Brown Bag Series to explore student success

The Fall 2014 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Brown Bag Lecture series begins on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at noon in Williams Center Room S204 with a panel discussing, “The First Six Weeks: The Key to Student Success and Persistence.”

According to event organizers, data indicates that the first six weeks determine whether a student will stay or go, succeed or fail. But what students know, faculty doesn’t…and vice versa. The panel will discuss how faculty can facilitate conversations that empower students, connect them with their learning and with the campus in meaningful ways, and build social networks that correlate with academic success and that help sustain a thriving campus.

Presenters include Dr. Jeffrey Janicki of the campus Counseling Center, Dr. David Kinkela of the Department of History, who is also the Honors Program coordinator; Amy Leclair, coordinator of Academic Advising and Liberal Arts; Michael Lemieux, director of Campus Life; and Erin Mroczka, director of First Year and Transition Programs.

The panel will highlight student self-reported data from a number of first-year assessment tools in hopes to provide a new perspective on who are current students are, what personal challenges they may be facing in transitioning to our community, and what strategies and solutions we as faculty and staff might implement to help smooth their transition and their success from the start of their academic career. In particular, each panelist will identify ways in which data has influenced departmental initiatives or their approach to new student interactions.

All are welcome to attend and the event is free. Students in particular are encouraged to attend and to participate in the question and answer session. Light refreshments will be provided.

To learn more about the event, contact Series Co-director Natalie Gerber at gerber@fredonia.edu or 716-673-3855.

The Brown Bag Lecture Series, sponsored by the Fredonia College Foundation’s Carnahan-Jackson Humanities Fund and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has offered free monthly talks showcasing scholarly and creative work by Fredonia faculty, staff, students, and community partners. The talks provide an opportunity for intellectual conversations across disciplinary boundaries and seek to create a broad and vigorous community of learners on the campus.