Thanksgiving holidays are upon us at Coker

On Monday I was talking with my Public Relations class about "Marketing YOU -Inc." As part of that discussion I did mention that teaching at Coker College is the best job I have had so far in my life. So -- obviously something for which to be thankful.

In an email message this morning, President Robert Wyatt, shared some of his Thanksgiving thoughts for the Coker College campus. It seems appropriate to share that message as part of the Coker College Experience:

From Dr. Wyatt
Good morning,
As we prepare to gather with friends and family over the holiday break, I am humbled by the blessings that we share as colleagues and by the commitment to excellence you bring to our community.
Indeed, we have much to appreciate. Working together, Coker’s trustees, faculty, staff, alumni and students have developed a strategic plan to guide us through the most ambitious period of growth in Coker’s history. And, owing to your good work, we have made long strides on the path toward becoming the institution of our shared vision. Consider that in the last six months, among other things, we have:
• Welcomed the largest influx of 14 new faculty members in college history, a new provost and numerous staff members;
• Opened Coker’s first downtown loft apartments;
• Established the Joseph L. and Betty C. Wiggins School of Education;
• Created Trans4mations, an innovative four-year academic program to ensure our students are well prepared for the futures they will lead.
• Found ways to expand co-curricular opportunities to challenge and engage students with new programs to begin in 2012 including a competitive debate team, glee club, gospel choir, wind ensemble, and a Coker-Hartsville chorale;
• Added men’s volleyball for 2012;
• Watched our men’s soccer team make history by winning both the regular season and conference tournament championship.
• Received national recognition for academic excellence from organizations including US News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Princeton Review, Colleges of Distinction and, most recently, the National Survey of Student Engagement.
Beyond these myriad accomplishments, I am personally thankful for the friendship and support you have given to Nancy, Lara and me and to each other. It is an exceptional privilege to count you as my family.
May the warmth of this holiday be a special blessing to you.
Thank you, always.
Robert

Lacrosse debuts at Coker College

Lacrosse, billed as the "fastest sport on two feet" made its debut at Coker College on Thursday, August 25, 2011 as Coach Tony Smith put his new Cobra team through their first workout as a team. It was an exciting day for the players, who smiled through the pouring sweat enjoying the feeling of finally getting onto the field.

The first day of lacrosse even drew Dr. Wyatt, Coker's president and Dr. Parkinson, Coker's new provost. Dr. Parkinson said, "we were told we could get a view of what lacrosse is all about if we came out to practice. All I've seen is the guys running." It has been a long time since I played this game but I had to tell him, running is one thing lacrosse is all about.

There is little doubt that lacrosse at Coker is going to draw some attention this first year. Turns out the guys are going to do a little scrimmaging on Saturday afternoon, so if you want to see a little more than running, Saturday may be the day.

Coker College SIFE Video Shows Highlights

One of the newest organizations on the Coker College campus is the Students Involved in Free Enterprise. This is an organization that Dr. Wyatt, Coker's http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpresidhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifent, was involved with as the chair of the Business Department at Drury University.

This year's SIFE group had some major success and this video gives a quick highlight tour of some of these successes.

I expect this group will continue to do exciting things both on and off the Coker College campus.

Students are the lifeblood of a college like Coker

Our first and our ultimate mission at Coker College is to provide a quality education for our students that will prepare them for a lifetime of learning and earning.

As part of the Sabbatical that I have had the privilege of having this shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifemester, I was able to undertake a research project that has involved trying to determine the impact of the Coker College communication education on the lives of the students who have graduated during the ten years I have been serving on faculty. If I can develop an effective report, our department is hoping to be able to use this research as part of our evaluation or assessment of the effect of our programs. The graduates were gracious with their time. Out of 86 people on the list I think I was able to get the survey to 81 and had 64 individual responses. Of those responses, more than 60% said they would choose communication as their major if they were to redo the college experience. At the same time, nearly 70% of those responding said the field of work they are no in was not what they had thought they would be in while in college.
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That note is a preface to the idea of college admissions, which is the idea that sparked this post. Earlier in the day Dr. Robert Wyatt, Cokers' presidenthttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif, noted a separate blog that was about students not getting into the colleges to which they had applied. Coker was mentioned in that blog as a college that has a rolling admissions policy and one that takes applications into May.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

