Tweaking Our Chat Feature for Future Conversations

Hi there,

This past fall, I held my first online Q&A session with FSU student leaders Joelle Rodriguez and Zachary Bensley using a chat feature we installed on Blog From the ‘BURG. You can learn more about that Q&A session here. Joelle and Zach asked a lot of good questions, and following their formal Q&A with me, we opened up the forum to questions and comments from viewers watching the dialogue online, so they could share their thoughts as well. People chimed in on everything from their opinions on my alcohol policy to sustainability. Due to time limitations we had to eventually end the forum, but the rush of questions from the FSU community at the end was a clear indication to me that we need to keep having online conversations and dialogue through this Blog.

I wanted to let all of you know that we’re in the process of revamping the chat feature, based on some helpful feedback and ideas we’ve gotten from participants and other viewers. It will be incorporated into an actual Blog post, so there’s more space to see the chat and follow the dialogue. We are also fine-tuning some ways to make it easier to follow the conversation and streamline it more.

The first Q&A session we did was a good experiment to see how we can grow these chat sessions online. My goal is to host another online forum on Feb. 25 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. here on the Blog using our new and improved chat feature (you can see an example of what the feature will look like below). I think this time I’d like to keep it pretty free-form and just see what people want to talk about. Following this forum, I hope to schedule regular chat sessions on Blog From the ‘BURG every two weeks, so that people can visit the Blog at a regular time and talk to me about different issues.

We will let the FSU community know more details on how they can participate in the upcoming forum later this month. Thanks to everyone for your patience and your continued interest in having conversations about our University community in new ways that respond to our growing digital culture.

Representing FSU at the PACE Reception

Wanted to share an interview I did with Amanda Mangan from Magic 100.5 at last week's PACE reception in Annapolis. You can listen to the interview here.

PACE stands for "Positive Attitudes Change Everything." Hundreds of people from Western Maryland attend the PACE reception every year to highlight projects from their areas and bring them to lawmakers in Annapolis. Here's how the PACE Web site summarizes the event:

"The Reception offers free-flowing interaction by Mountain Marylanders with State/Federal leadership and staff; discussion of past successful projects and pending new projects as well as discussion of current legislative hot topics."

You can read more about the PACE reception and hear other interviews here.

FSU February Events Keep Community PRETTY Busy!

Jennifer Sweeney

Once the holidays are over, the last few months of winter can feel like a long stretch. But February is hardly a slow month for Frostburg State University, thanks to our students, faculty and staff, who take the lead in organizing a variety of interesting events and cultural offerings for our area. These activities give local residents a chance to feel connected to FSU, to the community and perhaps more connected to each other as well.

February is a very packed month for FSU’s Center for Creative Writing, which brings visiting writers to the University and to the greater Frostburg area and helps local writers inspire one another. Activities include the annual popular Valentine’s Day poetry reading Feb. 11 at the Allegany Arts Council and a fiction and poetry reading by Chad and Jennifer Sweeney (check out their pics here) on Feb. 15, held at the Center’s new location in Frostburg’s historic Lyric Building on Main Street. The Center will also offer a play writing workshop that starts Feb. 11. But perhaps one of the most anticipated events the Center for Creative Writing organizes is the debut and reading of the Backbone Mountain Review, set for Feb. 21 at the Lyric Building. The Backbone Mountain Review is an annual publication that features poetry and fiction by area writers. It’s easy to see why the Center for Creative Writing is celebrated as a resource that has unified and energized the writing community here.

Chad Sweeney

If the bad weather has brought on a severe case of cabin fever, you can always expand your horizons by checking out one of the art shows at FSU’s Stephanie Ann Roper Gallery. “On Second Thought: Recent Works on Paper,” an exhibition featuring work by FSU alumnus Sam Shaffer, opens Feb. 5 and will be on display in the gallery through Feb. 24.

FSU’s popular annual V-Day activities are also an important part of what goes on at the University in February. Vday is a global movement that aims to end violence against women and girls. FSU students organize a handmade scarf sale and the University sponsors an annual performance of the “Vagina Monologues” to raise awareness and funds for local organizations like the Family Crisis Resource Center. This year the “Vagina Monologues” will be performed Feb. 12 and 13 on campus.

