3 minutes – that’s how long it took to clear the Ad Building this morning for a fire drill. Faculty were particularly swift in taking this drill seriously, reported our North Manchester firefighters. Very, very important: We must not look to firefighters for inspiration to flee this building. They will not be here yet when the real alarm goes off!

 

What we found at Manchester College … President Jo Young Switzer and a few students will reflect on what makes Manchester College distinctive at Convo this coming Monday, Feb. 12. We all are invited to gather at 10 a.m. in Cordier Auditorium – sit anywhere; students no longer have assigned seating.

 

Here’s a link to the spring convocation schedule. Just click on the schedule for individual programs. Next up, on Feb. 19, Jim Adams (art) will explain what he (and others) see in his Science Center triptych paintings

 

 

 

Polina is back! Back in the U.S. A., having resolved her visa challenge with officials who demanded she spend three months (and thus our fall semester) in her homeland of the Ukraine, Polina Vlasenko is back with us. She’s got a full class load of macroeconomics and international finance, and colleague John Deal has returned gratefully to a normal class load. 

 

A reminder that updated Job Descriptions are due as staff completes the annual job evaluation process. We are asked to exchange the “guestimate” of the percentage of time spent on each function with a division of our work into two categories: Essential Job Functions and Secondary Job Functions. Click here for an explanation of the difference, reasons. Questions: Dale Carpenter, HR director, x5393

 

Intramural news for students. Derek Woodley (baseball intern) is well into production of the Gym Shorts Newsletter about intramural sports at Manchester College. More than 75 percent of our students participate in intramural sports, from flag football to euchre to volleyball and ultimate Frisbee.

 

Discussion about a possible Blackboard update is heating up. Blackboard faculty are urged to join other Bb users, including Dean Sharfman, as MC considers Bb use for existing and potential courses. A Blackboard Feedback Session is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 in Winger 111. Users also will share tips. (Refreshments!) Librarian Jill Lichtsinn is Blackboard user/support administrator, x5015.

 

Harm Index gains scholarly publication. Social Indicators Research, one of the premier journals in quality of life research, has accepted the latest paper about the National Index of Violence and Harm offered by a faculty-student research team at Manchester. NIVAH – A Composite Index Measuring Violence and Harm in the U.S., was authored by James Brumbaugh-Smith (mathematics/computer Science), Heidi Gross ’02 (former Peace Studies intern), Neil Wollman (Peace Studies Institute) and Brad Yoder (sociology/social work). The Peace Studies Institute report notes that violence/harm has lessened over the decade, except for how we treat our most-vulnerable.

 

Welcome! Cheryl A. Guise, Lecturer of Music; Doug A. Kline, Lecturer of Sociology

 

Faculty, remember to bring $5 or whatever to the Business Meeting this Friday to toss into the hat to help replenish the Flower Fund, for members of the College community during illness or family death.

 

Speaking of Faculty Business Meetings, March has a fifth Friday, offering opportunity for an update from Academic Policies Committee on its work on the General Education Program. 10 a.m. as usual.

 

Do you have a procedure, plan or document that discusses/lists what to do when a crisis or special challenge occurs? From fire to flu, flooding to fistfight … all departments have all kinds of documents. This is a call to take a few minutes to search out what you might have and forward it to Jack Gochenaur (business/treasurer) or Les Gahl (security). Why? So we can capitalize on work already done, and so we can collaborate and maximize the solutions.

 

It’s time to vote for members of the Staff Operations Committee (SOC). Please return your marked ballot quickly to Betty Butterbaugh (Career Services). The deadline is this Friday, Feb. 9. Note we have separate ballots for each staff classification, to ensure representation for all staff members.

 

Two interesting and ground-breaking committees need staff representatives: The Technology and Wellness committees each meet monthly, with extra sessions for projects, like the new Wellness Card. Each committee is losing a staff member, so replacements are needed! To volunteer, contact Adam Hohman, x5235.

 

101 Days … there’s still time to RSVP for this special time with our graduating seniors, this Thursday evening in Cordier. Contact Lisa Gregory (alumni) at x5203.