A bit later in the day I had the good fortune to be introduced to a high school soccer player who has begun to look at college options in the Southeast.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif She was with Coach Dan, our women's soccer coach as he hosted her visit. Coker is pretty much the type of college that if you do visit you will have an excellent idea if this is the fit for your four-year college experience. Our Admissions people and our student ambassadors do a good job of presenting Coker as it is, giving prospective students (and parents) an authentic view of the campus.
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We are a small liberal arts college that puts our students first. All of our classes are taught by faculty members whose primary evaluation is how they do with students in the classrooms, labs, studios and other educational venues. Those faculty who choose Coker and are chosen by Coker have teaching as their first job. That is a major reason I say students are the lifeblood of our Coker Community. While research, writing and other academic pursuits are important, it is the classroom that counts.

There is an ongoing country-wide discussion of the value of a college education, the work ethic of those who provide that education and other issues that ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifre providing justifications for such ideas as decimating the Pell Grant program, that provides students with a financial need some funding for their college.

We are seeing the demise of the Middle Class in this country and actions like eliminating funds that help middle class students and even lower middle class students attend college is just going to exacerbate the divide between the rich and the rest. Good, solid college educations for students who are not from the rich is what is going to keep this country strong. That is the kind of student who is the lifeblood of Coker and we think that is the kind of student who is the lifeblood our country.

Coker College has new Provost

There have been a lot of personnel searches going on across the Coker College campus this year and perhaps the most important is that of the new provost or Dean of the Faculty (the boss). Dr. Tracy Parkinson is the new Provost and he is coming to Coker from King College in Bristol, TN. He will begin with the new academic year in July.

Dr. Pat Lincoln, professor of Biology, has been serving for the past few years as the Dean of the Faculty and Provost and she is retiring this year. She has served the Provost role well and has positioned Coker, along with Dr. Wyatt, for dynamic growth in the next few years. She will be talking to the Coker community and others as she presents the final of the Last Lectures in our new Last Lecture Series on Monday night, April 18 at 7:30.

Coker Inducts New O-D-K Members

The Coker College Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa inducted new members on the Coker College campus on Wednesday, November 10 in an impressive ceremony.

Among the officers of the group holding the induction were: Lisa Potoka, who is the Coker College ODK Faculty secretary; Dr. Robert Wyatt, an ODK member and speaker at the ceremony and Sarah Folsom, ODK President; Brandi Nichols, ODK Treasurer; Mandi Warner, ODK Secretary; and Taylor Adams and Ashley Meador ODK members.

OKD is a leadership society that brings together students and faculty and staff from many areas of college life to help "Mold the sentiment of the institution on quesitons of local and intercollegiate interest."

The newest members of the Coker Circle include:
Josh Bittinger, Jessica Covington, Bruce Douglas, Patrick Flynn, Sydney-Kathryn Greenwalt, Devin Jennings, Hannah Jumper, Karen Kelly, Margaret McCoy, Amanda McLaughlin, Daniel Meyer, Christina Nealey, Kimberly Pierce and Kyle Saverance.

Coker's ODK Circle came into being on May 3, 2003 and I enjoy the opportunity of being one of the faculty members of this organization.

Back To Work at Coker College

Dr, George Lellis, Professor of Communication and Chair of the Faculty Senate, is shown conducting the first Faculty Senate meeting of the new year. This Wednesday morning began with a State of the College address by Dr. Robert Wyatt, president, and the consensus of his message is that whatever happens, it will not be business as usual. We are not talking about "change" we are talking about Redefinition. The Marketing/Communication office came up with a video to focus a bit more attention on this redefinition and if the link works you can see that video.

Confucius is quoted as having originated the famous blessing, "May you live in interesting times." It seems apparent these are interesting and exciting times on the Coker College campus.

