July 2009

Around Campus

With the economy in the tank, stretching every dollar has become a necessity for most of us. One of the first things we eliminate when pinching pennies is entertainment, but don’t just assume you won’t have any fun until the economy is back in shape. There are plenty of free things to do at UNF that will keep you busy year ‘round. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Watch a good movie:

Throughout the year, there are many opportunities to take in a free movie offered by UNF. Movies on the House, a program funded by Academic Affairs, offers unique films every other Thursday at 7 p.m. at Regal Cinema on Beach Boulevard (during fall and spring semesters). Films shown through this program are often outside the mainstream, are not usually shown for very long in commercial theaters and contribute to important and current cultural discussions. Some of the thought-provoking films shown through Movies on the House include “Terror at the Voting Booth,” “No End in Sight,” “Auto Focus,” “The Winslow Boy,” “Synecdoche, New York” and “Who Killed the Electric Car?”

According to the program’s Web site, “In the perpetual cinematic fight between art and industry, Movies on the House wants to get in a few punches on the side of art.” Admission is free for students, faculty, staff and their guests. There’s also free popcorn as well as prizes to those who come prepared with movie-related trivia.

Osprey Productions, funded by Student Government, also regularly offers free showings of movies in the Robinson Theater during fall and spring semesters. These films include newly released popular films like “Twilight,” “Wanted” and “Wall-E” as well as old favorites like “The Godfather,” “Spaceballs” and “Beetlejuice.” Free popcorn and drinks are provided. Osprey Productions also offers “dive-in” movies occasionally, showing films like “The Little Mermaid” on a large screen in the Aquatic Center while audience members float in the pool on inner-tubes and noodles.

Other UNF departments, divisions and student clubs/organizations, including PRIDE, the International Center and the Intercultural Center for PEACE, also offer free films throughout the year.

Take a hike:

Since UNF is nestled among 1,300 acres that include a nature and wildlife area with lakes and nature trails, why not spend some time exploring the outdoors? The Robert W. Loftin Nature Trails is a great place to relax, go fishing or exercise. Three well-marked trails traverse 500 acres of natural land and feature an outdoor exercise course. Spend an afternoon hiking the trails and observe wildlife in its natural habitat, including snapping turtles, sand hill cranes, lizards, raccoons, and yes, even snakes and alligators (but please don’t feed the animals).

Lake Oneida is a great place to launch a canoe or kayak, especially for those who are just learning to navigate the waters. The Department of Recreation offers various organized outdoor activities throughout the year that employees can participate in (space permitting), including night hikes, canoeing and kayaking excursions, camping trips and fire-building seminars, to name just a few.

If you’re not as much into wildlife, stick to the sidewalks and enjoy a relaxing walk around campus, taking in the ever-changing scenery.

Go for a swim:

Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness – but it’s also fun and is a great way to cool off and relax. To reduce stress and get some low-impact exercise, consider heading to UNF’s award-winning Aquatic Center to swim laps during your lunch break or after work. The Aquatic Center, the finest facility of its kind in Northeast Florida, houses a heated indoor Olympic-size swimming pool that’s staffed by certified lifeguards. The center is designed to accommodate instructional, recreational and competitive aquatic activities, and it’s completely accessible to those with disabilities. Full-time faculty and staff, as well as adjunct employees, are eligible to use the Aquatic Center at no cost. An Osprey 1Card is required for admission.

Head to the Library:

The Thomas G. Carpenter Library isn’t just for students. It’s open to all UNF employees, offering access to more than 817,000 volumes of material, more than 8,000 videos and nearly 4,000 periodical subscriptions. Spend some time browsing the shelves for interesting works of fiction, non-fiction, reference material and audio/video material. Employees can check out books, CDs and DVDs with an Osprey 1Card and enjoy them at home (most circulating material checked out from the general collection is due back in three weeks for staff or 18 weeks for faculty).

If you’re looking for a comfortable, quiet place to sit down to check e-mails, surf the Web or get some work done away from the usual interruptions, head to the Library’s public workstations or group study rooms, or bring your laptop for network access throughout the building.

The Library also regularly features a variety of exhibits and lectures that are free to attend. And reference librarians are available for assistance to students, faculty and staff who need it.

Get lectured:

If you’re into intellectual activities, you can attend one of a multitude of free lectures at UNF, featuring prominent, world-renowned authors, poets, political experts, theologians and educators. UNF’s past lecturers have included such cultural icons as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, anthropologist Jane Goodall, TV journalist Dan Rather, paleontologist Richard Leakey and columnist and author Carl Hiaasen. Through UNF’s numerous lecture series, experts in almost every field provide their perspectives on a never-ending list of topics. During the fall and spring semesters, barely a week goes by without an opportunity to catch a free lecture on campus.

Be a good sport:

Don your blue and gray, show your school spirit and cheer on the Ospreys at an athletics event. While not all sporting events on campus are free, many are. Men’s and women’s soccer matches, women’s volleyball games, women’s swimming and diving meets, softball games, men’s and women’s tennis matches and men’s and women’s track meets are free for everyone. In addition, the Athletics Department sometimes offers free admission to other sporting events to show appreciation to faculty and staff. All other sporting events have a reduced admission fee for faculty, staff and students.

Work out:

Making time to exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health – and there’s no need to pay a hefty fee for a gym membership each month. The Dottie Dorion Fitness Center offers full-time faculty and staff a 10,000-square-foot comprehensive state-of-the-art fitness facility free of charge. The fitness center features 83 weight-training stations and 33 cardio stations, including treadmills, stair-steppers, rowing machines and stationary bikes. The facility also offers highly trained student fitness trainers who are available to design personal workout programs at no charge (and personal training sessions are also available for a small fee).

