Inside Gustavus October 10, 2013 | Volume 46, Number 6

President's Cabinet Summary

The President's Cabinet met on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and discussed the following items:

• Members discussed the parameters for the fiscal year 2015 budget.
• Provost Braun reviewed a draft employee/student rooming policy recommended by the Faculty Committee on Student Life. Consensus was to ask the Human Resources Office to share the draft policy with the campus community for feedback.
• Discussion was held regarding using available retention data in a more meaningfuly way. Provost Braun will ask Director of Institutional Research David Menk to provide annual reports regarding students' departures from Gustavus.
• Provost Braun presented a plan for assessing institutional student learning outcomes.
• Vice President VanHecke indicated that Director of Campus Safety Carol Brewer is planning an emergency response tabletop exercise for early spring.

News & Announcements

A Royal Affair Invitation...Gustavus Library Associates invites you to join friends, family, and alumni for an evening of merriment, creative auctions, wonderful food, music, and dancing on Saturday, November 16, 2013, at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington. Please make reservations online or by calling the Office of Marketing and Communication at 507-933-7550. For more than three decades, GLA's primary mission has been to raise significant funds for acquisitions and endowment purposes in an effort to make the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library one of the premier libraries in the Midwest. Your presence at the gala will make the difference as GLA strives to support our students and showcase the value of a Gustavus education.

Coca-Cola Educational Partnership Grants...Application materials for the $20,000 annual Gustavus Coca-Cola Educational Partnership grant funding are now available. Funding is available for projects initiated by departments, programs, campus-wide initiatives or advocacy groups that focus on enhancing sustainability and community health. Priority will be given to student-focused initiatives achieving the greatest impact on community well-being, broadly understood. While the highest priority will be accorded to campus initiatives, the committee will also consider projects involving Gustavus students in partnership with the surrounding communities. Eligible applicants include existing student groups whose staff or faculty advisors agree to provide project oversight; classes and their instructors; individual students working with faculty or staff supervision. Other categories of participants, representing a variety of campus initiatives, may be eligible; check with the committee. A grant review committee composed of Gustavus faculty, students, and administrative staff along with representatives from Coca-Cola Refreshments began accepting applications beginning May 1, 2013.  Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2013. Announcement of awardees may begin by November 15, 2013. Detailed funding materials including application information, grant categories, budget forms, and submission-reporting contact information can be found online.

Emergency Communication System Test...Between 1:15 and 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, Gustavus will conduct a routine test of its emergency mass communication system. You will not need to take any action in response to the test communications that you receive. If you have shared your emergency contact data with the College, you will receive automated voice and text messages via landline phones, mobile phones, and e-mail. Your off-campus emergency contacts will not be included in this exercise. If you have not already done so, please take this opportunity to enter or update your contact information in Gustavus's password-protected emergency communication database.

Softener Salt Available...Because of changes to the city water treatment, Physical Plant finds itself with surplus softener salt. We will be offering these to Gustavus employees on a first-come-first-serve basis starting Friday, Oct. 11 after 4 p.m., and continuing through the weekend until it is gone. The price will be $1.00 for each 50 pound bag. The salt will be located just outside the Physical Plant gate and can be picked up anytime. An "honor system" payment, cash or personal check, will be made in the drop box mail slot inside the office vestibule. This transaction is entirely self-service and is intended for Gustavus employees only.

Welcome New Custodial Director...Please welcome our new Custodial Director, Larry Dvorak, who starts this week. He replaces Chris Sutton who is retiring after more than two decades in that position. Larry comes to us from Eastern Carver County Schools where he was responsible for custodial services at all fifteen schools in the district. Larry lives with his family in Belle Plaine.

Reading Days...No classes will be held Monday, Oct. 21 or Tuesday, Oct. 22 as both days are designated as Reading Days.

Campus Happenings

Shared Governance Open Sessions...Faculty and administrators are encouraged to attend one or more of the following Shared Governance Open Sessions:

• Friday, Oct. 11, 2:30-4 p.m., Heritage Room
• Friday, Nov. 8, 2:30-4 p.m., St. Peter Room
• Saturday, Dec. 7, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Beck Hall 101

Deane Curtin's Year With the Dalai Lama...The Philosophy Department is hosting a talk by Professor Deane Curtin at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 in the Heritage Room of the Campus Center. Curtin spent the past year living in the Himalayas of northern India, working for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugee community. In this illustrated talk he will discuss his personal impressions of the Dalai Lama, as well as his encounters with others in the exile community.

