Cornerstone: Building on Your Best

The Concise Edition is based on the popular Cornerstone: Building Your Best and is designed to help students transition academically and socially, empowering them to make responsible choices in college and life. The book's applied approach encourages students to look at their lives and changes with a new perspective. The new edition shows students how to become their own agent of change―to embrace it, employ strategies to turn it into a positive―and to successfully achieve their goals. The Concise Edition has four fewer chapters than the full edition, streamlining the content related to listening, communication, relationships, and wellness.

Robert M. Sherfield has been teaching public speaking, theater, and study skills and working with first-year orientation programs for over 17 years. Currently, he is Codirector of the Faculty Center of Learning and Teaching, and a professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada, teaching study skills, orientation courses, and drama.

An award-winning educator, Robb was recently named Educator of the Year at the Community College of Southern Nevada. He twice received the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award from the University of South Carolina and has received numerous other awards and nominations for outstanding classroom instruction and advisement. In 1998, 1999 and 2000, he was nominated by students for, and named to, Who's Who Among American Educators.

Robb's extensive work with student success programs includes experience with the design and implementation of these programs―including one program that was presented at the International Conference on the Freshman Year Experience in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

In addition to his coauthorship of Cornerstone: Building on Your Best, he has also coauthored Roadways to Success (Prentice Hall, 2001), the trade book 365 Things I Learned in College (Allyn & Bacon, 1996), and Capstone: Succeeding Beyond College (Prentice Hall, 2001).

Robb's interest in student success began with his own first year in college. Low SAT scores and a mediocre high school ranking denied him entrance into college. With the help of a success program, Robb was granted entrance into college, and went on to earn a doctorate and become a college faculty member. He has always been interested in the social, academic, and cultural development of students, and sees this book as his way to contribute to the positive development of first-year students across the nation.

Rhonda J. Montgomery is an Associate Professor in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has been teaching in higher education for 15 years. Rhonda has been responsible for developing and incorporating first-year orientation/study skills curricula into existing introductory courses and programs.

Currently, Rhonda is teaching a first-year orientation/ study skills course as well as hospitality education. Because she believes in the holistic development of first-year students, she volunteers to teach first-year students each semester and uses a variety of experiences such as field trips, exercises, and case studies to aid in their retention and success.

Rhonda has received several awards for her teaching and advising. She is also an active member of Phi Eta Sigma, a National Freshman Honorary Association. Rhonda is the coauthor of seven texts including Cornerstone: Building on Your Best, Roadways to Success (Prentice Hall, 2001), 365 Things I Learned in College (Allyn & Bacon, 1996) and Capstone: Succeeding Beyond College (Prentice Hall, 2001). She has also presented at The National Conference on the Freshman Year Experience and spoken extensively to first-year students and educators about building success into their curriculum.

Patricia G. Moody is Dean of the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina, where she has been a faculty member for over 20 years. An award-winning educator, Pat has been honored as Distinguished Educator of the Year at her college and as Collegiate Teacher of the Year by the National Business Education Association, and has been a top-five finalist for the Amoco Teaching Award at the University of South Carolina. In 1994, she was awarded the prestigious John Robert Gregg Award, the highest honor in her field of over 100,000 educators.

Pat frequently speaks to multiple sections of first-year students, incorporating personal development content from her trademark speech, "Fly Like an Eagle," as well as numerous strategies for building self-esteem and for achieving success in college. She also works with first-year classes on subjects such as goal setting, priority management, and diversity.

A nationally known motivation speaker, Pat has spoken in 42 states, has been invited to speak in several foreign countries, and frequently keynotes national and regional conventions. She has presented "Fly Like an Eagle" to thousands of people from Olympic athletes to corporate executives to high school students. Her topics include Thriving in the Changing Corporate Environment, Perception Is Everything: Powerful Communications Strategies, Gold Star Customer Service, and The Great Balancing Act: Managing Time at Home and at Work.

An avid sports fan, she follows Gamecock athletics and chairs the University of South Carolina Athletics Advisory Committee.