Open Line Faculty-Staff Newsletter for the Week of Nov. 19, 2012

Thanksgiving edition

Campus News  •  Noteworthy  •  In the News

Campus News

Karl Fields named Puget Sound's seventh Washington Professor of the Year
Professor of Politics and Government Karl Fields was selected as the 2012 Washington State Professor of the Year. The recognition, from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, is the country’s most prestigious honor for undergraduate teaching in higher education. Fields is fluent in Chinese and conversant in Japanese, and teaches comparative politics, comparative political economy, and the politics and societies of Asia. A teacher, scholar, author, lecturer, consultant, and reviewer, he travels and lectures regularly in the United States and Asia, and is co-author of the textbook Cases in Comparative Politics. He currently is at work on the book KMT, Inc.: Party Capitalism in a Developmental State.

"The Cos" steps onstage at Puget Sound February 2013, as part of the university's 125th anniversary celebration
On Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, Bill Cosby will remind audiences what great family humor is in a public performance at Puget Sound. The not-to-be-missed, stand-up comedy event will be held in Memorial Fieldhouse, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for campus members go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 20, and for the public on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Current Puget Sound students, faculty, and staff may purchase one discounted ticket for $15 (with valid Puget Sound ID; general seating only; limit one discounted ticket per person). Admission for the general public is $25 for general seating and $50 for prime seating. Tickets are available online and at Wheelock Information Center.

2012 Art Students Annual showcases paintings, ceramics, sculpture, and more, through Dec. 8
Puget Sound’s Kittredge Gallery hosts the 2012 Art Students Annual, on display now through Dec. 8. Any student currently enrolled at the university who has taken a studio class either on campus or in a study abroad program is eligible to enter the juried show; students are not required to be art majors. The juror for this year’s exhibition is Beverly Naidus, associate professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences, University of Washington Tacoma.

Puget Sound to host Transgender Day of Remembrance event, Nov. 20
The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was established to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. Puget Sound will host a TDOR event Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 8 to 9:30 p.m., in Kilworth Memorial Chapel. The event, open to everyone, will include remarks by University Chaplain the Rev. Dave Wright ’96 and Leeza Edwards, of Trans Spiritual Counsel, as well as reading of names of members of the transgender community who died this year.

Campus visits scheduled for diversity and inclusion officer candidates, begin Nov. 26
Puget Sound's search for a dean of diversity and inclusion/chief diversity officer has generated a very strong group of candidates. The top candidates will be coming to campus for interviews during the week after Thanksgiving and the final week of classes. As part of the interview process, each candidate will participate in a one-hour session open to all members of the campus community. These sessions will take place as follows, and faculty and staff members are invited to attend.

• Monday, Nov. 26, 3 p.m., Murray Board Room
• Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2 p.m., Murray Board Room
• Friday, Nov. 30, 4 p.m., Murray Board Room
• Monday, Dec. 3, 3 p.m., Trimble Forum

Because all of our candidates candidacies remain confidential at this time, their curriculum vitae and cover letters will be available for review on a password-secured site at 7 a.m. on the candidate visit day. You may log in with your Puget Sound user name and password. These materials will be removed the day following each visit. Please hold each candidate’s name in confidence, and do not print or distribute their materials.
 
Any confidential feedback you have about the candidates may be directed acadvp@pugetsound.edu or to Associate Vice President for Human Resources Cindy Matern at cmatern@pugetsound.edu.

Library exhibit explores Darwin and evolutionary theory
Throughout the month of November, Collins Memorial Library will host the exhibit Rewriting the Book of Nature: Charles Darwin and the Rise of Evolutionary Theory. This exhibit is partially developed by the National Library of Medicine and supplemented with materials from Collins Memorial Library's collections and the Slater Museum of Natural History. It focuses on Darwin’s development of the idea of evolution by natural selection, but also looks at the afterlife of that idea. On Wednesday, Nov. 28, enjoy a brown bag lunch session with Elizabeth Stiles Knight, "Establishing an Archives at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Galapagos." Knight's talk will begin at noon in the McCormick Room. Learn more on the library's blog.

Benefits open enrollment forms due Nov. 21
Each year faculty and staff members who are eligible for the Flexible Benefits Plan have an opportunity to make changes to their benefit selections for the coming calendar year. In an effort to make enrollment as easy as possible, human resources sent each faculty and staff member's enrollment packet to his/her campus mailbox. These materials will be in a different format than in previous years. It is important that you follow the instructions contained in the delivered packet (instructions and nonpersonalized materials online).
 
Completed enrollment materials are due to human resources by Wednesday, Nov. 21. Deliver materials in person to Howarth 016, send them through campus mail to CMB #1064, or scan and send them via email to hr@pugetsound.edu. Remember to sign each form.

Call for donations for Staff Senate Book and Bake Sale
The Staff Senate Special Events Committee is looking for your help. The annual Staff Senate Book and Bake Sale will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Wheelock Student Center. Donations of gently used books, CDs, and DVDs are badly needed.

Please bring donated items to Laura Edgar in Kittredge 117, Lisa Beritich in McIntyre 011, or Katharine Appleyard in Howarth 209. If you have any questions or would like your items picked up from another location on campus, please contact Laura Edgar at ledgar@pugetsound.edu. Proceeds from the Book and Bake Sale fund the Rosa Beth Gibson Book Scholarship. Thank you for your help!

Nominate worthy Loggers for Alumni Awards
The Puget Sound Alumni Council Awards and Nominating Committee invites you to nominate outstanding alumni for one of the Alumni Association’s four distinguished alumni awards: Professional Achievement, Service to the Community, Service to Puget Sound, and Young Logger Service. You may know of former students who have done outstanding things; therefore, you play an important role in helping to ensure that the accomplishments of these distinguished alumni are recognized.
 
Award recipients will be profiled in the spring 2013 issue of Arches magazine and will be honored during Summer Reunion Weekend, June 7–9, 2013, when classes ending in 3 and 8 will celebrate their quinquennial reunions. Nominations of alumni celebrating a reunion year are encouraged. Nominations should be submitted no later than Dec. 31, 2012, and contain as much information as possible about the nominee’s qualifications. Visit the Alumni Awards nomination page to submit your nomination.

Say "Yes!" to professional development in Janaury
The annual Professional Development and Enrichment Conference, put on for Puget Sound staff members by the human resources office each January, is coming soon. Available courses will include Optimize Puget Sound training, CPR, personal financing, computer skills, and more. Plus, new this year, keynote speaker Galen Emanuele, from The Upfront Theatre in Bellingham. Watch Open Line for details, and look for a complete schedule of available courses in December.

Noteworthy

Congratulations to John Hines ’05, M.A.T.'06, who competed in the Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament, winning in the first round and making it to the semifinals—and crossing an impressive item off his bucket list.

On Nov. 9, Alanna Johnson, Emily Mullins, Kate Cohn, and Ellen Peters, all from the Office of Institutional Research, presented on the “Breadth and Depth of Data: Assessment of the Curriculum Using Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches at Puget Sound” at the Pacific Northwest Association for Institutional Research and Planning.

In the News

TIME magazine ran a story extensively quoting Catherine Gould Chism Visiting Scholar Tanya Erzen about the obsession of women for the Twilight vampire series and about Erzen’s new book Fanpire: The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love It.

Professor of Politics and Government Karl Fields' selection as 2012 Washington Professor of the Year was reported in The Seattle Times, The News Tribune, Seattle Post Intelligencer, and others.

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