Tag: IPFW

Success at IPFW’s Third Annual Community Service Fair

IPFW hosted its third annual Community Service Fair on Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. in the Walb Student Union Classic Ballroom as an effort to connect students and community members with local not-for-profit agencies.

Over 40 agencies were present at the Community Service Fair to offer students, staff and faculty members information about the various volunteer opportunities available within the community.

“Most of the agencies will take volunteers for different activities throughout the year and try to get them engaged throughout the community by volunteering and networking with the organizations they might be interested in working with now or in the future,” Casey Eisenreich, graduate assistant for the office of student life and leadership, said.

A wide variety of not-for-profit organizations and volunteer opportunities were available at the fair including Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity, Literacy Alliance, American Red Cross, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Junior Achievement and many others.

“A lot of students assume volunteer work means picking up a shovel or getting your hands dirty,” Eisenreich said. “This event allows students the opportunity to see all of the organizations that need volunteers for really diverse causes, and that there’s a fit for anyone who wants to make a difference.”

According to Eisenreich, the goals for this year’s Community Service Fair include connecting individuals with agencies they are interested in, creating awareness of the various volunteer opportunities and increasing the number of volunteers to support the not-for-profit organizations and each of their causes.

“I think all three of those goals have been met,” Kasey Price, assistant vice chancellor for student life and leadership, said. “Given that over 200 people attended the fair and were able to witness just how many opportunities there are to help the community.”

In addition to the multiple volunteer opportunities, the Community Service Fair offered free food and giveaways. The students were also able to earn a free lunch if they filled out their Community Service Fair passport by visiting 12 agency tables.

“As a Don to Don coach, I see this event bringing more community to the campus, along with the added benefit of allowing students to network with various organizations to make connections,” Hideto Tanimura, student employee for the student success and transition office, said. “It’s amazing what can sprout from just a simple hello.”

This year, the Community Service Fair was sponsored by the Office of Student Life and Leadership, the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, the Chancellor’s Council on Diversity and Career Services.

The Community Service fair is one of several events that occur during IPFW’s Diversity and Community Engagement Week, a week dedicated to promoting opportunities for community engagement and supporting IPFW’s diversity and beyond.

In addition to the Community Service Fair, IPFW will be hosting another community service event in the spring called The BIG Event. The BIG Event is a one-day service project where students, faculty, staff and alumni connect with the Fort Wayne community by volunteering a day of service for over 50 local not-for-profit agencies. This year The BIG Event will take place on April 16, 2016.

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John Kaufeld: The Perfect Storm of Talent

When walking into John Kaufeld’s office you will most likely see one of two things happening: he is working on the IPFW Chancellor’s newsletter, or working on a dozen other projects that are displayed on his computer screen.

His office is decorated with Star Wars themed Mr. Potato Head figures, Looney Toons mailing stamps, and other items that are not typically seen in someone’s office that works within a university’s head administration, and has the job title that Kaufled holds.

He reads the work he has done so far that day fact checking every little detail to make sure he has left nothing out or mistyped any key information. He fixes grammatical errors meticulously and quickly like his life depended on it.

He is the voice of IPFW. Almost everything and anything relating to news about the university goes through Kaufeld.

If anyone has a question regarding the school they are sent to talk to him, because he has all of the answers. He runs the university’s Twitter news account, creates newsletters regarding faculty achievements on campus and publishes content on his personal blogs.

John Kaufled’s experiences in life have all played a role in getting him to where he is today.

“I really enjoyed being a journalist. I liked the idea of writing,” Kaufeld said about what his interests were as a young man. “I wrote for every school newspaper at every school I was ever at, because I just found that fascinating.”

His interests in writing led to him becoming a best-selling author of the international book series “…For Dummies.” His books have sold almost 3 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 15 different languages.

His primary work focused on teaching people how to use computer software and programming. His books not only influenced readers in the U.S., but all around the world.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ball State where he first found that he had an interest in computers. During his time in college, Kaufeld said, “At one point I had seven majors. I changed my major a lot, and I ended up falling in love with computers. I found that I really enjoyed system design.”

It was through his experience of being an IT manager and working with computers in the corporate world that he was able to write his books helping people understand computers easier because he wanted to understand how and why computers worked the way they did for people. A career in computers services had to end though as Kaufeld said that he felt that “burned out” by all of the work.

Though the stress of his corporate career began to get a little too overwhelming, there was another passion that Kaufeld could go to help relieve the stress. A passion that started long before everything else.

“I was an only child… so with board games I found that I had an easier time connecting with people my age. As I got older and became a parent, I found that there were moments I was having trouble connecting with my kids, and I learned that when we were playing those games we were connecting and communicating better,” said Kaufeld about what board games have meant to him throughout his life.

