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CampusMemo is published weekly during semesters and monthly in the summer for faculty and staff by the Public Affairs and Publications offices at SFSU. 415/338-1665. pubcom@sfsu.edu

Deadline for submissions is Tuesday at 5 p.m. of the week preceding publication. Send submissions to: pubnews@sfsu.edu. Please include a contact name and extension.


October 1

Volume 49, No. 7
Welcome back reception In memoriam: Joe Slowinski Benefits Faire Thursday
Colloquia of celebration Discovery Day Sunday Civic engagement symposium
Calling all faculty Social justice events Propose multicultural teaching strategies
Catastrophic leave Service learning institute Students take note
Ott to be honored Notes and reminders Academic Senate Action


Welcome back reception

The Welcome Back to Campus reception will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. today in the University Club. Curious about the new faculty and staff? Meet them, see old friends and enjoy light refreshments. The reception is co-sponsored by President Corrigan, the Office of Academic Affairs and the University Women's Association.

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In memoriam: Joe Slowinski

Joe Slowinski, a California Academy of Sciences research professor at SFSU, died Sept. 12. He was on a research expedition in Burma when he was fatally bitten by a krait, a poisonous member of the cobra family. He was 38.

While Slowinski served as associate curator of herpetology with the California Academy of Sciences, he was also an integral member of the Ecology, Systematics and Conservation Biology graduate programs at SFSU.

For two years, Slowinski advised and mentored graduate students on campus. His students were actively conducting research that combined intricate methods of molecular evolutionary biology with firsthand field research in some of the more remote areas of the world. He also served on master's thesis committees for other graduate students in the department.

"His fluency with modern approaches to evolutionary biology and his easy-going persona made him a very popular member of the graduate faculty," said Robert Patterson, a biology professor and graduate coordinator for the department. "His death leaves a great void in our program."

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Benefits Faire Thursday

The benefits open enrollment period continues through Oct. 31. This is your opportunity to make changes to your benefit plans.

Please note: employees enrolled in Aetna, Cigna, Lifeguard and Maxicare must change plans, as CalPERS will no longer offer plans associated with those health care providers.

To help with your decisions, this Thursday the Office of Human Resources presents the 20th Annual Benefits Faire from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first and second floors of the Administration building.

At the faire, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from various health plans and benefit programs, as well as representatives from Human Resources. At the benefits station, members can enroll, change, add or delete dependents with the new online, on-site computer system. For details, call the Benefits Help Line at ext. 8-1875.

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Colloquia of celebration

The College of Humanities will hold two colloquia this week to highlight outstanding teaching and scholarship. The first event will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in HUM 587 with English Professor Sandy McKay, lecturing on "The Cultural Basis of Teaching English as an International Language." Bring your lunch.

The second colloquium, "An Afternoon of Criticism and Poetry of the African Disapora," will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday in HUM 587. It will feature women studies Associate Professor Chinosole and her recently published book African Diaspora and Autobiographics. Also participating will be philosophy Professor Anatole Anton and SFSU graduate Reginald Lockett, poet and author of Party Crashers of Paradise.

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Discovery Day Sunday

Children and adults alike can explore the natural wonders of the San Francisco Bay during "Discovery Day," the annual science festival and open house at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies (RTC), from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The University's 25-acre bay-front research facility at 3150 Paradise Drive in Tiburon will open its doors for a free day of educational fun that includes marine animal touch tanks, science exhibits, live music, arts, crafts, food and more. Plenty of free parking is available.

For details on Discovery Day, call ext. 8-6063 or visit the RTC Web site at: rtc.sfsu.edu.

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Civic engagement symposium

"Challenge for Change: A Symposium on Civic Engagement" will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Jack Adams Hall of the Cesar Chavez Student Center. Leon Panetta, CEO of the Panetta Institute and former White House chief of staff with the Clinton administration, will be the keynote speaker.

The symposium will also feature alumnus Joseph Marshall, founder of the Omega Boys Club, as well as panel sessions with faculty, staff, students and other guests who are engaged in community outreach and service learning. Panel topics will include "Democracy in the Face of Conflict," "Working as Partners in Civic and Community Engagement," "Making a Difference in Real Life," and "Creating Change Through Civic Leadership and Activism."

Admission is free. For details, call ext. 8-6879.

