New! Chancellor Wilson's Open Forum with Faculty and Staff

Friday, Feb. 1
With the announcement of Provost Mark Heckler’s departure, Chancellor Wilson would like to become fully engaged in our ongoing search for a new Dean. He would like to lend whatever assistance he can to ensure that the college gets the leadership it needs and deserves going forward.

Please join him in the Terrace Room (2nd Floor) of the Lawrence Street Center at 4:00 pm this Friday to talk about the next steps in the search process.

New! Involve Undergrads in Research, Scholarly and Creative Activities

Research and Creative Activities Symposium
As we move ahead with releasing our UCD Strategic plan, let us keep in mind that engagement of undergraduate students in experiential learning of one sort or another is a major goal of that plan.  

The Research and Creative Activities Symposium coming up this spring is a great venue for students to show their work to the entire campus. Now is the time for faculty members to identify and recruit students of promise to get involved in a research or scholarly project that is a part of your on-going work. 

In general, undergraduates are frequently unfamiliar with such opportunities; it is only through faculty members showing an interest in their abilities and encouraging them to engage in such work that they become involved outside the classroom. 

In my own experience, the increase in the level of intellectual sophistication of students who do become engaged in even a small outside scholarly or research project with a faculty member is almost always dramatic.

I would encourage as many of you as possible to consider taking on an undergraduate or two in a research project with you. I also realize that many of you are already engaged in just this way – to you I say thank you!

Sincerely,

Jim Hageman
Interim Dean

New! Call for Judges: Denver Metro Regional Science & Engineering Fair

Calling Faculty, Staff and Students
For a second year, CLAS is sponsoring awards for the winning projects of the Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair, but we'd also like to lend support by providing volunteer judges.

If you enjoy science, have a good knowledge base, and enjoy working with students to help them develop their interest and skill in science, please consider judging at the 2008 Fair.

Judging will be Wednesday, Feb. 27, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.  Lunch will be provided. 

You may register online no later than February 20, 2008. 

To maintain a fair judging environment and avoid any possible conflicts of interest, please note any connections to a particular school or student in the comment section of the Judges Registration Form.

Detailed information will be sent to you via email a few weeks prior to the fair. If you have not received your email information by Feb. 22, please contact Greg Kinney or Meredith Tennis. 

For more information on the fair, please contact Katy Brown.

New! Payment Voucher Reimbursement Restrictions

An updated procedural statement on payment vouchers will go into effect Feb. 1, 2008.  The biggest change is that individuals will no longer be reimbursed for office supplies, computers and furniture.  The change was made to allow the university to benefit from negotiated pricing agreements, avoid paying sales tax and to comply with established procurement policies and procedures.

Requests for reimbursement of office supplies, computers and furniture will continue through April 2008 to allow time for individuals to become aware of the new policy.  Beginning May 1, reimbursement of these items will not be allowed.

Please see the January 22, 2008 issue of the PSC Communicator and the PSC Payment Voucher Authorization and Use Procedural Statement for more information.

Feel free to contact JoAnn Porter regarding any financial compliance issues.

New! Writing Center Provides Student Support

Opens Jan. 28
The Writing Center at the University of Colorado Denver opens for the spring 2008 semester on Jan. 28.  The Center provides free writing assistance to students from any discipline at any stage in the writing process.  Our services include one-on-one and small-group writing consultations in areas such as:

• Generating, organizing and developing ideas
• Establishing effective proofreading skills
• Analysis, synthesis and argument
• Summary, paraphrase and documentation
• Understanding error pattern analysis
• Information literacy and research strategies

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Friday 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
CN 206

Online Hours:
Sunday-Thursday
6:00 PM-10:00 PM
Web site

In-Class Presentations:  The Writing Center can come to your class to provide brief informational presentations that give students an overview of our services and how we can help them succeed in your class.  To schedule a visit, please call 303-556-4845.

Workshops:  Each semester the Center hosts workshops for students, faculty, and staff on topics such as business writing, creative writing, and grading rubrics. 

For further information, please visit the Writing Center's Web site.

