University News

Register Now for Graduation 2008

CSU is now accepting graduation registrations. This year’s commencement ceremony is set for October 10th at the world’s second largest air and space museum, the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. Students must have submitted their petition to graduate prior to registering.

This 300,000 square foot structure of steel and glass attracts approximately one million visitors a year and features more than 150 aircraft. Vice Admiral Jerry Hoewing is serving as keynote speaker for the event. A graduate of National War College, his professional background includes positions with the Navy Department and Department of Defense.

Graduates must submit a $100 ceremony fee along with the commencement registration and regalia order form to participate. Friends and family are also welcome to attend the graduation ceremony. Students may bring up to ten guests. The first five guests can attend at no cost; however, each additional guest (up to ten) will have an additional cost of $10 each. We ask that you provide CSU with the number that will be attending so that sufficient seating will be made available. You will be provided with an email containing a link to the regalia ordering site once we have received your ceremony fee.

Other activities including an alumni social and graduation reception will also be available for graduates and their guests. More details about these graduation events will soon be available.

Graduation questions should be directed to Tina Shipp, CSU Operations Manager, at tina@columbiasouthern.edu or 1-800-977-8449 ext. 103.

CSU Introduces First Foreign Language Course

You now have the option to add a foreign language course to your curriculum. CSU recently added the first foreign language class, Spanish I, to the constantly growing list of online course offerings and is planning to add Spanish II later this year. Designed as a basic introduction to the Spanish language, the topics covered include general vocabulary, communication skills and culture. Students will also learn how to exchange greetings, interpret phrases, and answer and ask questions.

Both professors for this new course, Caridad Jimenez and Sara Folkins, have extensive educational backgrounds in foreign language. Jimenez holds a master’s degree in Hispanic studies from Auburn University; Folkins has a degree in teaching of foreign languages with a Spanish specialty from Auburn University and a master’s degree in teaching Spanish from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Contact our student services department for more information about this course.

Department of the Month - Admissions

As each prospective student’s main point of contact, the CSU Admissions Department is responsible for offering educational guidance, processing applications and generating enrollments. Since January 2008, 3,571 applications have been processed; 2,072 students enrolled; and staff size increased from 12 to 28 employees. Admissions representatives are available to answer questions or offer advice Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST.

New York Television Station Features CSU in Online Education News Segment

Online education is becoming an increasing popular way for working professionals to earn their degree and still maintain a healthy lifestyle. News outlets all over the U.S. and even oversees are covering this growing trend including WABC-TV in New York. This month CSU was featured as a reputable online institution offering educational opportunities for those with busy schedules along with two of our students, Timothy Kelly and Robert Noonan. Both Timothy and Robert currently serve as New York firefighters and are currently enrolled in our fire science bachelor’s degree program. Click on the link below to take a look at the kind of news our university is generating!

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/education&id=6005977

CSU Sponsors Relay for Life for Fifth Consecutive Year

CSU is a proud sponsor of the Alabama Gulf Coast American Cancer Society Relay for Life for the fifth consecutive year. Last year, roughly 40 faculty and staff put on their best “boxing gear” to be a part of the “Rocky” Relay for Life Team. CSU won Best Overall Team Tailgate for having the best food and presentation thanks to the generosity of Cosmo’s Restaurant and Bar. This was the second time the university has received this award since 2004 when they also won Best Team Karaoke and first place for the Survivor’s Team Challenge.

“Cancer has touched this online university in many ways,” said Robert Mayes, CSU President. “Our involvement in this event will help CSU be a part of the solution.”

CSU is also holding several internal events to raise resource for the American Cancer Society. Fight Back with Blue Jeans, Dunking for Donations, Bake for a Cure, and Load a Plate to Save a Life are all aimed at engaging employees in one of the university’s most important values – supporting organizations that improve the quality of life.

Visit the “About Us” section of the CSU website to learn more about our corporate commitment.

Partnership News

CSU Offers Delta Employees Scholarship Opportunities

Since CSU joined Delta as an academic partner in 2004, more than 120 airline employees have taken advantage of tuition discounts, application fee waivers, and other special benefits. Thanks to a $20,000 donation CSU recently made to the Delta Scholarship fund, opportunities for employees to secure a quality education at a reduced, affordable rate will increase throughout the year.

“This contribution demonstrates our commitment to help Delta invest in the future of their employees,” said Robert Mayes, CSU President. “Promoting a more qualified, educated workforce within our partner organizations is central to our university mission and vision.”

