“I realized that even though getting a college degree will not guarantee success or a career, it was something that was important to me.”   

Four years goes by fast. It seems like only yesterday I registered for my first semester of classes. Now, graduation is only a few weeks away.

A series of poor choices in my early 20s landed me back in school in my late 20s.  I got tired of working menial jobs for even less than menial pay 40 hours a week.  I realized that even though getting a college degree will not guarantee success or a career, it was something that was important to me.  Getting an education is an accomplishment. It is something I worked hard to earn; it’s worth more to me than money or material possessions. It is all mine.

College is a time to grow and learn.  It is a privilege to be able to attend an institution of higher learning, so my words of wisdom as a soon-to-be alumna are to make the most of it.  While graduation and the months ahead are both things I am looking forward to, I am sad to be leaving Augusta State, and I am also leaving my job to move back to my hometown.  There are many changes ahead.

My first semester back in school was in January 2008. I hadn’t been in a classroom in close to 10 years. I was terrified.  I took one class my first semester back—Dr. Mixon for American History. I made an A in his class, and I knew I was where I supposed to be—back in school.

It hasn’t been easy.  There were many times I called my parents crying, frustrated, irritated or ready to give up. College isn’t cheap financially or emotionally, but the return on the investment will be worth it in the end. I worked about 25 hours a week at a local restaurant, which provided a way for me to have health and dental insurance.  I also found, through my newswriting class, that I love to write and edit.  This new found hobby of sorts landed me a position on The Bell Ringer staff as the copy editor, and I have been a staff writer and copy editor for the last two years.

I have learned more than academics in my four years here. Not all education is strictly about book learning.  I have learned to get along with some very difficult people; I have learned that some instructors should not be teaching; and I have had some really wonderful instructors.  Not all classmates are friend material, while others are best friend material.  I learned that studying really does work and that waiting until the last minute to do things doesn’t work out so well.  The most important lesson I learned is:  Yes, I can do this, and yes, I did.

The nursing program is about to undergo a metamorphosis, and while the initial phases may seem frightening, the end result will be a more competitive program.

Changes are on the way for the Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University nursing departments, and those changes will be here sooner rather than later.  The departments are expected to be consolidated by January 2013.

In a nursing department forum held at Augusta State, Ricardo Azziz, president of Georgia Health Sciences University, addressed roughly 140 people on Thursday, April 11, 2012.  He said there will be more meetings like this one, and he is encouraging open communication and transparency during the consolidation.

The consolidation process is not an easy one, and there are about 50 consolidated work teams who are working to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.  Azziz said the teams are working on everything from faculty affairs, to student affairs, to housing to staff relations, but he emphasized that at the end of the day, it will be a new University.

“One of the first things I told the group is we’re not an overgrown health sciences university,” Azziz said. “We will not be an overgrown medical school; we will not be an overgrown ASU.  This is a completely new comprehensive research university.”

As Azziz explained, comprehensive means the University will be offering graduate and undergraduate programs, and it will continue to grow over time. The new university will be a research university because part of its mission is to do research. He said there are about 4,300 colleges and universities in the United States, and only about 15 percent of those do research in any type of major way, and the new university will be part of that 15 percent.  For both universities, this will be an added bonus.

“The moment we consolidate, we will be part of the top five percent of the Carnegie Institute’s classifications of universities for doctorate granting high research activity university,” Azziz said.  “Research isn’t everything (nor is it) the end-all-be-all. First of all we educate and train students, and that’s why we are a university.  Secondly, research will be part of that portfolio; it won’t be for everyone, but it will be for some of those colleges and faculty.”

When the two universities merge, the student body will be at approximately 9,500, and as Azziz said, there is not a lot of overlap in academic programs as the consolidation begins—the only major overlap is nursing. This consolidation is about creating a new university and will not focus on eliminating programs or departments.

“It’s an additive effect,” Azziz said.  “We’re actually creating and adding and summating colleges to create a bigger university.  The only two areas where there is overlap, is the college of graduate studies, the other one of course is nursing. It’s the only program that we actually had two programs.  Now we have to create one college of nursing in the new consolidated university.  That is actually the most difficult part, but in many ways because we are all interested in the same things—quality training, patients, health care, that is going to make it easier as we move forward.”

Among other concerns is the question of whether the entrance requirements into the nursing program will change. Charlotte Price, chair of the nursing department at Augusta State, said it is perhaps too early to tell.

