Weekly Bulletin

Sabbatical leave applications

Applications for sabbatical leaves for the 2003-04 academic year are due in department offices by Friday, Nov. 8.

Nominations open for Outstanding Academic Advisor Awards

Each year, the University recognizes Outstanding Academic Advisors on campus. This year, two individuals will be honored with the prize. One of the two awards is reserved for a faculty advisor; the second may be given to a faculty member or a staff member.

The Nominating Committee for the 2002-2003 Outstanding Academic Advisor Award invites all students, faculty, staff and alumni to nominate academic advisors whose practices distinguish them from other advisors. The characteristics of an outstanding advisor include but are not limited to:
Building strong relationships with students; monitoring students' progress toward academic and career goals; making appropriate referrals; knowing and understanding institutional regulations, policies and procedures.

The winners of the Outstanding Academic Advisor Awards will receive $3,000. The winners will be announced and the awards presented in May.

Nominations of faculty and staff who advise undergraduate students should be submitted to Outstanding Academic Advisor Award Committee, Office of the Provost, 362 Whitmore Administration Building.

Nominations may be made in writing, by phone (5-2554), or by e-mail (gjones@ provost.umass.edu) by Friday, Nov. 15.

When a nomination is received, the nominee's department head will be notified. If the department head supports the nomination, a package of materials will be requested for submission to the committee. Supporting materials are due on or before Dec. 20.

University Without Walls schedules information sessions

The University Without Walls program is hosting on-campus information sessions for prospective students through the end of December.

The sessions will be held Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 5 p.m.; and Thursday, Dec. 19 at 5 p.m. The information sessions are free and open to the public and usually last for about one hour. Anyone interested in attending may reserve a seat by calling the UWW office at 5-1378.

UWW is a degree program designed to enable adult students to complete a bachelor's degree through a combination of traditional course work, independent study, and credit for prior learning. The program offers solid academic advising services to all students and provides three foundation courses for students to design individualized degree plans and earn college credit for life experience.

Courses required by the program are generally offered on weekday evenings, as well as during weekday hours, to accommodate working adults. There is also a weekends program offered each fall semester which enables new students to complete the first two required courses by attending classes one weekend a month, using the Internet to communicate and do research in between class meetings.

The next application deadline is April 15 for fall 2003 admission. Arrangements for an individual session may be made by calling the UWW office if the dates and times given here are inconvenient.

Pre-registration alert issued by Pre-Major Advising Services

All faculty and advisors are asked to remind undergraduates in their classes and departments that pre-registration for spring 2003 will take place between Nov. 14 and Dec. 3.

With the new SPIRE System, pre-registration for spring semester courses will be confirmed and online. If students have not received their logon information (username and password) in the mail by now, they should go in person with a photo ID to the OIT Help Desk in A107 Lederle.

Pre-Major Advising Services recommends that students make appointments to meet with their advisors early to discuss their spring schedules. Registering for courses at the beginning of their access period is advised to assure the best course selection.

Veterans' Day holiday

Veterans' Day will be observed as a state holiday on Monday, Nov. 11. Most University offices will be closed.

Faculty Senate meeting

The Faculty Senate's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 14 at 3:30 p.m. in 227 Herter Hall.

Rep. Story schedules district office hours

Rep. Ellen Story (D-Amherst) is holding district office hours on Friday, Nov. 8, 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst.

The hours are set aside for residents to talk to Story about ideas or concerns related to state government programs or legislative matters. No appointments are needed.

Story can be reached locally at 256-6300. Story can also be contacted in Boston at (617) 722-2692 or by e-mail (Rep.EllenStory @hou.state.ma.us). The mailing address is Room 167, State House, Boston MA 02133. Her district aide, Jan Klausner-Wise, can be contacted at 253-3690.

Big Friday

Biweekly paychecks for the period covering Oct. 20 to Nov. 2 will be issued Friday, Nov. 8.

Young children needed for Exercise Science research

The Exercise Science Department is seeking children ages 3-5 for a research project. The study requires children to be observed while at play for approximately one hour, and to wear an activity monitor. Participants will receive $50.

For information, contact Sara at 5-1583 or by e-mail (spragluski@yahoo.com).

Retired Professional Staff meet Nov. 20

The next meeting of the Retired Professional Staff will be Wednesday, Nov. 20, 10-11:45 a.m. in 805 Lincoln Campus Center. Representatives from the Polus Center for Social Economic Development will describe projects dealing with prosthetic outreach.

The retired staff group will hold its holiday luncheon on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the University Club. The cost is $15 per person. Call Dorothy Bridges at 549-5095 for more details.

Prior to the luncheon at 9:45 a.m., there will be a meeting with Chancellor John Lombardi, who will share his vision for the campus.

Franklin County Publications Archives indexers lead workshop

Librarian Barbara Stewart and Web application developer Michael Muller will present a workshop entitled "Indexing the Franklin County Publications Archive Index: or How to Combine a Love of Old Newspapers, Local History, Full-Text Indexing and the World Wide Web" on Tuesday, Nov. 26 from 3-4:30 p.m. in the Calipari Room of the Du Bois Library.

A humorous look at the process of creating a full-text index of the Greenfield Gazette and Courier, starting in 1870, the workshop will include an actual indexing session led by Stewart, who will explain the selection of index terms, the use of a text editor and the submission of the selected terms to the archive.

Muller will then demonstrate the search capabilities of the database, as well as other features of the site, including the interactive possibilities between site visitors.

Historians and genealogists may be especially interested in this presentation.
RSVP to Barbara Stewart (stew@library.umass.edu) or 7-2634 by Nov. 15.

Dacko, Whipple to speak at Sports Luncheon

Women's basketball coach Marnie Dacko and football coach Mark Whipple will be the featured speakers at the Weekly Sports Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at noon in 1009 Lincoln Campus Center.

The buffet lunch is $6.50. Call 5-4289 for reservations.

Adrion to talk about NSF funding

Computer Science professor Rick Adrion will be giving a talk on "Funding Your Research from The National Science Foundation" on Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 2-4 p.m. in 101 Lincoln Campus Center.

Adrion, who is a NSF senior advisor, will discuss the NSF multidisciplinary priority areas and how to improve one's chances of receiving funding.

All are welcome to attend.