Shawnee State University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 69.218.214.254 (talk) at 22:01, 1 August 2007 (→‎Student Organizations). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Shawnee State University
The University Seal
TypePublic
Established1986
Endowment$11,454,144million
PresidentRita Rice Morris
Students3,820
Location
Portsmouth
,
Ohio
,
United States
Campus52 acres
AffiliationsNAIA Division II
ColorsRoyal Blue and Dove Gray
Websitewww.shawnee.edu

Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university located in Southern Ohio. It is Ohio's newest state-supported university and is located on the north bank of the Ohio River in the city of Portsmouth in Scioto County. Ted Strickland, Ph.D., the current governor of Ohio, is a former SSU assistant professor of psychology.

SSU has a low student/faculty ratio, and provides more than $1.5 million in scholarships. In the 2006-2007 academic year, enrollment reached an all-time high. [citation needed]

SSU Video

Massie Hall is the oldest building used by Shawnee State University

History

Shawnee State University was established in 1986. The late Vernal Riffe Jr., the former speaker of the Ohio legislature, is considered the "father" of the institution. House Bill 739--authorizing the university--became law on July 2, 1986. Vernal G. Riffe also endowed funding for a state of the art "Center for the Arts," which was named The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts in his honor. [citation needed]

In the early years, the faculty union, a part of the National Education Association, called two faculty strikes. The strikes, in 1987 and 1990, led to a dramatic increase in salary for professors.[citation needed] The strikes stopped academic teaching at the school and were very unpopular with students.

Academics

Shawnee State offers more than 80 Bachelor's and associate degree programs, and had its first Master's degree graduate in June 2007.[1] Shawnee State offers degrees in several areas, including Biology, Chemistry, History, International Relations, Psychology, Sociology, Mathematical Sciences, English and Humanities, Accounting, Computer Programming, E-commerce (Business/IS), Computer Networking (Business/IS), Health Management, Teacher Education, Photography, Graphic Design (Visualist): Print, Web Design, Digital 3D Animation, Digital Simulation and Gaming, Ceramics, Drawing, and Painting, Plastics Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology, Respiratory Therapy, and Occupational Therapy. Shawnee State University’s federally funded TRIO programs prepare qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for programs of post-secondary education. The University features five TRIO programs including Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search, Student Support Services, Educational Opportunity Center, and Upward Bound Math Science.

Shawnee State will begin their new semester schedule in the fall of 2007. The new system will have students attending three 15-week semesters per year rather than four 10-week quarters, and full-time requirements have increased from 12 hours to 15. Students will begin the fall quarter in September and will finish in mid-December as opposed to the before Thanksgiving schedule when on quarters. Students will then return to campus in mid-January before ending in May.[2]

Shawnee will also receive $250,000 from H.R. 2829 Financial Service and General Government Appropriations Acts in FY2008 for new Immersion Technology and Arts Center Motion Capture Facility. The system uses 24 cameras to record movement, store it digitally, and allow it to be converted into animation.[3]

Shawnee State University is also home to the Ohio Appalachian Center for Higher Education (OACHE), an organization that sponsors projects in 40 partner, public school districts and ten member institutions. Its goal is to break down the barriers to access and success in higher education. Twenty-nine Ohio Appalachia counties are in the project area, and OACHE-sponsored projects have been responsible for increasing the college-going rate in the school systems in these counties. [citation needed]

SSU Catalog

Foreign Studies

In the interests of multi-culturalism, SSU has student/faculty exchange programs with several overseas institutions, including Jaume I University[1] in Spain, Al Akhawayn University[2] in Morocco , and Zhejiang University of Technology [3] in China.

SSU also has summer-study programs in Greece, Great Britain, and Ireland.

Shawnee State offers, on a regular basis, many travel/study abroad courses to an ever increasing choice of destinations such as Greece, Britain, Spain, and Ireland in order to increase global awareness among its students. Some of these courses are funded by the Hodgden Travel Fund and many others are funded, in part, by the Center for International Programs Abroad (CIPA).

Facilities

The Clark Memorial Library

Shawnee State, located in downtown Portsmouth, has a 52-acre campus, featuring 36 buildings, including the Advanced Technology Center (home of one of only 50 Digistar II planetariums in the world), the Clark Memorial Library (which provides access to the 45.5 million items of the OhioLINK libraries' collections)[4], the 102,000-square-foot Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, which features an acoustically superior 1,139-seat main theatre and one of only a few functioning Virtual Audio Listening Rooms designed (along with main theater) by George Izenour. Other structures include the James A. Rhodes Athletic Center, which offers a gymnasium that is home to the Shawnee State Bears, weight rooms, racquetball courts, a dance classroom, and a junior Olympic-size swimming pool. A modern University Center [5], a bookstore operated by Barnes and Nobles'[6], and a network of off-campus townhouses for student living are also features of the SSU campus. Up to 600 students, opting for an on-campus experience, may choose from several newly renovated housing complexes.

Shawnee State’s Children’s Learning Center serves area pre-school children and is a lab school for teacher education students at the university.