“Because they are nursing majors there will be some things they will all have to have,” she said. “We do have an admissions committee that is a consolidated committee composed of ASU faculty, GHSU faculty, and they are looking at that. They will present their recommendations to a larger consolidated faculty and we will do what we think is the least harmful to the students, but also maintain the quality that we are seeking for the future.”

Lucy Marion, dean of the College of Nursing at Georgia Health Sciences University, said she is personally interested in developing access to the nursing program for those who do not otherwise meet the minimum requirements.

“We have such demand for our program that it is difficult for students who are outside of the norm to get into our program,” she said. “We are all very interested in looking at other kinds of models from the campus level like the idea of the (University) College; Is there some how we can value that in a different way? That junior college idea: How can we use that to the benefit of increasing access to our students?”

Having helped merge three departments at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Marion said she enters this consolidation with confidence.

“I think that it gives me optimism first of all,” she said. “I know it can be done. I know it hard at first. We have to get our understandings of one another’s work patterns and strengths and how we can complement each other. There was a lot of complexity, but when those three groups came together, that department became the most productive department at that college. But, it took a while to do it.”

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Carol Rychly, said that she has been impressed with the efforts of both nursing departments throughout this difficult process.

“I think one of the exciting things I see is the amount of work they have been doing collaboratively,” she said. “What we are seeing here is true collaboration, a real consolidation where they are looking at new ways to do even better what they are already doing extraordinarily well.

An urban cowboy, an aviator-shade wearing, harmonica-playing soothsayer, a slightly gothic, heavy metal-themed soundtrack, and gunfire turned “Julius Caesar” from a Shakespearean play into a night of laughs, screams and applause.

The play opened with Artemidorus warning Caesar to be careful who he trusts.  The stage went dark, and when the lights briefly came up, Caesar was standing on a platform in front of his accusers, and was then shot. Yes, shot multiple times.  Then the stage went dark, and this mix of heavy metal/rap music began playing. People clapped.  It was a pretty awesome opening scene.

For the most part, Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is a boring play.  Lots of monologues, little action, with all of the characters complaining about how much they hate Caesar.  However, Doug Joiner, senior lecturer of communications and director of the play, added all of these interesting parts and made it into a punk-rock, gothic, sometimes humorous play.  The audience seemed to like Joiner’s take on “Caesar.” They laughed, clapped, screamed and sighed during the play.

The costumes were not elaborate, and most of the clothing the characters wore were regular, everyday clothes. The female characters wore jeans, boots, tank tops, and sweaters, and had several costume changes.  The male characters wore jeans, combat boots, leather jackets, coveralls and cargo pants, except for the Soothsayer; he had his own special look, which happened to be my favorite.

He was dressed in a tan suit, complete with matching vest and tie.  One of his pant legs was rolled up, showing a navy blue sock and mismatched shoes; one was a dress shoe and one was a loafer. He wore aviator shades, a fedora and played the harmonica.  He spoke in a calm, almost hypnotic tone.

The set was the most interesting part of the play.  From the audience view, on the left-hand side of the stage was a “car.” By car, I mean, I think it was supposed to be a car, but it only had one door, two mismatched car seats, and a headlight, which was later used to show Caesar as a ghost, and a rear bumper.  The characters used the car as one would a couch; they would randomly sit on it to drink whiskey from a flask, talk to each other, or strangle one another.  On the right-hand side of the stage was a wooden box painted gray.  It was used similarly to the car, but not as often. Behind the gray box was a fire barrel.

The main part of the set and stage was quite creative.  On each side of the stage were two huge cylinders, used as the entrance and exits—think sewer pipes.  They were illuminated by green lights, and it gave the stage an eerie look.  In between the pipes was an elevated stage that was back dropped by a partial brick wall with a window; the window was also used as an entrance and exit from stage, characters would climb through the window.

The staircases to the elevated stage were two ladders, but not like regular ladders, they looked like scaffolding ladders. Behind the main stage was another stage area, but it was not used. It looked similar to scaffolding, it was covered in some sort of camouflaged netting and had a machine gun attached to the top of it.  It was definitely not your regular “Julius Caesar” set.

The theater was used as part of the set, too. At one part of the play, Antony walked down the center aisle and onto the stage.  It added an element of surprise.  I was sitting in an aisle seat and wasn’t expecting him to walk past me and onto the stage.

