Reach Out and Call Someone
The 2006 Spartanburg BellSouth telephone directories are now available on CD in the Office of University Communications on a first come-first served basis. E-mail Claire Sachse to reserve your copy or come by Admin. 222 and pick one up. Louise Rice Stack Artwork on Exhibit on Greenville Campus
When students and faculty members roam the corridors of the University of South Carolina Upstate in Greenville, they will have the pleasure of enjoying paintings by Greenville resident and artist Louise Rice Stack. Stack loaned several paintings to the University’s Greenville campus at the University Center of Greenville on Pleasantburg Drive. The paintings are oils, watercolors, oil pastels, and acrylics. The subjects vary from beautiful magnolia blossoms to beach scenes and landscapes. Her formal art education includes studies at Moore Institute of Art in Pennsylvania and private instruction with Alma Barkshadt and Judy Sahms. Stack’s daughter, Carol Mitchell, is an associate professor of nursing in the Mary Black School of Nursing at USC Upstate and is credited with helping to arrange the wonderful exhibit.
 Knock Knock. Who's There? Yoga. Yoga Who? Yoga to Try This!
Stress is a part of every day life for students and professors across the country, but the campus community now has an untraditional way to deal it. USC Upstate Counseling Services is offering a yoga class on Monday nights this semester to help students maintain a healthy lifestyle. While there are several different practices of yoga available, the class at Upstate focuses on hatha yoga, which emphasizes exercise. Benefits of yoga include flexibility, increased concentration, relaxation, and stress reduction. The classes will meet from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. in CLC Room 317. Mark your calendars with the following dates: January 23 and 30; February 6, 13, 20, 27; March 13, 20, 27; April 3, 10, 17, 24; and May 1. For additional information about the class, e-mail Ellen Towler. 
TAPS Grants Funding Available (Note Corrected Deadline Dates!)
The Teaching Excellence Committee (TEC) is calling for applications for Teaching and Productive Scholarship faculty grants (TAPS) funding for spring 2006. We have some money left this spring that will be awarded to eligible applicants on a first come first serve basis. The guidelines for TAPS submissions are online. Please submit the original and 11 copies of your application to the TEC chair, Dr. Chioma Ugochukwu, Fine Arts and Communication Studies, HPAC 108. All applicants should please note that TEC’s new policy would require all recipients of TAPS grants to submit a final report to the chair and an electronic copy to Happy Montgomery within 30 days of the recipient’s return from a trip. Any recipient of TAPS grants who fails to do so will NOT be eligible for another TAPS award during that particular fiscal year, or for the next year if applicant exhausted her/his $1,500 limit. The final report forms are available online.
The committee would also appreciate timely notification when the cancellation of a trip becomes necessary, so that funds could be made available to other applicants. Please, submit applications well ahead of your anticipated travel date (preferably six weeks in advance), to allow time for processing. Spring deadlines for TAPS grants are as follows:
Tuesday, January 24 at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, February 21 at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 21 at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, April 18 at 3 p.m
Vice Chancellor for Information Technology
The first of our candidates for the position of Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, Dr. Robert August, will be on campus Monday and Tuesday, January 30 and 31. He will make a presentation and then answer questions from all faculty and staff on Monday from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in Media 217. Please plan to attend. You are welcome to come and go as your schedule allows. He will also be meeting with the Dean’s Council on Monday at 11:00 a.m., the Cabinet on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m., and with department heads, program directors and assistant deans on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. Our second candidate will be here on Monday and Tuesday, February 13 and 14 and will follow the same schedule. A third candidate will probably be scheduled in the near future.
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Conversations with the Executive Vice Chancellor
You are invited to attend the first “Conversation with the Executive Vice Chancellor” on Wednesday, February 1 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in CLC 319. The theme for the first session is “Futher Defining the Upstate Way.” Please r.s.v.p. to Amy Henderson or Cindy Jennings by noon, January 30 so they may plan accurately for food and refreshments.
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Reg Avery |
Application Deadline Approaching for Literacy Grants From the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
The deadline to apply for a literacy grant from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is February 1. Phi Kappa Phi will allocate $30,000 this year to support ongoing literacy projects or to aid in creating new initiatives. The maximum award per applicant will be $2,500. The project director must be an active member of Phi Kappa Phi. "The Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grant Program is symbolic of our mission to recognize and promote academic excellence and to engage the community of scholars in service to others," said Donna Clark Schubert, a vice president on the Phi Kappa Phi board of directors and chair of the Literacy Grant Program committee. "These literacy programs include not only books and reading initiatives, but also technological, cultural, financial and family literacy programs." The application process is simple and includes a section for applicants to describe the purpose, intent and scope of the project in 500 words or less. Interested members can download an application packet online at www.PhiKappaPhi.org or http://www.phikappaphi.org/grants.shtml. For questions concerning the literacy grant competition, contact Deanna Landry at 1-800-804-9880, ext. 15.
Personal Saving and Investing
In conjunction with Staff Council, the Carolina Piedmont Foundation is pleased to offer a personal finance seminar entitled "Personal Saving and Investing," on February 2 at 12:00 noon, at the Rampey Center. Corey Carson from Bank of America will be presenting. Beverages and cookies will be provided, but please feel free to bring a bag lunch. Space is limited, so make a reservation by emailing or calling Ryan Boggs (ext. 5218). Feel free to suggest topics or questions with your reservation.
