I serve the Department of History and Global Studies by acting as advisor to all History BA students. \u00a0In this role, I meet with students–usually between twelve and twenty–twice a year for a formal discussion of their degree plan and next semester’s schedule. \u00a0Usually, these discussions also require several follow up emails or brief meetings. \u00a0In total, I probably spend 25 to 30 hours per semester on advising tasks. \u00a0I really enjoy the advising role because it allows me to get to know all of our majors from the very beginning of their careers. \u00a0It’s rewarding to watch students grow and mature over the course of their four years here. \u00a0Advising also puts me in a position to have a pretty good sense of how our students feel about the broader university curriculum and how ACU’s courses are or are not serving what they perceive as their career goals. \u00a0It’s a valuable way to have one’s finger on the pulse, so to speak. \u00a0Advising also creates great opportunities for mentoring, especially if the advisee is also a student I’ve had in class. \u00a0I always try to make sure each advising appointment includes conversation not just about next semester’s class schedule, but also about long term plans for internships, presentations, graduate school, or jobs. \u00a0I try to use this time to make sure the student is doing well personally as well as academically, and so sometimes these conversations will also lead to referrals to SOAR, suggestions for tutoring or study help, or discussions with Alpha.<\/p>\n
My sponsorship of our chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honors society, is one of my\u00a0most visible departmental service roles. \u00a0In this capacity, I contact eligible students, collect dues, hold induction ceremonies once or twice a year depending on the number of candidates, host a welcome social at my home each fall, plan and execute History vs. Hollywood movie nights either on campus or at Mark Cullum’s home, organize a graduate school application workshop (see\u00a0grad application workshop email<\/a>) \u00a0every fall and a conference presentation workshop every spring, and solicit student submissions to the annual regional conference. I also accompany presenting students to the conference and act as session chair\/comment on a couple of sessions each spring. \u00a0\u00a0I think that my work in Phi Alpha Theta is probably among the most significant service I do for History–it brings our students together socially on a regular basis and promotes professionalization of students within the department. \u00a0My involvement with the regional conferences also ensures our department has a presence in North Central Texas among other history departments and faculty. \u00a0(See my departmental email regarding\u00a0Phi Alpha Theta Regionals<\/a>\u00a0in 2012.)<\/p>\n I also serve the department by meeting regularly with prospective students and their parents, both during the school year and in the summer, attending or sometimes hosting new student orientations in the summer, and helping to organize and lead department chapel. \u00a0More recently, I’ve taken up responsibility for one of the new committees Ron Morgan has created to encourage departmental community among the students. \u00a0In this role, I guide a group of student volunteers in planning social activities for the department. \u00a0We’ll be holding a period-dress murder mystery dinner this fall!<\/p>\n In the Collegiality section, I talk at some length about my contribution to our department’s efforts to establish our place within the new university curriculum after the implementation of Core. \u00a0This included collaborative work with Professors Williams, Shilcutt, and Cullum on a White Paper in 2011-12. \u00a0When our efforts to have history courses reinstated in General Education did not meet with success, I worked closely with Allan Yarema and Mark Cullum to update our syllabi for HIST 117 and 118 (Civ I and II) to ensure that both courses would be included on the General Education menus for Social Science and for Cultural Awareness. \u00a0I also shepherded those courses through the UGEC and UUAC for that same purpose, and learned a bit more about our committees in the process. \u00a0It has been important for our department to think creatively and positively about how to maintain and increase our enrollments in the post-Core era, and I hope my voice has been a pragmatic and encouraging one in those conversations.<\/p>\n Finally, I hosted our first annual department barbecue in 2015 and look forward to doing so again in coming years!<\/p>\n >Next Section: \u00a0Service to the Community and the Church<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I serve the Department of History and Global Studies by acting as advisor to all History BA students. \u00a0In this role, I meet with students–usually between twelve and twenty–twice a year for a formal discussion of their degree plan and … Continue reading