Joiner’s use of contemporary style of music, dress and violence changed the play from a dull, monotonous production into a sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, sometimes really violent play. There are several lessons to be learned from “Caesar:” Things aren’t always as bad as they seem, you really should be careful who you trust, and Joiner can take a mundane play and turn it into a college theater work of art.

“You see, the new neighbors aren’t exactly the type that fit into my parents’ neighborhood; they are more suited for an episode of  ‘Swamp People.’”

My parents have new neighbors.  They welcomed them with open arms, until the new wore off pretty quickly.  You see, the new neighbors aren’t exactly the type that fit into my parents’ neighborhood; they are more suited for an episode of “Swamp People.” Yes, a family of country bumpkins moved in next door.

My parents’ neighborhood is less than 10 years old, and everyone in the neighborhood has worked diligently to plant trees, grass their lawns and maintain order and class.  The neighborhood has covenants, which each homeowner agrees to and signs at their real estate closing. It is a legal document, spelled out in precise terms, easily understood, unless you happen to be the newest member of the neighborhood, here and after referred to as “the Bumpkins.”

Strike one:  One of the covenants prohibits separate buildings of any type other than the house on lots unless approved by the homeowner’s association, and it has to match the exterior of the house.  This includes sheds, carports, garages, etc.  So, what does the new neighbor do? He puts a shed in his back yard that in no way, shape or form matches his house or the house next door or the house five doors down, and it’s ugly.  There is no other way to describe it.

Strike two:  Vehicles that are immobile for more than 30 days are not permitted in the neighborhood.  It can sit in a driveway or yard for 30 days, but on day 31, the car has to be towed.  Well, guess who has a wrecked jeep covered with a tarp that has been sitting in the driveway for about 30 days? The Bumpkins.

Strike three:  Yards are to be kept free of debris, trash and other junk-type items.  Guess who has piles and piles of junk in his yard? The Bumpkins.

Needless to say, neither my parents nor the rest of the neighborhood is very happy. To make matters worse, the Bumpkins’ house sits on a corner lot, so everything is visible from four different angles.  Don’t worry, the neighborhood watch is on it.  They have already called the developer of the neighborhood, and they have thoroughly researched the covenants to make sure they are correct in their accusations.

My father and I had a lengthy discussion about this situation, and our conclusion was as follows:  What is the point of buying a house in a neighborhood known for being neat and orderly if you’re not going to take care of it? Or, rather, what is the point in working hard and buying a house only to turn it into a junk yard not even a month after purchase?

Mom and I also had a discussion about the Bumpkins.  She informed me that she no longer speaks to them if she sees them outside.  She is very upset by this situation.  For my mom to not speak to someone, it has to be pretty bad; she is the most gracious person I know.

Love thy neighbor? Sure, but only if he reads the not-so-fine print.

It’s a showcase of the best of the best and their bright ideas.

The 13^th Annual Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) Conference is March 21 and will be held at Augusta State University in the Jaguar Student Activities Center.

This year’s theme is “Bright Ideas,” and the conference features 45 student presenters and their faculty advisers from all colleges at Augusta State and their research projects.  The students and their faculty advisers worked together on researching topics ranging from health care costs to fish populations off the coast of Georgia to gender roles and Shakespeare.

Harry Reed, senior biology and chemistry major, researched along with his adviser Chad Stephens, assistant professor of chemistry, the synthesis of benzothiadiazine sulfone derivatives as potential HHV-6 Inhibitors.  In layman’s terms, benzothiadiazine is a chemical compound and HHV-6 is the human herpes virus six, which is found in nearly 90 percent of the population.  HHV-6 affects children in the first two years of life and is the cause of roseola, a rash and fever most infants get in the first three months of life, but a person carries the virus for life.

“It (the virus) becomes latent,” Reed said. “If you become immuno-compromised, if you need an organ transplant or you have HIV, it can be deadly.”

Reed’s research focuses on finding an anti-viral medication that will be more effective against the virus.  He said the process is complicated, and there are some medications in phase testing; however, the drugs are being tested on adults who are immune-compromised.

“Anti-virals is a game of numbers,” Reed said.  “Viruses are so small, and they replicate so much more, so there’s opportunity for natural selection. They accumulate mutations more, and they develop immunity to drugs a lot faster.  The name of the game is to have as many anti-virals as possible and cycle through them when the virus comes up.”

