I'm very excited about a new initiative we are moving forward with in the next month.   SBIT will implement a program to train faculty for the role of Military Ambassadors, preparing them for engagement in educational military events across the country.  Emilie Myers is leading this important initiative and she shares an outline of the program details below:

Our objective is to train a group of Military Ambassadors to be able to speak knowledgeably about PG course offerings and the related needs of military students, personnel and associated industry partners at military events. Training will be asynchronous and result in a certification. We are currently developing the training materials and hope to roll out a pilot program in early July, with a full roll out shortly thereafter. Please keep an eye out for more information and if you are interested in participating, feel free to reach out to me directly at emilie.myers@purdueglobal.edu

When we think of community, many of us may not consider the virtual community in which we work.   Staff, Faculty, and Students make up the Purdue University Global community. When I reflect on this community, I believe PG is different from co-located universities.  We are not able to leave our class, walk down the halls and talk with students, join a conversation out on the University Quad, or meet with peers or students at a local coffee shop. 

A few characteristics of our PG community may be respect, admiration, and trust. Respect and Admiration are both positive social emotions we may experience when recognizing excellent behavior in another person.  While both are an appraisal of behavior, respect focuses on the person as a whole, while admiration focuses on admiral behavior of a person.  Trust has 4 main elements – Competency, Consistency, Integrity, and Compassion.

Reflecting on Faculty and Staff using these social emotions we may easily respect the commitment, dedication, and professionalism of our peers. The longevity of employment and teaching for our institution creates a stronger school.  Looking at our student body as a whole we might see diversity in many segments with one central them – each has made a commitment to build for their future. This is not an easy commitment as a majority of our students have multiple priorities in their lives from Family, Health, and Work – which all come before school.

In my own opinion, I admire the abilities of our staff and faculty to work diligently throughout the week in a virtual environment.  Online operations have a negative effect on the concept of faculty or working together as one unit.  Yet, SBIT seems to be solidifying as we develop new working groups bringing various people together to improve our working environment.  And our students – how can we not admire those who deal with so many priorities and still complete their work on time and attend nighttime seminars. 

Trust is something earned.  Our Staff and Faculty have developed innate traits for responding to virtual situations with displayed behaviors of courage, resilience, adaptability, and humor.  We trust in each other which drives us towards continuous improvement in our academic professionalism.  How do we see trust in our students?  By providing our best efforts in helping students learn, students will develop a trust in Purdue Global.  Through our various touch-points we connect with students as best we can within a virtual dynamic.  We offer competency in knowledge, consistency in class structure, integrity in our efforts, and compassion for the diversity of our student body.  In return, we may rely on students to perform considering a stout base factor, every student chose to be in the program and believe they will achieve through our efforts.

While students choose to start a degree program at Purdue Global, it is our Faculty and Staff that keep them engaged through to graduation.   This is our Purdue Global Community.

Working in higher education, whether full- time or part-time alongside other professional activities that you pursue can often present to be challenging. Today’s learners need more guidance and academic support, and their lives often take precedent to education. So, what about educators? Our lives are also filled with activities, even though we have earned higher degrees in education. You may have thought or asked yourselves- Do I have time for research and scholarship? Why do I need to publish at this stage in my career, especially if I am a “professional academic”? How might I find the time to publish? How do I even go about doing so? Well, you have certainly arrived at the right place. Continue reading along as we will explore the pathways that may lead to publication and the purpose of scholarship both for your own professional development and for the benefit of your students, and the impetus to continually contribute to scholarship. 

The beginning of our exploration will begin with our mindset. Whether you are working full-time (tenured or non-tenured) in academia, or part-time alongside a full-time job in business or consulting, developing the mindset for pursuing scholarship, including publication is necessary. Developing this mindset involves understanding your purpose for pursuing these activities that often lend to publishing. Your scholarship activities benefit both you and your students. Regardless of your role, staying abreast of industry changes, trends, and new developments is critical for your personal growth as well as contributing to your students’ knowledge and curriculum development. If you frame your mindset to realize that scholarship is your professional development and builds confidence, agility in teaching different courses, and developing new courses, you will begin to embrace the idea that scholarship does not have to be painful, but rather enjoyable and fulfilling in many ways. 

