Course Happenings

Professor Bailey welcomes you to his university blog.

I want to welcome you to my Course Happenings Blog! This is the place where all of my students, colleagues, staff, and administrators can check out some of the latest activities and events associated with my major courses at ECU. In particular, I will highlight my undergraduate courses in Anthropology and my graduate courses in Public Health.

Since I have a joint appointment in two departments (Anthropology & Public Health), I felt the need to start this blog to showcase some of the special activities associated with my courses.

My undergraduate courses are:

• Cultural Anthropology – ANTH 2200
• Medical Anthropology – ANTH 3252
• Professional Development Anthropology – ANTH 4501

My graduate courses are:

• Ethnic Health & Health Disparities – MPH 6008
• Global Public Health – MPH 6007
• African American Health – MPH 6005

*Capstone Experience in Ethnic Health & Health Disparities – MPH 6009

So these are the major courses that I will be highlighting on my new blog — COURSE HAPPENINGS!!

Finally feel free to share your ideals on my blog because I want to hear from everyone who has similar interests.

Eric Bailey Professor Eric Bailey, Welcome & Greetings

My class

Mikael Lisenby

Julia Muller

Ty Holmes

Krista Dawson

Well, we finally made it! The last day of class for my Professional Development Anthropology class. After a very long spring semester in which we talked about so many practical and real-life issues related to all the students future career aspirations whether in anthropology or another related discipline, it was time for each student to share with the class what THEY WANT TO DO WITH THEIR FUTURE CAREER AFTER GRADUATING with a degree in anthropology or related discipline.

As a reminder, this Professional Development Anthropology class major course objectives for students are: (1) To recognize what type of practical skills that you have acquired through your coursework; (2) To recognize how these practical skills whether specializing in archaeology, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, medical anthropology or other anthropology subspecialties can assist you in obtaining jobs that are based in the field of anthropology or not necessarily anthropologically-related; (3) To research and learn about specific job opportunities and internships related to your area of interest; (4) To provide an opportunity for various organizations at East Carolina University to present information on practical skill building strategies to you; and (5) To provide a forum for you to learn from other students about the practical skills that you have acquired through your anthropological training.

Thirteen students presented their final projects before the entire class. One after another, each student shared their perspective on not only how they felt anthropology (or a related major) helped to find their place in the world but most importantly what they STRONGLY DESIRED AND DREAMED to do in the near future and long-term career plans.

I was THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED and DELIGHTED to hear and see each student’s final project talk. Of course, I believe that this final day showed how important this Professional Developoment Anthropology class is to each student because it gave them a framework, a road-map, a direction and practical skills to use anthropology in fulfilling their utmost career aspirations – whatever that may be!

Check out a few photos from my students and please check out my Facebook page which highlights all of the students’ Professional Development Anthropology final project talk.

Eric Bailey Julia Muller, Krista Dawson, Mikael Lisenby, Professional Development Anthropology, Professional Development Anthropology Final Projects, Ty Holmes

Anthro Alumni Lecture Award

The Audience

Dr. Bellacero

On April 24th, the 4th Annual ECU Alumni Lectures celebrated our fifth and FINAL speaker – Dr. Cynthia Bellacero! Dr. Bellacero is a 2004 (M.A) and 2001 (B.A.) graduate who received her masters and undergraduate degrees from East Carolina University. She later received her doctorate from Florida State University. Dr. Bellacero’s concentration in anthropology is Prehistoric Archaeology. Currently, Dr. Bellacero is the Department Chair for Social Sciences at Craven Community College. The title of her talk was, “From Archaeology to Administration: It Can Happen to You.”

As a reminder, the purpose of ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series is designed for former ECU anthropology students to share their expertise and experiences to current anthropology students who are preparing to graduate or who are anticipating to graduate in the next few years. We hope this lecture series creates more of a constructive, practical dialogue between recent ECU anthropology graduates with current ECU anthropology majors.

