Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department.

The School of Creative Arts and Keith Busse School of Business at the University of Saint Francis have announced the appointment of Andrea Robinson Hinsey as director for the Media Entrepreneurship Training in the Arts (META) program beginning fall semester.

The META program brings digital/visual arts, science, technology and business together to educate students in the rapidly growing field of multimedia business. The cross-disciplinary collaborative focuses on rigorous project-based learning to address the changing landscape of creative industries and foster the growth of small businesses.

The program will eventually be housed in the USF Performing Arts Center, the former Scottish Rite Center at 431 W. Berry St., Fort Wayne.

Hinsey brings to the job experience as dean of the School of Business and School of Fine Arts and Design at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne. Additionally, she has served Ivy Tech as interim Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Business Department chair and adjunct faculty member.

She is completing her doctoral studies in global leadership at Indiana Tech, and holds master and bachelor degrees in technical graphics from Purdue University. She is co-owner and co-founder of Hinsey’s Pro Paint & Bad Dad Custom Motorcycles. She has served in many leadership positions in higher education, including curriculum and program development, community relations/outreach, enrollment management and resource allocation.

“We are delighted to have someone with Andrea’s scope of knowledge and experience as the director for our new META program,” said USF President, Sister M. Elise Kriss. “As an entrepreneur and higher education expert, her skills and experience meld particularly well with the program, which intersects the arts, technology, business and business creation.”

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department

Indiana Landmarks has awarded its annual Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration to the University of Saint Francis for its transformation of Brookside, the former Bass mansion on its main Fort Wayne campus.

USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF, accepted the Cook Cup from Indiana Landmarks’ Chairman Timothy Shelly and President Marsh Davis at an event in Indianapolis Saturday. “The university’s achievement at Brookside proves that it’s possible to carefully restore a structure using the highest standards while also assuring modern functionality,” Davis said in presenting the award.

Brookside, a 25,000-square-foot mansion, was built as the Bass family’s summer cottage in 1903. The Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration bought the estate in 1944. Brookside was the college’s sole building, accommodating classrooms, library and offices for the college of 60 women students.

By the 21st century, Saint Francis was a co-educational university with 2,300 students on the main campus. Brookside was the library, a beloved but tired structure that was ill-equipped for the digital age. The building lacked central air conditioning and adequate electrical outlets. The mansion needed major foundation and roof repair.

The firm of Wing and Mahurin designed Brookside, decorating the sandstone exterior with a veritable zoo of grotesques and fanciful creatures. Some of the figures had been worn to nubs by weather and pollution. Inside, fluorescent fixtures lit most rooms and vinyl covered many floors. Institutional paint concealed stenciled surfaces, and water had damaged elaborate decorative plaster.

When the University of Saint Francis built a new library, the institution spent a few years studying the future of Brookside. “It could have opted for a modern updating, but instead the university chose an all-out $4.5 million restoration,” said Davis. “The structure now houses the offices of the president, development and alumni affairs, and knock-your-socks-off meeting and event spaces. The university did all the right things, in the right way.”

Davis lauded the university and its architect, MKM architecture + design, for their in-depth research, which included poring over historic photos, the Bass family history and accounts of the architecture and interior décor of the period, as well as performing on-the-scene historic paint analyses. He also congratulated general contractor W. A. Sheets & Sons for the excellent quality of the restoration work, and Conrad Schmitt Studios for the restored and replicated decorative finishes throughout the house.

The university updated all of Brookside’s systems as inconspicuously as possible, adding air conditioning, an elevator and accessible restrooms. Artisans restored or replicated the plaster decoration, stenciling and murals originally found throughout the house. Scalamandre reproduced the original fabric wall coverings in the library and foyer.

“Balancing its office use of Brookside, the University of Saint Francis gives the community opportunities to experience this National Register-listed treasure, which will stand strong for another century. The restoration is a gift, in a way—to alumni and students, and to the community,” Davis said.

“The University of Saint Francis is grateful for this recognition,” President Kriss said. “I have the opportunity to enjoy Brookside every day, since my office is located in the building. I also enjoy watching the surprised expressions of the hundreds of visitors who try to imagine how the Bass family lived in the early 1900s. The university is pleased that Brookside can once again be enjoyed by members of the Fort Wayne community and others from around the State of Indiana.”

With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. For more information on the not-for-profit organization, visit www.indianalandmarks.org.

