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The Path to Success

Over the past few years, Peak Week, the signature SUMMIT event that falls in March the week before Agnes Scott College’s spring break, has evolved to be a larger, immersive experience inclusive of all undergraduate students. During the week, students engage in hands-on learning opportunities related to the central SUMMIT areas of global learning, leadership development and professional success.

“The idea behind Peak Week is to connect the dots with what students are learning in the curriculum with hands-on experiences,” says Honi Migdol, associate dean for integrative leadership and SUMMIT cocurricular programs.

In the faculty-led global immersion experiences that are an integral part of the Global Journeys course, first-year students acquire a global/intercultural perspective that broadens their horizons and lays the foundation for global citizenship; in the second year, the Sophomore Class Atlanta Leadership Experience (SCALE) leadership immersion activities allow students to bring their intercultural learning to a professional environment while also developing career-relevant skills and perspectives; in their junior year, participating in Applied Career Experiences (ACE), students apply their liberal arts learning while working with specific technological tools and platforms and connecting with alums and experts.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic prohibiting travel, the global immersion experience pivoted to involve virtual workshops and talks with renowned international scholars and activists, best-selling authors and local community leaders. Overseen by the Center for Global Learning, this year’s 13 Journeys courses included virtual itineraries that connected U.S. domestic and international sites in the context of a wide range of interdisciplinary topics.

Previously an opt-in Peak Week program for all class years, moving forward, SCALE will be exclusively for sophomores. A joint effort between the Office of Internship and Career Development and the Gué Pardue Hudson Center for Leadership and Service, SCALE is focused on participants observing leadership in action. The program pairs small groups of students with various community partners, such as Piedmont Healthcare, Synchronicity Theater and Morehouse School of Medicine, to learn about an industry, observe leadership and either contribute to a project or the organizational goals of the organization.

“[In developing SCALE], we looked at where the gaps are that students need to learn and how can we help them develop the competencies that employers need,” says Migdol. “SCALE is like a mini internship. It is an accelerated program where students are getting a wealth of professional development support.”

In its inaugural year in 2020, the program began as an in-person experience, with students commuting to various community partner organizations for on-site visits. Due to the rapidly changing conditions as the pandemic unfolded, many of the community partners decided to modify their work environments, and Agnes Scott students pivoted alongside them.

“Community partners brought our students into this process to see how decisions were being made at the onset of the shutdown,” notes Migdol.

This year, SCALE was 100% virtual, and students learned how to keep up with back-to-back Zoom meetings. Working in teams, they had to navigate different work norms, styles and spaces.

“On the whole, students have reported great, candid conversations. They felt like they were brought in as members of the organizations,” Migdol says.

Peak Week also welcomed ACE to its programming in 2021. These weeklong, one-credit SUM 301 courses, which were opt-in this year, will be exclusively for juniors and seniors in 2022. Taught by faculty and supported by the Office of Internship and Career Development and the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy, each course offers students opportunities to apply their liberal arts learning by working with specific technology and to connect with alums or experts in relevant professional fields.

Supporting Agnes Scott’s commitment to professional success, ACE courses help students develop critical and necessary skills that are increasingly attractive to potential employers,” explains Migdol. “We are fortunate to have a wealth of knowledge within our existing faculty to help our upperclass students further develop competencies to make them more competitive in the job market.”

With three strong programs in place, Peak Week now offers a focus for every student at Agnes Scott to engage in high-impact learning activities beyond the classroom that will promote their postgraduate success.

A Founder’s Day to Remember

For Agnes Scott College, this year’s Founder’s Day, which marked the 132nd anniversary of the college's founding, was like no other. Not only was the event all virtual, but it was also a weeklong celebration instead of being held on a single day.

