E-billing for Student Accounts Coming in January

Starting this January, students at UNO will no longer have to worry about their tuition bills getting lost in the mail.

The first round of E-bills, the billing statements for UNO student accounts, will be issued in conjunction with the start of the spring 2006 semester, which begins Jan. 9.  The E-bills will be generated at the end of the first week of classes, said Tammy Goldsberry, manager of Cashiering/Student Accounts at UNO.

The E-bill will be made available for viewing and printing online in E-BRUNO, UNO's Web-based registration system.  It will replace the paper bills UNO students receive in the mail.

When student bills are generated and available in E-BRUNO, the students will be notified via their Lotus Notes student e-mail accounts.  They can then login to E-BRUNO and click on "View Billing Statement (E-Bill)."  In addition, the e-mail notification will include helpful tips on reading the E-bill statement and making payments.

In addition to its convenience, the E-bill will enhance the security of managing student information, Goldsberry said.  The e-mail notification will not include any sensitive information.  Rather, it will contain a link to the E-BRUNO site so students can access their bills.  All students must enter a student ID and PIN to gain access to the E-BRUNO site.

Also, the E-bills statement area on E-BRUNO will have links to archived copies of prior bills. 

Students will be able to pay their E-bills online via credit card, or they can print the remittance form and either mail it in with the payment or pay it in person at the UNO Cashiering/Student Accounts Office, located in 109 Eppley Administration Building.

For more information, call Goldsberry at 402.554.2954, or visit the Web at http://cashiering.unomaha.edu.

E-mentoring Network Available for UNO Students, Faculty

UNO students and faculty focused on science, technology, engineering and math now have an old-fashioned resource available to them, thanks to the World Wide Web and e-mail.  UNO is the only member institution in Nebraska for MentorNet, a national e-mentoring network for diversity.

"MentorNet is available to everyone at UNO, but women interested in the sciences can especially benefit," said Andrea Zardetto-Smith, an assistant professor in the UNO College of Arts and Sciences and the campus representative for MentorNet.  "Mentoring provides a wealth of information that you just can't get in another format."

MentorNet was created in 1997 to further the progress of women and others underrepresented in scientific and technical fields.  It has been available at UNO since last year, thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation's STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Talent Expansion Program (STEP).

Nationally, MentorNet served more than 2,400 mentors and 2,400 protégés at 80 campuses last year.  In addition to facilitating mentor-protégé connections, the program also offers an e-forum for discussion and a résumé database.

Students and faculty interested in finding a mentor can sign up online at http://www.mentornet.com.  The service is free.

Students can get a perspective on graduate schools, career options and other advice from mentors who could be from academia or industry, Dr. Zardetto-Smith said.  Faculty members might seek a more senior researcher or professor for their perspective, she added.  Faculty also can sign up to volunteer as mentors, which are especially needed in the biological sciences.

"The range of mentors available and the topics that can be addressed are extensive," Dr. Zardetto-Smith said.  MentorNet mentors spend an average of 20 minutes per week, at their convenience, communicating with their protégés via e-mail.

Graduate and Professional School Fair Nov. 9

Are you thinking about graduate school?  Plan to attend the UNO Graduate and Professional School Fair Wednesday, Nov. 9.  The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom.

Students and alumni will have the opportunity to meet representatives from institutions with academic programs in business, medicine, law, pharmacy, education, liberal arts, science and more.

In addition, Kaplan will be presenting a workshop on graduate school admission at 11 a.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Aksarben Room on the day of the event.

Career Exploration and Outreach also holds résumé reviews and mock interviews each Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. in 211 Eppley Administration Building (EAB).  To schedule an appointment, call x4-3672.

You can visit the Web at http://unoceo.unomaha.edu and register on CareerConnect, the online job search system.  You are granted full access to the system upon creating a profile and uploading a résumé.  Registering provides you with 24-7 access to job listings, on-campus interview schedules and more at no cost.

For more information about the fair, CareerConnect and other services, contact Career Exploration and Outreach at 402.554.3672, or stop by 211 EAB.

