If you plan to attend the “Evening of Great Conversations” on Thursday, you may want to review these tips for great conversation:

1. Make good eye contact - Nothing says, “I’m not paying attention”, like looking at everything except the person who’s talking to you. Spend 75% of your time looking into the other person’s eyes, or at the bridge of their nose if you tend to be shy, and you’ll be considered a good listener.

2. Nod occasionally - Nodding says, yes I agree, or yes I understand what’s being said.

3. Ask insightful questions - Asking questions tells the other person that you're interested in what they're saying, and by default, find them interesting.

4. Hmmm. - Making that sound is another way to indicate that you find what’s being said interesting, and it has the added benefit of not interrupting the other person’s flow of conversation or train of thought.

5. Watch your body language – Fidgeting and crossing and uncrossing your arms can indicate impatience, while leaning in slightly towards your conversation partner indicates rapt attention.

6. Listen for Useful Facts – No doubt during the conversation your conversation partner will give away some useful facts. Did he mention his wife during the conversation, or that he likes to swim, or that he has four cats? Tuck those little pieces of information away so that you can use them as conversations starters the next time you meet. Nothing says “I find you interesting and enjoy talking to you.” like remembering a personal fact.

On February 10-11, Jim Charles, education, presented a paper titled, "They're 'Good Ones:' The Evolution of American Indian Protagonists in Recent Feature Films" and co-presented a workshop for college teachers titled "Teaching Native Americans and Hollywood Cinema" at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association in Albuquerque, N.M.

Assistant professor of graphic design, Marius Valdes will have 5 illustrations, including the cover, featured in The Washington Post Weekend Section on February 24. The illustrations support a feature story about unique birthday parties for kids of all ages.

Thomas McConnell's (associate professor, English) story collection A Picture Book of Hell and Other Landscapes has been nominated for the PEN/Bingham Award for books published in 2005. The award, sponsored by the US branch of the international association Poets, Essayists, and Novelists, recognizes first books of fiction that demonstrate exceptional literary promise.

The University extends its condolences to the family of Warren Carson. Dr. Carson’s grandmother passed away last week in Tryon, N.C.

Spartans Remain 7th in Region
The USC Upstate women’s basketball team has remained in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth by staying ranked in the Top 10 in the South Atlantic Region rankings released by the NCAA Wednesday.  The Spartans are ranked No. 7 for the second straight week. USC Upstate (12-11) is one of four Peach Belt Conference schools listed in the rankings.  Clayton State is the region’s top-ranked team, while UNC Pembroke is sixth.  Georgia College & State University is 10th in the poll. Eight teams out of each of the eight regions are selected for the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament. Three conferences make up the South Atlantic Region - Peach Belt Conference, South Atlantic Conference, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Three teams will receive automatic berths in the NCAA Tournament for winning the league tournaments in the PBC, SAC, and CIAA. The other five tournament spots for the South Atlantic Region will go to the five next highest ranked teams in the region rankings.
USC Upstate hosts USC Aiken Saturday afternoon at 2:00 at the G.B. Hodge Center.

South Atlantic Region Rankings
1.  Clayton State; 2. Shaw; 3. Wingate; 4. Presbyterian; 5.  North Carolina Central; 6. UNC Pembroke; 7. USC Upstate ; 8.  Tusculum; 9.  Elizabeth City State; 10.  Georgia College & State University

Organizations involved with:
Sigma Tau Delta and Amnesty International.

If you could meet one person in the world, who would it be?
I should probably pick Jesus or someone else of great historical and philanthropic significance, but I’d rather meet Court TV anchor Nancy Grace. She seems fascinating and I think we’d have an interesting conversation: I’d pick her brain about her career in law.

Visit www.uscupstate.edu/employment.html for additional information and online application submission instructions.

Assistant Registrar
(State title: Student Services Program Coordinator I)
Office of Records & Registration
Requisition No. 041606
Online applications accepted through Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Human Resources Specialist
Human Resources Office
Requisition No. 041610
Online applications accepted through Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Tune in to Upstate! TV Experienced TV host and broadcast veteran Julie Phillips now anchors a cable TV show about issues, people and places in the Upstate region. The programs are shown on Channel 14, the educational television station for Greenville (on Sundays at 7:00 p.m., Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.) and on Charter Cable channel 10 (Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m.). Upcoming shows will be about Alzheimer’s disease, how it has affected families in the Upstate, support groups and the work of the Alzheimer’s Association, and “Building the Case for Investments in Preschool” which will examine local efforts to establish universal quality pre-kindergarten for all children.

