Undergraduate TLO Awards Round 7

Summer 2012- Summer 2013

Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Allen, Ashley	Developing a Compassionate Mindset of Oneself and Others
904-620-1643 a.allen@unf.edu 51/3417	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 Ten undergraduate students will be recruited to participate in the TLO. These students will be active members of the “Self, Well-being, and Social Behavior” Lab where they will attend weekly meetings. Students will be trained on both compassion and self-compassion and will learn how to teach other people about these concepts. Students will serve as research assistants at the non-profit organization where they will work with the staff and residents to implement a 4-6 week self-compassion training program. In the spring semester, the research teams will present a poster at a regional psychological conference such as the Society for Southeastern Social Psychologists (SSSP) or the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA). Students will be trained as volunteers at either the Sulzbacher Center ot Hubbard House. If students volunteered the Sulzbacher Center, a homeless shelter, they would be involved in feeding the residents, interacting with the children, cleaning, and implementing the training program. In contrast, Hubbard House is a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Given the more intimate environment, students would have more opportunities to interact with the residents one-on-one whether they are eating with them, teaching them valuable life skills, or playing with and teaching the children. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to Junior and Senior Psychology students who have completed the Research Methods course. Students will be interviewed. Categories: Service Learning, Undergraduate Research
Biernacki, Krzystof	UNF Opera Study Abroad in Czech Republic
904-620-3852 kbiernac@unf.edu 45/2308	Summer 2012 UNF Opera Study Abroad is a 4 week long summer opera program offering UNF students the opportunity to gain real European experience by performing complete operatic works in professional operatic environment under the instruction of international faculty. The program involves study and performance of at least one or two complete operas in professional European opera theatres with established symphony orchestras. Additional offerings include voice lessons, masterclasses, individual language coachings, and full orchestra concerts. Actual stay in Czech Republic will last approximately 26 days during which students will stage and workshop the entire operatic production with professional opera conductor and stage director, they will participate in voice masterclasses, Czech language diction coachings, take individual voice lessons, and perform additional orchestra concerts of opera arias and ensembles with North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Student Criteria: Participating students must be enrolled in a degree seeking program at the UNF Department of Music. Participating student must be of specific voice type necessary for casting of the production, ex: soprano, tenor, baritone or bass, etc. and must successfully pass the opera audition. All students planning to participate in the UNF Opera Study Abroad must participate in the fund-raising performances and events scheduled for Fall and Spring semesters of 2011-2012 academic year. Categories: International
Brown, Christopher	School of Engineering / Civil Engineering / CCEC
904-620-2811 christopher.j.brown@unf.edu 50/2100	Summer 2012 This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide 16 students enrolled in CGN 4931, Sustainable Design Field Camp, opportunities to engage in sustainable engineering design, engineering project field trips, service learning, and direct field instrumentation installation in the magnificent natural setting of the American Southwest (Las Vegas, Nevada and Kanab, Utah). Sustainable Design Field Camp is designed as an intensive, active-learning 45-hour field course where students, organized into 4-person teams, are immersed in an unfamiliar and sensitive natural environment where sustainable design practices are critical. Over a 2.5-week period students will work on a class project design as well as participate in 6 field trips to an array of engineering projects focused upon sustainable engineering design related to mineral resources, water, waste, and both conventional and alternative energy. In addition to the extraordinary field trips, students will partake in two service learning design activities with the community. First, the class will work with Xanterra Parks and Resorts at Zion National Park to plan, model, and design a zero food waste facility to service the park. Second, the students will work with the Nature Conservancy to plan, design, and implement improvement projects at the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve near St. George, Utah. Projects under consideration by the Nature Conservancy include developing solar powered lighting, developing micro-GPS tracking devices for the rare desert tortoise, and developing emergency communication equipment using alternative energy. Student Criteria: Students will be selected for Sustainable Design Field Camp based upon an interview, a short essay, and their past academic performance. Those students with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 will be viewed more favorably than other candidates In addition, the faculty leader will inquire about their overall willingness and ability to work in an outdoor e.nvironment at high elevation or in high summer temperatures. . Categories: Field Experience, Service Learning
Butler, Joseph	Long-Term Field Studies in Herpetology
904-620-2831 jbutler@unf.edu 3/2248	Fall 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO consists of three ongoing field projects. Two of the projects seek to describe the demography of Gopher Tortoise populations on the UNF campus and at White Oak Plantation. Students will participate in discovering and mapping all tortoise burrows, plus capturing, measuring and marking tortoises. Some tortoises will be captured by hand while out of their burrows, but most will be actively trapped. This data will allow us to evaluate how habitat resources are being used by the populations and what the potential is for successful reproduction and population growth. The third project studies nesting success in the Diamondback Terrapin at Talbot Island State Park. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students. The most important qualification is a sincere interest in doing field work. It is hot and dirty, long hours, and is not for everyone. Another critical requirement is reliability. Categories: Undergraduate Research
Eason, Paul	Ghana Project 2013
904-620-1875 paul.eason@unf.edu 50/3112	Summer 2013 The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 19-day trip to apply what they have learned. All of the students from the various disciplines will work together on a single project that is based on community needs identified by our Ghanaian stakeholders. The service project creates learning opportunities including teaching civic engagement and challenging students to apply their learning to real-world issues. The projects also require students to work closely with local people, challenging students to communicate across cultural barriers. This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students enrolled full-time at UNF who have a GPA of 3.0 and above. All majors are encouraged to apply. Engineering students on the trip, will be performing their activities concurrent with requirements for senior design, and will therefore need to meet the requirements for senior standing in engineering. Students from other disciplines will be allowed to participate at any level of academic rank. All students will be interviewed prior to the beginning of the Spring Seminar Course. In addition to the interview screening, students will be observed during the semester long course in the spring. Categories: International, Service Learning
Ellis, Terri	Assessing How Antibiotic Resistance Changes Bacterial Pathogenesis
904-620-5766 terri.ellis@unf.edu 3/2226	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO project is designed to give students hands-on experience with biomedical research. Students will be doing a comparative biochemical analysis of outer membrane proteins produced by the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumanni. Both of these species of bacteria are major causes of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections in immunocompromised patients. Students will isolate, identify, and quantify relative levels of outer membrane proteins in each of these strains. For each species of bacteria, students will first establish the baseline levels of relevant proteins in a lab experimental strain of the species. Then, this baseline will be used as a basis for comparison with clinical isolates that will be obtained from the Clinical Microbiology lab at the Mayo Clinic. Students will have two opportunities during this TLO to interact with the larger scientific community. First, students will attend the First Coast Infectious Disease and Clinical Microbiology Symposium held every January in Ponte Vedra, Fl. In May of 2013, students will then travel to the American Society for Microbiology annual national meeting in Denver, Colorado. At this meeting students will present a poster of their research findings. Student Criteria: This TLO experience is open to students who have successfully completed either BSC2012 (General Biology III) or MCB 2010c (Microbiology). A background in Biology (i.e. Biology major) is preferred, but not required. Students must participate in an interview. Students must be willing to commit a 3-hour blocks of time (minimum) for each session working in the lab. Categories: Undergraduate Research
Gabbard, Chris	Disability Studies with TLO
904-620-2273 cgabbard@unf.edu	Spring 2013 This TLO involves a course that will focus on the nature, meaning, and consequences of what it is to be defined as disabled and explore the historical and cultural dynamics of disability. The course will address the stereotypes associated with and the experiential aspects of disability as these are deployed in literature, film, television, the arts, and other cultural media. In addition to attending the class sessions, students will volunteer two hours a day, one day a week, over a ten‐week period at one of three sites: The Mt. Herman Exceptional Student Center and Alden Road Exceptional Student Center, both of which are Duval County Public Schools, and Hope Haven Children’s Clinic and Family Center, a non‐profit agency. Some students, such as those without transportation, may volunteer with UNF’s On Campus Transition (OCT). A sampple of service activities that students could participate in are:: assisting in the preparation and cleanup of meals, participating in games and play with the children, helping with getting children into gait trainers and other equipment; reading, helping with arts and crafts, and assisting teachers and aides and the vision, physical, and occupational therapists. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students. Categories: Service Learning
Gelsleichter, James	Advanced Shark Ecology: Year 2
904-620-1575 jim.gelsleichter@unf.edu 3/2210	Summer C 2012 This proposal involves an undergraduate course focused on the ecology of sharks. The course will provide experiential training in coastal biology to UNF undergraduates by involving them in a federally-supported research project focused on identifying regions in northeast Florida that provide critical habitat to juvenile sharks. The field-based training that students receive will be augmented by classroom-based activities, such as group discussions, hands-on laboratory assignments, and research seminars presented by visiting scientists. Students will partipate in a day-long sampling trip to any of the UNF Shark Biology's main sampling sites. The research team meetings will include laboratory-based activities or research seminars presented by UNF faculty/graduate students or visiting scientists/students from other state agencies involved in shark research. We intend to increase the number of visiting speakers from 2 to 6 because of the highly positive feedback that we received regarding this component of the course. Last, students will particpate in a weekend-long, class-wide trip to the Caloosahatchee River near Ft. Myers, FL, conduct field-sampling of juvenile bull sharks and the endangered smalltooth sawfish, and interact with local scientists conducting research on these species. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to al students. Although preference will be given to students who have completed General Biology I, II, and III, a small number of highly motivated freshmen will be accepted in order to provide "gateway" experiences in science. Categories: Field Experience, Undergraduate Research
Ibanez, Nuria	Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria, Santander
