Several USC Upstate faculty presented papers at the 2006 Popular Culture/American Culture Associations Conference in Atlanta Ga., April 12-15.

• Peter Caster, English, delivered a paper “Fight Club and Hysterical Masculinity”; Camille McCutcheon, Library, chaired a session “Biography I” and delivered a paper “Truth as Fiction, Fiction as Truth:  Hollywood Novels and Biography, Hollywood Biographies as Novels”:
• Ray Merlock, journalism, chaired a session “Westerns and the West:  Roy, Dale, and Trigger: American Icons” and delivered a paper “Roy Rogers, William Witney, and Quentin Tarantino Riding the Range Together.” Merlock also accepted, on behalf of the editors Peter Rollins and John O’Connor, the Ray and Pat Browne Award for Outstanding Edited Collection given to Hollywood’s West, The American Frontier in Film, Television, and History, The University of Kentucky Press, 2005.  
• Cassandra Mitchell, journalism, delivered a paper “Advertorials Used as News: The Public Be Damned” 

Bonnie Carson was named Volunteer of the Year at the most recent South Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SCASFAA) Conference. She was recognized for her involvement and contributions to the Diversity Committee.

Kim Jenerette will take over as President of SCASFAA beginning July 1, 2006.  He will oversee the operations of the Association (which has over 500 members).  Planned events include a National Association meeting in Seattle, WA this July, a combined conference with the North Carolina in November, a Regional Meeting in Nashville, TN in February, and a State meeting in April. 

Thomas McConnell, English was invited by the U.S. Embassy to speak on contemporary American literature at the annual Prague World Book Fair on May 6.

Bruce Suddeth , director of Landscape Services, has been elected as the president of the South Carolina Sports Turf Managers Association for 2006. SCSTMA is a chapter affiliate of the national Sports Turf Managers Association headquartered in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The South Carolina chapter was officially recognized by the STMA on January 23, 2004. Bruce was also a steering committee member during the SCSTMA’s conception and became a charter officer. To date, the SCSTMA has 160 members in just two years of being an organization. The SCSTMA is to be the recognized leader in strengthening sports turf management is South Carolina by providing its members with the education, knowledge, and leadership to enhance their vocation and professionalism.

Librarian To Volunteer At Chinese Museum
USC Upstate reference librarian Georgia Pribanic is about to enter a world of warriors and horse drawn chariots—of the clay variety. Pribanic will spend two weeks in June volunteering at the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi’an, China. As a volunteer, she will work closely with museum staff on any project available during her two-week stay. This may include directing visitors, collecting feedback, correcting signs and information, and helping the staff to improve their English through informal conversations. For the full story…

Three Professors Receive Awards at Commencement

Parker	Caldwell	Ugochukwu

At the USC Upstate Spring 2006 Commencement, held Saturday, May 6, the assembled faculty, administration and graduates paused to honor Dr. Jennifer S. Parker, Dr. Steve Caldwell and Dr. Chioma R. Ugochukwu with awards for their contributions to their field, to their students’ education and to the University. For the full story…

Allwright To Compete In The UKC Premier Dog Show
USC Upstate adjunct art history professor Robyn Allwright will travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to compete in the United Kennel Club (UKC) Premier Dog Show from June 15-18, 2006. Allwright and her husband David will travel with four of their dogs to the competition. Of these, three will compete: two Tibetan Mastiffs, Shania and Alea, and a Treeing Cur, Sheena. This competition will include elements like outdoor judging, dog sports, obedience, agility, and a weight pull. According to Allwright, this show is the UKC equivalent to the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Westminster Dog Show, but without the stress. “AKC is very guarded, [but here] the judges are very open and want to talk about the rare breeds after the competition,” she said. “For us, this makes it more fun. Everyone is competing on the same playing field.” For the full story …

USC Upstate Welcomes Hub City Writers Project Archives
Founded nearly 11 years ago, The Hub City Writers Project celebrates place and community through the creation and presentation of literary, cultural and artistic works.  From its beginning, Hub City's emphasis has been place-based literature that encourages readers to form a deeper connection with their home territory. With 26 books, dozens of readings and workshops, installations of public art, concerts and even a river festival to its credit, the Hub City Writers Project needed a place to house its archives. After careful consideration of where the archives could be easily accessed by local historians, writers, researchers and other interested parties, the University of South Carolina Upstate was selected to be the recipient of the archives. For the full story …

Zombies Walk The USC Upstate Campus!
Students in Bob Morrell's "Advanced Video Techniques" class (JOU 426) produced this seven-minute film as part of the course requirements. Watch at your own peril! Class members included Matt Bingham, Isaiah Collins, Dal Kalsi, Darah McClung, Stanley Robinson, and Dew Woody.

Important Blackboard Announcement
The Blackboard course management system administrators will begin removing courses for Fall 2003 and older this summer. Faculty will no longer see them when they login to Blackboard so if you have material in an old course that you would like to use in the future you should copy it into a newer course. You should also archive any complete courses you want to preserve. The old course that are removed by the system administrators will be archived in Columbia, but copying them to a new course or archiving them yourself will give you a backup. Students will no longer be able to access their courses that are older than Fall 2003. There is a new content system being implemented with Blackboard that will allow you store content on Blackboard without it being in a particular course. You will then just link to it from any course so when old courses are removed in the future, your content can still be maintained. Contact Tom Davis if you have questions or need assistance with this.

Staff Council Nominations
Deadline for nominations is Monday, May 29, 2006
Come be a part of the council that serves as an advocate for staff employees and an avenue for communication within the USC Upstate campus. The Staff Council seeks to foster a spirit of unity and cooperation among all employees through monthly meetings and

• Networking Events
• Quality Improvement Committees
• Classified Employee of the Year
• Campus Social Activities
• And more!

Employees who will have completed one year of permanent employment by June 30, 2005, are eligible to be nominated to run for a Staff Council Representative position. Eligible employees can self-nominate or be nominated by any faculty or staff. (Faculty and staff can nominate more than one eligible employee.) View a listing of the eligible employees.

The nomination form must be signed by the nominee before it can be submitted. This will indicate to the Election Committee willingness to run and serve if elected. The nomination form must be received in the Career Center Office (CLC 204) by noon on May 29, 2006.

Click here to download a nomination form. Contact Lisa Miller at ext. 5581 for more information.

Faculty Governance Meeting Dates
Meeting dates for the 2006-2007 year have been posted. View them here.