Governor's Humanities Lecture to Feature Juan Williams

The UNO College of Arts and Sciences will sponsor the 2005 Governor's Lecture in the Humanities featuring journalist and historian Juan Williams Wednesday, Nov. 9.  The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Joslyn Art Museum beginning at 7:30 p.m.  All interested members of the UNO community are invited to attend.

Williams is one of America's leading political writers and thinkers.  He is a senior correspondent for National Public Radio, a political analyst for Fox Television, and a former prize-winning columnist and editorial writer for The Washington Post.

For more information, call (402) 474-2131, ext. 102.

This Week's American Indian Heritage Month Activities

November is American Indian Heritage Month.  The event is being celebrated at UNO with a variety of activities.  All events are free and open to the public.  This week's schedule of events is listed below. 

Thursday, Nov. 10

Presentation – "Indigenous Women in Leadership"

Speaker – Cora Jones

Noon

Milo Bail Student Center (MBSC) Nebraska Room

Cultural Awareness Programs in the Office of Student Organizations and Leadership Programs is sponsoring American Indian Heritage Month activities at UNO.

For more information, contact Sharif Liwaru at 402.554.2711.

Batchelder Biblical Archaeology Conference Nov. 10-12

The Bethsaida Excavations Project at UNO will host the seventh annual Batchelder Biblical Archaeology Conference and Reunion Nov. 10-12. 

Scholars from all over the world will meet to discuss and present their research on the 2005 dig season at Bethsaida, an ancient city located near the north coast of the Sea of Galilee in Israel.  Bethsaida was the capital city of the forgotten biblical kingdom of Geshur.  It is one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament and the purported place where Jesus performed several of his major miracles.

All conference activities will be held on the UNO campus, and the keynote lecture is free and open to the public.

Geography historian and biblical archaeologist professor Anson Rainey will deliver the opening keynote address Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center (MBSC) Ballroom.  Dr. Rainey is a professor emeritus of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and Semitic Linguistics at Tel Aviv University, Israel.  The title of his address is "The Rise and Fall of the Aramean Kingdom of Damascus."

Conference activities will continue Friday, Nov. 11, in the MBSC Ballroom and conclude Saturday, Nov. 12, in Eppley Auditorium.

"Over the years, the Batchelder Conference for Biblical Archaeology has gained the prestige of a high-quality international conference that attracts scholars and laypeople from around the world," said Rami Arav, director of the Bethsaida Excavations Project at UNO.  "It brings to a large audience the most updated discoveries and thoughts."

In 1991, the Consortium of the Bethsaida Excavations Project (CBEP) was formed and has been housed at UNO since its inception.  Its mission is to excavate the ancient city of Bethsaida, research the data discernible from the remains, and disseminate the conclusions to both academic and popular audiences.

The conference is co-sponsored by International Studies and Programs at UNO, and the Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford. 

To register or for more information and a complete schedule of events, contact Steve Reynolds, Bethsaida Excavations Project coordinator, at 402.554.3108.

For more information about the Bethsaida Excavations Project, visit the Web at http://www.unomaha.edu/bethsaida/.

Golden Key Induction Ceremony Nov. 13

The Golden Key International Honour Society will hold its induction ceremony Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom. 

The society gives academic recognition to college juniors and seniors in the top 15 percent of their class.  Membership is by invitation only and is open to students in all fields of study.  Membership benefits include assistance with graduate program applications, career placement, scholarship opportunities and more.  This ceremony is open to all juniors and seniors that applied to be in UNO's Golden Key chapter this year. 

For more information, contact Carol Mitchell at 402.554.2428.

Program on Employment Discrimination Laws Nov. 14

UNO students, faculty and staff are invited to attend a program outlining employment discrimination laws Monday, Nov. 14.  The event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Gallery Room.

The program is designed to familiarize individuals with employment discrimination laws as they relate to race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, age and sexual orientation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Laws.

Sharon Ulmar, assistant to the chancellor for the UNO Office of Diversity, will conduct the workshop.

To register, call Pamela Gilmore at 402.554.2872, or contact Ulmar at sulmar@mail.unomaha.edu.

Wheels of Justice Tour to Visit Campus Nov. 15

The Wheels of Justice (WoJ) Tour will visit the UNO campus Tuesday, Nov. 15.  The bus will be parked in Lot N near the Henningson Memorial Campanile from noon to 4:30 p.m.