904-620-2063 nuria.ibanez@unf.edu 10/2143	Summer 2012 The Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria in Santander offers students the opportunity of studying language and culture at one of the 15 top universities in Spain as defined by the Spanish government. UNF students will enroll in an intensive language course focusing on spoken and written Spanish. The students benefit from a rigorous academic program while they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture, and to travel on their own. The TLO leader will also teach a six-week course focused on Spain, Cantabria and Santander in order to ensure a comprehensive cultural experience. As part of the culture course, students will travel to Burgos, Peñafiel and Segovia to view firsthand examples of art and architecture studied in the course. Student Criteria: The program will target exclusively students who will have completed at the very minimum Intermediate Spanish II by the end of the first summer session. Students will have to complete an application form that requires writing a brief essay in Spanish on the following theme: "In approximately 200 words, describe in Spanish how studying in Santander this summer will have a transformational impact on you as a student and as a person." Candidates for the program will be interviewed by a selection committee to ascertain that they possess the necessary skills to succeed in the classroom at the University of Cantabria. Spanish majors and minors will be given preference during the selection process. Categories: International
Kaplan, Leslie	It's All Greek to Me: Summer in Athens
904-620-3993 leslie.kaplan@unf.edu 1/1606	Summer 2013 Students will live and study for five weeks at the American College of Greece, a NEASC accredited college in suburban Athens. The students will take six credits of courses, a course taught by UNF faculty and a course at ACG. The class at ACG will be a course of their choice at either the upper or lower division. By individually choosing their own ACG class, most if not all of the other students will be Greek students, pushing them out of their “American bubble” and into closer contact with Greek students, providing a deeper level immersion. The UNF course will add context to those immersive experiences by focusing on Greek culture. In addition to historical background, the anthropological readings will look at attitudes, expectations, and behaviors typical of Greek culture, all of which are markedly different than in American culture. The classwork will include some experiences and field trips designed to broaden their experience further. Students will attend a series of workshops offered by the ACG on topics like Greek dance and cooking, and again students will be asked to compare them to American culture. Student Criteria: The target audience for this program is students in the Honors Program. Space permitting, the TLO leaders will also admit non-Honors students. Students can be of any academic level and any major. Students must have a 3.0 GPA or above, maturity, openness to new cultures, and interest in the subject. To fully participate in the trips, students will need to be able to walk extensive distances on uneven ground as many of the archaeological sites are not handicap-accessible. Students wishing to apply will fill out an application and will be interviewed. Categories: International
Kemppainen, John	Collaborative Student Internship in Belize
904-620-2530 jkemppai@und.edu 57/1085	Fall 2012 This TLO proposal requests funding for ten COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Belize for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Belmopan, Belize where they will continue their student teaching assignments in different Belizean Primary and Secondary schools. These short-term internships are available to all qualified education majors at the PreK-Primary, Elementary, Middle-grades, Secondary, K-12, and Special Education levels. Unique about this experience is that UNF Interns will be matched with a Belizean Intern who is also in their final semester of their teacher education program required for graduation. Two months prior to departure for Belize, UNF Interns will have been matched with a Belizean Intern and will establish a dialog concerning levels and content in their assigned Belizean school utilizing email, Skype, and/or other technology supported programs. In addition, this proposal involves utilizing the faculty from the University of Belize and the Directing teachers at the schools where our UNF Interns will be placed in a co-teaching assignment with their Belizean Intern counterparts. This international internship will serve as the culminating experience for UNF students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area schools. Student will be required to participate in all aspects of their assigned schools’ regular instructional and after school activities. Student Criteria: Students selected for this three week experience in Belize must be seniors in their final semester of study at UNF, have earned grades of B or better in the two field lab prerequisites to their internship, and be enrolled in their final semester internship which is the culminating experience course. Students must be in good standing with the university as well as with the COEHS, have a Grade Point Average or 3.0 or above, be available for an interview with appropriate faculty, submit an essay on how this international education experience will benefit them professionally, have satisfactorily completed all parts of the Florida Teachers Certification Exams, and must complete an intensive orientation about traveling abroad conducted by the International Center as well as an orientation to teaching in another country conducted by the COEHS. Categories: Field Experience, International
Lane, Amy	Marine Microorganisms of Northeast Florida as Sources of Potential Diabetes Therapeutics
904-620-2315 amy.lane@unf.edu 50/3518	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 In the proposed TLO, students will develop interdisciplinary chemical/biological research skills through exploring the central hypothesis that marine natural products may be employed as IDE inhibitors and potential diabetes therapeutics. Seven student TLO participants will snorkel, wade, and/or kayak to collect microorganisms within coastal waters of state parks (e.g. Talbot Island, Amelia Island, Anastasia). In the lab at UNF, student researchers will learn and employ molecular biology techniques to identify the microorganisms acquired during collection expeditions. Students will also employ modern analytical instrumentation (e.g. mass spetometry and NMR spectroscopy). Students wull also have the opportunity to work alongside Mayo researchers to evaluate marine natural products as IDE inhibitors. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to Chemistry and Biology students. To select the seven-member team that will participate in the collection expedition, studetns will be evaluated based on a written application, major and coursework experience / performance, an in-person interview, and their swimming competency. Categories: Field Experience, Undergraduate Research
Lupi, Marsha	Student Teaching in Primary and Seconday Schools in Plymouth, UK
904-620-2520 mlupi@unf.edu 57/3615	Spring 2013 A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England accompanied by COEHS faculty where they will participate in a teaching internship for 12 school days in diverse elementary, special, or secondary education classrooms. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive and innovative P-12 programs including a community based model school that offers inclusive educational programs. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African, East and West Asian countries, and from Eastern European countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. Student Criteria: Students in the fields of pre-K primary, elementary, special education, and secondary education will be eligible for this 15 day experience during their internship semester which takes place in their final semester. Students must have a B or better in their Field I and II courses and have a minimum overall grade point average of at least a 3.0. Students are required to submit an application form which includes a series of essay questions. The students will be interviewed by a team of trip faculty leaders. Students must provide three current professional references. Categories: Field Experience, International
Malek, Mag & Sorce, James	Art in Construction Study Abroad: Italy
Dr. Malek 904-620-1123 mmalek@unf.edu 50/2404 Mr. Sorce 904-620-2759 sorj0003@unf.edu 50/2304	Summer 2013 The Department of Construction Management is proposing to sponsor a two week study program in Italy. Students will visit construction sites and sites of historical/architectural significance in and around Rome, Florence, Naples and Pompeii, Italy. Students will listen to lectures about the history, art, architecture, construction techniques, building structures and culture of these cities, while concurrently learning about the religion, politics, business and role of the family in Italy. Students will focus on major buildings in each city including study of Roman walls, both the Servian and Aurelian. The buildings will include: The Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in the Roman Forum, Santa Maria in Cosmedin,Santa Maria Maggiore, the Brunelleschi dome, Michelangleo’s dome at St Peter’s; also possibly the Markets of Trajan and the Baths of Diocletian. The construction program will join Dr. Debra Murphy (UNF Art History) and her students attending the 2013 Art, Art History Italy Study abroad. We will work closely with Dr. Murphy to coordinate our efforts. We plan to collaborate to form an unique experience for the Construction and Art students attending. Student Criteria: Students must be at least of sophomore standing in Construction Management or Engineering. Students will be interviewed before they are accepted. Categories: International
Mattice, Sarah & Carelli, Paul	China in Context: Philosophy and Religious Practice Study Abroad
Dr. Mattice 904-620-3736 s.mattice@unf.edu 10/2353 Dr. Carelli 904-620-3737 paul.carelli@unf.edu 10/2357	Summer 2013 This TLO is a six credit philosophy and religious studies course in the summer of 2013 that will travel to four cities in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Yangshuo, and Shanghai. The course focuses on the foundational assumptions that led to the development of distinctive features of Chinese culture in terms of philosophy and religion. The course has four major units: cosmology, politics and social order, art and aesthetics, and personal identity. Each of these units explores philosophical and religious issues in terms of texts and practices, and how the classical assumptions are and are not still in play today. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but a preference will be given for students who have either never traveled internationally or have never traveled in Asia. Students are not required to have any previous Chinese language experience. Students must be in good academic standing, but there is no specific GPA minimum. While the TLO will not require specific physical abilities, students who participate will need to be able to carry their own luggage up several flights of stairs, as many hotel and dorm locations in China do not have elevators. Categories: International
Merten, Julie	Our Campus, Our Health: A Student-Led Campus Health Assessment
904-620-4017 jmerten@unf.edu 39/4014	Fall 2012 - Summer 2013 This proposal involves funding to continue the implementation of a student-led campus health assessment and to take a group of students to the American Association of Health Education (AAHE) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA to present their research. Last year, a group of 10 students put together a campus health assessment to gather data about the health behaviors of the UNF student body. The students selected the health behaviors (physical activity, illicit drug use, nutrition, mental health, nutrition, etc) to include on their survey instrument, designed the instrument, applied for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, disseminated the survey and analyzed the results. The findings provided enlightening information about student health risk behaviors at UNF. It is important to continue to collect data each year to monitor student health trends. Student Criteria: Students who have volunteered to conduct the campus health assessment will participate in this TLO. Categories: Leadership, Undergraduate Research
Meyer, Whitney	Model United Nations
904-620-2132 whitney.meyer@unf.edu Office of Alumni Services	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 This TLO will support for the UNF Model UN team to attend three conferences/competitions throughout 2011-2012: Atlanta, GA (Southern Regional Conference), Washington, D.C. (national- and international-level competition), and New York, NY (major, culminating national-level competition). Model UN is an intercollegiate simulation of the United Nations, intended to educate students about the operations and goals of the UN. In conferences, students study different perspectives of international politics and worldwide problems such as ethnic conflict, hunger, disease, and climate change. The national conference in New York will host nearly 5,000 students, with more than half of the attendees coming from outside of the United States. Attendance at this conference will also allow the UNF team to take an in-depth tour of the United Nations, meet with distinguished diplomats, meet with representatives of their assigned countries’ embassies, and meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Student Criteria: The Model UN Club at UNF is open to any interested students who maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher. The Model United Nations organization requires all delegates to attend mandatory meetings and have 90% participation in club activities (as outlined by the Club charter filed with Student Government). The number participating as delegates on competition teams will be limited to Club members who are active and dedicated. All potential delegates will be required to complete MUN research projects and to present to the Club academic position papers regarding their countries' policies on the competition topics. Students are expected to act in a manner that best represents the UNF student body. Categories: Leadership