UNF Hall also has a much smaller fitness center, available only to UNF employees, which offers a few treadmills, stationary bikes, stair-steppers and weight machines. To gain access to this gym, which requires key-card entry, contact Dottie Dorion Fitness Center Manager Jim Baur at ext. 2853 or jbaur@unf.edu. Employees using this gym will need to sign a waiver and fill out an application to request a key card.

Feed your brain:

Full-time employees who have been employed for six months or longer may be eligible to take classes at UNF (up to six credit hours per semester) for free, as part of UNF’s Employee Education Program. For more information, go to http://www.unf.edu/registrar/employeeedprogram.html or contact Human Resources at ext. 2903.

The Center for Professional Development and Training also provides a plethora of free training and workshops to employees, including courses on desktop productivity, Banner, change management, communication, supervisory issues, workplace issues, excellent service, team building and maintaining work/life balance. To view a complete list of courses offered through CPDT, go to http://www.unf.edu/dept/cpdt/catalog.htm#DesktopProductivityCourses or call ext. 1707 for more information.

Through SkillSoft Online Learning, faculty and staff also have access to several thousand free online courses. Business, professional and computer-related online courses ranging from writing effective business documents to solving problems as a team are available to employees 24/7 via the Internet. Log in to the myWings portal and select the “Employees” tab and then proceed to the “Quick Links” channel to get started.

Explore the arts:

The University Gallery in Founders Hall establishes an important cultural link between the University and Jacksonville’s greater metropolitan area, and exhibits are free and open to everyone. Its schedule features individual and group exhibitions by artists of regional and national acclaim, as well as annual displays of faculty and student art. Additional gallery offerings include lectures, musical performances, poetry readings and films. For more information, call the University Gallery at ext. 2534.

Free concert, anyone?

Attend one of a multitude of free musical performances on campus, whether it’s a Music Department-sponsored concert featuring violinist Piotr Szewczyk, tuba virtuoso Oystein Baadsvik, saxophonist John Sampen, or UNF’s own Chamber Orchestra, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble or Jazz Ensemble I. It won’t cost a thing to attend the Intercollegiate Chorale Festival, Octubafest, the Koger/Mattison Jazz Festival and any number of recitals featuring musicians on piano, violin, cello, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, drums and percussion.

Recent free performances in the Lazzara Performance Hall have featured groups like Project, Trio Florida, The Blakesmore Trio, Music from Copland House, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the Ritz Chamber Players, among others.

You can also rock out on campus for free. Recent high-energy concerts sponsored by Osprey Productions, the University Gallery and other campus groups have included union maid Anne Feeney, Magdalen Hsu-Li’s “Smashing the Ceiling” and UNF’s own Battle of the Bands, all offering free admission.

The best bet for taking advantage of these and other free opportunities available to faculty and staff is to regularly check out UNF’s online calendar at http://tomcat.unfcsd.unf.edu/MasterCalendar/MasterCalendar.aspx, read Campus Update daily and also check out the Student Update Web site regularly at http://webapps.unf.edu/studentupdate/. Sometimes the free activities advertised to students are also open to faculty and staff if space permits. So put your wallet away, get out there and have some fun! 

Around Campus

Perhaps no department or division on campus works harder under more trying conditions – heat, rain, cold – than the men and women of the Division of Physical Facilities. The Physical Facilities staff recently received recognition for their efforts when they were presented with a prestigious international award.

UNF, thanks to the work of Physical Facilities, is the second state university in Florida to receive the APPA Award for Excellence, which was created to recognize and advance excellence in the field of educational facilities. The award, established in 1988, is considered APPA’s highest institutional honor.

“It’s because of the entire Physical Facilities staff that we won this award,” said Matthew Taylor, Physical Facilities director. “I’m extremely proud of the entire staff, and they deserve the recognition.”

Physical Facilities is responsible for maintaining the campus landscaping to enhance UNF’s natural beauty. The Physical Facilities staff also performs a myriad of other functions including energy conservation and equipment repair; collecting and disposing of trash; recycling and preventive maintenance, including painting and carpentry work. Physical Facilities also is responsible for keeping buildings and classrooms clean, moving equipment, furniture and other items from one campus building to another and installing equipment in new buildings.

APPA [once known as the Association of Physical Plant Administrators of Universities and Colleges] was founded in Chicago in 1914. It’s now known simply as APPA and has 5,200 members in 1,500 academic institutions throughout the world. The organization promotes excellence in all phases of educational facilities management. UNF is in APPA’s Southeastern region, which includes 11 states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

“I think it is just terrific that Physical Facilities has won the APPA Award for Excellence,” said Richard Crosby, associate vice president of Administration and Finance and Taylor’s immediate superior. “The award is much deserved, and they are to be highly congratulated. Due to their efforts, this is a very comfortable and well-maintained campus. Physical Facilities does a very good job maintaining the campus.”

Nominees for the Award for Excellence are evaluated based on the following criteria: leadership; strategic and operational planning; customer focus; information and analysis; development and management of human resources; process management; and performance results.

Elton Brown, an assistant superintendent of maintenance for the inner core of campus, has worked at UNF for six years. “I’m proud to work here,” Brown said. “I strive to do the best I can for the University. I have a good group of people working for me. My goal is to put all my efforts into making this the best physical facilities division in the Southeast or really [the best division] in the United States. I’m very proud of the job we all do. Mr. Taylor lets everybody know he appreciates us and that goes a long way.”

