Inside Furman May, 2001

Around Campus

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

During March and April many of our staff were involved in efforts related to the Berlioz Requiem. We wrote press releases, designed and printed programs, launched a Web site and worked closely with Timmons Arena and the music department to help make this enormous musical event a success.

Jim Stewart, Vince Moore, Greg Carroll and John Roberts attended the College News Association of the Carolinas Conference in Charleston, S.C., March 25-27.

Greg was one of the featured speakers, presenting a talk titled "Putting Theory Into Practice: One School's Marketing Journey." During his presentation, Greg talked about how marketing has been integrated into the university's strategic plan, including the development of a new logo, redesigned magazine, admissions viewbook and campus signage.

Vince Moore, who serves as president of CNAC, was applauded for organizing an outstanding conference.

Looking to the months ahead, Greg is preparing a speech on community and media relations for a May 13-15 conference titled "Partners for a solid future: new strategies for community and four-year private colleges and universities." The conference will be held in Philadelphia.

Also this summer, John Roberts and Jake Breeden will be working with Steve Richardson (library) and Steve O'Neill (history) to revitalize the Palmetto Project (South Carolina history) Web site.

-- John Roberts

ADMISSIONS

The Admissions Office has just completed another busy application season! Not only were counselors busy reading thousands of applications, but the office also began operating the highly anticipated Hartness Welcome Center.

This beautiful state-of-the-art facility serves as a welcoming and impressive gateway for all of Furman's visitors. We encourage all members of the campus community who haven't seen the Hartness Welcome Center to stop by and visit us.

Admissions also welcomed a new employee this spring to serve as guest coordinator: Tina Ballew. She has done a wonderful job overseeing all of the visitors who come to campus, especially considering the high volume of visitors we have during the spring!

The office enjoyed another year of highly competitive applicants from all areas of the country and the world! We look forward to announcing the new class and have already begun recruitment efforts for the class of 2006!

During the month of April, the Admissions Office hosted another successful Lay Scholars Day, Preview Day for admitted students and Furman Scholars Day for high school juniors. Spring travel has also begun, with our Admissions counselors traveling to various high schools and college fairs around the country. Many of you have helped with our recruitment efforts this year and it has certainly aided in our continued success.

We are entering the "she loves me, she loves not" time period. The payment deadline was May 1, and we expect to enroll approximately 700 freshmen with about 40 transfers for fall. The good news is that Furman's reputation is continuing to grow nationally as indicated in a March 30 article in the Wall Street Journal. This article was titled "Schools once considered backups become as selective as Ivy League." The reporter apparently spoke with college guidance counselors across the country and discovered that Furman was consistently mentioned as a school that was gaining much more of a national reputation.

Prospective students for the class of 2006 also have new application deadlines for next fall. Students applying Early Decision must mail their applications by November 15 (formerly December 1), and Regular Decision applicants must mail their applications by January 15 (formerly February 1).

The office has been staying busy with all of the spring break visitors, and we anticipate another full summer of visitors as well! Thanks to all for their assistance in the admissions process and we look forward to sharing with you more about the new class as it shapes up later this summer.

-- Laura Johnson

FINANCIAL SERVICES

At the end of March, we said farewell to Gail Craig-Jager as she packed up and headed out, first to Europe and then on to Arizona. Please help us welcome Linda Sarratt from the Budget Office as the new controller/director of Financial Services!

She is busy working between both offices to ensure a smooth transition, and hopefully she will move permanently to the "six wide" by the middle of May.

Our staff continues to keep up to date on the latest issues - in March, Janie Burton and Ken Bridwell attended the Datatel National Conference held in Washington, D.C., for the annual user group meeting, and Gloria Moore attended a regional meeting in Columbia about the Perkins Loan program. In April, Jean Cobb, Linda Sarratt, Kim Rhodes and Debbie McNeely attended a Sales and Use Tax Seminar designed specifically for universities, which was held at Presbyterian College. They learned that overall, we are doing things right!

And it's almost that time of year AGAIN. The school year is drawing to a close and the end of the fiscal year is not far behind. Everyone in Financial Services will be extra busy in the upcoming months. Remember to watch your budget and let us know if we can be of help to you.

-- Sandra Silvers

UNIVERSITY HOUSING

As we approach the end of the spring term, we are preparing for one of Housing's busiest times - the summer. Our staff has been busy this year weathering many changes in policies and procedures. We have also had the fortunate opportunity to attend some conferences.

Melanie Branham and Lilly Bekele Piper attended the ACPA conference in Boston. Jason Cassidy and Boyd Yarbrough attended the NASPA conference in Seattle. Our own Elaine Cross won the SCCPA Student Affairs Support Staff Award. We are thrilled to be working with Robbie Giles, who joined our staff as a secretary April 2. She worked part time in the University Center for a year and a half before moving over to Housing. We are on the University Center's hit list for snagging such a wonderful person.

The room selection process went smoothly. The addition of two new buildings at North Village and the closing of Montague Village have made the whole process much more pleasurable for students, as well as the administration and staff.

We have hired 73 new RAs and 64 FRADs. We are very excited about the quality of students that we have working with Housing next year. They will provide great leadership in the residence halls and apartments. These students will return in late August for training before the freshmen arrive.

University Housing is preparing for the departure of students for the summer. Our residence halls and apartments close on May 30 at 5 p.m. for all non-seniors and June 3 at noon for seniors. Haynsworth and Geer [residence halls] are scheduled for renovation this summer. Buildings B & E at North Village are also scheduled for renovation.

-- Jason Cassidy

LIBRARY

The Library sponsored a faculty development workshop titled "Collaborative teaching with technology" which explored ways in which information technology can be used to enhance student learning in the liberal arts environment.

The workshop was cosponsored by the Center for Collaborative Learning and Communication. Mary Fairbairn, Laurel Whisler, Steve Richardson and James Inman discussed collaborative technology projects that have been conducted at Furman, innovative projects at other liberal arts institutions, and the resources and strategies needed for success.

The group then conducted a brainstorming session about projects that could be undertaken by the Furman faculty in the future and how the Library and the CCLC could support them.

Planning for the expansion and renovation of the James B. Duke Library continues. Working with the architectural and engineering teams, personnel from the Library and Facilities Services are developing and adding detail to the schematic design.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2002. Details about the building project, including drawings and floor plans, are available at http://library.furman.edu/building on the Library Web page.

-- John Payne