Monteleone, Pam	Documentary and Community-Based Dramatic Writing: Voices of Justice
904-620-2273 pmontele@unf.edu	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 In Fall 2012 students will take CRW 3424 Playwrights’ Project as Documentary and Community-Based Dramatic Writing. The course will focus on documentary playwriting and include a service-learning component. It will introduce students to documentary techniques and explore the ways in which human beings narrate, document, and illuminate their lives through storytelling and dramatic interpretation. The class will be divided into three writing teams, each of which will partner with a community organization that serves an underrepresented population and persons without a voice who have suffered social injustice. Some of the social issues that may be considered are mental illness, terminal illness, immigrant advocacy, the elderly, youth at risk, and domestic abuse. Following a brief orientation familiarizing students with the community partner’ needs, writing teams will conduct three rounds of interviews, two rounds to gather material and a third, the read-back interview, to read their scripts to the storytellers for approbation. Students will then transcribe, synthesize, cut, and compose monologues for performance. Students will present their monologues in December as an informal, staged reading for the university and Jacksonville communities, featuring the storytellers and community partners as honored guests. Finally, the English Department will produce a full-length play in the spring semester. Students will be able to register for THE 4923 Play Production: “Voices of Justice,” and to participate in all aspects of play making: acting, academic research, technical competencies, including sound and video production, and publicity and promotion Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all majors. Prospective students will be interviewed for the documentary playwriting course in the fall, wherein students will demonstrate their interest in social issues as a prerequisite for acceptance into the course. Play production will welcome everyone. The cast for the Spring 2013 production of “Voices of Justice, Jacksonville” will be 3035 students. Categories: Service Learning
Murphy, Debra	2013 Italy Program: Comparative Studies in Art, Art History and Italian Culture
904-620-1766 dmurphy@und.edu 45/2024	Summer 2013 This TLO will be scheduled for approximately six weeks (40 nights) and will include an introduction to Italian language and culture in Massa before traveling to Rome. Students will have the rich experience of living in Rome where the majority of the program is centered. The living arrangements are in the St. John’s University Rome campus with kitchenettes so students will have to learn how to shop with Italians, thus being exposed to an added dimension of Italian life. They will also have many opportunities to study and present oral reports in some of the most important museums in the world including the Naples Archeological Museum (where the majority of the finds from the Vesuvian sites buried in 79 are housed), the Vatican Museums (home not only to the Sistine Chapel but works from antiquity to the modern) to the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Uffizi and the Accademia in Florence. UNF students can earn between 6-9 hours in art history and painting/drawing. Classes are offered on site from Mondays through Thursdays with weekends being available for additional exploration in Rome or travel within Italy. Field trips will be scheduled to Florence and Naples where comparisons and contrasts will be emphasized. Student Criteria: All UNF students are eligible to apply for acceptance into the program. A minimum 2.5 GPA is required although a 2.75 GPA is preferred. A student must be at least a sophomore. It is recommended that students have taken ARH 2050 [Art History Survey I] or ARH 2051 [Art History Survey II] although these are not required. Students are interviewed before they are accepted into the program. Categories: International
Ochrietor, Judith	Transformational Learning in Cell Biology of the Neural Retina
904-620-2827 jochriet@unf.edu 3/2220	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This Transformational Learning Opportunity is designed to provide research training for students with biomedical interests. Modern biochemical, molecular, and cell biology techniques will be employed in the study of the neural retina, which is the tissue in which rod and cone photoreceptor neurons are housed, and is responsible for vision. Students will explore the roles played by proteins within the mouse neural retina to determine their contributions to the overall visual process. Specifically, students will study proteins found on the surface of rods and cones to determine their involvement in cellular nutrition of those cells, as well as proteins within supportive glial cells thought to respond to signals from the rods and cones. Not only will students gain valuable research training, including hypothesis-driven experimental design, data collection, and data analysis; but will also be mentored as they communicate their findings to the Department, University, and the international community of Cell Biologists. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but students majoring in Biology are preferred. Students must have successfully completed the Molecular and Cell Biology course offered by the Department of Biology prior to joining this TLO program. Categories: Undergraduate Research
Schwam-Baird, Shira	French Language Study Abroad in Strasbourg, France
904-620-1248 sschwam@unf.edu 10/2151	Summer 2013 This program consists of five weeks in France during which the UNF students have French classes 15 hours a week (total 60 contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. They live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom, and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days as they navigate the city independently on foot and on public transportation (and most travel outside the city is by train). The TLO leader teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week which examines social, political, and cultural issues in contemporary France with insight into their historical context, and which includes the perspective of France as part of the construction of Europe. I also conduct their many excursions (all part of the credit-generating Faces of France course)—afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris (total about 80 contact hours including the excursions). Student Criteria: Students must be in good academic standing, but there is no specific GPA minimum. The program is open to all majors and minors, but in order to participate, students must have the equivalent of a year of college French study. Categories: International
Shaw, Sherry	Study Abroad to Austria and Slovenia for ASL/English Interpreting Students
904-620-1811 sherry.shaw@unf.edu 57/3519	Spring Break 2013 This TLO is for UNF’s American Sign Language/English Interpreting undergraduate students to study abroad for 10 days in Austria and Slovenia, where there are exemplary Interpreter Education Programs at the local universities of Graz and Ljubljana. The primary purposes of the TLO are to introduce signed language interpreting students to spoken language interpreter education, conduct a literature review accessing the specialized databases at a translation library, and experience the cultural and linguistic differences of the local deaf communities, spoken language interpreting students, and faculty members. Students will participate in translation and interpreting classes with the local students who have English as one of their three working languages. They will participate in an Austrian Sign Language class, which is taught without voice, and will interact with Austrian Deaf professors for a cultural immersion into a visual language that is very different from American Sign Language.At the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), the students will participate in a mock conference, organized by the Department of Translating and Interpreting, in which they will experience being the recipients of interpreting services rather than being the providers. Student Criteria: Students must be degree-seeking in good standing in the ASL/English Interpreting program. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25, and have completed one semester in the program prior to the TLO. Students must be enrolled in Research in Interpreting, complete CITI (Research with Human Subjects) training, and select research topics prior to the TLO. The application process requires an essay on the anticipated value of the TLO and a phone interview. Priority will be given to students who: 1. demonstrate active membership and leadership in professional interpreting, deafness-related, and research organizations, 2. contribute to the Deaf Community in service and support (outside of Service-Learning course requirements), 3. use ethical judgment in accepting work as interpreters according to their credentials, and 4. display potential for positively representing the program, department, college, UNF, and the U.S. Categories: International
Taylor, James	St. John's River Transformational Learning Opportunity
904-620-5804 tayj0016@unf.edu 1/2202	Spring Break 2013 The proposed TLO is a nine-day immersion experience during Spring Break 2013 aboard a houseboat in the Middle Basin of the St. Johns River, Florida. Students will prepare for the experience beginning the first weeks of January 2013 by attending weekly meetings and one field day (to learn canoe safety, knot tying, and initial plein air sketching) during February 2013. Additionally, pre-trip work will be conducted with staff and faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the spring semester. Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break, 2013. This project may be conducted for academic credit if desired by the student. Projects conducted for academic credit will be guided by the faculty mentor, who will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project and award the final credit. A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but preference is given to undergraduate students who have demonstrated an advanced level of academic achievement (junior or senior, or junior-, senior-equivalent), ability to work and live well with group of people in constrained living conditions, past field or group experiences, two academic and one personal reference (due to the lodging arrangements), and ability to swim (due to predominantly being river and water related experiences). Categories: Field Experience
Thunen, Robert	When Worlds Collide: The Search for Fort Caroline
904-620-1655 rthunen@unf.edu 51/1206	Fall 2012 This is a course-based TLO that involves students directly in an archeological search for Fort Caroline. Students will be examining and testing property both within the National Park and in adjacent communities involving interactions with individual homeowners and homeowner associations. Students will be in the field one day a week for 14 weeks. Students will also use GIS software to record data or work in conjunction with Dr. Micheal Francis' Paleography class, which will be researching Spanish and French documents that may contain vital information about the location and specifics about what happened during the attach at Fort Caroline. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to related majors. Students will be required to participate in an interview. Students need to be relatively fit as this will require very physical fieldwork. Categories: Learning Communities, Undergraduate Research
Truesdell, Delores; Kenney, Heather; & Peterson, Dwayne	Brooks College of Health Living-Learning Community Career Exploration & Service Learning trip
Dr. Truesdell 904-620-1468 d.truesdell@unf.edu 39/3072 Ms. Kenney 904-620-1287 heather.kenney@unf.edu 39/3026 Mr. Peterson 904-620-5805 d.peterson@unf.edu 39/3015A	Spring 2013 Students will travel to Atlanta, GA to volunteer at the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc. This organization provides programs and street outreach to reduce the harms related to drug use and HIV/AIDS. Students will see a variety of health professionals while visiting the Coalition (counselors, testing agents/nurses, and a large number of health educators as this is most of their staff). The organization is focused on prevention and wellness, and connecting clients to treatment facilities (everything from chronic diseases to tooth exams. Students will also visit local healthcare facilities to better understand career opportunities available within these settings by meeting with healthcare providers. Students will meet with professionals as the following locations: acute settings (hospitals), health care facilities, medical practices, and aging services. Student Criteria: Only students who are a part of the BCH Living-Learning community are eligible for this TLO. Students will be required to complete an application. Categories: Field Experience, Service Learning