Highway Infrastructure Supporters Honored at Founders’ Day 2006
Last Thursday, at the annual Founders’ Day reception, the University presented awards to six key supporters of the $60 million Highway Infrastructure Project which surrounds and intersects the USC Upstate campus, creating a highly visible entrance, providing easier, faster, and safer accessibility to campus, improving traffic flow, expanding existing roads, and creating new roads. Those honored by Chancellor Stockwell are pictured, left to right, Max K. Metcalf, Elizabeth S. Mabry, Lee A. Blair, H. Howell Clyborne, Jr. and John T. Gramling, II. Not pictured: James O. “Buddy” Harmon , Jr. For the full story…

2006 Faculty & Staff Telephone Directories
The free faculty and staff telephone directories are now available from Printing Services. Please submit your request online to chazekamp@uscupstate.edu or call Charmaine Hazekamp at ext. 5260. Please remember that all of the information in the directory is also available online on a searchable database, or through a continuously updated downloadable format: http://webapp.uscupstate.edu/directory/

Discount Movie Tickets
At the USC Upstate box office you can get discount movie tickets for Regal Cinemas located in Westgate Mall. The box office is open from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information on prices, call 503-5695.

New IT Help Desk
In an effort to better serve the campus community, the Department of Information Technology and Services has implemented a new Help Desk Request System. The new system will allow Faculty and Staff to request assistance from the ITS Helpdesk in three ways:

• Contact us at 503-5257, our Help Desk Representative will be happy to assist you and forward your request to the appropriate person.
• Email helpdesk@uscupstate.edu , your email will automatically generate a Help Request Ticket that will be forwarded to the appropriate person.
• Submit a Help Request Ticket via our web form located at http://www.uscupstate.edu/campus_services/it/helpdeskrequest.asp , this form will create a Help Request that will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

To insure better communication between ITS staff and the campus community, requestors will receive an e-mail notifying them of any changes in the status of their Help Request. Finally, a detailed message will be sent to the Requestor once the Help Request is completed, this message will include what service was provided by the ITS staff member to resolve the issue.

In addition to the new Help Desk system ITS will be conducting a full inventory of all computers on the USC Upstate campus. As part of conducting the inventory we will be applying asset tags to every University owned computer. The inventory will allow ITS to better prepare for the replacement of computers in the future, while insuring the technology needs of every member of the campus community are met. 

As with any new technology we appreciate any feedback Faculty and Staff have to offer, those with questions or concerns please direct them to Jamie Aiello at jaiello@uscupstate.edu or 503-5925.

Education Majors Gain Valuable Perspective At Professional Development Schools
Students in the School of Education at the University of South Carolina Upstate don’t have to wait until their senior year of student teaching before getting hands-on experience in actual classrooms. As part of the university’s work with Professional Development Schools, between 150 and 200 USC Upstate students enter many Upstate school districts each year to gain valuable perspective and insight into their chosen profession. Full story…

Spring 2006 Nurse Recruitment
Employers from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia will be on campus to recruit spring 2006 nursing graduates on Monday, February 20 from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the University Readiness Center. Students should attend “interview-ready” with resumes in hand. E-mail Sherry McAdams or call her at the Career Center (ext. 5368) for more information.

Disability Services Brown Bag Lunch Series
Do you have a question about how to deal with students who have disabilities? Jim Gorske will be available to provide the answer during the Disability Services Brown Bag Lunch Series. Bring your questions and a bag lunch and join other faculty and staff members as they learn how to work more effectively with students who have disabilities. Each session will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in CLC 309. The topic on Tuesday, February 21 is “Disability Communication Savvy: How to Avoid Blunders and Bloopers,” and on Tuesday, March 21 “Psychiatric Impairments.”

Visual Arts
USC Upstate Visual Arts will represent the University in the Annual Peach Belt Conference Exhibition with a group of more than 20 student works. The exhibition will be held in the Monsanto Gallery at Lander University February 22 – March 24.  

Financial Aid: Get the Facts
The Financial Aid Office is planning our annual Financial Aid Awareness Day for Wednesday, February 22 on the first floor of the Campus Life Center from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will be lenders available to answer questions regarding loan consolidation and repayment, and the financial aid staff will be available for any other financial aid questions.  