Syndi Perry ’21, a fellow in the Office of the President, led the planning and coordination of Founder’s Day. Perry collaborated with other departments across campus. This year’s theme was “Agnes Scott: Past, Present and Future,” encouraging the community to reflect on the college’s past, celebrate its present and look toward its future. Throughout the celebratory week, there were Founder’s Day trivia and prerecorded videos featuring Portia Morrison ’66, a retired partner of the global law firm DLA Piper; Ché Carter ’21, president of Witkaze; Katja Quintero MA’21, a writing and digital communication graduate; and Jayla Norman ’23, a Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation intern in the Gay Johnson McDougall Center for Global Diversity and Inclusion. The week culminated with an hourlong program that included a performance by Agnes Scott’s gospel choir Joyful Noise, which was followed by a conversation with Morrison, Carter, Quintero and Norman moderated by Yves-Rose Porcena, vice president for equity and inclusion.

The participants shared powerful, insightful and moving thoughts on their time at Agnes Scott and talked about what Founder’s Day means to them, how it is changing and what it could be in the future. Norman, who conducted research on Samuel Harper, a Black blacksmith who contributed to the building of Agnes Scott “Main” Hall’s bell tower, stressed the importance of not only recognizing the known figures but also celebrating the hidden ones — the firsts who have not been celebrated and were people of color who were integral parts of the college’s founding. During the program, President Leocadia I. Zak took time to acknowledge that Founder’s Day takes place during Black History Month — two important events that have not been typically acknowledged together in the past.

“There are still many areas of improvement for the college, but we are taking the right steps toward lasting, positive change for our future — releasing ties with ideals and views that no longer represent who the college is and where we are going,” says Zak. “After today’s program, I hope we will have more conversations and instill more change as we grow.”

There were many changes in this year’s Founder’s Day celebration, but these changes reflected the college’s ability to adapt, our Agnes Scott community’s willingness to take on challenging situations, have open conversations and, overall, our steps toward positive growth and lasting change. View the Founder’s Day videos and full program at agnesscott.edu/founders-day/index.html.

Agnes Scott Stays Committed to Keeping the Campus Community Safe and Informed

Since the onset of the pandemic, Agnes Scott College has remained dedicated to keeping the campus community informed, raising awareness about COVID-19 protocols and providing a safe and supportive learning environment. The college’s robust Be Well Campaign, which launched last fall, has played an instrumental role in this commitment. Be Well informational videos are featured on the college’s website and social media platforms. Also, students have been recruited to serve as Be Well ambassadors for their peers. The Be Well campaign will continue to promote wellness on campus when fully in-person instruction begins in August.

Agnes Scott’s Wellness Center, which oversees COVID-19 testing on-campus, has administered more than 2,930 tests since last year.

Agnes Scott College faculty participated in the COVID Conversations: The Truth and Myths about the COVID Vaccination webinar this spring. View the video on Agnes Scott's YouTube channel.

Through webinars and podcasts, faculty have also educated the campus community and beyond on issues surrounding COVID-19. For example, public health professors Amy Patterson and Erin Bradley, along with Charles Loridans Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Stacey Dutton, shared their expertise in the COVID Conversations: The Truth and Myths about the COVID Vaccination webinar, which offered people an opportunity to learn more and ask questions about the vaccines. The podcast, Understanding the COVID-19 Vaccine: An In-Depth Look with Professors from Agnes Scott College, featured Bradley, Dutton, Assistant Professor of Psychology Janelle S. Peifer and Assistant Professor of Psychology Maryam Jernigan-Noesi.

Agnes Scott sought early approval to serve as a vaccination site for members of the college community.

Since March, the Wellness Center has administered more than 900 total doses overall (first and second). In June, Agnes Scott was among the first to sign on to the White House and U.S. Department of Education’s COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge (whitehouse.gov/ COVIDCollegeChallenge).

From health and safety protocols to informational webinars and podcasts to its COVID-19 website, the college continues to be a model in its response to the pandemic for other colleges and universities. And when the residence halls and classroom doors open at the start of the new academic year, Agnes Scott — like always — will be prepared. Visit the Engaging the Challenge, Together website at https://www.agnesscott.edu/engaging-the-challenge-together/index.html.

Agnes Scott Announces Completion of Joint Climate Resilience Plan

On Feb. 26, Agnes Scott College announced the completion of its joint climate resilience plan, on which it partnered with the City of Decatur.

