UNO Unveils New Logos at Night with the Mavs

The UNO Athletic Department rolled out a new look for its teams at the third annual Night with the Mavericks fundraiser event at the Embassy Suites. UNO unveiled new primary and secondary logos that will be worn by all of its teams as the department begins its reclassification to Division I next fall. Read more.

'Cycle to Safety' Race Set for Today Near HPER Atrium

Students, faculty and staff may have noticed new bike lanes around Omaha or even the increased number of bikes on campus. If so, join UNO's health honorary, Eta Sigma Gamma, for 'Cycle to Safety' today, April 4.

While Omaha is the 144th most unhealthy city in the nation, events like 'Cycle to Safety' encourage more physical activity such as biking, rather than taking a vehicle. It is also National Public Health Week this week. The American Public Health Association stresses the importance of National Public Health Week with the slogan 'Safety is No Accident.'

'Cycle to Safety' will feature Greenstreet's 'Greensprints' bikes and Kay Grant, a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor.

"You have to experience Greensprints to fully appreciate it -- it's indescribable! Watching the sprinters on their bikes, racing against each other and the clock- highly entertaining," Grant said "Then it's a completely different experience if you're the racer. It's a sprint, so you give it your all in a short amount of time, but you still feel the rush of excitement long after you're done."

Today's event will be located in the atrium entrance of the newly renovated Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone can stop by to pick up a treat, ask the expert, Kay Grant, any questions you may have and race the Greensprints for prizes.

"Plus it's entertaining for the crowd. Greensprints is a fun way to test your bike sprinting ability, and a little friendly competition, not to mention all the people gathered to watch, is a great motivator," Grant said.

For more information stop by today's event or contact Amy Wieczorek at awieczorek@unomaha.edu.

The Mav-Rec Wellness and GreenUNO Task Force both support this event. For more information, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/health/wellness.php or http://www.unomaha.edu/green/.

UNO Print Workshop Hosts Works by Visiting New York Printmaker

The UNO Print Workshop will host Dennis McNett, a Visiting Printmaker from New York City, today through Friday, April 4-8. McNett will be working with the Printmaking and Sculpture students to produce a large printed sculpture that will be displayed at an Omaha site.

The Visiting Printmaker residency will take place in the printmaking studios of the Weber Fine Arts Building this week. McNett will present a public lecture about his work at 1 p.m. this Thursday, April 7, in the UNO Art Gallery. For further information about the program, contact the Department of Art and Art History at (402) 554.2420.    

McNett's work ranges from larger than life Viking ship performances/parades in Philly, resurrecting Nordic giants on West Broadway in Manhattan, Dragon slayings in Oklahoma, masks, installations and sculptures to unique hand-carved wood cut pieces, traditional relief prints and graphics. Participating in both the fine art and design worlds, McNett has created series' for Anti-Hero skateboards, designed shoes for Vans, had work fill the windows of Barneys, N.Y., and participated in the Deitch Artparade. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Juxtapoz magazine, Thrasher and Complex Magazine.

Retirement Reception Today for Sharon Ulmar

The university community is invited to attend a retirement reception for Sharon Ulmar today, April 4, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Chancellor's Room. Ulmar is the associate director of Human Resources and the director of Equal Employment Opportunity. For more information, contact Stephanie Jensen at (402) 554.2321.

April is the National Mathematics Awareness Month

Since 1991, April has been the month for celebrating mathematics and its applications. This year the theme of the Mathematics Awareness Month (MAM) is 'Unraveling Complex Systems.' The Mathematics Department at UNO is celebrating this event with several activities including its annual Mathematics Symposium 'MAM at UNO,' which features talks by UNO students on their mathematics research, as well as guest speakers.

On April 5, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., 116 Durham Science Center, Dr. Vladimir Itskov from the mathematics department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will give a talk accessible to all undergraduates and graduates with an interest in mathematics, titled ‘Algebraic approaches to the network encoding problem.'

On April 15, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., 116 DSC, Dr. Alan Veliz-Cuba from the Department of Mathematics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln will give a talk accessible to both undergraduates and graduates, titled 'The dynamics of conjunctive Boolean networks.'

The schedule of the events can be found on the MAM at UNO website, http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwmath/MAM/index.html. For more information regarding the Kerrigan research minigrants program, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwmath/minigrants/index.html.

Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Activities Start Tomorrow

The annual Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration at UNO officially begins Tuesday, April 5. All events will be free and open to the public.

Events include a film showing of the Movie ‘Like Stars on Earth,' which is about an Indian young boy who is classified as all difficult but is awakened by a teacher who sees something great in him. There will be a short moderation after the movie. Additional events include a Mini Marital Arts Film Series and Martial Arts Demonstration where students can come for a continental breakfast in the morning, lunch and a martial arts instructional workshop. And finally, a presentation titled ‘Asian Tea Ceremony: Tear Down Asian Myth-One and Half Answers from Tea.' The event will be presented by Dr. Maoroong Jiang from Creighton University.                                                 

Events that are apart of UNO's Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month are brought to you by: Student Organizations Leadership Programs, American Multicultural Students, Asian Student Association, Association of Latin/Latino American Students, Indian Student Association,  Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS), Lambda Theta Nu Sorority Inc.,

This week's event:

- Tuesday, April 5
6 to 9:30 p.m.
Film Screening and Moderation: ‘Like Stars on Earth'
132D College of Public Affairs and Community Service Collaborating Commons
Free Food
Sponsor: Indian Student Association and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Committee

For more information, call Valerie Thompson at (402) 554.2711.

