Program Leader's Column

Dr. Vanessa Dennen
Instructional Systems Program Leader

As another school year ends and a new one is about to begin, there is much to report about the Instructional Systems Program. I’m sure you’ve heard about our state’s budget struggles and the resulting impact on the State University System. FSU has not been immune during these difficult times. The College of Education has seen significant budget cuts, which have required layoffs and program closings. Instructional Systems has been fortunate to not lose any faculty, although we were affected by the university’s hiring freeze. We had hoped to hire a new faculty member last year, but all searches were called off. This year, however, we have been authorized to conduct a new search for a faculty member.

Although the budget situation is depressing, to be sure, we still have much to be excited about. Our faculty are as active as ever, and our students continue to be high achievers. Once again – for the fourth time in five years – the FSU team has won the Pacificorp Design & Development Competition. Our team this year consisted of PhD students Jennifer Myers and Iskandaria Masduki. The finals are held each year at AECT. Dr.Tristan Johnson continues to work with the Pacificorp program.

We look forward to the successes of our next class of students in the 2009 competition at AECT in Louisville. We also were represented at the ISPI University Student Case Study Competition. Our team, comprised of Leah Albrecht, Sondra Kremerskothen, Mick Scott, and Ashley Townsend and sponsored by Dr. Aubteen Darabi, competed in the finals and had a very strong showing.

It is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of Dr. Robert M. Morgan, founder of the IS program, in January of this year. He will be remembered this October 25 and 26 when LSI, the College of Education, and Instructional Systems will host a conference to celebrate the 40th anniversary of LSI’s founding and Dr. Morgan’s accomplishments as founder of both LSI and the Instructional Systems Program. In addition to keynote speakers such as Dr. Branson, Dr. Dick, Dr. Kaufman, and Dr. Mayo, there will be concurrent sessions, and the Robert M. Morgan Instructional Systems Multimedia Studio will be formally dedicated in the Stone Building. We sincerely hope you are able to join us for this event.

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