December 11, 2006
The USC Upstate Faculty & Staff Newsletter • Register Archives • EBlast
Did You Know?

Quick Tree Facts
from Bruce Suddeth,
director of Landscaping:

  • 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the US every year.
  • Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource.
  • For every tree harvested, up to three seedlings are planted in its place.
  • There are about 500,000 acres of real tree production in the U.S.
  • Each acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people per day.
  • Average growing time to produce a six to seven foot tree is seven years.
  • Top Christmas tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Washington.
A Poem
Twas the night before finals, And all through the college, The students were praying
For last-minute knowledge. . .
Faculty & Staff Briefs

If you have looked carefully you will see that the Carolina Classic Car Club has adopted East Campus Blvd. (and the on/off ramps) as a public service project to the university in return for the support USC Upstate has given for our annual car show held on campus every June. On Saturday, December 2, several members of the Carolina Classic Car Club participated in the litter cleanup sponsored by the Spartanburg County Environmental Enforcement Department.  Although Buildings and Grounds does a superb job of keeping the street clean we still managed to collect seven large bags of litter.  The Carolina Classic Car Club would like to thank volunteers Pat, Tom Reed (Education), Alvin Paris, Clare Van Sant, Art Fowler, and Doug and Dianne Higgins for donating their time.
Holiday Traditions


Tammy Whaley (University Communications) has a creative side to her, as evidenced by the way she decorated her bedroom Christmas tree. Starting with a frosted white tree, she adds pink and silver ornaments, a pink feather boa and pink lights – truly a pretty in pink tree!  


Frieda Davison (Library) writes…”This isn’t a tradition but a photo from when my two nephews were small. My brother had just reprimanded his son (on the left) to quit talking so my sister’s son (on the right) could say the prayer. This photo was the result and one that is treasured by all of our family members.”

Athletics

SunCom Wireless Spartan of the Week: Jay Free - Men's Basketball
 Men's basketball player Jay Free has been named the SunCom Wireless Spartan of the Week after scoring 91 points in three games last week.  In addition, Free has been named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week for men's basketball.
Free averaged 30.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last week.  He scored a career-high 36 points in the win over Mars Hill Tuesday. He tied a single-game school record with nine three-pointers against the Lions. He finished with 23 points against West Virginia State Friday in the first game of the Ortho Carolina Classic at Wingate, then scored 32 against host Wingate Saturday. He was named to the All-Classic Team.

For the year, Free leads the Peach Belt Conference with 22.5 points per game. He is chasing the USC Upstate all-time three-point record and currently has made 227 in his career. Nathan Norman owns the school record with 255 three-pointers.
Employment Opportunities

APPLICATION PROCESS: Visit www.uscupstate.edu/jobs for additional information and online application submission instructions.

STAFF/ADMINISTRATION POSITIONS:

Human Resources Specialist Human Resources Office
Requisition No. 042770
Online applications accepted through Monday, December 11, 2006

Administrative Specialist (State Title: Administrative Specialist II)
Office of Academic Affairs
Requisition No. 042794
Online applications accepted through Monday, December 11, 2006
New Employees

Julie Panos
 Basic Skills Instructor
ACHIEVE grant program
Ext: 427-5096
Reminders

Last Chance to Update Info for the 2007 Faculty/Staff Telephone Directory!
Please check your online directory listing to make sure the information is correct. To get to your listing, log on to www.uscupstate.edu, click on Faculty & Staff, then click on Faculty/Staff Directory, and then click on Directory Update Form. Information in the online directory is used to produce the paper-version of the directory, which will be available when classes resume after Winter Break. For questions, contact University Communications.

USC Faculty/Staff Dependents’ Scholarship Program
 Applications for the USC Faculty/Staff Dependents’ Scholarship Program for the 2007-2008 academic year, are currently available from the Financial Aid Office, 304 Admin Bldg. The scholarship program is open to any dependent child or spouse of a full-time USC system employee, who meets the eligibility requirements. The scholarship is valued at $1,500 for students attending the Columbia campus; $1,200 for students attending the Aiken, Beaufort and Upstate campuses; and $800 for students attending the Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union campuses. Applications must be received by the Columbia campus Financial Aid Office by February 1, 2007. To be eligible, an applicant must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student on one of the USC campuses. Continuing students must have attained a 3.00 cumulative GPA. Freshman eligibility is determined by weighted core course GPA and standardized test scores. No application is required for renewal students. For more information, contact Bonnie Carson in Financial Aid.