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department

University of Saint Francis music technology student Emily Fitch is one of only seven students internationally to be awarded a $1,400 scholarship from Women in Toys, Entertainment and Licensing (WIT), a trade organization that supports women involved in all aspects of the toy, licensing/merchandising and entertainment/media industries.

Manhattan-based WIT announced scholarship winners at the ninth annual Wonder Women in Toys awards dinner during the Toy Industry Association’s New York Toy Fair in February. Besides USF, this year’s scholarship recipients attended such elite institutions as the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, the Ontario School of Design in Canada and the Holon Institute of Technology in Israel.

Georgean Johnson-Coffey, secretary of the board for WIT and co-owner and president of Blue Vision Music headquartered in Fort Wayne, was instrumental in bringing the scholarship opportunity to Fitch and USF. Blue Vision Music has provided media and music services for children’s CDs, games, toys, TV shows and films for over 15 years.

“This is the first time WIT has awarded a scholarship in sound design and the first time a student attending a Midwestern university has been chosen,” Johnson-Coffey said. “The others are from design schools in major cities such as LA, NYC and Toronto.”
Fitch’s interests and career plans make the WIT scholarship a perfect fit.

“I always knew I would want to do something creative, and there are few things I love more than movies and video games,” the USF sophomore said. “One thing that really got me thinking about music, though, was this YouTube video I watched. It was a short ‘making of’ documentary for my all-time favorite game, ‘Silent Hill 2,’ and in one part they interviewed series composer and sound designer Akira Yamaoka. Just watching him record in his studio and seeing all these crazy monster sounds he created and implemented so well in the final game really inspired me to want to do the same.”

She has translated her love of videos and music to a solid career plan. “My dream job is to be a composer and sound designer for video games,” she said. “Sound is such an important aspect in creating the world of a game, and I want to be able to create that and let players share some of the wonderful experiences I’ve had.”

While initially daunted by USF’s advanced technology, she works in it with ease now.

“When I first arrived at USF, that big mixing board in the studio was probably the scariest thing I’d ever seen,” she said. “But as a sophomore, I’m in that studio recording for projects every week, and I couldn’t be more comfortable there. I’ve gained so much technical knowledge so far, and I’m very excited for all the new things I’ve yet to learn.”

Fitch also received a two-year free membership to WIT, which has chapters in New York, Florida, northern and southern California, Chicago, Minneapolis, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Scandinavia, Spain and the United Kingdom. “It’s a wonderful honor to be recognized by WIT for my work,” she said.

Johnson-Coffey spoke of the benefits of the organization, especially for women in the industry. “What has been wonderful about my involvement with WIT is the networking with the executives such as the CEO of The Toy Industry Association and vice presidents at Hasbro and Sesame Street Workshop,” she said. “WIT’s mission is to provide a professional networking base for women working within the toy, entertainment and licensing industries and to acknowledge and promote their achievements. It is a wonderful supportive group. WIT engages the talents and skills of its members to advance our mission.”

Charles J. “Chuck” Surack, founder and CEO of Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, University of Saint Francis (USF) honorary Doctor of Humane Letters recipient and USF music technology program benefactor, will be inducted into The Indiana Academy at the academy’s 43^rd annual symposium at the Skyline Club in Indianapolis Monday. Surack will be recognized by the Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) for a lifetime of achievement and contribution to the state of Indiana.

Surack has built Sweetwater Sound into the third-largest music instrument and pro audio retailer in the U.S. The $250 million, 500-employee company was named Music Retailer of the Year by Music Inc. magazine in 2005 and 2012.

He is responsible for launching the music technology degree at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, providing guidance, information and assistance in its development and continuing operations. Sweetwater Sound engineers were made available to USF during the development of the Music Technology labs and other facilities. Sweetwater also provided some of the equipment needed to start the program.

He and his wife have created an endowed scholarship for students in the program who are experiencing financial need. In addition to his extensive local community service, he recently completed a term on the board of the National Association of Music Merchants.

“Chuck Surack has demonstrated his true friendship to this community and the University of Saint Francis,” said USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. “His service on the boards of numerous charitable organizations, and his encouragement of employees to do likewise, has created a climate of giving at his business. His creation of jobs in the community, as well as his generous donations and support of the university, makes him worthy of this high honor by ICI.”

