Robbins said she was inspired to title her manuscript, “Play Button,” because technology and visualization are so prevalent in today’s society.

“I liked the idea of the title having something to do with technology because that’s where everything is going these days visually,” she said. “I was hoping for the idea that the reader would, figuratively speaking, push the play button by opening the book.”

Robbins says her writing has matured since her first book of poetry, “Hope, As the World is a
Scorpion Fish,” was published by The Blackwater Press in 2008.

Dubbed the Lionheart Relay, the 12 team members took turns running in pairs for 3 miles at a time. They left Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah at 5 a.m. and arrived back in St. Augustine the following evening.

The marathon trek — which saw each runner log more than 30 miles — wasn’t for training. It was a fundraiser for Athletic Department and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is one of the NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference’s main charitable organizations. The team raised $3,500 with the run.

The Johnston family’s painful and transformative journey in 2008 began on the soccer field when Brennan Johnston fell and fractured his left femur.

The 4-year-old son of Flagler alumnus Brian Johnston spent more than two weeks in the hospital where he underwent five surgeries, three blood transfusions and several other treatments in a grueling and agonizing experience for the entire family. Yet, after all of that, doctors were still forced to amputate the boy’s leg.

Little did they know, the loss of Brennan’s leg would soon turn in to the birth of a new endeavor — one to help the Johnstons heal and to help other families do the same.

It started when Brennan was being fitted for his prosthetic leg and his therapist told him about a camp for amputees. Brennan lit up with excitement and told his dad he must go.

“I said, ‘Sure, absolutely tear it up,’ but then the therapist told us we have to wait three years because he has to be 8 to go … Brennan just sat there, deflating,” Johnston said. “I asked, ‘What do you do for younger kids?’ and their response was, ‘We tried it once and it really didn’t work … So bummer.’ ”

But Johnston, who lives in Atlanta, where he founded EVOLUTIONS total wellness center, used this obstacle as a way to transform their struggles into something worthwhile. Johnston’s idea for AMPUCAMP was ignited.

On the way home from the therapist, Johnston thought of something a character said from “Robots,” Brennan’s favorite movie.

“I asked him if he remembered that Bigweld said, ‘See a need, Fill a need,’ ” Johnston recalled. “I don’t care if you’re 2 or 102, we’ll make our own camp, and everyone can come.”

AMPUCAMP’s first event was held in in Atlanta in August 2009. The initial plan was to host four events throughout the year to bring amputees and their loved ones together. The day usually consists of a cookout, sporting events and professional counseling. Johnston said the events are mentor-mentee situations with amputees ranging from 5 to 68 years old.

AMPUCAMP enables amputees to reignite their passion for life and for all of the activities they loved to do before the procedure. Johnston said it helps people to face and relieve themselves of frustration and let go of questions like, “Why me?” or “Why would God let this happen?”

“Hopefully through the environment we provide, people will have the opportunity to explore those feelings,” he said. “You get people pulled back in, they re-engage and they continue to improve and progress from that point forward.”

And now Johnston’s dream is to expand outside of the Atlanta area.

“The goal is to AMPUCAMP the globe — basically to create an opportunity in a box, to duplicate the systems in the program,” he said.
The events also help parents, including Johnston, to establish a sense of peace about their child.

“It gives us chance to cut the umbilical cord from the parent,” Johnston said. “It was a lot tougher for me to let it go… my son was like, ‘I just want to run; I just want to play. Stop asking me about my leg.’ ”

For more, go to http://ampucamp.org.

1. It’s all about “Shen” — a serious attitude. And “Yi,” which is strength of mind with focused attention or intent.
2. Body structure is critical. You must be properly aligned, balanced and with a round shape. A straight arm is a broken arm.
3. Go with the “Flow.” That is a slow, continuous movement with your rooted feet stuck to the ground.
4. Don’t forget your “Chi” — the breath of life. Chi is a field of energy in and around you that restores and energizes. To develop it, start with long, slow, deep, smooth, even breaths.
5. Over time you will develop your agility, flexibility and strength, leading to low stress, great sleeping and a very healthy body and mind.

It isn’t often that you find a business professor teaching Shakespeare. Or an English professor talking to college freshmen about Spanish Renaissance architecture.

But step into a Keystone Seminar class — a required freshman course that is replacing composition classes — and that’s exactly what you will find. The seminar is designed to bring different teaching backgrounds to a class that goes beyond mere writing and reading. Instead, the aim is to do something college professors say students aren’t doing enough of: thinking.

