Check out the comments! Here are well wishes that have been posted by WIU staff members for WIU staff members who, as students, were on stage participating in the graduation ceremony. Whether you are a WIU student or faculty/staff member, share a graduation message for someone special by submitting a comment today!

Congratulations to Kevin Lidolph for graduating with his MBA in Management! Kevin has worked very hard to achieve his educational goals and has been successful at balancing school, work, and his personal life throughout the process. Kevin’s hard work and dedication provides him with great opportunities and a bright future with WIU. Congrats Kevin!!
–Derrick VanDusen, Enrollment

Congratulations to Frances Tellinghuisen who has earned her BA in Human Resources Management. Frances, our very own Faculty Recruiter, has been an integral part of the Faculty Services Team by bringing in the qualified faculty members who help make WIU a success. Congratulations Frances on your accomplishment!
–Mary Upell, Academic Affairs

Way to go Jaime [Correira]! It makes me proud to see IT team members walk across that stage year after year. We don’t just work at WIU, we’re also students!
–Scott Wiegand, University Technology

Congratulations to all our staff members who walked in graduation. It was wonderful to be able to cheer for our “extended” family. A special congratulations goes out to Tracy Johnson and Amber Louisoder, team members in our OSR office. You both have not only excelled in your daily jobs in the OSR, but have achieved a milestone in your educational journey. The best of everything to you both!
–Bonnie Mears, Office of Student Records

If you attended the WIU Annual Commencement on Saturday, May 15, I hope you left with a good feeling and share in the pride that I continue to have for our students and faculty of this great university.

When making my remarks, I was touched when I looked out at friends and family members joining us in celebration of the promise and success embodied by our students faculty members.

In keeping with the theme of celebrating success, many of us know someone who either walked at this year’s WIU ceremony or who participated in a graduation ceremony from another institution of higher learning, trade school or even high school. Let’s recognize them here!

If you have a graduation “shout out” for someone special—or if you would like to share your commencement memories—post a comment to this blog and show friends and family how important they are.

Maybe you’d like to spotlight a favorite instructor. Or share fun and interesting experiences from a time when you attended school. Pretend this blog space is an open commencement program with well wishes for graduates, and personalize this page with a special comment for someone special to see!

If you are a WIU staff member, recognize a co-worker who walked! Or thank a co-worker for their contribution in making the ceremony our signature event.

Congratulations to the special graduate in your life!
–Alan

Those of us who have been in the workforce for a number of years understand the business imperative to “think globally” as we’ve witnessed unparalleled access to markets around the world in ways that previous generations couldn’t have dreamt possible. Ironically, young adults new to the workforce not only “think globally,” they “grew up globally.”

With the personal computer and other technology advancements over the years, international communication and commerce have been made possible at work and at home with just the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen so that doing business globally increasingly has become the expectation and not the exception.

Employees and entrepreneurs who have international experience are often in demand in our interconnected world. I had a salon dinner with WIU faculty members a few months ago, and we talked about this topic and how diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives found in society shape an employee’s global knowledge, cross-cultural communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and business acumen.

Students and prospective students might look to Western International University—as the name suggests—for exposure to new ways of thinking, living, and viewing the world. Diverse, global perspectives explored through interesting coursework, class discussion and field study enrich the educational experience.

Faculty members with whom I’ve spoken can tell you that study programs, such as the Global Business Experience in China, can be a great way to learn about another culture firsthand, earn credit toward a degree program, visit global businesses, and tour world-renowned sites.

What do you think about the importance of a global business mindset? Do you have any interesting or funny stories that illustrate the complexity and necessity of thinking globally? Do you speak more than one language? How many countries have you lived in? Tell us.

Blog readers want to know.
–Alan

 
I recently saw an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about the rate of women and men attending college.

Each month during the recession, news reports cascade in, showing the number of people out of work compared to previous months. For the most part, the jobs report continues to be bleak. Male-dominated construction and manufacturing industries have been hit the hardest during the economic downturn, and many predict that these jobs won’t come back.

Meanwhile, as the Journal reports, women for the first time have surpassed the number of men holding payroll jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and women’s pay seems to be rising at a faster clip than men’s income. At the same time, more women than men are earning associate and bachelor degrees, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Education and employment forces continue to converge. Advantage: women. If more jobs are being created in fields that require higher education, and if more women than men continue to pursue higher education, then women will continue to outflank men economically for some time.

For Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in the workforce, this socio-economic shift has occurred right before our eyes and has gone largely unnoticed. What are the implications for families and society as a whole? How will men, and men of color, fare in the next decade? What does this mean for the young person who is not college bound? The poor? Single parents? Will women continue to outpace men in higher education?

Please post a comment and share your thoughts!

People learn in different ways and respond to a variety of teaching styles and techniques. Some are more auditory, some more visual. Some prefer a traditional approach to learning, such as reading from a textbook, while others do well with more tactile stimulation involving hand-eye coordination.

At Western International University, our staff and faculty have embarked on a far-reaching initiative to add multimedia learning tools to its curriculum throughout the year. The online learning platform—MyWIU—that students already use to check grades or access classroom information will be equipped for some classes this summer with learning tools, such as video clips, games, simulations, and other new ways to bring academic concepts to life.

Seeing is believing. In the same way that the military for years has used simulations and video as training components to address different styles of learning and improve overall troop readiness, we hope classes will come alive and topics will be more fully explored in a fresh way with technology. Through interactive learning, WIU hopes to meet the needs of all learners. Today, video sites like YouTube are accessed by many of us, including—but not limited to—the next-generation learner who grew up with an affinity for technology. Some students come from a background where computers are for work, and others come from a background where computers are for entertainment and socializing. Why not blend it all together in the service of applied learning? Why not use computer technology and tools that many students are familiar with for work and recreation and customize them for the classroom?

