Volume 56, Number 2    August 25 , 2008         

Opening faculty meeting to be held Aug. 25
The fall faculty meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Aug. 25 in the McKenna Theatre of the Creative Arts building. The meeting will feature remarks by SF State President Robert A. Corrigan, Academic Senate Chair Shawn Whalen and Provost John Gemello. The agenda will also include the University’s Distinguished Faculty Awards for excellence in teaching, research and service. The Distinguished Faculty Awards comprise the $5,000 Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award sponsored by the Sarlo Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, the $4,000 Excellence in Research Award and the $4,000 Excellence in Service Award, both sponsored by SF State. A breakfast reception begins at 8:15 a.m. in CA 153. New faculty members will also be introduced during the meeting.

Daw named dean of the College of Creative Arts
SF State has hired Kurt Daw as its new dean of the College of Creative Arts. Daw, who comes to SF State from State University of New York at New Paltz, began the position Aug. 15. Throughout his artistic career, Daw has built a reputation as an effective promoter of the arts. Just out of graduate school in the 1980s, Daw and his wife Hillary Hight started the Public Opera of Dallas. Later, at Kennesaw State University, Daw pieced together a theatre department class by class, fundraising and helping the arts take root. "I think of myself as an arts entrepreneur," Daw said. "I find the process of building teams and assembling talent to be really exciting. I love that feeling of watching things grow that you create." Daw has also served in several other leadership positions, including one year as an American Council on Education Fellow, and two terms as president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the nation's largest association for theatre arts and performance studies, faculty members and academic departments.

Welcome new members of the SF State community
Faculty and staff are invited to visit with colleagues and welcome new faculty, staff and administrators to campus with a celebration Sept. 11 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Nob Hill Room, Seven Hills Conference Center. The celebration is sponsored by President Robert A. Corrigan, the Office of Academic Affairs and the University Women's Association. Recipients of the University Women's Association scholarships will be honored at the reception. Refreshments will be served.

New tenure-track faculty
More than 40 new tenure-track faculty members are joining SF State this fall, representing a variety of teaching and research interests and academic backgrounds. Brief profiles of new faculty members are available at: www.sfsu.edu/~news/cmemo/fall08/newfaculty08.htm

Library project update
Though the J. Paul Leonard Library expansion and renovation project is visibly underway, the Library building remains open for use during the fall semester until services are relocated to other campus locations. The changes in access to Library collections and services at the beginning of the fall semester are:                                       

• The Media Access Center computer lab closed at the end of spring semester. It will reopen as part of the Information Commons in Library Annex I later in the fall semester. In the meantime, the Library has opened a "Mini MAC lab" in Library Room 438. The John F. True Computer Lab and Quiet Study Area are open 24 hours as usual until Library Annex I opens. Visit the DoIT Web site at www.sfsu.edu/~doit/labs.htm for information on other campus computer labs.
• Beginning Aug. 25, access to the Reserve Book Room will only be available using the elevators within the Library building. The exterior ground floor entrance will be closed because of construction. The Reserve Book Room will relocate its service to rooms in the HSS building on or about Sept. 15. 
• The Faculty/Graduate Reading Room, 426C, and Silent Study Room, 438, are no longer available as study spaces.
• Government publications are available on request from the research assistance desk on the first floor.
• Most of the de Bellis Collection on the sixth floor is being packed for storage and will be unavailable, but the circulating collection will remain available.
• The Rapid Copy Center continues to serve the campus until further notice, at which time its services will be available from other locations on campus.
• The Center for Teaching and Faculty Development (CTFD) has moved to Burk Hall 311 for the duration of the Library expansion and renovation project. Visit CTFD's new Web site at http://ctfd.sfsu.edu
• The Maurice Schiffman Room has moved to SSB 109. For more information, visit www.sfsu.edu/~dprc/welcome.html

During the summer, Library construction included relocation of some telephone lines. Service disruptions were brief and limited to late evening hours to minimize inconvenience. The relocation proceeded without incident. However, if you encounter any problems with your telephone lines, please contact DoIT at ext. 8-1133 to report your concerns. Visit www.sfsu.edu/newlibrary  for up-to-date information about relocation of library services and the Library project. 