Dr. Bellacero’s lecture was informative, indepth, and enlightening as she shared her experiences in becoming a top administrator at a local community college in North Carolina. Yet before she became the Chairperson of Social Sciences at Craven Community College, Dr. Bellacero stated that when she graduated from ECU with her bachelor’s degree, there were a number of business companies interested in her because of her skills as an anthropology major. Those skills are communication skills, organization skills and the ability to work with diverse audiences. Nonetheless, Dr. Bellacero completed her masters work at ECU and then completed her doctorate work at Florida State University.

With her doctorate completed, Dr. Bellacero taught anthropology classes for several years. After these years of teaching anthropology classes, Dr. Bellacero decided to apply for the Chairperson position at Craven Community College and was selected to be the Chair.

Now as Chairperson for Social Sciences, Dr. Bellacero stated she has numerous responsiblilities and activities which include assessment of faculty, working with all types of student issues, writing grants for the college, developing collaborative initiatives with other academic institutions, coordinating yearly student abroad trips (Peru, Ireland), and planning all types of global initiatives for the college.

Finally, one of the key skills that Dr. Bellacero emphasized as her role as Chair was “Learning to Create Order.”. Creating order is a skill and strategy that all administrators and leaders must do well if they decide to make it their career. After questions from the audience (students and faculty), it was obvious that Dr. Bellacero is an outstanding administrator and leader who just so happens has an anthropological training. Thus, the title of her talk, “From Archaeology to Administration: It Can Happen to You,” was most fitting to our Anthropology Alumni lecture series and the final lecture for the year!

Eric Bailey 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture, Anthropology and Administration Skills, Becoming Chair, Create Order, Dr. Cynthia Bellacero

Receiving Award

Audience

Kyle McCandless

On April 17th, the 4th Annual ECU Alumni Lectures celebrated our fourth speaker – Kyle McCandless! Kyle McCandless is a 2012 graduate who received his masters in Anthropology. Currently, Kyle is an instructor and in a faculty training program at Gilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC – near Greensboro. The title of his talk was, “Education and the Real World: Integration and Transitions.”

As a reminder, the purpose of ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series is designed for former ECU anthropology students to share their expertise and experiences to current anthropology students who are preparing to graduate or who are anticipating to graduate in the next few years. We hope this lecture series creates more of a constructive, practical dialogue between recent ECU anthropology graduates with current ECU anthropology majors.

Kyle’s lecture was very personable, insightful and down-right practical with all of his entertaining words of wisdom. Kyle began his talk by admitting that he was a high-school drop out at the age of 16! He said he wanted to experience the real world so he began working all types of jobs particularly retail and sales jobs. After a few years of the real world, Kyle eventually got his high school degree and enrolled in community college at Gilford Technical Community College. Kyle received his biology degree and later achieved his bachelor’s degree in the fields of Classics and Archaeology. In the meantime, Kyle continued to work in all types of jobs including working at the airport and laboratory work in the medical library.

What was so fascinating about Kyle’s talk was that he STRONGLY emphasized that it was his REAL WORLD job experiences that provided him the real SKILLS to be an instructor today at Gilford Technical Community College. The SKILLS that Kyle learned from his jobs were teamwork, time management, computer knowledge, typing, and communicate effectively.

Along with emphasizing the skills that he has acquired through his life experiences, Kyle had a number of WORDS OF WISDOM or “sayings” that made his talk captivating. Here are a few of them:

“If you are not ahead, you are behind.”
“Build people up from their knowledge base.”
“Pay attention to your interaction with others.”
“Expect to use your universal skill sets.”
“Procrastinating is the dumbest way to be lazy.”
“My attitude determined my outlook.”
“Turn your obstacles into opportunities.”
“Commit to the process.”

Finally, Kyle completed his talk with the following themes: Act on your skills; Ninety-nine (99%) percent of what you will do as a professional will not be related to your discipline; and Use obstacles as opportunities. Kyle’s major themes from his talk and all of his comments were EXACTLY what the students needed to hear. Thus, the title of his talk, “Education and the Real World” Integration and Transitions,” also connected to the major themes of our ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series.

