Academic Affairs
Fall 2022
Student Success · Academic Excellence
Message From The Provost
It has been great to see so many more people on campus this fall; the increased presence of students, faculty and staff builds the feeling of community that makes WOU special. I know people are concerned about enrollment and fiscal pressures, but it seems like we may have turned an important corner by bringing in more new students than we did last year, even if our overall enrollment was down. Our enrollment management teams are working hard to continue this positive trajectory and increase the number of students at WOU.
I am pleased by the level of engagement we have seen from the College Restructure Taskforce. They have worked hard this summer and fall. I appreciate the engagement of the broader campus community and their willingness to give constructive feedback to the Taskforce, who have used this feedback to refine their work. I expect that the Taskforce will submit their final report and recommendations in December or early January. After that, President Peters and I will study the final report and recommendations. I anticipate that we will also put together an implementation team this winter to start the process of making changes to our structure; I don’t anticipate the changes will be made for Fall 2023, but possibly Fall 2024. There is also the possibility that the changes could be done gradually over the next couple of years.
I want to remind people about the College Restructure Taskforce charge. Here is some language from the College Restructure Taskforce’s charge and potential outcomes:
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has eight divisions spanning traditional liberal arts and sciences along with professional and pre-professional programs. The College of Education has three divisions that encompass far more than educator preparation programs. This structure served us well once. But over time, and through the evolution of programs and student interests, this structure may have created silos and workload inequities for academic program leaders, faculty and staff. As we consider developing new programs at new degree levels (e.g., professional doctorates), now is the time to re-examine, re-align and re-balance WOU’s academic programs so that our structures serve our current needs and position us to thrive in the future.
This restructuring has the potential to:
- Create a home unit for new health-related programs
- Transform and make transparent how academic program leaders are equitably compensated in terms of release time and stipends
- Improve workload equity in advising and committee service by creating academic units that are more comparable in size and complexity
- Organize academic programs in a way that supports innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, and program sustainability
The college restructure initiative has the potential to more equitably distribute the workload in the colleges and to possibly align programs in a way that takes advantage of their similarities to facilitate greater collaboration.
I hope the rest of the quarter and academic year go well for you. I also hope you are able to make a positive impact, directly or indirectly, on the lives of our students. After all, the students are both the reason WOU exists and why so many of us find such great satisfaction in our work here.
—Provost Rob Winningham
In This Issue
Cover photo by WOU’s own Seyed Shahrokni, who works in the Center for Academic Innovation. Thanks, Seyed!
Important
Dates
Nov 24-25: Thanksgiving break (campus closed)
Dec 2: Last day of classes
Dec 5-9: Finals week
Dec 13: Grades due
Schedule change
Open Educational Resources Stipend Program: Call for Proposals
The Western Oregon University Open Educational Resources (OER) Stipend Program is moving its call for proposals (CFP) from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023. Moving the CFP from fall to spring term will give awardees an entire year to complete their projects, including Summer 2023.
The primary goal of WOU’s OER Stipend Program is to significantly reduce course materials and textbook costs for students, and at the same time provide access to high-quality, pedagogically creative, open educational content for teaching, learning, and research.
To learn more about the WOU OER Stipend Program and application process, review the WOU OER Stipend Program webpage.
For more information, please contact Sue Kunda (kundas@wou.edu).
Willamette Promise: Student Leaders Summit
For the second year, WOU teamed up with Willamette Education Service District (WESD) to bring 62 high school students to the Salem campus for the two-day Student Leaders Summit (SLS). The summit consisted of workshops and activities led by WOU faculty and staff. The main focus was to help students write their college application and scholarship essays, and students also attended workshops about dance, communication, and practical study skills. The purpose was to build the students’ confidence in their ability to succeed in college as well as provide a glimpse at the wide variety of options available in college. Students left the summit with a brand-new MacBook, a personal college and scholarship essay, a new group of friends, and the confidence to set out and achieve their college goals.
