Winter 2014 Edition

By | January 9, 2014
I ♥ COFC

college-of-charleston-career-centerOur Career Center is dedicated to educating, developing, and assisting students in successfully meeting the challenges of the ever changing work environment. This is their mission, and they are committed to the students to achieve it. The Career Center cannot get our students jobs, but by working with our students through assessing oneself, learning about the world of work, obtaining experiences, and gaining job seeking skills; our Career Center is here to be a resource and tool to set our students up for success. Your student is wise to make an appointment with our Career Center long before senior year. In addition to being a resource for summer internships and experiential learning, our Center offers a variety of workshops, including one to help you choose a major.

The College and the Career Center are so committed to our students and alumni, we recently have hired a full time Alumni Career Counselor to assist with our alumni who graduated more than a year ago. Good information to remember in case you have additional CofC members of your family, or if your current student could benefit from additional resources in the years to come.

As a parent, you can also get involved with the Career Center. You could volunteer to talk to our students about your business, offer internships, or get involved with recruiting students from the College of Charleston. Visit this website to learn more about volunteering with the Career Center.

Visit the Career Center website to learn about the full array of programs and opportunities they offer.

Clyde’s Top 10 List

Clyde chats with parentsThis month, Clyde chatted with Peter and Caroline Finnerty from Atlanta GA, parents of Serena ‘14, about their Top Ten list of favorite College of Charleston and Charleston activities and moments.

Here is Peter and Caroline’s top ten list of Charleston favorites:

  1. Seeing the College of Charleston billboard in Atlanta makes us proud that our daughter goes to college in “paradise”.
  2. Family spring break spent with Serena in Prague when she was on semester abroad.
  3. Spotting the first glimpse of Spanish Moss and knowing we are finally in the Lowcountry.
  4. Eating at The Ordinary not only because of their fabulous food but the beautiful building was designed by Serena’s great grandfather, Albert Simons, in 1927.
  5. We are proud to call Jane and George Benson friends.
  6. The honor of serving on the Parent Advisory Council and helping to raise funds for The Parent Fund.
  7. Attending Gallery Walk on Queen Street while Serena interns at one of the prominent art galleries in the city due in part because of her Arts Management major.
  8. Hearing Pulitzer Prize winning author, John Meacham, speak at a Friends of The Library lecture.
  9. Hearing Serena say how much she has loved being at The College and how she wishes she were a freshman and not a senior.
  10. The family tradition Serena is carrying on by being the 8th generation to attend The College of Charleston!
5-Minute Professor

College of Charleston Dean Jerry HaleThis issue, we hear from the new Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Dr. Jerry Hale.

About Dean Hale

Jerold L. Hale began his appointment as dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences on July 1, 2013. He came to the College from the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus, where he was dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and a professor of communication. Hale is an internationally recognized scholar whose work focuses on persuasive communication processes and interpersonal communication. His persuasion research examines the impact of a variety of persuasive message strategies and the persuasive impact of group discussion. His interpersonal communication research examines perceptions of unexpected conversational behaviors and on repetitive disagreements in personal relationships. He is the author of more than 60 journal articles and book chapters. His work has been published in nearly every communication journal featuring social scientific research. He has also served as a member of the editorial boards of several communication and interdisciplinary journals.

Hale is an adroit instructor capable of teaching courses related to a number of communication functions and contexts. He is as comfortable and capable teaching a small seminar as he is in a larger lecture format. He has been recognized by several universities and professional groups for the quality of his teaching.

As an administrator, Hale is an enthusiastic and unapologetic proponent of the liberal arts and sciences and of liberal education. He recognizes and values the transferable skill sets learned in the liberal arts and sciences and the ability of liberal education to maximize creativity in and out of the workplace. He is looking forward to contributing to the College’s long-standing tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and in keeping the School of Humanities and Social Sciences as key participants in the College of Charleston’s academic initiatives.

Q&A with Dean Hale

1. What drew you to our school?

I am an unabashed and unapologetic supporter of the Liberal Arts and Liberal Education. I was drawn to the College because of its commitment to Liberal Education whether a student’s major was in HSS, LCWA (Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs), or one of the professional schools.

I was also drawn to the College because I am comfortable with the teacher-scholar model on which it operates. Our faculty are accomplished scholars that are committed to being outstanding teachers. One area of professional responsibility and development doesn’t assume second chair to the other. Finally I was drawn to CofC because my home department, the Department of Communication, is a strong one whose curriculum mirrors the field. Selfishly I was thinking it was a place I could fit in to teach and do research at some point.

