The Independent Thinker
Private Colleges Serving the Public... One student at a Time
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AAICU Hosts NAICU President Barbara Mistick at Annual Meeting |
After meeting virtually for almost a year and a half, the Alabama Independent Colleges Board of Directors met in person last week for their Annual Meeting. They welcomed Barbara K. Mistick, D.M. , President of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) who informed the board of the latest happenings in Washington D.C. regarding independent colleges. She reviewed several new initiatives including COVID relief, the Biden Higher Education Agenda, Double Pell grants and NAICU's new Community Impact report. The Board enjoyed candid conversation on the past year's very challenging environment for colleges. |
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Oakwood University and Huntsville Hospital Partner to Open Community Health Action Center |
On Monday, the new Community Health Clinic opened on Sparkman Drive in Huntsville. The goal of the Community Health Action Center is to prioritize health and wellness in northwest Huntsville.
The clinic is a partnership between Huntsville Hospital and Oakwood University.
Huntsville Hospital provides a clinic on the right side of the facility.
The care clinic will serve as a walk-in clinic for Oakwood students, employees, and the community.
The community center, on the left side, will aid in health education and after-school programs for Oakwood University students.
Oakwood University President Leslie Pollard said, “Students will use this as service-learning opportunities, service-learning is the development of service as we are training for our futures careers.
The University initiative, healthy campus, healthy community started in 2015. The initiative is aimed at helping with food insecurity and health disparities in North Alabama.
In February, Oakwood University debuted its mobile market. The mobile market has fresh produce at a discounted price for those in the community.
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Huntingdon College Welcomes Judson College Students Following School’s Closure |
Huntingdon College president J. Cameron West said last week that Huntingdon welcomes Judson College women to begin the transfer process to Huntingdon College. “Huntingdon was founded as a college for women, and we have a deep and long respect for the quality of the educational program at Judson College,” said West. Senior vice president and dean of faculty Dr. Tom Perrin said the process for transfer consideration can begin immediately. “I invite Judson students to contact me directly,” said Perrin. “We will begin a rapid review process of students’ transcripts for transfer of credit consideration even before the student begins the admission process. If the student chooses to pursue admission after transcript review, we will develop a plan of study and expectation of degree completion for each student so that she can anticipate what courses she will take to complete her degree.” Perrin may be contacted at cao@hawks.huntingdon.edu. He asked that students indicate in their email their name, program of study, and any other pertinent information that would enhance consideration of the transcript. For more, click here.
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Faulkner University Officially Adds Physical Therapy Program to College of Health Sciences with Recent Accreditation Status |
Faulkner University’s College of Health Sciences continues to expand with the most recent addition of its third program, Physical Therapy (PT), after being granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), effective April 27, 2021. The PT program will begin August 23 and is approved for a maximum entering class size of up to 50 students. All faculty and staff to serve the first cohort have been secured.
The new PT program, which will allow students to earn a Doctor of Physical Therapy, is a post-baccalaureate degree that allows graduates to apply for licensure to practice as physical therapists, which is required in all states. Graduates will be prepared to practice as generalists in diverse environments and as leaders in their profession, community and as part of the interprofessional health care team.
“I want to thank Dr. Heather Mount, PT program director and her entire faculty for the remarkable job they’ve done in achieving this milestone for the university,” said Dr. Dave Rampersad, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “Special recognition is due to Drs. Cindy LaPorte and Chris Ireland, her two mainstays throughout the process. Heather’s work ethic and devotion to securing candidacy for the DPT has been second to none and we are deeply indebted to her and her team for their service in the cause of Christian Higher Education.”
“I am also grateful to Dr. Leah Fullman for her leadership of the college, as well as to the entire university community for its continued support and collegial spirit in the growth and development of the College of Health Sciences,” Rampersad added. “We give thanks to God for His continued favor in this massive undertaking.”
The PT program involves a combination of classroom learning and clinical experiences. Students will complete 32 weeks of full time clinical education and up to 6 weeks of integrated clinical and community based experiences. During the 8 semesters of the program, students will have the opportunity to practice their skills in a variety of clinical settings, work side by side with other disciplines, including students in the Speech-Language Pathology and Physician Assistant programs as well as participate in service activities across the River Region. The faculty are committed to providing an excellent education in a Christian environment, where students will be prepared to function as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
CAPTE’s approval comes on the heels of the completion of Phase I (48,000 sq. ft) of the University’s Health Science Center, which was completed in March. Several offices in the health sciences have recently relocated to the new facility.
