Faculty for You Transcripts

1	You couldnt make a better decision	I dont think you can make a better decision than to come to SUNO. Its a family atmosphere, the instructors actually care. The instructors will bend over backwards for you if you show them you will bend over backwards for yourself. We form relationships here. What you will find out is that you typically will take the same instructors over and over again, and beacuse of that there is a bond that forms...and not just a bond but a friendship that forms. By the time that you graduate, you are in a situation where you are trying to get guidance on where to go to graduate school or where to go to work. I talk to students now that graduated eight years ago. The may live all over they country, but when they are trying to make major decisions in their life they call me...they want to know what Mr. Bishop thinks about it. The reason why they can call and ask me those questions is beacuse in 1985, when I was a student, I could call my instructors and ask them the same questions. This process tends to replicate itself. Every student in my program, all 350, have my personal cell phone number. When hurricane Katrina hit and nothing else was working, they could pick up the phone and ask Mr. Bishop what to do. That is the relationship we have here at SUNO, and I think its our biggest selling point.
2	Very Diverse Faculty	Our faculty is very diverse in terms of education, gender, and all the things that go along with that. We have a whole host of people who can do a variety of things and expose students to a lot of critical and analytical thinking.
3	Something To Appreciate	Student: There's some kind of natural vibe here everyday. It's easy to tell that the students and the faculty appreciate being here. They appreciate the opportunity that they have to be apart of something that is really not common anywhere else in this community, in this state, or the world for that matter. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of, it's a beautiful thing to see, and it's a beautiful thing to have the opportunity to appreciate.
4	Classes are Nice	Most professors at SUNO are down to earth; you don't have to worry about them thinking they are above the students. You can go to them at any time and ask questions. This class in particular started out very easy, but now we really have to think about it and go home and do our homework. It's not like you're going to ease through it. But it started out pretty easy, so you never know.
5	Sharing Knowledge	Teacher: We have a unique student body. And when I say unique student body, the vast majority of our students have gone to other institutions, have had another life, and experienced life in many different ways. And based on that knowledge and where they are, they require, not only strong teachers with the knowledge, but they require professors that are capable of supporting and nurturing. And I have had the experience of teaching our students. When you first start teaching in the class, the students will look you over and ask, "What will she carry on?" But when you start that class by saying, "I know you are capable of earning an "A" in this class, and I'm going to walk you through it. I'm going to nurture you and help you by giving you the information you need to be able to conceptualize, to be able to understand and apply to your life, and you're going to earn an "A"" I'll give you an example, I had a student who walked into my class and I gave the syllabus and went over it. And he said, "Dean, I'm sorry I'm going to drop your class." And I said, "Oh it breaks my heart, because you could make such a contribution. Actually, we need you!" He said, "I don't think you need me, you're asking me to do too much." We had a conference and I helped him to understand that the class needed his best thinking. And he went to go on and tell me about some problems he was having. I said, "I wouldn't mind betting you, I bet I could go one up." But I'm not going to do that because that's not what this class is about. This class is about getting together, sharing our knowledge in this forum where we can nurture and support each other. And the guy said, "I'm raising my three children alone with my mother and my mother is sick, but I'll get it a try." That young man earned an "A" in my class. And that young man walked away a leader. That young man walked away with a different perspective of what he knew, what he was capable of accomplishing, and what he had to offer in terms of helping others. And that's what we do here at Southern University at New Orleans. We create an environment, we create a forum, where student will come to us, get with us, and we learn together.
6	The Faculty Is Wonderful	What I do love about SUNO is the faculty. I really do. The faculty is wonderful, as I said. I encourage everybody to attend SUNO.
7	Family Atmosphere	Student: What I love about SUNO is the family atmosphere. Everyone's friendly, everyone knows each other. We hug, we kiss, we say "hello.” And it's a wonderful place to be.
8	Student Support	I have met with all the colleges and all the deans one-on-one. And I start by telling them, "Listen, I'm new here. Help me. I'm going to help you, and together we are going to achieve." I think when students walk on this campus as unique as they are, they will observe that. And our students need that. We have less than 10 percent of our student body who graduate high school and come to SUNO. But when our students do come to SUNO, they get what they're looking for. I think we hold them accountable. I think we demand the best. But we support and nurture in a way that many other schools do not. And maybe they do not need to.
9	Name Not A Number	At some universities, you are just a number. Here, some teachers really take an interest in you furthering yourself academically.
10	Know You By Name	Interviewer: What do you love about SUNO? Student: The family environment is more of a small community. It's like professors here know your name. At most universities, I've been to several different universities, they just know you by a number. Say you wanted to approach a professor about a particular subject. They might ask, "What's your social security number?” They only know you by your number. Here, they know you by your name.
11	LA National Guard	I'm a part of the Louisiana National Guard. I'm an Iraqi War combat veteran. I just returned four months ago. I decided to continue my education and finish it up here at the Southern University of New Orleans.
12	Always Available to Answer Questions	One thing I like about SUNO is that my accounting teacher is always available to answer questions.
13	One-On-One Relationship	What's good about SUNO is that the faculty has a good relationship with the students. We are acting as their mentors. If she has any questions about the lectures, she can come to ask me and I don't mind. We help the students as much as we can. So the good thing is the one-on-one relationship between the students and the faculty.
14	Feeling Worthwhile	I love the students. I love the faculty. And we're working together. That's good for me. I'm up here at 5 o'clock in the morning and sometimes the chancellor has to run me out of here because I'm here till 7 o'clock at night. But I feel a sense of accomplishment. And that's what life is all about. When you feel that you are doing something worthwhile, you tend to get the energy. And then you do what you have to do.
15	Diverse Community	What's good about SUNO? The uniqueness of the population we serve. The non-traditional population, 26 and above. The uniqueness of the faculty and the support staff and that population. At SUNO, professors and faculty and staff know students by their names, and probably some of their parents and grandparents. So we're a very close-knit family. We're very supportive. We've got a vested interest in our students compared to some other institutions. And that we're a community college. Most of our students that we train come back to our community. And basically our state-of-return in their investment and so to the community.
16	Enhanced Education	You've probably heard already from people that SUNO is a family. The professors take that position as well. We see our students as extensions of ourselves in many ways. I was mentored by professors who reached out to me, and I do the same thing here. I have office hours so that students can meet with me and go over assignments. Just this morning I went over online the test scores that students received so that they can be better prepared for the next test. This is a new experience for our students. So taking tests online is something that they need assistance with, and we provide that. We're in a unique position. I'm actually one of the professors living in the hotels. Not only am I available in terms of a phone call, but they can knock on my door as well. That's a good thing. I'll soon be living in one of the travel trailers. I am a person that respects the personal boundaries of another person. So we do that within a framework that is appropriate for the students so that they're not enabled, but instead that their educational experience is enhanced.
17	New Environment	Teacher: Is the new environment after Katrina affecting you and your studies? Student: No, I wouldn't say that because I consider myself blessed that I'm still alive. To me, this is just like the other university, just trailers. And they're no different; they're just as big as classrooms. Some of them might be a little bigger than some of the classrooms. We have a beautiful computer lab. A lot of students have said, "This computer lab is SUNO's?" There have been a lot of those comments passed around, but I don't find anything wrong with it. If it's necessary we have to stay here to continue our studies until SUNO's rebuilt or they don't ever rebuild it, I don't mind staying here. It's not a bad environment, it's good.
18	Something Different	Student: This is the school that I chose. I wanted to do something different when it comes down to my family. Everybody was "another school." I chose SUNO because it's in New Orleans.
19	Teachers are Available	Student: One of the main things I love about SUNO is that some of the teachers are available whenever you need them at any given time, and they'll try to work their schedule around you.
20	Soar to New Heights	You know what I love about SUNO is, the opportunity to soar to new heights and to try things that have never been done before. I'm standing before you as someone who implemented a master's degree program in museum studies in a state that didn't offer that degree or that area of study before. SUNO is about possibilities and thinking around the world. By us coming in here and saying we are going to introduce museum studies to this state, we are now at a platform where we can provide an education in museum studies around the world. We have been contacted by people all over. We've received inquiries from Vietnam, Italy, Australia, Japan, and prior to us offering programs online, I'd have to say there's nothing we can do unless you come to New Orleans. People were interested in our program because we were unique and we still are. Now, instead of turning those people away or saying, "Get in touch with me when you come to the U.S.," now we'll be able to say we have something to offer and provide you with this educational opportunity even though you're not there. I love that. I would love that about any place I was and I'm here at SUNO and that's where it's happening at. So that's what I love.
21	Open Door Policies	Student: While our student teacher ratio is 14 to 1, when I was getting my undergrad degree I noticed that all my teachers were hands on. They wanted us to come and visit them at office hours, even if it wasn't their office hours. They would more than welcome us to come and visit them if we had any problems on any of the work we had. We had an open door policy. They took us in as their kids, and they wanted us to graduate and succeed in this world.
22	Accessibility	On my course outline, I give out my email address, my home phone number, my fax number. So many times when an assignment is due and a student can't get to me, either I'll accept it through email or through fax so at least they'll get the assignment in on time. I think it's important for our students to know that we are 100 percent behind them. We have to show them more support now than we ever have before. Things are not the way they were. We have to take that into consideration when we have students driving in from Baton Rouge to take a class, we have to realize they're living in a hotel, once the hotel is up they don't know where they're going. So there are a lot of circumstances that make you become more accessible than you ever were.
