AUG. 13, 2014 / VOL. 25, NO.7
USC faculty reflect on their formative experiences as teachers. » PAGE 6
Fall into Culture
Catch FYRE!
Poet Delivers “Punch.”
Sneak a peek at upcoming performances, exhibits and events, page 2
First-Year Reading Experience celebrates 21st year, page 4
USC Sumter English professor discusses new book of poetry, page 13
USC TIMES / STAFF
FROM THE EDITOR
USC Times is published 10 times a year for the faculty and staff of the University of South Carolina by the Office of Communications and Marketing. Managing editor Craig Brandhorst Designers Philip Caoile Michelle Hindle Riley Contributors Glenn Hare Thom Harman Chris Horn Page Ivey Liz McCarthy Steven Powell Jeff Stensland Photographer Kim Truett Printer USC Printing Services Campus correspondents Patti McGrath, Aiken Candace Brasseur, Beaufort Cortney Easterling, Greenville Shana Dry, Lancaster Jay Darby, Palmetto College Jane Brewer, Salkehatchie Misty Hatfield, Sumter Annie Smith, Union Tammy Whaley, Upstate Submissions Did you know you can submit photos, stories or ideas for future issues of USC Times? Share your story by emailing or calling Craig Brandhorst at craigb1@mailbox.sc.edu, 803-777-3681.
TEACH YOUR STUDENTS WELL (THERE MAY BE A QUIZ)
Five thousand new freshmn are scheduled to arrive on campus this month, and they expect a lot from the University of South Carolina. They expect new experiences and new opportunities and new challenges. They expect to meet new people, go new places and make new memories. Some of them expect to find themselves while they’re here. Others expect to find something even greater. Above everything, though, they all expect us to teach them. We may be a nationally recognized research institution, we may contribute billions of dollars to the South Carolina economy and serve its citizens through a range of community partnerships and cultural offerings, but we wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the consistent arrival of new students seeking an education. By the same token, we couldn’t fulfill that part of our mission without a whole bunch of top-flight professors and instructors leading the way. It’s with that in mind that we dedicate our first issue of the fall semester to the teachers among us, several of whom contributed accounts of their early experiences as educators for this month’s cover story, “Head of the Class,” which begins on page 6. If you’ve ever stood in front of a roomful of students who expect you to pull something out of your hat then put it under theirs, you’ll probably relate to at least a few of the anecdotes we received. And if you haven’t? Well, you were surely once a student at least. Here’s your chance to see the classroom from the other side of the lectern. Speaking of students, it bears repeating: 5,000 new ones are on their way — and for one brief magical moment they’re all going to be on the same page. That’s right, the First-Year Reading Experience is back for its 21st straight year, and we’ve got the puns to prove it. For a look at how Dave Eggers’ dystopian novel “The Circle” might be incorporated into the curriculum this fall, we hosted a roundtable with dean of undergraduate studies Helen Doerpinghaus, University 101 instructor Mike Kelly and FYRE selection committee member Nina Levine. Enter “The Circle” and join the conversation on page 4. Elsewhere in this issue you’ll find a sample of upcoming cultural events (page 2) and a Q&A with USC Sumter poetry professor Ray McManus, whose latest book, “Punch.”, comes out this fall (page 13). Finally, we’ve also got the usual news you can use (page 1), though to be honest, the big news this August is those 5,000 new freshmen arriving in search of a world-class education. They wouldn’t have chosen USC if they didn’t expect us to deliver. Pedagogically Yours,
The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation or veteran status.
CRAIG BRANDHORST MANAGING EDITOR
VOL. 25, NO.7 1
SAFE ZONE
GET IN THE ZONE USC’s Safe Zone Ally Program, a university-wide network of allies committed to creating a visible community of respect and dignity for lesbian, gay,
TIMES FIVE
D-DAY PARATROOPER DROPS IN
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, is hosting a free informational workshop. Topics will include homophobia and heterosexism, common LGBT vocabulary, and gender and sexuality issues that affect college students. The goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment at USC. The workshop will be held Aug. 14, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., at 1600 Hampton St., Suite 101. For more information or to register visit hr.sc.edu/profdevp.html
NO IMMUNITY?