Designing Effective PowerPoint Slides Student Lunch Talk April 20

The UNO Speech Center is sponsoring a free student workshop titled 'Creating Visual Aids that Work: Designing Effective PowerPoint Slides' on Wednesday, April 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center U mon hon Room. 

Students are invited to learn more about about how visual aids enhance and clarify your presentation skills, PowerPoint and understand how to use it, and how to avoid common visual aid pitfalls and mistakes.

Free pizza and pop will be provided. To register for this workshop, contact a consultant at the Speech Center at (402) 554.3201 or unospeechcenter@unomaha.edu. Space is limited so you must register in advance.

Student Creative Works, Research on Display This Week at UNO

Research projects and creative works by undergraduate and graduate students at UNO will be highlighted and celebrated at the third annual Student Research and Creative Activity Fair in April.

The fair is this Tuesday, April 5, and Wednesday, April 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Milo Bail Student Center. More than 100 posters, presentations and performances by UNO students will be on display for the campus community and the public.

Awards for this year's best presentations will be announced at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Milo Bail Student Center Chancellor's Room. Read more.

UNO Honors Convocation Events Set for This Thursday

UNO will recognize the accomplishments of outstanding faculty and students this Thursday, April 7, at its annual Honors Convocation events.

The Faculty Honors Convocation pays tribute to the recipients of the university's outstanding teaching, research and creative activity, mentoring, service-learning and distinguished professorship awards. A breakfast event in their honor will take place at 7 a.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom.

The Student Convocation will take place at 4 p.m. in the Strauss Performing Arts Center. The Student Honors Convocation recognizes outstanding undergraduate and graduate students with graduate scholarships, undergraduate major honoree awards, and awards from the deans and the senior vice chancellor. Students will also be recognized for outstanding service-learning, leadership and for student-athlete excellence. Read more.

Human Resources To Offer I-9 Training April 7 for Staff and Faculty

Human Resources will hold an I-9 training session in the Milo Bail Student Center Gallery Room from 11 a.m. to noon this Thursday, April 7. Staff and faculty who prepare I-9 forms for new employees should be aware of the increased focus by governmental auditing teams on I-9 compliance and the risk of significant penalties for non-compliance.

The training will cover aspects of compliance that perhaps were not looked at as intensely during audits in the past. 

For more information, contact Tim Rochford in Human Resources at (402) 554.2465 or via e-mail at trochford@unomaha.edu.

UNO Exercise Physiology Lab and Fitness Center Offers Aerobic Fitness Test

Aerobic fitness is a stronger predictor of mortality than any other single factor except smoking. Have your aerobic fitness assessed at the UNO Physiology Laboratory and Fitness Center. The cost is $90. Call (402) 554.3321 for an appointment.

UNO to Host Gallup Inspired Movie Sunday on 'Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think'

UNO's Islamic Studies Program, Religious Studies Program and the Tri-faith Initiative will co-sponsor a special showing of 'Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think' on Sunday, April 10. The public is welcome to this free screening, which will take place at 2 p.m. in 101 College of Public Affairs and Community Service.

"Join us for the film screening of the movie ‘Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,' followed by discussion with local Muslims," said Bridget Blomfied, assistant professor of philosophy and religion.

‘Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,' explores the world's first major opinion poll, conducted by the Gallup organization. It asked Muslims from Indonesia to South Asia, to the Middle East, as well as minority communities in the U.S. and Europe, what they thought about issues such as gender equality, terrorism and democracy. Islamic scholars and the Gallup members themselves who give context and try to provide explanations for the results present it.

For more information, contact Dr. Blomfield at (402) 554.2940 or bblomfield@mail.unomaha.edu.

'On the Fringe' Paranormal Radio Show Airs Mondays

Listen to 'On the Fringe' paranormal radio show, which is broadcast live from the UNO campus every Monday from 5 to 7 p.m. on http://mavradio.com. Tune in to hear radio personalities -- Tyrone, Seth and Matt -- apply science to tackle the subjects that the scientific community is afraid to touch.

For show questions, contact the crew at unomahaps@gmail.com, who will answer them live on the air. The UNO Paranormal Society brings this program to you.

Mav-Rec Massage Offers First Monday Massages

This event has been designated a UNO Mav-Rec Wellness event.

UNO Campus Recreation will offer chair massages on the first Monday of every month this spring. The chair massages, administered by Mav-Rec Licensed Massage Therapists, will be held in the Mav-Rec Café in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Monday of March, April and May.

Cost for the 15-minute massage is $15. Massages will be given on first come, first serve basis. The remaining spring 2011 dates: April 4 and May 2.

For more questions, contact David Daniels at (402) 554.2008.

The mission of Mav-Rec Wellness, UNO's health promotion program, is to create a culture of health and wellness among all faculty, staff and students. Health goals are encouraged through programming and initiatives that celebrate healthier lifestyle practices within the UNO community. For more information, visit http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/health/wellness.php.

Annual UNO Service Awards Recipients Announced

Preparations are under way for the 2011 Service Awards Ceremony. The 2011 luncheon will take place Tuesday, May 3, at 11:30 in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom. This year's list of UNO honorees follows at http://www.unomaha.edu/enotes/2011/img/serviceawards11.pdf. If you are a recipient and have any corrections, please notify Human Resources at (402) 554.2321.

Maverick Watch

Support the Mavericks by attending their home events. To view the spring Omaha's Team schedule, visit http://www.omavs.com/calendar.aspx?.

To catch up on the latest UNO Maverick news or to keep tabs on favorite teams, players and coaches this season, visit http://www.omavs.com, Twitter at http://twitter.com/omavs or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/omavs.