Tom Blatnick, a current CSU student and Delta employee, received a $2,000 scholarship last year. He is now using it to help finance his occupational safety and health degree. Funded by Delta as part of its commitment to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Safety Administration Voluntary Protection Program, the scholarship is designed to recognize students who engage in occupational safety, health and environmental outreach within their schools, communities, and workplace.

“Earning a degree has always seemed just out of reach,” said Blatnick. “Our affiliation with CSU has offered me, and other Delta employees, special benefits that make achieving educational goals possible.”

While Delta employees are free to attend any accredited institution of their choice, CSU is second only to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is number one on the list of universities employees select to earn their master’s degrees. One of the nation’s first completely online universities, CSU offers 18 degree programs, 11 specializations, and more than 320 courses. Associate, bachelor, master, doctoral and certificate programs are available in a variety of fields including business administration, fire science, human resource management, and occupational safety and health.

If you are a Delta employee, please visit:

http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/learningpartners

or call 1-800-977-8449 to learn more about how you can make the most of this partnership.

Top Drilling Company 'Digs' Online Education

Online education is becoming a key benefit for corporations around the nation. Organizations such as HR for Techs, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Commtest, and now Quantum Drilling Motors have joined forces with CSU to beef up the educational resources employees can take advantage of.

This partnership offers Quantum Drilling Motors employees tuition discounts, application fee waivers and other special benefits. Partner Companies also receive recognition at nationwide events including conferences, trade shows, and corporate functions.

Quantum Drilling Motors, a subsidiary of Diamondback Holdings, originated as a leader in drilling technology less than a decade ago, providing Positive Displacement Motors for oil and natural gas research. This drilling technology reduces drilling costs for oil, gas, and utility companies. With state-of-the-art technology and equipment, Quantum Drilling Motors has top companies in the oil and gas industries as clients such as Devon Energy, Ocean Energy, Questar Exploration & Production, and Ward Petroleum. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, this company offers many services including well planning, direction and horizontal drilling, shock subs, and performance drilling motors.

“One of the greatest benefits a corporation can offer their employees is access to quality education,” said Chantell Cooley, CSU Vice President of Partnership Development. “Both national and global companies understand that more skillful and knowledgeable employees help their business grow.”

Alumni News

Letter From the President

Distinguished Alumni,

I’d like to take a moment and reflect back on the beginnings of our alumni association and compare it to where we are today.

The very first official alumni association president was Julia H. Wilson. I remember receiving a letter from her welcoming me as a new alumnus of Columbia Southern University, back in 2003. I still have this letter today and some motivational quotes from her included, “Your participation is tremendously important to us” and “Your involvement will allow is to develop future quality programs and services for our graduates, as well as maintain a line for communication for the college and graduates.” Little did I know how much of an impact those words had on me.

I believe it was in 2003 that I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Larry Williams. I remember talking to Dr. Williams about the CSU alumni association program and how I wanted to get involved in helping the alumni association program grow, just how Julia Wilson had mentioned in her letter to the alumni. Dr. Williams was full of energy and excitement, which ultimately motivated me and got me excited about the alumni association. Dr. Williams was instrumental in launching the very first alumni website, which included our missing and core values, member benefits, chapter handbook and information, CSU merchandise and alumni newsletters. Many, if not most, of these items you still see today in our alumni association.

I attended my first graduation at CSU in 2005. This is where I had the pleasure of meeting everyone, including Dr. Williams and the wonderful CSU staff and administration. Dr. Williams energy was amazing and his excitement was even more motivating than it was through my communications with him via e-mail and phone. Dr. Williams encouraged me to run for alumni president and since 2005, I’ve had the pleasure and honor of holding this position. Although bitter sweet, my term for this position will expire this year (2008), and other newly elected officers will take the lead.

Dr. Williams took on other responsibilities within the university, and then came Mrs. Jessica Brown and Dr. Joe Wilkins, who took the alumni association to the next level. Today, we have more alumni benefits than ever before and I’d like to highlight these benefits for all of you:

CSU Click

The CSU Click program was launched in 2007, with the efforts of Jessica Brown, Dr. Wilkins and other CSU administration. Click is an online social networking community designed exclusively for our alumni allowing them to network with other CSU graduates, share photos, explore an array of job opportunities, and much more. Other features within Click include:

• Network with alumni about career and business opportunities.
• Share photos and blogs in a secure environment.
• Share information or seek advice by messaging the network.
• Hear about events going on in their area put on by other CSU alumni.
• Start groups to find other alumni with similar interests.

