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Aug

05

Princeton Review Rankings Reflect the Oglethorpe Experience

Princeton Review unveiled its annual “Best Colleges” rankings earlier this week and Oglethorpe once again was named among the Best Southeastern Colleges. And while Oglethorpe did not receive UGA’s top honors as the “best party school”–a dubious distinction indeed–OU did rank highly in some of the other categories that better qualify as “feathers in our cap.”
In the category “Professors Get High Marks,” Oglethorpe’s ranking climbed three spots from last year to #17 in the country.  This hardly comes as a surprise, considering that 94% of OU professors possess terminal degress in their fields and 100% of OU classes are taught by faculty.  On top of that, we hear time after time that the supportive professor/student relationship sets an Oglethorpe education apart from the rest.
Going hand-in-hand with that was our #14 placement for “Classroom Discussion Encouraged.” While this was a brand new category for Oglethorpe, it seems an obvious reflection of Oglethorpe’s emphasis on developing a “community of learners” in which individual participation and an interactive atmosphere in the classroom are valued.
OU was also recognized again for “Best College Theatre” at #18, a definitive nod to quality of our Theatre Program and the unique opportunity provided for students to gain practical experience both on-stage and off-stage with Georgia Shakespeare, the professional theatre-in-residence here on campus.
Oglethorpe’s top rating came in at #11 for “Lots of Race/Class Interaction,” another category in which Oglethorpe placed last year.  Oglethorpe’s emphasis on diversity and inclusiveness, along with a commitment to service to the community no doubt influenced this ranking.  Set in Atlanta, Oglethorpe values diversity and fosters an open, family-like atmosphere.
In considering these rankings, it’s interesting to note that only about 15% of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges are profiled in the rankings and the rankings are based solely on Princeton Review’s survey of 122,000 students (about 325 per campus on average). The 80-question survey asks students to rate their own schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. This is a true reflection of the Oglethorpe experience.
Asked for his reaction to the rankings, President Schall summed it up: 

“…For a school of our size to make four top-20 lists for such critical characteristics as class participation and faculty quality is extraordinary.”

Jul

30

Summer Break the OU Way: Educators’ Edition II

A few weeks ago, we asked OU faculty to let us know what’s been keeping them busy this summer.  The response was so generous, we had to post another blog!  Here are more of their exciting stories:
Dr. Jay Lutz, Professor of French, visited the country of Senegal as part of the Intercultural Dimensions Program.  He and two colleagues explored Senegal for three weeks, and stayed with the Diedhiou family in Sédhiou for a portion of their travels.
The group participated in all aspects of family life while staying in the compound, engaging in cultural activities that included a lesson in local agriculture.  In preparation for one of their dinners, Dr. Lutz and the others pounded spices with a traditional upright African mortar and pestle. They also brought seeds with them, and together with the Diedhiou family, dug a vegetable garden in the compound. 
The group also stayed overnight in the remote Pulaar village of Temento Samba near the border of Guinea Bissau.  There, they shared a traditional West African meal, while being entertained by drummers and chanters…Check out the sights and sounds of Senegal (and Dr. Lutz dancing!) below:                    


Associate Professor of Japanese Robert Steen spent a week at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota, where he enjoyed the cool weather and studied the latest theories of second language acquisition with instructors from all over the world. 

Dr. Daniel Schadler, Professor of Biology, attended the 19^th National Meeting of the National Association of Advisors for the Health Profession, held in Atlanta last month.  He was involved in local arrangements for the meeting, organizing and staging a silent auction that raised over $4000 for the Good Samaritan Health    Center, a local clinic that provides medical care for un- and under-insured patients.
Dr. Brent Runnels, Professor of Music, has been spending his time on stage this summer.  He conducted Jazz Orchestra Atlanta with special trumpeter Marcus Printup from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  The concert was featured on the front page of the Marietta Daily Journal newspaper:  Read More→

Jul

14

Summer Break the OU Way: Educators’ Edition

We’ve been covering a lot of the exciting things OU students are doing with their time this summer, but what about the professors?  Some of OU’s finest told us what they’ve been up to this summer, and you’d be surprised:  they’re not lying by the pool discussing individualism, the social order, or the number of elements in a common universe…instead, these scholars are sharpening their proverbial swords of knowledge while having some fun at the same time– definitely putting a spin on the term, “lifelong learning.”
Earlier in the summer, Dr. Joe Knippenberg, professor of politics, spent some time in Kurdistan (in the Middle East) as part of a site visit team for the American Academy of Liberal Education (www.aale.org). He sits on the Academy’s Council of Scholars. Knippenberg and the rest of the team visited the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani (www.auis.org), a brand new liberal arts university whose language of instruction is English.
“There are a few things someone from North America has to get used to.  First, there are Pesh Merga (Kurdish militiamen) everywhere, and they carry AK47s.  Second, there are almost no traffic lights, but lots of police officers attempting to direct traffic.  Third, the whole city (and indeed the whole region) seems to be under construction.  There are several explanations for this, among them that… in accordance with Islamic principles, money cannot be lent at interest, which means that lots of construction starts…and then stops…and then starts again, as revenue comes in and is spent.”
        —Dr. Knippenberg about his experience in Kurdistan this summer
       Next month Dr. Vicky Weiss, professor of English, will be heading to Washington D.C. to participate in a seminar on Greek literature at the Center for Hellenic Studies.  The seminar “addresses the challenge of keeping alive in undergraduate education classical texts such as the Iliad, Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns, the poetry of Hesiod, and the Histories of Herodotus that a generation ago were read and understood by everyone.”  Dr. Weiss was one of only 24 professors selected out of pool of almost 100 nominations.  Having taken her class for CORE III, I think it’s safe to say that no one knows Herodotus better than Vicky Weiss.
 Anne Salter, director of the Philip Weltner Library, is going to the University of Edinburgh this month to present a paper along with her colleague from Mercer University.  Their paper concerns the use of e-books among academics.   She says she’s “excited and nervous,” but we doubt there’s even a need to be.   Good luck, Anne!

Alan Loehle's class in NY

Alan Loehle, professor of art, is currently researching a series of paintings based on his trip to Rome during the Guggenheim Fellowship.  Earlier this summer, he traveled to New York to teach an 11-day class, “Critical Issues in Art and Philosophy” with Dr. Simon Sparks. The group stayed in the dorms at NYU and used the resources of New York as their classroom to explore critical, philosophical and aesthetic issues in art, with a special emphasis on modern and contemporary art.
“Our students had the good fortune to see the Whitney Biennial as well as the Christian Boltansky installation at the Armory, which was a highlight of the trip. In the performing arts, we were fortunate to see the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the plays Red (about the work of Mark Rothko) on Broadway and Gabriel off Broadway.”
—Alan Loehle, about the art class he taught in New York
Attention Faculty! We’d love to know what you’ve been up to this summer—let us know on our ‘Contact’ page at the top of your screen