The university features an ultra-modern computer network. 560 student computers, all of them fewer than 3 years old, are available in 30 labs on campus. The university also offers free Internet services as well as a campus e-mail account to each student, faculty, and staff member.

The Shawnee State University Board of Trustees voted in April 2006 to establish three new centers on campus. The Board established a Teaching and Learning Center, a Women's Center, and a Community Service Center.[4]

Campus Map

Student life

Student Organizations

Student organizations include the AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American), Art Works, Association for Greek Life, Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honor Society), Calliope Club, Campus Crusade for Christ, Campus Ministry, Chemistry Club, Cross Walk, Environmental Club, Fantanime, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Gamer's Guild, Greek Council, Innermission, International Forum, Model Arab League, Pre-Med Club, Resident Life Council, S.C.U.G. (Shawnee Computer Users Group), Silhouette Literary Magazine, Society of Plastic Engineering, Sports Management Club, SSU Pep Club, Student Occupational Therapy Association, the Other World Society, the Shawnee Democratic Society, the Nihilist Club, the Conservative Student Association, the Gay-Straight Alliance, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Circle K International, the Priori de Bolo, Tau Kappa Epsilon (men's national social fraternity), Theta Phi Alpha (women's national social fraternity), and Omega Pi Mu (women's social fraternity). Delta Sigma Phi, a men's social fraternity, is currently on suspension (June, 2007) until May, 2008, and cannot recruit.

The Student Government Association oversees each of the more than forty student organizations. SGA is a member of the National Student Government Association (NSGA).

One of the most popular among all of these is the Student Programming Board known to the students as SPB. SPB plans all the dances,concerts and student events on campus to give the students a better experience on campus.There are positions on SPB that students who apply go through interviewing processes and experience by being being a member.These positions on this board known as the e-board are president,vice president,secretary,cultural programming chair,educational chair,weekend programming,special events.The student programming Board is known to turn a college students life around by joining by meeting new friends,being involved,looks great on a resume,become a student leader,be respected, and not to mention the great things you get to do (like meeting famous people who come to campus).Students must attend 3 consecutive meetings to become a member,join a commitee,and help out.

Campus Housing

Shawnee State University is unique in that all residence halls on campus are apartment-style. New students, who are not living at home, are required to live on campus for at least their first year. There is a full-service, all-you-care-to-eat, dining facility on campus, currently managed by Sodexho Food Services.

Campus Events

Many campus activities and events are organized by the Student Programming Board. Popular annual events include SpringFest, which features a concert; "homecoming," which is held in winter; and the week-long "Scare Week," which corresponds to Hallowe'en." Veterans' Recognition Day and Memorial Day activities often include parachuting and other aerial displays. In 2004 SSU's President, Dr. Rita Rice Morris, participated in a parachute jump [7].

Athletics

Shawnee State University has a rich tradition of success in athletics. A member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, SSU has participated in 24 National Championships in 6 of 11 sponsored sports. The SSU women’s basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship on March 16, 1999. A member of the American Mideast Conference since 1991, formerly the Mid-Ohio Conference, the Shawnee State Bears have won 17 championships. [citation needed] The university also fields teams in basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, softball, volleyball, golf, and cross country. In the Fall of 2007, SSU will have a club inline hockey team. [citation needed]

Athletic highlights

  • 1992 - softball team finishes 10th in NAIA National Tournament[5]
  • 1995 - softball team finishes 8th in NAIA National Tournament[5]
  • 1995 - women's basketball, NAIA National Tournament Final Four[6]
  • 1996 - softball team finishes as NAIA National Tournament Runners-up[5]
  • 1998 - softball team finishes 9th in NAIA National Tournament[5]
  • 1999 - women's basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship[6]
  • 2001 - softball team finishes 9th in NAIA National Tournament[5]

Future

Shawnee's Board of Trustees recently approved a new unversity master plan, a plan for the "university's growth over the next 20 years. The plan looks to reshape the campus, including new structures and renovations.[7] An extensive renovation to the University's Student Center ("University Center") of $15million is underway.[8]

Notable alumni, coaches, and faculty

  • Robin Hagen-Smith - She is the current girls' basketball coach. Among her many accomplishments, she guided the Lady Bears to a NAIA National Championship in 1999.
  • Ralph Cole - He is the current women's softball coach.

References

  1. ^ Ryan Scott Ottney. ""SSU graduates first master's student"". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  2. ^ Ryan Scott Ottney. "Shawnee State University begins new semester system". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2007-07-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Ryan Scott Ottney. "Shawnee funding passes House". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2007-07-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Emily Salmon (2006-04-22). "SSU to establish three centers". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2007-07-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e SSU Athletic Department. "SSU Softball - Quick Facts". Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  6. ^ a b SSU Athletic Department. "SSU Women's Basketball - Quick Facts". Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  7. ^ Wayne Allen (2007-07-22). "Trustees Approve Master Plan, Renovations". Community Common (communitycommon.com). Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Monica Bradbury (2007-06-12). "SSU to renovate university center". SSU. Retrieved 2007-07-28.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shawnee_State_University&oldid=148587142"