The Yellow Sheet for Jan. 13, 2005January 13, 2005 | Volume 37, Number 16

News & Announcements

• Professors from the following departments have been moved to temporary locations as follows:
  
  • Classics -- library
    
  • Philosophy -- library
    
  • Political Science -- library
    
  • Religion -- Confer/Vickner, library, Olin, social science center
    
• Chaplains -- library (temporary location, moving Monday, Jan. 17)
  
• Education, including Sandi Francis -- will move during touring week to the newly constructed P.A. Mattson Hall, the building to the west of Prairie View
  
• Nursing, including Linda Elvee -- same as education
  

All telephone extension numbers remain the same. It may be wise to call or e-mail anyone in this group instead of attempting to find them!

GHP Health Screening... All Gustavus employees and spouses are invited to participate in the 2005 Gustavus Health Promotion (GHP) health screening at no charge. Screening is available from 6:30-8:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 31-Friday, Feb. 4 and Monday, Feb. 7-Friday, Feb. 11 at St. Peter Community Hospital. Thirty minutes of release time will be granted for the screening and participants will receive a bagel coupon for the Market Place. To sign up, call the Department of Human Resources (x7304) between 8:30-11:30 a.m. or 1:30-4:45 p.m. weekdays. Registrants will receive verification of their screening date and time and information describing the procedures via campus mail.

Reading in Common Input Needed... The 2005 First Year Reading in Common committee has chosen five finalists for consideration as this year's text:

"The Freedom Writer's Diary" by Erin Gruwell
"Reserve Police Batallion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland" by Christopher Browning
"Einstein's Dreams" by Alan Lightman
"The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo" by Paula Huntley
"Confederacy of Silence: A True Tale of the New Old South" by Richard Rubin

The committee seeks input from the campus community about any of these books relevant to their selection for this program. Committee members include Leila Brammer (communication studies), Deborah Goodwin (religion), Matt Panciera (classics), Amy Pehrson (vocational reflection), Shawn Reid (admission), Megan Ruble (student activities), Jeff Stocco (career center), Terena Wilkens (theatre and dance/head resident), and students Ben Boline, Julia Gustafson, Hannah Johnson, and Chris Van Fossen. Feedback should be sent to Megan Ruble (mruble@gustavus.edu or x7597) by Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Upcoming Music Tours... The Gustavus Choir, the Gustavus Wind Orchestra (formerly the Gustavus Band), and the Gustavus String Orchestra will perform 37 concerts in 15 states between Jan. 20 and Feb. 13. A complete schedule that includes dates, times, and locations is available online at http://gustavus.edu/finearts/Tour_Site.cfm.

PRESIDENT'S CORNER:

On Sunday and Monday, the 23rd and 24th, an important event in the life of Gustavus occurs. Actually, it happens every 3-4 months and has almost since the College was founded. It's a Board of Trustees meeting. The trustees gather here on campus to do the business they were elected to do, such as hire and fire the president (I don't think that's on next week's agenda although planning for my annual review is), ensure solid stewardship of College resources and help to grow them, ensure that institutional policies and procedures are in place, and talk about goals and strategies necessary to address our long- and shorter-term future.

Next week, under the leadership of Board Chair Russ Michaletz, the trustees will be discussing new directions for the board, its committees, and individual trustees. To address a stronger role for the board in fundraising, the Fundraising Task Force will make its report with suggestions for change. To address the board's responsibilities with respect to academics, a new Academic Task Force will report on its first stage of discussions. The Trusteeship Committee will discuss their active efforts to strengthen and support the full engagement of individual trustees and the effectiveness of each of the board committees. We'll also hear about progress on a trustee website that will help the board's work become more accessible and transparent. The Mission Effectiveness Committee will review their discussions on clarifying the board's role in ensuring that the College is carrying out its mission effectively. The Finance and Investment Committees will summarize our financial picture as they do regularly, and will have presentations made by staff regarding athletic fields planning, new facility status, and campus planning in general. (We're planning a similar presentation for the rest of the Gustavus community later that same day.) Many of the trustees will also rise early on Monday to have breakfast and discussions with students.

I write this note simply to let you all know that our Board of Trustees is active and engaged in the work of Gustavus. To a person, they care greatly about the College and they're committed to contributing to its success.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Chapel Schedule... All are invited to the worship services at 10 a.m. weekdays and 10:30 a.m. Sundays in Christ Chapel. The upcoming schedule is as follows:

• Jan. 14 -- Vicar Brian Beckstrom, Habbakuk 1: 2-4, 2: 1-4
  
• Jan. 16 -- Second Sunday in Epiphany, Chaplain Rachel Larson
  
• Jan. 17 -- Bruce Bjork, Micah 6: 6-8
  
• Jan. 18 -- Rebecca Smith, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Luke 4: 16-30
  
