Representative's Renderings by Lily Berrios

Greetings SCUP South Members!

Hope all is well with you and that you found time to rest, refresh, and renew your spirit between end of 2008 and beginning of 2009. Perhaps by now you find yourself off to a busy 2009. I certainly know of several fellow SCUP members that have been diligently working for all of us.

For instance, Bob Gunn has been leading a group of volunteers in developing the program for our first 2009 "Metro-mini" Conference. This will be held March 10 at Duke University. The theme will be Campus Security and you will find an overview of the content at the end of this article. We are also planning to take this to a second venue, later in 2009.

Similarly, Tom Woodward has initiated the process of leading another group of volunteers in the development of the final theme and the full program for our 2009 Regional Conference. This will be held in Memphis, TN.

And the list goes on. This newsletter contains articles from other volunteers who take time to share what they have been doing in their respective areas, be it a geographic portion of our region or an organizational committee. It comes together through the magic and determination of Nancy Nusbaum. I can not thank these folks enough for their efforts. In addition, please note the list of sponsors that support the Southern Region. They contribute year round by bringing resources that help support programs and events such as our region’s annual conference.

Finally, this is the time of the year when the SCUP Board members focus on the task forces set by our president. We develop content and summaries in response to each task force’s “charge”. Personally, I am one of several collaborating with Niraj Dangoria on the task force that is exploring how to engage Emerging Leaders. We are outlining a path to attract, identify, and grow new leaders in order to continue the “SCUP legacy”. I find this work creative, energizing, and a great way to think about why and what I value most of this organization.

At the same time, we must remain in touch with current affairs, including the financial environment that we live in. SCUP is proactively exploring how this impacts us. We are entertaining a number of creative ways to deliver programs and encourage participation while minimizing any additional investment. One example is increasing availability, access and participation via “virtual” formats such as webcast. I invite you to share any thoughts, concerns or comments you may have about what is most important to you and how to optimize our delivery of programs and services.

Enjoy the reading and warmest regards to y’all!

Regards to all!
Lily Berrios, Principal
Sizemore Group
Atlanta, GA
404.605.0690
lilyb@sizemoregroup.com

Lily Berrios, Regional Representative and Southern Region Council Chair
Ken Higa, Membership Chair
Nancy Nusbaum, Communications Chair
Gita Hendessi, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Lewis Godwin, Sponsorship Co-Chair
Tim Fish, Awards Committee Chair
Cindy Holt, Volunteer Coordinator
Watson Harris, Professional Development Chair
Thomas Woodward, Chair, 2009 Fall Conference
Tom Dolson, Program Chair, 2009 Fall Conference
Robert T. Gunn, Special Events Chair

Southern Region State and Area Membership Representatives:

Alabama, need volunteer
Arkansas, need volunteer
Florida, Marie Zeglen
Georgia, Lewis Godwin
Kentucky, Bob Wiseman
Louisiana, Michael Ralph
Mexico, need volunteer
Mississippi, Debra Buchanan
North Carolina, Thomas B. Flaherty
Oklahoma, need volunteer
South Carolina, Michael Watson
Tennessee, Teresa A. Hartnett
Texas, John Russell
Virgin Islands, Mary Ann La Fleur

Communication Report

By Nancy Nusbaum, Communication Chair, nnusbaum@txstate.edu

SCUP Southern Region Newsletter is published by the SCUP Southern Region Council to inform members and friends about SCUP’s Southern Region’s plans, activities, and issues. You will note in the following articles that members of the regional council periodically contribute articles and information to the SCUP Southern Region Newsletter. You can participate in this communication effort, too. We need individuals to step up and volunteer as state or area representatives. Representatives are asked to contribute information of interest for their state and institutions on a quarterly basis. Four representatives are needed as reflected above: Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Mexico. If you are interested in representing your state or area, please contact me, nnusbaum@txstate.edu. Planned publication dates are January, April, August, and November. Feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested. Then invite them to join SCUP so they can get their own newsletter each quarter.

