YM Movie Today: A Room with a View

Today at 1:30 in the library Media Room, the Year of the Mediterranean program will be showing "A Room With a View", directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and based on the novel by E.M. Forster. This is one of the best-known films the YM program has shown this year. The movie won three Oscars in 1986, for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Best Costume Design. It was nominated for five more, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Denholm Elliott) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Dame Maggie Smith... you know, she plays Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, although she was an esteemed actress long before she added that little credit to her resume).

The movie begins in one of my favorite cities in the world: Florence, Italy. Two English women, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) and her chaperone Charlotte Bartlett (Smith) are there on holiday, and they are disappointed that their hotel rooms don't have views. At dinner they meet fellow hotel guests Mr. Emerson (Elliott) and his son, George (Julian Sands). The gentlemen gallantly offer to trade rooms with the ladies. During their Italian vacation, George and Lucy develop feelings for one another. Too bad she's engaged to someone else... Will Lucy choose the traditional path and marriage that is expected of her? Or will she choose a wild life of unrestrained passion with George?

Well, I'm not going to tell you. Come to the movie and see for yourself.

New Hiltonian posted!

Check it out here

Library furnished in Reinhardt history

Hello! As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center has been very fortunate recently to receive the display of the old college uniform and the painting of Witham Hall. Our collection of artifacts from Reinhardt's history is not confined to these wall displays, however.

Perhaps you've noticed the two antique desks flanking the double doors on the second floor. If you stand facing them, the one on the left is the desk of Captain Augustus Michael (A.M.) Reinhardt, co-founder of Reinhardt College (then Reinhardt Academy). You know, I had always thought the college was named after Captain Reinhardt, but in fact Reinhardt named the school in honor of his father, Lewis W. Reinhardt.

In 1883, Captain Reinhardt and fellow Waleska resident John J.A. Sharp decided to start a school for the children of this Civil War-ravaged area. Reinhardt Academy opened in January of 1884 with the help of the North Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. There were approximately 40 students, ranging from grammar school to high school. The first class graduated in 1888 with four members. Among these was Reinhardt's niece Fredonia Blanton. It is Ms. Blanton's desk you will see on the right, and her portrait hangs above it.

Fredonia Blanton's own contribution to Reinhardt College did not end with her student days. She taught school for 50 years, most of those here at Reinhardt. With the help of our archivist Joel Langford, I located in our archives a copy of the Hiltonian article celebrating her retirement in 1933. From all accounts she was a much-loved teacher and a "guiding light unto [the] feet" of her students. She is described as a patient and dedicated teacher and a kind and generous woman, who not only cared for Captain Reinhardt (her beloved "Uncle Gus") in his final years but took several students into her own home, treating them like members of the family and helping them to secure an education.

Although Captain Reinhardt and Fredonia Blanton are gone now, I think they would have appreciated the fact that their desks, where they sat and did so much work on behalf of the college and its students, occupy a place of honor in our library and still watch over the hard work of Reinhardt students in the year 2009.

Staff member spotlight: Nikki Preslock

According to many of the students here at Reinhardt, if any single person makes the Hill Freeman Library and Spruill Learning Center "the place to be," it's Nikki Preslock. That's not just because the part-time library assistant has been known to bring in yummy homemade treats for our patrons, or even for the lively conversations she strikes up. It's because Nikki, a former Reinhardt student herself, knows where they're coming from.

"I like helping students because I remember when I was in their situation," Nikki says. "I've been there, done that."

Nikki started working for the library back in July of 2006, when she was still a student herself. She was initially hired for a special project, although she's now segued into wearing multiple hats at the library. (That's not a reference to her St. Patrick's Day hat, but be sure to check that out next Tuesday). Library director Michael Martinez says Nikki originally came on board to help with the retroactive conversion project.