The award process was quite thorough and involved a team from APPA spending four days at UNF talking to Physical Facilities staff, customers, faculty, deans, vice presidents and a representative of the President’s Office. There were 86 interviews in all. That was the first of two on-site visits.

Taylor, the division’s director for the last three years, attributed winning the award in part to Physical Facilities focusing on what’s important to the University and to the division’s concentration on improving overall performance and customer satisfaction. The award carries a five-year designation, which Taylor said means that for the next five years, UNF can refer to itself on written communications as the APPA Excellence Award winner.

When Taylor read the letter early last month notifying him that Physical Facilities won the award, he was a happy man. “I let loose a yell through this building so loud that everybody thought something was wrong. This to me is the pinnacle of my career as a director. It’s because of the folks in the division we got this award. They stepped up to the plate and got the job done. They are out on the front line. Am I ecstatic about it? Yeah,” he said enthusiastically.

Taylor will receive the APPA Award for Excellence plaque this month at a banquet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 
 

Around Campus

The Advancement Services staff is one of those quiet, unassuming, behind-the-scenes groups of employees on whom the University depends to accomplish its educational mission. Recently, Advancement Services was acknowledged for its contributions to UNF by being named a Gold Medal Winner in the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards program.

“I am so pleased and proud that UNF Advancement Services has been recognized by CASE for its outstanding work,” said Lisa Watson, Advancement Services director. While emphasizing the award was the result of a team effort, Watson had special praise for Associate Director Tom Mills. “He is an innovative thinker, who is always asking: ‘How can we do this better, easier, more efficiently?’ We come together as a team regularly to brainstorm ideas – everyone’s input is valued – but Tom’s technical ability is what really makes the difference in dreaming things up and actually making them come to fruition.”

Advancement Services’ five-person staff is responsible for the Office of Institutional Advancement’s University-wide efforts in fund raising by providing support of all fund-raising software, alumni and constituent records and gift credit and acknowledgement.

UNF won its award from CASE in the Gift / Bio Administration, Compliance and Ethics category. CASE stands for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The organization’s membership includes more than 3,400 colleges, universities, elementary and secondary schools in 61 countries. CASE is the professional organization for advancement professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, fund raising and marketing. UNF will receive a certificate and congratulatory letter from CASE for winning the Gold Medal.

Mills is the primary system administrator for Raiser’s Edge, the UNF alumni and donor database. Mills oversees the gift/bio data entry staff for Advancement Services. “I know that the things we were doing were innovative and important to us,” Mills said. “It’s nice to hear an independent judging body agree.”

The title of UNF’s entry was Data Efficiency and Integrity Enhancement Program. Mills conceived, developed and implemented the processes within the program.

Briefly stated, UNF’s Data Efficiency and Integrity Enhancement Program consists of three innovations. The first is a system for new records in Raiser’s Edge that automates name-formatting options for correspondence – i.e. Mr. Mills, Mr. Thomas A. Mills, Mr. and Mrs. Mills etc. Each name format is inserted automatically into the approximately 8,100 records added annually. That means 64,000 entries that don’t have to be done manually each year.

Another innovation is a smarter method for entering new Parents Association members into the Raiser’s Edge database. There are currently more than 2,900 sets of parents in the database. Since the same type of information is needed for all parents in the database, a tool in a program called Alpha 5 that Advancement Services developed has dramatically reduced the number of data-entry steps. Mills estimated 36,000 data-entry steps are eliminated yearly as a result of the new method.

The final innovation is a series of nightly checks verifying the integrity of the data in Raiser’s Edge. The data is checked for hundreds of possible errors. The system devised by Mills reports back on records with problems immediately, so that they can be quickly corrected.

“We all have to do more with less, and the database gets larger every year with these new donors and new grads, so we try to innovate constantly to figure out ways to be more efficient,” Mills said. “These three programs have been integral to our operation.” 
 

Around Campus

UNF got a chance to show off its academic prowess recently at the inaugural Doctoral Research Symposium. Dr. David Fenner was rather pleased with the number of students, faculty and administrators who turned out on a Saturday afternoon at the University Center to observe the high level of scholarship on display.

“The symposium attracted many more students, faculty and administrators than I anticipated,” said Fenner, dean of The Graduate School, which hosted the event attended by approximately 100 people. “As institutions around us – public, private, for-profit – offer additional opportunities for citizens of the region to earn baccalaureate-level degrees, UNF’s emphasis on graduate education will assist in distinguishing ourselves. UNF is poised to do its part, and the evidence of the research of our students is testament to this.”

UNF’s three doctoral programs, the Ed.D. in educational leadership, the doctorate in nursing practice and the doctorate in physical therapy, were featured at the symposium. The Office of Academic Affairs, the Brooks College of Health and the College of Education and Human Services sponsored the event.

Dr. A Russell Smith Jr., chair of the Department of Athletic Training and Physical Therapy, delivered the keynote address. “The Doctoral Research Symposium is an opportunity for the University to showcase the high level of scholarship that our doctoral students possess,” Smith said. “Doctoral education at the University of North Florida demonstrates to the community that we are serious about our mission to provide academic programs vital to the growth and economic development of the region we serve.”

The three-hour symposium featured round-table discussions on dissertation proposals and research methodology among other subjects. The topic of one panel discussion was “What Completing a Dissertation Taught Me about Research and Life.” The panelists were students Dawn Emerick, Todd Parish and Vicki Waytowich.

