News and Events

Because everyone is so busy getting ready for the new semester, the Baysore Award Committee has extended the deadline for nominations to Wednesday, August 14, at 5 p.m.

Please use the extra time to consider someone you work with who best exemplifies the qualities of:  

            - absolute integrity  

            - total competence  

            - generous dedication  

            - unfailing civility  

Nominate that person for this university honor.

Remember, Baysore nominations are due by midnight, August 14, to Penny Perdue. 

GSU Provost Deborah Bordelon announced this week that Dr. Elizabeth Cada has been appointed the university’s Dean of Graduate Studies. Dr. Cada will continue to serve as Dean of the College of Health and Human Services.

Read Provost Bordelon's full memo.

Employing students can help you and the student.

Learn the ins and outs of employing students through the Federal Work-Study program at an information session on August 14, from 2 to 3 p.m., in the Hall of Honors. The hiring process, student eligibility and expectations of the program will be discussed.

The information sessions are sponsored by the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Career Services. To learn more about the session, call ext. 4480.

The Office of the Dean of Students invites those interested to participate in a webinar, Supporting Student Success of Undocumented Students: Implications of Federal Policy for Student Affairs, on Wednesday, August 14, from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

This webinar is sponsored by NASPA, the leading association for student affairs professionals, and the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good at the University of Michigan. A panel of three presenters will address the fluid policy context facing institutions and student affairs professionals serving undocumented students, with a central focus on the political, legal and practical implications of the Department of Homeland Security’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process (DACA), the DREAM Act provisions of the pending immigration bill, and insight regarding other pending policy actions.

RSVP to Lisa Carra.

It is time to laugh out loud as the GSU Student Senate presents Laff Session, an evening full of talented professional comedians, on Friday, August 30, at the Center for Performing Arts. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime is at 7 p.m.

Featured performers include B Cole, a BET Comic View All Star who appeared on Def Comedy Jam; Brandon “Hot Sauce” Glover who has appeared on Comedy Central and in Chicago Just for Laughs Festival; Marc Henderson from the BET Comic View and Chicago Just for Laughs Festival; Da Wildcat who appeared in the BET Comic View, Chicago Commercial King, and BET’s Of Boys and Men; and Hozay.

Tickets are only $10 for students and $15 for everyone else. Tickets may be purchased on line at the Center for Performing Arts box office, www.centertickets.net or 708.235.2222.

The new semester is full of many wonderful Welcome Week activities and lots of information and good times. It all starts on August 26.

Here is the schedule, so mark your calendars: 

Monday, August 26 

• ID Validation, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Hall of Governors 
• Student Employment Fair, 3 to 6 p.m., HOG, sponsored by Career Services 
• Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park Pizza on the Terrace, 4 to 6 p.m., balcony terrace adjacent to the ACS Lab 
• Rock Band Video Competition, 4 to 8 p.m., Cafeteria Annex, sponsored by the Psychology Club 

Tuesday, August 27 

• ID Validation, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., HOG 
• Secretary of State, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., HOG 
• Student Resource Fair, noon to 6 p.m., HOG 
• 103.5 KISS FM, 3 to 5 p.m., HOG 
• LGBTQA Reception, 3 to 4 p.m., Cafeteria Annex 

Wednesday, August 28 

• ID Validation, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., HOG 
• AT& T It Can Wait Campaign, noon to 6 p.m., HOG 
• Rock Band Video Competition, 4 to 8 p.m., Cafeteria Annex, sponsored by the Psychology Club 

Thursday, August 29 

• ID Validation, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., HOG 
• Campus Crawl, 3 to 6 p.m., University  
• Rock Band Video Competition, 4 to 8 p.m., Cafeteria Annex, sponsored by the Psychology Club 

Friday, August 30 

• GSU LAFF Session Comedy Show - Popular comedians visit GSU, 6:30 p.m., Center for Performing Arts, sponsored by Student Senate 

Tuesday, September 3 

• Food Pantry Opens, noon to 5 p.m., Building A—Student Commons 
• Student Welcome Back Skate, 6 to 9 p.m., Rich City Roller Rink, sponsored by clubs and organizations 

Wednesday, September 4 

• Psychology Club Car Wash, 2 to 7 p.m. GSU Barn 

Thursday, September 5

• Student Vendors Fair, noon to 6 pm, HOG 

Saturday, September 7

• Holistic Wellness Conference, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., on campus 

GSU provides a glass display case in the B Wing Building corridor just outside the Hall of Governors for faculty, students, and staff that wish to display creative works and other items of interest.

A sign in sheet is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Contact Facilities Development & Management at ext. 4515 for more information.

The Secretary of State’s Mobile Service Unit will be at GSU on Tuesday, August 27, from 1 to 7 p.m., in the Hall of Governors.

Services available at the mobile service unit include driver’s license and State ID renewal, replacement, and corrections; vehicle sticker sales; passenger and b-truck license plates; vehicle title and registration; parking placards for persons with disabilities; and organ/tissue donor information. In addition, vision tests and the written driver’s license exam can be taken. No driving tests will be given.

