Professional Development News

Issue 1 | Winter 2020

Greetings from WHET!

I hope you enjoyed your holidays and a well-deserved break.

The New Year is full of promise for WHET as we celebrate the successes of 2018-19. The past year has given us many reasons to be proud of the momentum and gains of the organization as a whole, as well as the accomplishments of our membership.

Some of WHET's 2018-19 accomplishments include:

Partnered with three non-profit organizations that positively impact girls and women in our professional development workshops
Increased both individual and institutional memberships
Expanded scholarship opportunities to include a book scholarship which was awarded to a student at the 2019 annual conference

WHET is a great organization because of each of you. Thanks for being a part of it, and thanks for helping make the past year so memorable. I invite you to join me in celebrating 40 years of greatness. This year's theme is "Momentum: 40 Years as a Force for Change." Preview our 2020 calendar to stay informed about upcoming WHET events.

With very best wishes,

T achaka Hollins, Ed.D

2020 WHET President

Welcome to Our New Institutional and Individual Members!

We are pleased to welcome East Tennessee State University as a new institutional member at the Tier III Level. Tier III includes membership for an institution's designated Liaison and fourteen additional individual memberships.

WHET offers three institutional membership plans to accommodate the professional development budgets of large, medium and small institutions. To learn more about becoming a member, visit our website .

ETSU Members

Dr. Janna Scarborough, Liaison

Dr. Sharon James McGee

Dr. Wendy Neuring

Dr. Debbie Byrd

Dr. Cheri Clavier

Dr. Amy Johnson

Joy Fulkerson

Carshonda Harris

Adrianna Guram

Dr. Phyllis Thompson

Dr. Karen Keith

Dr. Julia Bernard

Dr. Cindy Chambers

Dr. Pamela Mims

Dr. Amal Khoury

WHET Welcomes New Individual Member

Alexander "Ally" Armstead

Educational Coordinator

Department of Psychology and Human Development

Vanderbilt University Peabody College

2019 Conference Highlights Video

Meet WHET's Award and Scholarship Winners

June Anderson Award Winner

Laura Monks

President, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Shelbyville

Laura Monks is the first woman and seventh President of TCAT Shelbyville. She is a true supporter of student success, an advocate for women in her

community, and a mentor for women who want to advance in higher education professions.

Hal R. Ramer Professional Development Scholarship Recipient

Dr. Josephine McQuail

English Professor

Tennessee Tech

Dr. McQuail is a repeat winner of the Hal R. Ramer award. In 2013, the scholarship enabled her to deliver a paper on New Zealand writer Janet Frame at the Gothic Association of New Zealand and Australia (GANZA) in Auckland.

Emily R. Buckner, a Human Resources Management major at Tennessee Tech, is the recipient of WHET's inaugural $500 Book Scholarship. Joined by her parents at the conference, Emily is a first generation college student who works part time and takes advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.

L ori Groves-White Scholarship

for Graduate Students

Katelyn Dibrell

Master of Accountancy Student

Tennessee Tech

"Attending the WHET conference gives me an opportunity to gain knowledge and insight into succeeding in the workplace. Thank you for covering my membership and WHET conference registration fees."

Other 2019 WHET Award recipients include:

Woman of Achievement Award

Dr. Robbie Melton

Tennessee State University

Dr. Melton's latest endeavor includes establishing Tennessee State University (TSU) as the National Center for Smart Technology Innovations for the purpose of addressing educational and workforce challenges through ‘App’ technology .

The center will house several technology initiatives that seek to bring coding and creativity (known as C ² ) experiences to Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and the Nashville community. TSU will serve as a hub for training educators and preparing students by providing multiple pathways and opportunities to acquire essential digital literacies and coding skills.

Patricia Pierce Conference Scholarship

Ms. Janet King

Flowserve Project Manager

Janet King supports Tennessee Tech as a Project Manager and Training and Development coordinator. She implements a training program for her managers and recently implemented the Strengths Based Leadership using Strengths Finder for the organization's leadership team.

The Patricia Pierce Conference Scholarship will allow her to attend the WHET conference and give her knowledge and insights she can use in her job at Flowserve.

Members in the News

Dr. Tachaka Hollins, WHET President and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the Tennessee Board of Regents, is a 2019 graduate of LEAD Tennessee. The unique leadership development program is designed to provide a pipeline of current and emerging talent for state government agencies facing leadership loss due to workforce demographics.

Dr. Phyllis Adams (shown middle), WHET Historian and Speech and Theatre Professor at Motlow State Community College, will be honored as an "Unsung Hero" at MTSU's 2020 Unity Luncheon on February 20. Dr. Adams is one of five honorees. Read more here .

Professional Development Corner

Key takeaway from Dr. Melva Black's WHET conference presentation, "Using Emotional Intelligence as a Secret Weapon for Leadership Success."

Dr. Black is chair of the communications department at Volunteer State Community College.

Eight Tips to Improve Time Management Skills

Tassany Henderson, Ed.D

2nd Vice President

WHET

In the world of higher education, we tend to say YES more than NO. At certain moments, our professional lives can be a bit overwhelming. However, we must remember that our overall goal is to support students.

Let’s do the following exercise! Take a moment and think about what is one of the most precious commodities in the world. Here’s a hint - it’s not gold or diamonds. It’s time!

Each person has a finite amount of time. Once it's gone, there's no way to get it back. We all get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds in one day. As we know, time waits for no one, so we should use time wisely. With that being said, it's time to share eight useful tips to improve your time management skills.

Rule #1: Prioritize Your Work
Rule #2: Delegate Tasks
Rule #3 & #4: Schedule Task and Set Up Deadline
Rule #5: Eliminate Procrastination
Rule #6: Start Early
Rule #7: Take Breaks Throughout the Day
Rule #8: Learn to Say NO

Read tip details here .

Add these dates

to your Calendar!

Middle TN Regional Drive-In Workshop

The Three Ps of Influence: Power, Politics & Planning

Date: February 28, 2020

Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Central Time

Location: Motlow State Community College, Smyrna Campus

Speakers: Martesha L. Johnson, Chief Public Defender; Dr. DaShaunda Turner, a uthor, motivational speaker, college instructor and business strategist

Lunch is provided and registration is free.

American Council on Education ACE 2020 Conference

Date: March 14 - 16, 2020

Marriott Marquis

San Diego, CA

WHET Day on the Hill

Date: March 25

Time and location details to follow.

East TN Regional Drive-In Workshop

Date: April 3

Time: 10:30 am - 1:00 pm, Eastern Time

Location: Pellissippi State Community College

Speakers: Mary Mahoney, Assistant Director - Recruiting, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Sharon McGee, Dean, Graduate School, East Tennessee State University

Lunch is provided and registration is free.

2020 Annual WHET Conference

Dates: September 24 - 25

Location: Tennessee College of Applied Technology Murfreesboro - Smyrna Campus