L
eif Erik Maseng, a paratrooper who landed behind enemy lines to clear the way for the beach landings at Normandy on D-Day in 1944, will address graduates at summer commencement exercises Aug. 9.
A private first class in the U.S. Army and a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maseng also enjoyed a long career as an engineer with the Columbia firm Wilbur Smith and Associates. He will receive an honorary doctor of engineering degree. Also receiving honorary degrees will be Jerry Odom, former executive director of University Foundations, and James L. Solomon and Henrie M. Treadwell, two of the three students to desegregate Carolina in 1963.
Come together! Convocation, the annual “Welcome to Carolina” ceremony for new students, their families and USC faculty and staff, will begin at 4 p.m., Aug. 17, at Carolina Coliseum. Faculty and staff can register or find
In all, the university expects to award more than 1,400 baccalaureate, master’s and professional degrees to recipients from all eight campuses at 10:30 a.m. in the Colonial Life Arena. The hooding ceremony for doctoral candidates will be at 8:30 a.m. at the Koger Center for the Arts. Thomas Chandler, dean of the Arnold School of Public Health, will be the speaker for that ceremony.
Campus is gearing up for the return of students, including about 5,000 freshmen. Faculty and staff should be aware of two changes this year that could complicate students’ lives and create class roster issues. Immunization forms have to be turned in before students can move into residence halls. Classes will be canceled for students who have not turned in the forms by Aug. 21. Also, tuition and fees are due Aug. 13 – a week earlier than usual. Classes will be canceled for students failing to make the payment deadline as well.
Save the Date
more information
President Harris Pastides’ 2014 State of the
at the convocation
University address is scheduled for Thurs-
website:
day, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. on the Horseshoe.
saeu.sc.edu/
Cocky will be on hand. So will the USC
convocation/
marching band. Bring your Gamecock spirit
index.php
and watch the flying batons!
2 USCTIMES / AUGUST 2014
FALL PREVIEW
NEW HALL ADDS TO USC’S MOVEABLE FEAST BY GLENN HARE
ATHENS TO BAGHDAD Theatre South Carolina opens its season with the provocative drama “Ajax in Iraq” Oct. 3. An update of Sophocles’ classic Greek drama, “Ajax in Iraq” features the military hero of ancient Greece alongside a female American soldier who suffers from PTSD and sexual trauma while stationed in the Persian Gulf. Other main stage productions this fall include “Our Town,” opening Nov. 14. artsandsciences.sc.edu/ thea/2015/Season14-15.htm
At the University of South Carolina, cultural opportunities abound, including concerts, readings, exhibitions, screenings and displays at venues across campus. The bounty gets even better this fall with the addition of the lecture/concert hall at the new Darla Moore School of Business, where students, faculty and guest artists will present high-caliber vocal, chamber, orchestral and jazz concerts. The free inaugural concert is set for Sunday, Oct. 12 and will feature the university’s elite musicians and ensembles performing a variety of selections. Here’s a taste of some other cultural events happening this fall at USC. For a full calendar, visit the listed websites.
