New programs, faces and (hopefully) a new building await students this academic year
The signs say “Open Fall 2019” on Campbell University’s long-awaited student union, but students still have a few months to go before enjoying their new home away from home.
Construction remains on schedule — brick work and windows can be seen on the facade, and walls are going up indoors — for the 110,000-square-foot “transformative” addition to campus, and school officials expect it to be “move-in ready” toward the end of the semester, possibly December. When complete, the facility will be home to a new cafeteria and several other dining options, a two-story fitness center, a new Campbell apparel and gift shop, a large convention hall and ballroom and a 200-seat theater.
The student union’s opening ceremony will certainly be a highlight of the upcoming academic year, which kicks off this weekend with freshman Move-In Day and a large slate of Welcome Week activities. The Class of 2023 and the rest of Campbell’s undergraduate and graduate student body will see a lot of “new” — aside from the construction — on campus this semester.
CYBERSECURITY
The start of the fall semester will bring with it a new undergraduate program in the College of Arts & Sciences — a Bachelor of Science degree curriculum in cybersecurity.
The program is a unique addition to the College’s offerings in law enforcement fields. It combines the information technology and security, homeland security and math components necessary for an interdisciplinary degree in cybersecurity.
Currently, Campbell is the only college in North Carolina to offer a four-year undergraduate program in homeland security. The cybersecurity program will provide a track for students interested in technology and online crime activity to become well-rounded scholars with technical, theoretical and analytical skills.
“This program is a natural progression of our longstanding information technology and security program and homeland security program,” said College of Arts & Sciences Dean Michael Wells. “It is hard to go a single day without hearing news of a cyber threat or cyber security breach. Our cybersecurity major will prepare students to help prevent and to respond to such cyber crime.”
NEW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
Omar Banks, the former executive associate athletics director at Virginia Tech, will take over a rising Division I athletics program at Campbell University this fall.
Banks comes to Campbell having served as chief financial officer for the 44th-largest collegiate athletics program in the nation at Virginia Tech, which saw an $11 million increase in total revenue over the previous year and generated a surplus for the first time since 2015. Prior to that, he oversaw all aspects of a $61 million athletics budget at the University of Cincinnati.
Banks said the three areas he’d like to focus on in his new role are getting the most out of the student-athlete experience, giving back to the community and being competitive in all programs.
RESIDENTIAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
There is no such thing as the “perfect” roommate, but the addition of Residential Learning Communities at Campbell University this fall may — in the very least — make a “great” roommate easier to find for incoming students.
Residential Learning Communities, or RLCs, are groups of students who live on the same residence hall floor and have common majors, career goals or personal interests. The idea is that students will find support amongst their peers in these groups and will not only succeed academically, but build stronger social bonds as well. According to Rebekah Gardner, director of resident life and housing, the initiative is part of President J. Bradley Creed’s strategic plan to not only improve retention and graduation rates, but also build a stronger on-campus community.
“Dr. Creed experienced RLCs at other institutions, and he wanted to bring this idea to Campbell,” Gardner said. “Already, we see that students who live on campus have elevated GPAs; and of the students who withdrew from Campbell last semester, only 15 were residential. It shows that when students live on campus, they’re more connected. It has a huge impact.”
Campbell is introducing four pilot RLCs this month:
- GEMS (Generating Excellence in Math and Science) for first-year students.
- LEADS (Leadership Experience through Academic Development and Service) for first-year students.
- RISE (Residents Interested in Science and Engineering) for first-year students.
- Honors Program RLC, for upperclassmen students admitted into the Honors Program.
NEW SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The School of Educationhas announced new graduate programs and a residency program beginning this fall. These new programs will provide additional options for current and aspiring professional educators. The new programs include:
- Add-on Licensure in English as a Second Language: In the English as a Second Language program of study, teacher candidates will be exposed to the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages standards and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for the ESL.
- Add-on Licensure in Instructional Technology: This is a flexible blended program that welcomes licensed teachers of all grade levels (K-12) and areas of concentration to include core content, elective curricula, special education and career and technical education. The program seeks to promote leadership, innovation, active learning, digital literacy and cybersecurity.
- Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: This program will offer the candidate an in-depth examination of the development, implementation and evaluation of North Carolina’s curriculum standards. It promotes the intentional creation, planning and implementation of effective curriculum for all learners.
- Master of Education in Gifted Education: Teacher candidates will examine the National Association of Gifted Education Teacher Candidate Standards and the North Carolina Academically or Intellectually Gifted Program Standards. Candidates will explore effective programming for the gifted learner through an intensive field experience.
- Residency Licensure Program: Replaces the lateral entry program for candidates who currently have a bachelor’s degree and are seeking the initial North Carolina Teacher License. This program is an online program which offers the beginning teacher the opportunity to coordinate the demands of the teacher with the requirements of obtaining the initial licensure.
MASTER OF ARTS IN FAITH, LEADERSHIP
Campbell Divinity School’s Master of Arts in Faith and Leadership Formation is designed to help recent college graduates entering the workforce and those with established careers discover a meaningful mission in their work. Graduates of the program will leave with practical knowledge of what a life of deep faith and service-oriented leadership looks like in their fields.
The first cohort of the MA in Faith and Leadership Formation will begin in January 2020, but the application to apply is now available and the deadline is Nov. 15.
Cameron H. J. Jorgenson, associate professor of Christian Theology & Ethics, will serve as the program’s director.
“Leadership is not just about doing, it is about becoming a person worthy of following,” Jorgenson said. “Our work is to support students in this transformation, helping them to gain the skills, knowledge and character required to love God and neighbor through their work in the world.”
The 18-month degree program is taught with both online and face-to-face instruction and designed to be accessible to students with careers or other commitments without sacrificing the valuable community that comes from learning together in a classroom.
TEXTBOOK RENTAL PROGRAM
Main campus undergraduate students will have the opportunity to save money on textbook costs with the launch of the Camel Direct Textbook Program this fall.
Students will be automatically enrolled in the program at a flat-rate fee of $375 per semester for full-time students. The fee for part-time students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours is $187.50. The fees will be billed to student accounts.
The rental program, which provides all required textbooks, lab manuals, access codes and electronic book versions before the first day of class, will save students an estimated $500-$1,500 per semester.