University Relations

Announcements

UCCS a top university, again. The undergraduate engineering program at UCCS is among the best in the nation and the entire university is among the best public universities in the Western United States, according to the editors of U.S. News and World Report. (More)

Regents hear dissent, maintain weapons policy. Members of the CU Board of Regents listened to a student who wanted to carry a gun on campus and another who supported the current ban on weapons during the Aug. 20 meeting at the Lodge. The Regents did not consider changing the current weapons policy, in place since 1970. Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak focused the Regents on the UCCS mission of southern Colorado. Her presentation is available online. (Links to a Powerpoint file)

Pilot program waives tuition for UCCS dependents. Immediate family members, domestic partners, or spouses of UCCS faculty and staff may be eligible to take up to nine credit hours of classes tuition-free under a policy changed announced Aug. 29 by Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak. See the details. (More) (Links to a Word Doc)

Earth moves; event center underway. A line of spades awaited members of the CU Board of Regents who joined with UCCS students and administrators to begin a $7 million 1,200-seat University Event Center Aug. 21. Located between the University Center and Dwire Hall, the Event Center will aim for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in areas such as energy and water efficiency, indoor air quality, and recycled materials. Student government supported the quest for certification. Expect construction fencing to appear on the site soon. (More)

Sign up needed for emergency text messages. To receive emergency text messages, faculty and staff should register at https://e2campus.uccs.edu/

Hello, 255. In another sign that UCCS is growing, the campus will soon outgrow its “262” telephone prefix, according to Jerry Wilson, director, Information Technology. As a result, beginning Jan. 1, 2009, UCCS will begin its transition to “255” or “ALL” for outside dialing of university telephone extensions. (More)

University architect selected. An architect with more than 20 years experience and certified as an expert in energy efficient design is the new UCCS architect. (More)

Olympic athletes lead lives as scholars, too. An alumnus and a currently enrolled student at UCCS returned from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games bearing medals. (More)

Profs confirm it: IBM typewriter a forgotten icon. If you worked on an typewriter or remember when gas stations fixed flats before serving cappuccino, you might be out of touch with the Class of 2012. With thanks to Charlie Shub, professor, Engineering, for reminding us, see the Beloit College annual mindset list at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2012.php.

Don’t eat the glue: UCCS Staff Council holds school supply drive. Providing children with new school supplies is a difficult financial task for some families. In an effort to soften this reality, and help children go back to school with confidence and an extra spring in their steps, the UCCS Staff Council is holding a school supply drive now through Sept. 15. (More)

Author brings character lessons to freshmen. Alternating between personal anecdote and lessons from philosophers, Noted Chinese-American author Gus Lee captured the attention of freshmen students and others who attended opening convocation Aug. 20. Read more about Lee’s efforts. (More)

Scholarship recipients celebrated. Nearly 150 people gathered in the Lion’s Den for the 2008-2009 UCCS Scholars Luncheon Aug. 27.  Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak and Vice Chancellor Robert Wonnett welcomed the scholarship recipients and congratulated them on being selected for their respective programs. (More)

Who’s New/Changes

• Steve Linhart, executive director, Student Support and Judicial Affairs. He previously was deputy chief of police, Public Safety. He joined Public Safety in 2000.
• Emily Dreman, student activities coordinator, Office of Student Activities. She previously worked in other positions in the department.

Kudos

• John C. Miller, professor emeritus, Spanish recently received his sixth Fulbright career award. His latest award, a Fulbright Senior Specialist award will begin in November at Aligarh Muslim University (India) where he will teach applied linguistics and pedagogy. Miller received two undergraduate and graduate student awards to Venezuela and Spain. While on the faculty at UCCS, Miller received two teaching professor/scholar awards and a Fulbright Senior Specialist award to Colombia. After retiring, Miller received a U.S. Department of State Senior English Language Fellowship (2006-2007) to the Ahmedabad Management Institute.

In the News

• The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote about the newest UCCS sport in seasoned goalie leads lions into the unknown
• KRDO-13 aired a story about UCCS efforts to retain students in UCCS Aims to Retain Hispanic Students
• The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote about the conviction of a man who murdered a UCCS student in Ex-soldier found guilty in retrial in co-ed's murder
• The Colorado Springs Gazette interviewed John Dunn, assistant professor, Political Science, in some aren’t over the hill
• The Rocky Mountain News wrote about SAT scores in SAT scores stay at lowest level in nearly a decade
• The Colorado Springs Business Journal wrote about UCCS rankings in Academy, UCCS among top universities
• The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote about the Regents weapon policy in Our View - Sunday
• The Rocky Mountain News wrote about efforts to lower legal drinking ages in Rethink drinking age
• KKTV-11 aired a story about Regents weapon policy in UCCS Students Push For Guns On Campus
• The Denver Post published a review of a new Theaterworks performance in Light touch, perfect Rosalind: You'll like it
• The Los Angeles Times wrote about a UCCS instructor’s work in Shroud of Turin stirs new controversy
• KXRM-21 aired a story about gifts to the CU Foundation in More than 52,000 donors give to the Foundation

Communique is the on-line newsletter for UCCS faculty and staff. It is published weekly during the fall and spring semesters, monthly during the summer semester. Communique is sent to faculty and staff e-mail lists and, by request, to other e-mail addresses. Previous issues are available at //www.uccs.edu/ur/communique. Suggestions and comments are welcome.
Send ideas to ur@uccs.edu or call Tom Hutton, 262-3439.