• Gary Daynes Appointed Interim Dean for Westminster’s Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business
  

6/22/2010

Westminster College has announced the appointment of Gary Daynes, PhD, as interim dean of the college’s Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business. He will assume this role for the 2010 – 2011 academic year, beginning July 1, 2010.
Daynes, who will also retain his role as associate provost for integrative learning, joined the college in 2006 as an associate professor of history and director of the Center for Civic Engagement. Since joining the college, he has helped implement several important college initiatives, including a pilot program to use e-portolios to assess student learning and achievement of college-wide learning goals, and Common Ground, the college’s annual place- based theme which offers members of the campus community an opportunity to engage in a year-long discussion of compelling issues, ideas and texts.
“The Gore School is home to some of our most innovative programs, including project-based degree programs and several programs offered in conjunction with partner institutions in China,” said Cid Seidelman, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Over the past four years, Gary has been a leader in building partnerships on and beyond Westminster's campus. During his term as interim dean, we expect that he will continue to strengthen the Gore School of Business' relationships with students and with business partners, locally, regionally and internationally."
Students in the Gore School of Business account for roughly one-third of Westminster’s total enrollment, including 590 undergraduate students and 480 graduate students. For undergraduates, Westminster offers degree and certificate programs in aviation, accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management and international business, as well as the project-based Bachelor of Business Administration degree completion program. At the graduate level, Westminster offers a Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration in Technology Management, Master of Accountancy, and a new Project-based MBA.
Daynes holds a bachelor of arts in history from Brigham Young University and a master's and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Delaware. He has been the author and co-author on numerous journal articles, books and book chapters and has presented at conferences and workshops on topics such as student learning, service-learning, civic engagement and American history. Prior to joining Westminster, Daynes served as coordinator of the Faculty Service-Learning Community of Practice and associate director of the Freshman Academy at Brigham Young University.

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Sugarhouse Journal
6.17.2010
Autism Awareness event for children with Autism draws a crowd

By Rebecca Brown Wright



Children participate in booths designed for children with Autism at a family fair

A yearly class project in the school of education at Westminster College had far-reaching impacts for some students. Students enrolled in the class, "Autism: Awareness or Epidemic?" at Westminster hosted the third annual Family Fun Day for Children with Autism and Families as a final project.

"For a lot of the students, this project is really life changing," said Shamby Polychronis, Westminster School of Education assistant professor.

Sugar House resident Heather Hillam, who is majoring in Elementary and Early Education, participated in the fair. "It was a good experience," she said. "I've worked a lot with kids with disabilities. But this is my first time working with kids who have Autism. I'm going into the field of special needs and this fair helped me get a feel for what I'm going to be doing."

Hillam has enjoyed working with children who have disabilities ever since she was young. She feels the fair definitely helped strengthen her ability to work in the field of special needs, she said.

"This event was another block in what I'm trying to do with my life," Hillam said.

Twenty-five students were responsible for creating booths for children with Autism and their families that incorporated everything they'd learned during the semester. Booths included food that takes special dietary concerns into consideration as well as auditory, visual and sensory input activities appropriate for children with autism.

"It's a typical fair-like atmosphere with special considerations," Polychronis said. There were booths that had tie-dyed shirts, booths with finger painting, poster painting with sponges, fishing booths, a sandbox and a soccer room with members of the Westminster soccer team, where children could kick soccer balls. The attendance has grown each year the fair has been in place, according to Polychronis. She estimates that 50 children were in attendance this year, double the amount of the first year it was held.

"I think families appreciate a place they can go where they know their children are going to be understood," Polychronis said. "It's less about the considerations of the booths than about a community understanding children, being patient, being comfortable and accepting. Many families come year after year because they look forward to it."

http://www.mysugarhousejournal.com/pages/full_story/?id=2606&type=Articles&numitems=1&startitem=0&showimages=1