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Calling all faculty

The deadline for voting on the proposed change in the faculty constitution has been extended to Friday, Nov. 2, because a quorum (50 percent plus 1) of eligible voting faculty has not yet been achieved. Additional ballots are available in the Academic Senate Office, ADM 551.

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Social justice events

The College of Education presents two events this week in its series on Social Justice and Equity Issues in Education. David Brightman, an editor with Jossey-Bass Publishing, will speak from noon to 2 p.m. Monday in the Cahill Laboratory, BH 321. He will discuss "Publishing As Your Contribution to the Educational Community."

Paulo Wangoola, president of Mpambo, the African Multiversity, will speak from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday on "Eurocentric Colonization and Indigenous Knowledges" in Rosa Parks Room A on the Lower Conference Level of the Cesar Chavez Student Union.

For details, call ext. 8-1497.

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Propose multicultural teaching strategies

The due date for the request for proposals to enhance multicultural teaching strategies has been changed to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8. Proposals are due to the Office of the Provost, ADM 455. If you have any questions, contact Lisa White at lwhite@sfsu.edu or ext. 8-1778.

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Catastrophic leave

The Human Resources Department is now conducting its annual drive for donations of sick leave and/or vacation leave to be placed in a "bank" for use by staff and faculty who sustain a catastrophic illness or injury. The Catastrophic Leave Program (CLP) allows employees to donate 1 to 16 hours (32 CSEA and APC) of their vacation or sick-leave credits each fiscal year to other employees who have exhausted their accrued leave credits. The donated leave may also be used for the care of an employee's immedia te family.

Each employee (or representative) must conduct an individual solicitation campaign for CLP donations. Once the employee has exhausted these personal donations, the CLP bank can provide additional leave credits.

CLP pledge forms are being distributed to the campus community through campus mail. Pledge forms are also available in the Human Resources office, ADM 252, or on the Human Resources Web site at: www.sfsu.edu/~hrwww.

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Service learning institute

The Office of Community Service Learning (OCSL) and the California Campus Compact will hold a workshop/conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Jack Adams Hall in the Student Center.

This one-day regional faculty institute will assist faculty in integrating service into an existing course or constructing a new course using service learning.

Lunch is included with the $12 registration fee. For details, contact Leisette Rodriguez at ext. 5-3809 or leis@sfsu.edu.

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Students take note

Students are invited to brush up on their note taking skills at "Taking Helpful Notes," an academic skills workshop that will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in BUS 202. The free workshop will cover listening, identifying important points and writing notes during lectures. No prior sign up is required.

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Ott to be honored

The Office of Academic Affairs invites you to join a retirement celebration for Judy Ott, who has provided 37 years of dedicated service to SFSU, most recently as curriculum coordinator in Academic Affairs. A reception will be held in her honor from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the University Club. Event coordinators request an RSVP and $5 donation to cover the cost of refreshments by Wednesday, Oct. 17 (checks payable and sent to Stephanie Schwartz, Provost's Office, ADM 455).

In lieu of gifts, Ott asks that donations be made to the Judith Anne Ott Scholarship for Graduate Students in the College of Humanities. Please make checks payable to the SFSU Foundation Inc. with a notation "Ott Scholarship," and send them to College of Humanities Dean Nancy McDermid.

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Notes and reminders

Please submit written comments on Summer Semester to the Academic Senate office, ADM 551, per a memorandum and request for information sent to all campus units. Comments will be accepted through the fall semester and forwarded to the University Ad Hoc Committee on Summer Semester Review and Assessment for consideration in its assessment report and recommendations for future Summer Semesters.

The final faculty promotion meeting will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday in ADM 352. For details, call ext. 8-1264.

The Office of Community Service Learning reminds faculty of the availability of new funding for its Community Service Learning Curriculum Development Awards program. OCSL anticipates that 10 or more awards of up to $4,500 will be available for academic year 2001-2002. Faculty must submit applications by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. Guidelines are available at department offices and OCSL. For details, contact Perla Barrientos, OCSL director, at ext. 8-3282 or barrient@sfsu.e du.

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Academic Senate Action

Announcements from Chair Pamela Vaughn:

Announcements from University Counsel Patricia Bartscher:Remarks from President Corrigan concerning events of Sept. 11:A report from Provost Tom Labelle concerning SFSU as a "destination campus":

A report from My Yarabinec speaking on behalf of Johnetta Richards and the Office of International Programs:

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