“[With the keystone seminar] the goal is to establish a culture of reading, writing, thinking, engaging and talking,” said Professor Doug McFarland, who headed up the seminar in 2010-11. “They’re going to encounter that in their first year.”

The class is a far cry from typical composition classes with standard essay exercises. Students might have to look at a John Locke essay on government. Instead of being told about U.S. government, they have to work through the text and then analyze what it means to be a citizen of this country. McFarland said they want them to engage issues, think through what they mean and then express themselves in writing.

“What we’re trying to do is cultivate in them a questioning attitude and a passion for learning,” said Dr. Hugh Marlowe, an associate professor of philosophy who is taking over as director of the Keystone Seminar. “Of course we want them to learn some Rousseau, learn some Locke, but really what we’re trying to do is inspire them to ask some questions they’ve never asked before.”

Advancing Academics
The Keystone Seminar is just one example of how academics at Flagler has changed dramatically the past several years. This has included new programs of study like a math minor, new faculty, beefing up science courses and labs, and even a rewrite of the general education program — core classes that make up freshman and sophomore schedules. Until recently there had been no major changes to the general education program in 30 years.

“The [general education] requirements are more challenging and there is a great deal more writing required of students,” said McFarland, who helped implement the changes.

And there is more to come. The president and Board of Trustees recently approved an academic strategic plan, and Flagler is also launching a “First Year Experience” initiative that will seek to improve all facets of a student’s first year at the college.

“The last five years on the academics side, it’s been astonishing the amount of transformation,” said Dr. Art Vanden Houten, an associate professor of political science who is leading the First Year Experience with Student Services Dean Dan Stewart.

“It’s extraordinary to think of all the change that’s underway,” Vanden Houten said.  

Academics Dean Alan Woolfolk believes the First Year Experience, called Foundations of Excellence, will make a major difference for students. “The goal is to improve student retention,” he said. “This will look at how all the parts — from registration and orientation to classes — relate. We’ll be studying everything from bill paying to advising. It’s time to look at the whole experience.”

Woolfolk, who has been with the college for a little over three years, said all the changes taking place will help further the strong academic foundation that was already in place. He credits the college’s Faculty Senate with being a catalyst for many of the changes, and believes the new strategic plan will continue to push academics forward.

“I think Flagler has done a fantastic job on developing the physical side,” Woolfolk said. “The goal of the academic strategic plan was to put emphasis on the education side.”

Chaired by Marlowe, the plan sets out numerous proposals covering everything from what classrooms should look like to establishing new academic programs.

Changing how students learn
Marlowe said the academic strategic plan and adoption of the keystone seminar are great examples of how academics are not only changing at Flagler, but also changing how students learn.

He said part of a liberal arts college experience should be helping students better understand issues and why they believe the things they do by “working through a process of scrutiny and self-reflection.”

He said the first year of the seminar under McFarland was a success, and now all freshmen — more than 500 — are going through them.

The theme of the seminar has been the idea of the civilized and primitive worlds coming together. This ties in well with the history of St. Augustine from its Native American period through the arrival of the Spanish to Henry Flagler’s opulent hotel that today is the centerpiece of the college.

Building on the past
Woolfolk said the ultimate goal is to raise the level of academic challenge at the college.

“Part of my aim is to develop some programs that are highly distinctive,” he said. “To begin the discussion of where [academically] we want to go.”

But everyone involved agrees that the changes don’t break with what made the college successful in the past.

“What we’re trying to keep intact is how well Flagler has helped to transform the lives of its students,” Marlowe said. “You don’t ever want to change in a way that you lose that.”

Vanden Houten credits a lot of the academic changes to Woolfolk, as well as faculty who have worked on general education revisions, the academic strategic plan, the Faculty Senate or other initiatives.

“The college has laid a tremendous foundation and there’s an opportunity to continue that advancement and growth,” he said. “We’re not standing on our heels. We’re moving forward.”

What does it mean?
Flagler has seen some dramatic changes on the academic front the past several years, and there are more to come. Here is a sampler of some of the terms you might hear on campus in academic circles:

Foundations of Excellence First-Year initiative:
This new program, which promotes first-year students’ engagement with the college, is kicking off this year. It is being developed in collaboration with the John N. Gardner Institute and will evolve into a plan that covers every facet of a new student’s experience at Flagler.

