January 28, 2003

New Email Lists

News from Academic Services

Featured Administrator

Kampus Kudos

St. Louis Calendar Highlight

Service Anniversaries

New Employees

Promotion

Condolences

New Email Lists

The widely used campus@lists.webster.edu email list, which has been used on the St. Louis campus to communicate official University announcements as well as a wide variety of informal announcements and general interest conversation, has been subdivided into two new lists: stl-announcements@lists.webster.edu and stl-discussion@lists.webster.edu.

The announcements list will relay all official University business, including University events, policy changes and presidential messages, while the discussion list will provide opportunities for those who want to participate in conversation on a variety of topics. The discussion list will also be the appropriate place to post condolences and birth announcements. Buying and selling are prohibited on both lists.

For complete information about the criteria for both lists, which are only available at the St. Louis campus, go to http://www.webster.edu/technology/list_policy/

All other University list serves will remain in place and unchanged.

The University Web and E-Service Advisory Council, a faculty-staff group, created the two lists and the policies that govern them. Michael Hulsizer, assistant professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and a member of the committee, says that most people were unaware that the old campus list was moderated, and he credits President Meyers with opening up the list in the fall and putting academic freedom "first and foremost." However, when the list opened up, Michael says, lively discussion ensued and "there arose a need to put into place some structure."

Michael says that that he and many others "enjoyed the discussions," and he argues persuasively that some of the most interesting conversations in years took place last fall. He adds that an "intellectually stimulating" environment is one of the benefits of working at a university. Yet, the committee had to acknowledge that while it did not "want to stifle free speech," this important value was competing with the knowledge that "not everyone may wish to hear everything." From this emerged the idea of two lists: the announcement list, which is a kind of basic "required reading" list, and a discussion list, which is wide ranging. Recipients can opt out of the discussion list by following the directions at the end of the message. While this solution should help eliminate the problem of internal spamming, Michael warns that spamming from the outside may continue to be a problem.

The announcement list will be moderated by University Communications, and any posting that does not meet the list’s criteria will be bumped to the discussion list. The discussion list will be unmoderated, though messages must adhere to University standards, and participants need to refrain from "flaming" others. Flaming, Michael explains, is an unflattering comment about the sender rather than the content of the email.

Attachments of any sort are prohibited on both lists because they can carry viruses and jam the system. Michael recommends that attachments be sent on an individual basis to those who request them.

While faculty and staff can opt in and out of the discussion list at will, Michael thinks people should stick with the list for a semester. "It could turn into a kind of neat area where people can raise some interesting issues. In many ways it can improve the nature of discourse at the University. Give it a little time. Some of the discussion you may not be interested in. But that’s what the delete button is for."

News from Academic Services

LIBRARY TUTORS AVAILABLE

Peer tutors and writing coaches are now available on a rotating basis in the Eden-Webster Library, five nights a week, plus Saturday during the day. The peer tutors and writing coaches will be on call 6:30-9:30 p.m., Sunday–Thursday evenings. In addition, a writing coach will work from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays. The coaches and tutors will be stationed in the Curriculum Library, on the first floor, in the southwest corner.

The peer tutoring schedule is:

Tuesday evening—Math
Thursday evening— Accounting (including Accounting 5000)
Sunday evening—Finance (including Finance 5000).

Peer tutoring is available for many other courses in in the Academic Resource Center on the first floor of Loretto Hall. To schedule an appointment with a peer tutor, call ext. 7700 or visit 126 Loretto.

Writing coaches will be available in the library Monday and Wednesday evenings, in addition to Saturday mornings. Writing help is also available daily in the Writing Center, on the first floor of Loretto Hall. The Writing Center is open 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Monday–Thursday, and 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Friday. To schedule an appointment with a writing coach, call ext. 7620. Writing help is also available on a walk-in, "first-come, first-served" basis.

These services are sponsored by Academic Affairs, the Academic Resource Center, and Eden-Webster Library.

Featured Administrator

Connecting with Korea

Brenda Fyfe, acting dean, School of Education, presented the keynote address at the annual conference of the Reggio Study Organization in Seoul, Korea, on January 11. She spoke on "Documentation and Assessment: What is the Relationship?" More than 600 kindergarten teachers, university professors and preservice teachers from Korea attended this conference on the approach to early childhood education, pioneered in Reggio Emilia, Italy. A delegation of 42 Korean educators returned with Brenda the following week to visit and study the schools of the St. Louis-Reggio Collaborative, which includes the College School, Clayton School District's Family Center and The St. Michael School. Over the past six years, the Collaborative has hosted delegations of visitors from all 50 states and a dozen foreign countries.

The English as a Second Language department presented "Sustained Content Language Teaching: The Webster University ESL Model" at the bi-regional NAFSA conference.

