Jessell named Interim Provost

Dr. Kenneth A. Jessell will become interim provost at Florida Atlantic University on July 1, when Provost Richard Osburn steps into the presidency of the university on an acting basis.  During the interim period of about one year, Jessell will also continue to serve as the university’s senior vice president for finance and chief operating officer, a post he has held since 1997.

As interim provost, Dr. Jessell will be the university’s chief academic officer, overseeing such matters as the development and implementation of degree programs, the maintenance of high academic standards and the promotion and tenure of faculty members.

Dr. Jessell came to FAU in 1983 as an assistant professor in the College of Business.  He was promoted to associate professor in 1988 and full professor in 1993.  In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Jessell served as associate dean of the College of Business from 1988 to 1994.  His expertise in finance and budgeting brought a universitywide appointment in 1994, when he was named acting associate provost in the Division of Academic Affairs, gaining permanent appointment to that position in 1995.

Tri-Rail bus shuttle service free for students

A FREE shuttle bus service has been initiated by the South Florida Education Center Transportation Management Association (SFEC TMA) between the new Fort Lauderdale Airport Tri-Rail station (I-95 and Griffin Road) and the SFEC campus in Davie.

During weekday mornings and afternoons, the SFEC/Tri-Rail express bus service runs every half hour to shuttle people between the Tri-Rail station and the SFEC campus. During midday, the buses serve as lunchtime circulators, running every 20 minutes between campus and downtown Davie.

This service, which runs from 6:35 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., is absolutely free to anyone who would like to use it, regardless of whether or not they use Tri-Rail. All students with a student ID are eligible for 50% discounted tickets, which can be purchased at any train station. Non-students qualify for 25% discounted monthly Tri-Rail passes, which can be purchased at the NSU, BCC and McFatter Technical Center bookstores for $60. For a free bus map and schedule call 954/262-8847.

New degree approved

For future journalists and film directors, there’s a new degree program coming out of the Department of Communication – a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies.

The Department of Communication already offers a degree consisting of five separate tracks. The new degree will consist of two of those tracks, Journalism and Film and Video Studies, retitled as a separate degree. The remaining three tracks: Rhetoric, Communication and Society, Intercultural and Organizational Communication, and Media Studies will continue to comprise the BA in Communications.

According to the department’s proposal, the reason for the new degree is, “The creation of a separate degree from the two tracks recognizes the emergence of a new media environment. During the twentieth century, the mass media used separate and incompatible technologies. Motion pictures developed with film and chemical printing; newspapers depended upon set type; and radio and television used analog electromagnetic signals. The new digital age has now created common technologies for all of these media, using common software and hardware along with the ubiquitous Internet.

“The new program will be structured to help undergraduates understand the technologies involved in the creation of visual, print, and new media and to shape them into sophisticated readers and producers of these visual cultures.”

The Communication Department says that there is strong demand for the new program and that an appropriate curriculum and a qualified faculty are in place, since the program has already been operating within the BA in Communication. There will not be any additional cost for the new degree, the course proposal says.

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new degree at the May 13 meeting.

Internship for FAU Students

Project Vote Smart is now offering FAU students scholarship assistance and a chance to fight political cynicism and apathy this election year. The Project has opened several new positions at Project Vote Smart’s national research headquarters in the Montana Rockies, where students from colleges across the country are gathering this election year to defend the democratic process.

From offices that overlook lakes, trout streams, pine forests and the Continental Divide, college students research the backgrounds, issue positions and job performances of over 18,000 candidates for Congress, governor and state legislative office in every state. Now FAU students are eligible for scholarship support made possible by the founding board and Project Vote Smart members that will allow students to participate in this truly prestigious election-year research effort. They will also guide a massive national partnership program with WWF, MTV, Rock the Vote and national campus organizations to put voting and candidate information directly in the hands of hundreds of thousands of 18-to-25-year-olds with free banners, videos, publications and special web access.

Students must commit to a ten-week internship, which can be scheduled at any time, but those interested in serving during Summer and Fall 2002 should act quickly before spots fill up. Although students with political science, communications and journalism majors are particularly encouraged to apply, interns from all backgrounds, including recent college graduates and graduate students are accepted and eligible for scholarship support.

Additional information and applications on Project Vote Smart internships are available on the Vote Smart website at www.vote-smart.org. Students can also call the Voter’s Research Hotline at 888/868-3762.