Counseling Services Referral Survey
Counseling Services is sending you the attached survey in a continuing effort to improve our services and availability to students.  Please take a few minutes to print and complete this survey and interoffice/mail the hardcopy to Counseling Services, CLC 107, by December 15. To show our appreciation for your assistance, complete the second page of the attachment and return it to our office (CLC 107) to be entered in a free raffle for a $50 gift certificate to Spartanburg’s Abby’s Grill. Thank you in advance for assisting us to better serve our students.

Campus Improvement Projects The Health Education Complex is one of many new construction and renovation projects detailed in the November 2006 Capital Project Status Report. Download a copy of the report here and get updated on the Athletic Complex, campus entrances, convocation center/arena, the Palmetto Villas, and much more…

Need to find someone?
Look them up in the
USC Upstate Faculty/Staff Directory.

Important December Dates

Thursday, December 14, 10:00 a.m.
Deadline for the December 18 Register. Send all news to University Communications. Please note: there will not be a Register published the week January 2.

Monday, December 18, 7:00 p.m.
Convocation, Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

Wednesday, December 20, noon
Fall grades are due. A memo and email to faculty will be forthcoming. For questions, contact Lori Kopf, assistant registrar, at ext. 5288.

 

Important News From Human Resources:

Christmas Holidays
The Governor has declared Christmas Eve 2006 a legal holiday to be observed on Friday, Dec. 22, by State employees. Since the University already includes Dec. 22, 2006, as part of its 2006 holiday schedule, the additional holiday will be observed on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006. USC's 2007 holiday schedule is posted at http://hr.sc.edu/benefits/2007holidays.html. Payroll checks for pay period ending December 31, 2006, will be distributed on Wednesday, December 20, 2006, through our normal distribution process.

New Travel Requirements
The Division of Human Resources' Office of International Support for Faculty and Staff asks that faculty and staff be aware of this new requirement:  Beginning January 23, 2007, all persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document. This is phase one of an initiative that is expected to address land and sea travelers in 2008. For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of State website. Contact the Office of International Support for Faculty and Staff at 803.777.0288 for further information.

 

Anderson Honored With Distinguished Alumni Award At USC Upstate Graduation
USC Upstate will honor Mrs. Dolores (Dodie) Anderson with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Convocation honoring December graduates on Monday, December 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. Criteria for the Distinguished Alumni Award include outstanding career accomplishments, service to the local community and the University. Learn more about Dodie here.

 

December Graduation Update to all faculty who will be participating in December Graduation Convocation on December 18
To celebrate the accomplishments of the December graduates and provide an opportunity for congratulatory conversations we will hold a reception immediately following the ceremony.  This will also alleviate the tremendous overcrowding in the auditorium lobby.  At the conclusion of the ceremony both the faculty and the graduates will recess back down to the arena for the reception.  The reception food will be light refreshments like in May and will provide a larger venue for graduates and their family/friends to congregate.

 

Final PREFACE Event: Commemoration of Peace
“Nobody loves peace like a soldier,” began Joe Pellegrino (English) as he introduced the program A Commemoration of Peace, held for students, faculty and staff on Thursday, December 7, the 65th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. After the presentation of colors by the Honor Guard, Cathy Canino, Brenda Davenport, Louise Ericson, Laura Karas and Pelligrino read letters from soldiers to their loved ones. The time period of the letters included the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and the Iraq War. The final letter, not included in the program because it arrived after printing, was an e-mail from LCDR Patrick McLaughlin, a 1983 USC Upstate graduate who is serving as a Navy Chaplain with the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C. and is preparing for deployment to Iraq in January. The audience then recessed to the lobby of Campus Life Center where Brenda Davenport and Laura Karas dedicated 1,000 cranes which will become part of the Million Crane Project. Finally, the group moved outdoors to the arboretum where Ericson showed students the Japanese maple tree that was planted in honor of the Commemoration of Peace.

Over the course of the semester, a several faculty and staff have submitted their stories about family members who served in the military in WWII. A few of their stories are reprinted here.