At this point, you may be thinking…this all sounds great, but how do I even begin engaging in scholarship that is meaningful and impactful to me and to others? There is a plethora of approaches that you may take that are outlined below:

1. Associations within your discipline: If you are a member of an organization such as the American Marketing Association, the American Management Association, British Academy of Management, or even niche associations such as the Arab-American  Bankers Association, there are opportunities to present your research through  presentations and meetings and webinars, and also publish your research online and  within the newsletters that they provide. 

2. Non-Profit Organizations: Often, non-profit organizations have research projects or areas of development where you may contribute. For example, as the co-founder of a United Nations NGO that supported underserved communities in Hepatis C, there was opportunity for me to research, present, and publish within the U.N., to foreign governments, and to healthcare organizations worldwide. Simple outreach to organizations for which you have an interest or passion is a good way to start. 

3. Conferences (Domestic & International): Having a passion for international travel and meeting colleagues in higher education abroad, I present at least twice a year at international conferences. Although I travel to other countries for these conferences, most conferences have an option of presenting your research virtually. You will also find that these conferences (international more than domestic) have publication opportunities outside of the conference publication such as through Scopus journals (Scopus journals are widely known and accepted as credible and reputable, especially outside of the United States). These conferences also allow you to develop and leverage relationships with other colleagues, colleges, and universities as well as your recognition in new circles, often multidisciplinary. 

Leveraging Relationships: Through the aforementioned (1-3), your subject matter expertise will be acknowledged, and your visibility will increase. This leads to my last main point. My participation in research, presenting, and publishing has increased my scope, lending to invitations to be a keynote speaker as well as joining editorial boards and asked to publish in journals. These activities help you develop personally and professional; ultimately, your newfound knowledge lends to the curriculum and impacts your students. 

Finding the time to conduct research is simpler than you think, once you have the mindset, purpose, and impetus to pursue scholarship. Think about the benefits over the time drawbacks. We are all busy, but just as anything else in life, we make time for things that are important. If you are apprehensive about launching your research, collaborate with others in your discipline who may also thinking the same. Work with others in developing your research timeline (I like to use Gantt charts, and these are especially helpful when collecting data through surveys or other primary data collection) as this will keep you on a schedule. Also, working a research partner or team may help you stay motivated to get started. Remember, there is no race to the finish line; everything pursues at a pace through planning and organization. 

So, the journey begins now! Launch your research project with a goal of publication.  Although this article is not intended to discuss research topic selection, it is important to focus on topics for which you have a passion. As in any other research you have done in the past, your topic should be original to you, ensuring that you are filling a gap in the current literature. Additionally, ensure that you identify your audience –Are you writing to the academic or to the practitioner? Consider your role and your personal and professional goals. Once you have reached the point of drafting a research topic, you will be on your way! 

We have reached the end of our research road for today. Hopefully, you are motivated to pursue research and scholarship, publication to the audience that best suits your research topic and identifying the best places to utilize your subject matter expertise – associations, non-profits, or conferences. Once you have framed your mindset in the research and publication direction, you can achieve anything with time, patience, perseverance, and collaboration with others.

In the coming weeks we will be launching our new employee-facing, internal newsletter Purdue Global News of the Week (Purdue Global NOW.) This new newsletter will replace the existing Monday Minute. While the procedure for submitting content will remain the same, we hope to expand and deepen the sense of community within Purdue Global, while keeping everyone informed, updated, and involved. 

Reminder: Mandatory Alternative Assignment for Canceled Seminars

As a reminder, faculty must assign an alternative activity for any canceled seminar, including seminars not held due to a university-recognized holiday. 

Faculty must not grant points to a student for an assignment or seminar that was canceled or otherwise not completed by the student. Awarding unearned points can result in students receiving a failing grade when they should have been withdrawn from the course. 

If a seminar is canceled, faculty must post instructions on completing an alternative assignment in the classroom announcements and email the information to students. Students should be directed to ask their instructor questions about the alternative assignment.

Upcoming university-recognized holidays include: 

·  Juneteenth: Wednesday, June 19

·  Independence Day: Thursday, July 4

View the complete holiday schedule for additional dates. Faculty with questions about alternative assignments should reach out to their academic chair.