As Reed and Stephens wrote in their abstract for the PKP Conference, they have sent six benzothiadiazine derivatives produced to the Rega Institute for Medical Research in Leuven, Belgium for testing against HHV-6, and their research was funded in part by the HHV-6 Foundation.

The numbers game was also part of the research for two other students, but the numbers in their research pertained to health care costs and the bottom line for hospital and clinic care.

Gordon Jackson and Krutiben Zemse, post-graduate students in the Hull College of Business, along with their faculty adviser Diane Robillard, associate instructor in the College of Nursing, developed a business plan for the Greater Augusta Healthcare Network (GAHN) called EZConnect, which is a simply a model plan for GAHN to consider as part of its business operation.

According to Zemse and Jackson’s research, in 2011, 44,000 people in the Augusta, Ga., area were uninsured.  Instead of utilizing clinics for low-income or uninsured patients, most use the emergency room as an alternative, which in turn increases the medical costs for the hospital.  Zemse and Jackson incorporated into their business plan funding for staffing, advertising and managing a network within GAHN’s stakeholders, which, as they wrote in their abstract, would consist of five hospitals and seven community healthcare centers. The operation would serve patient needs with the intent of saving money for the local hospitals with a portion of the money saved being donated to the clinics.

“The goal is to turn it into a working entity,” Jackson said. “(So there is a) return on investments for hospitals when they refer chronically ill patients to a local community clinic, so they can get the on-going care if they don’t have health insurance or they’re under-insured to get treatment.  Instead of waiting until they degenerate and they’re in a lot of pain; they go to the hospital and that ends up costing the hospitals a whole lot of money. Of course, everyone else has to pay.”

As of now, as Zemse and Jackson point out in their abstract, there is no central coordinating entity to manage patient appointments and referrals to clinics, which is where EZConnect comes in.  The plan would allow for funding to pair patients with a clinic that best suits them for medical treatments and geographical locations.

“It affects the quality of care too,” Zemse said. “If we can deviate some of the patients who don’t need to go to the emergency room, they just need to have their blood pressure checked, or get some pain pills, they go to the clinic during regular hours and it would create less of a load in the ER. They can get seen sooner and the quality of care improves.”

With much emphasis placed on healthcare and its importance in society, another student chose to research a topic that recently received attention for its importance, internet access and political rights.

Richard Ledbetter, senior political science major, chose to research the effects of Internet access on political rights as part of his research methods class. As he wrote in his abstract, his study looks at the relationship between Internet access and the political rights of individuals in states. In Ledbetter’s research, states refers to countries.  His reasons for choosing Internet access and rights had to do with the Arab Spring, which were the uprisings in Arab countries in 2011.

He said he discussed the demographic makeup of Internet users, the ways in which the Internet can and has been utilized by users as a tool for political influence, and the approach of several authoritarian states toward Internet use. He looked at more than 200 countries, and his state population estimates came from the CIA World Factbook. He used the Freedom House data on political rights by state to assess the relationship between Internet access and political rights.

“China and other authoritarian states, and some of these distant terrorist organizations, like Anonymous, hacked into and did a distributed a denial of service attack on the CIA’s Webpage recently,” Ledbetter said.  “The states are attacking Websites, and they will do a distributed denial of service attack so people can’t access content, but there’s also filtering by authoritarian states where they block access.”

Ledbetter will present his research and its findings in more detail during the Poster Session of the conference from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the JSAC Ballroom.  Reed will discuss his research in Session 2 from 2-3 p.m. in the Hardy Room in the JSAC, and Jackson and Zemse will present their project during Session 7 from 3:15-4:15 p.m. in University Hall, room 170.

“One thing I have learned in my years in food and beverage is that if you want to get things done, always keep the kitchen staff happy.”   

My last column, “Hospitality Has Its Limits,” discussed a few random events that have occurred in the course of my career in the food and beverage industry. While it’s true working in a restaurant is no picnic, there is a positive side to it.

I have worked at the same restaurant for a little more than four years, and during this time, I have met and befriended some truly wonderful people—regular customers, some of my co-workers past and present, Masters Tournament customers, you get the idea.

I am a very reserved person, probably not the best personality-type for the food and beverage industry, and I prefer not to share my personal life with guests, other than idle chit-chat.  This occasionally offends people, but most seem to share my sentiment that they are there to eat dinner, not listen to me prattle on about my personal life.  However, there are some who I have made friends with.