Umapathy, Karthikeyan & Chuan, Ching Hua	A Pilot for School of Computing TLO Internship Program
Dr. Umapathy 904-620-1329 k.umapathy@unf.edu Dr. Chuan 904-620-1378 c.chuan2unf.edu 15/3224	July 2012 This four-week community-based learning opportunity for students in the School of Computing is a summer internship for July 2012. Students will apply the knowledge and techniques they have learned in the classroom to help local community partners develop Web applications. Students will meet with the paricipating community partners, determine the community partner's needs, and present their plans to the partner and faculty to recieve feedback. Then students iwll fine-tune the Web application and will transfer their final product to the organization by teaching the community partner's staff how to update the information on the application and how to maintain the system. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to students in the School of Computing. Students must have completed Web Access & System Design or the Internet Programming course and should have obtained a grade of B or higher in the course. Students must have an overall GPA of 2.72 and a GPA of 3.0 Students must be avle to work 20 hours per week during the month of July 2012. Categories: Field Experience
Waddell, David	Analysis of the Coordinated Action of TGF-β and HDAC4 in Skeletal Muscle Aging
904-620-1958 d.s.waddell@unf.edu 3/2234	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO proposes to explore the mechanisms of HDAC4 and TGF-β-mediated regulation of gene expression in muscle using advanced cellular and molecular techniques. The research tools utilized in this project will provide an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to learn and understand new and exciting methods that are being used in biomedical research. This TLO will provide students the chance to learn cell culture and molecular genetic techniques they would not ordinarily learn in the classroom. Furthermore, students will use these skills to address important questions in muscle gene regulation. Ultimately, this TLO will provide students the opportunity to conduct independent projects that will include characterizing the regulation of genes that are expressed in muscle. The initial work for this project will occur in my laboratory at UNF during the 2012-2013 academic year. Then during spring break of 2013, in collaboration with Dr. Xiao-Fan Wang and Dr. Tso-Pang Yao, an additional phase of the project will be conducted during a one week trip to Duke University. Student Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but preference will be given to students who are majors in Biology and have an interest in the biomedical field. Freshmen and Sophomore students are required to have completed General Biology I. Juniors and Senior students are required to have completed General Biology I and either Genetics, Molecular and Cell Biology, or Physiology. Students will have to participate in an interview. Categories: Undergraduate Research
Wu, Yongan	UNF Chinese Camp in Beijing, 2013
904-620-2887 yongan.wu@unf.edu 10/2131	Summer 2013 The UNF Chinese Camp in Beijing (CCB) is an intensive language program featuring total language immersion and time-honored training strategies to produce fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese. The program chooses Beijing, a city with both a rich history and robust modern life to help students learn the language. The hosting university, Beijing Normal University, is one of the top universities in China and can provide top-quality instructors and supports. CCB involves language training embedded in a Chinese setting, with speakers from many sectors of Chinese society joining the participants to discuss their lives. On a typical weekday, students will start their day as a class by attending a one-hour lecture for the day's lesson. The class will then break into groups of four to drill the sentence patterns and vocabulary of the lesson for two hours. In the afternoon, students will have one-hour long 1-on-1 conversation sessions. The rest of the afternoon is left open for study and extracurricular activities in Chinese. In addition, students are encouraged to take lessons in Chinese arts, such as martial arts, calligraphy, cooking, or music. On the weekends, there are performances (e.g. Beijing Opera) and excursions (e.g. Great Wall and Contemporary Art Gallery). Students may also spend time on weekends with host families to experience the daily lives and customs of Chinese families. Student Criteria: Students who have completed two years of Chinese at UNF will be the primary target group. Students must be in good academic standing and have finished two years of Chinese or equivalent, with a grade of C or better for all Chinese language courses. Since many potential participants will be majoring in International Studies and International Business, this course can also satisfy their study abroad requirement. Categories: International

Leadership
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Merten, Julie	Our Campus, Our Health: A Student-Led Campus Health Assessment
904-620-4017 jmerten@unf.edu 39/4014	Fall 2012 - Summer 2013 This proposal involves funding to continue the implementation of a student-led campus health assessment and to take a group of students to the American Association of Health Education (AAHE) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA to present their research. Last year, a group of 10 students put together a campus health assessment to gather data about the health behaviors of the UNF student body. The students selected the health behaviors (physical activity, illicit drug use, nutrition, mental health, nutrition, etc) to include on their survey instrument, designed the instrument, applied for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, disseminated the survey and analyzed the results. The findings provided enlightening information about student health risk behaviors at UNF. It is important to continue to collect data each year to monitor student health trends. Criteria: Students who have volunteered to conduct the campus health assessment will participate in this TLO.
Meyer, Whitney	Model United Nations
904-620-2132 whitney.meyer@unf.edu Office of Alumni Services	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 This TLO will support for the UNF Model UN team to attend three conferences/competitions throughout 2011-2012: Atlanta, GA (Southern Regional Conference), Washington, D.C. (national- and international-level competition), and New York, NY (major, culminating national-level competition). Model UN is an intercollegiate simulation of the United Nations, intended to educate students about the operations and goals of the UN. In conferences, students study different perspectives of international politics and worldwide problems such as ethnic conflict, hunger, disease, and climate change. The national conference in New York will host nearly 5,000 students, with more than half of the attendees coming from outside of the United States. Attendance at this conference will also allow the UNF team to take an in-depth tour of the United Nations, meet with distinguished diplomats, meet with representatives of their assigned countries’ embassies, and meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Criteria: The Model UN Club at UNF is open to any interested students who maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher. The Model United Nations organization requires all delegates to attend mandatory meetings and have 90% participation in club activities (as outlined by the Club charter filed with Student Government). The number participating as delegates on competition teams will be limited to Club members who are active and dedicated. All potential delegates will be required to complete MUN research projects and to present to the Club academic position papers regarding their countries' policies on the competition topics. Students are expected to act in a manner that best represents the UNF student body.
Learning Communities
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Thunen, Robert	When Worlds Collide: The Search for Fort Caroline
904-620-1655 rthunen@unf.edu 51/1206	Fall 2012 This is a course-based TLO that involves students directly in an archeological search for Fort Caroline. Students will be examining and testing property both within the National Park and in adjacent communities involving interactions with individual homeowners and homeowner associations. Students will be in the field one day a week for 14 weeks. Students will also use GIS software to record data or work in conjunction with Dr. Micheal Francis' Paleography class, which will be researching Spanish and French documents that may contain vital information about the location and specifics about what happened during the attach at Fort Caroline. Criteria: This TLO is open to related majors. Students will be required to participate in an interview. Students need to be relatively fit as this will require very physical fieldwork.
Field Experience
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Brown, Christopher	School of Engineering / Civil Engineering / CCEC
904-620-2811 christopher.j.brown@unf.edu 50/2100	Summer 2012 This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide 16 students enrolled in CGN 4931, Sustainable Design Field Camp, opportunities to engage in sustainable engineering design, engineering project field trips, service learning, and direct field instrumentation installation in the magnificent natural setting of the American Southwest (Las Vegas, Nevada and Kanab, Utah). Sustainable Design Field Camp is designed as an intensive, active-learning 45-hour field course where students, organized into 4-person teams, are immersed in an unfamiliar and sensitive natural environment where sustainable design practices are critical. Over a 2.5-week period students will work on a class project design as well as participate in 6 field trips to an array of engineering projects focused upon sustainable engineering design related to mineral resources, water, waste, and both conventional and alternative energy. In addition to the extraordinary field trips, students will partake in two service learning design activities with the community. First, the class will work with Xanterra Parks and Resorts at Zion National Park to plan, model, and design a zero food waste facility to service the park. Second, the students will work with the Nature Conservancy to plan, design, and implement improvement projects at the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve near St. George, Utah. Projects under consideration by the Nature Conservancy include developing solar powered lighting, developing micro-GPS tracking devices for the rare desert tortoise, and developing emergency communication equipment using alternative energy. Criteria: Students will be selected for Sustainable Design Field Camp based upon an interview, a short essay, and their past academic performance. Those students with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 will be viewed more favorably than other candidates In addition, the faculty leader will inquire about their overall willingness and ability to work in an outdoor e.nvironment at high elevation or in high summer temperatures. .
Gelsleichter, James	Advanced Shark Ecology: Year 2
904-620-1575 jim.gelsleichter@unf.edu 3/2210	Summer C 2012 This proposal involves an undergraduate course focused on the ecology of sharks. The course will provide experiential training in coastal biology to UNF undergraduates by involving them in a federally-supported research project focused on identifying regions in northeast Florida that provide critical habitat to juvenile sharks. The field-based training that students receive will be augmented by classroom-based activities, such as group discussions, hands-on laboratory assignments, and research seminars presented by visiting scientists. Students will partipate in a day-long sampling trip to any of the UNF Shark Biology's main sampling sites. The research team meetings will include laboratory-based activities or research seminars presented by UNF faculty/graduate students or visiting scientists/students from other state agencies involved in shark research. We intend to increase the number of visiting speakers from 2 to 6 because of the highly positive feedback that we received regarding this component of the course. Last, students will particpate in a weekend-long, class-wide trip to the Caloosahatchee River near Ft. Myers, FL, conduct field-sampling of juvenile bull sharks and the endangered smalltooth sawfish, and interact with local scientists conducting research on these species. Criteria: This TLO is open to al students. Although preference will be given to students who have completed General Biology I, II, and III, a small number of highly motivated freshmen will be accepted in order to provide "gateway" experiences in science.
