Grades and budgets are due! (Yah, like we would forget!)

The Fulbright tradition continues at Manchester College, with more per-capita Fulbrights than ANY college in Indiana. Wendy Matheny ’05 learned this week she is headed for Brussels to do research on the role of Belgium women in politics.

OK, OK, things are all over the place right now, but when the dust finally settles in fall 2007, here’s what’s where in the new, bigger, brighter College Union … all accessible with an entryway elevator, and with restrooms up and down:

Downstairs: Kitchen, dining commons, The Oaks, Campus Store and post office

Upstairs: Student Activities, Career Services, art gallery, conference/meeting rooms

 

Have you seen the student art show in Link Gallery? Well, it’s not all students. Amos Rodriguez paid us a visit, for example. Some of the work is by seniors, some from courses teaching elementary teachers techniques they can use in classrooms, some is … well, rather imaginative. Drawings, constructions, oils, acrylics, watercolors … you name it! Like the sculpture hanging in the Wine lobby that looks oddly familiar. (Ha! Go see for yourself!) The artists: Chris DeWitt, Jennifer Smiley, Erica Gibson, Amanda Nordman, Tabitha Hufford (pictured), Crystal Poe, Trevor Brown, Abbey Lortie, Heidi Gonyea and Amos.

 

Now’s a good time to get our MC duds and other goodies, while the Campus Store is offering a huge, whopping 20 percent off everything but textbooks … until the end of May.

 

We’ve got some ‘splainin to do, and some adjusting, because we have lost the College Union space for meetings. Those of us spoiled with The Oaks, President's Dining Room and upper and lower Union dining rooms are homeless. Let’s see 1,011 meetings a year in the Union … where to put them now? All are turning to Conference Services for new digs, and Chartwells’ patience in finding us. ‘Tis time for all of us to pitch in for the good of us all: Share buildings and rooms, reply quickly to Paula’s (x5551) requests for help, find ways to say yes.

 

We get kinda comfy around here during the summer, but HR reminds us there are limits. Summer schedules are a departmental decision (with VP approval) designed to ensure our service and mission are not compromised. Maybe we rotate schedules, maybe we work a week of four 10-hour days, or a 4½ day week or whatever. Or some of us do 7 to 4, whatever. What to wear? Well, we’re not at the beach nor are we 13-year-olds ….

Speaking of graduation …. Wendi Adele Hutchinson (church services/Pathways) received a master of arts in theology degree on May 6 from Bethany Theological Seminary, with an emphasis in ministry with youth and young adults. Her thesis was "Nurturing Adolescent Girls: An Exploration of Developmental Issues and Spiritual Practices."

 

Speaking of Pathways, our Theological Exploration of Vocation program, five students received summer service placement: sophomore accounting major Katharine Allen will serve at the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Need in Maryland; sophomore peace studies/political science major Thomas Bimba is headed to Camp Mack; first-year psychology majors Amy Bricker and Melissa Webb will serve at Gould Farm in Massachusetts; first-year bio-chem major Nicole Hammond is bound for Comfort House in Texas. In addition, junior peace studies major Carrie Fry-Miller will travel on an imagination grant to Quaker Cottage in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 

Welcome newcomers! Shanon L. Green, Director of Student Activities and Orientation; James R. Falkiner, Senior Development Officer and Mark E. Johnston Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies

 

The results are in from the Human Resources Survey taken at recent staff and faculty meetings, and generally, we seem satisfied but under-informed. A total of 163 of us returned the surveys: 69 percent were positive, 22 percent were neutral and 9 percent were negative. “Although the total number of negative responses was relatively low, we are taking them seriously,” says our HR team. “We are seeking ways to improve our customer service processes and skills. The HR staff will work hard to improve service levels, including finding new ways to communicate benefits, policies and procedures.”

 

We officially go into summer mode for workers compensation injuries on June 1 … that means we do not go to Health Services or our campus nurse. Until Aug. 1, if injured:

7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Fridays

            Contact Dale Metzger, Physical Plant, x5061 or call Security, x5999

After hours and weekends

Call Security at x5999

Notify Dale Metzger next business day of the injury

The defibrillator (AED) will be in the Physical Plant June 1 until Aug. 1, while Nurse Tara is gone.

 

Some went for the bird-watching … others went to watch Jerry Sweeten (biology) gave a mist-netting demonstration last Saturday for International Migratory Bird Day at Hoosier National Forest. Jerry showed how to capture and release songbirds.

 

Two more faculty members have joined the ranks of Alpha Mu Gamma national foreign language honor society. Inducted with nine students on April 29 were honorary initiates Jan Fahs (accounting/business) and John Planer (music). Ingrid Rogers (modern languages) presented “Building Bridges Through Language Study: The Local ESL Program,” at the ceremony. Lynne Margolies is the advisor. Here’s the story.

