Volume 23, Number 3, September 3, 2003
Calendar
News Items
Singer-Songwriter Paul
Christian to Perform September 3
Singer-songwriter
Paul Christian will perform Wednesday, September 3, at 8 p.m., in the
Eagles Nest Lounge, Sahlstrom Conference Center, on the campus of the
University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). The event is free for UMC
students and open to the public for $2 admission.
The performance is sponsored by the UMC
Student Center.
Learn more at Christian’s website: <paulchristiantd.tripod.com>.
Speaker Chuck
Derry Scheduled for September 8
Chuck
Derry, co-founder of the Gender Violence Institute in Clearwater, MN,
will present “Building Positive Relationships” Monday, September 8, at
7:30 p.m. in Kiehle Auditorium. The presentation is free and open to
the public.
Earlier in the day, Derry will lead related discussions with groups of students, faculty, and staff. The schedule is as follows:
-
Noon – Brown Dining Room, open to all interested individuals
-
3 p.m. – Brown Dining Room, for Student Affairs staff members
Derry’s appearance is cosponsored by the Office for Students with Disabilities, Concerts and Lectures, Student Affairs, Student Support Services, Student Health, Residence Life, and the Student Center.
Learn more about the Gender Violence Institute at <www.letswrap.com/GVI>.
UMC Bible Study Group to Host
Country Band Laredo September 10
Regional Christian country band Laredo will perform Wednesday, September
10, at 8 p.m., in Kiehle Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the
public and is sponsored on campus by UMC Bible Study, a student
group.
Using popular country music to set the stage for common ground, Laredo introduces the concept of relationships and how they fit into a Christian view of life. The music, woven together with band members’ own personal stories, provides a venue to examine all relationships, including a relationship with God.
Learn more at the band’s website: <www.laredocountry.com>.
15-Passenger
Van Training September 24
Effective November 1, 2002
University of Minnesota policy was implemented that will not allow
administrators, faculty, staff or students to drive a 15-passenger van
unless they have completed a safety certification course. This new
policy applies to vans owned by the University or rented from an outside
source! There will be no exceptions to this policy! UMC Facilities
Management will not allow vans to be checked out unless reserved by
certified drivers.
If you have driven or may be asked to drive a 15-passenger van for your position, a class, field trip, club activity, community service or athletic event, you must complete this training.
Training is provided by Bill Roberts, Director of UM Fleet Services. He has an excellent training program full of important information for all drivers. Please arrange your schedules and register for the following sessions:
September 24, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Hill 4
or
6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Hill 4
Administrators, faculty, staff, coaches, club advisors and students, this will be the only time this training is provided during the 2003 Fall Semester!
Pre-registration is suggested, but not mandatory. You can register by contacting Tom Feiro, Environmental Health & Safety, at 281-8300 or via email at tfeiro@umn.edu.
Student Center Construction
Delayed
As most people are aware, the
construction of the new student center has been delayed. The revised
timeline now calls for construction to begin in May 2004 with completion
in June 2005. The project had originally been scheduled for bids to be
awarded in May 2003 with construction to begin immediately, but delays
pushed the bid opening back to July. Only one bid was received for the
project and that was in excess of the funds available to proceed.
A review was completed by UM Twin Cities Facilities Management staff regarding why only one contractor bid on the project and whether the plan as prepared by the architects was within the construction budget available. The findings were that the "timing" of the project was a problem and that several contractors chose not to bid because they were busy on other projects and were concerned about the delayed fall starting date and the unknown winter conditions they would face during the initial construction phase. The cost estimate by the architect was also found to be a problem with approximately a $1-2 million variance over the construction budget.
A meeting was held at UMC on August 21 with TC Facilities Management, YHR architects, and UMC staff to initiate the process of "value engineering" to reduce the cost of the project and bring it back within budget. Examples of some features deleted from the plans include: mall and rear entrance clocks ($50,000), built in roof gutter ($115,000), simplify two entrances ($30,000), simplify interior vaulted ceiling and eliminate skylights ($40,000+), eliminate crawl space and change to slab-on-grade ($170,000), and eliminate 3rd floor mechanical room storage ($50,000). Total changes resulted in reductions of approximately $700,000-$1 million. The consensus of those participating in the meeting was that with these initial changes and further refinement in the cost-reduction plan the project can be successfully completed within budget without eliminating program space.
The next step will be for the architects to make the corresponding changes to the drawings and for the project to be re-bid and awarded approximately December 1, 2003. The successful bidder will be classified as a "construction manager at-risk" and will work with the architects to insure that the building can be completed within the budget limitations.
One piece of "good
news" – we will be able to continue to use Bede Hall as a walkway this
academic year pending the scheduled demolition of the building next May.
--Bob Nelson, Student Center
Planning Committee Chairperson,
Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs/Registrar
AAC/SSS Will Now Provide
Alternative-site Testing for All Faculty
Please note this new service and
support that is now available from the Academic Assistance Center and
the Student Support Services office.
The current budget crisis has placed additional pressure on all of our facilities, faculty and staff. As a way to ease the pressure on faculty and students, the AAC will again serve as an alternate test site for exams. (Exams for students who have a documented disability will continue to be handled through Laurie Wilson.)