CATEGORY FOUR If you’re old enough to recall Sept. 21, 1989, and you lived in South Carolina at the time, you remember everything that happened that day and the days that followed. That’s the day Hurricane Hugo, a category 4 storm, cut a destructive path across the Palmetto State. September marks the storm’s 25th anniversary. The Hollings Special Collections Library will recognize the disaster with a special exhibition. library.sc.edu/p/Libraries/ Hollings
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NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN
NATIVE ARTS Seventy-five original objects representing exceptional Native American artistry are on display in “Traditions, Changes and Celebration: Native Artists of the Southeast.” The exhibition, which opens Aug. 8 and runs through July 2015, showcases artists from nine southern states who continue to explore the traditions of their ancestors in a contemporary context. Pottery, basketry, wood- and stone-carving, textiles, regalia, beadwork, music, dance and storytelling will be presented. artsandsciences.sc.edu/ mckissickmuseum
THE WRITE STUFF Poet Tony Hoagland will read selections of his poignant, acerbic and often witty writings as part of this year’s Fall Literary Festival. Hosted by the Thomas Cooper Library over three weeks in October, all readings take place in the Hollings Special Collections Library. Also appearing at the festival are award-winning poet and journalist Eliza Griswold and New York Times-bestselling author Ron Rash. library.sc.edu
For nearly 15 years the Southern Exposure New Music Series has blown the lid off classical music in Columbia, showcasing forward thinking artists and compositions from the 20th and 21st centuries. This season begins Sept. 26 with Brooklyn Rider, and continues into 2015 with performances by Kartik Seshadri, the Dolce Suono Ensemble and USC Wind Ensemble. sc.edu/study/colleges_ schools/music/concerts_ and_events/southern_ exposure/index.php
LET’S DANCE Since 1954, the choreography of Paul Taylor has pushed, prodded and provoked contemporary dance, defining a signature style and form. The award-winning and internationally acclaimed company that bears Taylor’s name will be in residence this semester at Carolina. The Paul Taylor Dance Company presents a command performance of several masterworks on Oct. 22 at the Koger Center for the Arts. artsandsciences.sc.edu/ dance
A GRIMM TALE A gingerbread house with licorice windows and cookie walls is too tempting for Hansel and Gretel. Find out what’s in store for the brother and sister when Opera at USC presents an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale, “Hansel und Gretel,” Nov. 7-11 in Drayton Hall. sc.edu/study/colleges_ schools/music/ensembles/ opera_at_usc/
THE BEAR AND UNCLE SAM
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARKROOM
Maestro Donald Portnoy will lead the USC Symphony Orchestra in two dynamically different concerts this fall. “Russian Extravaganza!” will feature “Symphony No. 2” by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev’s “Sinfonia Concertante” on Sept. 18. On Oct. 21, the orchestra plays all-things-American when it presents “Americana: The Music of Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.” The final show of 2014 showcases the awardwinning pianist Adam Golka on Nov. 18.
Historic photographic methods combined with contemporary aesthetics will be on view Aug. 28 through Oct. 4 in the McMaster Gallery. Pathways: Photography Invitational brings together 10 photographers who’ve mastered forgotten photographic processes such as tintype, palladium and gum bichromate. artsandsciences.sc.edu/art/ mcmaster_gallery
sc.edu/study/colleges_ schools/music/ensembles/
For more campus events, visit calendar.sc.edu.
4 USCTIMES / AUGUST 2014
NOW READ THIS
CATCH FYRE!
FIRST-YEAR READING EXPERIENCE ENTERS “THE CIRCLE” BY CRAIG BRANDHORST
Freshmen come from everywhere and all walks of life, and when they arrive on campus they bring with them as many hopes, dreams and majors as they do dorm room pillows. There’s one thing they all have in common, though. Year in, year out, they’re all assigned the same book for summer reading through USC’s First-Year Reading Experience. Now in its 21st year, FYRE is designed to provide
“ W hen the authors come to USC and see 5,000 students with their book, they cannot believe it. And then to break up into small groups and discuss that book — we’re the only first year reading experience of this size in the country that does that.” —S ENIOR VICE PROVOST AND DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES HELEN DOERPINGHAUS
incoming freshmen a single academic experience, providing an intellectual touchstone for an entire cohort of students. This year’s selection, David Eggers’ dystopian novel “The Circle,” promises all that and more. “The Circle” follows a young female protagonist as