2. Tell us about your first months on our campus. First impressions, new ideas, points of pride?

I have enjoyed my first few months on campus. The biggest challenges are adapting to new sets of procedures compared to my Dean’s position at UM-Dearborn or to when I was a Department Head at Georgia. My impressions are largely positive. The faculty with whom I’ve met are dedicated, hard-working, and really excellent. I’ve been in some public presentations with students and I find them to be engaged and to ask the sorts of tough and insightful questions I expect of students with a strong liberal arts background. I’ve also had a chance to meet with several alumni from HSS. They are incredibly accomplished and interesting. So my points of pride are general and include our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

3. What are your goals for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for the next few years?

I’ll mention two general goals. First, my overarching goal is for HSS to be among the preeminent undergraduate schools for liberal arts in the Southern region and along the Eastern seaboard. And while we offer a limited number of graduate degrees it is important that those degree programs also be very highly regarded. To accomplish this overarching goal we need to attract the very best students, allow them to study in the very best learning atmosphere, offering them an excellent curriculum, and teaching them with an outstanding faculty. All of that needs to be done in a challenging resource environment. I will be working with various offices on campus to add some faculty, fill in a small number of curricular gaps, and improve some facilities. A number of our development efforts and alumni outreach efforts are aimed at increasing scholarship support for current and future students.

Second, the humanities and social sciences are facing external challenges. There is a growing public discussion about the value of degrees in the humanities and social sciences. For some of the reasons I mentioned above I think our students are trained with transferable skills that allow them to be successful in any number of careers. My meetings with alumni serve as great evidence of our successes. Part of what we need to do moving forward is to be more proactive and effective ambassadors with better communication about our successes.

4. In your time here, do you have an example you could share about stand out student and the work they are doing?

Most of my encounters with students thus far have been in groups so I do not have in mind a single whose accomplishments I can tout to you. I have met our students at a number of public lectures and events. In general, I have found the students to be as advertised. They have been bright, inquisitive, and articulate. At the public lectures and presentations I’ve attended our students have asked in depth and critical questions. It gives me confidence that we are doing the right things. If you ask me this question again next summer I’ll have a different answer for you because we are in the process of rekindling a student advisory group for HSS.

5. What makes HSS at CofC unique?

The faculty in HSS are what makes the school unique. They are dedicated and strong scholars and teachers. The School offers students a number of possibilities for engaged learning whether from small classes, unique study opportunities, or collaborative research opportunities.

Events You Don’t Want to Miss

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Happy 2014! Make sure you get out those brand new calendars and mark down these events as can’t miss events.

College of Charleston Events

  • Cougar Trail—CofC basketball is on the road, and an event might be coming to city near you!
  • We have two upcoming games on the road where the College of Charleston and Cougar Club will be hosting special pre-game receptions with heavy hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages. Join alumni, friends, parents, deans and faculty to cheer on the Cougars!
  • From Magnetic South, to Monday Night Concerts, and the International Piano Series, our Department of Music always has a concert going on featuring our talented students and faculty. Click here to check out upcoming performances when you visit your student.
  • The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, located within our School of the Arts, produces numerous events throughout the year. Click here to view some upcoming concerts, screenings, and exhibits.
  • March 1-9: Spring Break
  • March 21-22: Accepted Students Weekend If you know of high school seniors who have been accepted to the College, encourage them to visit during this special weekend designed to help them make this important life decision.
  • May 9: Spring Commencement-The Graduate School
  • May 10: Spring Commencement-Undergraduates

Charleston Events

Bookmark cofcsports.com to get the schedules as they come out for all of our 21 varsity sports that make the College proud!

What We’re Watching

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Have you ever tried to take a photo of yourself with your camera phone, only to have the photo turn out less than ideal because your phone lacks a front flash? Well, maybe you have never faced this problem, but chances are good that your student has experienced this. Luckily, someone has designed an app to combat this technical problem. Watch this video of a sophomore computer science major and a mobile app entrepreneur, Will Jamieson as he talks about how the College of Charleston helped him as he developed an app, and possibly an empire.

Will Jamieson’s talk was part of in!Genius, a College of Charleston event sharing the personal stories of artists, scientists, scholars and industry professionals — all either CofC students, professors, staff or alumni.

What Your Kids Don’t Tell You

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  • Just a reminder that we have a lot of information for you to help navigate senior year and graduation information. Click here to peruse senior information.
  • During Spring Commencement we honor the parents that have made the College of Charleston a philanthropic priority during their student’s time at the College. In the program we print the names of parents who have donated each year (four years in a row) to the Parents’ Fund or who donated $1000+ during their student’s senior year. Philanthropy is very important to the College, and we appreciate our parents making us a priority! To ensure your name is printed in the program, visit the Parents’ Fund website and make your gift today.
  • Parents and Alumni are now joined by our students in making an impact on CofC campus! Our students have created a student giving group, because they are committed to academic excellence and preserving our student focused community. They are over 250 members strong, and are passionate about advancing the mission the College, and ensuring that CofC will be around for at least another 240 years. Is your student Committed to Charleston?
Parents’ Fund

button-parent-fundThe Parents’ Fund supports scholarships, networking opportunities, and exceptional faculty focused on your student’s success. For more information, visit the the Parents’ Fund webpage..

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