The Yellow Sheet 2001September 13, 2001 | Volume 34, Number 2

News & Announcements

• President Axel Steuer reminded us yesterday of the following: "In times of crisis and challenges, we are reminded in many ways that Gustavus Adolphus College is a community that cares for its members and that seeks to reach out in service to our brothers and sisters around the world -- even as they reach out to us... In the face of cruel terror and emotionally trying times ahead, I ask you to reach out both to comfort anyone in distress and to those whose presence and words will be a source of healing and hope for you. We decided to keep Gustavus open at this time because you will find here an extended family that cares deeply for all its members. We encourage you to respond warmly to any opportunity to help those near and far who are in pain, either by listening with an open heart or giving blood to save lives still in danger. We cannot and we will not give in to fear or despair. We pray for all families directly affected by Tuesday's horrible acts of terror to which we are witnesses, and we pray for renewed strength and commitment to bring into being a peaceful and more just world."
• An all-community teach-in about the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, as well as U.S. and international responses will be held Friday (Sept. 14) from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall. All members of the Gustavus community are invited to participate in this teach-in. Some of the questions to be addressed include: How do we as a country even think about responding to these acts in the midst of such grief, anguish, and anger? What would be an appropriate response? Do we seek deterrence, retribution or revenge? How well do comparisons to Pearl Harbor work? Where is God in this? How do we think about good and evil? Anywho who would like to be a speaker should contact the Chaplains' Office (x7446). For additional information, contact Peg O'Connor (x7573, poconnor@gustavus.edu) or Brian Johnson (x7446, btjohnso@gustavus.edu) who are coordinating this event.
• Student Senate and Delta Phi Omega have joined forces to raise money for the Red Cross and its efforts in Manhattan. For this "Miles to Manhattan" campaign people are asked to help the College "reach Manhattan" by buying a mile for $1 at a table in the Campus Center Friday (Sept. 14) from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Progress will be tracked on a map. The goal is to travel the 1,227.5 miles from Gustavus to Manhattan to provide relief to victims and their families.
• Christ Chapel is open for silence or reflection and candles are available for lighting near the front entrance.
• A large candle and a "Peace and Hope" book in which people may write thoughts or prayers are located in the Campus Center, just outside the dining room. This candle will stay in Vigil for the next several days.
• Members of the student services staff and the chaplains' office are available for conversation and support. The Chaplains' Office number is x7446 and the Counseling Center number is x7027.
• Any athletic contests to be hosted at Gustavus during a national day of prayer or days of official national mouringing will be postponed. Also, a moment of silence will mark the beginning of any home athletic event. Note that no home contests were planned for on campus this weekend.
• Also see the "In the Media" section of this newsletter for all that Gustavus source Karen Larson (anthropology) has done to spread the word that we need to pull together as a culture to get through this tragedy and beyond.

Staff Reclassification Committee... The Reclassification Policy in Chapter 3 of the "Support Staff Handbook" has been revised to establish a Staff Reclassification Committee (SRC) to act on requests for reclassification of support staff positions. The revised policy was endorsed by the Staff Personnel Committee June 5, 2001 and became effective Aug. 13. The SRC is composed of not less than 3 and not more than 5 members appointed by the President. The Director of Human Resources will serve as an ex officio member of the SRC. The SRC will meet in March and September of each academic year. Requests for reclassification must be submitted at least 5 business days prior to the review date, which will be announced in advance. Requests received after that date may be carried to the next SRC meeting. The SRC will evaluate positions using the Support Staff Position Evaluation Instrument adopted by the College. The employee and supervisor have the option of appearing before the SRC. The revised policy will be included in the "2001-2002 Staff Handbook." Copies may be obtained from human resources. In accordance with the revised policy, the SRC has been scheduled to meet Sept. 25. The SRC will review complete requests that are received in the Office of Human Resources not later than Sept. 18. Complete requests are those submitted on the "Position Description Questionnaire" form (normally completed by the employee) and accompanied by a "Request for Job Description Review" form completed by the supervisor. Both forms are available in human resources. Requests for reclassification received after Sept. 18 will be carried to the next meeting of the committee to be scheduled for March 2002.