There were also several poster presentations. Brenda Kingdon, a student in the doctorate in nursing practice program, discussed her poster titled “Effects of Nurse-Physician Education Intervention on Patient Safety.”

Dr. Katherine Kasten, an educational leadership professor who led a round-table discussion, saw the symposium as an excellent vehicle for communication. “The Doctoral Symposium is an opportunity to showcase the scholarship of students and faculty and to provide opportunities for conversation among the various groups of doctoral students. I’m excited about the possibilities for collaboration that these conversations should generate.” 
  

Briefs

Marna Fox of Jacksonville learned she was the 1,000th person to register for a LEARN Jacksonville class when she arrived at “Pilates for Fun” June 3. Valerie Murphy, program director, and Phillip Green, director of corporate business training and executive education initiatives, presented Fox with balloons and a certificate for two free Continuing Education classes. LEARN Jacksonville, a division of Continuing Education, is a non-credit personal enrichment program that consists of a wide range of topics that include computers and technology, health and fitness, crafts, financial planning, home and garden, language, literature and photography. Visit http://www.learnjacksonville.com for a complete schedule of upcoming events.   

Briefs

Dr. Adel El-Ansary, chair of the Department of Marketing and Logistics in the Coggin College of Business, recently received the Distinguished Fellow award from the Academy of Marketing Science. The award was presented in May at the 38th annual meeting of the Academy in Baltimore.


The Distinguished Fellow designation is the highest award by the Academy, an international, scholarly, professional organization. Recipients are nominated and voted on by Academy leadership, with fewer than 35 members having been given the honor since the Academy was established in 1972.

“Dr. El-Ansary has long been a significant contributor to the Coggin College of Business. It’s truly appropriate that his long-term achievements have been recognized at a national level by his colleagues,” said Dr. John McAllister, dean of the Coggin College.


El-Ansary has been a professor in the Coggin College for 19 years and is currently the Donna L. Harper Professor of Marketing. He joined the faculty at UNF in 1990 as the first holder of the Paper and Plastics Educational Research Foundation Eminent Scholar Chair in Wholesaling.

He has received numerous awards, including the Prime Osborne Distinguished Professor in 2002 and the State of Florida University System Professional Excellence Award in 1999. El-Ansary holds honorary visiting professor status at Gothenburg School of Business at Gothenburg University in Sweden. He has lectured and conducted research in more than 35 countries across six continents.  

Briefs

The University of North Florida has been awarded the Interagency Advisory Council on Loss Prevention Award of Distinction for Loss Prevention by the Florida Department of Financial Services.

It marks the second consecutive year UNF has received the safety award for distinction in risk management best practices, which was presented May 13 at the Interagency Advisory Council Loss Prevention Meeting in Tallahassee.

“UNF is recognized by the Interagency Advisory Council on Loss Prevention for having a safety program that far exceeds minimum standards,” said Jim McClay, risk services administrator for the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Risk Management.

The University received the Silver Standard Award, which recognizes UNF’s dedicated efforts in loss prevention through an objective comparison of its safety program to establish best practices in loss prevention.

“I am very appreciative of my staff’s dedication and professional service they have put forth to achieve this award and I’m proud for UNF to be recognized in this way,” said Dan Endicott, director for UNF’s Environmental Health and Safety.
The Department of Environmental Health and Safety at UNF strives to maintain high quality and innovative programs, policies and procedures that reflect a commitment to integrity, honesty, professionalism and teamwork.

Briefs

What can students and business owners learn from each other? Judging from interactions between local business owners and the most recent crop of seniors in the Coggin College of Business’ Small Business Consulting course, quite a bit.

The students, organized into teams of two, spend 15 weeks consulting with business owners to assess their businesses, identify goals and discuss strategies to achieve those goals. The student teams meet as a group in a roundtable setting each week to discuss their research and analysis, review progress and obtain guidance on the consulting projects from their faculty instructor. At the end of the term, the teams present the business owners with a report that includes their analysis and recommendations.

A key component to the field case experience is the participation of local businesses identified by UNF’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). SBDC’s certified business analysts offer students resources as they complete their analyses of the respective businesses, while participating businesses provide students with an unparalleled learning opportunity and the chance to apply the concepts they have studied. Students consistently rate the field case experience as one of their strongest learning experiences at UNF.

“I felt this class allowed me to use what I have learned over the past few years and apply it to a real world situation,” student Kyle Chapman said. “I think the class should be a requirement for all business students.”
Chapman paired up in the spring with fellow student Matthias Kozielski to consult with Tom Whipple, president of Ameritape. According to Whipple, both students demonstrated a professional analysis of Ameritape’s situation and provided the company with many alternatives and key initiatives to help them develop important sales strategies.

“We were extremely pleased with the results of their many hours of research on our behalf,” Whipple said. “Kyle and Matthias have surpassed my expectations and represented the University of North Florida brilliantly.”

Diane Denslow, instructor in entrepreneurship, indicated that the course provides both a teaching and learning experience. “While students learn ways to improve a business and increase profits, the small business provides students with practical experience and gives them first-hand exposure to the business world,” she said. “Certainly, it is a win-win for everyone involved.”  

Get to Know

Department: Political Science and Public Administration / Public Opinion Research Laboratory
Job: Assistant Professor and Director, Public Opinion Research Lab
Years at UNF: Six (since fall 2003)

Who is the most famous person you ever met?

