Volume 56, Number 5    September 15, 2008         

Academic Technology's media distribution and support services
The faculty service desk for academic technology's media distribution and support, where faculty can reserve and check out media and audiovisual equipment, will remain open until further notice despite limited access to the basement of the Library. Faculty are required to use the elevator on the first floor of the Library to access the basement to obtain these services. When faculty are no longer allowed to access the basement, Academic Technology will establish a temporary satellite location on the main floor of the Library. Faculty may experience delays retrieving equipment during this time so please plan ahead and allow ample time to navigate this temporary solution. Cablecast services are expected to continue without disruption. For up-to-date information, check the AT Web site at http://academic.sfsu.edu/ar/at/ and look for signage on the ground floor of the Library.

Library reserve services temporary closure and relocation
To move the Library's reserve book room services from the ground floor of the Library to HSS, as announced in last week's CampusMemo, the service will be closed from noon on Sept. 15 through Sept. 16. Access to electronic reserves will not be affected. Books and other items on reserve will be available for checkout in HSS 102 beginning at 8 a.m. on Sept. 17. During the move, telephone and e-mail communications may be delayed. Reserve services hours in HSS starting Sept. 17 will be: Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please direct any questions or concerns to LaVonne Jacobsen at ext. 8-6953 or lavonne@sfsu.edu and inform your students of these changes to the location of Reserve Services. Visit www.sfsu.edu/newlibrary for up-to-date information about the relocation of services and the Library project.

Benefits open enrollment begins Sept. 15
From Sept. 15 through Oct. 17, faculty and staff may enroll in or make changes to health, dental and vision plans, FlexCash, Dependent Care (DCRA) and Health Care Reimbursement (HCRA). Forms must be received by Oct. 17. Changes made during open enrollment will go into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Employees currently enrolled in DCRA and HCRA programs must re-enroll for the 2009 year during this open enrollment period. For more information, contact the benefits and retirement services unit at ext. 8-1875 or visit the Human Resources, Safety and Risk Management Web site at www.sfsu.edu/~hrwww

Celebrate faculty tenure, promotion
A campus-wide celebration to honor faculty granted tenure or promoted this year will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Towers Conference Center. The faculty tenure and promotions list is available at http://academic.sfsu.edu/CMS_uploads/files/27faff-462.pdf

Academic Senate
The following is a summary of action items from the Academic Senate's Sept. 9 meeting.

• Elected Genie Stowers, public administration department director; Sudip Chattopadhyay, associate professor of economics; and Harvey "Skip" Davis, assistant professor of nursing, to the University Budget Committee
• Heard a presentation on Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation Review (WASC) from Associate Vice President of Academic Planning and Educational Effectiveness Linda Buckley
• Approved a resolution in support of the WASC proposal
• Heard a proposal for a resolution on suspension of general education curriculum revisions, first reading. This item will return in second reading Sept. 23.
• Heard a proposal for revision to the repeat of courses policy. This item will return in second reading Sept. 23.
• Approved the 2008-09 standing committee assignments

This week in Insiders: Artwork by Danielle Mysliwiec, assistant professor of art, are included in an exhibition in New York and Associate Professor of Design and Industry Martin Linder presents a paper at the Industrial Design Society of America National Conference.

Read Insiders: www.sfsu.edu/~news/cmemo/fall08/sept15insiders.htm

This week in Newsmakers: Professor of Secondary Education Mark Phillips discusses the presidential candidates' views on fixing education, Professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Betsy Blosser discusses a student trip abroad, and Andrei Tsygankov, professor of international relations, comments on the presidential candidates' approach to Russia.     

Read Newsmakers: www.sfsu.edu/~news/cmemo/fall08/sept15news.html

Monday
Leaving Afghanistan
Sorbonne University Professor Gilles Dorronsoro will discuss the war in Afghanistan during a lecture on Monday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in HUM 587. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nicole Watts, assistant professor of political science, at nfwatts@sfsu.edu

Tuesday
'Gotham Glory' piano concert
Marc Peloquin performs piano works by Pulitzer Prize winning composer David del Tredici in a concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Knuth Hall, Creative Arts building. Admission is $10 general and $5 for students and seniors. Proceeds benefit the School of Music and Dance Scholarship Fund. For details and tickets, visit http://creativearts.sfsu.edu or call the box office at ext. 8-2467.

Examining Jewish culture through food
Donny Inbar, director of culture and events at The Israel Center, will deliver the talk "Just a Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Gefilte Fish Go Wild: Secret Ingredients that Stir the Politics of Jewish Identity" Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in HUM 415. Inbar will explore Jewish culinary identity issues in Eastern Europe, North Africa and Israel through a variety of sources. For more information, contact the department of Jewish studies at ext. 8-6075.

