News and Events

Remember to bring your dancing shoes and your checkbook to this afternoon’s Campus Community Campaign Kickoff. Join friends and co-workers on from 3:30 to 5 p.m., in The Center for Performing Arts lobby, for an exciting celebration of past success and future opportunities. Samba artists Bossa Tres and Chicago’s Samba King Marlin Exton will entertain the crowd. Dr. Maimon will briefly discuss the need and importance of internal philanthropy. Refreshments will be available.

With your help, the GSU Foundation is planning on 100 percent employee participation, regardless of the size of your donation. Over the past four years, GSU employees have contributed nearly $115,000 to previous campaigns. Donation amounts have steadily increased and so have levels of participation. Two years ago, 48 percent of GSU employees contributed and last year, that number rose to 60 percent.

Don’t want to wait until the campaign officially starts to do your part? Visit the campaign website today or call Ext. 4105.

President Maimon recently participated in the Society for College and University Planning’s (SCUP) 2008 Southern Regional Conference. Attended by presidents from across the country, the conference theme was Regeneration: Planning Beyond Sustainability. It was aptly held in New Orleans - a city that certainly knows about regeneration and renewal. 

Dr. Maimon was invited to attend after conference organizers read her article, The University as Public Square. She participated in a plenary session entitled Executive Panel: Higher Education’s Role in the Social and Economic Sustainability of Communities, where she shared GSU’s story as a model university for the 21st Century.

The discussion focused on creating sustainable communities where sustainability was applied in the very broadest sense – social, cultural, environmental, and in economics. During the session, Dr. Maimon noted GSU’s proactive role in community sustainability and regeneration.

“I was proud to share GSU’s story,” said Dr. Maimon. “My fellow presenters discussed emergency situations, how their universities reacted to Katrina, for example. I was then able to talk more comprehensively about the university as a public square, going beyond sustainability to regeneration. I presented our planning and budgeting process, our newly approved strategic plan, and our aspiration to become a model university for the twentieth century.”

The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), established in 1965, is a collegial community dedicated to sharing, learning, and teaching best practices in planning for colleges and universities.

In a unique twist in scheduling and menu selection, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Provost Office are inviting faculty and staff to a First Friday Breakfast Café. Enjoy the company of colleagues on November 21, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., in the recently re-carpeted F-wing atrium.

Enter the world of imagination this weekend at the Center for Performing Arts. Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House: The Musical will transport the entire family into a world of vivid imagery and joyful music.

Show times are Saturday, November 22, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Sunday, November 23, at 2 p.m. There are no discounts for this special event.

For more information and to reserve tickets, contact the Center box office at 708.235.2222. 

Students can win big prizes by participating in any or all of The CenterPoint for Entrepreneurs’ pop-culture related contests. Staff and faculty are also welcomed to play along, but are ineligible for prizes.

Tomorrow is the deadline for answer submissions for three brain-boggling contests.

- Corporate Logo Recognition – What’s Nike without the swoosh?

- Entrepreneurial Film Quiz – How do you spell trouble in River City?

- Nouns, Verbs, Eponyms? – Is Kleenex a product type or a brand name?
 

Visit the CenterPoint website for full details. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 24.

The Governors State University Board of Trustees committee meetings scheduled for Tuesday, December 2, 2008 and the full Board of Trustees Meeting scheduled for Friday, December 12, 2008, have been canceled.

The next full Board of Trustees Meeting will be held on Friday, February 20, 2009.

The 2009 full Board of Trustees Meeting schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 20

Friday, April 3

Friday, June 12

August 23-25 (Retreat)

Friday, October 9

Friday, December 11

No one likes to arrive at a holiday event empty-handed. Make the right impression by bringing a delicious fruit pie from the GSU Café. Gift dessert boxes to go, featuring a variety of ready to eat fruit pies, are available through the holidays. Stop by and take one home today!

Sodexho also reminds the campus community to submit all January catering orders before December 19.