Kemppainen, John	Collaborative Student Internship in Belize
904-620-2530 jkemppai@und.edu 57/1085	Fall 2012 This TLO proposal requests funding for ten COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Belize for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Belmopan, Belize where they will continue their student teaching assignments in different Belizean Primary and Secondary schools. These short-term internships are available to all qualified education majors at the PreK-Primary, Elementary, Middle-grades, Secondary, K-12, and Special Education levels. Unique about this experience is that UNF Interns will be matched with a Belizean Intern who is also in their final semester of their teacher education program required for graduation. Two months prior to departure for Belize, UNF Interns will have been matched with a Belizean Intern and will establish a dialog concerning levels and content in their assigned Belizean school utilizing email, Skype, and/or other technology supported programs. In addition, this proposal involves utilizing the faculty from the University of Belize and the Directing teachers at the schools where our UNF Interns will be placed in a co-teaching assignment with their Belizean Intern counterparts. This international internship will serve as the culminating experience for UNF students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area schools. Student will be required to participate in all aspects of their assigned schools’ regular instructional and after school activities. Criteria: Students selected for this three week experience in Belize must be seniors in their final semester of study at UNF, have earned grades of B or better in the two field lab prerequisites to their internship, and be enrolled in their final semester internship which is the culminating experience course. Students must be in good standing with the university as well as with the COEHS, have a Grade Point Average or 3.0 or above, be available for an interview with appropriate faculty, submit an essay on how this international education experience will benefit them professionally, have satisfactorily completed all parts of the Florida Teachers Certification Exams, and must complete an intensive orientation about traveling abroad conducted by the International Center as well as an orientation to teaching in another country conducted by the COEHS.
Lane, Amy	Marine Microorganisms of Northeast Florida as Sources of Potential Diabetes Therapeutics
904-620-2315 amy.lane@unf.edu 50/3518	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 In the proposed TLO, students will develop interdisciplinary chemical/biological research skills through exploring the central hypothesis that marine natural products may be employed as IDE inhibitors and potential diabetes therapeutics. Seven student TLO participants will snorkel, wade, and/or kayak to collect microorganisms within coastal waters of state parks (e.g. Talbot Island, Amelia Island, Anastasia). In the lab at UNF, student researchers will learn and employ molecular biology techniques to identify the microorganisms acquired during collection expeditions. Students will also employ modern analytical instrumentation (e.g. mass spetometry and NMR spectroscopy). Students wull also have the opportunity to work alongside Mayo researchers to evaluate marine natural products as IDE inhibitors. Criteria: This TLO is open to Chemistry and Biology students. To select the seven-member team that will participate in the collection expedition, studetns will be evaluated based on a written application, major and coursework experience / performance, an in-person interview, and their swimming competency.
Lupi, Marsha	Student Teaching in Primary and Seconday Schools in Plymouth, UK
904-620-2520 mlupi@unf.edu 57/3615	Spring 2013 A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England accompanied by COEHS faculty where they will participate in a teaching internship for 12 school days in diverse elementary, special, or secondary education classrooms. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive and innovative P-12 programs including a community based model school that offers inclusive educational programs. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African, East and West Asian countries, and from Eastern European countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. Criteria: Students in the fields of pre-K primary, elementary, special education, and secondary education will be eligible for this 15 day experience during their internship semester which takes place in their final semester. Students must have a B or better in their Field I and II courses and have a minimum overall grade point average of at least a 3.0. Students are required to submit an application form which includes a series of essay questions. The students will be interviewed by a team of trip faculty leaders. Students must provide three current professional references.
Taylor, James	St. John's River Transformational Learning Opportunity
904-620-5804 tayj0016@unf.edu 1/2202	Spring Break 2013 The proposed TLO is a nine-day immersion experience during Spring Break 2013 aboard a houseboat in the Middle Basin of the St. Johns River, Florida. Students will prepare for the experience beginning the first weeks of January 2013 by attending weekly meetings and one field day (to learn canoe safety, knot tying, and initial plein air sketching) during February 2013. Additionally, pre-trip work will be conducted with staff and faculty mentors in their respective major disciplines during the spring semester. Each student will design a project to be executed on the river during Spring Break, 2013. This project may be conducted for academic credit if desired by the student. Projects conducted for academic credit will be guided by the faculty mentor, who will hold the student mentee accountable for completion of the project and award the final credit. A final “deliverable” will be required as appropriate for the discipline, for example a scientific report, a completed series of paintings, a term paper, etc. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but preference is given to undergraduate students who have demonstrated an advanced level of academic achievement (junior or senior, or junior-, senior-equivalent), ability to work and live well with group of people in constrained living conditions, past field or group experiences, two academic and one personal reference (due to the lodging arrangements), and ability to swim (due to predominantly being river and water related experiences).
Truesdell, Delores; Kenney, Heather; & Peterson, Dwayne	Brooks College of Health Living-Learning Community Career Exploration & Service Learning trip
Dr. Truesdell 904-620-1468 d.truesdell@unf.edu 39/3072 Ms. Kenney 904-620-1287 heather.kenney@unf.edu 39/3026 Mr. Peterson 904-620-5805 d.peterson@unf.edu 39/3015A	Spring 2013 Students will travel to Atlanta, GA to volunteer at the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc. This organization provides programs and street outreach to reduce the harms related to drug use and HIV/AIDS. Students will see a variety of health professionals while visiting the Coalition (counselors, testing agents/nurses, and a large number of health educators as this is most of their staff). The organization is focused on prevention and wellness, and connecting clients to treatment facilities (everything from chronic diseases to tooth exams. Students will also visit local healthcare facilities to better understand career opportunities available within these settings by meeting with healthcare providers. Students will meet with professionals as the following locations: acute settings (hospitals), health care facilities, medical practices, and aging services. Criteria: Only students who are a part of the BCH Living-Learning community are eligible for this TLO. Students will be required to complete an application.
Umapathy, Karthikeyan & Chuan, Ching Hua	A Pilot for School of Computing TLO Internship Program
Dr. Umapathy 904-620-1329 k.umapathy@unf.edu Dr. Chuan 904-620-1378 c.chuan2unf.edu 15/3224	July 2012 This four-week community-based learning opportunity for students in the School of Computing is a summer internship for July 2012. Students will apply the knowledge and techniques they have learned in the classroom to help local community partners develop Web applications. Students will meet with the paricipating community partners, determine the community partner's needs, and present their plans to the partner and faculty to recieve feedback. Then students iwll fine-tune the Web application and will transfer their final product to the organization by teaching the community partner's staff how to update the information on the application and how to maintain the system. Criteria: This TLO is open to students in the School of Computing. Students must have completed Web Access & System Design or the Internet Programming course and should have obtained a grade of B or higher in the course. Students must have an overall GPA of 2.72 and a GPA of 3.0 Students must be avle to work 20 hours per week during the month of July 2012.
International
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Biernacki, Krzystof	UNF Opera Study Abroad in Czech Republic
904-620-3852 kbiernac@unf.edu 45/2308	Summer 2012 UNF Opera Study Abroad is a 4 week long summer opera program offering UNF students the opportunity to gain real European experience by performing complete operatic works in professional operatic environment under the instruction of international faculty. The program involves study and performance of at least one or two complete operas in professional European opera theatres with established symphony orchestras. Additional offerings include voice lessons, masterclasses, individual language coachings, and full orchestra concerts. Actual stay in Czech Republic will last approximately 26 days during which students will stage and workshop the entire operatic production with professional opera conductor and stage director, they will participate in voice masterclasses, Czech language diction coachings, take individual voice lessons, and perform additional orchestra concerts of opera arias and ensembles with North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Criteria: Participating students must be enrolled in a degree seeking program at the UNF Department of Music. Participating student must be of specific voice type necessary for casting of the production, ex: soprano, tenor, baritone or bass, etc. and must successfully pass the opera audition. All students planning to participate in the UNF Opera Study Abroad must participate in the fund-raising performances and events scheduled for Fall and Spring semesters of 2011-2012 academic year.
Eason, Paul	Ghana Project 2013
904-620-1875 paul.eason@unf.edu 50/3112	Summer 2013 The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 19-day trip to apply what they have learned. All of the students from the various disciplines will work together on a single project that is based on community needs identified by our Ghanaian stakeholders. The service project creates learning opportunities including teaching civic engagement and challenging students to apply their learning to real-world issues. The projects also require students to work closely with local people, challenging students to communicate across cultural barriers. This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students enrolled full-time at UNF who have a GPA of 3.0 and above. All majors are encouraged to apply. Engineering students on the trip, will be performing their activities concurrent with requirements for senior design, and will therefore need to meet the requirements for senior standing in engineering. Students from other disciplines will be allowed to participate at any level of academic rank. All students will be interviewed prior to the beginning of the Spring Seminar Course. In addition to the interview screening, students will be observed during the semester long course in the spring.
Ibanez, Nuria	Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria, Santander
904-620-2063 nuria.ibanez@unf.edu 10/2143	Summer 2012 The Spanish Study Abroad Program at the University of Cantabria in Santander offers students the opportunity of studying language and culture at one of the 15 top universities in Spain as defined by the Spanish government. UNF students will enroll in an intensive language course focusing on spoken and written Spanish. The students benefit from a rigorous academic program while they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture, and to travel on their own. The TLO leader will also teach a six-week course focused on Spain, Cantabria and Santander in order to ensure a comprehensive cultural experience. As part of the culture course, students will travel to Burgos, Peñafiel and Segovia to view firsthand examples of art and architecture studied in the course. Criteria: The program will target exclusively students who will have completed at the very minimum Intermediate Spanish II by the end of the first summer session. Students will have to complete an application form that requires writing a brief essay in Spanish on the following theme: "In approximately 200 words, describe in Spanish how studying in Santander this summer will have a transformational impact on you as a student and as a person." Candidates for the program will be interviewed by a selection committee to ascertain that they possess the necessary skills to succeed in the classroom at the University of Cantabria. Spanish majors and minors will be given preference during the selection process.