Faculty may use the Center as a site for general make-up exams, for remote-site testing (students taking classes from other universities via ITV) or in order to offer a more flexible testing schedule under the following conditions:
-
Testing (excluding those for students with documented disabilities) must take place at Owen 270.
-
Testing services will be available only Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
-
Only general group proctoring will be available. Students will take their exams in a large, quiet, open room, supervised by professional staff and following generally accepted testing protocols, however, students cannot be individually supervised to guarantee, for example, they have not visited another website during the exam session. If such a level of security is required, the exam should be written in a faculty member’s office.
-
Staff will not accept and assign individual passwords allowing students to access a web exam.
-
Faculty are responsible for distribution and collection of paper exams.
It is our hope that
this service will assist you in helping your students succeed.
--Doug Knowlton, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
West Nile
Virus Information
Please be aware that the
Minnesota Department of Health has stated that the West Nile Virus has
been active in the Minnesota and North Dakota area this summer. West
Nile activity is expected to continue throughout the next few weeks
until a hard frost occurs. The following measures will help reduce your
risk: use mosquito repellent, avoid outdoor exposure at dusk and dawn
(peak feeding time for mosquitoes), and wearing long sleeved shirts and
long pants. For more information please refer to the following
Minnesota Department of Health Web site <http://www.health.sate.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/westnile/index.html>.
--Stacey Grunewald, RN, Student Health Services Coordinator
Season Athletic Passes and
Fitness Center Memberships Available
Athletic Season Tickets are
available at the Business Office for all interested UMC faculty and
staff:
|
Family Pass |
$100 |
|
Adult Pass |
$45 |
|
High School Student Pass |
$20 |
We invite you to take part in Golden Eagle Athletics, and we hope to see many of you at the games this year.
Fitness Center Memberships are also available for all interested faculty and staff:
|
Membership Fees |
|
|
Single membership fee, semester |
$35.00 |
|
Single membership fee, year |
$60.00 |
|
Family membership, semester |
$50.00 |
|
Family membership, year |
$100.00 |
Please contact Shannon
Stassen, Fitness Center Coordinator, or myself regarding memberships for
the Fitness Center.
Thanks.
--Stephanie Helgeson, Interim Athletic Director
Name,
Business Card, and Directory Updates
If you need to update the
name/rank/position insert that goes in your office sign, please send the
updates to John Zak or contact him at 8394 or
jzak@umn.edu. There are some new people on staff as well as changes
in assignments and/or academic rank that should be updated.
If you need University of Minnesota business cards, contact Sue Dwyer in University Publications at 8401 or sdwyer@umn.edu.
To update your official faculty/staff online directory information, please contact Andrew Svec at 8435 or asvec@umn.edu.
An
office schedule document is attached here for your use. It is a
Word document that you can use to insert your information into and print
on your local printer.
--University Relations
Downloading and/or Sharing of Copyrighted Materials
As you may have read in the news
media, the use of computers to download and/or share music and movies is
an escalating technology and legal issue between Internet users and
copyright owners such as recording artists and the motion picture
industry. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), an
organization representing many recording industry copyright holders, is
becoming increasingly aggressive in enforcing copyrights and has
announced the intention to sue several hundred infringers in the near
future.
Please make very clear to all employees in your department or college (including student employees) that non-employment related downloading or sharing of copyrighted music and movies on University equipment is not acceptable behavior and may be subject to disciplinary actions. You can consult with your Human Resources professional regarding appropriate disciplinary actions.
Copyright laws and copyright permissions can be complicated; for example, certain situations involving academic uses present "fair use" opportunities to exercise limited exceptions to copyright restrictions. In cases where fair use or other opportunities to exercise limited exceptions to copyright restrictions are not responsible options, the University has an office dedicated to helping faculty and staff obtain such permissions when needed for their work. Their web site is <www.copyright.umn.edu/home.htm>.
If you'd like more
information or background on this issue, please see <www.umn.edu/oit/P2P-staff>.
Thank you for your assistance.
--Carol Carrier, Vice President for Human Resources, University of
Minnesota, and Steve Cawley, Associate Vice President & Chief
Information Officer, University of Minnesota
Accolades
UMC
Associate Professor Wendell Johnson and AURI’s Ed Wene and
their research work on hybrid poplar tees as an agricultural crop are
featured in this year’s edition of Research & Inventions: The
U of M Working for You, a publication of the Office of the Vice
President for Research at the University of Minnesota. The publication
was distributed at the Minnesota State Fair.
Larry
Smith of the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC),
recently celebrated his 20th anniversary of being appointed
department head of the NWROC. He is the longest serving department head
within the University of Minnesota’s College of Agriculture, Food and
Environmental Sciences (COAFES).
Special Dates
Birthdays
September 6 – Jeff Sinks
Reminder: Faculty and staff are encouraged to share well wishes for birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. with the rest of the campus. Please send items for this week’s special dates via e-mail to Andrew Svec at asvec@umn.edu and/or Sue Dwyer at sdwyer@umn.edu. Thanks.
UMC Insight
UMC Insight, the weekly radio
show about UMC, airs on KROX Radio 1260 AM Saturdays at 8:45 a.m. Tune
in Saturday, September 6, to hear an interview hosted by Andrew Svec,
UMC Director of Communications.
UMC
Bulletin
The UMC Bulletin is posted at:
<www.UMCrookston.edu/campusinfo/wkbulletin/bulletin.htm>