Modeled after The French Academy, The Indiana Academy was established in 1970 by ICI to recognize individual leadership, achievement and philanthropy designed to promote the advancement of the state, as well as its independent sector of higher education. With ongoing support from academy members and an enduring gift from the Tony and Mary Fendrich Hulman Endowment Fund, ICI continues to serve the state and its member institutions to help ensure academic excellence and choice in higher education for all students.

The University of Saint Francis is a member of ICI, a nonprofit association that represents the state’s 31 private, nonprofit institutions of higher education. ICI member institutions enroll approximately 90,000 students (approximately 20 percent of all undergraduates statewide) and annually produce more than 35 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in Indiana.

The University of Saint Francis will offer a new degree, the Bachelor of Science in Science and Entrepreneurship, beginning this fall. The degree will provide graduates with a broad scientific background and business acumen that prepares them to translate new scientific discoveries to business. It will allow graduates to create new science-related businesses, manage a laboratory for an established industry or enter a Master of Business Administration or Professional Science Master program.

As science and technology advance, science-related businesses develop in response. The Bachelor of Science in Science and Entrepreneurship graduate is dually equipped—as a scientist able to implement his or her own profitable business plan, or as a laboratory manager able to bridge the language gap between science and business for an established company. Successful science industries rely on lab managers who understand the business side of the industry and on business managers who understand the science behind their business.

While high school students planning a career in science or business will benefit from the new degree offering, high school graduates interested in business creation, workers who need to reposition themselves in the job market and employees who wish to enhance job skills will also broaden career opportunities through the degree.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the key focuses of Vision 2020,” said John Sampson of Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, an economic development team and contact point for businesses interested in locating to the 10-county region of northeast Indiana that includes Allen County. Vision 2020 is a regional initiative focused on aligning the region’s economic development efforts around key areas, with a collective vision, mission and slate of priorities to achieve by the year 2020.

“Research has shown that because of their creative talents, scientists are predisposed to start businesses. We see the value of attracting and retaining professionals in the life and physical sciences as a key economic development strategy to identify new entrepreneurs,” he said.

“Focusing on innovation will enable northeast Indiana to become a top global competitor. In the past two decades, commercialization of scientific research is creating new products and processes at revolutionary speed. These are the types of graduates we need to maintain our economic competitive edge. We know that industries in our region need a workforce with strong science, technology, engineering and math skills, and we are pleased to see USF step up and help fill this gap for our businesses.”

“USF offers 15 specialized science degrees in the School of Arts and Sciences, with enrollment in science programs averaging over five percent annual growth and 97 percent of graduates employed in their fields or pursuing graduate degrees,” said Dr. Matt Smith, dean of the school.

USF has a flexible credit transfer policy. A variety of science courses completed at other institutions may transfer into the Bachelor of Science in Science and Entrepreneurship. The 120 credit-hour requirement allows for faster completion at less cost.

For more information, contact Dr. Jean Elick in the Department of Chemistry at jelick@sf.edu or (260) 399-7700, ext. 8221, or visit sf.edu/sf/apply.

Bishop Dwenger High School principal Jason Schiffli has been appointed a director on the Academic Affairs Committee of the board for the University of Saint Francis.

Schiffli earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1995 and master degrees in education and secondary administration in 2001 at Indiana University.

He is active in professional organizations and in the community, serving as secretary for the Allen County Non-public School Association and as a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Staff Development Council and National Association of Secondary School Principals.

A resident of St. Joe, Ind., he attends St. Jude Catholic Church. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have four children, Ethan, Audrey, Seth and Avery.

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department

March 21, 2013

The University of Saint Francis (USF) has announced a new College of Adult Learning and vice president of adult learning to lead it.

USF has launched the College of Adult Learning to make expanded education accessible for working professionals. Through flexible scheduling and accelerated options, the College of Adult Learning offers undergraduate and graduate degrees designed to make advanced education more attainable for adults already engaged in the multiple facets of life—jobs, families and community and professional commitments.

With its orientation toward adult learners, it includes a Virtual Campus that houses 100 percent online programs to provide the convenience and quality working professionals need. The USF graduate school and learning site outside of Fort Wayne will also report through the College of Adult Learning.

Jobs are predicted in robust and growing business sectors in Indiana’s economy. The Indiana Bureau of Workforce Development has developed a list of top 50 currently in-demand educated professionals to fill those needs. Desired graduates with bachelor degrees or higher fall into a number industries including business, healthcare, education, counseling and other social services.