Friday's Daily Sabbath Activity...In honor of Coming Out Week on campus, please come "Wrap the Chapel in a Rainbow of Love" during Daily Sabbath this Friday, Oct. 11 from 10 to 10:20 a.m. Wear a top (shirt or jacket) that is one of the colors of the rainbow on Friday. We will all meet inside Christ Chapel at 10 a.m. to get people organized. Then we will go outside to create a beautiful rainbow around the Chapel as a sign of God's love for all people.

Family Weekend...Family Weekend will take place Oct. 11-13 with a number of activities planned. Families are invited to attend classes throughout the day on Friday, Oct. 11. Pancake breakfasts will be hosted on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Norelius, Pittman and Sohre Halls. Workshops and panel discussions will take place on Oct. 12 between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. in the Jackson Campus Center banquet rooms. Fall Fest in the Arb will take place between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Linnaeus Arboretum on Oct. 12. A Family Weekend Worship Service will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13 in Christ Chapel. The Family Weekend Music Showcase will take place between 2 and 4 p.m. on Oct. 13 in Christ Chapel. Visit the College Calendar for a full list of Family Weekend events and activities.

TIAA-CREF Individual Counseling Sessions…A TIAA-CREF representative will be on campus on October 29, 30, and 31, 2013 for individual counseling sessions. Go online to schedule an appointment, or contact (866) 843-5640, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Bards in the Arb Visiting Writers Series...Join creative nonfiction writer Kate Neely Meadows '06 as he reads from her book, Tough Love: A Wyoming Childhood, a memoir recently published by Pronghorn Press. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 in the Melva Lind Interpretive Center. Meadows graduated from Gustavus with a degree in English and went on to earn her master's degree in creative and professional writing from Western Connecticut State University in 2010.

Physics Seminar...Dr. Joseph Shaw of Montana State University will present a seminar titled "Color and Polarization in the Atmosphere: a Tribute to Lord Rayleigh" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Olin 220. The talk incorporates many photographs that illustrate both the science and beauty of atmospheric optical phenomena at a level that is enjoyable by optics experts and non-experts alike.

Peril in the Ponds Lecture...Dr. Judy Helgen, author of Peril in the Ponds, and a retired research scientist from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will present "Peril in the Ponds: Deformed Frogs, Politics, and a Biologist's Quest" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 in Olin Hall Room 103.

Faculty Meeting...The regularly monthly meeting of the faculty will begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18 in Alumni Hall.

All-Employee Forum...An all-employee forum will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1 in Alumni Hall. The budget approved by the Board of Trustees at their September meeting will be discussed and questions will be answered by President Ohle and his Cabinet.

Congregational Outreach

Retreats...Church Relations in the Center for Servant leadership will host a weekend confirmation retreat for Cross Lutheran Church of Maplewood from Friday, Oct. 10 to Sunday, Oct. 12. We will also be hosting St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Wyoming and Christ Lutheran Church of Faribault from Saturday, Oct. 11 to Sunday, Oct. 12. The confirmation and retreat programs are a resource offered to youth of ELCA congregations who are members of the Gustavus Association of Congregations.

Exploring Religious Questions Series..."World Christianity: The Growth of Christianity in Contemporary Asia, Latin America, and Africa." This mini-course continues on Monday, Oct. 14 from 7-9 p.m. in Olin 103. Deborah Goodwin (Religion) and Mimi Gerstbauer (Political Science) will be leading a presentation about Latin American Christianity. This session will examine the current growth of Protestant churches in Latin America, the history of the Catholic Church in the region and its responses to contemporary Protestant movements, and the role of both Catholic and Protestant churches as facilitators of social justice. Exploring Religious Questions is sponsored by Church Relations in the Center for Servant Leadership.



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Inside Gustavus is a newsletter for Gustavus Adolphus College employees produced by the Office of Marketing and Communication. It is published weekly during the academic year (except during the week of Thanksgiving, the Christmas break, Touring Week, and the Spring and Easter breaks). Anyone may submit items by filling out an online submission form. While online submissions are preferred, items may also be submitted typewritten on a letter-sized sheet of paper. Send "snail mail" items to: Inside Gustavus, Office of Marketing and Communication. Items must reach the office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication. For more information, contact Matt Thomas (mthomas@gustavus.edu or x7510).

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