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Faculty fellow receives recognition
11:23 a.m., Sept. 11, 2006--Suzanne Austin, professor of history and faculty fellow in the Office of the Provost, recently received recognition both as an historian and as an administrator. On the administrative side, Austin has received certification from the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). Founded in 1965, SCUP focuses on best practices in planning for colleges and universities in the areas of demographics, economy, environment, global education, learning, politics and technology. Austin completed SCUP's three-phase certification process by participating in three planning institutes in Denver in 2004 and in Tempe, Ariz., and Minneapolis this year. SCUP's members are drawn mostly from the ranks of the of university and college administrators, including facilities managers, financial managers and others involved in the planning process. It is unusual for faculty members to receive certification. “The workshops, which build upon each other, involved integrated planning and problem-solving of issues related to budget, enrollment and facilities management,” Austin said. “As a member of the faculty, my work focuses on teaching and research; the SCUP institutes provided wonderful opportunities to learn about institutional planning from many other perspectives.” As a faculty fellow in the Office of the Provost at UD, Austin works on University-wide assessment planning, academic program reviews and faculty development initiatives. Last year, she worked with Mike Middaugh, assistant vice president of institutional research and planning, on preparing the Middle State Commission on Higher Education periodic review report for 2006. In 2004-05, Austin was selected as an American Council of Education (ACE) fellow, a program for those showing leadership potential, to work with administrators at another university. In addition to visiting more than 20 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and England, Austin worked with the president and the provost of West Chester University and also with the president of Haverford College. Austin's other posts at UD include serving as acting chairperson of the Department of Fine Arts and Visual Communication from 2001-03 and serving as assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2000-01. She also served as director of UD's Latin American Studies Program from 1998-2000. Austin's lecture, “The Decline of Native American Populations after European Conquest,” focused on the catastrophic decline of indigenous populations in both North and South America. According to Austin, indigenous populations declined by more than 80 percent within the first century after contact, largely as a result of the introduction oof diseases from the Old World--smallpox, measles and influenza--in combination with the violence and dislocations associated with European colonialism. “What I enjoyed most about the lecture at the University of Leiden was the opportunity to work with students, who took an active role in planning and organizing the lectures,” Austin said. “I was met at the airport by a student who served as my guide for the three days that I stayed in Leiden. In addition, after my lecture, I was invited to lunch by a number of graduate students and faculty.” Attending schools in Puerto Rico and Mexico as an undergraduate, Austin received her bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University, her master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her doctorate from Duke University. She is the author of A Pest in the Land: New World Epidemics in a Global Perspective and Native Society and Disease in Colonial Ecuador. She is currently working on another book, Environment and Empire: European Colonialism and Environmental Change from a Comparative Perspective. Article by Sue Moncure |
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