Spin-up Workshop at University of Texas at Austin, May 4-6, 2012

Spin-UP Workshop at The University of Texas at Austin

May 4 - 6, 2012

Workshop Documents

Spin-up workshop at The University of Texas at Austin May 4-6, 2012

NSF Spin-UP program: Ruth Howes and Bob Hilborn

Local organizers: H. Galloway, M. Marder, M. Diaz, C. Handy, H.L. Swinney

  • FRIDAY, May 4, 2012 (at Embassy Suites Austin - Central, 5901 North IH-35)
  • 5:00 Buffet dinner
  • 5:45 Welcoming: Bob Hilborn, PI of SPIN-UP Regional Workshops
  • 6:15 The THECB challenge (Michael Marder, Mario Diaz, Heather Galloway)
  • 7:00 Discussion of THECB challenge
  • 7:15 Building Undergraduate Programs for the 21st Century (Bob Hilborn)
  • 8:00 Poster session (departments present posters describing their innovations)

  • SATURDAY, May 5, 2012 (at U. Texas at Austin)
  • 8:00 Case Study I: Angelo State University (Andy Wallace)
  • 8:30 Case Study II: University of Texas at Brownsville (Mario Diaz)
  • 9:00 Case Study III: Texas Southern University (Carlos Handy)
  • 9:30 Case Study IV: Texas Lutheran University (Lorne Davis)
  • 10:00 Break
  • 10:30 Panel: The Consortium: A Possible Solution for Small Departments
  • 11:10 First Planning Session: Focus on where we are and what our problems are
  • 11:50 What's Happening with the Two Year Colleges: A Source of Physics Majors (William Waggoner, San Antonio Community College)
  • 12:20 Lunch
  • 1:40 Plenary I: Gay Stewart, University of Arkansas, Responding to the challenge of raising enrollment – an Arkansas success story
  • 2:20 Second Planning Session: What steps can we take to build enrollments?
  • 3:20 Break
  • 3:45 Plenary II: John Rice (Common Sense Communications, Baton Rouge, LA)
  • Don't just recruit better students, make them better before they get on campus: How helping students find what they are interested in will help them perform better
  • 4:15: Planning Session III: Specific Action Plans
  • 6:00 Dinner, dinner plenary – Truman Bell (ExxonMobil Foundation)
  • History of SPIN-UP and significance of physics as seen from outside academia
  • Reception

  • SUNDAY, May 6, 2012 (at U. Texas at Austin)
  • 8:30 Follow up plans and discussion: (1) Accountability: semester-by-semester tally of enrollments (freshman, soph, jr, sr) of each department (2) Planning of the workshop report
  • 9:30 Departments finalize draft plans and prepare 5 minute talks
  • 10:00 Break
  • 10:20 Each department: 5 minute presentation of goals and plans to meet them
  • 11:25 Project Evaluation and Assessment (Karen Johnston)
  • 11:50 Sending forth (Hilborn)
  • 12:00 Adjourn