Through its tradition of academically rigorous healthcare, business, social work, science and psychology education, the University of Saint Francis has produced well-prepared graduates for such employment niches for many years. The College of Adult Learning will continue that history, in a structure that benefits working professionals.

New Vice President for Adult Learning, Toni Steffensen Pauls, Ph.D., will oversee and develop USF College of Adult Learning programs and services to educate adult students for these and other opportunities.

Pauls brings a broad range of experience to her new position at USF. For the past six years, she was associate vice president of academics and dean of the adult degree program at Warner Pacific College in Portland, Ore., where adult degree program enrollment increased by 300 percent, five new learning sites were opened and numerous programs added under her leadership.

Before that, she served for six years as chief operations officer for Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio, and another four years as director of adult programs and assistant professor of business for Goshen College in Goshen, Ind.

She has taught numerous management, organizational behavior and business courses and developed and taught a range of online courses.

Pauls earned a doctorate in organizational leadership at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. in 2005 and a master degree in organizational behavior at California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, Calif. in 1995. She completed a bachelor degree in business management and marketing at Fresno Pacific University, graduating magna cum laude in 1992.

She has a long history of voluntarism and belongs to numerous professional organizations. She served in Uzbekistan with Medical Teams International in 2010 and in Goshen, Ind. as chair of the Finance and Marketing Committee for the Middlebury unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Goshen from 2001-2006. During that time, the committee raised $1 million to start up a new unit and $3.1million to build a permanent facility. She also raised $750,000 as a member of a fundraising team for a church capital project.

She was president of the Christian Adult Higher Education Association from 2010-2012 and has been a member of the Christian Business Faculty Association since 2007. She also serves on the Council for Christian Colleges and University’s Center for Research in Adult Learning Steering Committee, as an accreditation evaluator for the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities, as an advisory board member for the George Fox University Doctoral of Business Administration Program and as a member of the Global Business Leadership Center Steering Committee, the Leadership Council of the Christian Adult Higher Education Association and the Consortium of Accelerated Adult Higher Education.

“I anticipate touching and improving the lives of many working professionals through the College of Adult Learning,” Pauls said. “I envision an education environment in which students can start anywhere within the spectrum and there’s a system in place that allows them to continually advance their learning.”

“We are proud to welcome Dr. Pauls as Vice President for Adult Learning,” said USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. “Her professional experience and demonstrated commitment to advancing education for working adults melds well with the university’s vision and goals for the College of Adult Learning.”

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department

March 20, 2013

University of Saint Francis (USF) senior nursing major Amanda Pedro has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact in recognition of her demonstrated investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities.

Campus Compact is the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement. It promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum.

Newman Civic Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents to acknowledge their motivation and ability in public leadership. USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF, nominated Pedro on the basis of her pivotal role in raising funds for the construction of the first permanent residential home for the orphans at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage in Haiti.

In 2011, Pedro, a successful student-athlete, responded to an invitation to travel to Haiti with Formula for Life, a student philanthropic group at USF. Since 2009, this group has coordinated a campus 5K run/walk to raise money to provide nutritional support to Haitian children.

Upon returning to USF, Pedro became a Formula for Life leader, and her passion and compassion for the children of Haiti has motivated the community to respond generously. The April 2012 Formula for Life 5K run/walk was the most successful to date, with $11,000 raised.

Pedro returned to Haiti with the Formula for Life faculty adviser and another student team member to present Father Andre of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage the money raised through the event.  During the visit, she heard Father Andre recount an incident in which a baby girl was turned away because the living space could not accommodate her. After he explained his vision to expand the orphanage from a small rental to a permanent campus on 15 acres of farmland, Pedro told her Formula for Life adviser, “We are going to get Father on his new land. We are the ones who are supposed to do it.”

Within six months, the construction campaign led by Pedro and other Formula for Life members garnered over $75,000 in monetary contributions and in-kind construction donations for the orphanage building project. She remained committed to her mission upon her return to Indiana, despite the distance and thedistractions in the life of a U.S. college student.

“Amanda is an excellent student, a talented athlete and true campus leader,” President Kriss said. “She communicated the orphans’ plight, reminded us of our blessings, and created the momentum for a campaign to build an earthquake- and hurricane-resistant home for those children. It will be interesting to see what her future holds and how she shapes her nursing career and advocacy for Haitian children into a life plan. Asked about her role in the orphanage project following graduation, she replied, ‘You know—I’m not done yet.’”

