UPDATES FROM THE DEAN
HappyMonday!!Ihopeeveryonehadanenjoyablespringbreak.Andnowwithonlysixweeksremaining in the semester, we make the final push for the end of the academic year. Institutional Research has updateditsreportonfacultydemographicswhichallowsustolookattheofficialheadcountoffaculty byrankinCOSM.Thetablebelowshowstheheadcount(notpositions)overthepast6years.Whilethe datashowsadropinthenumberofCOSMfaculty,itdoesnotincludethe14vacantpositionswehadfor the2024-2025academicyear Wedidnotloseanypositionsthisyear,sothenumberofactualpositions hasremainedconsistent Youcanaccessthefullreporthere
Wecontinuetomonitortheundergraduateenrollmentfunneldatafortheupcomingfallsemester.The tablebelowshowstheapplicationsandadmitsascomparedtothesametimeforthelastthreeyears The data for COSM continues to look strong and build upon the very good enrollment data we had for Fall 2024 The chairs have been working on some strategies to increase the number of admitted studentsthatchoosetoenrollforthefall Briancontinuestoworktoensurewehavestrongparticipation in the SOAR events as well Thank you to everyone who has been assisting with these efforts Please continuetoassistwithrecruitingeffortsaswestriveforanothersuccessfulfallsemester.
Working with the chairs, we have been working toward finalizing the hiring plan for the 2025-2026 academic year. This started a couple of weeks ago by making decisions on visiting instructors for next yearwherewehavealreadyapprovedeightpositions-oneinBCP,twoinBiology,FourinMath,andone in SEES. Additional visiting instructors may be added as circumstances for fall continue to change with retirement announcements, increased enrollment estimates, etc. Currently, we are projecting at least 11 vacant faculty positions for the next academic year and are mapping out the searches to begin filling thosevacantpositions.
In the new budget model, COSM will need to maintain some vacant positions to provide discretionary funding for visiting instructors, increased GTA funding, investment in research and teaching initiatives, and other strategic college needs The exact number of vacant positions will likely vary from year to year, which will also result in fluctuating COSM funds for strategic initiatives and end of year purchases Usingthesalarysavingsfromvacantlines,COSMhassupported:
SplitthecostsforaMassSpectrometerrepairwithBCP
ReplacedwhiteboardsintheBiologicalSciencesBuilding SupportedanadditionalGTAinSEES
PurchasedanIsothermalTitrationCalorimeterandaFlowCytometer
SupportedtheInnovativeTeachingInitiative PurchasedanadditionalyearofservicesfromHanoverResearch Purchasedcomputerreplacements
SupportedservicecontractsforautoclavesandmicroscopesinBiology PurchaseofanewautoclaveinHerty
FundedanothersummeroftheSummerUndergraduateResearchFellowshipsinCOUR Coveredsomeofthestartuppackagesfornewfacultyhires COSMCollaborativeGrantInitiative
With nearly a year under this new budget model, we are working to conduct COSM operations very differently to allow more strategic use of funds that promote academic and research excellence, t d t df lt th d th k i iti ti
COSM EXCELLENCE AWARDS
COSMisexcitedtoannouncethatnominationsarenowopenfortheCOSMAwardsofExcellence.
Nominatedeservingcolleagues/teamsherefromMarch3toApril14.
For multiple nominations, submit one form per nomination Individuals/Teams may self-nominate Nominatedteamsmustconsistof50%ormoreCOSMstaff/faculty
COSMAwardsofExcellenceinclude:
StaffAwardofExcellence(awardedtoanindividual)
ExcellenceinService(awardedtoanindividual)
ExcellenceinTeaching(awardedtoanindividual)
ExcellenceinResearch(awardedtoanindividual)
COSMCollaborationAward(awardedtoateam)
Contactbkoehler@georgiasouthern.eduwithquestions.
COSM COUR ANNOUCEMENTS
AreyouplanningtorecruitundergraduateresearchstudentsforSummer and/orFall2025?LetCOURhelp!
Undergraduatestudentsareofteninterestedinresearchbutdon'tknowhowtogoaboutfindinga researchmentor Tothisend,COURwouldliketoprovidestudentsalistoffacultycurrentlyrecruiting undergraduateresearchstudentsonourwebsitetofacilitatethesearchforresearchexperiences
IfyouareinterestedinrecruitingundergraduateresearchstudentsinSummerand/orFall2025,please completetheUndergraduateResearchRecruitmentForm.Ifyouhavemultipleprojectsyouare recruitingstudentsfor,pleasesubmitmultipleforms.