That passion for board games, especially foreign board games, led Kaufeld to own and run his gaming business in Fort Wayne and writing a column in the News Sentinel newspaper. Kaufeld describes his column on his LinkedIn page as, “…gives hope to frustrated, time-stressed dads. The Dad Game gives you hands-on advice about connecting with your kids by using board games as a tool, specifically European-style board games like The Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Carcassonne. (But not Monopoly. Never, ever Monopoly. Ew.)”

Among his work in business, communications and journalism, he also does speaking seminars on the side. He is currently doing work in a concept he refers to as, “imposter syndrome.” He speaks to college students about embracing their accomplishments and ideas rather than believe that no one will care or appreciate the work they are doing. His speaking engagements are something that he sees himself doing more of in the future.

His journey to IPFW began when Kaufeld was working as a communications manager at STAR Financial Bank. Before working at the university, a friend working at IPFW asked him to join her in the social media department. Soon, he became the social media manager of the school. While working for the university, he also became a student. He was able to earn a Masters of Arts from IPFW in 2013.

In 2014, he was introduced as IPFW’s new chief communications officer.

“John is a unique professional who brings a singular set of skills, insights, and experiences to our executive team,” said Chancellor Vicky Carwein in the university’s online news letter announcing Kaufeld’s new position. “Our ability to communicate with our partners, constituents, faculty, staff, and students is a key part of IPFW’s future. John’s expertise will help us continue to grow and develop in those areas.”

Dr. Dan Tamul, who is an assistant professor in IPFW’s Department of Communication, has worked with Kaufeld before. Tamul has brought him into his journalism classes as a practice interview subject that students can use to talk to and is familiar with Kaufeld’s work.

“The kind of position he occupies here, if he were at Purdue or one of those big universities, he would have a team of people helping him, but it’s just him,” said Tamul “I’m really glad that we hired him. He is the perfect storm of all the talents and skills to do that job really well. He’s all about IPFW.”

IPFW has a published author, business man, marketing strategist, computer wizard, journalist and professional speaker in one man. His office located in Kettler Hall is open to anyone who has questions that need answered. Kaufeld can provide help to any student seeking his experience, or anyone who just wants to play some board games.

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Office of Student Affairs Working to Cut Costs and Keep Tuition Low

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW’s Office of Student Affairs has allocated $2.6 million for its operating budget for fiscal year 2015, which is 1% of the university’s budget.

The operating budget for Office of Student Affairs marks a 0.1% decrease in total expenditures compared to the previous year. The bulk of this decrease is represented by the cutback in general expenses and supplies by $28,820 in the current year.

“The Office of Student Affairs is working to cut costs where we can in order to keep IPFW’s tuition from increasing any more than it needs to,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs George McClellan said. “We are very aware that a lot of our students are working class people, so we take the cost of education very seriously.”

McClellan said the Office of Student Affairs has pursued a variety of initiatives to reduce general expenses and supplies costs by decreasing the amount of paper used, staying aggressive about negotiating service contracts with vendors, requesting prize donations to give away during orientation and finding cooperate sponsors to help fund events such as the Big Event.

The Office of Student Affairs has also been able to generate additional revenue with the help of a $1.2 million Student Support Services TRIO grant from the U.S. Department of Education. McClellan said this grant helps fund Student Support Services, the Upward Bound program and certain academic support services including academic advising, tutoring, financial aid counseling and career assessment.

In addition to keeping IPFW’s tuition low, “the Office of Student Affairs prioritizes budget spending on the departments, people and programs that contribute to student success,” McClellan said.

According the fiscal year 2016 Office of Student Affairs budget summary, 20% of the operating budget is allocated to the Department of Dean of Students and its associated programs including Services for Students with Disabilities, Peer Educators Program and the IPFW Parkview Student Assistance Program.

16% is allocated to the Department of Student Success and Transitions and its correlated programs including the Mastodon Advising Center and the Crossroads program.

15% is allocated to the Department for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and its associated programs including the Center for Women & Returning Adults, Military Student Services and the Resource Center.

The operating budget does not cover all student service programs. David Reynolds, business manager for student affairs and enrollment management, said 37% of student service fee dollars are spent on student programs and activities organized within the various departments of student affairs. Some of the programs and activities that are funded by student service fee dollars include intramural sports, the Communicator, Casa tutors and the Student Handbook.

All students pay the service fee. Student service fees for the 2015-2016 academic year for undergraduates is $12.95 per credit hour. The student service fee amount has increased by 2% since 2014-2015 academic year.

Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life and Leadership, Kasey Price, said a lot of the student service fee money goes back into student wages. The operating budget for the Office of Student Affairs increased in hourly wages by $25,017 from last year’s hourly wages, which includes payment for student labor and part-time staff.

“A lot of the positions for these student programs are filled by student workers, so the student service fee dollars end up back into the students’ pockets,” Price said.

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