For more information about the orphanage building project or to make a donation, contact Dr. Amy Obringer at aobringer@sf.edu.

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department 

March 12, 2013

Sophomores in the Department of Architecture at the Ball State University (BSU) College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) are working with the University of Saint Francis (USF) and city of Fort Wayne on an academic competitive design project.

For over 40 years, BSU CAP students have produced building projects that serve as entries for a competition sponsored by the Indiana Concrete Masonry Association (ICMA). This year, BSU is coordinating its student project with USF and the Fort Wayne Community Development Division to design a mixed-use project across from the USF Performing Arts Center at 431 W. Berry St., on property owned by USF. Features of the BSU students’ designs should include new student housing for USF, apartments for lease, local retail for the downtown area and garage parking.

The competition began Monday, when around 80 CAP students visited the project site. To provide a real-world client scenario, USF and city of Fort Wayne representatives will meet with CAP students in Muncie on Friday, when the architectural students can learn more about the theoretical facility’s needs and its potential for economic impact on the city. Project requirements, constraints and other aspects will be examined in a question-and-answer session that will follow.

BSU students will deliver their projects in April, and on Monday, April 22, the best 20 projects will be selected by a jury for recognition. Projects typically consist of a physical model and boards displaying graphic and textual information on the project. The student projects provide ideas, but are not professional solutions that must be developed by professional architects.

“This competition has become a cherished tradition among our faculty, alumni and students for more than 40 years,” said Antonieta Angulo, associate professor of practice in the BSU Department of Architecture. “It is always important for us to work in projects that relate to the real world. This project will be one of such experiences. We appreciate the kind willingness of the USF administration and president, as well as the city of Fort Wayne, to collaborate in our ICMA competition project of 2013.”

“It is our pleasure and our duty to participate in this academic exercise with Ball State University students,” said USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. “We are pleased to provide the dynamics of a growing downtown campus as a basis for this creative work.”

Courtesy of the USF Marketing Department

March 11, 2013

The University of Saint Francis has collaborated with the Fort Wayne Ballet to offer four-year and two-year programs in dance through the university’s Fort Wayne Ballet Conservatory at the University of Saint Francis. It is the region’s only four-year degree of its type.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Associate of Arts in Dance will prepare students for professional dance careers while delivering a sound liberal arts core curriculum for a well-rounded education. The degrees feature study of a full range of dance styles—classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, tap, character and repertoire—along with dance history and theory, pedagogy and choreography. The dance technique core, supplemented by an intense curriculum, positions students to perform in a professional dance company, attend graduate school in dance, teach in a public or private dance school or choreograph.

Dance courses will be held at the new facilities of Fort Wayne Ballet at Auer Arts Center, which include state-of-the-art rehearsal studios with pianos and dance flooring to protect against injury; large, mirrored dance studios with barres, observation windows and pianos for live accompaniment; and an art gallery, coffee shop and bakery, lounge area and parking. Fort Wayne Ballet instructors will be the program’s USF faculty members.

Academic courses will be taken in the USF School of Creative Arts (SOCA), a creative, collaborative learning environment known for highly competent graduates in a broad spectrum of media, arts and business professions. The program will provide the studio rigor of the dance professional and the academic environment of a small private, Midwestern institution to give students a full and balanced collegiate experience.

“A college education is not essential to obtain employment as a professional dancer, however, many dancers obtain degrees in unrelated fields to prepare themselves for careers after dance,” said Karen Gibbons-Brown, Fort Wayne Ballet artistic and executive director and the USF dance artistic director and adviser. “The completion of a college program in dance and education is essential to teach dance in college, high school or elementary school.”

Gibbons-Brown will work with SOCA Dean Rick Cartwright and assistant professor Colleen Huddleson, who will serve as liaison and program adviser. “The program will combine the talent and national reputation of the Fort Wayne Ballet’s conservatory program with the established liberal arts tradition of USF,” Cartwright said. “The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance will feature a dance technique core that rivals other nationally recognized dance departments. This program also continues the strategic expansion of USF School of Creative Arts education beyond its well-known visual arts core. Combined with the past additions of theater and music, the dance program supports the School of Creative Arts’ broader vision as it enriches its fine arts component.”

Registration has begun for the new fall dance program. Those who wish to learn more can visit sf.edu/admissions or contact the USF Office of Admissions at 260-399-8000 or admis@sf.edu.