In addition to faculty being back, the students working in resident life in in orientation are on campus and fall athletes and their parents are also back on campus today.

Princeton Reivew Ranks Coker

this is a partial news release about Coker's inclusion in the best Southeast colleges. This kind of recognition is nice to receive and it also adds some more value to the Coker degree.

Coker is a 2011 “Best Southeastern College”



Hartsville, S.C. — Coker College is one of the best colleges in the Southeast according to The Princeton Review. The education services company recommends Coker as one of the top institutions in the Southeast in the 2011 Best Colleges feature at www.princetonreview.com. This is the seventh consecutive year Coker has received the “Best in the Southeast” distinction.

The Princeton Review selects its best colleges based on excellence of academic programs and the opinions of independent and high school college advisors. The firm also surveys students at each institution about their campus experiences and the quality of the living and learning environment.

“It is an honor to once again be recognized as one of the best at preparing young women and men for the next step in their lives,” said Coker College President Dr. Robert L. Wyatt. “As Coker continues our efforts to redefine the collegiate experience, we are heartened by this external validation of the work of our talented faculty and staff.”

Academic Awards Banquet Highlights Achievements

Jessica Barnes, a communication major at Coker College, who actually finished her classes in December was sitting at the same table I was for the Coker College Academic Awards Banquet. I have known Jessica since she came to Coker for a Coker Connection just before she started her four year experience. She was impressive as a first-year student and she has become even more skilled through her undergraduate years. Jessica was one of a number of students recognized for their Academic prowess at the Coker Academic Awards Banquet on April 20.

Jessica spends most of her time these days at the S.C. Governor's School for Science and Mathematics where she has been a resident assistant. And, much of her time the past couple of months has been awaiting news of a Fulbright Fellowship. She is one of two Coker Students who were finalists this year. Anna Lippard, the other finalist, was notified of her Fulbright earlier. Apparently this is a rolling selection process with much of the final decision based in the host country. Jessica is on the short list for a city in China. But, she has not just been waiting around. Jessica was accepted into the Syracuse University S. I. Newhouse Masters Program in Magazine, Newspapers and Online journalism. She has been working on finding the funds to make that dream a reality.

The impressive thing about the Coker College Academic Awards banquet is that each table had students with stories like Jessica's. The students recognized last night were the top students on our campus and they are impressive. Those graduating with honors gave short overview of their research as they received awards. The research is cutting edge for those honor grads.

Dr. Pat Lincoln, the college Provost and Dean of the Faculty, coordinated this program to bring recognition to these academic all stars. It is likely that Dr. Wyatt summed up the feeling of many of the faculty who were in the room when he talked about the emotion that welled within him thinking about what these students had accomplished while on the Coker campus and what they are going to accomplish throughout their lives.

PHOTO CAPTIONJessica Barnes was sitting next Melinda Deyasi at the Academic Awards banquet. Melinda works closely with students who get up the courage to apply for programs like the Fulbright to guide them through the process.

April 20 is last day of classes for the semester

More than a little excitement in the Spring Semester of 2010 and from a class perspective it comes to an end today.

** Excitement like the Communication Department getting the opportunity to add a third person to our department and then having soon-to-be Dr. Mark Glantz of the University of Missouri accept the offer.

** Excitement like having one of our majors, Jessica Barnes as a finalist for the Fulbright Scholarship.

** Excitement like being able to be part of the Strategic Planning process initiated by the new president of the College.

** Excitement at being able to be among those at the inauguration of Dr. Wyatt as the new president of Coker College.

** I always find it exciting to be learning and teaching and watching as people develop new skills, new thought patterns and new perspectives.

** Excitement that we have an end to the semester and that it will not be long before the new semester begins with hopes that it will be long enough that I at least straighten up the office a little.

Athletics Academic Award Banquet Celebrates Achievement

Lotta Aaltonen of Finland and a four-year member of the Coker Cobra Women's basketball team was awarded Academic Athlete of the Year at Coker College during an awards dinner on March 31.