Special thanks go to SCUP staff for their technical assistance with SCUP Southern Newsletters and for emailing it to regional members, SCUP officers, and other friends interested in the mission and activities of SCUP.

Regional Sponsors

SCUP's Southern Region is proud to present our sponsors. Thank you sponsors, for your continuing support and participation:

Partner Level

Platinum Level

Gold Level

Silver Level

Bronze Level

SCUPers, please contact our generous sponsors for information about their services and products, and let them know how much we appreciate them.

Note to potential sponsors:

Here is a complete SCUP Southern Region Sponsorship Package and Benefits Listing and Application form. You can also contact Gita Hendessi at gita@hendessiassociates.com or Lewis Godwin at lewis.godwin@gpc.edu.

Membership Report

By Ken Higa, Membership Chair, khiga@lasarchitect.com

Happy 2009! As we begin a new year, it seems a good time to assess where we are today, so that we can make good decisions on where we want to go tomorrow. SCUP’s fiscal year runs from September through October, so here’s where the Southern Region’s Membership stood at the end of October 2008.

By The Numbers

The Southern Region’s total membership is 949 – a two percent increase over 2007. The Southern Region represents 19 percent of the total SCUP membership.

Who Are We?

Our institutional members represent 66 percent of our regional membership.

Where Are We?

Texas and Georgia top the list of states/countries with the most members.

As always, if you know of anyone that might be interested in joining SCUP or if you have a question about your membership benefits, please feel free to contact me or any member of the Member Relations Team—We are here to help!

Ken Higa
Southern Regional Membership Coordinator
khiga@lasarchitect.com
404.253.6732

Member Relations Team
Todd Dolson (wtdolson@leoadaly.com)
Mary Ann LaFleur (mlafleu@uvi.edu)
John Russell (jhrussel@angelo.edu)

AWARDS COMMITTEE NEWS

By Tim Fish, Awards Chair, tim.fish@coopercarry.com

Note that the submittal due date is fast approaching for the 2009 SCUP Awards program:

• SCUP Excellence in Planning,
• SCUP Excellence in Landscape Architecture,
• SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture
• SCUP Award for Institutional Innovation and Integration

Submittals are due on February 27, 2009

www.scup.org/membership/awards/

Follow the link above for descriptions, criteria, and submittal forms to find the most appropriate category for your submittal. The submittal criteria encourages unified responses from institutions and consultant teams, so try not to wait until the last minute to pull it all together. Gather up your very best work, images, and thoughts and submit them before February 27.

VOLUNTEER REPORT

Cindy Holt, Regional Volunteer Coordinator, holt_mkt@bellsouth.net

We are always looking for a few good people! If you are interested in becoming active or want to increase your activity with SCUP South please contact me. I will be more than happy to help you find a volunteer opportunity that is the right combination of professional development and fun.

I look forward to hearing from you!

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Watson Harris, Professional Development Chair, wharris@mtsu.edu

As the regional professional development chair, I have suggested the conference themes over the past several years and am pleased to provide a glimpse into the theme for the annual Southern regional conference this fall in Memphis. The theme is "Enhancing and Maintaining the Institution’s Cultural Heritage" and builds on our discussions last fall in New Orleans. During the opening plenary, Loyola’s president stated he learned from the recovery process to root the future of the institution in the past. This is wise advice whether you are recovering from a natural disaster or navigating through economic uncertainty. Institutional culture informs the strategies to preserve, celebrate, modify, and enhance the institution in the face of market pressures, budget reductions, and increasing expectations. Join us in the culturally rich location of Memphis for discussions about institutional cultures and their significance in planning for the future. The call for proposals will be open soon!!

