Labor Day 2011 Message from the Chancellor

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of this country.

On this holiday, we want to take time to recognize the UNO workforce… those who contribute to UNO's proud history and reputation for excellence. Our faculty and staff members each have an impact on the university's role and success.

We are proud of our faculty and staff, and hope you enjoy the long weekend.

Have a safe and fun holiday and thank you for all you do.

- Chancellor John Christensen

Criss Library Schedule Changes for Labor Day Holiday

Criss Library hours for Sunday, Sept. 4, will be noon to 9 p.m.  The library will be closed Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

Regular library hours resume Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7 a.m.  For a complete schedule of library hours, visit http://library.unomaha.edu/information/hours.php.

UNO Volleyball Showcase Today, Tomorrow

Cheer on the Mavericks at home! The UNO volleyball team will host a faculty/staff appreciation day today, Sept. 2, at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Faculty and staff will receive free admission and a complementary hot dog at today's UNO Volleyball Showcase.

Fans can watch UNO vs. Winona State at 12:30 p.m. today. Faculty/staff must show their MavCard to receive the faculty/staff appreciation day deal.

On Saturday, Sept. 3, the showcase continues as UNO takes on University Nebraska at Kearney at 6:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door. The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for students.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/omavs.

'Consider This' Airs KVNO Tribute

1901. Marconi conducts the first successful transatlantic experimental radio communication. 1972. UNO conducts its first broadcast from a studio located on the third floor of the Storz Mansion.

On the next edition of "Consider This," get a glimpse into the history of radio including a special tribute to KVNO. Tune in as host Cathy Wyatt and her guests reminisce about the old days and speculate on the days ahead for this ever-evolving and fascinating medium.

Join Wyatt and her guests:

* Anne Hellbusch - marketing manager, KVNO & TKN

* Otis Twelve - novelist, radio & TV personality

The program airs on NET 2 today, Sept. 2, and on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 12:30 p.m.

"Consider This," a production of UNO Television, also airs on the Knowledge Network of Greater Omaha. Check the Knowledge Network website at http://www.tknomaha.org for dates and times.

Veteran Student Organization to Host Sept. 7 Education Information Brief

The Veteran Student Organization (VSO) will host a VA Education Information Brief on Wednesday, Sept. 7, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Chancellor's Room.

This event will feature the UNO Veterans Affairs Representative, Jen Carroll. She will discuss the Veterans Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 and its effects on all VA Education programs.

Peace Corps on UNO Campus

What do Thailand, El Salvador, Armenia, Ecuador, Uganda, Federated States of Micronesia, Ukraine and Costa Rica have in common?
 
These are eight countries where UNO alumni are currently serving as Peace Corps Volunteers, making a difference around the globe in various sectors such as health, youth development, environmental protection, education and community development.  

You can learn more about these opportunities by joining Valerie Flynn (China, Education Development), the recruiter for Nebraska, for a General Information Meeting:

- Wednesday, Sept. 7
Milo Bail Student Center Umonhon Room
6:30 to 8 p.m.
 
If you cannot attend the meeting, but are interested in learning more, stop by the Peace Corps Information Table at the Milo Bail Student Center on Sept. 7th, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., or contact Flynn directly at vflynn@peacecorps.gov.

For more information about this event, contact Anne West-Leclou at (402) 554.3822, or awest-leclou@unomaha.edu.

Both events are sponsored by UNO International Studies and Programs.

MaverickPR to Host Ethics Advocacy Round Tables Sept. 8

Local professionals will gather Thursday, Sept. 8, to discuss ethical behavior in the workplace during round table discussions with UNO students.

MaverickPR, the UNO chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), invites students to participate in "Business Ethics: Taking the High Road," a round table discussion on ethics with corporate and non-profit professionals.

The event takes place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at UNO's Thompson Alumni Center. Read more.

Sept. 9 Program Exposes Future Teachers to Omaha's Culture

For the third consecutive year, the College of Education at UNO will host a Culture Walk on Friday, Sept. 9.

The event is designed to teach UNO education majors about diverse student populations at local and regional levels.

More than 150 UNO students will learn best practices for culturally-responsive teaching from community leaders and by participating in neighborhood walks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the three locations. Read more.

Marquette Professor to Present Sept. 9 Talk

The Nebraska Biomechanics Core Facility invites the UNO community to attend a presentation given by Dr. Stephen J. Guastello, professor of psychology at Marquette University. His talk, titled "Nonlinear Dynamics in Cognitive Workload and Fatigue," will take place Friday, Sept. 9, from noon to 1 p.m. in 211 Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building.

Dr. Guastello's research interests fall into several areas. The largest concerns nonlinear dynamics (chaos, complexity, catastrophe theories and related principles) and their applications to work motivation, work performance and turnover, occupational safety and health, creativity, group and organizational behavior and cognitive workload and fatigue. Dr. Guastello's other interests include the role of macroeconomics in organizational behavior, human-computer interface design, computer-based test interpretations and expert systems, personality and organizational behavior.