Film and discussion: "Tough Guise"
On Wednesday, February 22 students, faculty and staff are invited to join us in viewing a documentary entitled"Tough Guise" which was written and produced by Jackson Katz. The film looks at how certain definitions of masculinity are perpetuated by western culture using archetypal images that seem to legitimize aspects of “masculinity” that are often tied directly to violent expression against other men and against women. The film does not bash men.  Instead, it challenges all of us to support life-affirming models of masculinity that simultaneously diminish the value of violence. The film will be shown at 6:00 p.m. in the Campus Life Center Ballroom.  A panel discussion will follow consisting of the following faculty, staff and students:  Dr. Reginald Avery, Dr. Pat Willis, Dr. Cliff Flynn, Anthony DeClue and David Calvin. Refreshments will be served.

Colloquium: A Medley of Mathematics, Mechanics and Music
You are invited to attend the first in the spring 2006 series of the Guy Jacobsohn Memorial Mathematics Colloquium Presentation in the Richard E. Tukey Theater on Thursday, February 23 starting at 3:00 p.m. with a reception. The presentation will begin at 3:30 p.m. Professor Mike Hudak of the USC Upstate mathematics faculty will present the program entitled, “A Medley of Mathematics, Mechanics and Music.” Dr. Hudak is an exemplary and gifted teacher and his presentation is easily accessible to the general public.  Please mark your calendar, plan to attend, and help promote this exceptional program. Tukey Theatre has seating for 150, please help fill each seat. You will remember and talk about this program, which integrates music, physics, and mathematics. See event flyer…

An Evening of Great Conversations
The College of Arts and Sciences presents “An Evening of Great Conversations” on Thursday, February 23 starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Piedmont Club. Spend an evening engaged in lively conversation on a wide range of topics. The evening includes a reception and wonderful dinner. The conversation topics and all other details are available on the College of Arts and Sciences web site or call 503-5218 or 503-5700 for additional information.

Last Call for University 101 Applications
Faculty and eligible staff members are welcome to apply to teach University 101 this fall.  As noted by the Chancellor on University Day, this course is an integral component of initiatives sponsored by the Center for Student Success under the leadership of Louise Ericson.  Students who enroll in University 101 learn skills and strategies to equip them for success throughout their academic careers and are retained at the University at higher rates. In order to make this experience available to more of the incoming freshman class, new sections are being projected for fall. Please click here for the application information. Applications are due back to the Center for Student Success by this Friday,February 24. For more information, please contact Louise Ericson at ext. 5070 or Cindy Jennings at ext. 5470.  

Showcase Classrooms
USC Upstate will show off its “Showcase Classrooms” on Friday, February 24. The University will also honor Mr. Tommy Young and his staff for making this project possible.  Please join us in the HPAC Lobby for heavy hors d’oeuvres starting at 1:00 p.m.  Mr. Young will be honored at 1:40 p.m., and tours and demonstrations in the classrooms will begin about 2:00 p.m. Call the College of Arts and Sciences Office at 503-5700 with any questions. 

Tickets Available for Batboy: The Musical
"Bat Boy: The Musical" is a musical comedy/horror show about a half boy/half bat creature who is discovered in a cave near Hope Falls, West Virginia.  For lack of a better solution, the local sheriff brings the Bat Boy to the home of the town veterinarian, Dr. Parker, where he is eventually accepted as a member of the family and taught to act like a "normal" boy by the veterinarian's wife, Meredith, and teenage daughter, Shelley. 

Bat Boy is happy with his new life, but when he naively tries to fit in with the narrow-minded people of Hope Falls, they turn on him. In the end, a devastating secret is revealed and the entire town learns the shocking story of Bat Boy's unholy origin. Betrayal, comedy, forbidden love, and fitting in are explored in this very innovative comedy by Keythe Farley and Brian Fleming and Laurence O'Keefe. "Bat Boy: The Musical" is a dark musical comedy with some material inappropriate for children.

Performance times are February 23, 24 and 25 at 8:15 p.m. and February 26 at 3:15 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center Theater. Tickets are $5 for students, faculty and staff and $7 for general admission. The play is for mature audiences only and is not recommended for anyone under 18.

5K Fun Run Helps USC Upstate Students Raise Funds For Spring Break Trip
IMPACT, a community service organization at USC Upstate, will host a 5K Fun Run on Saturday, February 25 at 9:00 a.m. on the university campus. Since this event is a fun run and not a typical competitive run, runners of all skill levels are invited to participate. Registration for the event begins at 8:00 a.m. at the G.B. Hodge Center. The cost is $10 per runner and is payable the day of the race. There will be a raffle for all the contestants who participate in the run. IMPACT will use proceeds from this event to help fund their Alternative Spring Break trip to New York City and Boston. For more information call 503-5126 or 426-4116.