NEWS FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVES

States Put Squeeze on Public Universities
Public universities and colleges are expecting midyear budget cuts, again. Pick a state, and more likely than not, its sour economy is affecting higher education. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote in December that 44 states are facing budget shortfalls this year (the ones that aren't? Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming), and 24 states have already proposed college/university cuts. The following reports are from states within the Southern Region:

• Florida's Senate for Higher Education Appropriations committee voted to cut the budget for higher education by almost $200 million in order to help appease the overall state's budget gap of $2.4 billion.
• Louisiana State University system - $29 million in cuts.
• University of South Carolina system - $52 million in cuts
• University System of Georgia - $29.7 million budget reduction in October
• University of Alabama system - $15.8 million

As a result of these budget cuts, reports from the State Representatives are minimal with full reports expected in the next Newsletter scheduled for April.

GEORGIA
Lewis Godwin, lewis.godwin@gpc.edu

University System of Georgia - State of the System

In his annual “State of the University System” address, Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. noted that in tough economic times, it was important to send the message that the University System of Georgia (USG) is not a cost to, but an investment in, Georgia and its future.

“We are an answer, not a question; a solution, not a problem; a part of state government where the decisions made today have the capacity to demonstrably improve the future we, our children, and our children’s children, will all live,” Davis said in his remarks to the Board of Regents. “We must not sacrifice the important for the urgent. We must preserve the historic legacy in this state of public higher education as a clear public good that adds value to the lives of all residents across Georgia.”

Reviewing the University System, Davis noted a number of strengths, including strong leadership at the board and presidential level, outstanding faculty and staff and a growing student enrollment, which hit a record high of 283,000 in fall 2008. Davis cited both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia’s continuing presence on US News and World Report’s annual list of the top 20 public universities in the nation and growing recognition of the USG’s other institutions as independent measures of the excellence of leadership, faculty and students in the system. “The core mission of our institutions – teaching, research, and public service—not only endures, but thrives, thanks to our faculty and staff,” he said.

But the system’s strengths are being tested and challenged, Davis noted, “perhaps as never before.” He cited five key challenges: the academic preparation of entering students, faculty salaries, institutional missions, access versus quality, and public support.

While enrollment is at a record high, Davis said, too many students still enroll who are academically unprepared for college. He cited USG figures that the percentage of first-time, full-time freshmen requiring learning support, while dropping from 30.5 percent in 1995 to a low of 20.9 percent in 2001, has steadily increased to a current percentage rate of 25 percent. “This trend line is headed in the wrong direction,” Davis said.
The challenge is to continue to align guidelines and requirements between the University System and the State Department of Education to better prepare K-12 students for college. “This is a long-term process, and while all of us recognize that the current situation is very tough, hard times do not absolve us from our responsibility to plan for the future,” he said.

Another challenge Davis cited is to remain competitive regionally and nationally in terms of recruiting and retaining needed faculty. While on a pure percentage basis USG faculty salaries have increased since 2000, when held constant in 2000 dollars, the average faculty salary in the University System’s four-year institutions has decreased 3.7 percent since 2000, compared to a 4.4 percent increase in the 16-member Southern Regional Education Board states (SREB). At Georgia’s two-year colleges, the decrease in constant 2000 dollars for faculty salaries since 2000 is even more marked, Davis said, falling 16 percent, compared to a 6.1 percent increase in the other SREB states.

Today, Georgia ranks 8th among the 16 SREB states in average faculty salaries for four-year institutions, falling from 6th place in Fiscal Year 2007, and the state ranks 10th in faculty salaries at two-year colleges, the lowest level since data started being collected in 1989. “We cannot maintain our competitiveness and our core academic quality indefinitely unless we can address some of these salary challenges,” Davis said.
Another challenge to the System, Davis noted, relates to calls for mergers of some USG institutions. “We are not a cookie-cutter system; all our institutions do not look alike,” Davis said.

Davis cited the system’s response to the call for greater efficiencies through its Shared Services project, which is combining back office operations throughout the system. “This (shared services) is preferable to blurring the missions of distinct institutions,” Davis said. “Students do not choose to attend a generic college or university; rather, they choose a USG brand name, which offers the program they need and the environment in which they can excel.”