As a Brit, I get asked frequently, “Have you met the queen?” I’d like to take this opportunity to say to everyone that I have not met the queen. The most famous person, excluding some politicians, would have to be my Latin teacher’s nephew. I was 11, and naturally hated Latin. My classmates and I protested to our teacher that Latin was boring, dead and completely useless as only 11-year-olds can. She told us though that Latin could be fun, and she’d prove it to us by bringing in her nephew who had studied Latin. The following week, her nephew, Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr. Bean), came to class. There aren’t many people in the world who can say that Mr. Bean taught them Latin.

What was the first concert you ever attended, and what was the most recent concert you attended?

The first part of this question is difficult to answer because I can’t remember the first concert. I’m sure it was a school concert that every pupil had to attend and the kind that only a mother can say, “Oh, it was brilliant” at the end. The most recent concert though was a while back, but I remember it. It was at the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank in London. My brother is a solo cellist and I went along, not to watch, but to listen. Don’t ever say to a musician you watched a concert, unless you want to actually annoy them, then go ahead. They prefer you to say, “listened.” I do “watch” though at concerts. Maybe it’s my interest in public opinion, but I’m a people watcher. I love airports, and concerts also hold a similar appeal.

What is your favorite way to blow an hour?

Now this is an easy question. I love to bike ride along the beach, and in the summer, to ensure my journey has a purpose, to stop for a quick drink at the Lemon Bar. I’ll admit that it can sometimes take longer than an hour, but I’m OK with that.

Tell us something that would surprise people to know about you.

Until last month, when I received a call from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) concerning a survey on infant vaccinations, I’d never completed a survey. Even I couldn’t say “no” to a survey from the CDC on infant vaccinations. As the director of the Public Opinion Research Lab, I think that may surprise some people, but seriously, who wants to be disturbed during dinner to answer a survey?

What would you like to do when you retire?

Some weeks I don’t even know what I want to do at the weekend, so in terms of retirement, I haven’t got a clue. It’s a long way off (fortunately) so I have time to plan it out. I guess if pushed right now, I’d say I want to move back to the United Kingdom when I retire, but in reality, as I say, I haven’t got a clue.

What is your favorite thing about working at UNF?
I guess it would be the collegiality of my colleagues. One hears nightmares from friends working at other institutions and their stories are so removed from my experience at UNF.

What is the best thing you ever won?
Well, when I win something, I’ll let you know. If you see me in Las Vegas, seriously, whatever number I put my money on, put your chips on another number.

If you won the lottery, what would do with the money?
After the last question, come on, like that’s going to happen!

If you were not working at UNF, what would you be doing?
In this job market, who knows? I’d like to think I’d be working at another university or as a pollster at a commercial polling house.

What was the best money you ever spent?
Well, it was definitely somebody else’s money. I guess more seriously, from a capitalist perspective, when in college I bought Google stock. 

Dateline

Congratulations

Sammy Cardoza (Athletics Business Office) and her husband Arthur recently welcomed a second child into their family. Arthur S. “Tripp” Cardoza III was born June 12 at Memorial Hospital, weighing 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Their daughter Brelynn is 2-1/2.

Carlos Monell (College of Arts and Sciences Advising) and Malvelina “Lina” Monell (Equal Opportunity Programs) celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary June 15.

Evelyn Serrano (Controller’s Office) is proud to announce that her daughter Sgt. Crystal A. Serrano Hairston (University Police Department) and son-in-law Terran welcomed their second child into the world May 26. Terran Jr., weighing 9 pounds 3 ounces at birth, joins his big sister Tiana, who is 3.

The National Society of Leadership and Success selected the UNF chapter, Sigma Alpha Pi, with the “Most Impressive Induction Ceremony” and “Chapter on the Rise” awards. Sigma Alpha Pi society is a community of leaders dedicated to creating lasting positive change and is recognized as a worldwide organization for achievement and leadership education. At the Sigma Alpha Pi induction ceremony in April, the following UNF employees were recognized for their outstanding efforts and achievements in leadership and received honorary memberships to the society: Nicole Atkinson, events coordinator for the Fine Arts Center; Bert Bernreuter, scholarship coordinator for Enrollment Services Processing; Katie Chenard, events and reservations coordinator for the Robinson Student Life Center; and Sheila Spivey, assistant director of the Women’s Center and adviser to the African-American Student Union. In addition, Sandy Bernreuter, office manager for the Department of Chemistry and Physics, received the national designations of Adviser of the Month award for May and Adviser of the Year. The Adviser of the Year award is presented to one adviser per year who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and support to his or her local chapter. The nominees for these awards were from all of the chapters throughout the United States and Canada. In a two-month period, Bernreuter guided the chapter from approximately 200 students to more than 850.

Milestone Anniversaries

In last month’s Dateline’s “Milestone Anniversaries” section, Inside inadvertently omitted Pat Reeder’s name from the list. June 28 marked Reeder’s 10th anniversary at UNF. She is currently an office assistant in Auxiliary Services. Thanks to Sabrina Foust in Auxiliary Services for bringing it to our attention.