According to Martinez, about five years ago the library changed from its previous cataloguing program to the one it currently uses. "The vendor said it was supposed to be a 'seamless' migration," Martinez says. "What happened was we lost about 50% of our titles." In other words, half of the library's collection was no longer listed in our computers, and there was no quick and easy way to figure out which ones had been lost. Someone had to go through each book in the collection individually and check to see if it was listed. If it wasn't, the book had to be added.

Enter Nikki.

It's been a painstaking process, and one which Nikki says is very close to an end.

"When it's done, all of our holdings should be catalogued in our database," Martinez said.

The job hasn't been without its rewards, as Nikki says she's discovered some interesting things in the collection over the past couple of years.

"I actually find really cool old books, some signed by famous people like the past college presidents and some of the original Reinhardts," Nikki says. "Those go into our archives when I find them.

"I also find money in books sometimes. I find old notes and love letters."

Nikki also repairs old books for us, and works evenings and weekends helping in reference and circulation. Martinez says Nikki is going to get to work on developing course guides in the future. She is going to work with some of the new programs starting up at the North Fulton campus, such as the Homeland Security program and fire and police professional development.

Nikki, a Biology major at Reinhardt who also studied dietics at Life University, says her true passion is for science, and her ultimate goal is to be a park ranger at a fish hatchery. In the meantime, she definitely keeps the library hopping and running smoothly.

"Nikki's a great worker," Martinez says. "She's friendly, courteous, kind and very nice. She seems to have quite a following of people who come in here on Sundays just to see her."

She's also this blogger's dear friend and officemate. I can personally attest to what others have said about Nikki. When she's here, the library is a much more pleasant and friendly place!

Original painting portrays Reinhardt history

Have you noticed one of my favorite pieces of the art we have on display in the library? It's on the second floor, hanging above the desk of Frieda Blanton (Reinhardt's first graduate--more about her later). The painting is on loan from the collection of Waleska resident Roy A. Pritchard, in memory of Lucy Hufstetler Pritchard (Reinhardt College class of '41) and in honor of the artist, Linda J. Peters. The painting depicts the second Adminstration Building, circa 1940.

Here's a little history, courtesy of technical services librarian and Reinhardt College historian Joel Langford:

"The first permanent college building opened in 1885 and burned on November 28,1911.
School leaders and students were devastated and unsure as to whether Reinhardt would remain open. But soon a temporary building was opened, and classes resumed. Plans were made to construct a new administration/classroom building."

(If you take a look at the cornerstone of our current administration building, you will see it says the college was established in 1883 by A.M. Reinhardt and rebuilt in 1911. I don't know as much about Reinhardt history as Joel does, but I do like to walk around campus. Back to Mr. Langford now...)

"Mary Reinhardt Sharp, widow of college co-founder J.J.A. Sharp, sister of co-founder A.M. Reinhardt and mother of Reinhardt President R.C. Sharp, gave her 17 acre home place to the college for it to rebuild. A fund drive was begun aimed at building a larger and better college building. The cornerstone of the new building was laid on May 14, 1912, and the building was completed by that fall. The building was constructed of wood with a stucco exterior and beaver-board interior. The ground floor housed eight classrooms, offices, the library and music rooms. The basement had three classrooms and a laundry. The top floor was an auditorium that also served as the college chapel. The building had a slate roof which weighed forty tons, thus requiring reenforcement of the roof beams. An air heating system was installed, but did not work very well. It was replaced with steam radiators.

The building was named Mary Stuart Witham Hall, in honor of the mother of Board of Trustees member William S. Witham. Mr. Witham served as Chairman of the Building Committee that had raised funds for the building. Witham Hall had a water system installed, and in 1916 became electrically lighted when Reinhardt built an electric plant on campus. By the late 1940s, Witham Hall was in disrepair, although it was still the main college building. A new fund raising effort was begun and in 1950 the cornerstone was laid for a new brick building. This building opened on Thanksgiving Day 1951 and is now known as the Burgess Administration Building. Witham Hall was torn down and became just a memory to all the students who had attended Reinhardt during its almost forty year lifespan."