Participants were rising high school seniors attending high schools participating in Willamette Promise, the dual credit program that WOU offers in partnership with the WESD. All the students identified college as their post-high school plan; many were first-generation students.
Thank you, Oregon Association of Educational Service Districts, for funding this impactful event!
I have learned a significant amount of things, and it’s not only going to be applied to college applications but overall in life. Please continue to help other students like me to believe that they can write a great essay, and that we all have important and valuable lessons learned and experiences worth sharing.
2022 SLS Student
New Staff in Academic Affairs
A lot of new folks have joined the Academic Affairs staff in the last several months; take the time to learn more about these amazing people!
College of Education
Julian Elizalde is the Bilingual Teacher Pathways Navigator for the Division of Education and Leadership. Julian worked for Lincoln County School district as a bilingual tutor and classified substitute, and participated in a Grow-Your-Own program that he started while attending Oregon Coast Community College and continued after transferring to WOU. Julian also serves as a Petty Officer Third Class in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Outside of his professional life, Julian enjoys working on cars and playing guitar.
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Noah Adams (he/him) is the Events Manager for Rice Auditorium. Noah was born and raised right here in Oregon. He has been a professional musician for the past four years and a sound engineer for two years. He spent five years at WOU as a music major focusing on audio production while also playing drum set for theater companies and other local musicians.
Ermie Buncal is the Recruitment and Retention Advisor for the Business and Economics Division. He is a two-time WOU alum, earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WOU. Born in the Philippines, Ermie grew up on the Islands of Palau. He now lives in Monmouth with his wife, Adria, and two daughters, Audrey and Celina. Ermie and his family love the Oregon outdoors, and spend a lot of their family time camping, hiking, and fishing.
Kacie Ryden is the new Office Coordinator for the Behavioral Sciences and Criminal Justice Sciences Divisions. Kacie was a second-generation WOU student, recently graduating with a degree in Psychology, and she fondly remembers visiting the beautiful WOU campus as a child. Kacie is excited to be here and looks forward to the school year!
Graduate Studies & Research
Sponsored Projects Office
Lucinda Milligan is a part-time Contract and Grant Financial Specialist in the Sponsored Projects Office. Lucinda assists with budgets and other financial tasks on the Post-award side of grants. Lucinda is former Grant Accountant for the SPO, and retired from WOU in September of 2021.
Tracie Wicks is a Contract and Grant Financial Specialist in the Sponsored Projects Office. Tracie assists with financial oversight and contract implementation for awards that are received by WOU. She also assists with the Pre-award phase of an award through the transition to an active award and onto Post-award. Tracie is an alum of WOU, and previously worked in the SPO as a Grant Accountant; prior to that, she worked at WOU: Salem and the WOU Admissions Office.
The Research Institute
Center for Early Learning and Youth Development
Grace Bell is a Project Support Specialist, providing support across various projects at the center with a primary focus on the Start Up Grant and Finance processing. Grace joins the center as a full-time staff member after previously working at TRI as a student worker supporting Spark.
Jackie Lofton is a Project Support Specialist working on Spark. Jackie worked in the International Department here at WOU for the last six years, serving in different capacities during that time.
Jennifer McMullen is an Bilingual (Spanish) Assessment Project Specialist, and will be conducting observations in English and Spanish-speaking early learning programs, writing reports for the programs, and supporting continuous quality improvement in Oregon’s early learning system. Jennifer has worked in early learning programs in Oregon for over fifteen years, focusing on creating inclusive settings where children of all abilities can succeed.
CaSandra Zeller is an Assessment Project Specialist and will be conducting observations in early learning programs, writing reports for the programs, and supporting continuous quality improvement in Oregon’s early learning system. Her experiences as an early learning teacher in a variety of settings, a child care center director, and a Child Care Resource & Referral specialist bring a variety of perspectives to this work.
