Greetings! Welcome to the first Digest of the 2022 year! Can you believe we are in March already? Soon we will have Spring Fever, as we start to enjoy some warmer temperatures and things begin to bloom. For some of us with allergies, it really will be a “fever.” Don’t forget Sunday, March 13th, many of us will be entering Daylight Saving Time as we spring forward.

Today is Employee Appreciation Day, and so sending this out to you today, seems very appropriate. You will see some reasons why having you all on our team here in SoGE, is a privilege for me and your departmental leadership. You inspire us each and every day with the work you do for our students. I continue to be the most fortunate dean at PG, as I am so proud of everything we have accomplished together, and I hope that you are equally as proud of the work we do. Thank you so much, as I know the dedication you show us and your students is fully recognized by me and our entire leadership team!

I am so excited as we move into 2022 and wrap up the budget year. By June 30th we will have accomplished so much! We also will have a new department with the hiring of a new Chair of Professional Studies, reporting to Michele Riley. Also, soon we will have a new Assistant Dean to support the School of General Education (information will be sent soon), reporting to me.

Please take some time to read all the exciting happenings and goings-on in the School of General Education and the Alternative Credit Center! As always, thank you for everything you do!

Purdue Global Graduation

Purdue University Global stands out as a beacon of light that caters to the unique needs of students. The graduation ceremony was steeped with beaming and resilient graduates along with their loved ones. No mask could conceal the pride, energy, and glory that cloaked the grand ceremony. More than 1,700 Purdue Global graduates took part in the commencement ceremonies that were held on Saturday, December 4, 2021 in the Elliott Hall of Music on the Purdue University West Lafayette campus. The graduates live in 49 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Furthermore, nine additional countries were represented: Canada, China, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Aron Lee, the inspiring guest speaker, is a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who has served for 22 years and graduated from Purdue Global in April 2021, delivered a profound commencement address. He reminded us what matters the most is to be an example of success, leave a legacy, and encourage people. The gala event was an incredible experience. It was indeed a defining moment of diligence coupled with dedication. The magnitude of the commencement was endorsed on the faces of the joyous and grateful crowd. The students contemplated on their arduous academic journey that had finally reached its rewarding culmination. They had worked tirelessly to combat what may have once seemed like an impossible feat.

After teaching at Purdue for over 14 years, I was thankful for the opportunity to meet the administrators, colleagues, students, and board of directors, along with witnessing this monumental and life-altering milestone. It is rewarding seeing all the newest graduates walking across the stage, knowing the mark that they will leave on this world. Credit goes to the education provided by this prestigious institution. This was the moment in time that impacts the world. It is humbling to be part of their intellectual journeys. These colossal moments reaffirm my passion for education and its infinite ability to enhance lives. Click HERE to view photos taken at the graduation celebration.

GenEd's First Graduate Program

The School of General Education has some exciting news to share with you! We are launching our first graduate program for the 2102C Catalog on March 2nd. The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) is for working professionals who want to tailor their graduate degree to fit their specific career goals. This program is highly flexible and customizable, emphasizing leadership and advanced professional skills. First, students must complete a set of core courses.

Required courses:

• PR500 Professional Global Communications

• PR501 Professional Research and Data Literacy

• PR599 Graduate Capstone in Professional Studies

Students select at least one of the following:

• PR502 Professional and Organizational Ethics

• PR502 Visionary Leadership, Conflict, and Collaboration

• PR502 Competitive Positioning, Planning, and Decision Making

Then, students choose their significant focus fields by selecting from graduate university courses across the university to create an individualized learning plan (ILP) with a faculty advisor. Finally, students complete a capstone course where they work on an advanced project highlighting the skills and knowledge they have obtained throughout their coursework in their customized degree program.

This new program will be housed in the Department of Professional Studies. Thanks to the Humanities & Social Sciences, Composition/WAC, and Curriculum and Innovation teams that were integral in helping get this program ready for launch.

Black History Month

The SoGE Student Data Report developed by the DEI working group notes that 23% of SoGE students identify as Black. For Black History Month, the SoGE DEI working group, would love to provide you resources that will help SoGE faculty and staff support and celebrate our Black student population and become more inclusive as professionals overall.

• Purdue Global has affinity groups that students can join. Of particular interest is the Black Cultural Association.

• You can view the archives of Purdue University’s “Pursuing Racial Justice” series to learn from some of the nation’s leading intellectuals.

• You can review readings about Juneteenth here.

• The Department of Composition and WAC celebrated Black writers through the month of February. You can watch these readings here.

• For faculty and staff who wish to improve their work as antiracists, the following books are highly recommended.

  • 1. 1. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

       2. Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

       3. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

       4. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

We end this digest entry asking you to read a poem from composition faculty, Erroll Sull; Sitting In Jail with Reverend King, 1^st place, U.S. Collegiate Martin Luther King Poetry Review, 2004 HERE.

The SoGE DEI group would love for all of YOU to celebrate your voice on our webpage by submitting your blog posts, or spotlight videos. For the month of March, we will celebrate Women's History Month. You can submit your ideas here. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions or ideas for the committee, please contact the committee chair, Jessica Love at jelove@purdueglobal.edu.

Welcome Jackie Ranistate

Interim Assistant Dean of Curriculum

I have worked at Purdue University Global for 10 years, and am currently the Director of Curricular Initiatives as well as Interim ADoC for General Education and the ACC. I have a M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. I spent my early career in Michigan working in several online learning areas of the automotive sector, including JD Power & Associates and Ford Motor Company, as well as in-person teaching at the University of Detroit and Wayne State University. In my free time, you can usually find me in the Colorado mountains either hiking or snowmobiling!