SC’s professional studies and online graduates
will have a new token of connection soon—a Southwestern College
commemorative coin.
Military style challenge coins are a valued collectible
item for persons in the service, veterans and their families, explains
Karen Pedersen, vice president for professional studies.
“Our military learners and staff have noted that
the coins are used for a variety of purposes—not only to recognize
certain accomplishments, but also to show unit pride and affiliation,”
Pedersen says. “We’re hoping these coins will help our learners
and alumni feel this same pride and affiliation to Southwestern College.”
With SC’s growing global involvement in distance
learning and with military personnel (including selection as an eArmyU
host institution), professional studies personnel have designed a coin
to be distributed to graduates. One side of the coin shows the four
pillars of Christy along with a portion of the college’s vision
statement; the opposite side bears the Lux Exto college seal.
“We have a limited number of coins available
for alumni who are active or retired military or veterans of the armed
forces, and wish to earn the coin in the spirit of the challenge coin,”
Pedersen adds.
Interested persons should contact Pedersen at kpederse@sckans.edu,
or call (888) 684-5335, ext. 114.
Business
Program Adds New, Updated Majors
The business administration major at Southwestern College
has long been among the most popular on campus (last year it enrolled
the second highest number of students of any major).
But with an extensive redesign of the business curriculum,
including addition of four majors unique in this area, students enrolled
on the Winfield campus in the fall of 2005 will have even more options.
Michael Wood, who chairs the department, explains that
extensive market research went into the redesign of the program. In
recent years, he says, the business program had not kept up with the
changing business environment.
“We are responding to the needs of the students
who attend Southwestern, but we’re also responding to the kinds
of career options experts project will be available in the future and
what kind of leaders are needed in these fields,” Wood says.
Eight majors will be offered on the path to the bachelor
of arts degree. Of the eight, four have traditional roots—accounting,
finance, management, and marketing. Another (business education) replaces
what had been a certificate program.
The remaining three new majors are unusual in the small
college setting, according to Wood, and will provide background and
training for fast-growing career paths:
• Nonprofit management. A recent
Johns Hopkins University report detailed that more than 25% of all job
growth in the last decade has been in the nonprofit sector, Wood says,
and that nonprofit jobs exceeded manufacturing jobs for the first time.
This trend is expected to continue.
• Entrepreneurship/small business management.
Ninety-five percent of American workers are employed in small business,
according to the Small Business Administration. Continued corporate
downsizing and rapidly advancing technologies make career opportunities
in this field nearly limitless, Wood points out.
• Sustainable economic development.
“With the changing face of agriculture, rural communities know
they must find ways to re-think their economies if they are going to
survive, and our graduates will be skilled in leading this reshaping,”
Wood explains.
The new business offerings mean that the college will
go from having three degrees in business to a single degree, eliminating
the certificate program that had existed in business education. All
of the majors will share a core curriculum, with specialization in the
chosen major.
For more information on the business program, contact
Michael Wood at (620) 229-6389.
Sheppard
Accepts Dean Position
Following an extensive search, a Southwestern College
faculty member has been promoted to the position of vice president for
academic affairs and dean of faculty.
J.
Andrew Sheppard had been serving in this position on an interim basis
since July, and was chosen from a pool of candidates attracted from
across the nation.
“In Andy, Southwestern has an academic leader
who truly loves the college and respects its values and traditional
commitments,” Merriman says. “He is also a very innovative
thinker and problem solver.”
Sheppard, a native of Durango, Colo., has been at Southwestern
since 1997 when he became an assistant professor of philosophy and religion.
He was named associate dean of faculty in 2001.
For more complete biographical information, see the
Fall 2003 edition of The Southwesterner, online at www.sckans.edu/Southwesterner.
 A
banner year in SC basketball will have come to an end by the
time this issue of The Southwesterner is in print.
Dave Denly's women's team was ranked as high as eigth in the
nation during the regular season behind play of seniors including
Missy Lungren (shown here against Tabor). Doug Hall's men's
team finished strong at sixth in the KCAC. For play-off game
scores, check out www.buildersports.com |
|
Braun
to Head Athletic Training
Lisa (Ashenfelter) Braun '96 has been named director
of the athletic training program at Southwestern College, making
permanent a position she had held on an interim basis since July.
Braun holds a master's degree from Wichita State University and
is a certified athletic trainer.
|
SC
Shines at CASE Awards
Southwestern College received two gold awards and one
silver award in the annual competition of the District VI Council for
the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognition program.
CASE is considered the top professional organization for educational
fundraising, alumni, and communications programs. 
“We’re always delighted to be recognized
by CASE, especially given that they don’t separate schools by
enrollment, but judge our entries alongside the major public and private
universities in our region,” says Sara Severance Weinert, vice
president for communications.
Award winners this year included:
- “Heart of the Hill” fundraising brochure,
designed by graphic designer Sunni Sheets for the Office of Institutional
Advancement, gold.
- “SC&Say” new student recruitment
CD, produced by BigShot Design Company in conjunction with the Office
of Admission and the Office of Communications, gold.
- “Heart of the Hill” campaign materials,
produced by the Office of Communications and Office of Institutional
Advancement, silver.
