Photos from President Williams' Trip to Japan

Last week, Dr. Williams and family (sans Zorro) traveled to Montevallo's sister city, Echizen, Japan. They were joined by UM professors Hollie Cost and Ted Metz. Dr. Williams kept in touch with us here in Montevallo through his Twitter account, UMPrez, and posted a ton of great photos from his trip. Here are a few photos from the trip.


The UM crew meet with city officials from Echizen, Japan.


A Japanese craftsman shows how he customizes paper designs.


Dr. Williams plants one of 10 oak trees to commemorate the Montevallo-Echizen sister-city relationship.



The temple at Nara, Japan.

These photos and more can be found at Dr. William's Twitpic page.

McNair scholars' presentations, July 2nd

Dallas Hanbury, McNair scholar
Originally uploaded by carmichaellibrary

Today marks the fifth annual McNair Scholars Program Research Presentations. Most of the librarians are dividing their time between Wills and Carmichael Halls to watch our talented students present their research.

Many believe the McNair program is a bright spot for the university, a sentiment that was offered by UM President Philip Williams in his remarks this morning. The library continues to support UM's McNair scholars by pairing each student with a librarian, one of two faculty mentors who guide students through the research process.

The presentations will continue through the three o'clock hour in the Wills Hall Master classroom on the second floor.

Scenes from the Academic Success Fair

Here are a few scenes from last week's Academic Success Fair in front of Main Hall.



President Williams meets with library faculty and staff at our booth.



Patsy, Amanda, and Gloria greet students at the library booth.



A student gathers information at the library booth.



Rosemary talks up library services at the Academic Success Fair.

Once again, there's a lot more to see at our Flickr page!

UM Online Brainstorming Link

President Williams recently announced that online brainstorming is now open to all members of the UM community.

For those who haven't yet taken part, participants should assume that money is no object when answering the questions at the above link. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and any member of the general public who has an interest in the future of the University of Montevallo are encouraged to participate in the process.

In addition to the three on-campus sessions already conducted, Dr. Williams will take brainstorming on the road this summer, with sessions in different cities across the state. Be sure to check UM's website for more details.

President Williams Gets Caught Reading

Dr. Philip C. Williams was recently inaugurated as UM’s 14^th President. Carmichael Library staff caught up with Dr. Williams in his Calkins Hall office, and we asked him a few questions:

Carmichael Library: What are you reading?

Dr. Williams: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, by Jim Collins.

Carmichael Library: Why?

Dr. Williams: Because it informs the strategic planning process we will be following at UM over the next 1 ½ years.

Carmichael Library: How do you use your campus library?

Dr. Williams: There’s no one answer to that question. Librarians bring a perspective that no one else brings. I use the librarians to assist me in a number of efforts. For example, Kathy Lowe volunteered to help moderate our planning sessions. I use the Archives to learn about the history of the university. The library’s such an important place: in many ways it’s the heart and soul of the liberal arts university.

The hedgehog in the picture is Dr. William's new toy. The principle behind Good to Great is the Hedgehog Concept, in which organizations focus on the intersection of the following three qualities:

1) the product or service that leads the organization to outshine its competitors,

2) that which drives the organization's economic engine, and

3) that which the organization is passionate about.

Good to Great highlights companies that did this better than their competitors, making the leap from being good companies to being great companies.

Stay tuned for the next episode of get caught reading. BTW, we're still taking nominations for faculty you'd like to see Get Caught Reading.