Volume 1, Issue 1 August 2018
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I am delighted to present the first edition of our Internal Newsletter. This publication is designed to increase your knowledge of key items at the Board of Regents and our many divisions.
(It needs a name, so we’re counting on you to share ideas at the staff retreat; put your creative thinking cap on.)
I’m excited to take on this new role at my home agency. Rejoining the Board of Regents to focus on talent development in Louisiana is an honor. In addition, I am so happy to make good on my promise to my daughter: to get home or closer to home for her senior year of high school!
Thank you for the warm welcome. I appreciate your patience as I work to get up to speed. I know change can be hard and with uncertainty can come some anxiety. Together, I am confident that we will adopt good routines, advance important policies and develop a strong vision for educational opportunity in this great state. My door is open, and I encourage you to engage and share ideas.
As a learning agency, we will gather monthly for our
Lunch and Learn
to deepen our knowledge on important issues. We had a great kickoff discussion on GO Grants with Larry Tremblay and our LOSFA partners. We will collaborate across divisions and our upcoming staff retreat will provide an opportunity to come together to share information, food and fun.
Traditionally, summertime provides some down time in the academic world. However, with a Legislative Session and a few special sessions, I recognize that this summer has been a busy one. I hope you will take some time to relax and recharge. Whether that's a long weekend with family, a solo retreat or a staycation, be sure to find some time for you.
Thank you for your commitment to the work and this agency. I look forward to visiting with each of you as I get settled into my new role.
-Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed
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On Wednesday, July 25, 2018, the Board of Regents' Planning, Research and Performance Division, as well as the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA), hosted a joint Lunch and Learn session to discuss GO Grants with staff.
Dr. Larry Tremblay,
Deputy Commissioner for Planning, Research & Academic Affairs, shared the history of GO Grants. Deborah Paul, Director of Scholarships and Grants, and Kelvin Deloch, Manager of Audit, LOSFA, discussed the eligibility requirements, award amounts, and institutions' packaging policy; and Shanna Estay, Executive Policy Planner, LOSFA, shared how GO Grant amounts are allocated to Louisiana's students.
Staff members were engaged and thrilled to see that research proves students in Louisiana are more likely to complete two- and four-year degrees with financial support (i.e., Pell Grants, TOPS, and GO Grants).
If you missed last month's Lunch and Learn session, click
here
to view the slides; and be sure to join us for the next one. This month's Lunch and Learn session on free speech and hazing, facilitated by the Board of Regents Legal and External Affairs Division, will take place at the staff retreat (
invitation below
).
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Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Commissioner of Higher Education
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On Thursday, July 26, 2018, ten members of the Board of Regents staff met with Commissioner Reed for coffee, tea and cookies to hear her vision for higher education in Louisiana, and to share their personal goals.
Coffee with the Commissioner
is a quarterly activity. The next date and time will be announced soon.
Attendees are selected on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Academic Affairs
By Dr. Karen Denby, Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs
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Meet Janet!
If you haven’t met Janet Newhall yet, you haven’t met a very interesting person with guts and personality.
Janet grew up in Farmington, NH, but moved herself to Boston to work her way through college (Boston University – Communication) and then Cambridge (Harvard Graduate School of Education – Higher Ed Admin).
She worked as a PhD Program Administrator (Economics, Boston University, 2.25yrs) and a Grad Student Advisor (Political Science – University of California Berkeley, 6yrs) before moving to LSU (Academic Affairs – academic planning/review, especially related to dealings with the Board of Supervisors and Board of Regents, 4.5yrs) with her husband (recent MS/Medical Physics grad) and two little boys (age 7 and 3).
She came to the Board of Regents in May and Planning, Research and Academic Affairs is just delighted to have her with us.
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LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network
By Cathy Sicard, Assistant Commissioner for LOUIS
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Meet Mike Waugh!
LOUIS welcomes Mike Waugh as their new Library Services Platform Manager.
Previously at LSU Libraries, Mike worked on library technology projects such as the Louisiana Digital Library (
http://louisianadigitallibrary.org
) and developed expertise in supporting the library-related software used by LOUIS libraries across the state. A librarian by training, Mike picked up tech skills over the course of 17 years in libraries, having started with East Baton Rouge Parish Library before LSU. He has given numerous presentations at national conferences, and has written articles and book chapters related to library technology.
In contrast to his technology work, when at home Mike and his wife, Chairity, manage a hobby farm, with a small herd of dairy goats, a collection of bee hives, chickens, ducks and fruit trees. Mike is a member of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana and grew up on the reservation in Charenton, Louisiana.
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Sponsored Programs
By Carrie Robison, Deputy Commissioner for Sponsored Programs
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Congratulations, Dr. Dunn!
Vernon Dunn, program manager for the LA STEM Advisory Council, successfully defended his dissertation in June and will receive his doctoral degree on August 3. The culmination of his degree in Neuroscience, Dr. Dunn’s dissertation studied the properties of amacrine cells in the retinas of chickens and the research results have just been published. Completion of his doctoral degree frees Vernon to work non-stop on the monumental LA STEM Summit, to be held at Pennington on September 7.
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Jessica Patton
Federal Programs Manager
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Christine Norton
Manager of Grants & Contracts
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Alysia Delone
Grants and Contract Coordinator
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SMILE FOR THE NEWSLETTER!
To spotlight a member of the Regents family in next month's internal newsletter, submit your information to Public Affairs at
[email protected]
.
Submissions are due by the 15th of each month.
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EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
Please be attentive to the requests to update your personal contact information. Should we need to reach you in the unlikely event of an emergency, we want to ensure that we have your most up-to-date personal cell phone and personal email address. Emails with more details are coming soon. The Office of Group Benefits included the following graphic in the June edition of
Live Better Louisiana:
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