As a student or instructor at WIU, what kind of tools and applications do you think would make for an enriched curriculum, for a better learning experience? What do you think about adding technology to the classroom? Share with our readers your thoughts by posting a comment. Thanks!

Nothing pleases me more than when I hear of students who have had a great experience at Western International University. In fact, many students and alumni speak highly of WIU, and in doing so, they help build a strong and lasting reputation for WIU. A focus on academic quality, student support and customer service provides a solid foundation upon which an even greater reputation is emerging.

When students and alumni tell others how WIU has helped to make a real difference in their lives, their personal recommendations can play an important role in WIU’s growth. In that spirit, the WIU Student Referral Program benefits the university and its students and alumni who provide a referral.

In what ways has WIU contributed to your success? How has the learning environment at WIU made a positive impact in your life, in your prospects for a brighter future? Which faculty members have made a significant impact in your education and as a mentor and role model?

Share your thoughts by posting your comment.

Thanks for your feedback,
Alan

WIU is listening to our students, and, more than ever, we are hearing that students are looking for support with career services. In response to this we just hired a new Career Services/Alumni Manager to oversee this new service for our students. I’d like to know your views on this topic and ask you what kind of career services would be most helpful as we look to build this service area.

WIU also piloted an online career-counseling program for 250 students. We engaged ReadyMinds, a recognized career counseling firm, to provide students with guidance in the areas of resume writing, interviewing skills, job search techniques, career decision-making, a comprehensive career report with suggested action plans, and access to a personalized “My ReadyMinds” web page for six months. While on the web page, students can visit ReadyMinds’ new Career Services Office and access links, videos and other resources.

We just completed the pilot and are evaluating the results. Students who have participated in the pilot have given it high service marks, so if you took part in the pilot and want to share your thoughts, please do so. For those who did not get a chance to participate in the pilot and would like to share your views on this topic, please feel free to do so by posting a comment to this blog.

–Alan

What’s good for education should also be good for the environment.

Western International University faculty and staff are also committed to the environment. We all, students alike, are being asked to consider how we can make the university more efficient, more environmentally responsible.

Environmental stewardship often leads to transformation and opportunity. For example, the online learning industry was created at a time when the environment, technology and education sectors came together, producing great value for society by expanding access to education.

Today, online education allows almost anyone, anywhere, an opportunity to go to school in a very environmentally friendly way.

There are other ways in which the environment and technology impact learning and the learning environment:

• All WIU campuses have wi-fi, so students are able to access the Internet via their laptops.
• According to some estimates, more than 60 percent of college students 25 years and older own a laptop, and a laptop uses about 25 to 75 percent less energy than a desktop computer.

Universities across the nation are plugging in, turning off, and staying green by converting some or all of their campus computer lab space with desktop computers into study lounges designed for laptops, complete with power strips for laptops and coffee for students to keep all batteries charged.

Do you have other ideas that might impact the learning environment? Click on Comments within this post and share your response.

The new year provides fertile ground to plant the seeds for personal, professional and academic growth. As a new decade dawns, now is the time to reconsider near-term and long-term goals.

As a student at Western International University, what are your goals for today and tomorrow? In what ways does WIU support your success and prepare you for growth? What would you like to achieve, and how do you know that you’re on track along the way? What techniques do you employ to stay on track?

As a WIU faculty member, what are your goals for students, and yourself, as a new class begins? What are the success attributes that you adopt to measure progress in the classroom and in other areas of your life?

Recently, some WIU staff members shared their goals. Here is a sample:

Stephanie Parker, enrollment counselor, Peoria Campus: “My professional goal is to excel here at WIU as an enrollment counselor, continue to grow with the company, and increase my new enrollments each month. I am going to strive to do my very best as a student here as well; I am currently working towards my Master of Arts degree in Innovative Leadership. My main personal goal is to get to the gym more consistently and become a healthier individual inside and out!”

Andi Parkhurst, enrollment counselor, Scottsdale Campus: “I am going to quit smoking.”

Chris Hand, academic counselor, Phoenix Campus: “Over the past few years I have not spent nearly enough time fellowshipping with family and friends. I have been torn between two jobs, school and a recent injury. I sincerely wish to reinvest in relationships by actively cultivating those that are healthy and repairing those that are ailing. Our family and friends are our most important assets and should be received as such. This is my goal for 2010!”

Omar Hernandez, IT campus/division technician: “I’m going to be better organized both at work and at home!”

Debbie Brock, enrollment counselor, Scottsdale Campus: “I want to exercise five days a week to the Dana Thornock aerobic video (my personal favorite), cook at home and take lunches to work, and read the Old Testament (never read it before).”

Join the conversation! Please click on “Comments” and tell readers your goals for the new year. This could get interesting!

On behalf of WIU students, faculty and staff, I hope all of your goals, and dreams, come true in the coming year and beyond.
–Alan

Do you express an attitude of gratitude when you interact with people? Do others know that you value and appreciate them?

This holiday season provides a time of reflection and appreciation for that which we hold dear.

Family and friends top my Gratitude List. Certainly, in my role as president of Western International University, I am grateful every day for the opportunity to make a difference and witness countless contributions being made by students, faculty and staff members in the pursuit of personal and professional development.

What’s important to you? What brings you gratitude or joy? As a student, are you grateful for the opportunity to learn, grow and shape your future? As a faculty member, are you excited to pass along knowledge and skills to the next generation of business and community leaders? As a staff member, do you delight in providing the best customer service to students and faculty?

Let’s use the remainder of the year, and this column, to carry on the spiritual theme of gratitude. Please respond to this blog with your comment; tell the world who or what you are grateful for. Responses will be posted to the main body of this blog, so come on! Give a shout out to who or what puts a smile on your face.

–Alan