Dr. Robert Wyatt, president of Coker College, congratulates the academic award winners of the various athletic teams at Coker. This was the largest number of athletes to win major academic honor in most people's memories. I think I was invited because I am a member of the Faculty Athletics Committee and I really enjoyed seeing the athletes honored for their academic achievements. I was amazed at the number of students who had 4.0 semesters.

Jessica Covington and Becky Dillon are communication majors honored for their academic achievement. Jessica is a member of the Coker cheerleading squad and Becky is a pitcher/outfielder for the Coker softball team.

Inauguration was a fun event at Coker College

Dr. Robert Wyatt was inaugurated as the 16th president of Coker College on Friday, March 26, 2001. The inauguration was the culmination of a full week of activities that were billed as "All Things Coker." It was truly an interesting week and the Inauguration itself was a great event for The Academy. Here are a couple of photos and maybe a short video. If the video gets here, there will be a short segment of Dr. Wyatt's daughter Laura singing. Her entire fourth grade class got to come to the event.

Dr, Wyatt's inaugural presentation was built around the theme he defined for the inauguration and for the first years of his presidency, "Redefining Ready At Coker College."

Coker Inauguration Week is Exciting

The planners of the Coker College 16th President Inauguration have to be smiling from ear to ear tonight as their nearly week-long planning is producing fantastic event after fantastic event. Minutes ago a full house at the Elizabeth Boatwright Performing Arts Center gave a standing ovation to faculty, students, alumni and friends who staged an exciting, funny, musical, innovative PERFORMING ARTS SHOWCASE. Earlier today faculty and students presented panels and research that were well attended by students and colleagues. On Monday and Tuesday students presented academic research in poster sessions and in presentations.

Several months ago Dr. Robert Wyatt, Coker's 16th president, told the Faculty Senate his wish and goal was for the inauguration to showcase all things Coker. As we go through this week day by day he is able to watch this goal being achieved over and over. His theme for this event is Coker - Redefining Ready. Along the way he may be redefining inaugurations.

It is hard not to want to congratulate all those who were involved in the planning of this event and all those who are bringing together such masterful events. So -- Congratulations to the organizers and participants!

First Photo -- Dr. George Lellis doing a faculty presentation on a German film maker
Second Photo -- Reception following the Performing Arts Showcase

Student Research Presentations Highlighted Monday

Dr. Jen Borgo did an amazing job of bring the Student Research Symposium to life Monday afternoon on the first day of Coker College Inauguration Week. The presentations ran on time and the students I saw appeared ready, if a little nervous, for this academic endeavor. The subjects were impressive and the scope of the research broad. Dr. Wyatt, who is being inaugurated on Friday of this week, spent the afternoon listening and rating the projects. Dr. Lincoln, Coker provost, was also listening closely to the many presentations. At Coker, we talk about being a student-centered community of learning. You don't have to listen to the words, you can judge by the actions. This is one great, concrete example of what we mean by being a student-centered learning community.

Coker Holds Opening Convocation 2009-2010

Dr. Robert Wyatt, Coker's 16th president, was the keynote speaker at the opening convocation of Coker College on August 20. Using a theme of ensure you make a difference, Dr. Wyatt cautioned his audience of students, faculty, staff, and community that in the words of psychologist William James, "A difference that makes no difference is not different." His message was one of urging students to take hold of their Coker experience so they can craft a person who will go on to make lasting impressions in the world.

There is a two-minute video that captures a little of this speech. You may have turn your speaker volume to high, but the message is so much stronger coming from Dr. Wyatt than from these cyber words.

The Convocation was highlighted by recognizing top students in each of the classes. This formal calling together of the Academic Community is one of those experiences that makes working at a liberal arts college a truly distinctive experience.

The organizers also kept this event to less than 35 minutes and that appeared to be great timing. Just a note about Dr. Will Carswell's, chair of the faculty senate, admonition to students -- he called on students from each of the college levels, first year to seniors to stand and to understand that this privilege of a college education was their responsibility to grasp and make happen. I think the students heard the message loud and clear and from their enthusiasm as they left the building, they understood this calling together was about their education.

