The advancement division garnered 29 awards at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education-Kentucky annual conference held in Lexington, including five Grand Champion awards, the highest honor possible, for admissions publications, the Alumni Lecture Series, Northern Magazine, Lincoln Awards speechwriting and an incredible photo essay of NKU’s championship soccer season. Awards of Excellence and Special Merit awards were earned for the overall alumni relations program at NKU as well as numerous publications, feature articles, photographs, television spots, graphic design/illustrations, photography and a variety of electronic communications.

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When students in the NKU Master of Social Work program started last semester, they were a bit surprised to be returning to a high school classroom.

The 15 MSW students and their faculty are part of an innovative Dixie Mentorship program at Dixie Heights High School. Classes for the second-year MSW students are held at Dixie, and each NKU student is assigned a Dixie student who has been identified as "at risk." The MSW students offer a "listening ear" and provide direction to help their Dixie counterparts overcome barriers toward completing their education.

"A parent of a student at Dixie Heights, Benita Rubio, noticed that there was a rapid increase in homeless students at that school," said Dr. Holly Riffe, who directs the NKU program. "She mentioned it to her colleague, Jan Ising, the McKinney Vinto Homeless outreach coordinator." Ising and Rubio began working with NKU and Dixie to brainstorm a mutually beneficial partnership. The Dixie Mentorship program was born.

When the mentorship program began, no one knew just how far-reaching it would be. The NKU students quickly became aware of issues their mentees were facing that even the high school administration wasn't aware of.

One MSW student recalls, "At our first meeting my mentee told me that he was living out of a duffle bag in the woods near the football stadium. I was a little shocked but when I reported it to the administration, they found him a place to live."

According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, homelessness among school-age children is on the rise, with 39 percent of U.S. school districts reporting more homeless students in the first six months of the 2009-10 school year than the entire previous year. Programs like the Dixie Mentorship will hopefully make a difference.

The MSW students in the program will have the opportunity to directly address Dixie administrators and influence future policymaking and support systems at the school. The firsthand information the students gain from their mentees can change the way the schools address the problem.

Acquiring practical, firsthand experience with adolescents from diverse backgrounds is a part of the MSW program. "I grew up poor," said another MSW student. "But it was painfully obvious to me that my mentee's cultural identity was significantly different from my own. Their family life circle is unlike anyone I have met before. It is as if they are from another planet."

But while initially challenging, the experience enabled the NKU students to refine and enhance social work engagement skills related to working with children and adolescents. As another student pointed out, "I have also been forced to be aware of my own limits regarding my knowledge of things like drug use, as well as my responsibility to not clinically evaluate or judge the mentee."

Ising said the Dixie Mentorship program provides a unique opportunity. "Social workers rarely get to experience the inner workings of their clients' environment," she said. "These interns are exposed to a variety of experiences and opportunities to work with students, but also to work with our staff, learning the behind-the-scenes issues of serving at-risk students. This is a real-world experience."

The NKU graduate students get a firsthand look at the problems at-risk students face on a daily basis such as lack of housing or eviction, food, and medical attention. "Interesting insights have emerged." said Ising. "The at-risk students respond positively to the interns for at least two reasons: one-on-one contact focuses on the at-risk student's specific needs and concerns, and the interns are young adults, in tune with children and youth."

The NKU students are trained in a cutting-edge technique called "photovoice," which gives at-risk children and adolescents the opportunity to communicate through photographs. As one Dixie student stated, "I don't believe that my opinion is valued and respected. No one really listens to me when I speak. But these pictures tell the story for me." Despite the fact that many students needed motivation to take the photographs and several even lost their cameras, all of them completed the project successfully and will share the images with Dixie administration during a gallery forum this spring.

NKU officials say they hope to get other schools involved where student homelessness is an issue.

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The NKU Institute for Talent Development and Gifted Studies is accepting applications for the spring 2012 ExploreMore Enrichment Program through February 3. Registration is available by calling X-5600.

ExploreMore classes will begin February 18 and continue for five consecutive Saturdays until March 17. Geared to students in grades K-8, the ExploreMore program offers a broad range of courses to qualified students. Students will have the opportunity to select an interactive, hands-on course that matches their interests and abilities.

This spring's classes include topics such as Comic Kick Starters; Chemistry Challenge; Gobs of Goo; Leonardo da Vinci; Video Game Design; 3-2-1 Blast-Off; Creepy, Crawly Critters; and many more. Class sizes are limited to provide an optimum teaching and learning environment. Classes are taught by qualified teachers, focus on a central theme and are designed to allow students to explore their natural curiosities.

Additional information is available at http://gifted.nku.edu or by emailing gifted@nku.edu.

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NKU has received a $22,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to support school-based and field-based programs in waste management education in local middle schools.

The project will work with five local middle schools to teach students to reduce, reuse and recycle. Along with classroom instruction, teams led by students (with guidance of teachers, administrators and staff) will inventory their school to learn their school's status regarding waste management – is the school conserving resources, recycling and disposing of items properly? Students then propose a school improvement project. This work is part of the Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools Program, a nationally recognized, statewide program that is the only one of its kind in the nation.

The funding, which begins in January, will provide critical startup costs such as personnel, operating, instructional supplies and local travel. The total cost of expanding NKU's School- and Field-Based Environmental Education Program will be $280,000 over the next 5-7 years. The expansion will allow for increased personnel and operating capacity to serve the region. The university continues to seek additional corporate and private support, and fees are collected for field-trip participants, teacher professional development workshops and an instructional materials loan program.

