Thoughts from our University Pastor
Failures, Flukes and the Grace of Resilience
We were in the Splash Zone. My daughter looked longingly into the water and declared with visions of life purpose, “Daddy, I want to swim with the dolphins.” Even as an adult, I have to admit that the graceful motions and affable nature of these porpoises caused me to concur with my daughter’s childhood fantasy. But the cold wet reality is that my swimming technique would probably splash more people than the dolphins would! Another fish, the flounder, more represents my aquatic abilities. This chasm between what we can envision of ourselves without encumbrances and the reality of personal failures, inadequacies and hostile environments can lead to discouraging seasons in life. The question, “if only…” plagues many of us.
Floundering with a stick in his gill, the Apostle Paul pleaded to God for different circumstances in life. Instead, the Lord gave a powerful insight that exists beneath the surface of weakness and turmoil, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness[i].” Like Paul, most of us believe that removal of hindrances and alteration of contrary life situations would afford a more meaningful and productive life. Perhaps, we could learn a few lessons from the dolphin!
Grey’s paradox suggested that from a physics perspective, dolphins don’t have the muscle mass to produce the power needed to swim at the speeds that they do[ii]. Modern research unlocked the mystery of the dolphin by identifying the flexible fluke’s (tail) upstroke and down stroke as the key motions beneath the surface that explain its speed defying dynamics. Likewise, beneath the surface of what we show on the outside, our failures, hardships and troubling circumstances can be leveraged by God’s grace toward strength and resilience. With flexibility in stature and forcefulness of faith, our spiritual fluke does not get stuck in the upstroke or down stroke of life. Rather, as Brooks describes, “The struggle against weakness often has a U shape… The shape is advance-retreat-advance[iii].” Like Paul, we transform our weaknesses into strength when we admit our need for a savior, redeemer and friend, surrender our circumstances (flexibility) and then forcefully press forward with a robust confidence in the purposes and power of God.
So, next time you feel as if there is a stick in your gill that will certainly keep you from the Godspeed you desire, remind yourself of the rhythm of flexibility and force beneath the surface that integrate surrender with relentless pursuit!
[i] 2 Corinthians 12:9
[ii] Fish, F. E., Legac, P., Williams, T. M. and Wei, T. (2014). Measurement of hydrodynamic force generation by swimming dolphins using bubble DPIV. J. Exp. Biol. 217, 252-260.
[iii] Brooks, D. (2015) The Road to Character. Random House. 265.
JONATHAN ALLBAUGH, MA
Dean of Spiritual Formation & University Pastor
A Word from the Provost
I know you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
In a devotional book of mine, called “Wisdom for the Way” by Chuck Swindoll, the topic that was attached to the passage above was an encouraging theme for me along with the narrative that joined it. May I share the theme to encourage you to reflect on as you recognize God’s care for you. The theme is “When God Says It Will Be, It Will Be” centers around Job’s experience but knowing his story’s outcome gives me amazing confidence and excitement in God’s great plan and testimony for Vanguard University and each of you.
I am extremely grateful to share with our community and thank those who stopped to pray for our Offsite visit, that it went very well. We will expect within a week a written report of lines of inquiry to questions needing clarification and additional documents before and during the actual Onsite visit. Once the report is received we will share more information with you as we begin to prepare for the second half of the accreditation process.
Vanguard University has been recently reclassified by the U.S. News and World Report from a regional college to a Tier 1 regional university. There are several factors that contribute to the reclassification and will allow us to look at areas for assessing opportunities for growth and development.
We are working diligently for a spring start for our Online Religion program. Please share an extended opportunity with friends, church family, and colleagues seeking to develop in a B.A. in Religion or Masters of Leadership Studies.
We are planning a lunch and learn about the Sabbatical experience for Dr. James Melton and Dr. David Pecoraro. Please keep an eye out for the date and upcoming details.
The Provost Cabinet will be leading the direction of the Academic Strategic Plan. Work is being done in preparation to present to the Academic Departments. As a reminder, members of the cabinet consists of: Mike Wilson, Dejon Davis, Diana Avans, Mary Wickman, Pete Menjares, Pam Crenshaw, Judy Hamilton, and April Harris.
Student recruitment is beginning for 17/18 academic year. Enrollment teams for all programs are in schools, community events, etc. Departments should make an appointment to share important information about your programs. Contact Kim Johnson to find out how you can communicate your program’s story with your designated admission’s counselor.