One of the biggest challenges to the System is maintaining the balance between access and quality, Davis said. To date, Davis said, in general enrollment caps have not been needed in order to preserve academic quality, thanks in large part to the strong stewardship of college and university presidents. But Davis warned that a continuing trend of rising enrollment and falling resources would challenge the system’s ability to continue to maintain both access and quality. “We will not allow this to happen—if necessary, we will restrict access first before we degrade quality,” Davis said.

Turning from specific challenges to more general attitudes concerning the overall benefit and value of public higher education, Davis noted the increase in “national voices questioning whether higher education is a public good, worthy of public support.” Davis said that the University System and its supporters must be vocal in countering fears given credence by tight budgets that public higher education is a private gain and thus public support should be reduced. “This is a classic—and potentially dangerous—example of sacrificing the important for the urgent,” Davis said.

The University System of Georgia enrolls more than 283,000 students, employs 40,200 faculty and staff, serves more than one million Georgians through public service, administers the state’s 61-member public library system, and contributes annually more than $11 billion to the state’s economy—all on current fiscal year appropriation of $2.3 billion that has been reduced by 8 percent, or $182 million, since August 2008.

Governor Perdue Proposes Economic Stimulus Package and Budget Cuts
During his annual state-of-the-state address to the Georgia legislature, Governor Sonny Perdue announced a combination of state budget cuts and a stimulus plan of construction projects. His budget plan calls for no pay raises for 200,000 state employees and teachers next year. The governor said some state agencies would face cuts of more than 10 percent.

Perdue told lawmakers he was confident Georgia would get through the recession and prosper. “We will emerge from these challenging times stronger,” the governor said. “This is a pivotal moment in our nation’s history.” The mid-year budget, which runs through June 30, would drop from more than $21 billion to $19.2 billion. The budget for fiscal 2010 will be $20.2 billion. Perdue’s budget plan is a recommendation, although he alone sets the total amount that can be spent. Lawmakers will now begin working on their versions of the budget.

During the speech, the governor touted his “stimulus plan” that includes $1.2 billion, mostly for new construction projects. Georgia is one of few states with a AAA bond rating, the best available, so it should be able to get good lending rates. “In times that we have trimmed our budget in other areas, we are aggressively increasing our bond package by a full 20 percent over last year,” he said during his address. “This will take advantage of low construction costs and create an estimated 20,000 new jobs in an industry that is ready to go to work.” House and Senate leaders have delayed releasing the money until they can review the projects.

Included in the proposed construction projects are the following projects for the University System of Georgia:

• $1 million equipment for the Alpharetta Academic Facility affiliated with Georgia State University/Georgia Perimeter College
• $3.7 million for equipment for the Engineering Technology Center at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta
• $5.97 million to design, construct, and equip a new central utility plant at the University of Georgia
• $2 million for infrastructure and utility improvements at Georgia Gwinnett College
• $43 million for construction of an Undergraduate Learning Commons at Georgia Tech
• $31.2 million for construction of an academic facility at Gainesville State College
• $17.8 million for laboratory addition to the science building Kennesaw State.
• $26.6 million for a special collections library at UGA
• $2.1 million for design of a new science building at Clayton State University
• $2.2 million for design of an academic building at Georgia Perimeter College Dunwoody campus
• $70 million for major repairs and renovations on college campuses statewide

NORTH CAROLINA
Thomas B. Flaherty, tom@rickesassociates.com

Perhaps reflecting the economic downturn, there is very little news from NC this quarter. On the other hand, there is good news!

North Carolina Stimulus Plan Will Benefit State Universities
An $18 million School of Education and Psychology building at Elizabeth City State University is one of 30 construction projects that will be sped up under a $740 million stimulus plan approved by top state officials.

University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Project Review
Keith Regan reports on how the building and renovation projects at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are coming together to create a campus built for today’s students and tomorrow’s discoveries.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Biotech Building at Kannapolis
Despite construction delays, officials still hope to break ground this year on Rowan-Cabarrus Community College's new building at the North Carolina Research Campus, which will hold its biotech programs.

