innovation
at its best
Innovative, interdisciplinary, and unique are all words that describe the programs offered in the Department of University Studies. This distinctive department has transformed over the past 12 years, evolving from an academic support services unit to a academic degree-granting department.
Additionally, the departmental shift was influenced by recommendations from the first Foundations of Excellence report in 2004. In response to the findings presented in that report, Dr. Betty Siegel, Kennesaw State University’s president at that time, charged Casey with the task of redefining and re-imagining the blueprint for excellence in the
frst-year of college, which included the hiring of 10 new faculty positions to teach the first-year seminar course.
decided to give me the faculy
I needed to meet demand,” shared Casey. Eventually, those 10 faculty would be reassigned into what is now First-Year and Transition Studies, a spin-off of University Studies.
“The impetus for this was
primarily that a sufficient number of full-time faculty from across campus could not be convinced to teach the course, so Dr. Siegel decided to give me the faculty
Dr. Rebecca Casey, chair of the department, explained that the evolution of the department was driven, in part, by KSU’s decision to raise its admissions requirements and reduce its focus on students requiring remediation, instead directing them to two-year or technical colleges.
by Loretta Daniels