Academic Strategic Plan:
Approved in the spring of 2011 by the Board of Trustees, the plan lays out 53 specific proposals developed by a faculty-led Academic Strategic Planning Committee. Proposals range from increasing the number of full-time faculty and improving classrooms to developing new majors like environmental science, public history or international studies.

Keystone Seminar:
Drawing upon materials from a variety of disciplines, this freshman course replaced composition. It investigates cultural identity and communal values with particular attention paid to the European encounter with the indigenous cultures of America, as well as the underpinnings of the architecture of the Flagler campus.

Ignite Learning Communities:
To improve the transition from high school to college, Flagler developed these clusters of courses designed around a central, interdisciplinary theme with each class attended by the same group of students. Focusing on active and collaborative learning, students engage themselves and each other in the learning process while also participating together in co-curricular activities and campus events.

It was once a grand, sunlit gathering space for Ponce de Leon hotel guests. In the college’s early days it served as a one-of-a-kind library and occasional classroom.

Now it’s been closed off for nearly 40 years and with its locked doors and stacks of old furniture, has become the subject of speculation by many Flagler students over the years. But now the Solarium is getting a second chance as the college plans to start renovations of the gorgeous domed area above the Rotunda.

The mysterious fourth floor
Few remember the days when the college’s Solarium was open for student use. In fact, it was used as the library in only the earliest days of the college before it was closed due to safety concerns.

When alumna Linda (Hall) Mignon, ’71, was a theatre arts major in the early 70s, she had a class with Tom Rahner under the Solarium’s soaring dome.

Mignon recalled Rahner telling his class to lie down on the floor and pick a spot on the ceiling. He then told them to stare at that spot and not to think about anything.

“I think I held out for 30 seconds,” Mignon said.

It took a recent trip to the Solarium for Mignon to remember even having been up there. She barely remembered the fourth floor at all.

In those days, just a handful of classes were held in the area, and the Gargoyle — the student newspaper — had its office down a narrow corridor on the east wing off the solarium. But its main use was the library — until it had to be closed for lack of a proper fire escape route.

Flagler College President William T. Abare Jr. remembers moving the books from the Solarium to what is today the Flagler Room.

“We formed a human chain to move the books,” he said. “Each book in the library was handed down individually. We didn’t use carts to move them en masse.” Once the books were relocated, the Solarium was closed off.

Over the years, the Solarium and its winding east corridor have become almost legend in Flagler College lore. By the time Kirk Damato, ‘01, was arts and entertainment editor for the Gargoyle in 2001, it was too tantalizing to pass up. He managed to tag along with some friends on a rare “authorized” trip to the fourth floor for a bit of exploring.

“Oh, of course, the forbidden floor was a place I’d always wanted to see,” he said. “I remember it being a lot more open than one would expect.”

When he found an old bulletin board in what used to be the Gargoyle office, he carved his name and the date into the aging cork. But much like Mignon, he barely remembers being in the Solarium. The board, which has since been relocated to the Gargoyle office in the Proctor Library, still bears his name.

“I absolutely didn’t remember carving my name on that bulletin board,” he said. “I was pretty shocked, actually, to see it.”

Henry Flagler’s vision, reinvented
Once renovations are complete, the Solarium and its surrounding rooftop terraces won’t be so mysterious, but the views will be striking.

The domed Solarium rises above the St. Augustine skyline as the centerpiece of Ponce de Leon Hall – today a National Historic Landmark. When Henry Flagler built his Gilded Age hotel in the nation’s oldest city in 1888, it served as a winter haven for the nation’s elite. The Solarium was one of many gathering places inside the hotel, but this one provided unparalleled, panoramic views of the city, and that will be a focal point of the renovation.

The space will be restored to much of its previous grandeur, along with some modern conveniences. The idea is for limited special events to be hosted there, along with the accompanying east and west terraces. Rooms to the east of the dome will also be given a new life.

Because of the historic nature of the structure, plans for its renovation and ultimate use are still tentative. But Abare says he hopes to host special events in the area once it’s complete.

The Solarium itself is quite different from the other parts of the former hotel. The large floor-to-ceiling windows on all four sides allow light to pour in. The center of the room is flanked with eight square columns, supporting vaulted walls, leading to a ribbed, wooden ceiling.

The design of the Solarium both encloses the space, bathing visitors with light and warmth, and, simultaneously, invites their exploration of the large roof terraces outside.

