Spectrum - Volume 21 Issue 09 October 22, 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
Service for Smoot announced

Spectrum Volume 21 Issue 09 - October 22, 1998

The Department of English will hold a memorial service Thursday, Oct. 29, for Joyce Smoot, a member of the English faculty who died October 3.
The service, open to the university community, will be at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel.
CAS seeks nominations for award
The Cultural Diversity Committee and the Student Advisory Board in the College of Arts and Sciences are seeking nominations for the annual diversity award. The award, established in 1996, honors faculty and staff members who have made significant contributions to improve the campus climate. This year's focus is to recognize individuals who enhanced the quality of life for persons of color.
To be eligible, nominees need to have taken a leadership role beyond the expectations of their positions to improve the quality of life of persons of color and implement institutional change related to issues of racial diversity. Nominees must be employed by the CAS, although staff nominations can include persons within and outside the CAS.
The CDC and the SAB will select one or two recipients this year, totaling $1,000. Preference will be given to faculty or staff members whose work has not been previously recognized.
One nomination letter, accompanied by two letters of support, should be submitted to Bob Leonard, (0141) by November 9. Letters should describe the nominee's qualifications and contributions to the university community, as they relate to diversity. Faculty and staff members, students and the public are all welcome to submit letters of nomination and support. The award winners will be announced ion the spring.
Teleconference to address finances
Recently, many faculty and staff members have expressed a desire for more information relating to investments choices and challenges in a complex financial world. Understanding the selection and management of investments can be a key in achieving financial goals.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., a free live national teleconference titled "Reaching Your Financial Goals: Tips from America's Experts," will be presented in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center auditorium.
The teleconference will provide an opportunity to ask questions and learn from some of the noted investment experts including the following: Jane Bryant Quinn, columnist and author of Making the Most of Your Money; Peter L. Bernstein, economist and author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk; Martin Leibowitz, vice chairman and chief investment officer, TIAA-CREF; and Elissa Buie, president-elect, Institute of Certified Financial Planners.
ABC News Correspondent Elizabeth Vargas will moderate the discussion, which will focus on the following items: Setting financial goals, creating an investment strategy, balancing risk and reward, choosing the right financial products, and allocating assets.
For more information, e-mail Doug Martin, at dmartin@vt.edu .
Center will simulate poverty
The Service Learning Center, in conjunction with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, will be offering a State of Poverty Welfare simulation to all interested faculty, students and community members.
In the simulation, 30 to 75 participants assume the roles of up to 26 different families facing poverty. Some are newly unemployed, some are recently deserted by the"breadwinner" and others are recipients of AFDC, either with or without additional earned income. Still others are disabled or are senior citizens receiving social security.
The task of the simulated families is to provide for basic necessities and shelter during the course of four 15-minute periods simulating a week each. The simulation takes approximately 2-3 hours. It includes an introduction and briefing, the actual simulation exercise, and a de-briefing period in which participants and volunteer staffers share their feelings and experiences.
There are sessions planned for 1-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. on Monday Nov. 2, in Squires Old Dominion Ballroom. Participants for the simulated families as well as staffers for the activity are being sought. Each person playing a staffer will be given specific instructions pertaining to their role, along with the necessary props. Staffers may have had personal experiences which enable them to be especially effective in portraying a given role. Staffers will need to attend a 45-minute training session prior to the simulation. The training will be held as a large group for all staffers attending either session several days prior to the simulation.
The staffer's choices are :banker/loan quik cash (currency exchange) worker, employment officer, food pantry worker, grocer, landlord/rent collector, pawnbroker, utility collector, welfare office receptionist, welfare office caseworker #1, welfare office caseworker #2, illegal activities person, legal assistance worker - should be someone w/this background, school teacher, welfare rights organizer.
Anyone interested in participating should respond to Maureen Fallon at 1-2078 as soon as possible with requests to play staff roles or with numbers of students attending, and at what session. The cap on participants is 75/session. Fallon needs to know by Tuesday, Oct. 27 of those who can commit to being a staffer, and their preferred role. A role will be assigned to anyone without a preference.
International colloquium event planned
The second Fall International Colloquium will take place on Wednesday,Oct. 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The session will convene in Alumni Hall at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center.