 

Imagine … Valentine’s Day underground! Nope, we’re not confusing Wednesday, Feb. 14 with Groundhog’s Day. The SOC* lunch this month features a tour of the tunnels. We’ll start with a bring-your-own lunch at noon in the Cordier south lobby, then Dave Good will take us truly inside campus. RSVP Allison Keating, x5432

*Staff Organizational Committee

 

About 10 MC students will visit the Indiana General Assembly on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to lobby for student funding and access to the state’s I-Light 2 network. Leonard Williams (political science) will lead, with help from Jeri Kornegay (PR), and coordination by Independent Colleges of Indiana. The goal of the expected 150 student “lobbyists:”

·         ........Increase SSACI grant funding for our needy students

·         ........Support Gov. Daniels’ plan for $5,000 annual merit scholarships to stem the Hoosier brain drain

·         ........Funding I-Light 2 dark fiber network parity for the rest of the colleges/universities in the state

 

How to be an effective reference. As soon-to be grads apply for jobs and graduate school, many will appeal to faculty, and staff, for recommendations or to ask us to serve as a reference. Career Services has created a Being A Reference web page, with lots of links and advice even the seasoned will find helpful.

 

Advising and Registration Days. These are intense, long days of participation by faculty and staff … setting up, counseling, advising, placement exams, financial aid sessions … welcoming new students and their parents to Manchester College. We have five scheduled this coming summer. June 6, 12, 19, 27 and Aug. 15. Questions? Start with Shanon Green (student activities), x5029.

 

Time is running out to nominate students for the Leadership Award. Faculty and staff are urged to nominate students for the Leadership Award as well as the Capstone Outstanding Senior Leadership Award. Send this form  to the Award Selection Committee, c/o Dottie Young. The deadline is Monday, Feb. 19. 

 

Living in the Moment is the theme of the first chapel of spring semester tomorrow at 10 a.m. Faculty and staff are warmly invited to join students at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays in Petersime.

 

Here’s the latest about our TIAA-CREF contributions, which reportedly have been retroactively applied, so our accumulations now reflect the appropriate investment returns. We can review these transactions in detail at www.tiaa-cref.org. They also are expected to appear on the first-quarter 2007 activity statement we receive in April.

 

These payroll donors to The Manchester Fund know exactly where they will park on these cold mornings: snuggled right alongside the maintenance building: Jennifer Birner (business office), Lisa Gregory (alumni), Melissa Grinstead (OCA), Heather Schilling (education), Melissa Templin (OCA) and Heather Twomey (accounting). A reminder that faculty and staff who donate through payroll to The Manchester Fund are automatically entered in the monthly drawing for parking. Contact Rita Schroll (OCA) in the garden level of the Ad Building.

 

Tickets are still available for the madrigal dinner Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10. Noah and Joan of Ark is full of puns, music, appropriate food, and flying furry animals. This is a fund-raiser for those A Cappella Choir students who are struggling to finance their residency and performance in Carnegie Hall this May. Here’s the story.

 

 Human Resources

 

Faculty and Staff Openings: Assistant Professor of English, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Assistant Professor of Exercise and Sport Sciences/Athletic Trainer, Campus Security Officer, Admissions Counselor, Plumbing and Electrical Generalist 

Go to job descriptions

 

Take me to Spartan Weekly!

MC's weekly update by Doug Shoemaker, sports information director

 

 

 Oldies but still goodies from recent MEMOs

How are those evaluations coming? Our HR guru Dale Carpenter sends us these reminders:

The forms are on our HR website; just click here and scroll to Supervisor Resources.

ü  Don’t send the employee self-evaluations to HR; keep those in your files with a copy of the supervisor evaluation that you will send to HR. 

ü  Don’t forget to update job descriptions

ü  All first drafts should have been completed and reviewed by now. 

ü  All evaluations and job descriptions are due to HR no later than Feb. 16.

ü  Questions?  Call x5393.

 

We’re out of balance for swapping colleges with the Tuition Exchange Program (TEP), so it will be a year or so before MC employees and their dependents can use that program. Sandy Bendsen is collecting a waiting list for future semesters, first-come-first-served. The CIC Tuition Exchange of the Council of Independent Colleges is unlimited, as accepted by those colleges. Sandy or Dave McFadden are the sources for details.

 

Faculty Professional Development meetings (below) begin at 10 a.m. on select Fridays, in Flory Auditorium of the Science Center :

             March 2 – The New FYC

 

Faculty Business Meetings begin at 10 a.m. on the second and fourth Friday, in Flory Auditorium. If insufficient agenda items, the meeting will be canceled:

Feb. 9               April 13

Feb. 23             April 27

March 9            May 11

 

Mark your calendars! for the all-staff meetings, when we’ll recognize service, learn what's going on, do a Q&A with President Switzer and chuckle a bit, although not necessarily in that order. All of the 45-minute meetings start promptly at 8 a.m., with coffee and sweets the half-hour beforehand to give us a chance to chat up folks from other parts of campus we rarely see.

                               Thursday, March 22 (spring break)

                               Thursday, June 28

                               Thursday, Oct. 18 (fall break)

 

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