FRIENDLY REMINDER:
The O’Quinn family welcomes all New Faculty on Saturday, October 15th at 1pm at there home in Cerritos for a time of fellowship, fun and food. Evites went out last week, please send your RSVP by Friday, October 7th.
One-Stop-Shop for Course Packets
The Bookstore and the Copy Center are teaming up to provide a more timely, environmentally sustainable, and cheaper option for the student to receive their course packets. The Copy Center will now be the sole provider for course packets. Faculty can send their desired course packet material, along with a copyright release, to the Copy Center who will, in turn, take request from the students, print the materials on demand, and distribute the materials to the students directly. The new process alleviates waste, decreases the cost for students, reduces processing times, and protects copyrighted materials. Please, inform your students, and make appropriate changes to your course syllabi, that the Copy Center is now their one-stop shop for course packets.
You Are Invited: Q Commons | Irvine
“Engage our Divided Nation”-During this special event, your city will join with thousands of attendees in hundreds of cities to be equipped on how to engage this unique, American moment. Join us Thursday, October 13, 2016, from 7pm – 9pm, as we gather at Mariners Church to learn and consider how to advance good in Irvine. This two-hour live event will educate Christians on how they can bring hope and leadership to their communities in a critical moment for America. Our own Dr. Morgan will be presenting on the topic of “Poverty and Sustainable-Longterm Support.” Click here for more information.
News from the Registrar
Please take a few minutes and compare the names in your grade book/spreadsheet to the names on the roster in myVU. If anyone has stopped attending, but has not yet withdrawn, please e-mail Marissa at Marissa.Tilton@vanguard.edu and she will in turn contact the student. It serves the students, staff, and faculty well to only have students enrolled who are actually attending your classes.
Vanguard is now in the time period when students who withdraw from a course will receive a grade of “W”. Beginning October 17th, grades of “WF” (Withdrawal Failure) will be given for students who withdraw from a class. When a form is submitted to our office, a WF will be issued and the instructor will be sent a form allowing them to issue a grade of “WP” (Withdrawal Passing). A “WP” should only be assigned if the student is earning a minimum grade of “C” and is withdrawing from the course due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control (page 43 of the ’16-’17 Catalog).
Thank you for submitting your spring semester course schedule worksheets to us. We are in the process of inputting the data and assigning rooms. Proof copies of the Spring 2017 course schedule will be emailed to department chairs and assistants on approximately October 6th. The finalized course schedule will be available online by October 17th.
News from the Library
Late night hours began after Labor Day. Between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. approximately 25 students are usually in the library with two student assistants monitoring. It is VU card access only during that time. Weekend hours remain the same but the front door of the library will be VU card access only for VU students, faculty and staff as student assistants will be monitoring the library. Currently, the Library is open 134.5 hours a week. We could not sustain these hours if it wasn’t for our student assistants!
Library personnel have scheduled meetings with various academic departments throughout the Fall. Religion, History, Political Science and English have been hosted thus far with an overview of what the library can offer.
Library instruction has been offered to 51 classes with each class individually tailored to the subject. 978 students have attended one or more classes.
RESERVES: The Library provides access to textbooks and suggested reading books by course for two hours, library use only. We have processed materials for 10% of the courses offered in Fall, 2016.
Director of Library Services and Archivist, Pam Crenshaw, and David Vazquez, Director of External Relations, presented the history of Vanguard University with four sections of Cornerstone classes. Additionally, Archives personnel have started to prepare for its Centennial Celebration by pulling documentation for the President and Marketing.
22 Freshman Cornerstone Library instruction classes were provided for an incoming freshman class of 408. A review of the catalog, databases and the critical analysis of websites are discussed before assigning an annotated bibliography that includes searching for a book, magazine article, database article and a website with an overview and citation for each. The Library uses this assignment for assessment according to the WSCUC Accreditation Standard 6: Information Literacy.
News from the Global Education and Outreach Office
Mark your calendars for GEO Week 2016: September 30th-October 7th
September 30th: UNPACKED PARTY, 4pm, Needham Chapel.
Hear from students that traveled around the world this last year studying abroad and participating on outreach trip. Parents and families welcome!