Contract Review Session
Do you know the do’s and don’ts of contracting for services? If you don’t or if you just need a refresher, join Associate General Counsel George Lampi from the USC legal affairs department to discuss state regulations as well as system requirements for contract approval. All university officials are welcome to attend this important information session on Thursday, February 2 at 1:00 p.m. in CLC 309. Please call the office of Vice Chancellor for Student and Diversity Affairs to r.s.v.p. at ext. 5107.
Create with Publisher
Learn the basics of creating flyers, advertisements, brochures and other documents using Microsoft Publisher. There will be beginner classes for students, faculty and staff on Thursday, February 2 from 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. or Friday, February 3 from 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. in Library 118. For more information, e-mail Laura Karas.
"Women In. . ." Brownbag Lunch Discussion Series
The USC Upstate Women’s Center is sponsoring a brownbag lunch series during the spring semester to draw attention to women’s roles around the world. The second lunch in the series will be held on Friday, February 3 at 11:00 a.m. in Hodge 155 and will focus on women in Pakistan. The discussion will be led by Naila Malik, a USC Upstate senior whose family moved to the U.S. from Pakistan.
South Carolina Speech and Communication High School Division Competition
USC Upstate is hosting the South Carolina Speech and Communication High School division competition on Saturday, February 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The conference is sponsored by the USC Upstate Theatre and Speech Departments and hosted by Rich Robinson, a theatre professor at USC Upstate. More than 350 high school students will compete for trophies in 11 different categories, including design, originals monologue, duet acting, television broadcasting, ensemble, group acting, storytelling, and many other speech and theatre activities. There will be one competition in the morning and two in the afternoon. All classrooms in HPAC, Smith, CLC and the television studio will be occupied from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The winner of each category will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The student must be in high-school, have a 3.2 GPA, and plan on attending USC Upstate.
 USC Upstate Gospel Choir to Perform
The USC Upstate Gospel Choir will hold its annual concert on Sunday, February 5 at 4:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Spartanburg at Renaissance Park. The free concert will feature the 160-member choir in full concert and officially opens the university’s observance of Black History Month.
GRE and GMAT Test Preparation Workshops
The Division of Student and Diversity Affairs, Opportunity Network and the Center for Student Success are pleased to announce an opportunity for students, alumni and staff to participate in the Graduate School Test Preparation Workshop for the GRE and the GMAT. The workshop includes 18 hours of instruction, nine hours of English and nine hours of math, over a six week period. New this semester, the workshop will also include information and wrap-up sessions to allow students time to get their questions answered. All meetings will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in Hodge 254, beginning February 7 and concluding on March 30. The cost for students is $75 and $100 for faculty and staff, including materials. Payment is due at the time of reservation and seating is limited. To secure a place in the workshop contact the Center for Student Success at 503-5070 or in person in Smith 103. Make checks payable to USC Upstate. Please contact Ina Minsky at 503-5965 for additional information.
Scholarship for Study Abroad
The Center for International Studies provides scholarships of up to $1,000 for study abroad. Students must meet the following requirements in order to apply:
- Presently enrolled at USC Upstate
- Attendance at USC Upstate for one year at the time of travel
- At least one foreign language course at USC Upstate
- Minimum 2.5 GPA at the time of application (An unofficial transcript is required with the application.)
- Two letters of recommendation from present instructors (one in the student’s major field of studies)
- A brief description of the student’s goals for the activity (no more than 15 lines, plus a short justification of financial need)
If this scholarship is granted, the recipient will provide the Center for International studies with a one-page report on the benefits of the trip in the month following his/her return, by no later than September 1 for summer study abroad. This year, summer studies abroad are available in France, Germany, Spain, Costa Rica and an Honors trip in several European countries. For more information and an application, drop by the Center for International Studies in Administration 101 or call 503-5661. The application deadline is February 15.
Copywright Law and the Online Class
The Information Technology and Services Division, using a faculty technology training grant from the Carolina Piedmont Foundation, is offering ten faculty and staff the opportunity to participate in an online workshop “Copyright Compliance for Online Educators.” Three recorded presentations addressing different aspects of copyright compliance will be made available to watch at your convenience between February 22 and March 22. Toward the end of the first week, there will be a live synchronous question and answer online session, as well as a parallel asynchronous discussion with the presenter. The live sessions will be recorded and made available in the following weeks. Participants will also receive electronic copies of the following materials: Copyright Compliance Made Simple: Six Rules for Course Design (pamphlet) and Fair Use Guidelines for Educators, 4th Ed. (book). The workshop is being led by Linda Enghagen, attorney and Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she teaches cyberlaw at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. For more information visit the workshop Web site http://www.sloan-c.org/workshop/copyrightworkshop.asp. E-mail Dr. Tom Davis to reserve your spot.
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This Friday, February 3 is National Wear Red Day, a day when Americans nationwide will wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness. The Heart Truth – a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease – launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease. National Wear Red Day promotes the symbol and provides an opportunity for everyone to unite in this life-saving awareness movement by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, tie, lipstick, handbag or red dress pin and donating $5 to the American Heart Association. 