On Tuesday morning, the university’s HLC Steering Committee held an open meeting, providing an update on the current reaccreditation self-study. Provost Jane Hudak and Assistant Provost Sandra Mayfield welcomed the participants and audience members. Committee co-chairs Dr. Eric Martin and Dr. Ann Vendrely recapped the importance of the self study and reaccreditation. Martin noted, “The goal of this meeting is to bring the committee chairs together to present their findings and discuss their progress with one another.” 

As part of the self-study, a comprehensive group of faculty and staff has been divided into five sub-committees, each investigating and reporting on a specific criterion – Mission and Integrity; Preparing for the Future; Student Learning and Effective Teaching; Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge; and Engagement and Service. Dr. Linda Samson, co-chair of the Student Learning team noted that the self study provides a snapshot of the university in time, but that the committee must also show how GSU will implement future plans.

The committee as a whole must have the self study completed by June 2009 in preparation for the November 11, 2009 reaccreditation site visit. Draft versions of the subcommittee reports will be available on the HLC website beginning December 1.

Alum Mack Dion McGhee has a gift of speaking and has mesmerized audiences as one of the nation’s most prolific speakers. Mack recently organized seven powerful, motivational speakers for A Night of Inspiration, an event that delivered a message of hope, peace, and encouragement.

As a victim of a violent crime, McGhee has a personal stake in keeping the community safe and youth motivated. Today, he works for the State of Illinois in a position where he helps empower, encourage, and motivate youth to succeed. Mack has a BA in Criminal Justice and an MA in Political and Justice Studies from GSU and is another example of the power of a Governors State education.

International Education Week, November 17 to 20, offers an opportunity to celebrate and promote international education and exchange. The Office of International Services at GSU is pleased to celebrate the occasion with a variety of events to welcome the world to GSU and introduce the world to our community. Students, faculty, staff, and the community are welcome to join the celebration and the conversation. Learning more about the world makes it seem much smaller and our differences fewer.

International Education Week activities include conversations with international students, exhibits, games, Mehendi, dance, and music, as well as information on study and internship opportunities abroad, a Fulbright Scholar information session, and a presentation on short-term study abroad opportunities for faculty. There will be opportunities to sample delicious foods from other countries and share a cup of coffee and conversation with people from around the world.

The celebration of International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, contact Vreni Mendoza at extension 3087.

The Chicago College of Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra and the Conservatory Chorus from Roosevelt University will perform at the Center For Performing Arts, on Monday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Stephen Squires, Orchestral Conductor and Cheryl Frazes Hill, Choral Conductor, will lead performance of works by Debussy, Bruckner, Wagner, and Ravel.

This concert is free and open to the public.

The Civil Service Senate Holiday Shopping Fair is this Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20. Find great gifts at great prices and save on gasoline.

Follett’s bookstore is hosting its annual faculty & staff appreciation event on Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature refreshments and faculty and staff will be able to take advantage of a special 20 percent discount on select merchandise.

Stress, confusion, depression, and relationship issues can all impact individual happiness and academic success. The counselors in the Academic Resource Center are ready to help students understand, cope with, and ease issues and concerns.

The Academic Resource Center has expanded its hours and services to meet the needs of GSU students. Personal, confidential, and professional counseling is provided free of charge, during the day or in the evening, for students in need.

Contact Katherine M. Helm, Ph.D., at 708.235.7334.

The Center for Online Teaching and Learning will hold two hands on workshops this week.

Jan Engle will present how to use Discussion, E-mail, and Calendar in Blackboard CE6 on Wednesday, November 19, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, in D-2438 (ACS). Contact Jan Engle to register. 

Barbara Mandel will present Organizing Your Course, which includes instruction on how to conceptualize your online course components, how to create and upload files to CE6, and how to build a Learning Module, on Thursday, November 20, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., in D-2435. Contact Barbara Mandel to register. 

Seats are limited in each workshop, so register early.