she begins a new job at a powerful internet company reminiscent of Facebook or Google — or even, in some ways, the campus of an institution of higher education. A cautionary tale about the intersection of technology and privacy, and the bad choices good people sometimes make, it was chosen, in part, because of its timeliness and relevance. “We’ve really tried to come up with a book that is very contemporary,” says Nina Levine, an English professor and Shakespeare scholar now in her second year on the FYRE book selection committee. “Students need to read something that matters to them rather than something that they’re told is a classic or good for them. If you’re going to give 5,000 students a synchronized reading experience, it’s nice to do something that pushes against the kinds of traditions they might expect.” The overarching goal of FYRE, after all, is to prompt meaningful conversation, which is what excites Mike Kelly, the university’s chief data officer and a University 101 instructor / FYRE discussion leader. After USC’s 5,000 newest students pack the Carolina Coliseum for a special address by the book’s author on August 18, Kelly, Levine and other instructors will lead small breakout
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TOP POSTER Every year USC graphic design students compete to have their work featured as the official poster for the university’s First Year Reading Experience. This year’s winning design, by studio art major and rising senior Kristmar Muldrow, reflects the dark mood of Dave Eggers’ dystopian novel “The Circle” and certain inescapable realities of the Digital Age. “I thought it was an interesting subject, and I feel like it’s so relevant to the modern addiction to social media,” says Muldrow. “Now I keep seeing connections to it in the news.” Having her design chosen also satisfied
sessions taking place simultaneously across campus. And for many incoming freshmen, that’s just the beginning. “Most of the students in my discussion group that first day will be in my section of U 101,” says Kelly, who is now in his sixth year as a discussion leader and U 101 instructor. “So it’s my first opportunity to introduce myself, the first time that we have some content in common. It gets the conversation started.” The conversation, of course, will differ from group to group. But Kelly and Levine, both of whom have been tapped to lead a training session for discussion leaders prior to the big day, agree that exploring the novel’s primary themes holds promise, considering the ubiquity of social media and the extent to which it has transformed our behavior. “We think we know what privacy is, but it’s kind of this ethereal, squishy concept,” says Kelly. “To have one definition is a bit difficult. But what I really like about the book and about this conversation is that you’ve got this concept
of privacy but then you’ve also got concrete actions — these things that we do using technology that will never go away. They are going to be with us for the rest of our lives.” Levin agrees and points to the parallel conversations about technology and privacy currently dominating much of the news media. “Privacy is central to the book and I think it will be central to our discussion,” says Levine. “And it seems like it’s in the news all the time, right? This summer, for example, it came out that Facebook has been doing experiments on us through our accounts. These students probably don’t use Facebook very much — they may say, ‘That’s not about us’ — but then that’s one of the questions we have to ask: ‘What is it that you’re doing now in terms of social media that also may be on the table?’”
Pictured, from left: Helen Doerpinghaus, Mike Kelly and Nina Levine.
one of Muldrow’s goals as an artist. “I remember as a freshman realizing that design majors got to design these posters,” she says. “I thought that was really cool and I was excited about that. Going through it and having the honor to win it has brought it full circle for me.”
6 USCTIMES / AUGUST 2014
GET SMART
The University of South Carolina boasts countless great
teachers. Some began as graduate assistants then worked their way into the professorial ranks. Others landed on campus after a stint in the K-12 trenches or teaching overseas or working in the private sector. In every case they’ve learned something along the way. USC Times asked some of our prized classroom veterans to share memorable experiences from early in their careers. These are just a few of their stories.
VOL. 25, NO.7 7
First lesson: University 101 USC’s freshmen — all 5,000 of them — will arrive on campus this month with the academic credentials to succeed in college. But first they’ll have to unlearn some things that high school taught them. Enter University 101. “High schools beg parents to be involved, but universities have to abide by federal laws that limit what information we can even share with their parents,” says University 101 executive director Stuart Hunter. “High schools test students frequently on small chunks of information and provide a lot of structured time
Stuart Hunter
for students. It’s the opposite in college.” Think of University 101 as boot camp for college rookies — without the screaming drill
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE AND STUDENTS IN TRANSITION AND UNIVERSITY 101 PROGRAMS
sergeants. Basic training means lessons on how
As a college teacher, I continually learn from my students. I’ve realized that I should ask them for examples to illustrate a new idea or concept before I share mine. Theirs are more likely to be relevant and interesting to their classmates, and they help me add new examples to my arsenal.
teaches freshmen how to find them.