 

 

 

Dr. G. B. Hodge autographed his memoir about the founding of USC Upstate, Reflections on Building an Institution, on December 2 at the Hub-Bub Book Fair. The book is available in the University bookstore and at the Spartanburg County Headquarters Library gift shop. Proceeds will benefit scholarship funds in the Carolina Piedmont Foundation.

 

 

 

On Tuesday, December 5, the children from Burroughs Child Development Center had an enjoyable wagon ride around campus. Ms. Kelly Bryson's class is studying horses. For a first hand experience with horses, Hester and Gary Sloan were gracious enough to bring two of their horses and a wagon, to give the preschoolers an "up close and personal" experience with horses. Several faculty and staff parents joined in the fun.

 

Chili Cookoff
At the chili cookoff held Friday, first place was awarded to Debbie Wilson (School of Nursing) or actually to her husband, Dwayne, who cooked the chili, second place went to Teresa Truesdale (Media Services) and third place went to Barbara White (Athletics).

 

Our judges included: Lisa from Wade’s, Ty from Abby’s Grill, Terry Williams, Financial Aid, Phylicia Bowman, USC Upstate student, Delane and Gus Camp, Mr. Gatti’s Pizza. Thanks to all who came and ate!

 

Topics in nonprofit banking was the subject of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership’s Friday Focus lunch series. Susan Hodge (Advancement) was the guest speaker.

This Week…

sHOp sHOp sHOp at the Bookstore
Monday, December 11 – Wednesday, December 20
It’s the 11 th Annual Christmas Bookstore Sale! Take advantage of 35% discounts! See the flyer for info.

Free Food? Did Someone Say Free Food?!  
Monday – Thursday, December 11 – 14 … 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. … CLC 2 nd Floor Lobby
Take a break from working hard and grab some brain food - healthy and not-so-healthy options available – at this end of the semester tradition! See the attached flyer or contact Student Development at 503-5195 for more information. Good luck with exams! Sponsored by Student Development.

Late Night Breakfast
Monday, December 11 … 9:30 – 11:30 p.m. … CLC Dining Hall
 The Residence Hall Association would like to invite any faculty or staff member to volunteer as food servers for Late Night Breakfast who can provide service with a smile!  Come out and support your students as they prepare for their winter exams. To volunteer, please contact Clint Neill (ext. 5427). This late night study breaker is for all USC Upstate students is free for students with a meal plan and $5 for students without. Students will be able to come relax with friends, listen to music, win door prizes, and of course, eat as many helpings of breakfast food as they could want!

From Sweden to the Upstate: An Office Visit from St. Lucia
Wednesday, December 13 … all over campus
Please e-mail Laura Karas if you would like a visit from St. Lucia. Laura’s daughter, Marah, is scheduled to deliver cookies while dressed in the traditional Swedish style of St. Lucia. Marah dresses in a white gown with candles (fake) in a wreath on her head and brings cookies including pepparkakor (ginger snaps) and light to the darkest day of the year.

 

Looking Ahead to Next Year …

Third Annual USC Upstate Research Symposium
SAVE THE DATE! On April 6, 2007 the Research Advisory Council, Center for Undergraduate Research and Office of Academic Affairs will host the Third Annual USC Upstate Research Symposium in the Rampey Center. Details will follow. We look forward to an excellent program that will oral and poster presentations highlighting faculty and student scholarly and creative works. 

A New Book Club is Forming
The Center for Women’s Studies will be hosting a new program called “Feminism in Hard Cover,” a book club for the Spring semester. Please contact Lisa Johnson for additional info. See the flyer here.

 

The ART HOP
A committee of art lovers from the Museum of Art, Hub-Bub, Carolina Gallery, Z Place and The Artists’ Guild have created an ART HOP for Spartanburg. The first Art Hop will take place on Friday, December 15 from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m., and includes stops along Main Street from Denny’s to Carriage House Wines…to the Hub-Bub Showroom on Daniel Morgan…to Partners for Active Living/Preservation Trust and The Museum of Art on S. Spring Street. The new trolley will make the rounds at specified HOP STOPS. The event is free to the public. Check out the web site and note the special “hoppy logo designed by Marius Valdes.

Items for publication should be submitted to Claire Sachse in the Office of University Communications, Admin. 222, by 2:00 p.m. on or before Thursday of each week.