Twigg named associate academic dean at Johnson State

Vermont Business MagazineSharon Twigg,chair of the writing and literature department at Johnson State College, has been named JSC associate academic dean in a new position that will focus on undergraduate program assessment and student retention. Twigg, interim academic dean in the 2016-17 academic year, joined the faculty in 2008. As associate academic dean, she will develop an assessment process for academic and non-academic departments to support student success.

“When assessment is done well, it provides useable information for faculty and others to improve their programs, which helps our students. I also hope to bring more professional development opportunities to faculty,” Twigg says.

“She will be responsible for identifying strategies and initiatives that will…ultimately lead to a higher percentage of students who complete their degree,” says Nolan Atkins, provost of JSC andLyndon State College, which also has an associate academic dean.

Twigg also is leading an initiative to revamp the general education curriculums at JSC and Lyndon State College while they work toward unification as Northern Vermont University onJuly 1, 2018. Lyndon and JCS recently received a grant from theDavisEducational Foundation in Yarmouth, Maine, for $224,646 over three years to support the curricular revision, which will result in onegeneral educationprogram for both campuses. The collegeswill maintain separate campuses after they unify.

OnJuly 1, 2018, Johnson State College and Lyndon State College will become Northern Vermont University, a two-campus institution of higher education that combines the best of the colleges' nationally recognized liberal arts and professional programs under a single administration. Driven by a mission to provide a high-quality, accessible, inclusive education for students in the state, the region and beyond, NVU will begin recruiting in fall 2017 for its first class starting in fall 2018.

Source:Johnson State College 9.5.2017