This traveling exhibition – founded in the summer of 2003 – provides education, outreach, nonviolence/action training, active resistance and community building across the United States. It is sponsored by Voices in the Wilderness, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and the Middle East Children's Alliance, with support from affiliates of the International Solidarity Movement.

In conjunction with the tour's UNO stop, the UNO chapter of Nebraskans for Peace will host a special presentation and question-and-answer discussion titled "The Human Toll of the War in Iraq" Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the Milo Bail Student Center Jenkins Room from 1 to 3:45 p.m.  "WoJ tour participants – having seen and lived with war, terror and occupation in Iraq and Palestine – will offer first-hand witness accounts to challenge and educate our community on the repercussions of war and occupation for people both abroad and at home," said Sarah Eades, UNO chapter president of Nebraskans for Peace.

For more information about the tour, visit the Web at http://justicewheels.org.  For more information on the presentation, contact Eades at seades@mail.unomaha.edu.

Library Catalog Maintenance Scheduled for Nov. 17

The UNO Library Catalog will be down all day Thursday, Nov. 17, for scheduled hardware upgrades.  Off-campus access to electronic resources will be unavailable during this time.

For more information, contact systems librarian Karen Hein at khein@mail.unomaha.edu or 402.554.2144.

SOLP to Continue Food Drive During 2005-06 Academic Year

In order to continue to support Omaha families in need, Student Organizations and Leadership Programs (SOLP) is sponsoring a food drive throughout the 2005-06 academic year.

Donations can be dropped off at SOLP on the first floor of the Milo Bail Student Center.  The Omaha Food Bank is collecting items weekly.

The following items are sought: breakfast cereals, hot or cold; canned fruits; canned pasta; canned meats (tuna, chicken, ham); peanut butter; jelly; Jello and pudding dry mixes; rice; dry beans; pasta/sauce; and condiments.

Donations of paper products also are needed, including toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, feminine hygiene products, other personal items (deodorant, shampoo and soap) and laundry supplies.

For more information, call Barb Treadway-Janousek at 402.554.2711.

Spotlight on Student Employment

The October Spotlight on Student Employment at UNO focuses on student employees from the UNO Department of Geography and Geology.  They are:

- Jay Austin, water management department, computer science major, Greenville, Tenn.;

- Justin Pence, water management department, geography major, Omaha, Neb.;

- Ben Carpick, emergency operations department, management information systems major, Lincoln, Neb.; and

- Dan Donahue, protection design center, management information systems major, Nassau, N.H.

The students are working off campus for the Northwest Division Corps of Engineers.  "We appreciate their enthusiasm and great willingness to work in corporate America, plus their skills are of benefit to us," said Larry Murphy, team leader in the Resource Regional Center.

"Work experience in the field is very valuable, especially in my major," said Pence.  "It provides skills to help in my future work."

Human Resources will feature student employees from a new department each month through April.  Featured departments will have their names entered in a drawing for an end-of-the-year party.

Departments also will be featured on the Human Resources Student Employment Job Board on the first floor of the Eppley Administration Building.  For more information about the program, contact Emily Muckerheide at emuckerheide@mail.unomaha.edu.

Omaha World-Herald Scholarship Banquet Recipients

Seven UNO students were honored Oct. 25 at the Omaha World-Herald Honors Scholarship Banquet.  Two Omaha World-Herald Honors Scholarships and five Distinguished Scholarships were awarded earlier this fall.  James B. Milliken, president of the University of Nebraska, served as the keynote speaker.

The scholarship recipients are among the many high school seniors from Nebraska and Iowa who took part in UNO's Distinguished Scholarship Competition last spring.  The scholarships are used each year to help attract top scholars to the university.

Adam S. Cornish and George W. Hodson are the recipients of the Omaha World-Herald Honors Scholarships for this year.  The scholarships, first awarded in 1978, are valued at more than $30,000 over four years.

Funds for the Omaha World-Herald Honors Scholarships are provided by a grant from the Omaha World-Herald Foundation, combined with regents' scholarships through the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Distinguished Scholarship recipients and their donor organizations are:

- Erica K. Anderson, Scottish Rite Foundation of Omaha;

- Anthony D. Bolan and Austin E. Steiner, Isaacson Trust Fund;

- Aaron P. Krause, UNO Alumni Association; and

- Elizabeth A. Straley, Helen Hansen Fund.

