Welcome to the first Parent ConnECtions Newsletter! We hope this will be an informative piece that will help answer any questions you may have about what is going on at Eckerd, as well as a tool to help you answer questions your child may have about College procedures or upcoming events.

The Eckerd College Parent Council held its first meeting on November 14. We heard from several speakers, including Tom Ryan, Associate Athletic Director; Maria Furtado, Director of Admission; and Anne Wetmore, Director of Student and Family Relations. Council members were able to directly share ideas with College administration, and we all left feeling more informed about Eckerd’s programs and initiatives. The Parent Council is a liaison between all Eckerd parents and the administration, and I encourage you to contact the Council at parentcouncil@eckerd.edu with any questions or suggestions you may have. We will forward your request to the appropriate person and respond to your emails directly.

As parents of an Eckerd alumna as well as a current Eckerd student, we invite you to remain involved in the life of your student. Encourage him to take a course that piques his interest. Support her participation in athletics, the Waterfront and campus leadership roles. Urge your student to learn a new language and study abroad. And join us at Eckerd events on campus and across the nation. EckerdCollege has done a wonderful job of creating a scholarly and supportive residential community for its students; as parents, we also belong to this community, and we all can take an active role in the life of the College.

Co-Chairs, EckerdCollege Parent Council

What is your educational background?

I earned my B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Florida. After I completed my Ph.D., I spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History in New York in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology. I began teaching at Eckerd as a visitor in 1989 and was selected for a tenure-track position in 1993.

What is your current position at EckerdCollege?

In May 2008, I was appointed the first Richard R. Hallin Professor of Natural Sciences at EckerdCollege. This endowed position was made possible by a very generous donation from a longtime supporter of the College. It is in honor of Dick Hallin, who served as Dean of Admission for nearly thirty years. Dick brought in many of the great students I have had the pleasure to work with over the last 20 years.

What is your teaching philosophy?

Learning is facilitated by experience. In the sciences, this means labs. Historically, science teaching was done in two parts –- lecture and lab. Now, many of us teach the lectures for our smaller classes in the lab, so we can go back and forth between talking and letting students learn for themselves. My favorite lab is the outdoors. I love taking students in the field. That’s probably why I am a good fit for Eckerd. We can teach outside for most of the year. On a recent zoology field trip to look at the diversity of marine invertebrates in TampaBay, the student reaction was, “Why don’t we just do this every day?”

How has Eckerd changed over the years?

It hasn’t changed that much. In the 20 years I have been here it has attracted great faculty and a great diversity of students. I have seen great faculty members come and go, but a lot of very good ones who could go elsewhere choose to stay. The new faculty are very impressive, very dedicated and hard working.

The biggest change is the expansion of the Sciences. I started teaching here at the time when the Marine Science major was just blossoming. In 1989, I taught Ecology to all of the Marine Science and Biology majors in one class and it wasn’t full. This year we had to offer five sections of ecology to accommodate the number of students who need it. Much of the increase in growth in the Sciences has been in Marine Science, but there has also been significant growth in Biology. Many Environmental Studies students minor in Biology too, so the Life Sciences at Eckerd have a much larger presence than when I arrived. In fact, the Sciences are bulging at the seams.

How will the implemented plans to improve Eckerd's Science facilities help you better educate current and future students?

To be honest, many of the facilities at Eckerd are very close to being worn out. This is especially true for the Science labs and some of our classrooms. The auditorium where I teach has very serious limitations. It is not set up well for modern teaching technology, it does not allow for students to form groups for small group discussions, and the acoustics make it a very difficult venue for any kind of class discussion. New teaching facilities will rectify these kinds of problems.

The weekend of November 14-16 EckerdCollege celebrated its 50^th Anniversary with the announcement of its $80 million capital campaign. To date, over $65 million has been raised from Trustees, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, corporations and foundations. The campaign, which will continue through 2011, will impact nearly every aspect of campus life and aims to fund a new Science Complex, scholarships and professorships, and endowment for College programs. The highlight of the launch was the presentation of a $15 million in matching funds to the College for the Science Complex. This lead gift will be used to match any gifts to the proposed building dollar for dollar.

Another major announcement this fall was the creation of the Eckerd College Parent Council. One key initiative of the Parent Council will be to increase communication to all Eckerd parents. The Parent Council will work directly with the Advancement Office to raise vital dollars for the Parent Fund. The goal for the Parent Fund this year is $250,000.Michael and Susan Graham, Co-Chairs of the Parent Council, have issued a challenge in which they will match any new or increased dollars from parents. Please call 727.864.8222 for more information or visit www.eckerd.edu/giving.

Eckerd began the 2008-2009 academic year with 1,801 students. The Class of 2012 contains 489 students, and a majority of the class is majoring in the Sciences--35 percent of the freshman class is majoring in either Marine Science or Biology.

Admission Counselors are busy traveling all over the country visiting high schools and college fairs.Sometimes, Eckerd parents will join us at college fairs and help answer questions. It says a lot about Eckerd and your student’s experience when a parent will give up a precious night or weekend afternoon to stand at a college fair table. To see if Eckerd will be at a location near you, check here.And if you are interested in helping an Admission Counselor at a high school or college fair, please contact Jocelyn Lister, Parent Council Liaison, at 727.864.8889 or listerjm@eckerd.edu.

On November 11, the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC) hosted a program called Been There, Done That! for Eckerd students. This program is offered twice a year and is an opportunity for students to interact with ASPEC members from a variety of professional backgrounds and ask them questions about their graduate work and careers. The ASPEC members participating in the program have backgrounds in medicine, higher education, physics, engineering, international business, and government service.