"AT&T is proud to partner with an organization like Northern Kentucky University," said David McFaddin, regional director of AT&T Kentucky External and Legislative Affairs. "This partnership, which meets at the intersection of education and environment, will help us to build on our commitment to supporting sustainability efforts across the U.S. We look forward to working with NKU to make a better tomorrow."

School-based programs work directly with teachers to develop and deliver instructional activities and school-wide projects to reduce, reuse and recycle materials and waste products. Field-based programs include field trips for students to local natural areas to learn about their interaction with the environment.

NKU's Center for Environmental Education seeks to improve the environmental literacy of citizens by providing environmental education to students at local P-12 schools and NKU; provide professional development to educators through workshops and credit-based courses; develop environmental education programs and curricula; present community outreach programs; and conduct research and program evaluations.

Dr. Steve Kerlin, director of the center, said the program funded by AT&T intentionally targets area middle schools and is about more than just environmental education. "We know that engaging students at this age level is critical to their interest and potential retention in high school," he said. "If they find school exciting and see relevance of learning to their lives during the middle grades years, they are more likely to persist and remain in high school through graduation."

The content taught through the project is tied to high school graduation nationally and in Kentucky. Environmental issues, including waste management, are part of the Kentucky Core Content Standards for Assessment. This includes the topics of conservation and recycling of resources and management of waste products. These topics are part of the science, practical living/vocational studies, and social studies curricula and standards.

Dr. Kerlin said Kentucky middle-level curricula are most closely aligned with the topics of conservation and recycling of resources and management of waste products. He said even more importantly, though, programs in this content area for students of this age range have the largest chance of creating an impact on academic performance and student engagement.

Students will participate in field trips designed to connect to their local environment, illustrate firsthand how their actions affect the environment and teach how to protect natural resources. This model empowers students to become environmental stewards – and to see that as individuals and school community members they can identify a problem, take action and make a difference. All the while, they are learning critical science content.

"Students at this age level become very excited about participating in activities that are meaningful and show evidence that they can make a difference," Dr. Kerlin said. "Excitement and participation in school-wide programs, such as school recycling programs, provide students with a sense of ownership in their school and their education. As students feel part of their school community, they are likely to become empowered to continue to be engaged in their learning and school community through graduation."

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There is still time to apply for spring internships at local nonprofits. The Scripps Howard Foundation offers many ways for students to become involved in the community through these internships. Help us get the word out to those interested. The Scripps Howard Foundation supports these competitive opportunities at $10 an hour.

Visit the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement website (http://civicengagement.nku.edu) in order to view the full postings and learn more about the internships.

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Carol Cornell, director of the NKU Small Business Development Center, has been inducted into the Kentucky Small Business Development Center's 2011 Million Dollar Loan Club.

The club recognizes small business development centers across the commonwealth whose directors have secured at least $1 million in loans for their clients. Cornell's success extended well past a million dollars in 2011 as she brought essential business development support services to numerous clients that represent a variety of business sectors, including early-stage technology clients.

"It is an honor to have our consultants reach this milestone especially during this year of economic uncertainty" said Dr. Beck Naugle, director of the KSBDC.

With a strong background in business development, including venture capital, Cornell provides clients with no-cost, confidential business consultation, business development seminars and research to assist clients in making critical business decisions. She oversees the awarding of loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as regional banks and lenders.

The work of NKU's SBDC represents an important asset to the region's efforts to attract and grow entrepreneurial companies. Armed with innovative ideas and thinking, these companies often need guidance to navigate the complexities of early-stage lending and support services.

"Carol's work makes all the difference to startup companies, many of which have relied on family and friends for their early survival," said Jan Hillard, NKU associate provost for research, graduate studies and regional stewardship. "Carol provides a bridge to these companies, transitioning them from uncertainty to a plan for success."

Under Cornell's leadership, the NKU center is poised to bring success to these vitally important companies who are the key source of job and wealth creation for the region.

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All of Campus Digest's articles are available at http://campusdigest.nku.edu. They are also available in a Microsoft Word format (visit http://campusdigest.nku.edu/archive/2012Digest/20120120/CampusDigest.docx). Finally, you can receive these articles via email in a graphical format (pictures and fancier formatting) by visiting http://listserv.nku.edu/mailman/listinfo/campusdigest or text-only format (no pictures, no fancy formatting) by visiting http://listserv.nku.edu/mailman/listinfo/campdigtextonly and following the instructions.

The next Campus Digest issue is February 3 (deadline January 27).

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Northern Kentucky University is committed to building a diverse faculty and staff for employment and promotion to ensure the highest quality of work force and to foster an environment that embraces the broad range of human diversity.

The university is committed to equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and eliminating discrimination. This commitment is consistent with an intellectual community that celebrates individual differences and diversity, as well as a matter of law.

Discrimination against any individual based upon protected status, which is defined as age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status, is prohibited. The university will provide equal opportunity to all employees in regard to salaries, promotions, benefits and working conditions and will monitor these areas to ensure that any differences which may exist are the result of bona fide policies and procedures and are not the result of illegal discrimination.

Last modified: January 22 2012 22:10 EST