Claire Sachse, University Communications, attended the National Convention and 125 th Anniversary Celebration of the American Red Cross in Washington D.C., May 11-14. She was a delegate of the Polk County (N.C.) chapter. Over 3,000 volunteers and Red Cross staffers from across the country attended the celebration, highlighted by appearances and speeches by First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Chairman of the Red Cross Board of Governors Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, actors Jane Seymour, Jimmy Smits, and George Foreman, as well as the singer Fantasia.

Mike Bruce , Business Affairs, Mike Hall, Athletics, and Bob Connelly, Business Affairs, went fishing on Lake Murray last week. They claim they caught 60 fish. (Sure they did.)

USC Upstate Says “Yes!” to NCAA Division 1 Atlantic Sun Invite

At a press conference held Tuesday at the University Readiness Center, USC Upstate accepted an invitation to play in the Atlantic Sun Conference becoming the league’s 12th member beginning with the 2007-08 season. This puts the USC Upstate Spartans one step closer in its journey towards reclassifying to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. Dr. John Stockwell addresses the gathering at the press conference to announce USC Upstate's move to Division I in 2007-08 and acceptance of the invitation to join the Atlantic Sun Conference.  A-Sun commissioner Bill Bibb (immediate right) and Senior Associate Commissioner Ted Gumbart (far right) look on.

For more on the Atlantic Sun Conference and how this move will impact the University, check out the Web site created specifically for the announcement. If you missed yesterday’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal, click here to see the full page announcement. And, if you weren’t at the press conference, you can download the podcast here.

Hub City Writer Project Archives Come to USC Upstate

At a reception Wednesday afternoon, John Lane , Betsy Teter and Gary Henderson, founders of the Hub City Writers Project, donated archives of the project’s work to USC Upstate’s library. In addition to serving as an invaluable resource to those interested in local history, the archives will provide a detailed path for others who are interested in founding a similar organization to follow. Groups from Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Washington have used the Hub City Writers Project as a model to create a place-based literary movement in their own towns. For the full story …

Pacheco Receives Outstanding College Student Award
Elvia Pacheco , a senior at the USC Upstate, received the Outstanding College Student Award at the Upstate Diversity Leadership Awards banquet, held on May 9 and presented by The Riley Institute at Furman University. Pacheco was recognized for outstanding achievement in promoting diversity by a college student. She works in leadership roles, utilizing her skills in working with young people and the Spanish-speaking population. Pacheco is the former president of Hispanic Awareness. She is currently a resident assistant at USC Upstate and a translator in her hometown of Newberry.

USC Upstate Program Addresses Need for Certified Court Interpreters in Upstate’s Justice System
The committee leading the movement to raise awareness about the need for certified court interpreters are, from left to right, Desiree Allen, Manager of Court Services, S.C. Court Administration; Rosalyn Frierson, Esq., Director, S.C. Court Administration; Dr. Doris Paez, Director of the USC Upstate Metropolitan Studies Institute; Tammy Beshers, S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center; and Mary Schroeder, Esq., Deputy Director, S.C. Court Administration.

Hispanics, and other non-English speakers, will have increased access to justice in South Carolina through a pilot program initiated by USC Upstate which will train people to become South Carolina certified oral court interpreters.

This program was unveiled at a reception at USC Upstate on Friday at the Campus Life Center Ballroom. Over 100 court interpreters from across the state, as well as others with interest and a stake in the issue, including Senator Jim Ritchie, attended. The event was co-hosted by the South Carolina Court Administration.

“This meeting was the first of its kind in the state,” according to Dr. Doris Paez, director of USC Upstate’s Metropolitan Studies Institute and organizer of the event. “We are raising awareness about the need to recruit and train more certified court interpreters. People will learn where we stand and where we are heading with this important issue,” she added.

The 60-hour court interpreter training certificate program will be offered beginning this summer by USC Upstate at the University Center of Greenville for Spanish/English interpreters, with plans to include Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and German at a later date. The practicum portion of the program will be hosted by the Greenville Family Court.

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.