Kaplan, Leslie	It's All Greek to Me: Summer in Athens
904-620-3993 leslie.kaplan@unf.edu 1/1606	Summer 2013 Students will live and study for five weeks at the American College of Greece, a NEASC accredited college in suburban Athens. The students will take six credits of courses, a course taught by UNF faculty and a course at ACG. The class at ACG will be a course of their choice at either the upper or lower division. By individually choosing their own ACG class, most if not all of the other students will be Greek students, pushing them out of their “American bubble” and into closer contact with Greek students, providing a deeper level immersion. The UNF course will add context to those immersive experiences by focusing on Greek culture. In addition to historical background, the anthropological readings will look at attitudes, expectations, and behaviors typical of Greek culture, all of which are markedly different than in American culture. The classwork will include some experiences and field trips designed to broaden their experience further. Students will attend a series of workshops offered by the ACG on topics like Greek dance and cooking, and again students will be asked to compare them to American culture. Criteria: The target audience for this program is students in the Honors Program. Space permitting, the TLO leaders will also admit non-Honors students. Students can be of any academic level and any major. Students must have a 3.0 GPA or above, maturity, openness to new cultures, and interest in the subject. To fully participate in the trips, students will need to be able to walk extensive distances on uneven ground as many of the archaeological sites are not handicap-accessible. Students wishing to apply will fill out an application and will be interviewed.
Kemppainen, John	Collaborative Student Internship in Belize
904-620-2530 jkemppai@und.edu 57/1085	Fall 2012 This TLO proposal requests funding for ten COEHS students, in their final semester of study, to gain valuable experience in their student teaching by living and learning in Belize for a period of three weeks. Students meeting the academic qualifications and who desire this international experience will travel to Belmopan, Belize where they will continue their student teaching assignments in different Belizean Primary and Secondary schools. These short-term internships are available to all qualified education majors at the PreK-Primary, Elementary, Middle-grades, Secondary, K-12, and Special Education levels. Unique about this experience is that UNF Interns will be matched with a Belizean Intern who is also in their final semester of their teacher education program required for graduation. Two months prior to departure for Belize, UNF Interns will have been matched with a Belizean Intern and will establish a dialog concerning levels and content in their assigned Belizean school utilizing email, Skype, and/or other technology supported programs. In addition, this proposal involves utilizing the faculty from the University of Belize and the Directing teachers at the schools where our UNF Interns will be placed in a co-teaching assignment with their Belizean Intern counterparts. This international internship will serve as the culminating experience for UNF students’ required semester long internship in the greater Jacksonville area schools. Student will be required to participate in all aspects of their assigned schools’ regular instructional and after school activities. Criteria: Students selected for this three week experience in Belize must be seniors in their final semester of study at UNF, have earned grades of B or better in the two field lab prerequisites to their internship, and be enrolled in their final semester internship which is the culminating experience course. Students must be in good standing with the university as well as with the COEHS, have a Grade Point Average or 3.0 or above, be available for an interview with appropriate faculty, submit an essay on how this international education experience will benefit them professionally, have satisfactorily completed all parts of the Florida Teachers Certification Exams, and must complete an intensive orientation about traveling abroad conducted by the International Center as well as an orientation to teaching in another country conducted by the COEHS.
Lupi, Marsha	Student Teaching in Primary and Seconday Schools in Plymouth, UK
904-620-2520 mlupi@unf.edu 57/3615	Spring 2013 A selected group of academically qualified and recommended students will travel to Plymouth, England accompanied by COEHS faculty where they will participate in a teaching internship for 12 school days in diverse elementary, special, or secondary education classrooms. Participating schools have been selected that offer comprehensive and innovative P-12 programs including a community based model school that offers inclusive educational programs. Plymouth is a center for first and second generation immigrants from African, East and West Asian countries, and from Eastern European countries increasing the multicultural training opportunities for our students. This internship will serve as a culminating activity to the fourteen week internship semester in Jacksonville. Students will participate in all aspects of the school day and week, engaging in discussions about the curriculum and organization of British schools. Criteria: Students in the fields of pre-K primary, elementary, special education, and secondary education will be eligible for this 15 day experience during their internship semester which takes place in their final semester. Students must have a B or better in their Field I and II courses and have a minimum overall grade point average of at least a 3.0. Students are required to submit an application form which includes a series of essay questions. The students will be interviewed by a team of trip faculty leaders. Students must provide three current professional references.
Malek, Mag & Sorce, James	Art in Construction Study Abroad: Italy
Dr. Malek 904-620-1123 mmalek@unf.edu 50/2404 Mr. Sorce 904-620-2759 sorj0003@unf.edu 50/2304	Summer 2013 The Department of Construction Management is proposing to sponsor a two week study program in Italy. Students will visit construction sites and sites of historical/architectural significance in and around Rome, Florence, Naples and Pompeii, Italy. Students will listen to lectures about the history, art, architecture, construction techniques, building structures and culture of these cities, while concurrently learning about the religion, politics, business and role of the family in Italy. Students will focus on major buildings in each city including study of Roman walls, both the Servian and Aurelian. The buildings will include: The Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine in the Roman Forum, Santa Maria in Cosmedin,Santa Maria Maggiore, the Brunelleschi dome, Michelangleo’s dome at St Peter’s; also possibly the Markets of Trajan and the Baths of Diocletian. The construction program will join Dr. Debra Murphy (UNF Art History) and her students attending the 2013 Art, Art History Italy Study abroad. We will work closely with Dr. Murphy to coordinate our efforts. We plan to collaborate to form an unique experience for the Construction and Art students attending. Criteria: Students must be at least of sophomore standing in Construction Management or Engineering. Students will be interviewed before they are accepted.
Mattice, Sarah & Carelli, Paul	China in Context: Philosophy and Religious Practice Study Abroad
Dr. Mattice 904-620-3736 s.mattice@unf.edu 10/2353 Dr. Carelli 904-620-3737 paul.carelli@unf.edu 10/2357	Summer 2013 This TLO is a six credit philosophy and religious studies course in the summer of 2013 that will travel to four cities in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Yangshuo, and Shanghai. The course focuses on the foundational assumptions that led to the development of distinctive features of Chinese culture in terms of philosophy and religion. The course has four major units: cosmology, politics and social order, art and aesthetics, and personal identity. Each of these units explores philosophical and religious issues in terms of texts and practices, and how the classical assumptions are and are not still in play today. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but a preference will be given for students who have either never traveled internationally or have never traveled in Asia. Students are not required to have any previous Chinese language experience. Students must be in good academic standing, but there is no specific GPA minimum. While the TLO will not require specific physical abilities, students who participate will need to be able to carry their own luggage up several flights of stairs, as many hotel and dorm locations in China do not have elevators.
Murphy, Debra	2013 Italy Program: Comparative Studies in Art, Art History and Italian Culture
904-620-1766 dmurphy@und.edu 45/2024	Summer 2013 This TLO will be scheduled for approximately six weeks (40 nights) and will include an introduction to Italian language and culture in Massa before traveling to Rome. Students will have the rich experience of living in Rome where the majority of the program is centered. The living arrangements are in the St. John’s University Rome campus with kitchenettes so students will have to learn how to shop with Italians, thus being exposed to an added dimension of Italian life. They will also have many opportunities to study and present oral reports in some of the most important museums in the world including the Naples Archeological Museum (where the majority of the finds from the Vesuvian sites buried in 79 are housed), the Vatican Museums (home not only to the Sistine Chapel but works from antiquity to the modern) to the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Uffizi and the Accademia in Florence. UNF students can earn between 6-9 hours in art history and painting/drawing. Classes are offered on site from Mondays through Thursdays with weekends being available for additional exploration in Rome or travel within Italy. Field trips will be scheduled to Florence and Naples where comparisons and contrasts will be emphasized. Criteria: All UNF students are eligible to apply for acceptance into the program. A minimum 2.5 GPA is required although a 2.75 GPA is preferred. A student must be at least a sophomore. It is recommended that students have taken ARH 2050 [Art History Survey I] or ARH 2051 [Art History Survey II] although these are not required. Students are interviewed before they are accepted into the program.
Schwam-Baird, Shira	French Language Study Abroad in Strasbourg, France
904-620-1248 sschwam@unf.edu 10/2151	Summer 2013 This program consists of five weeks in France during which the UNF students have French classes 15 hours a week (total 60 contact hours) where native speaker instructors teach entirely in French and their classmates come from all over the world. They live with French families with whom they take two meals a day, so their immersion experience continues outside the classroom, and real cultural contact fills the greater part of most days as they navigate the city independently on foot and on public transportation (and most travel outside the city is by train). The TLO leader teaches a culture class (Faces of France) three afternoons a week which examines social, political, and cultural issues in contemporary France with insight into their historical context, and which includes the perspective of France as part of the construction of Europe. I also conduct their many excursions (all part of the credit-generating Faces of France course)—afternoon visits to places of interest in the city, full-day Saturday excursions in the region around Strasbourg, and a long weekend in Paris (total about 80 contact hours including the excursions). Criteria: Students must be in good academic standing, but there is no specific GPA minimum. The program is open to all majors and minors, but in order to participate, students must have the equivalent of a year of college French study.