Congratulations to the following employees, who will celebrate milestone anniversaries at UNF in July:

35 years:
Elinor Scheirer, professor, Leadership and Counseling
Robert Schupp, associate professor, Management

20 years:
Katherine Kasten, professor, Leadership and Counseling

15 years:
Ralph Glover, assistant maintenance supervisor, Physical Facilities

10 years:
Marc Anderson, program assistant, University Parking
James Edwards, telecommunications manager, Telephone Services
Jo Ann Orren, coordinator of benefits, Human Resources

Five years:
Shane Borden, business systems specialist, Enterprise Systems
John Delaney, president, President’s Office
James Greer, maintenance mechanic, Maintenance and Energy Management
Stephen Lyon, assistant director of network engineering, Networking Services
Suzanne Morey, custodial worker, Physical Facilities
Elizabeth Noriega, office manager, World Languages
Vince Smyth, director, Auxiliary Services
Barbara Soliah, director, Enrollment Services Processing
Mark Swanhart, assistant director of research programs, Public Opinion Research Lab
Susan Wilkinson, assistant professor, Center for Studies in Education

Welcome

The following employees were either hired by UNF or accepted new positions at UNF from mid-May to mid-June:

Mary Bracey, office manager, Biology
Joseph Ertel, recycle refuse worker, Physical Facilities
Jeremy Shyatt, assistant basketball coach, Athletics
Keith Lynn, life safety systems specialist, Physical Facilities
Khiem Ma, custodial worker, Physical Facilities
Alicia Erchul, coordinator of research and program services, Public Opinion Research Lab
Kimball Rose, adjunct instructor, College of Education and Human Services

Faculty & Staff

Brooks College of Health 

 
Athletic Training & Physical Therapy:
Dr. Chitra Balasubramanian was interviewed on Channel 4 WJXT’s "Ask the UNF Expert" segment May 26. She discussed falls in the elderly.

Dr. James R. Churilla secured a three-month summer contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. He is working with Dr. Earl Ford, a renowned epidemiologist from the CDC’s behavioral surveillance branch, on conducting epidemiological studies in the area of physical activity and health.

Dr. Peter Magyari had a paper titled “Osteoporosis and Osteopenia: An Exercise Professional’s Guide to Proactive Bone Health” published in the educational arm of the American College of Sports Medicine Journals, ACSM’s Certified News, Vol. 19, No. 2, April-June 2009.

Dr. Rose Marie Rine was the featured invited lecturer at the annual meeting of the British Society of Audiology, Paediatric Balance Interest Group, in Sheffield, England, in May. She presented her work on balance and vestibular issues in children—evaluation and intervention. She also (along with collaborators Heather Barksdale, Krista Filsinger, Kim Jones, and Melissa Kirn) presented “Vision and Balance Impairments in Children with Otitis Media with Effusion,” in poster format, at the annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association in Baltimore, in June. Collaborators included Dr. Gary Josephson, Anne Mull and Laurie Duckworth from Nemours’ Children’s Clinic. The work was supported in part by the Brook’s Professorship awarded to Rine and by Nemour’s Children’s Clinic.

Dean’s Office:
The Sulzbacher Center, one of Northeast Florida’s only providers of comprehensive services for homeless men, women and children, named Dr. Pamela S. Chally to its board of directors.

Coggin College of Business 

 
Accounting and Finance: 
Drs. John MacArthur, Jeffrey Michelman and Bobby Waldrup published an article titled “Does Your Costing System Need a Tune-up? A CIO Gives New Energy to an Activity-Based Costing Initiative” in Strategic Finance, Vol. 90, No. 12.

Career Management Center:

Lisa LaPorte was selected to present at the Florida Career Professionals Association (FCPA) annual conference in Orlando in June. LaPorte led a workshop featuring the Coggin College of Business Career Management Center’s S.T.A.R. (Skills to Achieve Results) program and instructed other FCPA members on how a professional skills development program can drive recruiting efforts on campus so that both students and recruiters have more success in making career connections.


Management:
The UNFSIFE Team again finished in the top 16 teams in the nation during the SIFE National Competition in Philadelphia in May. Dr. Fred Pragasam, faculty adviser of the UNFSIFE team, was inducted into the SIFE Hall of Fame for his notable contributions, service and commitments to the UNFSIFE team.



Marketing and Logistics:
Dr. A. Coskun “Josh” Samli presented a paper titled “Marketing Implications of Coping with Islamic Extremism” at the annual conference of the Academy of Marketing Science. Samli also chaired a track and session at the same conference, which was held in Baltimore. His track/session was “The Outreach of Marketing.” Samli also recently published his 20th book, titled “International Entrepreneurship” (published by Springer). In addition, Samli presented a paper at the Macromarketing International Conference at the University of Agder in Norway. The paper, “Developing Infrastructures for Economic Progress, Market Development and Entrepreneurship,” was also published in the proceedings of the conference.

College of Arts and Sciences 

 
Biology:
Dr. Greg Ahearn and co-authors published a paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology titled “Identification of a Novel Sodium-dependent Fructose Transport Activity in the Hepatopancreas of the Atlantic Lobster Homarus Americanus.”

Dr. John Hatle co-presented a poster, “Life-extending Ovariectomy Increases Fat Body Mass, but Probably not Nutrient Allocation to Muscle, in Grasshoppers” at the annual meeting of the American Aging Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Chemistry and Physics:
Dr. Barry Albright gave two talks at a conference in Utah on Advances in Western Interior Late Cretaceous Paleontology and Geology: “Locating the Late Cretaceous Santonian-Campanian Stage Boundary using Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy” and “A Summary of Fossil Vertebrates Recovered from the Tropic Shale.” The conference was sponsored by the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Dr. Lev Gasparov had a paper, “Hybrid Density Functional Theory Applied to Magnetite: Crystal Structure, Charge Order and Phonons,” published in Physical Review B, Vol. 79, No. 205103 (2009), available online at http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.79.205103 .