Wednesday
Examining 'heterogenius' classrooms
A screening of "'Heterogenius' Classrooms: Universal Math and Science Acceleration for All" Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. in BH 42. The film examines whether high school algebra, physics and chemistry teachers are reaching students with a wide range of academic skills so that all students are challenged with the same college-bound, single-track curricula. For more information, contact Assistant Professor of Secondary Education Maika Watanabe at watanabe@sfsu.edu

Discussing the economy and the environment
Associate Professor of Sociology Chris Bettinger, Professor of Environmental Studies Glenn Fieldman and Associate Professor of Economics Michael Potepan will discuss "The Economy and the Environment" Wednesday from 7:15 to 8:55 p.m. in Jack Adams Hall, Cesar Chavez Student Center. The discussion is part of the BSS 275 public lecture series, which examines issues around the presidential race. For more information, visit www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy08/005.html

Thursday
Nonresident alien taxation workshops
Internal Audit will conduct a workshop on nonresident alien taxation Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the NEC Room of the fifth floor of the Administration building. The workshop will provide an overview of nonresident alien taxation issues, including what it is, why we have to comply, risks for non-compliance, federal and state tax withholding rates and revised procedures and forms all departments must use when making payments to nonresident aliens. To register, contact Irene Donner at ext. 8-2763 or idonner@sfsu.edu  

Coming Up
Art department Faculty Exhibition
The 2008 SF State Art Department Faculty Exhibition opens Sept. 23, in the Fine Arts Gallery (Fine Arts building), featuring ceramics, photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, textiles, sculpture, video and multimedia installation. The opening reception is from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 23. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Tuesdays to Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m. The exhibit closes Nov. 8. For details, call ext. 8-6535 or visit http://gallery.sfsu.edu

'Windows in and out' reception
A reception for "Windows in and Out: Ceramic Wall Sculptures," an exhibit on display at the first floor lobby of the Administration building, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Sept. 24. The exhibit features works by Tiffany Schmierer, an SF State alumna who earned her M.F.A. from the Art Department. Admission is free. For details, call ext. 8-2176 or visit www.tiffanyschmierer.com

Sexuality and social change lecture
The second John H. Gagnon distinguished lecture on sexuality, modernity and change will feature Columbia University Professor Richard Parker's lecture "Reinventing Sexual Scripts: Sexuality and Social Change in the 21st Century." The event takes place Sept. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Downtown Campus. The event is sponsored by the Department of Sexuality Studies, the National Sexuality Resource Center and the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality. To RSVP for the lecture, contact hmsxdept@sfsu.edu

'Rubber Boots on the Red Carpet'
The premiere of "Recognize Her Strengths, Encourage Her Dreams," a documentary film about the Tall Ship Semester for Girls, an empowerment program of the Tall Ship Education Academy based in SF State's Recreation, Parks and Tourism Department, will take place Sept. 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Delancey Street Foundation Screening Room, 600 Embarcadero, San Francisco. Tickets are $45. For more information about the premiere and reception, visit www.tallshipacademy.org; http://www.eventbee.com/view/rubberboots/event?eventid=50651 or call ext. 5-3703.

CTFD critical thinking workshop
Meg Gorzycki, faculty development consultant for the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development, leads a workshop on critical thinking for the classroom on Sept. 25 from 3 to 5 p.m., BH 229. Explore the meaning of critical thinking, the challenges it presents to instructors and identify specific strategies to integrate critical thinking skills into existing curriculum. Reserve a spot by calling ext. 8-6456, e-mailing ctfdreg@sfsu.edu or enrolling online through POWER at http://power.sfsu.edu. For a full workshop schedule, visit the center's Web site at http://ctfd.sfsu.edu/workshops.htm

BSS faculty research series
The first installment of the 2008 BSS Faculty Research Series features Associate Professor of Political Science Francis Neely presenting "Affect, Partisanship and Voting Behavior in the United States," on Sept. 25 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in HSS 361. For more information, contact Kathy Johnson at kathyjoh@sfsu.edu

27th annual benefits fair
To provide faculty and staff with valuable information, resources, and tools to make positive health choices, the Office of Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management presents its annual benefits fair Oct. 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Jack Adams Hall in the Cesar Chavez Student Center. This year's fair includes: more than 30 exhibitors from the healthcare, fitness, investment, insurance and mortgage industries; and blood pressure checks, posture analysis, and body mass analysis and flexibility testing. 

Celebrate nursing at SF State
On Oct. 1, the campus community is invited to tour the Nursing Department's new Technology Learning Classrooms and attend a talk on the future of nursing education. The talk, led by executive officer from the Board of Registered Nursing and SF State alumna Ruth Ann Terry, MPH, RN, takes place at 1:30 p.m. in the Seven Hills Conference Center. The TLC tour begins at 3 p.m. in Burk Hall. For more information, visit www.nursing.sfsu.edu or contact Jennifer Pereira at ext. 8-0926 or jcp@sfsu.edu

Discussing Mexican activists
The campus community is invited to join Raza Studies students and faculty Oct. 2 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ES/PSY 116, for a discussion and slide presentation about the Mexican activists and community based service organizations they visited during this summer's Mexico Solidarity Tour.  Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Teresa Carrillo at ext. 8-3028 or tisa@sfsu.edu

Just-in-time teaching session
Professor of Geosciences Karen Grove leads the workshop "Just-in-time Teaching" Oct. 9 from 3 to 5 p.m. in BH 229. The session will discuss the advantages of using course management software to help students better prepare for classes. To register, contact CTFD at ext. 8-6456, ctfdreg@sfsu.edu or through POWER at http://power.sfsu.edu

For more upcoming events, see the University Calendar

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 415/338-1111
Last modified Sept. 15, 2008 by University Communications.