August 13, 1998
That software training you and your officemates have been asking for soon will be available, thanks to a six-month pilot project Human Resources has arranged with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers.
"We are delighted--with funding assistance from Vice President Dan Williams--to introduce this program in hopes that it will address some of the software training needs on campus," says director Linda King. "Not only has the lack of adequate and appropriate training been especially acute for the classified staff, but the situation also has meant administrators and staff often have been unable to find or afford software training to meet pressing department needs."
Training administrator Cris Cullinan says the university has purchased a number of vouchers from New Horizons that can be exchanged for participation in software applications training. Each voucher provides a full day of training for one participant at the New Horizons training facility in Eugene and several other Oregon cities.
"We selected New Horizons because the firm offers a full day of training for each voucher in a wide variety of software applications on both Macintosh and PC platforms," she says. "In addition, each student receives a comprehensive instruction manual with detailed examples, may repeat the class at no charge within six months of attendance and has access to a seven-day-week, 24-hour-a-day help line for 60 days after taking each class."
Departments will purchase vouchers--regularly $185 and increasing this fall to $195 each--from Human Resources. Because the pilot project is targeted specifically at the software training needs of classified employees, those staff members will have priority for the vouchers at $30 each.
Vouchers for officers of administration and other faculty members will cost $90 apiece.
To sign up, call Kayla Hinds, 6-2955, or send e-mail to Kayla_Hinds@ccmail.uoregon.edu with employee names and the courses each wishes to attend. A list of current New Horizons course offerings is attached to a memo distributed to UO employees this week.
"We will make every effort to distribute the vouchers fairly across campus," Cullinan says. "However, we do anticipate that demand will be greater than supply, so departments unable to participate fully in this phase will be added to a waiting list for the next phase of this project."
Based on employee and supervisor evaluations, we will decide whether to continue this arrangement with New Horizons, she says.
For information, call Cullinan, 6-2961.
The State Board of Higher Education has approved a new resource fee for UO students called the matriculation fee.
This new fee, to take effect Sept. 28 and to be phased in over the next two years, consolidates several existing administrative fees students currently pay. Instead of paying separate fees for orientation, transcripts, degree applications, re-enrollment and changes in course schedules, students will pay a single matriculation fee.
All new students admitted for fall 1998 were sent a letter in early July which explained the new fee. Continuing students were informed about the fee in an Oregon Daily Emerald article last spring.
For 1998-99, the matriculation fee will be assessed as follows:
In 1999-2000, the fee will increase $50 for each new-student category, and in 2000-01, the fee will apply only to new students.
Student Academic Affairs plans to distribute a memo campus-wide before the start of fall term that will provide detailed information about the new matriculation fee. In the meantime, for questions, call 6-1278.
CORRECTION: Geographer Alec Murphy, newly appointed holder of the Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences, is currently on the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics advisory committee. A proofreading error failed to catch the misspelling of "Morse" in the July 10 issue.
SMOKE TESTING OF SANITARY SEWER LINES is underway on campus. Required testing to detect any breaks in the lines by City of Eugene Public Works staff is slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sept. 10. To reduce the possibility of smoke entering building spaces, ventilation systems will be shut down during the testing. In addition, a plumber will "prime" floor drains in each building the day before the test, and technicians from Environmental Health and Safety and from Facilities Services will be on site during the tests. A "Smoke Test" notice will be posted on the exterior doors of buildings one or two days before testing. Information about the smoke used during testing will be sent to building managers and also is available from Environmental Health and Safety. For information, call Kay Coots, 6-5421.
A PLANNED CAMPUS-WIDE ELECTRICAL OUTAGE is scheduled between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. The outage will be intermittent throughout the day. Disconnect computers and any other equipment sensitive to power fluctuations prior to the start of the outage. The purpose of this planned outage is to test the campus electrical distribution systems and equipment, and to perform preventive maintenance. Please remind all persons in your department of this shutdown. For information, or to discuss your department's special needs during the outage, call Ron Neet, Facilities Services utilities superintendent, 6-5255.
Gaylene Carpenter, Physical Activity and Recreation Services, in April received the Professional Award from the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of the National Recreation and Park Association for her outstanding contributions to the parks and recreation movement.
As part of an ongoing effort by Public Safety to meet accreditation standards, three dispatchers--Chelene Christensen, Kari Curtiss and Nalani Kimball--recently received certification after completing the Eugene Police Department, Central Lane 911 Basic Telecommunicator Academy in May. They also attended the Emergency Medical Dispatch, CPR/First Aid Academy in June.
Kris Winter began work in June as director of Orientation Programs. Involved in Orientation Programs as an undergraduate and graduate student for the last three years, she succeeds Stephanie Wilson.
Achilles and the Tortoise: Mark Twain's Fictions by Clark Griffith, English emeritus, was published by The University of Alabama Press, 1998.
Cynthia Vakareliyska, Russian, presented "Marked Feminine" and "Roman Catholic Influences in Three Fourteenth-Century Bulgarian Calendars of Saints and How They Got There" in May at the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.
Three UO employees--Timothy Rawson, History GTF; Dean Anne Dhu McLucas, Music; and George Evano, Oregon Bach Festival--presented classes this summer for active older adults participating in the Lane County OASIS program.
Richard P. Chaney, Anthropology, died July 20 of heart failure in Eugene. A cultural anthropologist, he had been a member of the UO faculty since 1968. Chaney, 58, earned bachelor's and doctoral degrees from Indiana University. He was a passionate teacher and widely published in his field. A memorial service was held July 24 at St. Thomas Moore-Newman Center in Eugene.
Joyce C. Heaton, retired Payroll supervisor, died July 29 of a condition related to Alzheimer's Disease in Eugene. An avid Duck fan, water skier and member of the Eugene Volksport Club, Heaton, 73, also had attended UO classes. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, for corticobasal degeneration research.