Get Nobel Conference Tickets Now... The future of science, new discoveries in genetics, cell biology, chemistry, and the societal and ethical implications of these discoveries are the focus of the 37th annual Nobel Conference®, titled "The Second Nobel Century: What Is Still to Be Discovered?" and set for Oct. 2-3 on campus. A special tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes, the conference features a distinguished group of speakers, including 5 Nobel laureates, 2 highly regarded science writers, and the secretary general of the Swedish academy that awards 3 of the Nobel Prizes. The annual conference, sanctioned by the Nobel Foundation, is open to the public and lecture tickets are again free for all campus community members. Students may pick up their tickets at the Information Center, Campus Center. Faculty, staff, and administration members may pick up their tickets in the Office of Public Relations, Carlson Administration Building. For more information, call x7520 or visit the Nobel Conference Web Site.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Sept. 14 -- Chaplain Brian Johnson, Amos 7: 16;
• Sept. 16 -- 15th Sunday after Pentecost, Chaplain Rachel Larson;
• Sept. 17 -- Faith Kirkham Hawkins, 1 Timothy 3: 14-4:5;
• Sept. 18 -- Eric Eliason, Jonah 3: 1-10;
• Sept. 19 -- Morning Praise, Luke 22: 31-33, 54-62;
• Sept. 20 -- Julie Johnson, Job 42: 1-6;
• Sept. 21 -- Jon Cha, 1 Timothy 1: 1-11; and
• Sept. 23 -- 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Chaplain Brian Johnson.

Talk Shop... Joyce Sutphen (English) will present the first Faculty Shop Talk of the 2001-02 academic year at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 21 in the Interpretive Center. Her talk is titled "Treading Air: One Way of Writing Poems." Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed on the Gustavus Web under the On-Campus Community/Faculty/Shop Talks link.

Welsh Concert... At 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, the North American Welsh Choir will present a concert in Bjorling Concert Hall. The concert is part of the Welsh Weekend of Song which has been organized by the Minnesota Gymanfa Ganu Association. Tickets are $8 for students and senior citizens and $12 for adults and are available at the Information Center (x7590) in the Campus Center.

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS OF INTEREST:

KUDOS:

The Religion Department was represented at the Convocation of Teaching Theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Aug. 17-19 at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI. Darrell Jodock and Mary Solberg were on the planning committee for the event and Mark Granquist was in attendance.

Mark Kruger, psychology, and Mark Lammers, music, presented a paper at the Society for Music Perception and Cognition Conference Aug. 9-11 at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The title of the paper was "Beginning trombone players: What skills do they develop?"

Beatrice Martinson, Book Mark, had an article, titled "A Home Caregiver's Lament," published in the Sept. 2001 issue of the Journal of Holistic Nursing.

Brian O'Brien, chemistry, and current research student Philip Sass, with alumni co-authors Jeffrey Johnson ('01) and Ryan Nelson ('01), presented a paper, titled "Preparation of Primary Alkylphosphines by a Phospha-Gabriel Route," at the 222nd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society Aug. 26 in Chicago. The abstract may be read online at http://gustavus.edu/~bobrien/ACS_Chicago_abstract.html.

OBITUARIES:

• Helen Freese, Gustavus finance office employee from 1964-1991, died Sept. 8 in Mankato. Survivors include her husband, Ralph, and son, Paul ('80). Services were held Sept. 12 in Christ Chapel. The family requests that memorials be directed to Gustavus or to the Neighbor to Neighbor Foundation.

POSITION OPENINGS:

• Custodians
• PM Cook in the Dining Service

IN THE MEDIA:

Karen Larson (anthropology and interdisciplinary studies) was successfully positioned as a source to discuss the effect Tuesday's (Sept. 11) terrorists attacks will have on American culture and the mental health of Americans. Larson has studied and published works on domestic terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Theodore Kaczynski. She is currently teaching the First Term Seminar "Cultural Evolution: Coming Full Circle," where McVeigh, Kaczynski, and others are discussed. Larson conducted the following interviews, which were aired/published this week:

• St. Peter Herald on Sept. 13 (story by Natalie Albers and Ed Lee)
• Fairmont Sentinel on Sept. 13 (story by Allison Maas '01)
• KDOG/KTOE Radio in Mankato (96.7 FM/1420 AM) on Sept. 12
• Minnesota News Network (MNN) radio on Sept. 12
• Star Tribune of Minneapolis on Sept. 12 (story by Eric Black)
• The Free Press of Mankato on Sept. 12 (story by Tim Krohn)
• KEYC-TV news in Mankato (Ch. 12) on Sept. 11
• KXLP/KYSM Radio in Mankato (103.5 FM/93.1 FM/1230 AM) on Sept. 11
• KEEZ/Z99 Radio in Mankato (99.1 FM) on Sept. 11

• A look into the life of a college president, featuring President Axel Steuer, was published on the front page of the Sept. 8 Free Press of Mankato. The story was written by Rachael Hanel, who shadowed/observed the president for 2 days during the opening of the 140th academic year. Several color photographs by John Cross were included.
• A feature story on Go Fish Concert student organizer Ryan Hanson was published in the Sept. 8 Free Press. This page B1 story was written by Joe Tougas and also included a photograph.
• Gustavus back-to-school stories aired on KEYC-TV Mankato (Ch. 12) at 6 and 10 p.m. Sept. 5. Both included interviews with Pres. Steuer; the 10 p.m. report also aired interviews with 2 students.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

To add or change items on the calendar, please fill out and submit a College Calendar event form. View the entire College Calendar online.