Dr. Jay Huebner presented "Photoelectric Chemical and Microbe Sensors; Technology Invented in Jacksonville" at the Learning Tools for the 21st Century conference at Edward Waters College in April. Huebner and Dr. Nirmal Patel filed a U.S. Patent application for “Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Nanocrystalline Oxide Semiconductor Thin Films and Method of Detecting Vapors and Odors Including Alcoholic Beverages, Explosive Materials and Volatilized Chemical Compounds.” In addition, the sensor paper published by Patel and Huebner in April 2008 was cited for being among the “Annual 10 Best Articles Award” for the past year in the Sensors and Transducers Journal.

Communication:
Dr. Hyung-Seok Lee published an article with co-authors titled “Roles of Media Exposure and Interpersonal Experiences on Country Brand: The Mediated Risk Perception Model” in the Journal of Promotion Management, Vol. 15, Nos. 1 and 2, January 2009.

Dr. John Parmelee published "A Better Man for a Better America: Presidential Campaign Films as a Mirror of Society” in the Atlantic Journal of Communication, Vol. 17, Issue 2. He also gave a presentation titled "Media Pluralism by Default: The Case of Moldovan" at the annual convention of the International Communication Association in Chicago.

English:
Dr. Nicholas de Villiers presented “Anno’s Camera-Eye: Sexuality, Youth, and Inoculation” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies International Conference in Tokyo in May.

History:
Dr. Dale Clifford delivered a paper titled "These Symbols of Fraternity: Flags and Ceremony in the Parisian National Guard" at the annual conference of the Society for Military History in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in April.

Music:
Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki performed two solo recitals of Italian songs and opera arias for the international concert series L’Associazione Musicale Melodica in Sicily in May.

Dr. Marc Dickman performed with the St. John’s River City Band as the band accompanied the Dave Brubeck Quartet at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in May.

J.B. Scott performed with Dave Brubeck and also his group the Swingin’ All Stars at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in May.

Dr. Gary Smart’s piece “String Quartet” was premiered by the Ritz Chamber Players at Jacoby Hall in The Times-Union Center in May. The four-movement work is based on African and African-American materials.

Sociology and Anthropology:
Dr. Keith Ashley had an article titled “Refining the Ceramic Chronology of Northeastern Florida” published in the latest issue of The Florida Anthropologist. Ashley also gave a presentation titled “On the Prowl at Tiger Point: Results of the 2008 UNF Summer Field School” at the Annual Meeting of the Florida Anthropological Society in Pensacola. Ashley and Dr. Robert Thunen published an article titled “Reexamining an Archaeological Survey of Big Talbot Island” in the latest issue of The Florida Anthropologist.

Dr. Ronald Lukens-Bull presented the Plenary Address, “Islamization as Part of Globalization,” at the Qur’an and the Challenges of Globalization Conference, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Contemporary Indonesian Islam and Society in Jambi, Indonesia, in May.

World Languages:
Dr. Jorge Febles published “Hijastro de Caín: Espejismos y Especularidades en las Ficciones de Roberto G. Fernández.” The chapter appeared in “Guillermo Cabrera Infante: El subterfugio de la Palabra” (Madrid: Editorial Hispano Cubana, 2009), edited by Humberto López Cruz.

Dr. Shira Schwam-Baird organized and presided a workshop titled “Reading Aloud Old French and Middle French” at the 44th International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in May.

College of Computing, Construction and Engineering  

School of Computing:
Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy published the following book chapters in May: “Language-Action Perspective (LAP)” in the “Handbook of Research on Contemporary Theoretical Models in Information Systems” (http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?ID=34284); and “The Influences and Impacts of Societal Factors on the Adoption of Web Services” in the “Handbook of Research on Social Dimensions of Semantic Technologies and Web Services” (HYPERLINK http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?id=34405 http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?id=34405).

School of Engineering:
Dr. Dan Cox, Michael Straatsma, Rainer Bartz, and Christoph Ctistis presented their paper, “Development and Enhancement of a Remote Laboratory System – An International Collaboration," at the 22nd Annual Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics (FCRAR '09) in May.

Dr. Adel El Safty, along with CCEC students Sean Corcoran and Aaron Kotlarz and alumni Katrina Myers, spent 12 days in Ghana working on the Tamale Children’s Home constructing water tank concrete foundations, installing pipes and installing mosquito netting.

Dr. Dean Krusienski published three papers. The first included a conference presentation. They are: (with G. Townsend and E.W. Sellers) “Amplitude Quantization of Event Related Potentials,” published in the proceedings of the 4th International Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medical and Biology Society Conference on Neural Engineering, 2009; (with A. Furdea, S. Halder, D. Bross, F. Nijboer, N. Birbaumer and A. Kubler) “An Auditory Oddball P300 Spelling System for Brain-Computers,” published in Psychophysiology, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2009; and (with N.R. Anderson, K. Wisneski, L. Eisenman, D. Moran and E. Leuthardt) “An Offline Evaluation of the Autoregressive Spectrum for Electrocorticography,” published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. 56, No. 3, 2009.

The Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA) First Coast Chapter selected Dr. Steve Nix and CCEC electrical engineering student Noel San Antonio as recipients of this year’s local FWEA chapter awards. Nix received the Achievement/Jim Miller Award and San Antonio received the Student/Garreth Kerr Award. 

Dr. Thobias Sando and Ren Moses published their paper, “The Influence of Intersection Geometrics on the Operation of Triple Left-Turn Lanes,” in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 135, No. 5, 2009.

