MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

Furman and the Marketing and Public Relations Department were big winners at the recent Council for the Advancement and Support of Education District III conference in Atlanta. Our department captured 10 awards at the professional development conference. The Furman admissions package – the viewbook, campus map, brochure for high school juniors on how to choose a college, and departmental fact sheets, received the highest recognition, the "Grand Award." Charlie Register’s photograph of Cherrydale moving down Poinsett Highway, which appeared in the May 1999 Furman magazine, also received a Grand Award.

Five projects that we helped develop received an "Award of Excellence": the Furman employee orientation CD, Forever Furman videotape, Admissions video, the Web Site and the Visitor’s Guide and Walking Tour. The Forever Furman bookmarks, Furman magazine and the Cherrydale move (as a media relations project) received "Special Merit" recognition.

In other departmental news, we coordinated the groundbreaking ceremony for Hipp Hall April 20 and the Social Security discussion between Congressmen John Spratt and Mark Sanford May 1. Both were quite successful.

As a new feature, we are now posting slide shows of some campus events on the Web site. Slide shows of the Hipp Hall groundbreaking and the "Take Me Out to the Ballpark" university gathering can be viewed at http://www.furman.edu/admin/univrel/press/hipppix.htm and http://www.furman.edu/community/baseball.htm, respectively.

Finally, Cindy Bagwell, copy services coordinator, reports that the Equitrac system has now been installed on the main copier in the library. The system allows faculty and staff to make copies using their six-digit long distance code. Equitrac, which is installed on 20 of the university’s 48 copiers, is a low-cost, high-quality method of tracking copier use for billing and management purposes.

— John Roberts

ADMISSIONS

"To everything, turn, turn, turn. There is a season … and a time to every purpose under heaven." It’s the season in the office when you definitely hear us singing.

As of May 1, we had rounded out our work in terms of enrolling the freshman Class of 2000. For those faculty and staff who assisted in that process, whether hosting admitted students in your classes or working behind the scenes to make Furman ready for our many spring visitation programs, we thank you! You are welcome to join us in our song and dance!

This year’s Preview Day for accepted students attracted a record crowd. As the final deposits come in, we are seeing that the day was much more than just a temporary success, but one that convinced many students that Furman was the place for them.

May is considered our down month (if there is one). At the same time, you may notice all the visitors still streaming in and out of our doors and think, "down month?!" Well, all right — truth be known, our job never stops. Right now we’re working with the rising seniors, those who next May 1 will be depositing their money and counting themselves as members of the freshman class of 2001!

                                                                                                                      — Kathryn Pierce

CAREER SERVICES

Career Services has recently partnered with two new Internet-based job placement services. Discoverme.com and Jobtrak.com provide increased access to the job market for students and alumni. With the addition of these new vendors, along with the recent addition of other Web-based job vacancy sites, the Career Services Web site now provides students and alumni with access to well over 500,000 job listings.

In conjunction with the Alumni Association, Career Services continues to improve outreach programs for alumni. In March, John Barker traveled to Alabama to give a presentation on alumni career services to the Birmingham Furman Club. Future alumni events are planned.

The Office of Career Services offered the junior class a series of meetings during the spring geared toward preparing them for their senior year. Junior Jump Start, held on three consecutive Tuesdays in April, covered such topics as internships, preparing for grad school and preparing for law school. Over 45 juniors attended these workshops, which were led by faculty and staff.

In another seminar this spring, consumer credit counselor Mark Tesh of Compass of Carolina spoke to seniors on "Credit and Budgeting." He challenged the students to take responsibility for their personal finances and gave them information on the credit process and on how to avoid being caught in the trap of "unsecured debt" following graduation. This was presented as a part of "Reality 101," a program to assist seniors as they prepare to enter the real world.

To date there have been 85 employer visits in the Campus Recruiting program this year, with many new employers participating. This ranks as one of the top recruiting years on record. On April 18 the annual Education Career Day was held in the Watkins Great Room. Fifty-three school systems were on campus to interview teacher candidates.

