It is difficult to believe how quickly the semester has flown by. The students just returned from Thanksgiving and they are starting to really focus on the fact that finals are coming up shortly. I did manage to still find plenty of students last evening who were willing to take a break from studying to accompany me and my sons on a quick trip for ice cream to Coldstone Creamery, but generally the level of seriousness in terms of studying has certainly moved up a notch or two.
We recently announced a new initiative in which the College will be subsidizing the salaries of students who work for non-profits and certain small businesses in the community. This new Defiance College Partnership for Jobs Program should provide a real win-win for our students and the community. It is being administered through our wonderful McMaster School for Advancing Humanity, and it is, I think, a great way for students to get real work experience that can help them stand out in the marketplace while also strengthening our ties to the community and helping economic development in the region. I am attaching links to articles in the Toledo Blade and the Crescent-News about the program.
To view the contents in the Toledo Blade, go to:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912010320
To view the contents in the Crescent News, go to:
http://www.crescent-news.com/images/cn_media/20091120/pdf/A06.pdf
We also had the first meeting of our Digital Forensic Science national advisory board. This is the first of what will be numerous advisory boards for our different majors. These boards can be very helpful in providing input into our curriculum, as well as helping to establish and strengthen networks for our students. In creating these boards, we are reaching beyond those who have normally been attached to the College to involve an even wider range of national leaders in their fields. For example, the Digital Forensic Science advisory board includes representatives from several Fortune 500 companies (who are involved in corporate/computer security issues); tool developers; local, regional, and national law enforcement; graduate programs from around the country; and much more. P
rof. Gregg Gunsch and Associate Academic Dean Don Knueve did a spectacular job in putting this board together. Over the next few months we will be announcing the membership in several other additional advisory boards, including allied health, arts and humanities, business, social work, Religion and Christian Education and an expanded criminal justice advisory board. (If you want to nominate for membership people who can truly expand our base of knowledge and our network, please feel free to e-mail me or Don Knueve at dknueve@defiance.edu.)
In addition, we will soon be announcing a program to draw more attention to students who show great potential in their fields. Stay tuned for more information to come on our new "Rising Stars” program!
On the athletic side, I am pleased to announce that you will now be able to access through our website live coverage of many of our men’s and women’s basketball games. The schedule and instructions are attached. [Rich – need to attach]. Please note that the first game to be covered is the women’s basketball game tomorrow (December 2) at 7:30 p.m. in the evening.
There is much more to relate, but I have promised to keep these short. Thanks so much to those of you who have responded to prior e-mails with updates and/or suggestions. I certainly hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
Mark Gordon