October 1st: COFFEE & CULTURE, 12pm, Great Commission Hall
Mark Hausfeld, President of AGTS, will be giving an introductory talk on Islam and connecting with your Muslim neighbors. In partnership with VHOP, we will be spending intentional time in prayer for Muslims around the world at 12:55pm
October 3rd-7th: OPEN PRAYER, 8am, Great Commission Hall (*10/6 is in the Price Room)
Join students as they set aside time each morning to pray for those around the world, missionaries and for His Kingdom to come.
October 4th-6th: CHAPEL, T/R 9:30am, W 10:00am, NMC
All week we will be hearing from Carrie Johnson, AGWM in Ethiopia working with unreached people groups.
We have many more events for this week – you can find the full schedule at www.vanguard.edu/geo
We welcome all of you to attend any of the events and encourage your students to come out as well!
News from Faculty Development
The Faculty Development Committee thanks those of you who provided input on this year’s faculty gathering. Click here to find a consolidation of the quantitative and qualitative feedback.
Some of you commented that the scavenger hunt was one of your favorite parts of the gathering.
This video recap of the scavenger hunt should help you relive the memories…
The 2016-2017 Faculty Development Committee welcomes any further input you have on the gathering, or any other ideas surrounding faculty development.
- Michael Hanna, Bonni Stachowiak, Sandie Morgan, Dale Campbell, Trish Fisher, Julie Wilson
News from Educational Technology
Bonni Stachowiak and John Sim continue to enjoy the opportunities to connect with resident and adjunct faculty through the Canvas training courses. They just kicked off another series of workshops on Monday nights from 5:15 – 6:15 pm and Thursdays from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
There is also a video series that walks people through the same content as what is covered in the training, as well as some self-paced guides and links to other resources. This information is temporarily being kept on a single web page (https://www.evernote.com/l/AAOXvG96-3dMR5TJ53nQhwFKa69CxMtiKbw), until such time that we rollout the Institute for Faculty Development website in the coming weeks.
Watch for the forthcoming Show Us Your Course video series, which will allow you to take a peek into other faculty members’ Canvas courses and hear how they’re leveraging the tool in their courses.
Thanks to Seon Chun-Burbank for kicking off the Show Us Your Course series (https://vimeo.com/183401778/0e89886888), as she shares about one of her Early Childhood Education courses.
News from the Academic Resource Center
We are so excited about all the great new changes happening in the Academic Resource Center, which now houses both the Tutorial and Writing Centers – the facilities (Scott 295), a new tutorial training program, and the implementation of our Supplemental Instruction (SI) program.
In the 2015/2016 school year, we received just over 400 total requests for tutors. This fall semester, we received over 220 requests in the FIRST FOUR WEEKS of school; in other words, we received over 50% of the total amount of requests we had all last year! If this trend continues at this rate, we will be serving nearly half of the student!
On August 27th & 28th, eleven of our best and brightest students (pictured below) attended two days of intensive training to become Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders; this training was hosted by the University of Missouri at Kansas City’s International Center for Supplemental Instruction. SI is not re-lecturing; it is not tutoring; it is reinforcing what has already been taught by facilitating student discussion around these topics and concepts. SI helps students learn to help themselves through the introduction of various study techniques and strategies. Studies have shown that students who attend SI sessions raise their grades by at least one full letter grade.
We are excited to provide students with both Recitation SI (class credit assigned) and voluntary SI for the following classes:
Biol 220,
Chem 120R
Chem 121R
Chem 304R
Psci 130R
Psci 223R
Math 265C
Math 180
Math 181
News from Academic Writing and Research
We are excited to announce an office Academic Writing and Research (AWRO)! The purpose of AWRO is to institutionalize, celebrate, expect, and fund faculty research as well as faculty-student collaborative Undergraduate Research at VU. Research is defined as faculty-led student investigation, which includes research, creative work and scholarship. Dr. Sirvent is serving as the Director of the Office on a part-time basis. Also working in the office is Mr. Philip Newlin (’16 Psychology graduate). He works 25 hours a week as a Research Analyst to develop evaluation protocols, provide institutional data analytics, and assist in pre-award management. This office serves both faculty and students by providing access to internal and external resources to support their research and other scholarly activities.