Theinformationfromthisformwillbeusedtocreatealistofpotentialfacultymembersandresearch areas/projectsavailableontheCOURwebsiteavailabletostudentspriortoregistrationinMarch.
COURSummerUndergraduateResearchFellowship(SURF)
TheCOSMCollegeofUndergraduateResearch(COUR)invitesapplicationsforthe2025Summer UndergraduateResearchFellowship(SURF) Thisfellowshipisdesignedtoenhanceexperiential learning forstudentsbysupportingundergraduateresearchduringtheFullSummerTerm $4000awardswillbe madetothebestapplicationsandinclude:
$3000stipendfortheundergraduatestudent,withtheexpectationthatthestudentconducts researchwithaCOSMfacultymentorfor25hours/weekfor10weeksduringtheFullSummer Term.
$500summerstipendforthefacultymentor
$500insuppliesorresearchtravel(fundsmaynotbeusedforconferencetravel)
Toqualify,studentsmustbeaCOSMmajorandmentoredbyaCOSMfacultymember.Formore informationandtoviewapplicationinstructions,visithttps://ww2.georgiasouthern.edu/cosm/cour/ andselectthe2025-2026GrantstaboremailDr.HeatherJoestingathjoesting@georgiasouthern.edu. ApplicationsaredueApril14,2025.
PleasedirectanyquestionstoHeatherJoesting(hjoesting@georgiasouthernedu)
FACULTY/STAFF SPOTLIGHT
What a week at the Association of SoutheasternBiologists86thAnnualMeeting inMyrtleBeach,Florida!Dr HeatherJoesting from our Biology department was officially inducted as the next President of The Association of Southeastern Biologists.and herstudentAnnabelleMayestookhomethe Best Poster award from the Botanical SocietyofAmerica.
TheEagleBattalion proudlymarchedin the201stSt Patrick’s DayParade, showcasingtheir dedication,discipline, andteamspirit.It wasanincredible momenttoseethem representwithhonor andprideinthis historicevent.
Dr.GeorgianneMoore (Biology)coauthereda journalentitled,“Tracer-aided ecohydrologicalmodelling acrossclimate,landcover, andtopographicalgradients inthetropics”in2023andwas notifiedthisweekthatitmade thejournal'stop10listforthat year.
UPCOMING EVENTS
ThesesessionsprovideCOSMfacultywithanopportunitytoconnect,exchangeeffectiveteaching strategies,seeksupportforinstructionalchallenges,andexplorenewperspectivesonpedagogy.Co-led byMrs EricaHillsnipe(Physics)andDr LorenMathews(Biology),thisseriesispartoftheHowardHughes MedicalInstitute(HHMI)InclusiveExcellence3LearningCommunity(IE3LC)Grantandisco-sponsored bytheFacultyCenter
ThenextCOSMLunch&LearnsessionwilltakeplaceonFriday,March28th,withthetheme"Teaching:It's NotLuck,It'sHardWork."ThissessionwillfocusonteachingchallengesandsolutionssharedbyCOSM faculty.
Weencourageinterestedfacultyto:
CompleteabriefCOSMLunch&LearnSurveytosuggestdiscussiontopicsand/orvolunteerasa panelist.
RegisterthroughtheFacultyCentertoattendthesession.Thiseventcountstowardthe'EvidenceBasedTeach'badgetrackforthosepursuingitbutisopentoallCOSMfaculty.
COSM SOCIAL MEDIA
CollegeofScienceandMathematics
ArmyROTC
TheBotanicGarden
TheDepartmentofBiology
ThePlanetarium
SchoolofEarth,EnvironmentandSustainability
CollegeofScienceandMathematics
ArmyROTC
DepartmentofBiology
SARCAquaponics
Ifyouhavephotographsfromarecentevent,class,orlabthatyou’dliketoshare,orifyouhavea flyerpromotinganupcomingevent,we’dlovetofeaturethem!PleasecompletetheGoogleFormto submityourmaterials,andwewillensuretheyaresharedononeormoreoftheCollegeofScience andMathematics(COSM)socialmediaplatforms.Yourcontributionshelpushighlighttheexciting activitieshappeningwithinCOSMandkeepourcommunityengaged!
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS