Theater alumnus wins playwriting competition.A&E, page 5

The voice of Texas Wesleyan University students since 1917

WEDNESDAYSeptember 16, 2009

Vol. 92 • No. 15

ONLINE: www.therambler.org

The RamblerStudent introduces Wesleyan to hockey.Sports, page 6

New dean brings diversity to WesleyanEunice Nicholsonemnicholson@mail.txwes.edu

Dr. Trevor Morris traveled a long and winding road to his new position as dean of Wes-leyan’s School of Natural and Social Sciences.

After journeying from Sin-gapore to Barcelona to Lon-don to various parts of the United States, Morris even-tually landed in Fort Worth where he will lead Wesleyan’s newly created school.

Wesleyan’s old School of Arts and Sciences split last spring in an effort to get the schools across campus more in line with one another and provide better management of the programs, administra-tors said.

The other newly formed entity, the School of Arts and Letters, will be led by Dr. Ste-ven Daniell, but it is Morris who will lead the studies of science. He brings a diverse background to the table.

Although he lived in Sin-gapore until the age of 10, he found living in Spain more fascinating. When he and his family moved to Barcelona in

the 1970s, he found himself in the midst of great cultural transition. He witnessed the transition that brought the people of Spain out from un-der the rule of authority, and into a democracy.

“Growing up in Spain and watching the transition was fascinating and fun,” he said.

And so it was Morris’ first hand experience in interna-tional cultures that guided him to Texas Wesleyan Uni-versity where, in June, he was named dean.

Trevor is expected to create positive change.

“I’m expecting Dr. Mor-ris to establish and develop a long-range plan for increasing enrollments, to explore and develop select graduate pro-

grams and to collaborate with our general education council to develop a comprehensive plan approach for teaching,” said Dr. Harold Jeffcoat, presi-dent of Texas Wesleyan Uni-versity.

After completing high school in Spain, Morris at-tended the University of Lon-don, where he majored in as-trophysics. After a semester he dropped out.

“I dropped out because I was young and studying the wrong subject,” he said.

For the next two and a half years the world became Mor-ris’ class room. He traveled through England, Spain and South East Asia taking on odd jobs including working as a bartender and a DJ. All

the while he was busy observ-ing the people and cultures he came in contact with.

“Understanding what mo-tivates people … their values and assumptions became fas-cinating to me,” Morris said.

In the early 1980s, now sure of what he wanted to study, he headed to the United States to further his education. Morris earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Roanoke College in Virginia in 1984. He then earned a master’s degree from the Uni-versity of South Carolina in 1987 and a doctorate in inter-national studies in 1995. He taught international courses at USC while completing his education. He enjoyed the in-teraction with students.

“I liked getting students to think critically and to under-stand most everyone is going through the same experi-ences,” Morris said. “It really doesn’t matter if you are talk-ing about a country or a per-son.”

In 1989, he accepted a

DNAP first in nation to go onlineJonathan Resendezjlresendez@mail.txwes.edu

The online Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia program is the only one of its kind in the country, and Texas Wesleyan is the only school that offers it.

In its second year, the 35 to 42 hour credit program gives students the opportu-nity to complete their doctor-ates within two years as a full time student or three years as a part time student. Students access class syllabi, notes and streaming video recordings of

the lectures from the Web. “Students can be in Asia,

Europe, Africa or anywhere in the United States and take the class,” said Dr. Ricardo Rodri-guez, professor of chemistry and associate director of DNAP. “As long as they have a laptop, they can log in from anywhere.”

Students who are inter-ested in the program must be practicing certified regis-tered nurse anesthetists and be registered nurses who have taken specific graduate level courses.

Getting into the program is

not an easy task. Rodriguez said that out of 40 applicants, only 16 were selected in 2007, the first year. After the initial paperwork, Rodriguez and Dr. Paul Austin, associate professor and coordinator of research and anesthesia cur-riculum for the DNAP, set up phone interviews to make the final selection.

“Unless they meet all the requirements, they cannot get into the program,” Rodriguez said.

The DNAP program is com-prised of students from across

the country. Students come from both rural and metropoli-tan areas, Rodriguez said. The roster includes students from South Carolina, North Dakota, Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Rodriguez, who used to work as a scientist for the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said the program shows how much things have changed in the teaching and learning process over the years.

“I never thought it would happen,” said John Martin, di-rector of DNAP. “In 20 years

a lot has changed in the way students learn and the way they shop for the best univer-sities and colleges.”

The curriculum is set apart from other nursing programs because of the focus on the hard sciences, Martin said.

“No other program that we know offers those,” he said.

Lisa Milhoan, certified reg-istered nurse anesthetist, is a GPNA professor as well as a student in the DNAP.

“Anesthetists make about $150,000 to $180,000 a year, and they don’t want to lose

that money,” Milhoan said. “The program allows us to take class before or after work.”

The way that accreditation is changing, there will be a need for people with doctor-ate’s to teach, she said. The degree will allow students to remain in the field or they can go into the business or educa-tional fields.

“The educational process is evolving, and it won’t be long before everyone is at this lev-el,” she said. “It’s nice being on the cutting edge.”

Rachel Horton| Rambler StaffCommunications, human resources, purchasing and the grants office are among the offices closed Sept. 14 because of flooding. “Due to all the rain, half of the building is submerged,” said Eric Perez, project manager for First Restoration Inc.

Jonathan Resendez jlresendez@mail.txwes.edu

The 12th day enrollment numbers show that enroll-ment is up over last fall.

There are a combined total of 3,048 students, according to the office of institutional research.

University-wide enrollment is up 3.2 percent over last fall with undergraduate enroll-ment up 3.2 percent. Under-graduate students make up the majority of the student body at 1,519. There are 795 law school students and 734 graduate and doctorate stu-dents.

Patti Alexander, vice presi-dent for enrollment and stu-dent services, said she was pleased with the numbers.

“Anytime we’re up over the previous fall, it’s good news,” she said.

Alexander said one of the reasons the numbers are up is the strength of student re-tention. Normally, Wesleyan brings back 80 percent of stu-dents, but this year there was a retention rate of 91 percent, she said.

 MORRIS, page 3

Admin under water

Photo courtesy of the office of communicationsTrevor Morris

“I want to make the education that we offer relevant to students. I don’t see any purpose in producing students who can’t get jobs.”

Trevor MorrisDean of School of Natural and Social Sciences

Universityenrollment increases 3.2 percent