The plan is structured around four main themed goals: people, planet, place and partnership. Each goal presents the strategies for implementation with corresponding tasks and the anticipated time frame. The plan also includes the survey results of a vulnerability assessment of climaterelated shocks (sudden events) and stressors (long-term trends) that can impact the community. Tornadoes, affordable housing, economic and social disparity, and extreme heat are several of the vulnerabilities identified.

Brittany Judson ’21, the climate plan resilience coordinator in the college’s Center for Sustainability, wrote the plan, which was informed by a task force composed of representatives from Agnes Scott, City of Decatur agencies and Columbia Theological Seminary. The task force was established in August 2018 and began work on the plan then, a process that involved meeting regularly over the past two years and conducting focus groups on the individual goals. The collaborative project received additional support in June 2020, when Agnes Scott was awarded funding through Boston-based nonprofit Second Nature’s Acceleration Fund.

“Having a plan to respond to climate change impacts jointly with the City of Decatur is critically important for the college’s future. This plan — combined with the campus master plan completed in 2020 and the strategic plan — establishes a firm foundation for thinking ahead. But perhaps most importantly, the plan was written by a current student. Brittany did an excellent job of managing the process and writing the plan. This is an integral part of her experience that is leading her into a career in sustainability,” says Susan Kidd ’78, MAT ’07, executive director of the Center for Sustainability.

Along with David Nifong, a Lead for America fellow with the City of Decatur Department of Public Works, Kidd appeared on Rose Scott’s “Closer Look” radio program on WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station, to discuss the joint climate resilience plan. Listen to the segment at www.wabe.org/agnes-scott-and-decatur-collaborate-to-create-a-climate-resilience-plan-for-the-city.

The climate resilience plan can be read at agnesscott.edu/sustainability/energy/crp-final-draft-02-25-21-1.pdf

The Joan and Bill Goodhew Fund Helps Support Graduate Students' Academic Success

A gift from Joan St. Clair Goodhew ’58 and J. William “Bill” Goodhew is helping promote the academic success of graduate students at Agnes Scott College. Established in March 2019, the Joan and Bill Goodhew Fund has enabled the Office of Graduate and Extended Programs to provide graduate learning assistants in the college’s Center for Digital and Visual Literacy and the Center for Writing and Speaking. In these centers, the graduate learning assistants are playing an instrumental role in supporting their peers across the college’s graduate programs.

The Center for Digital and Visual Literacy is where the Agnes Scott community can access training and resources in a variety of instructional, emerging and skills-based technologies. With a high volume of visitors throughout the year, the center discovered improvement was needed in serving graduate students.

“Although we were able to help with many of their needs, we simply could not accommodate the extended hours needed by graduate students. In addition to the challenge of scheduling, the full-time staff and I found ourselves covering the broader technical skills as well. We could not meet all of the specialized demands,” says Lisa Jones, assistant director of the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy.

The addition of a graduate learning assistant in the center, one each academic semester, has made all the difference.

“Because the graduate learning assistants possess experience and proficiency in a wider variety of software applications, the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy has been able to offer training and support that previously were unavailable,” she says.

Jones adds that there is another benefit, noting, “The graduate learning assistant role has also filled the need for graduate students to learn from their peers who uniquely understand the demands of balancing their work, families and course requirements.”

Katja Quintero MA’20 worked as a graduate learning assistant in the center when they were in the writing and digital communication master’s program because they wanted to be a part of the center’s work.

“I always saw the amazing impact of the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy on my program and how helpful it is to so many students, and that immediately drew me in,” says Quintero.

For the college’s Center for Writing and Speaking, which provides one-on-one-tutoring, resources and programs to help students become better communicators, the availability of graduate learning assistants has also proven to be key.

Faculty Director and Visiting Assistant Professor of the Writing and Digital Communication program Mina Ivanova says that like the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy, having graduate learning assistants has allowed the Center for Writing and Speaking to expand and tailor services specifically to graduate students. Ivanova is the acting director of the Center for Writing and Speaking.