Dr. Pat Welsh served on the expert reviewer’s panel at the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) and Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) sponsored Coastal Inundation Test-bed Meeting at the University of Florida in May. Welsh also participated in Reality Check First Coast, an urban planning exercise sponsored by the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council.

College of Education and Human Services 

 
Childhood Education:
Dr. Christine Weber, with the help of Dr. Laurel Stanley, organized and hosted the Working on Gifted Issues (WOGI) Summer Institute at the World Golf Village in June. Coordinators of gifted programs from around the state, the DOE program specialist in gifted, ESE coordinators, teachers, university faculty, and undergraduate students interested in teaching gifted students were in attendance. The institute included a workshop on "Developing Differentiated Products." Districts piloting screening instruments for reducing disproportionality in their gifted programs also presented their results.

Dr. Donna Keenan won the 2009 EVE Award in education in June. Keenan has been a professor-in-residence at West Jacksonville Elementary School helping UNF education students with hands-on classroom experience in an urban school. West Jacksonville is one of four professional development schools that have a partnership with the College of Education and Human Services. For more information about Keenan’s work and the EVE Award, go to http://jacksonville.com/lifestyles/2009-06-05/story/2009_eve_award_winner_in_education_donna_keenan.

Exceptional Student and Deaf Education:
Dr. Donald Moores recently participated via videoconference as a member of the final Ph.D examination committee of Goedele De Clerck, a deaf anthropologist in the Department of Comparative Science of Culture at Ghent University in Flanders, Belgium. De Clerck did part of her dissertation research at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., when Moores was a faculty member. De Clerck is the first deaf person from Flanders to earn a Ph.D – and she is the first to do so in American Sign Language.

Foundations and Secondary Education:
Drs. Marianne and Lehman Barnes, with Eastern New Mexico University colleague Jerry Everhart, facilitated the Professors' Forum at the Center for Teaching Excellence Action Research Conference in Taos, New Mexico, in June. The focus of the forum was how to sustain a higher education action research network in New Mexico.

Leadership, Counseling and Instructional Technology:
Drs. Jason Lee and Jeffrey Lee recently authored a new book titled “Sport and Criminal Behavior” about the increasingly visible prevalence of criminal behaviors associated with sport. Lee also presented Let's Go to the Tape... er, Film: Examining Sport Policy through Film” at the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) in South Carolina in May.

Dr. Todd Parrish is the recipient of the 2009 Thomas Mulkeen Award for the Doctoral Dissertation that Best Exemplifies Practice-Centered Inquiry. The Award was presented at the Annual UNF Doctoral Research Symposium at the University Center in June. The title of Parrish's dissertation was “The Teach for Florida Program: A Case Study of Alternative Route Certification Policy.” Members of the dissertation committee included Drs. Katherine Kasten, chair; Joyce Jones; Russell Mays; and Earl Traynham.

Student Affairs 

Student Health Services:
Doreen Perez attended the American College Health Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco in May and presented a program titled “College Health Nurse’s Recognition Portfolio 2009 Update.” 

Good Question

Q: (From Renee DelConte, One Stop Student Services) - With the state of the budget, it was no surprise that UNF could not do its annual technology currency upgrade review this past fiscal year. Many of us are “making it work” (and have been for quite some time) with older machines that are past due for an upgrade. When can units expect to learn if currency upgrade will be possible in 2009-2010?


A: (From Shari Shuman, vice president of Administration and Finance) - We have continued to provide currency dollars for technology upgrades these past couple of years. The currency budget has not been reduced. We continue to obtain warranties on computers for a four-year period and then replace the computer after the fourth year. For the 09-10 year, currency orders are determined in November with delivery of new computers in January.

Q: (from Jenny Hager, Art and Design) – How can faculty take advantage of taking classes at UNF?

A: (from Joann Campbell, associate vice president of Academic Affairs) - UNF strongly encourages its staff to pursue lifelong learning opportunities for professional growth and development. Full-time employees (faculty, A&P and USPS) who are in good standing, have been employed for at least six months in a budgeted position and qualify as Florida residents can enroll in up to six credit hours of instruction at UNF at no charge to them, as part of UNF’s Educational Assistance Program. The program also offers three credit hours of instruction per semester to part-time salaried employees meeting the same requirements. For more information, including the program’s objective and purpose, statement of policy and guidelines and procedures, go to http://www.unf.edu/unfinfo/policies-regs/chapters/human_resources/4_0220P.html.

Q: (from Tyler Young, Student Life) - In the past several months, many offices have relocated around campus. In many instances, the names of the old office areas remain above the doors on the windows of these old offices, greatly confusing non-UNF individuals. In addition, many offices that have moved did not put the location to which they moved in/on their former location, so people do not know where they are to go once they happen upon an empty area/building. For example, One Stop Student Services still has One Stop Student Services across the top of the first-floor entrance (exterior) of Building 2, facing the old Bookstore courtyard. Why is this?

A: (from Zak Ovadia, director of Facilities Planning and Construction) - The campus has been going through a major transition where many administrative departments were relocated to UNF Hall. In many cases (such as the One Stop Student Services) there are renovation projects planned for the vacated spaces to accommodate other departments that will remain in the core campus. It was the intent to have renovation projects start soon after the space becomes available, but this is not always possible due to various reasons.
 
Departments moving to UNF Hall have made every effort to advertise their relocation in both the Campus Update and by installing signs on the entry to their original office spaces. Non-UNF personnel wanting to access services on campus probably rely on directional maps and information distributed by various entities on campus, which have not been updated yet. In time all this will be corrected.