Daniel Hellinger, professor, History, Politics, and Law, has coedited Venezuelan Politics in the Age of Chavez: Class, Polarization and Conflict (Lynne Rienner). Hellinger also contributed to the book, which features a collection of articles by international experts analyzing the rise to power of the controversial leader who went from prison following a failed coup in 1992 to democratically elected president in 1998. Webster’s Office of Academic Affairs Research Grant Program supported Hellinger’s research.

Kim Y. Varey, director, San Diego Metro Campus, presented "The Effects of Past Abuse on Young Women’s Relational Communication" at the 7th International Conference on Family Violence. The qualitative study investigated self disclosure, conflict management and communication apprehension.

Gary D. Clark, director and associate professor, MS in Nurse Anesthesia program, has been elected president of the Missouri Association of Nurse Anesthetists; he coauthored "Addiction in the Healthcare Professions," in the September issue of Today’s Nurse.

Anne Geraghty-Rathert, assistant professor, History, Politics, and Law, presented "The Importance of Legal Internships," at an American Association for Paralegal Education conference. Her article covered every aspect of experiential learning in the paralegal field, from setting up a program, to increasing host sites, to maintaining communication during the internship. Geraghty-Rathert speaks at a Brown Bag Lunch on Wednesday, January 29, on “Law and the Reasonable Woman."

Eugene F. Gray, adjunct professor, Kansas City, was profiled in a local publication for his work as the senior honorary consul in the Western Hemisphere for Spain. Gray has held the position for 29 years. According to the article, honorary consuls "do the same jobs as their paid counterparts, including assisting with passport information and participating in governmental affairs and tourism efforts. To become a consul, it’s preferred that the applicants speak the country’s native language and have a background that can be culturally beneficial." Gray, who is semi-retired, worked for the U.G. & F. Gray Co., where he was president of the company’s radio and TV stations. He has taught at Webster since 1976. He is also past president of the Kansas City Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Convention Corp, a member of the Seville Sister City Committee, founder of the Consulate Corp. of Missouri and a member and promoter of the Consulate Corp of Greater Kansas City.

Susan Hacker Stang, professor, Electronic and Photographic Media, presented a lecture at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on "The Photographic Project: How Ideas Progress." Stang used her photographic work to show the way an artistic idea can evolve from one project and form the basis of the next project. Stang's work is now on display at the Faculty Photography Exhibition at the May Gallery.

Donald Westerfield, professor, Business, and James Maxwell ’97, coauthored "Technological Entrepreneurism: Characteristics Related to the Adoption of Innovative Technology," in the Journal of the Society for the Advancement of Management (Winter, 2002). Westerfield is also reviewing McGraw-Hill/Irwin’s statistical tutorial, LearningStats and serving as a reviewer/referee for two scholarly journals.

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St. Louis Calendar Highlight

Faculty Photography

Photo by Dominique Macaire

The Annual Faculty Photography Exhibit runs through February 21, with the opening reception on Friday, January 31, 5–7 p.m. The show features work by Tom Barkman, Bill, Barrett, Jodi Boatman, Dan Dreyfus, Dominique Macaire, Kevin Martini-Fuller, Joseph John Lowry, Jack Rinehart, Susan Hacker Stang, and Ann Tolin. The exhibit is in the May Photography Gallery, which is open 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday –Friday, Saturday–Sunday, noon–5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information go to http://www.webster.edu/~maygallery.

For more information on St. Louis events, check the online calendar.

Service Anniversaries

January 2003

The University extends its appreciation to the following individuals who have ably served the institution for many years:

Paul Steinmann, professor, School of Education, 35 years.

Robert Spencer, director, European Campuses, 30 years.

Carolyn Cottrell, director, Kansas City Metro Campus, 25 years.
Robert Sallier, accompanist, Music, 25 years.

Ruth Nolle, coordinator, History, Politics, and Law, 20 years.
Jan Bilderback, department assistant, Academic Affairs, 20 years.

Amanda Cosat, director, Space Coast Campus, 15 years.
Madeline Maxwell, academic advisor, Evening Student Admissions, 15 years.

Dorothy Nootbaar, accounting assistant, Accounts Payable, 10 years.

Patrice Fess, department assistant, Jeffersonville Metro Campus, five years.
Al Marcella, professor, Management, five years.
Sharon McDonald, service clerk, Academic Advising, five years.
Kim Varey, director, San Diego Metro Campus, five years.

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New Employees

A warm welcome to the newest members of the Webster family:

Robin K. Robinson, representative, Space Coast, Fla., Campus, (321) 449-4500 or speed dial #6 090, replaces Patricia Gettel.

Arita Dawn Cook, department assistant, Patrick AFB, Fla., 321-868-5194 or #6 088.

To learn more about job opportunities at Webster, go to the Human Resources Jobs site.

Congratulations to Kathy Pardo, Finance, who has been promoted from accountant to assistant director.

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Condolences

The University extends its sympathy to Sue Meredith, deprtment associate, Management, on the recent loss of her mother.