2007-2008 CLAS Research Innovation Seed Program (CRISP)

Mar. 3 Deadline
CRISP grant proposals are invited from all tenured and tenure-track faculty to support research activities that will result in applications for external funding.  Details of the program, submission requirements, allowed expenses, and required activities are included in the attached document, and the deadline for submission is Mar. 3, 2008.  The college has committed $100,000 this year to support this program, which was developed by Dean Hageman, Associate Dean Brenda Allen, and Associate Dean Mary Coussons-Read. 

Drafts of the program announcement were reviewed and supported by the CLAS Leadership Team, the CLAS BPC, the CLAS Council and the CLAS Chairs.  The college anticipates making approximately 5 awards in each track of the program.  Note that an essential aspect of the CRISP application is developing and documenting a relationship with the Office of Sponsored Programs to identify potential funding sources, and Mary Coussons-Read is glad to facilitate this process. 

Please contact Mary Coussons-Read with any questions you might have regarding the announcement, the program or submission.

Focus the Nation Teach-In Day

Jan. 31: Sustainability, Renewable Energy and Climate Change
All over the country on Jan. 31, professors and teachers are committing to spend a portion of their class period talking about climate change and how it relates to their specific area of expertise. For example, an economics professor could talk about the economic impacts of rising fuel prices, a geology professor could explain oil shale and a psychology professor could discuss denial of global climate shift. We encourage teachers to talk to students about how climate change relates to their area of knowledge and what it means to the industries that support it.  

The idea behind this movement is to have one day of focus on the issues of climate change, renewable energy, and sustainability - one day where the US educates itself to the reality of these causes. If you do not teach on Thursday, Jan. 31 you could have your Teach-In day be any day that week.

To learn more about the Teach-In Day, please visit the Focus the Nation Web site, or contact Andrew Pattison.

Be an Expert for Media Interviews

New Web Site to be Launched Soon!
The Media and PR office is about to launch a new exciting Web site complete with an experts list. We want to make sure you are included on that list if you have interest in helping with media interviews.

Some of you may have already heard from the PR and Media office as you are already on their experts list. But we want to make sure no one is overlooked.

If you want to be included on this list, please send an email to Jacque Montgomery with the following information:

1. Your name

2. Your area of emphasis (that is what you likely would want to be tapped to comment on)

3. Your preferred contact method and information. (Do you want reporters to work through the media relations team to connect with you, or can they call your office or cell phone directly? Jacque, the new director of media and PR, is happy to support whichever method you are most comfortable with.)

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program

From Aristotle and Plato to Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis H. Sullivan, students and their mentors have been collaborating to produce works of scholarly merit. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, established in 1994, enhances undergraduate education by funding students engaged in research, scholarly, creative and entrepreneurial activities in collaboration with faculty at the downtown campus. Projects are either designed around the activities of a faculty member or designed independently by a student or team of students and endorsed by a faculty sponsor.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Mar. 14

Forms can now be found online!
Anticipated award announcement will be on Apr. 11 t our Research and Creative Activities Day.  Approximately 20-30 awards will be available through UROP for fiscal year 2008-09 (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009).

REMINDERS: Important Due Dates for Dean's Office Documents

The following items are due to Associate Dean Tammy Stone by the dates listed below. Please contact her if you have any questions.

Feb. 15: Nominations for faculty awards (research/creative activity, service, t/tt teaching and non-tt teaching)

Feb. 21: One-page nominating letter for Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award

March 1: Sabbatical applications

March 3: Nominating packets for Outstanding Graduate Students

March 4: Complete dossiers for faculty awards (research/creative activity, service, t/tt teaching and non-tt teaching)   

March 15: Complete dossier for Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award     

CLAS in the Spotlight

Professor Larry Anderson of the Chemistry Department was just awarded a Fulbright Fellowship. He will travel to Kazakhstan where he will teach a 4-week course on Environmental Chemistry, and he will also consult with Taraz State University on establishing a PhD in Environmental Studies.

Smart-Girl, an organization that provides prevention and enrichment programs for middle-school aged girls, partnered with CLAS through the help of Associate Professor of Psychology Mary Coussons-Read as a way to involve college students in helping adolescent girls develop into confident, capable and self-reliant women. Smart-Girl was highlighted on 9News on Jan. 24 in the segment "Local program tackles teenage attitude problems."