Now, thanks to Ms. Peters' work, Witham Hall once again has a place on the Reinhardt campus. Stop by and have a look!

Welcome Back!!! And Women's History Month

Welcome back students and faculty! I hope you all had a great spring break and are ready to hit the books again. Our wonderful student assistant Nahum reminded me yesterday that we're halfway through the semester now! Two more months until summer vacation (or summer classes).

My favorite coworker Nikki put together a little welcome back gift for you guys. First come, first served. Check it out at the circ desk.

As you may or may not know, March is Women's History Month. The college has some great activities planned in conjunction with WHM, including a special performance by the Women's Griot, a "goddess"-themed art contest, a showing of the movie Iron-Jawed Angels , a high-heel obstacle course (are you man enough to walk in her shoes?)and, on a more serious note, a special program on the global problem of human trafficking.

Over the break, I put together a display for Women's History Month of works by southern women writers. The display is on the second floor of the library, next to the stairs. The works of Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Katharine Anne Porter, Eugenia Price, Alice Walker, Dorothy Allison, Fannie Flagg, Mary Lee Settle, Olive Burns, Margaret Mitchell, Maya Angelou and others contributed to the culture of the region and to American literature in general. This collection is very close to my heart, and I hope you all will check it out.

It's good to see you all again!

Plan ahead, do your research and be persistent if you want to go to grad school

On Thursday, February 26, a panel of uniquely-qualified graduate school “experts” among Reinhardt’s faculty and staff met with interested students for a Graduate School Workshop. They shared the benefit of their knowledge and experience, giving tips on how to apply to graduate school, how to get accepted, and how to pay for it.
The panel consisted of Financial Aid Director Robert Gregory, Dr. Wayne Glowka (Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Reinhardt and former Director of Graduate Studies at Georgia College), Dr. Irma Santoro (Assistant Professor of Biology at Reinhardt and former Graduate Coordinator for the School of Biology at Georgia Tech), Dr. William DeAngelis (Dean of the School of Math and Science at Reinhardt), Janet Rodning (Director of Registration, Records and Advisement at Reinhardt), Assistant Professor of Business Dr. Katherine Hyatt, Dr. Thomas Reed (Professor of Special Education at Reinhardt), Public Services Librarian Karen Preslock and Director of the Center for Student Success Dr. Catherine Emanuel.

They spoke about the stiff competition for slots and for student assistantships, and gave tips on how to improve one’s chances. It seems the first and most important step is to do one’s research. Find the program that is the best fit for your strengths and interests.

“Talk to the professors in the program,” said Dr. Santoro. “See what the program’s strengths are.”

“Go to the Web site,” said Dr. DeAngelis. “Research the facilities, the community. Look at the program! Find programs where you have an interest. The information on the site will tell you what kind of school it is.” The Psychology program at the University of Georgia, for example, places heavy emphasis on research. Dr. DeAngelis suggested checking to see where schools are ranked in different areas, and finding a program with strengths that match yours.

“The faculty is on the Web,” Dr. Santoro said. She emphasized making personal contact with the professors, and making connections.

Library director Michael Martinez agreed with her. “Contact the school at least a year before you apply,” he advised. Write to the faculty and introduce yourself, he suggested, and visit them if possible. Tell the school that you want to attend there because you want to study under a certain professor. “They will see you made the effort. You want to study under the people you admire the most.”

The statement-of-purpose letter, said Dr. Santoro, is a very important part of the application. “A good statement-of-purpose letter shows commitment, why you want to be there, your passion.”

“They want to see what you can do for their program,” said Dr. Emanuel.

Your letters of recommendation from your professors are also important, and it doesn’t hurt to coach them a little. Dr. Emanuel advised reminding your teachers of what you’ve done in their classes and what they should mention in the letters. The graduate programs will be looking to see what kind of experience you have.
Graduate schools are competitive. Dr. DeAngelis recommended applying to a range of schools.