Eric Bailey 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture, ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures, Kyle McCandless, Real World Experiences, Universal Skill Sets

The audience

Daryl receiving Alumni Award

Daryl Armour

On April 10th, the 4th Annual ECU Alumni Lectures celebrated our third speaker – Daryl Armour! Daryl Armour is a 2012 graduate who received his masters in anthropology and concentration in archaeology. Currently, Daryl is an archeologist, research fellow working for Fort Bragg, NC. The title of his talk was, “My Experiences within Cultural Resource Management.”

As a reminder, the purpose of ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series is designed for former ECU anthropology students to share their experise and experiences to current anthropology students who are preparing to graduate or who are anticipating to graduate in the next few years. We hope this lecture series creates more of a constructive, practical dialogue between recent ECU anthropology graduates with current ECU anthropology majors.

Daryl’s lecture was well organized, informative and entertaining and truly highlighted the differences between CRM archaeology versus Public Archaeology. In general, Daryl talked about the field of Cultural Resource Management, CRM – The Industry, What you can expect from working in CRM, What you can expect to be paid in CRM, and his advice to students who are interested in the field of CRM.

In particular, Daryl’s advice for soon-to-be graduates was:
1. Network with Co-workers/professionals.
2. Always ask questions.
3. Always think about how to advance your skills and figure out how to bring out your talents to the table.
4. Remember your ethnics.

Finally, Daryl suggested that individuals interested in CRM should get additional training and skill development in G.I.S., Database Management; and Writing Skills. In addition, interested graduates can get information on jobs at various websites, blogs and new podcasts specifically on how to start your own CRM company. It was quite apparent that Daryl had learn alot in just a few years being in the field and that’s why his talk was an excellent opportunity for students to learn about his experience. Just as the title of his talk stated – “My Experiences within CRM.”

Eric Bailey 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture, CRM Archaeology, Cultural Resource Management, Daryl Armour, ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures, Professional Development Anthropology, Public Archaeology

Christine Andresen and Dr. Eric Bailey

Christine Andresen and the audience

Christine Andresen

On April 3rd, the 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures celebrated our second speaker – Christine Andresen! Christine is a 2007 graduate who received her bachelors in anthropology and a MA in Library science in 2010. Currently, Christine works for ECU’s Laupus library as an Instructional Design Librarian. The title of her talk was, “Anthropologist in the Library: An Unexpected Adventure.”

As a reminder, the purpose of ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series is designed for former ECU anthropology students to share their expertise and experiences to current anthropology students who are preparing to graduate or who are anticipating to graduate in the next few years. We hope this lecture series creates more of a constructive, practical dialogue between recent ECU anthrpology graduates with current ECU anthropology majors.

Christine’s lecture was precisely what the students needed to hear because Christine said that she didn’t have a specific plan to follow after graduation – it just happened. In fact, although Christine specialized in cultural anthropology (and took my Medical Anthropolgoy class a few years ago) and had hoped to travel the world using her cultural anthropology expertise, she realized that immediate opportunities with her bachelor’s degree in anthropology did not occur. She therefore had to resort to her back-up plan and take the advice from her grandmother. Her grandmother suggested that she volunteer at ECU’s library. Well, it just so happened that eventually ECU hired Christine as a liaison and instructional design librarian.

Christine’s talk was casual and informal in which she shared many of the pratical, real-life issues that many graduates face. Although her plans did not go as planned initially, she found ways to create new opportunities and skills simply by working hard in the jobs that became available to her. One thing lead to another and now she is the liasion for the Dental School and instructional design librarian. Christine is also enrolled in another graduate program to receive her second Masters. This one will be in Instructional Design Technology. With this second masters degree, Christine indicated that it will make her more of an expert in several areas and marketable because every library needs an expert to teach faculty and students about how to use the latest research data bases for their individual needs.