A married couple and their two boys, who are my very favorite customers, have been coming in for years, and I have been waiting on them since the boys were toddlers.  One of them always had a blue blanket that he would periodically leave behind. I would always take the blanket and put in the cabinet so it didn’t get mixed in with the regular lost and found items.

The boys always have super-cool toys. Robots, cars, cards, etc.  I love stuff like this.  I always talk with them about their newly acquired treasures.  Recently it has been Angry Birds and Bakugan.  I know their drink orders and even their food orders by heart.  The boys are quite sophisticated with their food choices for four and six year olds: salmon, French onion soup and sweet potatoes.  They are a joy to ‘wait’ on, and I am friends with them on Facebook.

My sister worked at the same restaurant I do when she was a student at Augusta State.  She has since graduated and moved on to the real world, but she left me some really nice regular customers in her departure.  They still ask about her, and I give them regular updates on her real world progress.

Most of my regular customers have been dining in the restaurant for years.  I have gotten to know them well.  It’s sort of funny to think about how things change during the years. Another couple of my regulars have dated, gotten married, and had a baby in my years at work.

One thing I have learned in my years in food and beverage is that if you want to get things done, always keep the kitchen staff happy.  About once a month or so, I swing by Sonic on my way to work and buy the guys that work in the kitchen a drink. They are always willing to help me out when I need it.

Hospitality does have its rewards.

It was a meeting of the minds.

About 60 members of the two nursing departments met Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. at the Health Sciences Building on GHSU’s campus for a meet-and-greet to discuss the two departments, current enrollments and future plans.

Charlotte Price, chair of Augusta State’s nursing department, and William A. Bloodworth, Jr., president of Augusta State University, gave brief remarks before opening the floor to questions from the faculty and staff of both nursing departments. Bloodworth began the discussion with a little humor.

“Let’s take questions,” Bloodworth said.  “Is this yet another open forum? I’ve got the answers down. There’s a limited number; a very finite number of answers.  Yes, no, that depends on the Board of Regents, that depends on staff, or let me ask Dr. Azziz to respond to that. I’ve got that down.”

Bloodworth said the nursing programs are the two programs that represent the only commonality and academic programs between the two institutions.  He said nursing is the premier program at Augusta State, and it attracts a lot of students.

“We’ve got to get past this ‘we’ and ‘us’ thing,” Bloodworth said.  “We, at Augusta State, can bring some really good things to this merger.  I know we can bring to the new institution nursing faculty an emphasis on nursing that will indeed help make this new university greater.”

Bloodworth then opened the floor to questions and spoke for a few more minutes.  No one asked any questions, so he thanked everyone, and Gretchen Caughman, executive vice-president for academic affairs and provost for GHSU, spoke briefly.

“I want to welcome our ASU colleagues,” Caughman said. “It is wonderful to have you all here. I am really, really excited. It’s going to be challenging; it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’m not seeing a whole lot of people who are afraid of hard work when I look around.”

Caughman spoke on the importance of continuing the legacy of providing the next generation with education.  She said she has respect for the nursing profession, and while Caughman is not a nurse, she said she knows what nurses are made of and what nurses provide to the students and to each other.

“I know we can do great things for this state and this community together,” Caughman said. “I am just really thrilled.  I think we will all, as a university, as faculty, staff and students, have the opportunity to show what we are made of. I think this group, more than most, will really be the showcase for making and getting it right.”

The meeting was informal with light refreshments served.  After Caughman spoke, everyone was given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the group.   The group was given another opportunity to ask questions, and Price gave both departments a brief overview of the nursing program at Augusta State.

“Nursing at Augusta State is not new,” Price said. “We’ve been here since ‘68. We started out as ASN and transitioned over into BSN in 2010.  We have produced more than 1,600 nurses, and most of our nurses stay in this community.”

Price said Augusta State’s nursing program’s retention rate is about 90 percent, and the average GPA is about 3.0. The program’s students are not necessarily traditional; she said the students have a life history, and they bring issues with them.  Price said the retention rate is something to be proud of.

“We are student focused,” she said. “We converted from ASN to BSN in 2010, and we were a bit concerned about demographics and whether or not that would affect the student body.”

GHSU’s nursing program is somewhat different, and it is in the process of changing its strategic plan.  Lucy Marian, dean and professor of bio-behavioral nursing for GHSU, spoke about the nursing program and the changes ahead not only with the merger, but with the changes to strategic plans and how it will reflect the enterprise of GHSU.