• Jan. 19 -- Morning Praise, Psalm 40: 1-11
  
• Jan. 20 -- Terri Speirs, Lutheran World Relief, Micah 4: 1-4
  
• Jan. 21 -- Tracy Vicory, Hebrews 12: 1-3
  
• Jan. 23 -- Third Sunday in Epiphany, Vicar Brian Beckstrom
  

Flying Foot Forum to Perform Friday and Saturday... As part of the 2005 Gustavus Artist Series, Flying Foot Forum, an internationally renowned, Minneapolis-based percussive dance company under the artistic direction of Joe Chvala, will present the dance concert "Flying Feats" at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15 in Anderson Theatre. A two-week residency in the Department of Theatre and Dance has allowed Chvala to involve Gustavus students in some of the dances with members of the company. Flying Foot Forum uses a variety of dance styles, ranging from flamenco to modern, ballet to tap, clogging to hula, and other dance traditions to tell stories, create characters, and explore ideas. This weekend's concert includes a new collaborative effort by Chvala, composer Peter O'Gorman, and Rick Ausland, performer and artistic director of the group Ten Foot Five. The work juxtaposes sounds of metal on wood with wood on a variety of metal instruments set specially for this piece. Tickets are available at the ticket center (x7590). Tickets remaining at show time will be on sale at the Anderson Theatre box office.

Extraordinary People

Michael Hvidsten (mathematics and computer science) debuted his new textbook/software, titled "Geometry with Geometry Explorer," at the joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America, held Jan. 5-8 in Atlanta. The text and accompanying compact disc were published on Dec. 10 by McGraw-Hill. Hvidsten also presented a poster on the project at this meeting.

Michelle Twait (library) presented a workshop titled "Making Collaborative Marketing Plans" to the Twin Cities Biomedical Consortium on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at Fairview Southdale Hospital.

New Faces

New Administrators
Ethan Sommer, Gustavus Technology Services


New Faculty
Justin Holmes, Political Science
Benjamin Laabs, Geology and Geography
Christine Metzo, Geography


New Support Staff
Amy Braun, Finance

Congregational Outreach

Retreats... The Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Retreat Center, coordinated by the Office of Church Relations, will host the following retreats: Friday, Jan. 14 for a women's group from St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield; Saturday, Jan. 15-Sunday, Jan. 16 for high school leaders from Grace University Lutheran Church in Minneapolis; and Friday, Jan. 14-Saturday, Jan. 15 for ninth graders from Faith Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids.

Music in Worship... Any Gustavus music ensemble or soloist is welcome to perform in congregations. For more information, contact Marilyn Beyer (x7001).

Funding Opps

For more information on grants or proposal preparation, contact Bob Weisenfeld in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (x7049 or bweis@gustavus.edu). Current and past editions of Grant Information (aka The Blue Sheet) are available at gustavus.edu/cfrelations/fundingsources/grantinfo.cfm.

• NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes... Each year, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers college and university instructors opportunities to study humanities topics in a variety of summer seminars and institutes. All instructors selected to participate in a seminar or institute will be awarded a fixed stipend of $3,000, $3,600, or $4,200 (depending on the length of the seminar or institute, which varies from four to six weeks) to help cover the costs of travel, books and other research expenses, and living expenses. The dates and duration of each project along with application information are listed at http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-university.html. The application deadline is March 1, 2005.
  
  

In the Media

• On Jan. 11, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published a story on the front page of the Daily Life section titled "Ask the Expert: Cultural anthropologist explains how 9/11 changed Americans." The story included an interview with Karen Larson (anthropology and interdisciplinary studies) about her book, "Culture and Terror."
• On Jan. 11, The Free Press of Mankato featured a story on the front page of the Currents section, titled "Foot Forum Dancers to Perform at Gustavus: Flying Feats." The story included quotes by Al Behrends (fine arts) and Michele Rusinko (theatre and dance) and a color photograph of the group.
• On Jan. 6, The Free Press of Mankato published a front-page story, titled "Conference lets Kids Juggle the Arts," that included mention of Gustavus and juggle master Tom Rudie, who teaches juggling and unicycle riding on campus once a week.
  
• On Jan. 6, the St. Peter Herald published an article on Naomi Karstad ('83), titled "Karstad appearing at Ordway," that included a black and white photograph of her.

Anyone who has suggested additions for this list, suggestions for potential future media stories, or interest in being a media source should contact Director of News and Information Jonathan Kraatz (x7510 or jkraatz@gustavus.edu).

Telecommunications Updates

• Amy Braun, finance, x6244, abraun@gustavus (addition)
  
• Justin Holmes, political science, x6224, jholmes@gustavus.edu (addition)
  
• Lennart Sacredeus, Scandinavian studies, x7423, lsacrede@gustavus.edu (addition)
  
• Paul Tillquist, institutional advancement, x6042 (change)
  

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.