business innovations have become a model for campus-wide improvements in business services. She has led dramatic restructuring and consolidation of office services, saving the college more than $225,000 in recurring costs and helping us meet state-mandated budget cuts while maintaining (and in some areas, improving) the effectiveness and efficiency of our business services.  She leads by example, encouraging her colleagues to create time- and energy-saving innovations that reduce the time and effort needed to get things done while increasing  accuracy and speed.  Betty is extremely insightful and maintains a calm demeanor as well as an infectious sense of humor that permeates our office culture. She was nominated for her selflessness, leadership, innovation, and exceptional service to the college.

Other well-deserving CHASS 2013 staff nominees for the EPA Awards for Excellence were Christina Hobbs, Psychology, and Marianne Latz, Center for Family and Community Engagement.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

Many thanks are due to the program committee (left to right): Julia Matthews-McClain, Jamarian Harris, Crissy Williams-Brown, Missy Seate, Justin Daves, and Ken Peters.

2013 Faculty Awards

Posted on May 8, 2013 4:12 pm by Lauren Kirkpatrick

Faculty from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences were recently recognized for outstanding accomplishments in teaching, advising, research and engagement at a ceremony held in Caldwell Lounge April 25, 2013. "As we mark our 50th year as a distinct college, we continue to come into our own, as is reflected in our faculty's accomplishments," said CHASS Dean Jeff Braden. "The scholarship, commitment, and passion represented by these awards demonstrate the breadth of excellence in our faculty."

UNC Board of Governors Teaching Award

Dr. Rupert Nacoste, a professor in the Department of Psychology, has won the prestigious UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence. He is among 17 faculty members from the entire UNC system to be so honored this year.  Read more.

 

 

 

Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence

The NCSU Board of Trustees awarded Dr. Virginia Aldige, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, with the Holladay Medal that recognizes members of the faculty who have made outstanding contributions to the university through achievements in research, teaching, or extension and engagement. It’s the highest award made by the university in recognition of a career of faculty achievement and contributions at NC State University.

 

 

University  Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor Award

Chris Anson, Professor of English, received one of two 2013 NC State Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor awards that recognize outstanding graduate level teaching at NC State University.  Read this Q&A with Dr. Anson about his work and the keys to being a successful professor.

 

 

 

Fellowships:

Elvira Vilches, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures: Fellowship with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS); National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship with the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. Both fellowships support her current book project titled Doing Business: Commerce and Mercantile Culture in the Early Modern Hispanic World.

John N. Wall, Department of English, National Humanities Center Fellowship. He will complete a book entitled Hearing Donne: The Experience of Preaching in Early Modern London, an outgrowth of his major research on the Virtual Paul's Cross Project that involves a visual and audio representation of the outdoor area of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London where John Donne preached on November 5, 1622.

Troy Case, Department of Sociology and Anthropology: Fulbright US Scholar Grant to study in Thailand in the Fall of 2013. He will use the collection of modern human skeletons at Chiang Mai University to explore size variation within the hand and to assess the health and activity levels of the subjects.

NC State University Outstanding Extension Service Awards

Devin Orgeron

Devin Orgeron (English) is a major contributor to our college’s public outreach through the outstanding film studies program. He is a highly visible public scholar at film and cultural events throughout the Triangle and in local and national media.

David Zonderman

David Zonderman (History) has been instrumental in reviving our college’s extension efforts that support faculty in sharing their expertise in North Carolina’s public schools. He has also been  involved with three North Carolina school systems through their Teaching American History grants.

 

 

Opal Mann Green Engagement and Scholarship Award

Joan Pennell and the Center for Family and Community Engagement received this university award that honors teams of university and community participants whose work exemplifies such  values as using democracy in the classroom, in the community, and at home; creating inclusive teams; and community-based learning and mutually-beneficial action around local issues valued by community members.

University Advising Awards

  • Seth Murray (Interdisciplinary Studies), University Faculty Advisor Award
  • Joseph Palis (Interdisciplinary Studies), University New Faculty Advisor Award
  • Christina Hobbs (Psychology) University New Advisor Award

Outstanding Teaching Awards

CHASS recognizes its outstanding teachers with college-wide awards. Recipients are inducted into the NC State University Academy of Outstanding Teachers. The 2012-2013 Outstanding Teachers are:

Elizabeth Craig, Department of Communication

 

Leila May, Department of English

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Morillo, Department of English

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, the NC State Alumni Association honored John Morillo as one of seven Alumni Association Outstanding Teachers. Read an interview with Morillo on the Red & White for Life blog.