Each of the scholarships is valued at $24,500 to more than $26,000 over a four-year period.

Cornish, the son of Kurtis and Lorraine Cornish of Omaha, is a graduate of Omaha Central High School, where he successfully competed in several academic decathlons and held a grade point average of 4.0 or better for all four years.  He plans to major in computer science and pre-medicine.

Hodson, the son of George and Susan Hodson of Omaha, is a graduate of Omaha Westside High School.  In addition to being on the school's honor roll and serving as a volunteer in the community, Hodson holds a Black Belt and serves as a martial arts instructor.  He plans to major in computer and electronics engineering.

Anderson is the daughter of Mark and Joni Anderson of Omaha.  She graduated from Omaha Northwest High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society, the Academic Decathlon Team, and the varsity golf and tennis teams.  She plans to major in environmental studies.

Bolan is the son of LeeAnne and David Bolan of Lincoln, Neb.  He graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School, where he was a member of the school system's Information Technology Focus Program.  Bolan also competed for the Lincoln Fencing Club.  He plans to major in computer science.

Krause is the son of Levi and Julie Krause of Louisville, Neb.  He graduated from Louisville High School, where he was class salutatorian, earned two leadership awards for cross country and participated in band, quiz bowl, basketball and National Honor Society.  He plans to major in computer engineering.

Steiner, the son of Roy and Jeannine Steiner of Columbus, Neb., graduated from Columbus High School, where he earned the Outstanding Senior Award in the math department.  During high school, he also was involved in band, mock trial and a variety of church-related activities.  He plans to major in electronics engineering.

Straley, the daughter of Joseph and Andrea Straley of Omaha, graduated from Omaha Marian High School.  During high school, she earned a U.S. Air Force Mathematics and Science Award and a National Merit Commendation.  She also participated in theater, peer tutoring, forensics and National Honor Society.  She plans to major in architectural engineering.

UNO/UNMC to Conduct Infant Independent Sitting Study

Researchers at UNO and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are seeking infants to participate in an innovative study that will shed light on motor control and developmental disabilities and their treatment options.  Both healthy infants and infants who have been identified with motor delays are needed.

"This is the kind of work that can make a tremendous difference," said Nick Stergiou, principal investigator for the study and a professor in the UNO School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER), an academic unit of the UNO College of Education.  "The more we learn, the earlier we can intervene when a child is experiencing delays, and the better his or her life will be.  This work is so important."

The three-year study, "Investigation of the Development of Sitting Postural Control in Infants with Cerebral Palsy or Motor Delays," is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. 

The study has two aims – to better understand development of independent sitting in typical children and to identify whether center-based physical therapy or an in-home program provides a better outcome for children who are having difficulty learning to sit.  Children with delays in sitting development receive therapy either once or twice weekly with experienced therapists for a period of eight weeks.  More than 50 children are needed for the study.

Sitting upright is something an infant typically achieves at six or seven months.  If that ability is not achieved, standing balance and walking can also be significantly delayed, Dr. Stergiou said.  Independent sitting also frees up an infant's arms so they can explore, play and learn.  Research has linked the ability to sit independently to greater success in maintaining contact with objects and improved eye-hand coordination of infants learning to reach. 

Infants between five months and two years of age are needed for the study.  Because an infant will need to make several clinic visits to participate in the study, families who live in the metropolitan area are sought.  A small stipend is available to cover travel costs.

For more information, call 402.554.3075.  For details on the study, parents are encouraged to speak with the physical therapists involved in the study at the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute ­– Reggie Harbourne and Sandy Willett – who can be reached at 402.559.6415.

Discount Coupons Available for "The Nutcracker"

Discount coupons for the Omaha Theater Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" are available in 108 Eppley Administration Building.  The performances are set for Dec. 1-4 at the Orpheum Theater. 

The coupons are redeemable at Ticket Omaha, (402) 345-0606, or in person at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 13th and Douglas.  The coupons are not valid with any other offers.

For more information, contact Mindy Bush at 391-2625.