Shaw, Sherry	Study Abroad to Austria and Slovenia for ASL/English Interpreting Students
904-620-1811 sherry.shaw@unf.edu 57/3519	Spring Break 2013 This TLO is for UNF’s American Sign Language/English Interpreting undergraduate students to study abroad for 10 days in Austria and Slovenia, where there are exemplary Interpreter Education Programs at the local universities of Graz and Ljubljana. The primary purposes of the TLO are to introduce signed language interpreting students to spoken language interpreter education, conduct a literature review accessing the specialized databases at a translation library, and experience the cultural and linguistic differences of the local deaf communities, spoken language interpreting students, and faculty members. Students will participate in translation and interpreting classes with the local students who have English as one of their three working languages. They will participate in an Austrian Sign Language class, which is taught without voice, and will interact with Austrian Deaf professors for a cultural immersion into a visual language that is very different from American Sign Language.At the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), the students will participate in a mock conference, organized by the Department of Translating and Interpreting, in which they will experience being the recipients of interpreting services rather than being the providers. Criteria: Students must be degree-seeking in good standing in the ASL/English Interpreting program. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25, and have completed one semester in the program prior to the TLO. Students must be enrolled in Research in Interpreting, complete CITI (Research with Human Subjects) training, and select research topics prior to the TLO. The application process requires an essay on the anticipated value of the TLO and a phone interview. Priority will be given to students who: 1. demonstrate active membership and leadership in professional interpreting, deafness-related, and research organizations, 2. contribute to the Deaf Community in service and support (outside of Service-Learning course requirements), 3. use ethical judgment in accepting work as interpreters according to their credentials, and 4. display potential for positively representing the program, department, college, UNF, and the U.S.
Wu, Yongan	UNF Chinese Camp in Beijing, 2013
904-620-2887 yongan.wu@unf.edu 10/2131	Summer 2013 The UNF Chinese Camp in Beijing (CCB) is an intensive language program featuring total language immersion and time-honored training strategies to produce fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese. The program chooses Beijing, a city with both a rich history and robust modern life to help students learn the language. The hosting university, Beijing Normal University, is one of the top universities in China and can provide top-quality instructors and supports. CCB involves language training embedded in a Chinese setting, with speakers from many sectors of Chinese society joining the participants to discuss their lives. On a typical weekday, students will start their day as a class by attending a one-hour lecture for the day's lesson. The class will then break into groups of four to drill the sentence patterns and vocabulary of the lesson for two hours. In the afternoon, students will have one-hour long 1-on-1 conversation sessions. The rest of the afternoon is left open for study and extracurricular activities in Chinese. In addition, students are encouraged to take lessons in Chinese arts, such as martial arts, calligraphy, cooking, or music. On the weekends, there are performances (e.g. Beijing Opera) and excursions (e.g. Great Wall and Contemporary Art Gallery). Students may also spend time on weekends with host families to experience the daily lives and customs of Chinese families. Criteria: Students who have completed two years of Chinese at UNF will be the primary target group. Students must be in good academic standing and have finished two years of Chinese or equivalent, with a grade of C or better for all Chinese language courses. Since many potential participants will be majoring in International Studies and International Business, this course can also satisfy their study abroad requirement.
Service Learning
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Allen, Ashley	Developing a Compassionate Mindset of Oneself and Others
904-620-1643 a.allen@unf.edu 51/3417	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 Ten undergraduate students will be recruited to participate in the TLO. These students will be active members of the “Self, Well-being, and Social Behavior” Lab where they will attend weekly meetings. Students will be trained on both compassion and self-compassion and will learn how to teach other people about these concepts. Students will serve as research assistants at the non-profit organization where they will work with the staff and residents to implement a 4-6 week self-compassion training program. In the spring semester, the research teams will present a poster at a regional psychological conference such as the Society for Southeastern Social Psychologists (SSSP) or the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA). Students will be trained as volunteers at either the Sulzbacher Center ot Hubbard House. If students volunteered the Sulzbacher Center, a homeless shelter, they would be involved in feeding the residents, interacting with the children, cleaning, and implementing the training program. In contrast, Hubbard House is a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Given the more intimate environment, students would have more opportunities to interact with the residents one-on-one whether they are eating with them, teaching them valuable life skills, or playing with and teaching the children. Criteria: This TLO is open to Junior and Senior Psychology students who have completed the Research Methods course. Students will be interviewed.
Brown, Christopher	School of Engineering / Civil Engineering / CCEC
904-620-2811 christopher.j.brown@unf.edu 50/2100	Summer 2012 This Transformational Learning Opportunity will provide 16 students enrolled in CGN 4931, Sustainable Design Field Camp, opportunities to engage in sustainable engineering design, engineering project field trips, service learning, and direct field instrumentation installation in the magnificent natural setting of the American Southwest (Las Vegas, Nevada and Kanab, Utah). Sustainable Design Field Camp is designed as an intensive, active-learning 45-hour field course where students, organized into 4-person teams, are immersed in an unfamiliar and sensitive natural environment where sustainable design practices are critical. Over a 2.5-week period students will work on a class project design as well as participate in 6 field trips to an array of engineering projects focused upon sustainable engineering design related to mineral resources, water, waste, and both conventional and alternative energy. In addition to the extraordinary field trips, students will partake in two service learning design activities with the community. First, the class will work with Xanterra Parks and Resorts at Zion National Park to plan, model, and design a zero food waste facility to service the park. Second, the students will work with the Nature Conservancy to plan, design, and implement improvement projects at the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve near St. George, Utah. Projects under consideration by the Nature Conservancy include developing solar powered lighting, developing micro-GPS tracking devices for the rare desert tortoise, and developing emergency communication equipment using alternative energy. Criteria: Students will be selected for Sustainable Design Field Camp based upon an interview, a short essay, and their past academic performance. Those students with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 will be viewed more favorably than other candidates In addition, the faculty leader will inquire about their overall willingness and ability to work in an outdoor e.nvironment at high elevation or in high summer temperatures. .
Eason, Paul	Ghana Project 2013
904-620-1875 paul.eason@unf.edu 50/3112	Summer 2013 The Ghana Project is an interdisciplinary team-taught course where students learn about challenges facing the developing world then travel to Ghana for a 19-day trip to apply what they have learned. All of the students from the various disciplines will work together on a single project that is based on community needs identified by our Ghanaian stakeholders. The service project creates learning opportunities including teaching civic engagement and challenging students to apply their learning to real-world issues. The projects also require students to work closely with local people, challenging students to communicate across cultural barriers. This experience includes the trip, the spring course preparing them for this opportunity and a Summer A 1-hour course designed to process and reflect on the connection between the classroom and the experience. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students enrolled full-time at UNF who have a GPA of 3.0 and above. All majors are encouraged to apply. Engineering students on the trip, will be performing their activities concurrent with requirements for senior design, and will therefore need to meet the requirements for senior standing in engineering. Students from other disciplines will be allowed to participate at any level of academic rank. All students will be interviewed prior to the beginning of the Spring Seminar Course. In addition to the interview screening, students will be observed during the semester long course in the spring.
Gabbard, Chris	Disability Studies with TLO
904-620-2273 cgabbard@unf.edu	Spring 2013 This TLO involves a course that will focus on the nature, meaning, and consequences of what it is to be defined as disabled and explore the historical and cultural dynamics of disability. The course will address the stereotypes associated with and the experiential aspects of disability as these are deployed in literature, film, television, the arts, and other cultural media. In addition to attending the class sessions, students will volunteer two hours a day, one day a week, over a ten‐week period at one of three sites: The Mt. Herman Exceptional Student Center and Alden Road Exceptional Student Center, both of which are Duval County Public Schools, and Hope Haven Children’s Clinic and Family Center, a non‐profit agency. Some students, such as those without transportation, may volunteer with UNF’s On Campus Transition (OCT). A sampple of service activities that students could participate in are:: assisting in the preparation and cleanup of meals, participating in games and play with the children, helping with getting children into gait trainers and other equipment; reading, helping with arts and crafts, and assisting teachers and aides and the vision, physical, and occupational therapists. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students.
Monteleone, Pam	Documentary and Community-Based Dramatic Writing: Voices of Justice
904-620-2273 pmontele@unf.edu	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 In Fall 2012 students will take CRW 3424 Playwrights’ Project as Documentary and Community-Based Dramatic Writing. The course will focus on documentary playwriting and include a service-learning component. It will introduce students to documentary techniques and explore the ways in which human beings narrate, document, and illuminate their lives through storytelling and dramatic interpretation. The class will be divided into three writing teams, each of which will partner with a community organization that serves an underrepresented population and persons without a voice who have suffered social injustice. Some of the social issues that may be considered are mental illness, terminal illness, immigrant advocacy, the elderly, youth at risk, and domestic abuse. Following a brief orientation familiarizing students with the community partner’ needs, writing teams will conduct three rounds of interviews, two rounds to gather material and a third, the read-back interview, to read their scripts to the storytellers for approbation. Students will then transcribe, synthesize, cut, and compose monologues for performance. Students will present their monologues in December as an informal, staged reading for the university and Jacksonville communities, featuring the storytellers and community partners as honored guests. Finally, the English Department will produce a full-length play in the spring semester. Students will be able to register for THE 4923 Play Production: “Voices of Justice,” and to participate in all aspects of play making: acting, academic research, technical competencies, including sound and video production, and publicity and promotion Criteria: This TLO is open to all majors. Prospective students will be interviewed for the documentary playwriting course in the fall, wherein students will demonstrate their interest in social issues as a prerequisite for acceptance into the course. Play production will welcome everyone. The cast for the Spring 2013 production of “Voices of Justice, Jacksonville” will be 3035 students.
Truesdell, Delores; Kenney, Heather; & Peterson, Dwayne	Brooks College of Health Living-Learning Community Career Exploration & Service Learning trip
Dr. Truesdell 904-620-1468 d.truesdell@unf.edu 39/3072 Ms. Kenney 904-620-1287 heather.kenney@unf.edu 39/3026 Mr. Peterson 904-620-5805 d.peterson@unf.edu 39/3015A	Spring 2013 Students will travel to Atlanta, GA to volunteer at the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, Inc. This organization provides programs and street outreach to reduce the harms related to drug use and HIV/AIDS. Students will see a variety of health professionals while visiting the Coalition (counselors, testing agents/nurses, and a large number of health educators as this is most of their staff). The organization is focused on prevention and wellness, and connecting clients to treatment facilities (everything from chronic diseases to tooth exams. Students will also visit local healthcare facilities to better understand career opportunities available within these settings by meeting with healthcare providers. Students will meet with professionals as the following locations: acute settings (hospitals), health care facilities, medical practices, and aging services. Criteria: Only students who are a part of the BCH Living-Learning community are eligible for this TLO. Students will be required to complete an application.