I remember a semester long ago when I had just returned from maternity leave. I had spent much of my leave developing lesson plans to the point that each day of class was planned and handouts were copied (remember, this was 1984). All I had to do was walk down the hall to the classroom and deliver the content each day.
in high school — they’re smart — so we have to
Three weeks into the class, I realized it wasn’t going so well. I could not understand why, so in utter frustration I told the students to tear the syllabus in half and we would redesign it together. What we created was almost an exact replica of what I had crafted earlier. The difference was that the students were now invested in the course. They owned it. The remainder of the semester was wonderful.
to understand a course syllabus, navigate the library and write an email to an instructor. The course doesn’t provide all the answers, but it
“Every student needs help at some point, but only some go out and seek it,” Hunter says. “We have many students who’ve never had to work hard help them develop resilience to deal with the challenges they will inevitably face in college.” Does the course work? About 80 percent of USC freshmen take University 101, and 42 years of data show that they earn higher GPAs and achieve higher graduation rates. No surprise, the first-of-its-kind course, which was launched here at Carolina in 1972, is now the model for other first-year success programs nationwide.
8 USCTIMES / AUGUST 2014
Joe Jones
RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES; FACULTY PRINCIPAL OF THE GREEN QUAD Seven years ago I was given the opportunity to teach a non-major marine science class at USC and I have never looked back. Having never taught at a university before, beyond labs and recitations, I was suddenly in charge of educating 205 undergraduates about the fundamentals of our planet and the oceans. These students would become members of our society too soon, and this was likely the only science course many of them would have in college. I was trained as a marine scientist at USC, but could I teach? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I had 28 lectures to ensure that they understood the importance of the oceans and their impact on our health. As it turned out, this trial by fire allowed me to forge my teaching pedagogy. Shortly after the semester ended I received an email with my evaluations from the marine science director letting me know my evaluations were among the best she’d ever seen. With this encouragement, I volunteered to lead the undergraduate course for environmental health science majors in my home department and am now finishing the seventh offering of my environmental pollution course. I now look forward to every single lecture, knowing that I’m helping USC students understand the importance of the environment and how to live sustainably. Teach as if every lecture is essential — because every lecture is.
Lawrence Rhu
PROFESSOR, ENGLISH; WILLIAM JOSEPH TODD PROFESSOR OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE I started out as an English and social studies teacher at Meadowbrook Junior High School in Newton, Massachusetts. My delight in teaching the “Odyssey” (especially in Robert Fitzgerald's translation) began that year. Next I taught English and Latin at the American Overseas School in Rome. My sixth-graders all spoke more Italian than I could then muster, try as I may. I'd often ask them to translate Latin sentences into Italian before we rendered them into English. There was a charming boy in that class, a grandson of Norman Rockwell. He'd spent most of his life in Rome, so he had Italian ways, even though he looked like a perfect subject for a Saturday Evening Post cover. After class he would often come up to chat and we'd end up walking to the cafeteria together. He'd slip his arm through mine, as I'd seen young men do in the streets of Rome, and we'd proceed to lunch arm-in-arm. The spontaneity and companionability of young students especially delighted me during the decade or so that I taught grades six through twelve. Soon after I returned from Rome and began studying for a Ph.D. in comparative literature, I was asked to teach the first-year Latin course at Harvard. That year, because I was "just off the boat" from Italy, my mind teemed with awakenings about the simplest of words and phrases, disclosures of the poetry of language itself, even before it was put to literary uses. Among my favorite students in that class one became a professor of Spanish literature and another a bartender in the East Village, with a reputation for kindness to émigré writers newly arrived. We were all plowing the same field or embarked on the same odyssey, as Fitzgerald puts it, in ships with “oars that fledge light hulls for dipping flight.”