The Educator’s Life: The Challenges of Work in Higher Education
As part of the College Town Faculty Initiative, Dr. Joanne Ciulla, professor and Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, will speak on the distinctive moral challenges that educators face in their work and lives, on Monday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tracey Gaines Learning Resource Center Auditorium at Spartanburg Technical College. See the event flyer for details…

Shoestring Players Hold Auditions For " Before The Fire"
The Shoestring Players at USC Upstate will hold auditions for “ Before the Fire” on Monday, February 27at 7:00 p.m. in the Studio Theatre in the Performing Arts Center. Parts are available for five women of various ages. Performances dates are April 13-15 at 8:15 p.m. and April 16 at 3:15 p.m. The play, written by Catherine Trieschmann, investigates the lives of five women from different social classes in London of 1666. Trapped in a prison cell the day before the Great Fire of London, the women must overcome their differences in order to survive. Brian Haimbach, adjunct instructor of speech at USC Upstate, will direct Before the Fire. He also directed the play's premiere at University of Georgia. For more details, contact Brian Haimbach at (864) 503-5831.

Star from NBC’s “Apprentice” to Visit USC Upstate
“Apprentice” candidate Omarosa Stallworth will share her secrets to success in the business world during a visit to the University of South Carolina Upstate on Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the CLC Ballroom.

“The event will be an interaction lecture and if there is time she will answer questions,” said Mandy Taylor, president of the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

One of many Black History Month events on campus, this lecture will give students the opportunity to learn from a truly successful businesswoman. According to her NBC biography reprinted at www.tv.com, her recipe for success is: "Study while others are sleeping, work while others are loafing, prepare while others are playing, dream while others are wishing." Stallworth has worked in a variety of settings, ranging from beauty pageants and entertainment journalism to politics. Full Story…

FLUOR to Conduct Job Interviews
On February 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., representatives from FLUOR will be on campus at the University Readiness Center to interview SBAE students who have been recommended by SBAE faculty and screened by Betty Guzzo in the Career Center.

Safe Spring Break Carnival
Alcohol & Drug Education Programs is sponsoring a Safe Spring Break Carnival on Thursday, March 2 on the Upper Quad from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Safe Spring Break Carnival is a new, fun, and informational event at USC Upstate that is open to students, faculty, staff, and anyone else who wants to have a great time andl gain information about how to decrease our risk for problems, especially around Spring Break. It will feature an oxygen bar and massage tables as well as the Fatal Vision goggles experience, appearances by Sparty, and information tables regarding alcohol and drugs, nutrition and body image, rape and violence, sun safety, and more!  Participants will be encouraged to sign a banner for the “Safe Spring Break Challenge.”  Free “Spring Break Survival Kits” packed with t-shirts, sunscreen, koozies, Frisbees, information, and more will be given to the first 100 students. For more information contact Erin Morgan at ext. 5195.

“Calling all women… the 2006 Women’s Empowerment Symposium: “Inspiring. Motivating. Educating.”
This symposium will be held on Saturday, March 18 at 9:00 a.m. in the University Readiness Center Greatroom. Our guest facilitators, Joelle Davis-Carter, University of Maryland- College Park, and Melissa Shivers, Clemson University, will facilitate discussions and activities to help connect the women of USC Upstate. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. This event is free to all USC Upstate students, faculty and staff. Applications are available in the Office of Student Life (225 CLC). Applications are due no later than Friday, March 3 by 5:00 p.m. For more information, please contact Adrienne Middleton at amiddleton@uscupstate.edu.

Wear Your Rhinestones and Boots to the Wild West Auction
The USC Upstate Athletic Department is gearing up for the 12 th Annual Athletics Benefit Auction – “Rhinestones and Boots” – this April. Be a part of the fun and excitement! The benefit auction will be held April 29, 2006 starting at 6:00 p.m. in the G. B. Hodge Center. The auction will feature a country and western theme sure to capture the essence of the “Wild West.” Enjoy a true western buffet, open bar, dance floor and music provided by a DJ while you bid on fabulous auction items in the live and silent portions of the auction. Travel packages, golf packages, sport tickets, apparel and more will be auctioned off to help benefit our 11 athletic programs and the administration.

Tickets can be purchased in advance in the USC Upstate Athletic Office or you can call (864) 503-5144 for more information. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Corporate tables, with seating for eight and including special benefits, can be purchased for $500.

We are also reaching out to our campus faculty and staff in search of western props we might borrow for decorating the gym. If you have any items we could use please give Barbara White a call at ext. 5144.