“Agnes Scott’s graduate students are incredibly diverse, which I think is a strength of the program, but some of them have been out of school for years. And so they have to get reintegrated and remember what it’s like to be in college and write academic papers. They have to get into the rhythm of reading critically and writing analytically and presenting in professional ways,” says Ivanova. “There is an adjustment that happens, and the graduate learning assistants are this kind of unique liaison between the world of Agnes Scott and incoming graduate students.”

Imani Young Bey ’17, program coordinator in the Center for Writing and Speaking, observes that graduate students frequently request assistance on things such as their portfolios, presentations, website content and study skills.

Isobel Robinson-Ortiz MA’20, a graduate from the writing and digital communication program and a former graduate learning assistant in the Center for Writing and Speaking, says, “My firsthand knowledge of the assignments and what the professors were looking for helped inform my tutoring. I loved being able to help my fellow graduate students build confidence and realize that they were going to be OK and their writing assignments were doable.”

The center currently has one graduate learning assistant for the academic year, and Ivanova says that as the graduate student population continues to grow, they hope to have two in the future.

Both Jones and Ivanova say that feedback on the graduate learning assistants in the Center for Digital and Visual Learning and the Center for Writing and Speaking has been overwhelmingly positive, especially during the pandemic. Graduate students have been appreciative of continuing to receive the same level of support remotely. The Goodhews were inspired to make a gift to the college because they were impressed by the innovation of Agnes Scott’s graduate programs and deeply understood the importance of preparing students for meaningful employment postgraduation. With funding for graduate learning assistants, graduate students are receiving the critical support and guidance they need to successfully navigate their academic journey.

Faculty Grant Fosters Innovation in Graduate Course

Agnes Scott College’s Laquita Blockson, faculty director of the master’s program in social innovation, and Carlee Bishop, faculty director of the master’s program in technology leadership and management, were awarded a VentureWell Sustainable Design Faculty Grant. The $29,662 grant supports strengthening and developing courses and programs that encourage STEM entrepreneurship and innovation. Blockson and Bishop’s proposal was 1 of 13 grant recipients chosen nationally.

The grant provides funds for Blockson and Bishop to incorporate sustainability and environmental responsibility into the Human-Centered Design and Implementation graduate course that the grant enables them to team teach at Agnes Scott College. Decatur Makers, a local makerspace, and the college’s Center for Sustainability are serving as community and campus partners for this interdisciplinary course.

“In the course, students are guided through a three-step process of identifying a problem faced by users of a particular product, generating possible solutions for redesigning the product and bringing a plausible solution into production or operation,” says Blockson. “They learn various

design methods to help address a given challenge, all while privileging the experiences of the users.”

Faculty Director of Social Innovation Graduate Program Laquita Blockson

Faculty Director of Technology Leadership and Management Graduate Program Carlee Bishop

“With the grant, we are providing each student a prototyping kit, which provides an at-home capability for prototyping experimentation. This enables us to offer our students a hands-on polytechnic learning activity while accounting for COVID-19-related restrictions that limit students’ access to campus,” says Blockson. “When we teach this course during the spring 2022 semester, in addition to providing students with prototyping kits, we will use the Decatur Makers’ makerspace, where students will have access to tools and equipment that will enable them to bring their design ideas to life.”

The course’s theme for the spring 2021 and 2022 semesters is “Sustainability and Climate Change,” and the design challenge is sustainable agriculture. Blockson and Bishop anticipate select graduate students will present their design ideas at the 2021 Engaging Global Challenges Conference, which is focused on climate justice and being hosted by Agnes Scott this fall.

Blockson notes that humancentered design techniques and thinking skills can be applied within virtually any occupation and complement any discipline. The course’s major projects, supported in part by the VentureWell Sustainable Design Faculty Grant, will provide students with relevant experience that supports their professional success in a variety of fields and industries.

SpARC Spotlights Student Research

A slide from a presentation by Kaitlyn Mills ’21 on Mills’ research project “A Pattern for Palatable Progress in Black Education, 1865-1899”

The Spring Annual Research Conference, known as SpARC, this year continued to demonstrate the best in undergraduate research at Agnes Scott College. Held in a virtual format, the daylong event, which opened with a welcome from President Leocadia I. Zak, followed by dance and music performances, featured students presenting their research through short prerecorded video presentations, with slides taking the place of the poster exhibits. There were also faculty-moderated panel discussions on select research topics. As a special addition, the day concluded with “Untitled Math Trivia Project,” a math trivia event based on the popular pub-style trivia Agnes Scott has produced as part of the Atlanta Science Festival since 2015.

