Spectrum - Volume 21 Issue 05 September 24, 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 05 - September 24, 1998

International Scholar's lecture canceled
The 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, has been canceled.
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 Executive Conference Room at the Donaldson Brown Conference Center Private Dining Room. Lunch will be served.
Speakers for the occasion will be four recipients of 1998 UOIP minigrants for internationalization of the curriculum. Each will speak briefly, and an opportunity for Q and A will be provided. Speakers are Raga Bakhit, of human nutrition, foods and exercise, speaking on her "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." 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 wishing to register should to contact Donna Sanzenbach, at 1-6452 or e-mail at donnac@vt.edu . Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 25, at 5 p.m.
Women's group sets coffee hour
The Organization of Women Faculty will hold its monthly meeting Friday, Oct. 2, at the Easy Chair in University Mall. The organization is comprised of women in academic and administrative faculty positions. The monthly first Friday coffee hour is a time to network informally and get to know each other. All women faculty are welcome. For more information, contact Tamara Kennelly, 1-9214.
CROP walk fights poverty
On October 24, the Blacksburg CROP Walk be a 6-mile walk starting at the Memorial Chapel 9 a.m.
The CROP walk is held to raise money to support programs that alleviate poverty and hunger in the United States and around the world. Faculty members and students interested in participating should contact Jane Wentworth at 552-2473.
Book signing and reading
Kate Gale will be signing and reading from her two collections of poems on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., in the Volume Two Bookstore.
Gale, an editor for the Valentine Publishing Group, has collections titled: Blue Air and Where Crows and Men Collide.
Museum presents mushroom walk
Orson Miller will be leading a mushroom walk on October 3. Miller and the staff of the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History will be looking for a Fabulous Frenzy of Fungi! Learn what's edible and what's poisonous. Walkers will meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot across the street from the Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History.
Participants should bring a lunch, a basket, paper bags or wax paper, and plenty of water.
Pre-registration required; there is no admission fee. For more information, call at 1-3001.
Spring on-line classes input sought
VTOnline is preparing our 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.
Other services to on-line students and instructors, include on-line registration for distance learners, and advertising for the on-line classes. Anyone interested in teaching or who is scheduled to teach an on-line class in spring or summer 1999, should contact the VTOnline office at vto@vt.edu or 1-7614.
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 in Blacksburg.
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 prior to the event.
ErgoFair98 set 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.
Register at http://www.ehss.vt.edu.
CEUT sets workshop
Margaret Hable, a faculty-development consultant for the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, will present a workshop on Lectures That Keep Learning Alive on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. This workshop offers strategies instructors can use in small and large classes. Pre-registration is requested at ceut@vt.edu .
CEUT offers "Meal and Mini" workshop
A workshop titled Inserting Pauses into Lectures will be presented by Margaret Hable, CEUT's faculty-development consultant, on Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The workshop will be in the north lounge of Johnson Hall. Discussion will concern attention drift and maintaining student attention during lectures.
CEUT forum announced
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the CEUT will co-host Active Learning Environments for Engineering Education, a half-day forum for engineering faculty members. Presenters will share experiences with new learning and teaching strategies. The forum will be the basis for a support network for faculty members who experiment with innovative teaching and learning techniques. Presenters will include Margaret Hable, "Cooperative Learning"; Seigfried Holzer, "Active Learning"; George Filz, "Extending the Classroom"; Terry Wildman and Ron Daniel, Building a Learning Community; Richard Goff, "Freshman Hands-on Lab Activities"; and Ron Kander , " Creativity in Engineering Problem Solving ."
The CEUT plans to repeat the forum on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required at ceut@vt.edu .
Voter registration drive held
The Women's Center is holding a voter registration drive throughout the month of September. New registration (VA 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.
Faculty member looking for house
Earnest and Melissa Hovingh are looking for a place to live. The professional couple--a horticulturist and a veterinarian--has three children. They are looking for a house to rent near the university for six months to a year, starting in early 1999. Hovingh says the family has looked after homes for professors on sabbatical before, performing routine maintenance on the home and looking after pets.
Their address is: Earnest and Melissa Hovingh, R.R. #10, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada ,C1E 1Z4. Phone: (902) 566-4140; e-mail: ehovingh@upei.ca.
Majors fair announced
A majors fair for undergraduates will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Squires Old Dominion Ballroom. The event is an opportunity for undergraduates to talk with faculty members and students in different colleges and departments to learn more about various majors offered at Virginia Tech.
Individual colleges will be presenting at two informal break-out sessions. The fair is sponsored by the Biological Sciences Initiative advising office and the University Academic Advising Center. For more information, call 1-3890.