His teaching responsibilities include industrial psychology, organizational development, personnel selection, human factors engineering, graduate statistics and chaos and complexity in psychology. Dr. Guastello is also the founding editor in chief of the journal Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences. He has also authored more than 40 research papers in peer-reviewed journals as well as several book chapters.

For more information, contact Demi Treat at (402) 554.2573.

Teaching Circles, Research Triangles and Community Engagement

Time to register for Teaching Circles, Research Triangles and Community Engagement Links.

Registration options:

* Join an existing Teaching Circle, Research Triangle or Community Engagement Link by sending an email to unofacdev@unomaha.edu and ask to be added to a specific group. To view existing groups go to the Center for Faculty Development webpage and click on the "Faculty/Staff" learning Community link.

* If you have a new Teaching Circle, Research Triangle or Community Engagement Link that you would like to register, complete the registration form found at http://www.unomaha.edu/facdevelop/

All group registrations should be completed by Wednesday, Sept. 28.  A facilitator luncheon is planned for Friday, Sept. 16.  For more information, visit the Center for Faculty Development webpage.

In the News

- Dave Booker, College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in the Aug. 29 issue of the Omaha World-Herald about UNO's new STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program. Angie Hodge, also of the college, was quoted in the article. Hodge will serve as the Dr. George Haddix Community Chair in Mathematics.

- David Drozd, Center for Public Affairs Research, was quoted last week by a number of local, regional and national media outlets about Nebraska's in-migration population changes, including: the Omaha World-Herald, McCook Daily Gazette, Nebraska State Paper, Bloomberg Business Week, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, NTV, WOWT, Lincoln Journal Star, CNBC and KLIN (1400 AM, Lincoln, Neb.).

- KIOS (91.5 FM) interviewed Wendy Townley, University Relations, on Aug. 26 about UNO's newest campus event: Freshman Convocation.

- Sam Walker, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was quoted in the Sept. 1 issue of the Omaha World-Herald in an article about excessive use of force by police officers.

If you are a member of the UNO community and have been interviewed by the media - local, state, regional, national or international - we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call (402) 554.2762.

In Print

New Writing Textbook Designed for UNO Students, Features Local Work

The new textbook used this fall for Composition I at UNO was created by three faculty members and includes writings from a handful of noted authors, including Loren Eiseley, Barbara Kingsolver, Sherman Alexie and Michael Pollan, as well as UNO professors, John Price and Lisa Knopp.

The textbook – From the Heartland: Critical Reading and Writing at UNO – also includes papers written by UNO students in English 1150 during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Composition I is part of the English Department's successful First-Year Writing Program, which is designed to help students find their voices in the academic community, said Nora Bacon, who oversees UNO's First-Year Writing Program. Read more.

If you've authored or edited a book, article or other text that's been published recently, we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call 554.2243.

On Stage

UNO Theatre Fall 2011 Season

The UNO Department of Theatre Fall 2011 Season has been set.

Upcoming Mainstage productions include: Jeffery Hatcher's adaptation of The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, directed by Douglas Paterson; Caridad Svich's 12 Ophelias (a play with broken songs), directed by Cindy Melby Phaneuf; and UNO's Showcase production of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, directed by graduate student, Zach Jennison.

Performances of The Government Inspector runs from Sept. 28-Oct. 1 and Oct. 12-15.  Performances of 12 Ophelias runs from Nov. 16-19 and Nov. 30-Dec. 3. Performances of A Moon for the Misbegotten runs from Oct. 27-29.

All productions will be held in the Weber Fine Arts Building. 

For more information about UNO's 2011-2012 Mainstage or Showcase Season, contact Sarah Fogarty at uno.theatre.publicity@gmail.com or (402) 554.3167.

If you are a member of the UNO community and are involved in an upcoming performance, we want to know about it. Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number.

On Exhibit

Contemporary Painting Exhibit on Display at UNO Art Gallery

Painting is the focus of the UNO Art Gallery's first exhibition of the 2011-2012 academic year, which is on display now through Wednesday, Sept. 28.

UNO faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of the earlier reception time to see the exhibition, enjoy refreshments and visit with the artists and colleagues at the end of the work day. The public is also invited to attend tonight's opening reception.

Julie Farstad and Jessie Fisher's exhibition, Hardcore Painting: Confessions and Premonitions, explores the evolution of each artist's work technically and philosophically by incorporating several bodies of works as well as preparatory drawings. Both artists revel in the subversive constraints of the most analyzed genres of the art world – the easel painting. Read more.

UNO Theatre Faculty featured in Art of Theatrical Design Exhibit

UNO Theatre Professors Sharon Sobel, Steven Williams and Robbie Jones will display their work as theatrical designers in the Osborne Family Gallery in the UNO Criss Library until Tuesday, Sept. 27. 

The exhibit offers attendees a rare opportunity to chart the creative process of three imaginative artists who work professionally in the collaborative art of theatre.  There will be representative costume, scenic, lighting and graphic designs that illustrate the process of bringing a production alive from page to stage.  Read more.

If you are a member of the UNO community and are involved in an exhibit, we want to know about it! Send an e-mail with the particulars to enotes@unomaha.edu. Please include a contact name and phone number. For more information, call (402) 554.2243.