Global Immersion Experiences Go Virtual

A coral reef workshop with the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida. A guided walking tour through the historic streets of Berlin, Germany. A viewing of the Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent exhibits in Paris, France. These are just a few of the faculty-led immersion experiences Agnes Scott College’s first-year students participated in during 2021 Global Journeys. But there was a big difference from previous years. Rather than traveling around the world by plane, students reached this year’s destinations virtually.

The college moved forward with the weeklong global immersions, an integral part of the SUMMIT curriculum, as a remote experience amid the ongoing pandemic. Partnering with a range of providers, the Center for Global Learning developed fully virtual programming for Journeys — a first for Agnes Scott.

The Ecuador virtual reality tour experience in the Global Journeys Diversity and Health section. Photo courtesy of Victoria Colón-Lopez ’24.

The virtual visit of the United Nations headquarters in the Global Journeys Global Cities section. Photo courtesy of Nia Harris ’24.

Associate Vice President and Dean for Curriculum and Strategic Initiatives Gundolf Graml, who oversees SUMMIT global learning and leadership development, says, “We decided to create virtual global connections that built [upon] the global knowledge and experience of our faculty leaders, aligned with the SUMMIT global learning goals and provided our students with a real-life perspective on the mode of global/international interaction precipitated by the pandemic.”

In order to make virtual trips happen, Graml, who is also a professor of German, says that faculty leaders had to quickly redesign their pedagogical approaches, and partner providers needed to create videos and augmented reality experiences in many different countries where they were facing lockdowns and quarantine measures.

“Regine Jackson, faculty coordinator for global learning and Kathy Ashe ’68 and Lawrence Ashe Associate Professor of Sociology, and the Journeys faculty leaders did an amazing job coordinating 13 different Journeys sections in a way that maintained the curricular coherence of the SUMMIT Global Journeys course. Faculty-led Programs Coordinator Anna Lachkaya-Harris ’19 and the entire Center for Global Learning team [also] were exceptional in keeping the process going,” he says.

Journeys sections offered interesting selections for students, including Islamic Art and Architecture; Astronomy and Discovery; Diversity and Health; Identity, Globalization and Social Change; and Industrialization and Scientific Progress – Benefits and Costs. Each section made international and domestic connections related to its theme and featured prerecorded videos, live activities and innovative augmented reality components. Several sections were even able to include culinary experiences related to the Journeys topic.

Although students adapted well to the online Journeys experiences, some had mixed emotions about not being able to go on the traditional global trips this spring.

“Students were and continue to be disappointed about missing the travel opportunities. That’s absolutely understandable, and we all share in this disappointment. But the safety of students, faculty and staff is paramount, and most students we have spoken with are very understanding,” says Graml. “Looking through the feedback, I am impressed by the level of learning and critical engagement demonstrated by our students. They have clearly taken advantage of the unique opportunities created by this experience, notwithstanding the challenges posed by the virtual environment.”

He goes on to note that while faculty also missed the in-person immersion experiences, “many of them saw opportunities for engagement that otherwise would not have existed. Actual travel in larger groups means that certain places are just not accessible in general or not accessible for some students. Virtual global learning provided new forms of access, of connecting with multiple sites in one workshop.”

“Overall, the virtual Journeys experience provided students with a unique global learning opportunity at a time when the global pandemic had brought international student travel to a complete stop. Was it as exciting and exhilarating as actual travel? Certainly not, but at a time when global insights matter more than ever, we are glad that we could enable our students to connect with the world and learn from and with experts and leaders in a wide range of areas,” Graml concludes.

With COVID-19 vaccines now available and international travel slowly resuming, the hope is that in spring 2022, first-year students will be able to visit and experience different parts of the world in person instead of through a screen.