We kicked of our academic year officially on August 14th with our faculty-staff institute. Our keynote for day one was Dr. Diane Dean, co author of Generation on a Tightrope. She painted a clear picture of today's student, and how we have to change our ways to meet their educational years. This group is the first generation of Digital Natives. While they are tech savvy, they have weak social skills. One key quote from Dr. Dean was "students are essentially alone, together."
Our day 2 speaker was Dr. Charlie Nelms, past chancellor of North Carolina Central University. He challenged us to see students as more than test scores, and that we have to move them toward their goals. We talked about surrounding them in a network (like the Verizon commercial) to support them through the process.
We also had lots of nuts and bolts sessions which helped refresh and orient faculty and staff, we recognized all persons working at Dillard in excess of 25 years.
The Prez