Currently, the Title V HSI grant (Project Director: Dr. April Harris) is beginning Year 2 of 5 on October 1, 2016 with a budget of $524,259. The Southern California Edison Grant ($14,985) was completed August 2016 and the final report submitted September 8, 2016 (Project Director: Dr. Tara Sirvent). Two grant proposals have already been submitted this academic year. Drs. Sirvent and Sylvia Kane proposed a project focusing on implementing high-impact practices for retention of STEM transfer students was submitted to the Department of Education’s Title III part F program for $5.2M over 5 years in June. And an interdisciplinary proposal whose primary activities include a social media campaign and community forums to synergistically counter violent extremism was submitted for $281,082 over 2 years to the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Violent Extremism Program by Drs. Jackie Parke, Stephanie D’Auria and Sandie Morgan. Two STEM-related projects are being developed in collaboration with Vanguard’s University Advancement Department to the Fletcher Jones Foundation and Southern California Edison. Several other collaborative projects are currently in the brainstorming phase.
Our office also oversees the Summer Undergraduate Research Program or SURP. Originally started in 2007 by the Departments of Chemistry and Biology, this year’s research collaborations were expanded by leveraging Title V funds. Forty-six students applied and 19 were selected to participate as research fellows with 8 different faculty (Drs. Hopkins, Sirvent, Lorance, Fung, Park, Hanna, Terhorst, & Calleja-Macias) representing Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Sociology and Psychology. Students were on campus from May 23-July 22, 2016 culminating in a Poster presentation at a final Research Symposium attended by 56 students, STEM-Bridge participants, faculty, staff and parents. Three students presented their research to a Regional Conference hosted by UCI. Six other students plan to present their research at the West Coast Regional Conference in Biological Sciences and the Western Regional American Chemical Society Meeting in the Spring.
News from Global Center for Women and Justice
Priceless Luncheon
Our annual Priceless Luncheon to End Human Trafficking was hosted on September 17 at the Island Hotel Newport Beach bringing together over 300 supporters and anti-human trafficking advocates for an inspiring program to honor victims and community members and educate attendees about the startling issue of human trafficking. The Raise the Paddle portion of the event, led by Deborah Anderson, president, Anderson Insurance and Investment Services, raised over gross amount of $234,035 to support the Global Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ). Funds will sustain the GCWJ’s global, national and local research, education and advocacy programs for victims of human trafficking.
The Keynote Speaker for this year’s Luncheon Gala was Ernie Allen, a world leader in the fight against child abduction, sexual exploitation, sexual violence and human trafficking. He was founder and Chairman of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 1984, serving as President and CEO until 2012. Among the dignitaries in attendance included United States Congressman Ed Royce, California State Senator John Moorlach, Laguna Niguel Mayor Laurie Davies, and Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon among others.
Diamond Awards
GCWJ annually bestows the Diamond Awards to recognize individuals, organizations, and youth whose activities and commitment promote justice and dignity for women and children in Orange County at the Priceless Luncheon. Honorable Maria D. Hernández, Presiding Juvenile Court of Orange County, was honored with the Outstanding Individual Diamond Award for being a driving force behind the efforts to make Orange County justice systems responsive to the needs of sexually exploited children. The Salvation Army Orange County Anti-Trafficking Services was presented with the Outstanding Organization Diamond Award for providing a safe place and rehabilitation for victims in Orange County. Alicia Zayas was presented with the Director’s Young Leader Diamond Award. Zayas built training programs that equipped law enforcement and Child Welfare Partners, which resulted in the rescue of 52 victims in Tulare County earlier this year. In addition, former KABC, KTLA and KOCE anchor Ed Arnold was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Diamond Award for his years of counsel and support to the GCWJ and their efforts to combat human trafficking.
RAAP Webinars
In partnership with the Religious Alliance Against Pornography, Dr. Sandie Morgan hosted a webinar on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 and on Thursday, September 22, 2016 where she took an in-depth look at the fantasies of pornography that drive purchasers & lure victims into sex trafficking. The purpose of the webinar was to empower faith communities to integrate strategic action plans to educate and protect children and families.
Anti-Pornography Forum
On September 16th, the GCWJ hosted an Anti-Pornography Forum with invited guests Honorable Maria D. Hernandez, Presiding Juvenile Court at Orange County Superior Court, Dwayne E. Angebrandt, Supervisory Special Agent with the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force and Ernie Allen, founding Chairman, retired President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This forum discussed how individuals can work to protect communities from the harms of pornography. When Utah passed the first legislation declaring Pornography as a Public Health Crisis this year, it raised momentum in this effort.