And during February and throughout the year, our local community has an opportunity to get involved and connect with our students through FSU’s Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement, which oversees a variety of campus organizations that serve the region. Our students volunteer with area agencies such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Read to Succeed, Garrett County Community Action Committee, the YMCA and many more.

These are just a few of the many great events going on this month, as a result of our University’s commitment and engagement. As you can see, FSU ensures February is a chance to discover cultural offerings and events on our campus and learn more about the community we all share. I hope you’ll check it out. You can listen to my "President's Dispatch" about this issue here.

Our Students Make a Difference

The 15 FSU students who traveled to Louisiana over winter break to participate in a variety of service-learning projects included: John Barker; Kenisha Boone; Kendall Bradford; Aisha Cornett; Shavonne Lawson; Kelvin Lyons; Keont'a Miller; Francis Oyem; Joseph Powell, III; Stefan Rogers; Richard Sours; Jeffrey Sellers; Ashley Daniels; Sarah Bigelow; and Amber Bindas .

I thought I would start the semester and New Year by sharing an e-mail I recently received from a student at Syracuse University who had the opportunity to interact and work with our Frostburg State University students in New Orleans over winter break.

FSU sent 15 students to Louisiana Jan. 11 through the 17 to participate in a variety of service-learning projects, including working with Habitat for Humanity, planting trees for reforestation efforts and recycling Mardi Gras beads in conjunction with members of The Arc in New Orleans.

Dear Dr. Gibralter:

I am a doctoral student in the Religion Department at Syracuse University and a native of New Orleans. I have just spent a week at Camp Hope in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana, doing Hurricane Katrina relief work with a group of students from the Syracuse University Catholic Center. I also had the great fortune to meet and interact with a group of your students, and I was so impressed with them that I had to write you to express my appreciation. The students with whom I worked are from the Black Student Alliance and the NAACP at Frostburg, and their friendliness, work ethic and esprit de corps were simply delightful. If those students are representative of what Frostburg is like, it must be a wonderful place. My gratitude for all the fine things that you are making possible there.

Respectfully,
Br. Patrick Cousins, SC
Department of Religion
Syracuse University

Here’s what Kendall Bradford, vice president of FSU’s NAACP chapter, had to say about meeting and working in New Orleans with Patrick Cousins.

We all enjoyed the stay and only wish the best for the New Orleans residents who are still affected by the 2005 aftermath. Hopefully, our actions will promote further student involvement not only in the New Orleans region, but across the nation. It was a pleasure also working with Brother Patrick and his fellow colleagues from Syracuse, N.Y., and we would love to lend a helping hand again in any way, shape or form anytime.

It's great when we hear such positive feedback about our students and the ways they're making a difference. Below, please enjoy some video that was recorded during the trip, an excerpt from FSU's upcoming edition of its own version of "Roadtrip Nation."

Happy Holidays!

The image above is part of an animated greeting card my wife, Laurie, and I sent out this year for the holiday season. Many thanks to FSU Art & Design major Collin Gastelle for creating the image, the FSU Chamber Choir for the soundtrack, and FSU staff members Ann Townsell, Assistant Director of Publications, and Jonathan Yoder, Web Program Specialist, for the design and animation.

The holiday season is upon us, and I am reminded of what it means to be part of this wonderful community. I am incredibly thankful--this year and every year--that there are so many caring people who make up the Frostburg State University community, which includes students, faculty, staff, friends, alumni and the local residents who work closely with our University. Thank you for the many ways you contribute to FSU’s excellence through your commitment, your involvement and your willingness to give so much of yourselves to our institution.

I think the idea of community has been especially significant in 2009, as we have all had to endure some stress in our lives as a result of the economy. It’s been a tough year, but despite the challenges, I’ve witnessed some remarkable moments when FSU has demonstrated that we can pull together and make amazing things happen. I’ve seen lots of people who have made a conscious effort to be truly great human beings, no matter what may be going on in their lives. This is so important.

The New Year also is a time of renewal. In 2010, I want to ask everyone to consider your community—your family and your friends, and how you will give to others.

