Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is one of eight institutions to have faculty authors awarded PALSave Textbook Creation Grants by The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI). The grant will allow selected educators to cultivate open textbooks that are free and available online. The intent and goal of the grant is to reduce course material cost for college students. The grant was supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. Selected authors will receive up to $6,500 per project.
Jennie Mitchell, Ph.D., emeritus professor, adjunct faculty, and Trent Deckard, who is a current student in the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program, submitted their piece, “Leveraging Data Visualization to Communicate Effectively.” The textbook will allow students to prepare on data visualization when presenting to an audience.
In a release from PALNI, Mitchell shared, “Storytelling with data is not an inherent skill, and students can easily become lost in a plethora of visualization choices. In some cases, students become enamored with technology and lose sight of good design principles, leading to the likelihood that the audience will become disconnected from the story. This textbook will teach a variety of decision-making tools, including ways to visualize data to minimize complexity and maximize audience understanding. Both Trent and I are thrilled at this opportunity.”
“I am delighted that this text will help learners to determine their best options in communicating their great ideas to others,” Deckard said. “Students, practitioners and organizational members will be able to transform their messages into audience-centered and empowering messages.”
As part of the PALSave: PALNI Affordable Learning program, grants are given in two-year cohorts which overlap. Other selections include:
- “Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm, 2nd ed.” by Jennifer Abbott, Professor of Rhetoric at Wabash College, and co-authors Todd McDorman, Dean at Wabash College, and David Timmerman, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Professor of Rhetoric at Carthage College
- “Curriculum Development for Christian Ministry,” by Karen Jones, Professor of Christian Thought and Practice at Huntington University
- “The Exciting Dynamics of State and Local Government,” by Laura Merrifield Wilson, Associate Professor of History and Political Science, and co-author Greg Schufeldt, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Indianapolis
- “Leveraging Data Visualization to Communicate Effectively,” by Jennie Mitchell, Professor Emerita at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, and co-author Trent Deckard, storytelling expert and lecturer at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business
- “An Introduction to Legal Philosophy,” by Peter Murphy, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Indianapolis
- “Cultures and Civilizations of the Hispanic Countries,” by Angela Pacheco-Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Spanish at Taylor University
- “Concepts of Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research Methods,” by Cibele Webb, Associate Professor and co-authors Nicole Mentagand Lori Pajakowski, Assistant Professors, Department of Nursing Science, at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame
- “Comparative Vertebrate and Human Anatomy: Ecology, Evolution, and Function,” by Vanessa Young, Assistant Professor of Biology at St. Mary’s College, and co-authors Bill Ryerson, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, at Saint Anselm College, and Lisa Whitenack, Associate Professor, Biology, at Allegheny College
For more information about PALNI, visit their website.