23	Atmosphere	The faculty here is wonderful. They have an open-door policy, if you have things going on. We're all adults now and we all have challenges that arise in our lives. So you may have to go to them one-on-one. They are very understanding. They go out of their way to help you. In class, if you don't understand what they are teaching, you can go to them one-on-one and they will pull you to the side and say, "This is what needs to be done" or explain to you what needs to be done. The faculty here is wonderful. I don't think any other university has that. I'm actually a cross-enrolling student, and I don't get the same atmosphere in other places that I do here.
24	Humble Beginnings	I love SUNO students. I've been here 16 years. I come from a country which is very modest and humble. And I find that experience continued here on this campus. They are just like me, and I'm just like them. I can reach out to them and they also reach out to me. In class, out of class, everywhere.
25	Number 1	Interviewer: So, what do you like about SUNO? Student: That is my school. It is number 1 in New Orleans. I love all my teachers, especially my history teacher. I like the fact that they help students when they see their grades falling down. They help you any way they can to help pull your grades up and stay on level so you can graduate.
26	Benefiting Students	Student: What I think is best about SUNO is the low pay in tuition, the teachers are very helpful, and you can go pretty much anywhere for help and you'll find it. It's really a school that benefits students and not the school benefiting the school. That's what I like about SUNO.
27	First Generation Students	What I like about SUNO is it gives me the opportunity to work with first generation students. What I mean by that is most of these students are the first members of their families who have matriculated to a university setting. That actually is the case for me. I was the first in my family. And I feel like by being here that I'm giving back to the many people who helped me at a time in my life Where I did not think I would be successful at college, and I am now teaching here at SUNO. My colleague here, Patrick Dow, is actually one of my students that I mentor and I'm very proud of the fact that he is now on board with the faculty here. We both are professionals in the field of substance abuse with a number of years experience and we are lending that expertise to our students who we are confident are preparing for a future of professionals that we are proud of.
28	Dr. Henry L. Hardy	I'm Dr. Henry L. Hardy, Professor of Mathematics at Southern University of New Orleans. I've been here 12 years. I retired from the state of Pennsylvania. But New Orleans is home. I've moved home. I'm here to stay. All of the problems we have gone through and all the problems we are going through . . . If you just look at this class, I think 23 students are enrolled and 21 students are here. So when you think of all of these students in this class and most of my other classes: they are committed to being here. They are committed to learn. I'm not the easiest guy with the work, and they're doing it! And I just love that. This past summer we sent about 44 students in math/science to different schools in internships, and they were able to compete with students everywhere. I had one professor call me about a student I had in Differential Equations. And this student was competing with everyone. So we have done well. We've sent students across the country and they can compete with anyone. I've taught at 4 different universities. I'm home now. I don't plan on going anywhere. In fact, I plan to retire again at SUNO. My students are receptive to my techniques once they are receptive to me. And that might be a task itself. But yes, they are.
29	Family Community	SUNO is very family- and historically-oriented in the community. We've been around a very long time. It's not just a university. It's a foundation that we've come to establish as an African-America community.
30	Opportunities	Student: My name is William Saint Julian. I'm from Lafayette, Louisiana. I'm a current student at SUNO, which is Southern University at New Orleans. I really love coming to the university, there's a lot of opportunities here. We have online classes and regular sit-in classes. The teachers are helpful and I just enjoy attending this school.
31	Career Success	Interviewer: What's your overall feeling about the university, the Southern University here in New Orleans? Teacher: Well I'm sort of biased to Southern New Orleans, because I'm a product of Southern University here at New Orleans. I worked 25 years in New Orleans Gas Industry as an accountant and have been here at SUNO for the past twelve years. This is home for me and my heart goes out to the students because I know their plight and I know they have the ability to do their best. That's my reason for availing myself, so that they can have good lives after their career.
32	Helpful	Student: At SUNO I really like the teachers because they're very helpful, especially Mrs. Audrey?.
33	SUNO is SUNO	Student: What I love about SUNO is SUNO. That's what I love about SUNO, because it's SUNO.
34	Groups and Online	Student: Oh yes, of course. With the groups it makes it more interesting and more fun. You have a chance to do different things and a chance to hear many different opinions on what other people think is the right way to do it, which also makes the class more of a fun environment.
35	Tutoring	Student: I enjoy the tutoring from Mrs. Archer's classes. We usually have an hour before class and an hour after class.
36	Everything I Need	Student: Everything I need has been here. I've got friends, I've got family. And when I say family I mean in the staff, in the students, so I enjoy my time here. And I hope to finish here as soon as possible because I'm getting old.