CHASS Outstanding Researcher

Adriana de Souza e Silva, Department of Communication and the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) program, works at the cutting edge of mobile communication technology. Her research focuses on the intersection of digital media and ideas about location and mobility, including location-based games.

 

 

 

CHASS Outstanding Graduate Professor

Heidi Hobbs, Master of International Studies program, has served as advisor for 15 MIS students and the initial advisor for more than 125 MIS students. The program has flourished under her leadership.

 

 

 

 

CHASS Outstanding Undergraduate Professor

Jeffrey Reaser, English, teaches in the secondary English education and linguistics tracks. His research focuses on language awareness, specifically, developing curricular and professional development materials that allow teachers to teach effectively about language variation in public schools and serve the literacy needs of diverse students.

 

 

 

Lonnie C. Poole Jr. Teaching Excellence Award

Robin Dodsworth, English, teaches introductory linguistics, syntax, and language variation and change. In 2008, she began the Raleigh Language Study, a large-scale investigation of vowel change in the Raleigh area that is investigating linguistic variation and socioeconomic class, and includes an examination of vowel stability and change among the local African-American population.

 

CHASS Outstanding Lecturer

Keiko Ueda, Foreign Languages and Literatures, makes learning Japanese creative, engaging and enjoyable by creating an inclusive classroom where students can practice language, make mistakes, and improve their abilities. She challenges students to develop multicultural awareness, an understanding of US-Japanese relations, and to see their role as citizens who can make the world a better place.

 

 

CHASS Outstanding Advisors

Etta Barksdale with Dean Braden

Etta Barksdale, English, advises nearly all sophomore English majors and is a tireless advocate for her students and a pillar of support for her colleagues.

Shannon Carey, School of Public and International Affairs, coordinates undergraduate advising in the Department of Political Science, where her knowledge of curricula and advising issues are invaluable.

 

 

 

CHASS Outstanding Junior Faculty Award

Sarah Bowen, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, focuses her work around the relationships among local actors, global institutional and market dynamics, and environmental and social change.  She is recognized across the U.S., Latin America and Europe as a key scholar contributing to the debates about terrorism and the protection of territorially-embedded products in a context of globalization and neoliberalism.  She has brought in an unusually large grant from the USDA to study childhood obesity, an area of great public interest, and one that generates attention in an area that is rare in sociology – that of food and its cultural and social linkages.  The grant helps to fund a five-year longitudinal study following 120 lower-income mothers and young children in North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

Commissioned to Serve

Posted on May 6, 2013 2:40 pm by Lauren Kirkpatrick

CHASS Distinguished Alumna Susan Rabon

Susan Warren Rabon knew she wanted to be one of two things when she grew up: a veterinarian or an attorney. She chose to attend NC State in large part for its stellar veterinary program. But it didn’t take long for her to swing in the other direction.

“I made my choice before I even started classes at NC State, after going to orientation,” Rabon laughs. “I decided I wanted to go into political science and then law school.”

That choice helped establish Rabon’s dedication to service — a dedication she has displayed ever since.

Rabon has been named the CHASS 2012 Distinguished Alumna and was recognized at the annual NC State Alumni Association Evening of Stars Gala at Prestonwood Country Club. Award recipients are chosen for their service to the community, their service to NC State and the impact they have made through their careers.

“Susan was an easy choice,” says Jeffery P. Braden, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “She just knocks it out of the park on all three criteria for this recognition.” He reels off examples: Rabon recently joined the college's Advisory Board. She serves the Holly Springs community as a member of the Kraft YMCA Advisory Board. She has served NC State extremely well for the past eight years as a member of the NC State Board of Visitors. And throughout her career — especially now, as a commissioner for the North Carolina Utilities Commission — she has made a huge impact on the citizens of this state.

Rabon’s passion for service was evident even during her undergraduate career at NC State. Before she graduated in 1982 with a degree in political science, she completed an Institute of Government internship and volunteered in Gov. Jim Hunt’s office. Through those activities she met Jack Cozort, today the owner of Cozort Government Relations and a member of the NC State Board of Trustees. Cozort was a North Carolina Court of Appeals judge for 12 years and also served eight years as counsel to Gov. Jim Hunt.

“My first impression of Susan was how quick her mind is,” says Cozort. “She very quickly understands issues and how to resolve them. I was also very impressed with how well she dealt with people.”

From NC State, Rabon headed to law school at the University of Virginia. She took a leave of absence during that time to volunteer in Gov. Jim Hunt’s office and work for his u.s. Senate campaign. After graduating from law school, Rabon clerked for Cozort at the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

“Susan never left a project or an issue until it was completed,” says Cozort. “She always knew what it meant to finish a task and to finish it well. Her involvement in bettering her community was a family tradition. Her parents were community leaders in Danville [Virginia], and Susan carried on the family tradition.”