VOL. 25, NO.7 9
Susan Kuo
PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAW; 2014 MICHAEL J. MUNGO GRADUATE TEACHING AWARD WINNER
After my first semester of teaching, I returned to my childhood home to spend the winter break with my parents and grade my first set of law school exams. I was feeling triumphant, having received much praise for my teaching from my students, who knew that I was a rookie. I recall settling onto the family room couch with my carefully prepared, heavily detailed grading rubric and turning back the cover on the exam blue book at the top of the heap. Then, I began reading through the first student’s answer to the first question. Halfway through, I stopped. What was this student writing about? Had I forgotten my own exam question? I consulted a copy of the exam, and it matched my recollection. How curious. I opened exam blue book #2 and commenced reading. The response was better but still notably incomplete. I put the grading rubric down and began quickly reading through the blue books to get an overview of the exam answers. As I waded deeper in, I
was aghast to discover that the first blue books were representative of the majority of the blue books. Unbeknownst to me, I was also expressing my dismay aloud: “What?” “No!” “Why?” “What’s the problem over there?” My father’s no-nonsense voice cut through my frustration. Seeking sympathy, I explained: “I’m grading my exams and the students are getting all the answers wrong!” After silently regarded me with unblinking eyes, he asked, “Whose fault is that?” Ouch. Clearly, my childhood home was not the place to look for coddling. But, as usual, his point was also valid: There is no such thing as excellent teaching apart from learning.
10 USCTIMES / AUGUST 2014
FLIP this class! Stop by USC’s Center for Teaching Excellence around noon on the first or third Tuesday of each month and you’ll encounter a couple dozen or so faculty from a range of disciplines enjoying lunch together as they discuss the latest research on teaching. Welcome to FLIP — aka the Focus on Learning Innovation and Pedagogy faculty learning community. The brainchild of Alan White, assistant dean of undergraduate STEM education, FLIP began last fall as a forum to discuss evidence-based approaches to instruction, including student-centered learning, discipline-based education, flipped classrooms, problem-based learning and other forms of active learning — and it continues to evolve. “I started out emphasizing STEM — science, technology, engineering, math — because that’s my job description,” says White. “But the interest turned out to be much broader. I got emails saying, ‘Well, I’m interested in what you’re doing, but I’m in social work, can I come?’ or ‘I’m in English, is that okay?’ Yeah sure! Absolutely!” The only thing a participant needs to do, White says, is participate. “The point is not to come listen to one person talk for 40 minutes and give us a PowerPoint,” says White. “We’re saying ‘that’s not the best way to do this!’ We try to model what we’re talking about. Give us homework ahead of time and we’ll spend the time we have together talking about it.”
Alan R. White
ASSISTANT DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION I decided as a senior at the University of North Carolina that I wanted to be a biology professor doing plant cell biology research and teaching. I started doing undergraduate research my junior year and upon graduation continued straight into a Ph.D. program. That meant I was only 26 years old when I got my Ph.D. and, after two years of postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado, I found myself, at the age of 28, in my first academic appointment as an assistant professor at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. That fall semester, when I taught introductory biology for the first time, I was, at most, only 10 years older than most of the students in the class and younger than some of them. On the first day of class, I walked to the front of the room only to find that most of the students did not believe that I was really “the professor.” It took me five minutes to convince them I was. What those students did not know was that I had never actually taken introductory biology myself, and that despite graduate school and a postdoc, I had never really learned some of the basic biological processes very well. The first time I really understood cellular respiration, or the lac operon control of gene regulation, was the first time I taught those topics. I am proof that the old adage about teaching and learning is true: You never really know and understand something until you have taught it to someone else.
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Allison Jacques
ASSISTANT DEAN FOR ASSESSMENT, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
One day during my first year of teaching 7th grade art I noticed that five students were absent. My class explained that the Gifted and Talented class had gone on a field trip, and each time I called the name of an absentee they chimed, “Gifted and Talented!” When the five students returned, I insisted they make up for lost time and pushed them hard. But one of the students, Mary, was shy and withdrawn. As the other four complained, she quietly concentrated on her project, though she was not quite as sure of herself as the others. I applied more pressure and raised my expectations even higher. After all, these students were “gifted and talented.” In a short time, Mary seemed to have shaken her lack of confidence, and was taking on a leadership role with pride. Her work had improved dramatically and she was asking probing questions. Then one morning a special education teacher stepped into my classroom and whispered that she needed to borrow Mary. I asked why. With a puzzled look, she explained that Mary had to make up work from when she was absent. Mary had not been attending the Gifted and Talented field trip after all. She had simply been absent on the day of the field trip. In fact, Mary had a severe learning disability. I took that important lesson with me into the principalship and use it today to illustrate to education students the importance of high expectations.
