Spectrum - Volume 21 Issue 04 September 17, 1998 - BULLETINS

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

BULLETINS

Spectrum Volume 21 Issue 04 - September 17, 1998

Vet-Med students hold dogwash
Veterinary students from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine will hold a community dogwash and animal-care clinic on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on the back side of the veterinary college complex.
Dogs can be bathed, towel-dried, and have their ears cleaned for $10. Nail-trimming is $5 extra. Animals will be washed on a first-come, first-served basis and no appointments are necessary. Dogs will be washed while owners wait. Dogs must be on a leash, and be at least five months old with current vaccinations.
The event is sponsored by the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA). Signs will direct visitors to the location.
In the event of inclement weather, the dogwash will be moved inside the hospital.
Proceeds will benefit SCAVMA and St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation in Roanoke. For more information, call 552-8315 weekdays from 8-5 p.m. and leave a message.
Museum presents mushroom walk
Orson Miller and the staff of the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History will lead a mushroom walk on October 3. Learn what's edible and what's poisonous. Walkers will meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the museum.
Participants should bring a lunch, a basket, paper bags or wax paper, and plenty of water.
Pre-registration is required; there is no admission fee. For more information, call the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural at 1-3001.
International Scholar addresses UAP
An illustrated lecture titled "Plecnik's Ljubljana" by Peter Krecic, director of the Ljubljana Museum of Architecture and professor of architecture at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, will be presented Monday, Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the DBHCC rear auditorium. The lecture will focus on Joze Plecnik's urban designs, which contributed in a major way to the capital cities of Vienna, Prague, and Ljubljana during the first half of the 20th century.
Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, was most influenced by his inventiveness, artistic originality, and personal stylistic contribution, and it constitutes a city "signed by the artist." The city stands as an example of humane city design that blends its past, present, and future in ways that reflect both classical and modern ideals. Krecic, one of the most well-published international experts on Plecnik, will also be presenting to the September meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies in Boca Raton.
The Virginia Tech presentation is co-sponsored by the department of Urban Affairs and Planning, the Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture, and the Department of Landscape Architecture. The presentation is open to the public. For more information, contact Bob Dyck at 1-6042 or by e-mail at bobdyck@vt.edu .
Spring on-line classes input sought
VTOnline is preparing its list of classes for both the spring and summer sessions of 1999. Input is being sought.
VTOnline is the first point of contact for students on campus and around the world who are interested in taking Tech's on-line classes. Services are also provided to on-line students and instructors, such as on-line registration for distance learners, and advertising for on-line classes. Anyone interested in teaching or who is scheduled to teach an on-line class in spring or summer 1999, contact the VTOnline Office at vto@vt.edu, or 1-7614.
DERC counselors visit Southside Virginia area
The Department of Employee Relations Counselors will meet with interested employees in Danville and Alberta later this month.
The meeting in Danville will be Tuesday, Sept. 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the McGovern room of the Learning Resource Center at Danville Community College. The group will be in Alberta on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the A Building conference room at the Southside Virginia Community College (Christianna Campus).
The counseling program provides employees outside the Richmond area with an opportunity to meet individually with a staff counselor and to receive assistance in options for dealing with work-related concerns; discussion of applicable state policies; information on grievance procedures; and referrals for further assistance.
Half-hour appointments must be made in advance. To arrange an appointment, please call the Department of Employee Relations Counselors on the toll-free line at 1-888-23-ADVICE.
Was Wonderland a mathematical place?
On Thursday, Oct. 1, Susan Taber, an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Rowan University, will present " Alice in Wonderland and the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics." The presentation is 7:30 p.m. in the Math Emporium on University City Boulevard.
Ever since Charles L. Dodgson, the mathematical lecturer of Christ Church College, adopted the nom de plume Lewis Carroll and published Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , readers and critics have asked, "What does it mean?" Curiously, even though Dodgson was a mathematician, critics have mostly ignored the mathematical aspects of his heroine's adventures. Alice describes the child's attempts to make sense of a grown-up world full of arbitrary rules, often capriciously applied, and shows how nonsensical man of the conventions and rules of that grown-up world appear to children.
Present efforts to reform the teaching and learning of mathematics emphasize the need to use children's experiences, reasoning and problem-solving abilities to develop mathematical concepts and strategies for solving problems.
