Textbooks on open reserve: A pilot project

Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Alverno College is a small Catholic liberal arts college for women that features a unique ability-based curriculum and a rigorous tradition of assessment of student learning. The library plays an important role by providing resources and services that support the unique curriculum. Until recently, the collection development policy specified that library resources not include textbooks. However, in an effort to address concerns associated with rising textbook costs, student retention, and students’ inability to purchase materials needed for their coursework, the library altered its policy and established an open reserve textbook collection.

On following Your Bliss: An Interview with Jane S. Halonen

Jane S. Halonen is the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of West Florida, where she insists on teaching introductory psychology each fall. She was employed in various roles at Alverno College for 17 years and also served for 5 years as the Director of the School of Psychology at James Madison University. Past president of both the Society for the Teaching of Psychology and the Council for the Teachers of Undergraduate Psychology, Jane has been an avid supporter of teaching conferences in the discipline. Her scholarship includes work on critical thinking, assessment, and faculty development. She won the American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000 and was named an “Eminent Woman in Psychology” in 2002. She coordinates the international Improving University Teaching conference and also serves as Chief Reader for the Psychology Advanced Placement exam. Jessica G. Irons is a new assistant professor of psychology at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She earned her BA and MS degrees from Augusta State University where she worked with Dr. Stephen H. Hobbs. She earned her PhD from Auburn University in 2007 where she worked with Dr. Christopher J. Correia studying the interactions of drugs and behavior. Jessica also worked with Dr. Bill Buskist to pursue her research interests in the scholarship of teaching. She has taught introductory psychology, research methods, and drugs and behavior. She earned recognition for her teaching efforts departmentally and campus-wide while at Auburn and won the Wilbert J. McKeachie Teaching Excellence Award in 2007.

Career Advancement Comparison Between Ornamental Horticulture Associate Degree and Nondegree Programs

This study was conducted to determine if there is a difference between the career advancement of alumni of ornamental horticulture associate (terminal) degree and nondegree programs. A survey of the alumni of three associate degree and three nondegree training programs was administered, using guidelines from career advancement validation research conducted at Alverno College, Milwaukee. Wis. (Ben-Ur and Rogers, 1994). Six programs were selected from North Carolina, Maine, Ohio, and southeastern Canada, including parts of Ontario and Quebec and all of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The programs were selected because of their perceived high reputations, as based on a survey sent to eight selected Longwood Gardens staff (Kennett Square, Pa.) and six professors in the Plant and Soils Science Department at the University of Delaware (Newark). Survey respondents were initially chosen based on their knowledge of the field of horticulture and of ornamental horticulture educational programs. The statistical analysis of the data did not support the presupposition that there would be a significant difference between the career advancement in favor of graduates from horticultural associate degree programs.