Special to The American
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School students recently “ego-tripped” their way through the writings of some of the most gifted poets of the 21st Century.
A group of students got a chance to listen to recorded readings of Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, Nikki Giovanni, Eugene B. Redmond and Margaret Walker, reading respectively, “Still I Rise,” “RhythmBlues,” “We Real Cool,” “Won’t You Celebrate With Me,” “ego-tripping,” Milestones” and “Molly Means.”
Howard Rambsy II, associate professor of English language and literature and director of the Black Studies Program at SIUE, presented his Black Poetry Mixed Media Project. Students participated in an interactive experience, mixing poetry and culture. The youth used an audio device to listen to various African American poets reading their own poetry.
While students listened, they also read the poems and looked at various pictures on poster board presentations. The pictures were from the Eugene B. Redmond collection, East St. Louis Poet Laureate and retired SIUE English professor. The poster boards and plaques displayed photos, poetry and biographical information about the poets.
Project management online certificate program
Saint Louis University’s School for Professional Studies has announced the addition of a new project management online certificate program.
Designed to meet the demands faced by corporations working within the growing global market, the program provides targeted learning to enhance planning efficiency and cost containment for project-based work.
Globalization has resulted in tremendous pressure on organizations to constantly lower their cost structure. Just-in-time inventory, outsourcing, lean manufacturing and off-shoring are just a few of the better-known concepts that have become widely adopted in response to this pressure. These practices have, in turn, led to changes in the very nature of the work being performed, including those that are project-based.
“More companies are relying on project managers to oversee specific initiatives,” said Matt Grawitch, chair of the organizational studies program.
“It is important that project management professionals be able to effectively oversee all aspects of a project, from scheduling to budgeting to coordination of effort to project evaluation.”
The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.” The temporary aspect is what differentiates it from routine, operational work. Project-based work is temporary in the sense that projects have a definite life span.
“There isn’t as much ‘routine’ work these days,” adds Grawitch. “As a professional, you have to be able to provide a project plan that works and be able to follow it through to completion while staying within budget. Students in our program develop some of these competencies.”
Project management practices have spread across multiple disciplines from technology to manufacturing, real estate to construction, and from sales management to service. Through project-based learning, SLU’s project management program prepares students for the widespread application of project management standards and the broad array of fields that are employing project management professionals.
The 21-credit hour program is available as a minor in project management with a major in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree or as a stand-alone project management certificate. It is offered online or in a blended online/on-ground format.
Visit http://www.slu.edu/x36855.xml for additional information or call (314) 977-2330 or (800) 734-6736.