Ironically, I can attest to Christine’s outstanding expertise because a couple of hours after her talk to students, I was involved in a research database training session for faculty in the Belk building and guess who was the instructor — Christine along with her colleague from ECU library! What a small world and what a great outcome for our outstanding anthropology major who is working for ECU as an Instructional Design Librarian! Indeed, the title of Christine’s talk is fitting to where she is now in her career — “Anthropologist in the Library: An Unexpected Adventure.”

Check out a few photos from her talk!

Eric Bailey 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture, Christine Andresen, ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures, Instructional Design Librarian, Professional Development Anthropology

Blake Wiggs and Dr. Eric Bailey

Blake Wiggs and the audience.

Blake Wiggs

On March 20th, the 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures began with our first alumni speaker – Blake Wiggs!
Blake is a 2008 graduate who received his bachelors in anthropology and MAT in teaching (2010). Blake had worked in CRM archaeology and is now teaching in the Craven County Early College Program. The title of his talk was, “Anthropology and Education.”

As a reminder, the purpose of ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture series is designed for former ECU anthropology students to share their expertise and experiences to current anthropology students who are preparing to graduate or who are anticipating to graduate in the next few years. We hope this lecture series creates more of a constructive, practical dialogue between recent ECU anthropology graduates with current ECU anthropology majors.

Blake’s lecture was exactly the type of information that I wanted the students to hear particularly for the first lecture. Blake began his lecture with giving the audience a little exercise to find out what they perceive as the type of skills that students develop by majoring in anthropology. Interestingly, these skills that anthropology majors achieve at the end of their undergraduate training are exactly the skills that have been labeled as “21st Century Skills.”

Blake said that “21st Century Skills” are emphasized everywhere nowadays particularly in the field of education. 21st Century Skills are needed desperately by employers in every field yet a vast majority of today’s graduates do not have these necessary global skills. Fortunately for anthropology majors, students have these skills. One of the keys as Blake emphasized, “anthropology students need to be made aware that they have these skills.”

By the end of his talk, the audience could easily see how passionate Blake is about the field of education and his long-term commitment to the fields of anthropology and education. In fact, the disciplines of anthropology and education are a great fit for the 21st century!

Check out a few photos of our outstanding first speaker Blake Wiggs and later this summer, I will post a short-video of his talk. You can also check out a few more photos of the event on my professional Facebook page.

Eric Bailey 21st Century Skills, 4th Annual ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture, Blake Wiggs, ECU Anthropology Alumni Lectures, Professional Development Anthropology, Professor Eric Bailey, Spring 2013 Courses

Professional Development Class

Director Ashley, Dean Gemperline and Dr. Bailey

Dean Gemperline and Director Ashley

On February 27th, my Professional Development Anthropology class was very fortunate to receive a visit from the Graduate School. Dean Paul Gemperline and Director of Graduate Admissions Robin Ashley gave a thorough overview of the steps, procedures and major issues related to applying and going to graduate school particularly ECU’s graduate programs. It’s not often a class gets treated with a visit from our top administrators at ECU so we were very appreciative of their time and expertise.

Specifically, Dean Gemperline shared national data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to show how on average, salary levels are significantly higher and unemployment lower for individuals who achieve a graduate degree. He said that although graduate school is not for everyone, for those who want to excel and become an expert in a particular field of study along with increasing their chances for employment getting a graduate degree is a necessity.

Additionally, Director Ashley provided a detailed presentation to the class on understanding the nature of graduate school and the procedure for applying to graduate school. She highlighted several graduate programs at ECU and described the typical graduate school application. Director Ashely also talked about taking standardized exams, financing graduate school, emphasizing the five-step process of the graduate application and showing the lower cost of ECU’s graduate programs in comparison to other graduate programs.

By the end of their talk and presentation, Dean Gemperline and Director Ashley answered all the major questions from my class and helped to dispel a number of misconceptions and fears related to getting a graduate degree. Check out a few pictures from their visit.