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Charles Musiba presented a paper in Korea last month for which several publications cited his research, including Rex Dalton's "Fears for oldest human footprints" published in Nature on Jan. 10 and the Observer in Robin McKie's piece"Man's earliest footsteps may be lost forever" on Jan. 13.

Research on violence on college football game days by Associate Professor of Economics Dan Rees, PhD and graduate student Kevin Schnepel received widespread coverage.
Jan. 23: The Boulder Daily Camera, CU study links football, crime
Jan. 18: Inside Higher Ed, An Upsetting Outcome
Jan. 1: Fanblogs.com, Got Crime? Blame college football
Jan. 22: Health NewsDigest.com College Football Games Lead to Increase in Assaults and Vandalism

The Rocky Mountain Middle School Math and Science Partnership (RM-MSMSP) announced its Teaching Innovation Fellows Awards on Thursday, Jan. 24. Each faculty member has received a $2500 professional development grant from RM-MSMSP to develop new innovations for their classrooms and to design research that measures their effectiveness. Congratulations to:
-- Leo Bruederle - Biology
-- John Carlson – Physics
-- RaKissa Cribari - Math
-- Marc Donsky - Chemistry
-- Tod Duncan - Biology
-- Lance Lana - Math
-- Lisa Lanning - Chemistry
-- Randy Tagg - Physics

Events

Sally: A One Woman Play
Wednesday, Jan. 30
7:30 pm
Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theatre
King Center, Auraria Campus
FREE (more information)

Chancellor Wilson's Open Forum about CLAS Dean Search
Friday, Feb. 1
4:00 pm
Terrace Room, 2nd Floor
Lawrence Street Center

Mathematical Sciences Department Seminar
Allen Holder, Trinity University
Thursday, Jan. 31
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
CU 656
Seminar Title: "Mathematical Programming Applications in Medical Physics and Biology"

Biology Spring Seminar Series
Paul Cryan, US Geological Survey
Friday, Feb. 1
Noon - 1:30 pm
NC 1539
Seminar Title: "Uncovering the hidden lives of hoary bats and their mysterious deaths at wind turbines"

Mathematical Sciences Department
Operations Research Seminar
Francis Newman and Masoud Asadi-Zeydabadi, UCHSC
Wednesday, Feb. 6
1:00 - 2:00 pm
CU 626
Seminar Title: "A linear programming model and solution for radiation shielding design"

Biology Spring Seminar Series
Paula Cushing, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Friday, Feb. 8
Noon - 1:30 pm
NC 1539
Seminar Title: "Camel Spiders: the Weirdest Spiders Ever?"

Biology Spring Seminar Series
Deb Thomas, Dept. of Geography & Env. Sciences
Friday, Feb. 15
Noon - 1:30 pm
NC 1539
Seminar Title: "Information Systems Applications: Potential and Possibilities"

Biology Spring Seminar Series
Diana Tomback and Kathryn Chipman, Dept. of Biology
Friday, Feb. 22
Noon - 1:30 pm
NC 1539
Seminar Title: "Invasive forest pathogens, climate change and implications for treeline dynamics"

Biology Spring Seminar Series
Jennifer Ramp Neale, Denver Botanical Gardens
Friday, Feb. 29
Noon - 1:30 pm
NC 1539
Seminar Title: "Using genetic data in the conservation and restoration of native species: a case study from California's vernal pools "

Jake Adam York, Associate Professor of English
Reading and Reception for his book, A Murmuration of Starlings
Saturday, Mar. 1
4:00 pm
Cameron Church (1600 S. Pearl Street, Denver) followed by a reception at Book Buffs

IN THIS ISSUE:

Chancellor's CLAS Dean Search Forum

Research and Creative Activities Symposium

Denver Regional Science & Engineering Fair

Payment Voucher Restrictions

Writing Center

CRISP Program

Focus the Nation

Media Interviews

UROP Applications

Reminders

CLAS in the Spotlight

Events

ARCHIVES:

Past issues since Jan 21, 2007.

USEFUL LINKS:

CLAS Event Calendar

CLAS News

Faculty Resources

Staff Resources

Campus News

The CLAS Deans' Notes is a weekly newsletter
for college faculty and staff.

EDITOR:

Katy Brown
303.556.6663
Katy.Brown @cudenver.edu