Susan Anderson
DIRECTOR, USC DANCE COMPANY; 2009 MICHAEL J. MUNGO DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR; 2009 GOVERNOR’S PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR
Teaching in the performing arts, my classroom extends well beyond campus. And the job doesn’t stop just because my students and I leave the studio. In fact, one of the most memorable moments of my teaching career happened quite literally on the road. Early in my tenure at USC I had to drive one of the trucks with the costumes and scenery to a performance at the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston. We still did not have a dance major at that point, and our funds were limited. The dancers were in the two vehicles in front of me, and as we approached Orangeburg my five-year-old son, who was riding with me, pointed to the sky and said, “Mommy, tutu!” As I looked up I realized the costumes had broken loose and were flying like saucers through the air. A moment later I heard the police sirens. Ultimately the tutus were retrieved unharmed. And since then I have taken the USC Dance Company to Spain and across the U.S. for performances and festivals — without a single repeat performance of the flyaway tutus. More importantly, as I look back on my career I realize I’ve had the opportunity of a lifetime: to mold, shape and create my very own special world. I have tolled the bell, lit the candles, led the procession, even driven the pickup truck. It has been a pure joy.
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Teach Your Teachers Well Whether providing orientations for new faculty and graduate teaching assistants, putting on workshops geared toward classroom veterans or simply serving as a resource center for teachers looking to up the game, USC’s Center for Teaching Excellence, located inside Thomas Cooper Library, has become a hub for all things pedagogical. “You have to have your teaching strategies, classroom management and the rapport with your students, but of course these are habits and capacities that unfold over time,” says Christy Friend, director of the CTE. “Even the most extraordinary and most seasoned teachers learn something new every time they teach a new group of students or a new class.” With three full-time instructional designers on staff, the CTE is also dedicated to helping faculty design effective online courses. “Students are always changing, technology is always changing, the institution is always changing,” says Friend. “If we’re going to make online education work in ways that are congenial to good teaching, quality learning and fostering that community that’s so important at a university, we’ve got to jump in with both feet.”
Christy Friend
PROFESSOR, ENGLISH; DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE I was a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Oklahoma the first time I stepped into a college classroom as a teacher. I’m not ashamed to admit that that experience was humbling and a bit daunting. I’d taken the English 101 orientation workshop and constructed a lesson plan. I knew the subject backward and forward and had the reading down cold. I had been observing great teachers for two decades. How hard could it be? About ten minutes into class, I learned. I gave them a pithy overview of the reading and, feeling quite confident, said something like, “Okay, let me hear your thoughts.’” Dead silence. I made eye contact with an 18-year old student a couple of rows back. She was in her first college class, miles from home, but it was clear that she was the second most uncomfortable person in the room. Her expression said, ‘Don’t look at me; you’re in charge here.’
Reflecting back, I know that while that early experience was a qualified failure, it also made me a better teacher. I learned — albeit the hard way — that good teaching is more than just knowledge of a subject. It’s an art, and it takes practice and commitment to perfect any art. Basketball icon Michael Jordan famously said that he failed over and over — losing thousands of games and missing dozens of potentially game-winning shots — but that his ability to learn from those failures led him to the top of his field. I hope I’ve also learned and grown from my many failures. After that first difficult day, I was more prepared for the next class, and for every one since. And while I still have a classroom failure from time to time, I try to learn from each of those experiences and emerge just a little bit better the next time.
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SYSTEMWIDE
Q&A
WITH RAY MCMANUS “Punch.” (Hub City Press) comes out this fall and is already receiving praise. What was your inspiration behind this book? In many ways “Punch.” is a book I was born to write, but I’m not sure I would have come to it as easily if it weren’t for an internal grant from the provost’s office. So much of who I am is owed to the manual labor jobs I worked before — every boss, supervisor and manager, good or bad, has somehow inspired me to write this book.
