Columbus State Named to 2011 Military Friendly Schools List

G.I. Jobs magazine today (August 16) announced the release of its 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools, including Columbus State University for the first time ever.

The list at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/2011list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students.

“Columbus State University is so very proud to have received this very special designation,” said Columbus State University President Tim Mescon. “Our proximity to Fort Benning and the Maneuver Center for Excellence is most valued. We are committed to developing and delivering academic programs that meet the needs of our men and women serving our country and their dependents in a manner that respects the academic integrity of our curriculum and addresses the special requirements of those in military service.”

Schools on the list range from state universities and private colleges to community colleges and trade schools. The common bond is their shared priority of recruiting students with military experience.

Colleges have long coveted veterans in the classroom.

“Military students bring a high degree of maturity, life experiences, diversity, leadership and worldliness to the classroom,' said Dorothy Bassett, dean of Duquesne University’s School of Leadership and Professional Advancement, a Military Friendly School. 'Other students and faculty benefit from the different perspectives that service members and veterans bring.”

The tens of billions of dollars in tuition money now available with the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill last year has intensified an already strong desire by colleges to court veterans into their classrooms.

“This list is especially important now because the Post-9/11 GI Bill has given veterans virtually unlimited financial means to go to school,” said Rich McCormack, G.I. Jobs publisher. “Veterans can now enroll in any school, provided they’re academically qualified. So schools are clamoring for them like never before. Veterans need a trusted friend to help them decide where to get educated. The Military Friendly Schools list is that trusted friend.”

Derek Blumke, president of Student Veterans of America and a member of the list’s Academic Advisory Board, agrees. “The Military Friendly Schools list is the gold standard in letting veterans know which schools will offer them the greatest opportunity, flexibility and overall experience. It’s especially important now with so many schools competing for military students.”

Schools on the Military Friendly Schools list also offer additional benefits to student veterans such as on-campus veterans programs, credit for service, military spouse programs and more.

The list was compiled through exhaustive research starting last April during which G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. Methodology, criteria and weighting for the list were developed with the assistance of an Academic Advisory Board consisting of educators from Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Colorado State University, Dallas County Community College, Old Dominion University, Cleveland State University, Lincoln Technical Institute and Embry Riddle; as well as Keith Wilson, VA’s director of education services; Michele Spires, American Council on Education’s assistant director of military programs; Janet Swandol, associate director for CLEP and Derek Blumke, president of Student Veterans of America. A full list of board members can be found at http://militaryfriendlyschools.com/Article/advisory-board/.

A full story and detailed list of Military Friendly Schools will be highlighted in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools and on a poster, both of which will be distributed to hundreds of thousands of active and former military personnel in late September. The newly redesigned website, found at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com, features interactive tools and search functionality to assist military veterans in choosing schools that best meet their personal educational needs. The site currently shows 2010 Military Friendly Schools but will switch to the 2011 list in late September.

Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students and academic accreditations.

-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

NASA and NSTA Send Teachers Flying for Science in Microgravity

/PRNewswire/ -- NASA and the National Science Teachers Association, or NSTA, have selected high school teachers from Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Washington to fly an experiment in microgravity.

This flight opportunity will allow high school teachers and students to propose, design, fabricate, and evaluate an experiment the teachers will fly in a reduced gravity environment. The overall experience will include scientific research, hands-on design and test operations aboard a modified Boeing 727 jetliner. Zero-Gravity Corp. of Las Vegas will conduct the flights the week of July 29 to Aug. 7 in cooperation with the Reduced Gravity Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"This is another innovative NASA project for students and educators to work on actual flight projects that use the unique environment of space while applying their academic knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," said Joyce Winterton, associate administrator for Education at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The teams selected to participate in the program are:
-- Delaware Agriscience Teachers, Middletown High School, Middletown,
Del.
-- Dover High School/Capital School District in Dover, Del.
-- A team of Einstein Fellows, who are teachers spending a year in
Washington at a congressional office or a federal agency
-- Fairport High School/Fairport Central School District in Fairport,
N.Y.
-- Fulton High School in Fulton, Mo.
-- Greensboro Day School in Greensboro, N.C.
-- Jackson High School in Jackson, Mo.
-- Jefferson County Public Schools and Trussville City Schools/Hewitt
Trussville High School in Homewood, Ala., and the University of
Alabama, Birmingham
-- Muscogee County School District in Columbus, Ga.
-- New Deal High School/New Deal Independent School District in New Deal,
Texas
-- Northbrook High School/Spring Branch Independent School District in
Houston
-- Van Alstyne High School/Van Alstyne Independent School District in Van
Alstyne, Texas


"For years NSTA and NASA have enjoyed a strong partnership that has benefited thousands of classroom science teachers," NSTA Executive Director Francis Eberle said. "We are excited we can bring the experience of 'weightless science' to scores of teachers and students nationwide with this program."

Teachers and students will share their experiences and research in a series of interactive Web seminars after the flight week. The seminars are held by NSTA and NASA's Teaching From Space office and Reduced Gravity Flight Opportunities Program. Teaching From Space manages NASA's Education Flight Projects, a national program for educators and students in kindergarten through 12th grade that facilitates and promotes learning opportunities using unique NASA content, facilities and flight platforms.

