President Eaton shares her vision during first Fall Planning remarks

In her first Fall Planning welcome back remarks, Daytona State College President Carol Eaton urged faculty and staff to dedicate themselves to seeking teachable moments both inside and outside the classroom.

Dr. Eaton addresses the college community during Fall Planning.

“The thought of what we do as educators in the classroom and outside of the classroom is very significant,” she said to a capacity audience of faculty and staff who packed the Daytona Beach Campus Theater Center on Wednesday. “What we do here together as members of the Daytona State College community may have implications days, weeks, months and certainly even years later in the lives of the students and the people with whom we interact. That can be very sobering, and yet, even though it places a burden on us, it is truly a rewarding career and an honor to be working with students.”

Dr. Eaton said she believes all college employees are educators and have the ability to inspire and influence. “Our students look to us to model the kind of behavior that goes on in the workplace,” she said. “They look to us to model the kind of behavior that we share together. Enthusiasm and inspiration are part of what I think in education we give to our students, and I feel that among all of you.”

She noted that she received more than 300 responses to a college-wide email she sent out after her first days on the job which asked employees what they deemed to be the college’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. The overwhelming consensus among those responses was that students have remained the primary focus of the institution despite the “rough patches” of the past year.

If there had been a doubt in my mind about coming here, which there was not, just reading those comments would have wiped those doubts away,” she said.

Soon to begin her third week as Daytona State College president, Dr. Eaton said she intends to take a collaborative approach to developing a shared vision of the institution as it moves forward.

“I imagine a future of Daytona State College as a place of learning, a place where teachers love to learn and learners love to teach,” she said. “Again, all of us as teachers and learners. I envision Daytona State College as a place where each and every one of us takes responsibility for our own development, where we offer support and learning opportunities to our students and each other, not just inside the formal classrooms, but in what goes on in the hallways and the cafeteria, the academic support center, the library, the gym and the fitness room and, indeed, in the president’s office.”

She added, “I imagine a place where faculty are proud to teach, where staff are proud to work and students are proud to attend. I imagine a place where our alumni are our biggest recruiters, and our donors don’t ask, ‘How much?’ but, instead ask, ‘When can I give?’”

The Daytona State College District Board of Trustees will host a community reception on behalf of Dr. Eaton on Friday, Sept. 2, from 5 – 6:30 p.m., at the News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St. in downtown Daytona Beach. To RSVP, please call (386) 506-3130.

Fall Planning starts with focus on student outcomes

A collaborative effort is under way to develop institutional outcomes that will ensure Daytona State College students graduate with a core set of competencies beyond their academic focus.

The Institutional Outcomes Workshop kicked off Fall Planning 2011 on Wednesday. The standing-room only session attended by nearly 200 faculty and student support staff focused on establishing universal outcome goals to be applied across all disciplines in a manner that best serves students and represents the vision, mission and values of the college.

“Institutional outcomes are an overarching piece of the college’s planning structure,” said Dr. Angela Falconetti, vice president of Planning, Development and Institutional Effectiveness, which hosted the workshop. “They are meant to define the extent to which each program or unit is contributing to the overall achievement of students and the institution as a whole.”

The proposed institutional outcomes address competencies students will be expected to master - at various levels depending on the courses they take -  in four areas: creative and critical thinking, communication, cultural literacy, and information and technical literacy. They were developed this summer by members of last year’s Planning Council, as well as selected college administrators and faculty. Wednesday’s workshop was an opportunity for the larger body of faculty and staff to provide feedback and refine each outcome goal.

“This past summer, we asked this group to look at what would rise to the top in terms of defining competencies and standards Daytona State College students should meet prior to graduation,” Falconetti told Wednesday’s workshop attendees. “Now, we are looking for your support and expertise in how you feel these outcomes represent our institution.”

While the goal is to establish institution-wide outcomes, they are by no means one size fits all, Falconetti explained. Once formalized, faculty will link their course and program outcomes to the institutional outcomes they feel are most appropriate.

While developing the institutional outcomes is an integral part of the college’s planning process, the effort also can be tied to Daytona State’s 2014 reaffirmation initiative with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1, found in its Principles of Accreditation, deals directly with how schools identify expected outcomes and assess the extent to which they achieve them.

“This is the standard that we as an institution are working very hard to make sure we align with,” Falconetti told those attending Wednesday’s workshop. “What you do with your outcomes will only help with the reaffirmation.”

The workshop presentation, including proposed institutional outcomes listed within each category, can be found on the Planning, Development and Institutional Effectiveness website.

Notables. . .

Daytona State’s Bachelor of Science in Education faculty will participate in a staff development partnership with Palmer College of Chiropractic, Port Orange, beginning in January 2012. Spearheaded by School of Education professor, Dr. Joy Lewis, Daytona State will conduct workshops, observations and consultations that will assist Palmer faculty with implementing new classroom teaching styles and methods for student assessment.

The two institutions also recently finalized an articulation agreement that, beginning in January, will establish a dual degree program leading to a Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management degree from Daytona State and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer.

Palmer College is the first and largest chiropractic college in the country, with three campus locations nationwide.

Dr. Nancy Thomas, program manager of Daytona State’s Health Information Management and Medical Coder/Biller programs, recently received the Outstanding Educator Award from the Florida Health Information Management Association.

During Fall Planning, four faculty were recognized for excellence in teaching and leadership in higher education. Dr. Jeffrey Zahnen, mathematics; Dr. Theresa A. Moore, BAS in Supervision and Management; Dr. L. Jane Rosati, nursing; and Dr. Michelle Lee, English, were this year’s winners of the college’s Medallion of Excellence in Teaching awards. The highest honor the college bestows upon a faculty member, the awards have been presented each year since 2007, recognizing faculty who have made outstanding contributions to the college and its mission.

Our Performance Engine Technology faculty also have passed along word that several recent graduates of the program have landed jobs in their field of study.  Scott Martin has been hired by BSI Racing, Ormond Beach, while David Chase and Matthew Goldbarth are working at Daytona Toyota.  

Congratulations to all our faculty and graduates!