“We are the flagship for the state,” Marian said. “Therefore we have responsibilities, and that is to partner, to share, and to provide leadership when we have the opportunity to do that.  Partnership is the major focus that we have—and growth.”

Like Augusta State, GHSU offers a BSN, but it also offers a MSN.  Marian said GHSU admits 40 students in Augusta and 40 students in Athens, Ga., each year.  She said it is a 16-month program, and at the end of the 16 months, students are eligible to sit for exams and have their masters in nursing.  In addition to these two programs, GHSU offers degree programs up to a doctorate of nursing.

“We are very proud of our school,” Marian said. “We do see that we can get better with our working together to create this new college of nursing.”

I wait tables for a “living.” It is a means to an end, and I have some fairly entertaining stories to accompany my years in the food service industry. I am saving those for a book I’d like to write one day. The following will give you a brief glimpse into some of the experiences I have had as a server.

Medical problems: On occasion there are emergencies that happen that lead to getting sick in public; however, if your child has been throwing up all day, it is probably not the best idea in the world to bring them out to dinner with you and your boyfriend. I had a table with a sick child one night who vomited all over the table. I kindly brought them some towels to clean up the mess. They were offended that I wouldn’t clean up the mess. I am a server, not a maid.

There are those who suffer from diabetes. Things happen with blood sugars and insulin shots. Please do not check your blood sugar at the table, give yourself an insulin shot in front of the entire dining room, and then leave the syringe and the meter insert with blood on it on the table for me or the hostess to pick up. Rude doesn’t even begin to describe this. That is what restrooms are for. Wash your hands afterwards and throw everything in the trash yourself.

Relationship problems: Everyone has gone out to dinner and had a disagreement with a significant other. Don’t sit at the table and argue back and forth about money, why he looked at another girl, parents, exrelationships and baby mama drama. Save it for Wal-Mart.

First-dates can be awkward for the couple as well as the restaurant staff. You don’t need permission to order things. If you want something to drink, order it. If you want an appetizer, order it. This is not 1800 where the guy pays for everything. Don’t expect the server to supplement the conversation. You came out to dinner with him/her. You’re on your own on this one, Buddy.

Reading the menu: I am a server, not a kindergarten teacher. Most restaurant menus are printed in English and are easy to read. Read the menu and decide what you want. Don’t just point to a picture and expect me to know what you want. Sometimes the pictures overlap, sometimes the sides are different than what is shown on the menu, and pointing at things has a slightly caveman-like element to it. Why not just say, “Me want that?”

These are only a few of the many things I have seen first-hand working in a restaurant. If you’d like to have an enjoyable dining experience, just keep in mind, servers are not your therapist, date or maid.

Knowledge Integrated.

Two words and the acronym K.N.I.T sum up the main focus of Augusta State University’s Quality Enhancement Plan. The plan is a 100 page document written by Wesley Kisting, assistant professor of English, with the help of five development teams consisting of 32 faculty members.

“The reason for the QEP,” Kisting said, “is (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) SACS decided about a decade ago, they wanted a more concrete way of making sure the universities they accredit have an ongoing plan for making refinements to their teaching and curriculum, assessing the impact of those, and making changes as needed to ensure they are always improving the quality of education. That’s why QEP stands for Quality Enhancement Plan.”

Kisting said the QEP includes clearly defined educational goals, specific student learning outcomes that can be observed and measured, a plan for measuring the outcomes and its success, a budget for the five year period the plan is required to be implemented, a management structure for

“Students need to be aware that we are going through a reaffirmation process with SACS,” Kisting said. “They are an accreditation agency; their preferred term is reaffirmation, but that’s how we get accredited as a legitimate university.”

The QEP committee has been working on promotions for the plan and its purpose to prepare campus for the SACS visit in March 2012. Ray Whiting, associate vicepresident for institutional effectiveness and research, said it is important for everyone to understand that the QEP is not optional. He said it is a part of the process of gaining reaffirmation of university accreditation which takes place every 10 years.

Promotion is a large part of the QEP. Students, faculty and staff need to be aware of the QEP and its function. The posters, cups, buttons and dry erase boards seen on instructors’ office doors were paid for through the QEP budget.