"This is a unique way to engage students and teachers in hands-on science, as well as give them a ride of a lifetime," said Susan White, director of Education at Johnson Space Center. "Our goal is for that excitement to be carried into the classroom."

The opportunity is one of NASA's many educational outreach programs to improve teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines critical to future space exploration missions.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Unique Scholarship Helps People Affected by Epilepsy Fulfill Life Ambitions

GE Note: Congratulations to the Georgia students who are recipients of this scholarship.

/PRNewswire/ -- UCB, The Epilepsy Company(TM), will honor 31 recipients of the 2008 UCB Family Epilepsy Scholarship(TM) at a reception in Seattle, WA on Sunday, December 7 during the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. The scholarship is awarded to inspiring people whose lives have been affected by epilepsy, and who seek personal growth through higher learning.

Each year, the UCB Family Epilepsy Scholarship is offered to people living with epilepsy, their caregivers and family members to provide financial support for academic and personal achievement. This year, UCB awarded a total of $150,000 to 31 recipients; twenty-one recipients are people living with epilepsy, and the remaining 10 are family members or caregivers of someone living with epilepsy.

The scholarship money can be used toward tuition at any United States-based center for higher learning, including colleges, graduate schools and technical schools. Since 2005, UCB has awarded over half a million dollars in scholarships to qualified recipients.

"There are many people living with epilepsy who continue to have a positive impact on their families, schools and communities. The UCB Family Epilepsy Scholarship allows us to recognize their achievements by making higher education more attainable for deserving recipients," said Rich Denness, Vice President and General Manager of CNS at UCB. "This scholarship is one of several innovative patient programs that demonstrate UCB's commitment to improving the lives of people living with epilepsy."

The American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting is an international conference where medical experts convene to share research findings and discuss relevant topics in the field of epilepsy and other seizure disorders. This year the meeting will occur in Seattle, WA from December 5-9, 2008.

2008 Scholarship Recipients:

The winners of this one-time award were selected from a pool of 588 applicants. Each recipient was considered based on their application, personal essay and letters of recommendation.

2008 recipients and their selected learning institution include:


-Crystal Armstrong Columbus State Community College
-Paul Babbitt Pitzer College
-Lindsey Beth Brewer University of West Alabama
-Steffanie Chamburs Seattle Pacific University
-Thomas Ciccone Binghamton University
-Kaycee Damm Albion College
-Jordan De Jong Mitchell College
-Christa Desjardins New England Culinary Institute
-Courtney DiPersico Palm Beach University
-Jacqueline Hayden University of Phoenix
-Chelsea Henline Townson University
-Cheyenne Hettel Southern State Community College
-Rebecca Huang California State University Dominguez Hill
-Melissa Kielbus Rochester Institute of Technology
-Patrick Masterton Iowa State University
-Samantha McCrary Ball State University
-Jennifer Mitchell Chattahoochee Valley Community College
-Meghan Monhollen Northern Kentucky University
-Trevor Nuener Modesto Junior College
-Allison Rellar University of Cincinnati
-Ryan Schuster University of Toledo
-Lakischa Stewart Thomas Jefferson University
-Erin Vachon-Vierra Northern Arizona University
-Brittany Wagner-Frederick Shenandoah University
-Claire Willeford Georgia State University
-Leigh Ann Youngblood-West Troy University
Note: Some recipients requested to remain anonymous.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Popular Online Contest Keeping Up Kids' Interest in Math

PRNewswire -- As national experts continue to decry the need for more science and math education, a fun math contest Web site at Columbus State University is doing its part to keep interest alive.

Hundreds of thousands of people from more than 213 different countries around the globe are finding their way to the brain-teaser site every month at www.colstate.edu/mathcontest . More than 564,000 hits were logged last year, and the counter is on track this year to double that mark.

The site also has reached the coveted No. 1 spot on Google when someone searches online for "math contest."

All this interest is inspiration for David Rock, dean of Columbus State University's College of Education and the man behind the math contest.

He has spent most of his career trying to change perceptions of math. Research has shown that combining math with technology helps the learning process. So when the Internet first hit the mainstream about a decade ago, Rock found a way to combine technology with learning.

And he made it fun. The questions are not just equations, but brain-teasers, mental slight-of-hands and real-life scenarios for different age levels.

"Too many of our kids lose interest in math as they become older," Rock said. "Perhaps it's because it's not cool or because they don't think it's relevant. But whatever the reason, we've got to do what we can to change that perception "

He and Doug Brumbaugh, a colleague at the University of Central Florida where he completed his graduate degrees and once taught as an instructor, created some online math contests long before Google or other Internet search engines went online. The pair didn't advertise or tell many about it, but people online found the site. Rock promised that everyone who answered correctly would have their name posted on the Web site.

"We never post the answers because we want it to be a teaching tool as well as a place where people have to think," Rock said. "Teachers know that if their student's name is on the site, they submitted the correct answer."

The idea took off and followed Rock as he became a professor and moved to new positions at other universities. At Columbus State University, Rock has collapsed all the math contests he's done into one mega online math contest site. He even talked the White House into including a math challenge on its Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/ .

CSU's math contest site features the Problem of the Week, plus Algebra in Action, Middle School Madness and Elementary Brain Teaser.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page

News to Use in Fayetteville, Atlanta, Columbus, Peachtree City and all of Georgia