2008 Woodie Awards
Odyssey staff steps down; new members appointed
Abby Haun
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Front Page
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Bornigia, who formerly served as faculty coordinator of Odyssey, along with Director of Academic Advising Sara Laidlaw, resigned their positions and said they would no longer be directly involved with the Odyssey program. However, Laidlaw has been asked for her input in the academic advising portion of the program, according to Hittinger.
Hittinger announced on Jan. 24 that he had appointed political science professor Jean-Philippe Faletta to replace Waggoner as director of the Quality Enhancement Plan, of which Odyssey is a part. Hittinger also named theology professor Randall Smith as coordinator of Odyssey.
"I think QEP projects normally have a change in leadership just to get more campus involvement," Hittinger said. "The whole idea of the QEP is it's a forward-looking, experimental project which SACS [Southern Association of Colleges and Schools] requires of all institutions for their accreditation," he added.
Hittinger said that both Bornigia and Waggoner elected to leave their positions to pursue other projects. Waggoner will act as chair of the mathematics department beginning June 1. Bornigia is working on a book, according to Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Jerry Kramer.
"Dr. Waggoner agreed with the dean that if she were to become chair she would step down, so she has voluntarily stepped down as director of QEP," Hittinger said.
Waggoner said she volunteered to continue to manage the Odyssey program, but Hittinger refused her offer.
Both Waggoner and Bornigia denied that they were too busy to continue working with the program.
"I am perfectly capable of multitasking," Bornigia said. "Turning my dissertation into a book has never precluded me. Last semester I taught five classes, which is an overload--130 students--worked on the Odyssey, and still did what I was doing enthusiastically."