[The Montana Professor 25.1, Fall 2014 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]
Philip Gaines, PhD
Associate Professor of Linguistics and Chair, Department of English
MSU-Bozeman
Welcome to the latest number of Montana Professor. This issue pays particular attention to the matter of performance-based funding in higher education, a model which rewards campuses for achievement of specific out-comes—usually associated with rates of student retention and graduation. Prof. Marvin Lansverk from MSU-Bozeman gives a quasi-editorialized overview of the issue from a Montana perspective in Critical Issues in Higher Education. In the MP Interview, Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education Tyler Trevor addresses questions of the kind that concern—and in many cases trouble—members of the MUS professoriate.
In Focus on Teaching, Regents Professor and 2009 Baccalaureate Colleges U.S. Professor of the Year Rob Thomas reflects on the past, present, and future of Experience One, the innovative and effective block scheduling curriculum at UM-Western.
Current Research features contributions from scholars in Education and Bio-Energy: Prof. Traci O'Neill from Montana Tech shares findings from a recent study on student academic motivation, and Profs. Randy Maglinao and Md. Joynal Abedin explain their work on producing more efficient jet fuel.
This issues also features reports on three New Programs focusing on school and community outreach: MSU-Billings's multi-tiered system of support partnership with Billings schools to assist in learning outcomes for challenging elementary school populations, Montana Tech's BRIC initiative which mentors school teachers in bringing research into the classroom, and the BRAVO! program at the UM-Missoula, which teaches children acting skills for application to real-life issues.
Finally, let me invite you to submit ideas to MP. My recent editorial approach has been to commission contributions on specific topics, but I would like to ask for abstracts of pieces that you would like to submit to the journal—whether it's current research, a particular focus on teaching, or a critical issue in higher education. Please send a 200-300 word abstract to me at gaines@montana.edu. Also, if you have an idea for a special issue or a focus for an issue, let me know.
[The Montana Professor 25.1, Fall 2014 <http://mtprof.msun.edu>]