Presenters for the occasion will include four of the winners of the 1997-98 International Minigrant competition. They are Brian Kleiner, speaking on "Internationalizing and Internet working the Capstone Senior Design Course in Industrial Systems and Engineering"; Deborah Milly and Kathleen Jones, addressing the topic "Comparing Women's Lives: Recent History and Contemporary Politics in Japan and theUnited States"; and Marcie Boucouvalas, speaking on "Adult Development and Learning: Eastern and Western Perspectives: an On-line Computer Conferencing Course."
Faculty members are invited to attend this session. Attendance is by reservation and is limited to 20 persons. Reservations should be made not later than Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m. Contact Donna Sanzenbach, Executive Secretary with the University Office of International Programs, at 1-6452 or e-mail: donnac@vt.edu .
Fourth White Ribbon campaign on campus set
The White Ribbon Campaign will be held October 26-28 this year. The campaign began in Canada in 1991 on the anniversary of the 1990 "Montreal Massacre" where a student murdered 14 women at a university before committing suicide.
In its fourth year at Virginia Tech, the campaign is designed to get men more involved in addressing the issue of violence against women. In previous years, a growing number of men in the Virginia Tech community including administrators, faculty members, athletic coaches, staff members and students have shown their support for this event by wearing white ribbons.
This year, ribbons and information will be available between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. in one of the first floor informational booths in Squires Student Center, on the second floor of Johnston Student Center, and at the entrance of McComas Hall. In addition, a special performance featuring nationally known psychologist, Chris Kilmartin, will be held in Haymarket Theater in Squires Student Center at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Titled "Crimes Against Nature," Kilmartin's production is a one-person play which takes a comic look at the pitfalls of growing up male in America. Everyone is welcome
Dossier preparation workshop scheduled
The Academy of Teaching Excellence will hold its annual dossier preparation workshop on Monday, Nov. 9, in Hillcrest Dining Room, from 3-5 p.m. The workshop is open to all interested faculty members and administrators. Updated guidelines for both the teaching and advising awards will be distributed and discussed. Please note the guidelines have been revised this year based on feedback from last year's dossier preparers and award selection committees. For more information, please contact Sue Magliaro via e-mail at sumags@vt.edu .
Outreach presentation slated
Mary L. Walshok, associate vice chancellor for extended studies and public programs at the University of California, San Diego, and author of Knowledge without Boundaries, will give a presentation on outreach on Monday, Oct. 26, at 9 a.m. in conference rooms D and E of the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center. Her talk, which is sponsored by the Outreach Division, is open to the public.
Walshok is a noted speaker on outreach and is credited with initiating CONNECT, a successful program that supports high-tech entrepreneurship, at UCSD. She lectures and writes extensively on the changing role of universities in the knowledge economy.
For additional information, call 1-3205.
Veritas Forum programs scheduled
The Veritas Forum will be held on campus Friday, Oct. 23 through Friday, Oct. 30.
The forum explores Christian truth claims as they relate to the arts and sciences, political and educational freedom, and meaningful existence.
Keynote lectures, followed by question-and-answer sessions, will be held in Burruss auditorium from 7:30 to 9 p.m. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Michael Behe presents "Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution." On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Hugh Ross presents "A Stellar Plan: The Truth is Out There."
Os Guinness is the keynote speaker on October 28 and 29. On Thursday evening, he examines opposing views of truth and their implications for education and society in a lecture titled "Truth is Freedom." On Friday, Guinness presents "The Journey: The Thinking Person's Quest for Truth."
Other forum events include a symposium, and a panel discussion with Virginia Tech faculty members.
A complete schedule is available at the information desk in Squires Student Center or on the Internet at http://www/elpae.net/vf/ . Forum events are free of charge and the public is welcome to attend. The Veritas Forum at Virginia Tech is sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, Christian Faculty Fellowship at Virginia Tech, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and New Life Campus Fellowship.
Museum hosts kids activity
The Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History will host "The Nuts and Bolts: Stream Critters Science Saturday for Kids" for children in grades K-5.
Activities and crafts will be held from 11 a.m.-noon, Saturday Oct. 24 at the museum. The program is free. Pre-registration is required; for more information, call 1-3001.
Student talent show set for November 12
Virginia Tech's Department of Residential and Dining Programs (RDP) will be hosting Showcase of Talent, the annual student talent show on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in Deet's Place. All acts are welcome, and may include acoustic and voice, poetry, step, comedy, magic, and dance. Acts must pre-register by October 22 via e-mail to ljankura@vt.edu or call 1-8068 for more information.
All students, faculty and staff members are welcome to attend. There is no charge, and RDP will be awarding prizes and distributing giveaways.