— John Barker, Larry Hudson

HOUSING

As we approach the end of spring term, we are preparing for one of Housing’s busiest times — the summer. We are looking forward to our move this summer into our permanent location. Once renovations are complete, we will be moving into the Estridge Commons building at North Village. Although we will miss our spacious trailer, we are excited about our future location. Ramsay and Poteat [residence halls] are also scheduled for renovations this summer.

Our "new" director, Boyd Yarbrough, who joined us on December 6, is no longer new. He is a seasoned veteran after five months (he probably feels like one, anyway). He weathered the budget process, Resident Assistant (RAs) and Freshman Adviser (FRADs) interviews, and the room selection process. This is enough to break in anybody at Furman.

The room selection process went smoothly. North Village was the top choice for many juniors and seniors again this year. Although seniors are allowed to live off campus, we have an increase in requests from seniors to live in North Village next year.

We have hired 70 new RAs and 63 FRADs and are very excited about the quality of the students working with Housing next year. They will provide great leadership in the residence halls as well as the apartments. These students will return in late August for training before the freshmen arrive.

University Housing is currently preparing for the departure of students for the summer. The residence halls close on May 28 at 10 a.m.

— Jason Cassidy

PUBLIC SAFETY

On December 23, the Public Safety Department installed new computer software to replace an old records system that was not Y2K compatible. The new software records and tracks most office operations. Now, when you call for service, the call is recorded and dispatched through the use of this software. The program monitors the officer’s response and follow-up and records all pertinent data.

If the officer must make a report, the program provides all the pertinent data from the dispatch for the officer. This program also enables us to manage the progress of investigations. Another part of the program manages Public Safety services to events and activities on campus. When you call for a service for a future event or activity, your call is recorded and is used to inform the officer of your event and of any services requested. Other parts of the program manage training, inventory, and vehicle and personnel records. This new program results in better service to the campus community.

On March 19-22, the department co-hosted (with the University of South Carolina) an Executive Development Conference for College and University Police Chiefs. The conference was held in Myrtle Beach and was attended by 127 people representing colleges and universities from 16 states.

Two new officers have joined our department. David Enter graduated from Central Wesleyan College and the FBI Academy. He served as the commander of the investigation division and the patrol division with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department and has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Allan Johnson graduated from Greenville Tech and served as a deputy and a high school resource officer with the Greenville County Sheriff's Department. He has 30 years of law enforcement experience.

— Bob Miller

ALUMNI PROGRAMS

Founders Week April 10-14 was a terrific success for Furman students and alumni. Student Alumni Council hosted several events highlighting Furman’s birthday and history. SAC members orchestrated convocation, Alumni Story Night, Alumni Trivia Games, and a birthday celebration, complete with cake and candles. Cherrydale was filled with visitors, as we kicked off the week with a reception for the Stone family and Allen Crawford ’36. Our staff hosted an open house for Cherrydale and received over 600 visitors!

Furman clubs enjoyed a very successful group of winter and spring events. The Atlanta Furman Club and the newly established Evening Studies Furman Club both hosted scholarship fund-raising dinners. Monies from these events help pay for books for students. Knoxville, Aiken-Augusta, York County and Atlanta hosted events in conjunction with the Furman Singers tour. Wendy Hamilton and Susan Jones hosted Furman club events in five club areas in Florida.

Other Furman Club events included a Career Services event in Birmingham with John Barker, an Admissions gathering in St. Louis with Woody O’Cain, and a gathering in San Francisco with our major gift officers.

Homecoming and reunion planning for 2000 are well under way. Mark November 4, 2000 on your calendar! Volunteers will host and plan 10 class reunions and a full weekend of alumni activities. The Homecoming theme for this year is "Wheel of Furman." Highlights of the weekend will include the Block Party outside the Hyatt downtown, lunch on the lawn at Cherrydale, and the football game against Georgia Southern. Cherrydale will be open throughout the weekend, staffed by the Alumni Board and Young Alumni Council.

— Shannon Wilkerson