What gifts can you give your community not just during the holidays, but year-round? For example, throughout the year, the American Red Cross Blood drives at FSU help to save lives. In addition, Toys for Happiness helps to ensure that many children have Christmas presents when they may not have had any. Also, our Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement provided Thanksgiving holiday baskets to many families to be sure they had food for the holiday. FSU faculty, staff and students work to give so much to Western Maryland and the surrounding region.

With that in mind, I invite you to consider contributing to the FSU community, in whatever way you can, whether it is through your daily professional involvement, your philanthropy or the little ways you make an effort to do something positive and collaborative with your colleagues.

May the joy and peace of the holidays be with you now and throughout the New Year.

No Magic Bullet, But a Comprehensive Approach

The issue of student alcohol abuse is always on my mind when I think about our college students and what I want to accomplish for FSU. I had an opportunity to focus on the issue of binge drinking when I recently attended a meeting of the Presidential Leadership Group on Alcohol. This group unites university presidents in taking action against the problem of student alcohol abuse. As part of the program, I presented FSU’s findings on how we’re addressing binge drinking during a nationally broadcast Webinar that was shown to select audiences throughout the country.

I’d like to share some highlights from that Webinar with you because I think it’s important that everyone is informed of how seriously FSU has taken on the issue alcohol abuse. While there is no magic solution – something I emphasized during my presentation—with a comprehensive approach, progress is possible.

FSU recognizes that binge drinking among college students is a multi-faceted issue, and as a result we’re addressing it from many different angles. Students, faculty, staff members representing FSU’s counseling center, activities and athletics, law enforcement, alcohol servers, parents landlords and local residents all have a part to play.

FSU students have been extremely proactive in helping the University address binge drinking. They created and provide the staffing for a SafeRide program that offers free transportation for students on weekend nights. Last year, SafeRide provided over 5,000 rides. Students also are involved in efforts such as the BURG Peer Education Network, whose members encourage healthy choices through educational programming.

The University has implemented 9 out of the 11 alcohol prevention strategies that are shown to be most effective in national data. They include AlcoholEdu, an online education program; social norms and social marketing, substance-free housing, peer engagement and even parental notification of alcohol-related infractions. We also support responsible beverage service training—in fact, we even paid for local bar owners and their servers to have this training.

FSU also created an Alcohol Task Force in 2006, which brings together students, faculty, staff and people from the local community to take a collaborative, community-based approach to binge drinking. This helped us identify key groups we need to interface with, like the Liquor Control Board and local law enforcement agencies, neighborhood groups and bar owners.

As president of FSU, I also believe that presidential leadership is a key part of the multi-faceted approach to dealing with binge drinking. I am very public and very open about my concern by writing letters to parents, publishing my thoughts in the student newspaper, and meeting with our students. In fact, last September I was awarded the very first Presidential Leadership Award from Outside the Classroom and six other higher education organizations for my success in promoting a vibrant intellectual and social campus climate that de-emphasizes the role of alcohol.

Addressing alcohol abuse is an ongoing process, and I am glad we’ve inroads in providing resources and programming and by encouraging dialogue with our community (check out charts documenting FSU's progress, above). I’d like to invite all of you to share your thoughts with me on this issue by posting comments on Blog From the ‘BURG. I will also provide a link to the Webinar at a later date, so you can learn more about this significant part of how we intend to help our students lead healthier lives. Additionally, you can listen to my President's Dispatch broadcast about alcohol abuse here.

411 on Online Q&A Tonight

Here is some info about our student leaders who are participating in tonight's online Q&A session:

Joelle Rodriguez is a senior who hails from North Potomac, Md. She is majoring in Business Management, with a concentration in Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship. Her activities at FSU include the President's Leadership Circle and serving as president of the Entrepreneurship Club at FSU. This is her third semester at FSU; she transferred from Montgomery College.

Zachary Bensley is a senior majoring in Urban and Regional Planning at FSU. He is president of Phi Mu Delta fraternity, a columnist with The Bottom Line and a member of several other organizations.

Go to the FrostBURG Forum message board (on the righthand side of this Blog, below) to watch the online Q&A. After Joelle and Zachary are done asking Dr. Gibralter their questions, we'll open this up to the FSU community. You can officially log in with your FSU username and password to post your follow-up comments and questions here or post anonymously directly on the Blog. Please remember that the focus of this effort is idea-sharing and dialogue, and civility is really important for clear communication. Thanks!