What makes this book different from your others? The speaker in “Driving through the country before you are born” reconciles with life and death. In “Left Behind” and “Red Dirt Jesus” the speaker wrestles with choice and expectation. “Punch.” is about work and the hunger to want more.
“Punch.” focuses on the working class. How do you define that?
Ray McManus is a poet and an assistant professor of English at USC Sumter. “Punch.” is his fourth book of poetry.
The worker who lives paycheck-to-paycheck managing two jobs (or more) and the emergency room nurse, the adjunct and the associate professor, the ditch digger and the public defender all share the responsibility of serving others. Because the working class is so complex, often “in the shadows,” working thanklessly, it’s easy to forget how important they are. The working class is not a class. It’s a nation.
Who are some of your favorite poets? On my desk right now I have Sean Thomas Dougherty, Jillian Weise, Terrance Hayes, Ed Madden, Dan Albergotti, Will Wright and Walt Whitman. I can’t stop reading Walt Whitman.
What have you learned from your students at USC Sumter? We have amazing students here. I know that sounds cliché, but it’s the truth. And of course I get the student who was just like me, the underachiever with tons of potential and promise, just looking for a purpose.
AROUND THE SYSTEM USC Aiken was recognized as a 2014 “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
This summer 25 percent of USC Salkehatchie faculty received RISE grants from the Office of the Vice President of Research.
Former USC Beaufort student Candice Glover, winner of the 12th season of “American Idol,” will perform at the school’s 2nd annual homecoming concert Oct. 4.
USC Union has teamed up with USC Aiken to offer the invitation-only Pacer Pathway program, providing first-time college students comprehensive support from both institutions. Participating students live on campus in Aiken while completing their first year of courses through USC Union and can eventually enroll at USC Aiken.
USC Lancaster students begin classes this month in Founders Hall, a newly constructed 40,000 square foot classroom building.
USC Upstate is now offering bachelor’s degrees in child development and family studies, exercise and sports science, and theater; a master’s degree in clinical nursing; a post baccalaureate certificate in child advocacy studies; and a minor in business and entrepreneurship. USC School of Medicine Greenville clinical assistant professor of physiology and exercise science Jennifer Trilk was selected by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition for a 2014 Community Leadership Award.
We’r e moving toward a more STEM-driven economy, but unfortunately we still don’t have a lot of diversity in the STEM fields. The pipeline has been leaking and we need to think about ways to fix that leak.” DOCTORAL CANDIDATE IN EDUCATION BRITTANY GARVIN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE EDUCATION.
There were not a lot of women and there were not a lot of AfricanAmericans working here at the time. I had to work to prove myself. I had to be better than everybody else. We had to break some barriers. JULIA WITHERSPOON, DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATOR IN THE DARLA MOORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, ON JOINING THE BUSINESS SCHOOL IN THE MID 1970S.
We’re basically working on the theory that the bacteria within our gut are important to the development of a normal immune system and immune response. We think that repeated antibiotic exposure can alter that microbiome in a way that may lead to the development of food allergy. BRYAN LOVE, CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY,T ON HIS RESEARCH IN FOOD ALLERGIES.
We have all of these people from across campus working on cancer together. I think it’s a very unique environment to collaborate with different people in different fields. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY HEXIN CHEN ON THE VALUE OF USC’S CENTER FOR COLON CANCER RESEARCH.
Being at the event really reinforced all the concepts I’v e learned in the classroom. There’s a lot about being there in the space that you can’t see on the TV. JOSEPH GELAY, A SENIOR SPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT MANAGEMENT MAJOR WHO TRAVELED TO BRAZIL TO CONDUCT MARKETING RESEARCH AT THE WORLD CUP.
I’m doing this because I’m passionate about helping, because I care and because I want to help Serbia. ALUMNUS PHILIP MATTOX ON WORKING TO BRING DISASTER RELIEF TO SERBIA IN THE WAKE OF CATASTROPHIC FLOODING.