 

I would like to thank everyone for all of the kind words, notes and congratulatory hugs in celebration of finishing my doctoral program. The reception hosted by Heather Schilling and Barbara Burkholder was especially thoughtful and generous. Thanks to everyone who has supported me over the past six years.  The prayers, thoughts and CANDY have been particularly helpful.Thanks for everyone for helping me achieve this goal!  Without each of you, it would not have happened! Dr. Korrine M. Gust (education)

 

Sure hope all of our student workers have turned in their keys to the Office of Safety and Security before they left for the summer. Why? Because experience tells us students tend to lose track of those keys over the summer. Unless students are working the same job this summer, they should have turned them in by now. New key requests are required for the next school year.

 

OK, those midnight-oil-burning students are gone, just us old fuddie-duddies left. Therefore, Funderburg Library and Clark Computer Center have switched to a sensible 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule

 

 Wow!     Yea!   Kudos   You’re Awesome!  Thanks!

 

Kudos to the 27 faculty members who within hours had paid/pledged more than $500 when they learned somebody had stolen the tricycle of one of our students with a disability. Quick teamwork by Denise Howe, who found a replacement in Fort Wayne, and Dave McFadden, who fetched it, and Terri Jones, who collected the cash … and presto, all was back to normal.

You, too, can … and should …

nominate an awesome colleague for Kudos!

Send it to kudos@manchester.edu

 

Human Resources

Faculty and staff openings: Director of Multicultural Services and Campus Diversity, Exercises and Sports Sciences/Athletic Training Faculty, Development Officer, Admissions Counselor, Managing Editor for Plowshares, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, Men’s and Women’s Tennis Intern, Music Recruiting Intern, Director of Performing Arts Technologies, Custodian

Go to job descriptions

 

 

Take me to Spartan Weekly!

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

 

Spartan baseball takes to the NCAA Regionals field at 6 p.m. today, against the winner of the  Otterbein-Adrian game  ...    Listen to live action on WBKE online

 

Oldies but still goodies from recent MEMOs …

Out! Out! … of the College Union. As we prepare for the gutting, gritting, gussying up of our gathering spot, we must move out what is in. We are temporarily moving lower Union offices, etc. into Holl-Kintner. Once construction is complete, they’ll move back to the Union. Conference Services phones are not available during their move, but we can still leave messages. Here’s the move schedule:

Last week:   Conferences Services moves into Holl-Kintner 102-103

                    Student Activities Center moves into Holl-Kintner 207-208

 

This week:  Post Office moves to Holl-Kintner 108

                       ATM machine, newspaper racks move to Holl-Kintner lobby

 

It’s benefit enrollment time! That means we have between May 15 and May 26 to make changes, effective June 1, 2006 to Jan. 1, 2007. (We’ll enroll again in December to get all health care benefits on the same calendar.) Crysta Borden already has e-mailed us all the forms, health and dental. Fill out the enrollment or change forms and deliver them to her in HR by May 26. Expect changes in our co-pays and coverages, as the College deals with rising insurance costs, but for the rest of this calendar year, our premiums will not rise! Questions? Contact Crysta Borden at x5288.

Ø       Office visits increase to $20. (They were $15)

Ø       Referral no longer needed to see specialists (pre-certification still for some services)

Ø       Alternative health care now covered (homeopathy, biofeedback, hypnosis, etc.)

Ø       ER co-pays increase to $100. (They were $75)

Ø       Urgent Care co-pay doubles to $30

 

PERC and the Fitness Center schedules change soon, as we wind down this school year and dip into summer. Usual hours continue through next Wednesday, May 17. Then we need to accommodate commencement setup. Summer hours begin Tuesday, May 23. Here’s the schedule, from our keeper of the PERC, Wayne Chadwick:

Thursday, May 18                      Close at 3 p.m.

Friday, May 19                          Noon to 3 p.m.

Saturday, May 20 through

               Monday, May 22         Closed

 

Summer Schedule (Begins Tuesday, May 23)

Monday – Friday            11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

                                                4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday – Sunday        Closed

 

Golf cheaply, thanks to a friend.  In the interest of wellness, a gift again is partially underwriting Sycamore Golf Club corporate membership for full-time employees of Manchester College.  The membership covers green fees for unlimited play. Employees pay on a sliding scale based on their College income:

·         $50 per year if your income from the College is less than $25,000

·         $100 per year if between $25,000 and $35,000

·         $150 per year if over $35,000

MC employees can get a family annual membership by paying an additional $200 directly to Sycamore Golf Club. Individual memberships are regularly $550 and family memberships regularly $750 per year.  Pay in our Business Office.  Sounds too good to be true? Dave McFadden at x5226 will make a believer out of you.

 

Mark your calendars! for the all-staff meetings, intended to update us on College issues and to strengthen our sense of unity and commitment to the Mission. At these meetings, we’ll also recognize service, do a Q&A with President Switzer and chuckle a bit, although not necessarily in that order. All of the 45-minute meetings will 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.

Tuesday, August 8

Thursday, October 19

 

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