“One hundred percent of the money that was spent on all promotional items is private money from the Foundation,” Whiting said. “Community donations, alumni donations, Augusta State University employees donate a huge amount of money back to the Foundation to support the University. Not one cent of state money or student tuition money went to buy a single piece of this promotional material.”

Whiting said the total promotional budget for the QEP, which includes promotional items, food, meals, and events is about $14,000, which is about 10 percent of what some schools spend and about half of the average school’s promotional budget.

“Our QEP is cheap,” Whiting said. “Not cheap in a bad sense, but we worked very hard and basically came in with the argument that we thought other schools were overspending.”

Whiting said Augusta State’s QEP is an inexpensive, but high-quality QEP. He said the QEP has been externally audited, and the reviewers were amazed.

January will begin the major promotion of the QEP on campus. Craig Albert, lecturer of political science and member of the QEP promotion committee, said the committee is working toward finalizing the campaign.

“Most of the promotions campaigning is handing out cups with K.N.I.T’s logo,” Albert said. “These posters you see every month, we’ll have a new poster that’s distributed around campus. In January, we’ll have a big roll-out push, were we’ll have banners in every academic building. The school should be visually inundated by K.N.I.T promotions by the first day of classes.”

It was a modern twist on a very old classic.

For Rick Davis, director of “The Women of Troy” and professor of communications, and his 23 cast members, they did just that.

“We changed a lot,” Davis said. “You never know where the next line is coming from. There’s dance, the chorus dance. We didn’t give all the speeches to the (main parts). I edited some of the principle speeches, and we added movement.” So, what is involved in putting a modern twist on a very old classic, and how does a play come together in such a short period of time?

The cast members are all students or faculty, so in addition to their studies and work, they find time to memorize lines, attend rehearsals four nights a week for about two hours, and learn dance routines. It is a major undertaking.

Davis enlisted the help of Doug Joiner, professor of communications and his stagecrafting class, Krys and Jessica Bailey of Le Chat Noir with set design and choreography, Nancy Sutherland, professor of English, as the play’s dramaturg, Devon Yeager for costume design, and his stage manager was Jackie Francisco, junior communications studies major and theater minor. Francisco was pretty much Davis’ assistant for the production.

“I keep a book,” she said. “It’s a copy of the script. I make all my notes in it. I have a cast list and who everyone is. I write down where all the lines stop and start. I will also put sound and light cues in. It’s the bible; it’s where everything is written down.”

Francisco said because the cast was so large, it was often difficult to get everyone together. There were a few bumps along the way.

“When you get this many people together, it’s a bit like herding cats,” Davis said.

The week of production was a bit of a tough one. On Tuesday, Nov. 1, two days before the opening of the play, they rehearsed without sound because the sound technician was unable to attend rehearsal. Davis was clearly upset, but the rehearsal had to go on.

“She (Francisco) is an absolute jewel,” Davis said. “She scrambled at the last minute to put together a quick sound board so we would have sound, and she did it by herself.”

Wednesday, Nov. 2, got off to a rocky start as well. With the last night before opening, the rehearsal was designated as show conditions, which means the cast stays behind set, not to be seen or heard, and they are in full costume. One problem, Hecuba was nearly an hour late for the last rehearsal, but the “show” still went on.

Davis added elements of modernity to the play. The chorus wore leotards with sheer beige dresses over it. Hecuba, Andromache, Helen and Cassandra wore simple, timeless dresses. The best part was the soldiers, Talthybius and Menelaus’ costumes. Talthybius and Menalaus wore aviator shades, which got a laugh from the audience. Davis said the play is about the Trojan War and is set in 1100 B.C.E. He said Euripedes talked about the war to make a point about the Pelpoynesian War, which was going on in his lifetime, and the atrocities the Athenians committed. He said “The Women of Troy” is an anti-war play for all times. “That’s why I mixed the costumes like that,” Davis said. “That’s why I had the guys in urban camouflage, and the helmets, and their goggles were welder’s goggles. I wanted to de-humanize them in some ways, and that was the idea of Talthybius and Menelaus wearing those aviator specs, you couldn’t see their eyes until they were ready for you to see them.”

The play opened Nov.3 and ran through Nov. 6. Opening night, the play opened to an audience of about 330 people, and Davis said the same number or more was expected through the last show.

“I was extremely proud of them,” Davis said. “Usually I am a nervous wreck, but this time I was alright. There were a few snafus. I spent the first act in the back of the house watching and the second act I was backstage watching. I can pace better backstage.”