Taber earned a B.A. with honors in English literature and a M.Ed. in English education from Stanford University and a Ph. D. in mathematics education from the University of Delaware. She has taught English and mathematics at the elementary, high-school, and university levels. Before her appointment at Rowan, Taber was a mathematics-education specialist with the Delaware Statewide Systemic Initiative, and spent three years working full-time with classroom teachers to improve mathematics curricula and instruction.
In 1995, she organized the "Insights and Investigations in Mathematics" professional-development network. She has presented her research on students' understanding of mathematics and on the professional development of mathematics teachers at national and international meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Persons with disabilities who desire assistive devices, services, or other accommodations to participate in this activity, should contact Susan Anderson at 1-8041 to discuss accommodations at least one week before the event.
Fall International Colloquium Series planned
For the second year, the University Office of International Programs and the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching will be jointly offering an international colloquium series during the fall term. The first session is to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the DBHCC Executive Conference Room. Lunch will be served.
Speakers for the occasion will be four recipients of 1998 UOIP mini-grants for internationalization of the curriculum. Each will speak briefly, and an opportunity for Q and A will be provided. Speakers include Raga Bakhit, of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, speaking on his "Project to Internationalize the Curriculum of Foods and Nutrition, HNFE 1004"; James McKenna, of Crop and Soil Environmental Science, speaking on his project, "Cooperative Distance Learning Class Development between Virginia Tech and the Free State University of South Africa"; Sally Paulson, of the Department of Entomology, speaking on her project, "Internationalizing ENT/BIOL 3254, Medical and Veterinary Entomology." and Robert Siegle, of Arts and Sciences (English), speaking on his project, "Web-based Approaches to the teaching of ENG 3644, Postcolonial Cultural Studies."
Attendance is limited to 20 persons. Those who wish to register should contact Donna Sanzenbach, at 1-6452 or e-mail at donnac@vt.edu . Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m.
ErgoFair98 scheduled for September 30
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 8:30 a.m.-noon, Environmental Health and Safety Services in cooperation with Boise Cascade Office Products will present the Fall ErgoFair98 Office Ergonomics Conference.
Fall ErgoFair98 provides the university community with practical options to improve office ergonomics.
Attendance is free. Register at http://www.ehss.vt.edu.
The topics include how to avoid repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome; real examples of improved ergonomics on campus, office stretching exercises, how to get the most from a chair, and new technologies such as speech recognition--what's hot and how to get it.
Registration is strongly encouraged
Leave sharing requested for staff members
Virginia Tech employees in the following areas have requested leave donations: University Extension Office, and Grounds--Physical Plant
There are also still Tech employees in the following areas who have requested leave donations: Natural History, Near Environments, and Minority Engineering.
These employee(s) are eligible to receive leave through the Leave Sharing Program. Any salaried classified employee or a 12-month regular faculty member has the opportunity to participate by donating annual leave in increments of eight hours.
There is no maximum donation limitation per year, nor is there a minimum balance that must be maintained.
Leave donations received after the employee's eligibility status changes (such as, return to work, disability retirement, retirement, etc.) will be returned to the donor in accordance with established Personnel procedures.
To protect recipients, the names and details of the medical condition will remain confidential. However, employees must donate leave to either a specific individual or area.
Donor forms may be obtained from department administrative offices or from the Personnel Services department at 1-9331 or at e-mail address flowersr@vt.edu . Please return the completed form to Kathy Manning, leave administrator.
Voter registration offered at Women's Center
The Women's Center is holding a voter registration drive throughout the month of September. New registration (Virginia and national) can be filled out, and absentee ballots can be requested. The center is located in Price House, behind McBryde, and is open for registering 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call 1-7806.

Using creativity as a tool for learning
CEUT will be offering the first in a series of seminars on creativity, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Hillcrest from 3-5:30 p.m. In Part 1: "Creative Process," Eric Pappas from materials science and engineering will provide a general introduction to creative issues; defining "creative process" in its variety of forms and applications; creative thinking and critical thinking; understanding one's own creative process; creativity myths; traditional paths to creativity.
Playing the publishing game
CEUT will be offering a one day workshop, Playing the Publishing Game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the DBHCC room C.
Elizabeth Creamer, author of Assessing Faculty Publication Productivity: Issues of Equity, will describe traditional measures of faculty research productivity, identifying the factors associated with exceptional productivity. She will discuss the disproportionate impact of such measures in the hiring and promotion of women and minority faculty members. The session will close with an informal discussion of the validity of supposedly "objective" traditional measures of faculty publishing productivity.