Bohn named managing director of DPRC
Nicole Bohn has been named managing director of the Disability Programs Resource Center. Bohn spent 12 years in various leadership roles at the University of San Francisco, where she facilitated the growth and development of a disabled student services office and consulted on campus to ensure physical, programmatic and employee access for the university community.

SF State contingent presents at sustainability conference
Fourteen representatives from SF State gave presentations in two sessions about SF State greenhouse gas accounting at the 2008 UC, CSU, CCC Sustainability Conference held July 31 to Aug. 3 at CSU-San Luis Obispo. A new listserv has been created for faculty and staff interested in sharing information about sustainability on campus. To join, visit http://mercury.sfsu.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/SUSTAINABLE/subscribe.html

Announcing retention, tenure and promotion information sessions
The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development will hold four informal discussion sessions to help faculty prepare for retention, tenure and promotion. The sessions will be conducted by Wanda Lee, dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, and Nancy "Sami" Reist, chair of the University Tenure and Promotion Committee. The sessions will provide opportunities to ask questions, share information and discuss issues of retention, tenure and promotion. The discussions will be held: Sept. 3 from 10 a.m. to noon, in BUS 202; Sept. 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. in ADM 460; Sept. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon in ADM 460 and Sept. 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. in ADM 460. To register call ext. 8-2204 or e-mail facaffrs@sfsu.edu

Nonresident alien taxation workshops
Internal Audit will conduct a workshop on nonresident alien taxation on Sept. 18 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the NEC conference 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

Schedule announced for BSS 275 public lecture series
This fall, BSS 275 turns its spotlight on the 2008 presidential election. BSS 275 is an annual special course/public lecture series designed to help the campus community and the public better understand contemporary social and public policy issues. The course features SF State faculty panels and roundtables followed by group discussion moderated by BSS Dean Joel J. Kassiola. Topics to be discussed include convention platforms and campaigns, campaign finance, the war in Iraq and the war on terror, the economy and environment, health care, K-12 and higher education, immigration reform, family and welfare policy, post-election analysis, and the new administration at home and abroad.

Students can enroll through the University or the College of Extended Learning. The course is open to enrolled students and to the general public for two units of academic credit on a pass/no pass basis. The class meets on Wednesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:55 p.m. in Jack Adams Hall, Cesar Chavez Student Center.

On Wednesday, the class will watch the Democratic convention coverage and the Vice-Presidential nomination acceptance speech on TV and hear a panel discussion, "Behind the Scenes: The Electoral College and the 2008 Election Primaries" with Professor of History Robert Cherny and Professor of Political Science Michael Graham. A full schedule of lectures can be found by visiting:www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy08/005.html

For more information, contact Kathryn Johnson at kathyjoh@sfsu.edu

This week in Insiders: Music lecturer John Calloway was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom to the San Francisco Arts Commission, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies Grace Yoo presented a paper at a conference in Boston, and Marie Drennan, assistant professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, served as a judge at the New TeeVee Pier Screening, in San Francisco.

Read Insiders: www.sfsu.edu/~news/cmemo/fall08/aug25insiders.htm

This week in Newsmakers: Assistant Professor of Biology Gretchen LeBuhn's "Great Sunflower Project" is featured; Assistant Professor of Biology Vance Vredenburg discusses research on amphibians facing extinction; and Associate Professor of Creative Writing Peter Orner discusses his new book that tells stories of undocumented workers.    

Read Newsmakers: www.sfsu.edu/~news/cmemo/fall08/aug25news.htm

Thursday
"Laurel Shear: Unabashed" opens
The Art Department's Martin Wong Gallery presents "Laurel Shear: Unabashed," a new exhibition of paintings, from Thursday to Sept. 12. The gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The gallery is in FA 286. Admission is free.

Friday
Watch the return of Marx
The Communication Studies Department hosts the one-man show "Marx in Soho" performed by Marlborough College Sociology Professor Jerry Levy Friday at 7 p.m. in HUM 587. The show, written by historian Howard Zinn, portrays the return of Karl Marx nearly a century after his death. A donation of $5 to $10 will be accepted at the door. For more information, contact Assistant Professor of Communications Studies Leah Wingard at wingard@sfsu.edu 

For more upcoming events, see the University Calendar

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Last modified Aug.25, 2008 by University Communications.