After clerking for Cozort, Rabon went into private practice and then worked at the Department of Justice as special counsel and chief of staff. She later worked in Gov. Mike Easley’s office. In 2009, Rabon was appointed as a commissioner for the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which regulates public utilities in North Carolina, including electric, telephone, natural gas, water, wastewater, water resale, household goods transportation, buses, brokers and ferryboats. Perhaps her most publicly visible duty is presiding over rate cases.

“The job we have is to balance the citizens’ right to adequate, reliable and economical utility services with the companies’ costs of providing those services to the consumer,” says Rabon. “Regulation in the public interest is a balance. Obviously, the costs of living are going up for everybody, 
and we are very sensitive and attuned to that as well. Wages and jobs, especially since 2008, have not kept pace with those increases.”

Rabon recently rotated off NC State’s Board of Visitors after serving eight years. The board’s role is to advise the chancellor — and through the chancellor, the university’s Board of Trustees — to ensure NC State’s standing among the nation’s premier universities. Members serve as advocates and ambassadors for the university.

Through her board service, Rabon had a front-row seat for the “amazing things going on across campus,” she says. “We are doing wonderful things at NC State, including partnering with the community and with businesses. We are a great resource for the state’s economic development. I want to be sure legislators and others know that.”

Rabon was a particularly strong advocate for the value the humanities contribute to higher education. “No matter how smart, how accomplished we are, we need to be able to communicate our ideas,” she says. “And we can’t afford to just work within our own disciplines. We need to find better ways to work across those lines. Chancellor Woodson is definitely working to make that happen.”

Rabon’s term also offered her a close look at today’s students. “They are so well polished,” she says. “When they came to speak to the board, I was impressed by their presentation abilities and their intellects. We are attracting very high caliber students to NC State.”

Rabon has fond memories of her own undergraduate days, when Jim Valvano was coaching the Wolfpack, and the political science department, although small, was active and innovative. “When I arrived my freshman year, I had no connections, and that was part of the allure,” she recalls. “I wanted to branch out and meet new people, have new experiences.”

That she did. The life she has lived since then — one of serving and giving back — distinguishes Susan Rabon. Many thanks, Commissioner.

— By Christa Gala

An earlier version of this article appeared in the 2013 CHASS magazine, Accolades.

 

 

May 2013 Student of the Month

Posted on May 3, 2013 12:25 pm by dlleeder

Meet Milton Hall, student of the month.

Hometown: Burlington, NC

Class: Junior

Major: Sociology

Minor: Economics

Sample Courses:

  • Technology in Society & Culture
  • Peace & War in the Nuclear Age
  • Sociology of Education

Activities:

  • Running back, NC State varsity football team
  • Campus founder & president, National Honor Society for Leadership and Success
  • Intern, North Carolina Judicial Center: Administration Office of the Courts (Summer 2012)
  • President, Taylor Sociology Club (2011-12)
  • Member, CHASS-MAS (Multicultural Association of Students)

Honors:  Dean’s List

What are your future plans for further study or career?  I would like to attend graduate school, most likely for either sociology or business.

Why did you select CHASS?  I took drafting and architecture courses in high school, and thought I might enjoy Engineering.  But after taking a closer look at that field, I decided it wasn’t for me.  Instead, I focus on exploring patterns of behavior, which is fascinating to me.  Both my Sociology major and Economics minor examine such patterns.

What have been your favorite courses?  I enjoyed Early American History with Dr. James Crisp.  He was extremely knowledgeable about history and politics, and he is someone I wish to emulate.  I also took a lot from Dr. Tracey Ray’s Special Topics in Education course, which focused on cultural competence.

Have any individuals made a particular difference for you at NC State?  I have been fortunate to meet several influential people. Dr. William Smith in Sociology has been my department advisor.  He has always been very receptive, and I hold him in high regard.  Dr. John Griggs in the Math Department is the faculty advisor to our national Honor Society for Leadership and Success, and was pivotal in  helping our organization get off the ground.  Additionally, Running Backs Coach Desmond Kitchings has allowed me to be successful on the football field.

What advice would you give incoming students?  Make the most of your leadership opportunities. College is a time to really build on your leadership skills. Attend interest meetings for groups you might want to explore. You just never know who you might meet or network with who can help open doors for you. I have also been enriched from attending the cultural mixers and activities that CHASS offers, such as the French expo that took place a couple of weeks ago. These events allow you to get a taste of other cultures, foods and languages, and broaden your global perspective.