Central Coordination Team
Kat Martinez is a Child Care Resource and Referral Technical Assistance Project Specialist working with regional CCR&Rs, and providing technical assistance to the field. She brings experience and expertise in both centers and licensed family facilities as caregiver, and as trainer for state licensing in Utah.
Lupita Nunez Morales is a Bilingual Technical Assistance Specialist, providing training and technical assistance to fifteen regional CCR&Rs around the state of Oregon. Lupita previously worked at Oregon State University, where she worked with both young children and student teachers. Lupita is also a fitness instructor at the local YMCA.
Valeria Anderson is a Bilingual Find Child Care Oregon Technical Assistance Project Specialist, providing technical assistance to the regional CCR&Rs on how to use the FCCO provider database and providing ongoing training and support as needed. Valeria comes to us with experience from Clackamas County CCR&R as a Quality Improvement Specialist.
John Merkel is the Lead Data and Database Specialist overseeing the Find Child Care Oregon database that houses the statewide child care data used for child care referrals, the market price survey which determines subsidy rates and provides valuable data about the child care field in Oregon and on a local and national level. John’s ability to understand data and data systems is a huge asset to the FCCO team.
Laura Reyes-Cortez is a Data and Database Specialist and primary liaison to the center’s partners at 211info, providing technical assistance to staff who do child care referrals to families statewide. Laura came to the CELYD team from her previous role as Baby Promise Grant manager for the Southern Oregon Coast.
Mitchell Bradner is a Data and Database Specialist working across two major projects: the Find Child Care Oregon database on the Central Coordination project, and as a part of the Spark data team. He will be responsible for the data collection for the Market Price Survey. Mitchell is a WOU alum, and is excited to be back on campus.
Child Care Substitutes of Oregon Team
Esmeralda Amezcua is a Project Coordinator, focusing on policies and procedures, and serving as the team’s HR liaison. Esmeralda brings sixteen years of experience working for the Central School District and coordinating K-12 substitutes. She will also be attending WOU as a student this year.
Erica Hergert is a Project Specialist whose work will center on substitute recruitment, professional development opportunities for substitutes entering the field, and serving as a liaison between the Child Care Substitutes of Oregon team and local colleges and universities. Erica comes to the center with experience serving as a dual language K-12 teacher in the Salem-Keizer School District.
Gladis Lopez Mendoza is a Bilingual Project Support Specialist and WOU alum, previously working at the WOU child development center.
Veronica Mendoza Ochoa is a Project Coordinator serving as the Substitute Supervisor for Child Care Substitutes of Oregon. Veronica will be onboarding substitutes, working closely with WOU’s HR department, and providing ongoing support for the substitutes as they work within the program. Veronica brings early learning experience and expertise from her prior work with the Marion & Polk Early Learning Hub.
Kristin Miyamoto is a Project Specialist whose work includes substitute recruitment, professional development opportunities for substitutes, and developing policies and procedures that ensure the Child Care Substitutes of Oregon team is aligned with Office of Child Care licensing standards. Kristin brings early learning experience and expertise through her prior work with Head Start and family child care.
Kate Normand is a Data & Database Specialist, working with our data platform developers to ensure that qualified substitutes are matched with providers requesting shifts. Kate will also assist with reporting. She brings experience working with Portland State University’s School of Social Work as a Research Assistant and child welfare training evaluator.
Student Success & Advising
Andres Hernandez-Galvan (he/him/his & they/them/theirs) is a new Educational Advisor in the Student Enrichment Program, and is a WOU alum.
Maggie Newton (she/her/hers) is Student Success & Advising’s new Degree Completion & Interdisciplinary Studies Advisor & Coordinator.
Dana Nunez-Silva (she/her/hers) joined the Student Enrichment Program as a new Educational Advisor in June 2022.
Kennedy Schade (he/him/his) is a new Academic Success Advisor in Student Success & Advising with a focus on transfer students.
Questions? Suggestions for future issues? Contact Keats Chaves: chavesk@wou.edu