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Talladega College President Dr. Billy C. Hawkins to retire in 2022 |
Talladega College announced that its president and chief executive officer, Dr. Billy C. Hawkins, will retire effective June 30, 2022. When Dr. Hawkins took the helm at Talladega in 2008, the institution was struggling to survive and had under 300 students. He implemented rigorous plans for renovation and growth that resulted in a total transformation of the college. He had one of Talladega’s most prized possessions, Hale Woodruff’s acclaimed Amistad Murals, removed from the walls of Savery Library, where they had hung for almost 70 years, and appraised. They were valued at $40 million, but in danger of disintegrating. With the assistance of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, the murals were restored and sent on a three-year, eight-city tour. The value of the historic collection soared to $50 million.
As a result of Dr. Hawkins’s vision, enrollment doubled to 601 students in one semester. He stabilized finances; increased fundraising; restarted athletics; reopened historic Swayne Hall; expanded academic offerings; restarted athletic programs; beautified the campus; initiated a robust building campaign; and successfully guided the institution through SACSCOC accreditation in 2009 and 2019.
The college has enjoyed record high enrollment increases every academic year since 2018, and all previous enrollment records were shattered during the 2020-2021 academic year, when enrollment soared to an all-time high of over 1300 students.
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Power Moves: Stillman College President Cynthia Warrick Creates Partnership, Impact and Legacy |
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Culture is defined by its leadership. At Stillman College, Cynthia Warrick is the “rudder,” so to speak, in setting the course for the students and staff, alumni and others.
As the seventh president of Stillman and the first female president, Warrick’s vision has changed the path of the college.
“I have the opportunity to put in place a vision that will move the college from survival mode to a transformation into an institution that is sustainable throughout the 21st century,” Warrick said.
She daily proves this statement, setting a stage that will have an impact on the entire college for generations to come.
Stillman has received a grant from Alabama Power and Southern Company to provide technology and dual-enrollment opportunities for high school students in three Black Belt school districts. This grant extends an existing U.S. Department of Agriculture telehealth grant and places state-of-the-art distance-learning equipment in the school districts connected with Stillman to provide courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), cybersecurity and ACT preparation.
“COVID-19 has made a significant impact on higher education and demonstrated that flexibility and change is needed,” Warrick said. “The use of technology is critical to sustainability.”
The pandemic has shown that dependence on traditional sources of revenue, including tuition and fees, is not sustainable for future growth and success. Warrick’s vision embraces technology and seeks to create public-private partnerships for economic development that benefit Stillman and west Tuscaloosa.
She said “providing everyone a seat at the table” and involving them in decision-making will help improve lives and quality of life, so that all people can succeed.
Historically Black colleges and universities like Stillman brought people from slavery to be entrepreneurs, community leaders, educators, health care professionals, engineers, builders and other successful Americans. The impact has included creating more opportunities for students of color and for students from marginalized backgrounds and environments, positively affecting not only the students but entire families and communities.
“We need everyone’s intellectual capital to solve today’s problems … to ensure a better tomorrow,” Warrick said.
“Stillman looks for opportunities to expose students to business and cultural opportunities. We want professional development partnerships to enhance our students’ communications and soft skills,” Warrick said.
As an accredited institution, Stillman is required to have a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). Stillman’s QEP focuses on inter-generational communication.
“We want to ensure that our graduates are able to communicate effectively across the five generations in the workplace,” Warrick said.
Warrick seeks to make Stillman a place of community that partners with others, including businesses, schools, nonprofit and community organizations, and local and state governments.
“We want to be a service to west Tuscaloosa and provide educational and recreational programs for youth and the elderly,” she said.
As Stillman grows and creates more opportunities for its students and the community, the vision Warrick is working to put in place is building a legacy designed to stand the test of time.
“The major lesson I have learned throughout my career is not to focus on what I want, but to focus on what my organization, students and community need to be successful. Their success makes me successful,” Warrick said.
“My legacy is the development of future leaders who take the baton and carry on the work that I’ve started,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to make a difference in so many young people’s lives, and those professionals are now serving their families and communities. That legacy keeps on giving.”
Click here for complete Power Moves story.
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Did You Know? Private Colleges Enroll Similar Percentage of Minority Groups as Public Colleges. |
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Managed Campus: Stop providing support. Start delivering value.
Building and maintaining a secure, highly segmented network is hard. The proliferation of IoT devices like cameras, projectors, printers and card readers, on top of a new blending learning imperative, makes the job even tougher. With Apogee Managed Campus Services, you can put your institutional mission over operations and free up your team to innovate. Get managed core wired and wireless infrastructure, network access control (NAC), and a next-generation security firewall with VPN access, all underpinned by a predictable funding model, comprehensive support, and a diverse menu of secondary services. Click here for more information on Managed Campus.
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