Undergraduate Research
Faculty/Staff Leader	Nature of the Experience
Allen, Ashley	Developing a Compassionate Mindset of Oneself and Others
904-620-1643 a.allen@unf.edu 51/3417	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 Ten undergraduate students will be recruited to participate in the TLO. These students will be active members of the “Self, Well-being, and Social Behavior” Lab where they will attend weekly meetings. Students will be trained on both compassion and self-compassion and will learn how to teach other people about these concepts. Students will serve as research assistants at the non-profit organization where they will work with the staff and residents to implement a 4-6 week self-compassion training program. In the spring semester, the research teams will present a poster at a regional psychological conference such as the Society for Southeastern Social Psychologists (SSSP) or the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA). Students will be trained as volunteers at either the Sulzbacher Center ot Hubbard House. If students volunteered the Sulzbacher Center, a homeless shelter, they would be involved in feeding the residents, interacting with the children, cleaning, and implementing the training program. In contrast, Hubbard House is a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Given the more intimate environment, students would have more opportunities to interact with the residents one-on-one whether they are eating with them, teaching them valuable life skills, or playing with and teaching the children. Criteria: This TLO is open to Junior and Senior Psychology students who have completed the Research Methods course. Students will be interviewed.
Butler, Joseph	Long-Term Field Studies in Herpetology
904-620-2831 jbutler@unf.edu 3/2248	Fall 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO consists of three ongoing field projects. Two of the projects seek to describe the demography of Gopher Tortoise populations on the UNF campus and at White Oak Plantation. Students will participate in discovering and mapping all tortoise burrows, plus capturing, measuring and marking tortoises. Some tortoises will be captured by hand while out of their burrows, but most will be actively trapped. This data will allow us to evaluate how habitat resources are being used by the populations and what the potential is for successful reproduction and population growth. The third project studies nesting success in the Diamondback Terrapin at Talbot Island State Park. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students. The most important qualification is a sincere interest in doing field work. It is hot and dirty, long hours, and is not for everyone. Another critical requirement is reliability.
Ellis, Terri	Assessing How Antibiotic Resistance Changes Bacterial Pathogenesis
904-620-5766 terri.ellis@unf.edu 3/2226	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO project is designed to give students hands-on experience with biomedical research. Students will be doing a comparative biochemical analysis of outer membrane proteins produced by the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumanni. Both of these species of bacteria are major causes of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections in immunocompromised patients. Students will isolate, identify, and quantify relative levels of outer membrane proteins in each of these strains. For each species of bacteria, students will first establish the baseline levels of relevant proteins in a lab experimental strain of the species. Then, this baseline will be used as a basis for comparison with clinical isolates that will be obtained from the Clinical Microbiology lab at the Mayo Clinic. Students will have two opportunities during this TLO to interact with the larger scientific community. First, students will attend the First Coast Infectious Disease and Clinical Microbiology Symposium held every January in Ponte Vedra, Fl. In May of 2013, students will then travel to the American Society for Microbiology annual national meeting in Denver, Colorado. At this meeting students will present a poster of their research findings. Criteria: This TLO experience is open to students who have successfully completed either BSC2012 (General Biology III) or MCB 2010c (Microbiology). A background in Biology (i.e. Biology major) is preferred, but not required. Students must participate in an interview. Students must be willing to commit a 3-hour blocks of time (minimum) for each session working in the lab.
Gelsleichter, James	Advanced Shark Ecology: Year 2
904-620-1575 jim.gelsleichter@unf.edu 3/2210	Summer C 2012 This proposal involves an undergraduate course focused on the ecology of sharks. The course will provide experiential training in coastal biology to UNF undergraduates by involving them in a federally-supported research project focused on identifying regions in northeast Florida that provide critical habitat to juvenile sharks. The field-based training that students receive will be augmented by classroom-based activities, such as group discussions, hands-on laboratory assignments, and research seminars presented by visiting scientists. Students will partipate in a day-long sampling trip to any of the UNF Shark Biology's main sampling sites. The research team meetings will include laboratory-based activities or research seminars presented by UNF faculty/graduate students or visiting scientists/students from other state agencies involved in shark research. We intend to increase the number of visiting speakers from 2 to 6 because of the highly positive feedback that we received regarding this component of the course. Last, students will particpate in a weekend-long, class-wide trip to the Caloosahatchee River near Ft. Myers, FL, conduct field-sampling of juvenile bull sharks and the endangered smalltooth sawfish, and interact with local scientists conducting research on these species. Criteria: This TLO is open to al students. Although preference will be given to students who have completed General Biology I, II, and III, a small number of highly motivated freshmen will be accepted in order to provide "gateway" experiences in science.
Lane, Amy	Marine Microorganisms of Northeast Florida as Sources of Potential Diabetes Therapeutics
904-620-2315 amy.lane@unf.edu 50/3518	Fall 2012 - Spring 2013 In the proposed TLO, students will develop interdisciplinary chemical/biological research skills through exploring the central hypothesis that marine natural products may be employed as IDE inhibitors and potential diabetes therapeutics. Seven student TLO participants will snorkel, wade, and/or kayak to collect microorganisms within coastal waters of state parks (e.g. Talbot Island, Amelia Island, Anastasia). In the lab at UNF, student researchers will learn and employ molecular biology techniques to identify the microorganisms acquired during collection expeditions. Students will also employ modern analytical instrumentation (e.g. mass spetometry and NMR spectroscopy). Students wull also have the opportunity to work alongside Mayo researchers to evaluate marine natural products as IDE inhibitors. Criteria: This TLO is open to Chemistry and Biology students. To select the seven-member team that will participate in the collection expedition, studetns will be evaluated based on a written application, major and coursework experience / performance, an in-person interview, and their swimming competency.
Merten, Julie	Our Campus, Our Health: A Student-Led Campus Health Assessment
904-620-4017 jmerten@unf.edu 39/4014	Fall 2012 - Summer 2013 This proposal involves funding to continue the implementation of a student-led campus health assessment and to take a group of students to the American Association of Health Education (AAHE) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA to present their research. Last year, a group of 10 students put together a campus health assessment to gather data about the health behaviors of the UNF student body. The students selected the health behaviors (physical activity, illicit drug use, nutrition, mental health, nutrition, etc) to include on their survey instrument, designed the instrument, applied for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, disseminated the survey and analyzed the results. The findings provided enlightening information about student health risk behaviors at UNF. It is important to continue to collect data each year to monitor student health trends. Criteria: Students who have volunteered to conduct the campus health assessment will participate in this TLO.
Ochrietor, Judith	Transformational Learning in Cell Biology of the Neural Retina
904-620-2827 jochriet@unf.edu 3/2220	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This Transformational Learning Opportunity is designed to provide research training for students with biomedical interests. Modern biochemical, molecular, and cell biology techniques will be employed in the study of the neural retina, which is the tissue in which rod and cone photoreceptor neurons are housed, and is responsible for vision. Students will explore the roles played by proteins within the mouse neural retina to determine their contributions to the overall visual process. Specifically, students will study proteins found on the surface of rods and cones to determine their involvement in cellular nutrition of those cells, as well as proteins within supportive glial cells thought to respond to signals from the rods and cones. Not only will students gain valuable research training, including hypothesis-driven experimental design, data collection, and data analysis; but will also be mentored as they communicate their findings to the Department, University, and the international community of Cell Biologists. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but students majoring in Biology are preferred. Students must have successfully completed the Molecular and Cell Biology course offered by the Department of Biology prior to joining this TLO program.
Thunen, Robert	When Worlds Collide: The Search for Fort Caroline
904-620-1655 rthunen@unf.edu 51/1206	Fall 2012 This is a course-based TLO that involves students directly in an archeological search for Fort Caroline. Students will be examining and testing property both within the National Park and in adjacent communities involving interactions with individual homeowners and homeowner associations. Students will be in the field one day a week for 14 weeks. Students will also use GIS software to record data or work in conjunction with Dr. Micheal Francis' Paleography class, which will be researching Spanish and French documents that may contain vital information about the location and specifics about what happened during the attach at Fort Caroline. Criteria: This TLO is open to related majors. Students will be required to participate in an interview. Students need to be relatively fit as this will require very physical fieldwork.
Waddell, David	Analysis of the Coordinated Action of TGF-β and HDAC4 in Skeletal Muscle Aging
904-620-1958 d.s.waddell@unf.edu 3/2234	Summer 2012 - Summer 2013 This TLO proposes to explore the mechanisms of HDAC4 and TGF-β-mediated regulation of gene expression in muscle using advanced cellular and molecular techniques. The research tools utilized in this project will provide an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to learn and understand new and exciting methods that are being used in biomedical research. This TLO will provide students the chance to learn cell culture and molecular genetic techniques they would not ordinarily learn in the classroom. Furthermore, students will use these skills to address important questions in muscle gene regulation. Ultimately, this TLO will provide students the opportunity to conduct independent projects that will include characterizing the regulation of genes that are expressed in muscle. The initial work for this project will occur in my laboratory at UNF during the 2012-2013 academic year. Then during spring break of 2013, in collaboration with Dr. Xiao-Fan Wang and Dr. Tso-Pang Yao, an additional phase of the project will be conducted during a one week trip to Duke University. Criteria: This TLO is open to all students, but preference will be given to students who are majors in Biology and have an interest in the biomedical field. Freshmen and Sophomore students are required to have completed General Biology I. Juniors and Senior students are required to have completed General Biology I and either Genetics, Molecular and Cell Biology, or Physiology. Students will have to participate in an interview.