“These days everything is on the Web,” Dr. Glowka said, advising students to check out the program’s criteria for admission. “If there’s no published criteria, know that it’s competitive.”

Certain things can always improve your chances—such as having good grades, for example. Dr. Glowka said applicants were turned down at Georgia College based on GPA alone. Test scores are also important, and not every school requires the same test! Find out which test you need to take--the GRE, the GMAT, the LSAT—then “get the book and study it!!” Dr. Glowka emphasized. Go over the format of the test and prepare for it. Ms. Preslock announced that study guides for the major tests are available in the library on reserve.

There are other ways to help your chances. Ms. Preslock mentioned a book the library recently acquired, called Graduate School: Winning Strategies For Getting In With or Without Excellent Grades by Dave G. Mumby, Ph. D., among other guides. She suggested joining a professional organization to show your commitment, adding that many offer special membership rates to college students. Dr. Hyatt said MBA programs are looking for people with business acumen and experience. Mr. Martinez said a stint in the Peace Corps always looks good on an application! Dr. Glowka said some graduate schools will offer provisional admission to those whose credentials aren’t quite up to their standards; they’ll let you in, but you have to prove yourself once you’re there and make the grade!

Of course, if the application isn’t complete or filed correctly, all of the student’s hard work and research will be for naught. Janet Rodning spoke about obtaining official transcripts, and how the Records office can help in the application process. Know your deadlines, she advised. Know how many transcripts you need and to whom they should be sent. “You need to give us the details,” she said. “Be aware of your deadlines; don’t wait until the last minute.” Undergraduates will need to send two copies of their transcripts: one current one and then a complete one after graduation. “Many schools require two copies of your transcript or more,” she said, “and they have to be official transcripts.” Ms. Rodning encouraged students to be proactive and follow up with the schools to make sure the transcripts have arrived safely. There is a $5 fee for each official transcript, and a handwritten signature is needed to release a transcript.

“We are happy to help you,” Ms. Rodning said. “Just let us know what you need.”

Okay, so after you’re accepted into graduate school, the next question is how to pay for it. The good news is there are several options. Many programs offer teaching assistantships for their graduate students.

“Find someone who wants you enough to pay you,” said Dr. Eddie Robertson, professor of Biology at Reinhardt.

“Apply for fellowships!” urged Mr. Martinez. “They have to give them to someone. “
Some money is available for people who want to work in certain fields. Mr. Gregory said there is money available from HOPE for teachers who want to teach in critical need fields in Georgia. Ms. Preslock said government agencies such as the US Patent Office and Veteran’s Administration will pay their employees for graduate work in hard-to-fill areas. She recommends checking government Web sites.

“Only apply for a loan if that’s all you can get,” said Mr. Martinez.

Of course, not everyone can get an assistantship. The competition for them is even stiffer than for admission to the program. If you do need a loan, “there is money available for grad school,” said Mr. Gregory. “You need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and check that you have received a bachelor’s degree. There are Stafford and Direct Loans available for grad school, and the maximum is higher than for undergrad.” Mr. Gregory added that there is also a fee waiver for the GRA for students who qualified for the Pell Grant their last undergraduate year, and they can talk to the Financial Aid Office for more information.

Dr. Hyatt and Dr. Reed spoke about the graduate programs available at Reinhardt.
Reinhardt’s MBA program is inexpensive and geared toward working adults, said Dr. Hyatt. “We do reserve slots for Reinhardt students.” She said the MBA program is looking for a good GPA and a good score on the GRE. “Any major can get an MBA,” she added.

“We have two graduate programs in Education,” Dr. Reed said, “One for those who have an education background, and one for those who haven’t. “ He added there were many different ways to get your teacher‘s certification.

And if you haven’t decided what kind of a career you want, it is never too early or too late to think about it. Ms. Preslock suggested checking the Web site for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and looking at the Occupational Outlook Handbook to see which careers are expected to see growth in the future.