TENNESSEE
Teresa Hartnett, thartntt@memphis.edu

University of Tennessee Discusses 700 Position Cuts and Regents Vote to Allow Furloughs
University of Tennessee President John Petersen discussed a plan to cut 700 positions in a trustee committee. The discussion occurred hours before the state’s other higher education system, the Tennessee Board of Regents, unanimously gave Chancellor Charles Manning the authority to grant campus presidents power to furlough employees and lower salaries.

Higher Education Faces Cuts
Higher education faces a $181.6 million cut in next year’s budget amid declining state revenues and a deepening recession.

Students Protest Tuition Change
About 250 students from Tennessee Board of Regents colleges and universities gathered at the doors of the state capitol to protest tuition policy changes and higher education budget cuts. Students primarily took issue with the Regents' decision last month to uncap tuition for full-time students taking more than 12 hours, or typically four classes. Students currently can take up to 18 hours at the same rate as 12 hours; under the new rules, starting in the fall students will be charged per credit hour after 12 hours. The students, mostly from Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis, chanted and held signs reading "Save Our Schools" and "Higher ed is not a joke - don't make college students broke."

TEXAS
John Russell, jhrussel@angelo.edu

UT Receives $15M Gift From Briscoe for History Center
Former Governor Dolph Briscoe recently contributed $15 million to the Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin. The center will be renamed the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

The donation will be used to improve the center's scholarship and reputation by funding purchase of more historical collections, paying travel for visiting scholars, and underwriting research and publishing, said Carleton. The center has an annual budget of about $3.5 million.

The collections of the center, which are currently stored on the main campus and at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, include such eclectic items as the historical archives of the Exxon-Mobile Corp. and documents from the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The collection also includes one of the largest archives of Texas history, the American South, the news media and the US Congress, Carleton said. The $15 million donation includes $3 million given by the former governor last year in memory of his late wife, Janey Briscoe, and a $12 million pledge to establish a separate endowment for general support of the center and nearly triples the center's endowment, Carleton said.

University of Houston Earns Carnegie Designation
The University of Houston has reached another milestone in its mission to become a top-tier university. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored the university with its highest designation for community engagement. UH joins the ranks of 68 other institutions to be honored with the Carnegie Foundation's highest classification.

The distinction is based on an array of criteria that gauges university service to the community and students' curricular involvement in community issues. The recognition marks UH as the only public metropolitan university in the nation with this prestigious designation.

The honor is one that "we have emphasized for some time," said Welcome Wilson Sr., chairman of the UH System Board of Regents. Wilson said UH's recent honors and distinctions - which also include The Princeton Review's No. 1 ranking of UH's Bauer College of Business Entrepreneurship Program—"reflect well on the world-class education" the university offers.

TAMU-CC Opens international Education Office
The international student community at Texas AM-Corpus Christi is currently benefiting from the campus' new Office of International Education, whose goal is to help those students adjust to the American culture and ensure classroom success. The new program also is responsible for oversight of the Study Abroad Program, a student and faculty exchange program with universities in other countries.

"The number of international students at the university is on the rise every semester," said Robert Nelsen, associate vice president for academic affairs. "Creating an Office of International Education is crucial to the university, where these students will receive the support, connections and opportunities they need to successfully assimilate into their new environment."

The new office provides guidance and assistance with campus offices and service providers and organizes international events and social activities to engage international students in campus life. There are currently more than 300 international students representing 42 countries among the 9,000 TAMU-CC student enrollment. The office, part of Academic Affairs, also promotes international diversity throughout the campus.

A&M Plans to Base Bonuses on Student Input
The chancellor of the Texas A&M University System wants to give bonuses worth up to $10,000 to some instructors, but, many of the instructors are not interested in the program due to the way the assessments would be based.

"I've never had so much trouble giving away a million dollars," Chancellor Mike McKinney said, laughing.