Board of Trustees member Delores Lastinger and her husband, Allen, have already committed a $500,000 challenge gift to the project.

The Lastingers have long been committed to historic preservation through philanthropy. Delores called the project a perfect fit because of her and Allen’s interest in Florida and St. Augustine history.

“It has been, and will once again become, one of the many jewels of the original Ponce de Leon,” she said.

The college has already matched the first $100,000 of the Lastinger’s donation and will match the full amount. This gift helped to kick off a full-fledged campaign to raise money for the Solarium renovation.

“The Solarium and fourth floor are the last major spaces of Ponce de Leon Hall to be restored and would truly be the crowning achievement in preserving Flagler’s heritage,” said F. Mark Whittaker, vice president of Institutional Advancement.

Celebrating the Ponce
The restoration is scheduled to be complete by 2013, just in time for a year-long celebration of the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Hotel Ponce de Leon.

The college has kicked off a major fundraising campaign to help advance the restoration efforts.

Naming opportunities in the Solarium range from $10,000 to $500,000, each of which can be pledged over a period of five years.

Visit www.flagler.edu/support-our-vision for more information or call (904) 819-6437.

Armstrong, who already carried the title of retired professional, spent the past 13 years in the communication department sharing stories of his reporting days withstudents.

“For more than 30 years I had worked in front of the camera and behind the microphone for an audience that I never saw … Teaching is entirely different,” said Armstrong. He is a former reporter and senior correspondent for CBS News who has written eight books.

Armstrong never understood why his father loved mentoring as a hockey coach. “He often told me how rewarding and gratifying that was,” he said.

“While I was doing the news I never really understood. I do now.”

Horner, who was an English professor and known for his animated, enthusiastic, even overly excited teaching style, spent 22 years at Flagler. “I just didn’t feel pulled toward other colleges,” Horner said. “I did not feel the spell that cast itself upon me like gravity; it kept pulling me to my home.”

Horner’s experiences with bullies led him to write, “A Hole In the Wind.” The novel is set around the sport of bike racing where one racer struggles with feelings of loneliness and frustration. But the novel culminates with an experience that makes him ultimately feel wanted and alive.

As he moves on, Horner will miss “students who cared about learning. Not merely about earning, but about grappling for insight, for evidence and for analysis.” With his newfound freedom, Horner plans to spend his time writing and bicycling.

Eide, an associate professor of education, joined Flagler in 1997. Eide says one of her fondest memories at Flagler was with another former English professor, Dr. Frances Farrell. One of the greatest pieces of wisdom Farrell gave to her was, “Life’s too short. Eat dessert first.”

Eide, who just moved to Utah, is going to miss the close-knit feel Flagler offered. “I fell in love with the community. There’s always something to do, always someone to do things with, and always people there to support you and to help you out if you needed anything,” she said. “That’s hard to get started when you go into a new community.”

The reorganization models many other colleges and universities where career services is under student affairs/services offices. The transition will include a restructuring to offer more support to students in their career search, as well as graduate school selections.   

“I’m extremely excited about the position,” Nelson said. “I have a passion for helping people find their career paths and I’m thrilled to focus on it full time. It’s a difficult time to find a job right now and knowing the right steps to take is essential.”

She will oversee major changes to the college’s existing career program in order to make it more comprehensive for students and focused on careers or graduate school.

Flagler College-Tallahassee has more than 480 students with degrees including business administration, accounting, elementary education and elementary education/exceptional student education.

Parks earned his Ed.D. in adult and career education from Valdosta State University in Georgia, and has also served as assistant academic dean at the Valdosta campus of Georgia Military College.

This year’s champion was Texas State University – San Marcos. First runner-up was Drury University, and Syracuse University finished as third runner-up.

More than 170 teams competed at the national competition after moving on from 12 regional competitions this spring.

Emily Marcellus, president of Flagler SIFE, said this year’s theme for the competition was “To Empower the People in Hastings to Empower Themselves.”

“This year, our goal was to bring the town of Hastings back to life socially, economically and environmentally,” Marcellus said.

The team has been working on several projects this year including Opportunities Unlimited, Conservation Cadets and Containers for a Cause. The containers project is a shipping container the team renovated into a living space.

Flagler SIFE has competed in the final four several times before. The group won the national title in 2004 and 2009, and came in second in the world in 2005. Worldwide, SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial skills and business ethics.