Free Subscription to the CSU Communicator

All alumni are e-mailed the CSU Communicator which includes sections such as university news, partnership updates, and faculty/administration/alumni news. You can also view this newsletter and archives on the alumni website.

Access to the Student/Alumni Forum

Students and alumni can access the forum by visiting the “student center” of our website or through the “alumni website.” Access to the forum following graduation is free.

Discounts from Select Companies

Several companies have partnered with CSU to offer the alumni benefits such as discounted hotel rates, auto insurance, health insurance and rental car discounts. You can also find more information by visiting:

http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/alumni/memberonly.asp

• Avis
• Intercontinental Hotel Groups
• Fours Seasons Hotels and Resorts
• Wild Vacations in California
• Graebel
• Wild at Work
• Liberty Mutual
• Affinity Health Plans
• DentalPlans.com

Free Access to the Online Library

Alumni are allowed to continue using CSU online library resources at no charge. This also applies to those who have graduated from a CSU degree program and are now re-enrolling in another CSU degree program, whereas the re-enrolling student will not have to pay the library fee.

From where our alumni association was many years ago, to where we are today, we have grown exponentially. The most exciting part of all is that we’re not done growing, and I envision many more benefits and features to become available for all alumni to enjoy. I also want to encourage my fellow alumni members to take a leadership role and become an elected alumni officer, where you too can help our alumni association grow into the future.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have about the special alumni benefits included in this letter. I look forward to serving as your alumni president for the remainder of my term and encourage all of you to consider how you can make a difference at CSU by serving as an officer for the alumni association.

Sincerely,

Jamie Gauthier, MBA
President, CSU Alumni Association
jamie.gauthier@columbiasouthern.edu

People News

Who's New at CSU

Sue Butts, PHR
Sue Butts has been named Assistant Director of Human Resources for CSU after serving in a human resource management capacity for the last seventeen years. Her past experience includes work with Navy Federal Credit Union, American Water, Regions Bank (formerly AmSouth), and International Paper Company. Sue also holds a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification and is an active member of the Society of Human Resource Management.

Nickie Cooper
Nickie Cooper recently joined CSU as the marketing department media planner. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Nickie holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in sociology. Her past experience includes working as a producer and reporter for News Source 15, Athens’ only televised source of local news, and Georgia Gameday, a weekly show dedicated to Georgia Athletics. She has also served as a member of the Grady College Dean’s Council and is currently a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honors fraternity and the Di Gamma Kappa Broadcasting Society.

Robert Sigrest
Robert Sigrest has been brought on as the new Web Designer for CSU. After attending Remington College in Mobile for an Associate’s Degree in Computer Information Systems, he has held positions at several local companies including Televox and Fidelity Reserves Corporation. With over five years of experience with web design and programming, he is eager to bring his expertise to CSU.

Tammy Comalander
Tammy Comalander comes to CSU from the U.S. Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama. With a background in undergraduate admissions and financial aid, she is intimately familiar with the responsibilities she will be assuming in her new evaluator position. Tammy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in finance from Faulkner University.

Other Newcomers

Student Spotlight

Share Your Story

Timothy Sirmans
Ballinger, Texas

... CSU made his dream job a reality.

After a 20 year career in the U.S. military Timothy Sirmans decided to return to college to pursue his dream job – teaching. He chose to attend CSU based on the completely online degree programs and flexible course structures that made achieving an education with his busy life possible.

Sirmans decided to leave active duty military when his wife became ill and serve as an Air Force civilian so he could care for his family. Recently hired as a civilian instructor for firefighters at Goodfellow Air Force Base near San Angelo, Texas, Sirmans now has the job he’s always wanted. While a degree is not required for the position, he feels that the experience he gained at CSU and his impending graduation won him the job. He plans to complete his degree in June 2008 and start on a doctoral degree with CSU soon after.

“CSU made my dream job a reality,” Sirmans said. “With my degree finally within reach I can teach the subject I spent two decades learning.”

Sirmans serves as vice commander for Veterans of Foreign Wars and volunteers at local food shelters in Ballinger, Texas. He was named Ballinger Texas Outstanding Citizen of the Year for 2007 and won the Jefferson Award for public service in 2006. He has also received the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal for 2006 and 2007 at the silver level.