Coker in the news this Sunday morning

The MORNING NEWS of Florence had a front-page story by Sherisse Bell about Dr. Wyatt's vision for Coker following his first month and a half on the job. Front page on Sunday is good coverage, which should be making James Jolly head of the Coker Communication and Marketing Department pretty happy -- nice coup for the day the student athletes and student leaders begin to gather on campus for the new academic year.

And, there was a surprise for Coker on the sports page of this Sunday edition with the headline "Former Cobra Sheftic ready to tee it up in season's final major." Coach Dan Schmotzer, who used to coach golf as well as basketball, had mentioned Mark Sheftic's success in conversation earlier this week. Sheftic, a Club pro, is going to be playing in the PGA Championship in Chaska, Minn., beginning on Thursday. Coker's golf program is strong and this extra publicity from this "Former Coker College sttandout..." should be another major plus for Coach Tommy Baker's program building efforts. Lou Bezjak, sports writer for the MORNING NEWS wrote this story, which is accompanied by some good photos from the Golf Association of Phildelphia.

Presidents' Transition At Open House

The Coker Admissions staff put together a strong open house on Friday, June 17 with a large number of prospective students and many parents. There was a significant number of faculty who interrupted their summer to be part of this information-packed event. And, as usual, one of the highlights for the prospective students was hearing from a student panel about what Coker is REALLY like. This weekend is training for students helping with Coker Connection (Sunday Through Tuesday) so there was a good representative group for students to hear from.

One of the unique aspects of this particular event was that Dr. James B. Dawson, the current president, welcomed the group -- as his last really official act as President of Coker. He retires at the end of this month. Dr. Robert Wyatt, who was in town this weekend, made his first sort of official representation of Coker as he welcomed the group and share with them a couple of his top ten reasons for choosing Coker for his new job.

Students are the lifeblood of small liberal arts colleges like Coker and it was fun to talk with so many at this event.

Springing observations

** A lot of good feeling and optimism about the incoming Coker College president, Dr. Robert Wyatt, who has just been hired and who be on campus in his new role of president elect during the board meeting in two weeks.

** The Cobra baseball team is on a five-game winning streak.

** The Communication Senior Seminar is going well with two good presentations on ethics in media on Wednesday and looking forward to two more on Friday. These are team presentations and they are doing a good job in getting some key concepts out very quickly along with generating some discussion among classmates.

** Pressure is building within the Communication Senior Seminar and several other classes around campus as major research projects are underway. One of my students, who is working on social media and the Obama campaign, did a survey in the media writing class this morning.

** Speaking of pressure, the Coker College graduation is less that two months away and I have been working on getting some students (some of mine and some who are friends) to pick up the pace in job applications. This is certainly going to be a year that will require a great many lines in the water to reel in a job. Francis, who is a Criminology major and a full-time Coker employee, and a 20-year Army veteran, will be graduating in May and we spoke for a few minutes about her options come graduation. She has worked hard for the degree and wants the opportunity to move back to some work with people -- perhaps as a probation officer and perhaps as a children's counselor. Someone is going to be lucky to get her.

** Speaking of after graduation, there are some exciting things happening for a few communication majors in the graduate school area. One student told me today she has an offer of an assistantship that covers tuition and a fair stipend. Looking forward to being able to talk about those with names and schools.

** The Coker golf tournament won their tournament last weekend and Chris Marsh came up with tournament honors (he won it). Today (Thursday) there seems to be a great deal of action over the near the athletic fields so maybe some softball (they split on Wednesday, maybe some tennis, maybe some baseball and certainly soccer is doing their spring practice.

Jim Dawson, president of Coker, did the invocation at the SC Governor's School for Math and Science Foundation Townes Award dinner in Columbia last night and his prayer really set a great tone for the evening of celebrating 20 years of GSSM, which started on the Coker campus. Harris DeLoach, president of Sonoco, is the Townes Award winner for 2009.