Eric Bailey Dean Paul Gemperline, Director Robin Ashley, Dr. Eric Bailey, ECU Graduate School, Graduate School Admission Director Robin Armstrong

Dr. Eric Bailey and Jessie Langley

Jessie Langley and Professional Development Anthro class

Professional Development Anthro class

On February 20th, my Professional Development Anthropology class visited the ECU Career Center located at 701 East 5th Street – across the street from the Art building and on the corner across from the Chancellor’s house. Our host was Jessie Langley – Liaison to the Thomas Harriot College of Liberal Arts. Although not all students were able to attend, Jessie gave us a complete tour of the house and presentation which highlighted all of the major services provided by the Career Center.

In particular, Jessie talked about the new activities and direction of the Career center which truly fulfills more of the need for all students regardless of year in planning their career activities. The ECU Career Center offers comprehensive services and a variety of resources and programs designed to help each student reach their career goals. The major services include: 1. Individual Career Counseling, 2. Walk-In Counseling, 3. On-Line Job Listing – ECU CareerNET, 4. Discovery Tools (FOCUS 2), 5. Practice Interviews, 6. Class and Group Presentations, and 7. Advanced Technology and Virtual Career Services.

During her presentation, Jessie mentioned two issues that were of major importance to the class when considering future career goals. They were: (1) learn how to package yourself and (2) utilize your relevant experience to a particular job. She further emphasized that it’s not what you always do in college but it’s more in how you take advantage and accentuate the skills that best fit your career goals. Finally, she indicated that those students who are fortunate to get a job immediately after college, they often change their jobs several times during their career so it is so important to be flexible in your career choices.

Check out a few pictures from our site visit at ECU’s Career Center.

Eric Bailey Dr. Eric Bailey, Jessie Langley, Professional Development Anthropology

Here I am with Dr. Coonin after her talk to the class.

Here is the Professional Development Anthro class during our visit.

Today, my Professional Development Anthropology class visited Joyner Library to learn about using specific databases for conducting all types of anthropological research. Our host, Professor Bryna Coonin of Joyner Library Academic Services, provided an excellent overview and examples on how to use the library’s databases. We were located in the one of the computer rooms on the first floor of Joyner.

Since this Professional Development Anthropology class consist of primarily juniors and seniors, they were mostly interested in how to use the library resources once they graduated. Dr. Coonin suggested that using Google Scholar, interlibrary loan and any particular state’s Live databases can assist professionals with their future research activities.

Check out a couple of photos from our visit.

Eric Bailey Dr. Bryna Coonin, Dr. Eric Bailey, Professional Development Anthropology

Well, the spring semester 2013 is in full effect now that it’s the first week of February. I am in my regular rotation of courses for the spring semester which consist of the following courses:

1. ANTH 3252 – Medical Anthropology (DE)
2. ANTH 4501 – Professional Development Anthropology (Face-to-Face)
3. MPH 6008 – Ethnic Health and Health Disparities (DE)

The two online courses (ANTH 3252 and MPH 6008) are always challenging to teach because one is an undergraduate course and the other is a graduate course yet both require me to organize the online structure of the courses similarly. That is, I record my podcast and webcast lectures for each course – one after another each and every week. Both are live lectures in which I try to present exactly like a face-to-face lecture in the classroom. Hopefully, once each student downloads the lecture from their blackboard system, it comes across fresh, creative and similar to a regular lecture in a classroom.

Along with the three courses that I teach this semester, I organize a special lecture series for the Anthropology Department entitled, “ECU Anthropology Alumni Lecture Series.” This semester will be the fourth one. The reason why I organized this special alumni lecture series (that’s associated with my Professional Development Anthropology class) is to give undergraduate students an opportunity to listen, connect and network with the department’s graduates. This lecture series has been very successful not only for the undergradate students but also for the alumni who return to the department and share their professional expertise. It also gives the Anthropology department a chance to celebrate the achievements of our graduates so that other scholars and administrators can see that we are graduating students who are making a difference in the professional world.

Stay tuned for updates from each class this semester.

Eric Bailey Dr. Eric Bailey, Ethnic Health & Health Disparities, Medical Anthropology, Professional Development Anthropology, Spring 2013 Courses