Alabama State University News August 12, 2015 ASU Welcomes Back Faculty Members By Timothy C. Ervin Alabama State University faculty members were welcomed back to campus during the 2015 Fall Faculty Institute held in the Ralph D. Abernathy College of Education Building. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Institute is held annually to welcome the University's new and returning faculty. President Gwendolyn E. Boyd spoke to the group about the University's growth, thanked faculty members for their service and motivated them to continue to push students towards greatness. "When professors care, students achieve," Boyd said. "So, I thank you in advance for caring for our students so they can achieve everything that they want to and be great. As we move together through this academic year; moving in the same direction, with the same motivation, same purpose, same mission, same vision, we will succeed and our students will succeed because you are engaged with them and you know the potential that's in them. I am hoping that each day you will push them to achieve their great success." Dr. Leon Wilson, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, thanked the group for its commitment to ASU and challenged each faculty member to make a difference in the life of at least one student. "If we're going to make a difference, each one of us has to make sure that the students who come here stay here," Wilson said. "My challenge to us as we begin the new school year is let's make a difference one student at a time. If each one of us does that, that's more than 400 students who will be encouraged and supported and will probably stay here because of that caring." Stem Faculty of the Year Each year during the Faculty Institute, a faculty member receives the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Faculty of the Year award. This year's recipient is Manoj K. Mishra, Ph.D., director, Cancer Biology Research and Training; director, Freshmen BIO Program; and associate professor of biology. . The STEM faculty award honors those faculty members who exemplify the highest levels of performance and excellence in the pursuit of scientific endeavors at ASU. The University welcomed a total of six new faculty members to the Hornet Nation: * Dr. Thomas L. Ngo-Ye, assistant professor of Computer Information Systems, College of Business Administration; * Dr. Jennifer Ballard, professor of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences; * Dr. Emmanuel Tadjuidje, assistant professor of Biological Science, College of Science, Mathematics and Technology; * Dr. Bo Wang, assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Science, Mathematics and Technology; * Gwendolyn Scherer, instructor of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts; * Dr. Legand L. Burge, Jr., assistant provost, Institutional Effectiveness, Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The first day of classes for the 2015-16 academic year is August 19. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.