The services provided are available to all qualified Illinois residents. State law allows driver’s license renewal up to one year in advance. Proper identification is required for new and duplicate driver’s licenses and state ID cards. Acceptable forms of payment include personal checks, cash, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit and debit cards.

For information, visit www.cyberdriveillinois.com.

The Metropolitan Institute for Leadership in Education and the Family Development Center are hosting a two-part program on boys’ behavior at home and at school.

This two-part program opens with a workshop for parents and families on Sunday, September 8, from 2 to 4 p.m., in the Center for Performing Arts. The second day is a program for educators on Monday, September 9, from 8:30 a.m., to 3 p.m., in the Cafeteria Annex.

Learn real life answers and understandable and teachable objectives to successfully address the ‘why’ behind boys’ behavior in school and what schools and families can do to become more ‘boy-friendly. Both sessions will be presented by Dr. John Littlejohn, renowned educator and consultant on boys behavior in schools.

For more information or to register, call 708.534.4024.

A special thank you goes out to those who brought in their overdue items as well as their non-perishable food items during the Library’s first bi-annual Amnesty Week.

More than 21 pounds of food was collected and donated to the GSU Food Pantry.

“It was a very good first effort. We are planning the next Library Amnesty Week for next  March,” said Lydia Morrow Ruetten, GSU Library Dean.

Remember - you do not have to have a reason to donate non-perishable food items to the GSU Food Panty. 

To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 to October 15 and LGBTQ History Month in October, professors are invited to open their classes to the rest of the GSU community by hosting an open class.

The subject of the open class should reflect the themes of the upcoming months. The theme of Hispanic Heritage Month is "Our time: A Strong America." "LGBT Pride from Past to Present"  is the theme of LGBT History Month.

Open classes provide faculty with the opportunity to invite the wider Governors State University community to attend one of their own class meetings in which you might already address these (or related) topics. If you are planning a class during September in a topic relevant to the Hispanic/Latino experience and the many contributions to our history, culture and society, or related to LGBT contributions in October, please consider this option as a way in which you can add to the dialogue and univeristy programming.

If you choose to participate, your course name, class title, short abstract, and meeting and class times will be listed in the program calendars. If classroom space is a concern, Student Life will manage an RSVP process for those interested in attending your class. If you would like to submit one or more open classes for our calendar of events, please complete the simple online form by August 28, 2013.

View the online form.  

For more information, please contact Vanessa Newby, Director of Student Life for Wellness and Diversity. 

Congratulations to five Master of Occupational Therapy student groups who recently presented their research project findings at GSU. In a first-ever  occurrence, each of the student groups’ posters has been accepted for presentation at the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference, scheduled for October 24 to 26, in Peoria.

“To have each of the presentations accepted for the state conference is quite an accomplishment,” according to Dr. Catherine Brady, Interim Occupational Therapy Department Chair and Associate Professor, “since each poster underwent a rigorous jury process.”

Addressing the students just prior to their presentations, College of Health and Human Services Dean Elizabeth Cada, an occupational therapist herself, expressed admiration for the students. “As OTs, we can benefit others by empowering them with our information, helping them come to new solutions, better solutions. … You have a lot to offer.”

The five research projects and their student presenters are:   

• Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Children with Sensory Processing Dysfunction within Classroom Settings, presented by Melanie Cabeen, Nicole Copalello, Carla Foreman, Matt Medley, Brandon Onuselogu and Kelly Picken 
• Parents’ Ability to Generate Strategies to Facilitate Participation in Home and Community Activities in Children with Disabilities, presented by Erin Haenig, Holly Moloney, Lindsey Shinnick, Amanda Suenkens and Alicia Tuuk 
• NBCOT Exam Study Strategies Used by Recent MOT Graduates, presented by Bria Mays, Abby Sprague, Meghan Quinn, Christine Malmer  and Loren Buckley 
• Perceptions of Cultural Competency Among Students in the College of Health and Human Services, presented by Laura Beck, Michele Blidy, Tiffani Grant and Sara Smit 
• Occupational Therapy Faculty Perceptions of Active Student Participation within theClassroom Context, presented by Joe Beck, Catherine Estrada, Bernadette Okrasinski and Logan Savage

Do you know something fascinating about GSU that almost no one else knows?  Are you the keeper of a quirky piece of trivia about our campus, our traditions, our people, our history?

If so, you could be the winner of the first annual GSU Fun Facts Contest. You’ll win two tickets to a Chicago baseball game. But wait, there’s more:  We’ll give you credit for your Fun Fact on the new GSU website, now under development. Second and third place winners will also have their facts published on the new website, along with credit for their submission.

Winners will be judged on: 

• Ability to make the judges laugh or 
• “Wow, who knew?” factor or 
• And the power to differentiate GSU from all other universities in the region or 
• All of the above 

All facts included in entries must be verifiable.

Email your submission to M.A. Rood at mrood@govst.edu no later than Wednesday, August 15. Winners will be announced on September 2 at a location inspired by the winning entry. 

While the weather may still feel like summer, the university has resumed our normal work hours after eight weeks of the summer hours schedule. All employees who participated in the Summer Hours Program should return to their normal work hours today, August 5.

If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at extension 4100.