The bonuses would be given to faculty at Texas A&M University along with the campuses in Prairie View and Kingsville and will be awarded from $2,500 to $10,000 to faculty based on end-of-the-semester critiques by students

Many of the faculty think the program is unfair since the bonuses are only based on the students, and not from others such as peers, deans, and other faculty. At this time many of the faculty have not signed up for this program.

Association of Texas College and University Facility (TCUF) Professionals Hold First Annual Conference
The Association of Texas College and University Facility (TCUF) Professionals held the first conference in San Marcos, TX, in January and was attended by 468 persons. The conference, which was hosted by Texas State University and The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, provided concurrent sessions and workshops to participants that ranged from implementing BIM programs to reporting space utilization to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Presentations from the conference will soon be posted at www.vpfss.txstate.edu/tcuf/.

Many of the articles have been obtained and reprinted from the Texas Government Insider, a publication of Strategic Partnerships, Inc. All articles within may be reproduced and/or reprinted without permission when credit is given.

OTHER SOURCES

ARKANSAS

In his State of the State address, Governor Mike Beebe proposed a number of initiatives targeting the state’s education system. Beebe said improvements in recent years have put the state in a more competitive position that not only improves the lives of individuals but the entire state, by attracting industries and jobs which improve the state’s economic situation. Beebe asked lawmakers for their support in providing more state funds to school districts.

Beebe is also calling for a revision of the state’s higher education funding system to provide money to state colleges and universities based on graduation numbers rather than enrollment numbers. Beebe would also like to see increased scholarship opportunities for non-traditional students such as adults going back to school and those enrolling at vocational or two-year schools. Beebe said future revenues from the state’s lottery will help fund more scholarships to a greater number of individuals. His only other call for increased spending is for the state’s Division of Children and Family Services.

FLORIDA

Florida Community College at Jacksonville will undergo a name change and become a state college this spring, offering four-year degrees in seven areas. FCCJ already offers four-year degrees in four areas: critical care nursing, management, fire sciences management and networks and telecommunications. The new state college designation is the result of legislation passed last year creating another tier in public higher education, between the community college and university levels. Five of the state’s 28 community colleges have already made the switch. The move will allow FCCJ to expand its four-year offerings and offer new programs in early childhood education, public safety management and information technology management. The school plans to add three new programs a year to the curriculum.

The change will include the division of FCCJ into four different entities. In addition to the state college, there will be a non-degree technical college, a general equivalency diploma academy and the three-year-old Pathways charter school. FCCJ officials will unveil the new name at a press conference in early March. The candidates for the new name include Florida Coast State College, Northeast Florida State College, and Florida Northeast State College. The school has almost 80,000 students on five campuses, with two more campuses on the way.

OTHER NEWS

Twenty-seven Degrees and Counting
Sixty-seven-year-old retiree Michael Nicholson from Kalamazoo, MI, has earned 27 college degrees since 1963, and he is not done yet. He started with a bachelor's degree in religious education at William Tyndale College in Detroit. That led to a master's degree in theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. Since then, he has earned two associate's degrees, 19 master's degrees, three specialist's degrees and one doctoral degree. Nicholson has 10 master's degrees, a specialist's degree and a doctorate from Western Michigan University, which the registrar's office reported is the most degrees awarded to any one person in the school's history. The Guinness Book of World Records does not include a category for most college degrees earned by one person. He is currently pursuing two master's degrees at Grand Valley State University, one in health administration and the other in special-education administration.

Raised by a mother with a high school education and a father who had to drop out of school very young to work, Nicholson said he was taught to believe in the importance of education. Many of his degrees relate to teaching. He was a substitute teacher for about 16 years before retiring in 2003. His wife, Sharon, also has earned seven degrees. She said she was inspired by her husband, and she appreciates the tuition discount she receives as a 30-year employee of WMU. Michael Nicholson said he'll keep pursuing higher education as long as he can.

INTERNATIONAL CORNER

New Delhi
The Government will issue an ordinance to create 12 new central universities to be established in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. In addition, three state universities will be converted into central universities.