2010 Nebraska MarketPlace Brings State Business Leaders to Kearney

The fourth annual Nebraska MarketPlace 2010 will take place in Kearney on February 23-24 at the Kearney Ramada Inn and Convention Center. The two-day conference will explore issues affecting the success of small businesses and rural communities. The agenda includes a variety of presentations, including:

The conference is an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to be exposed to helpful policies and information, to gather ideas and gain inspiration, as well as to network with business owners and economic development service providers from across the state.

The College of Business & Technology and the Center for Rural Research and Development have partnered with other state agencies and organizations to co-sponsor the conference this year. Registration information is available online at http://www.cfra.org/marketplace/registration

- written in collaboration with Shawn Kaskie, Director of the Center for Rural Research and Development

New Study Abroad Opportunity Available for Students and Faculty Director -
Hebei Normal University (HNU), China

The Office of International Education (OIE), with support from the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and the Deans of the Colleges, has just announced a UNK faculty-led semester abroad program in China.

This program is currently the most affordable study abroad option for UNK students. It is also the easiest to enroll in. Since only UNK courses are offered, students do not have to worry about transferring credits and can use all forms of financial aid.

Several field trips across China are included in the semester at no extra cost, which will allow both students and their faculty director to explore several exciting destinations in the host country.

The program cost is equal to 12 credits of UNK tuition plus fees, one double-occupancy UNK dorm room, and $150 travel insurance. Students pay for air fare, but because of lower food costs in China, the total cost of the program is approximately the same as a semester at UNK-Kearney.

The application deadline for UNK faculty interested in directing the program is February 22. In addition to round trip air fare, the UNK faculty director will be provided with an apartment and a full-time salary for teaching one class and managing the program.

The deadline for student applications is March 12.

For more information on this program, see: http://www.unk.edu/academics/studyabroad.aspx?id=50014    

- Dallas Kenny, Director of International Education

Library - In Brief Online  

Black History Month
Written by Diana Keith, Government Documents Librarian keithdi@unk.edu
& Ron Wirtz, Coordinator of Library Services wirtzrl@unk.edu
& Jennifer Harvey, Curriculum Librarian harveyjs@unk.edu

Black History Week was established by historian Carter G. Woodson and first celebrated in 1926. As part of the nation’s bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month in 1976. On February 1, 2010, President Obama declared the month of February 2010, National African American History Month. In his proclamation, he acknowledges the sad history of slavery in the nation and the looks to the future hope continually offered through the American Dream. In addition, the president calls on librarians and educators, among others, "to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities."

In that spirit, please visit the library (virtually or in person) to check out some of our resources related to African American history.

In the government documents online information resources, you will find highlights from U. S. Bureau of the Census data:

• 13.5% of the total U. S. population consists of black residents, including those of more than one race, as estimated in 2008.

• 18 states have an estimated black population of at least 1 million. New York has the highest population with 3.5 million.

• 30% of the black population is younger than 18 as of July 1, 2008. Eight percent of the black population was 65 years and older.

• 83% of the black population 25 years and older had at least a high school diploma in 2008.

Additional statistics about voting, income and poverty, home ownership, jobs, and businesses are located at:  http://www.unk.edu/academics/library.aspx?id=49683.

On the lower level of the library, you will find a display of books from the juvenile literature and curriculum collections, as well as videos, tapes, and compact disks, which document and explore the achievements of people of African heritage.

Also visit the display case on the main floor of the library to see a selection of books related to Haiti, the first Black republic in the Western Hemisphere (1804) and the first independent nation in Latin America.

Finally, visit our catalog and do a keyword search on African Americans to find the thousands of items in the catalog related to those terms. Please note that over 65 of the items found are ebooks available anywhere in the world to UNK students, faculty and staff. The photographs in African Americans on the Western Frontier are fascinating (the photograph below is from the Nebraska State Historical Society–compare it with the photograph on page 129 of the online text). 

Student Research from the Departments of Social Work and Political Science

Written by Greg Anderson, Reference Librarian
andersong@unk.edu

Interested in student research? The library continues to display examples of student research posters.  Currently on display are two:

• A Comparative Study of the Maternal and Child Health System & Status in the U.S. & Nepal (Sapana Upadhyay, student researcher. Dr. Jody L. Van Laningham, faculty mentor, Department of Social Work)
• Secession in an Anarchic World: State Support and Opposition in the 21st Century (Sarah Kurz, student researcher. Dr. Christopher Stevens, faculty mentor, Department of Political Science)

These posters will be on display near the library’s circulation desk through February. Please drop by to read about the research endeavors of UNK students.

Recognition  

Items to Note for Faculty and Faculty Committees

• Academic Affairs Committee
  The link to the CAP ("Course Approval Process") information is located on the Academic Affairs Committee page. CAP is an electronic approval system that has taken the place of the paper forms for course proposals. The new online system allows department chairs to initiate proposals, which then automatically route to the next levels in the approval process. The entire approval process can be monitored online. **NOTE** The paper process for making changes to programs will continue; the form and instructions for submitting program proposals are available on the Academic Affairs Committee page.
  
  **NEW** Worksheets for both the creation of new courses and the alteration of existing courses have now been added to the CAP information page. Faculty members may use these worksheets to assist them in gathering the necessary information for department chairs, who are responsible for entering course requests in the system.
  
  The schedule of Academic Affairs deadlines for the 2009-2010 academic year is available on the Academic Affairs Committee page. The page also contains a committee roster and a link to the approved Academic Affairs minutes. Department or program chairs needing to make curricular changes should be aware of these deadlines and instructions.
  
  
• Faculty Handbook
  In a continuing effort to provide faculty with the most current policy information, the Faculty Handbook has been revised and reorganized. The purpose of the handbook is to gather the documents and policies that inform and guide critical decisions, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement (2009-2011).
  
  Please note that the Faculty Handbook is updated in an online version only; refer to the online handbook when looking for the most up-to-date versions of policies, including the new Guidelines for Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure, which have recently been revised. 
    
  
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared goverenance, the 2009-2010 Faculty Senate Roster is posted on the Faculty Senate home page. The page also contains links to meeting agendas, meeting minutes of both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate committees, and the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.
  
  
• General Studies
  Instructions have been posted on the General Studies website regarding the submission of courses  for the new General Studies Program. The course submission page includes information about the portal courses and the capstone courses.
  
  
• Graduate Council
  A webpage has been created for the Graduate Council. It contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2009 Graduate Program Committees and a link to important Graduate Faculty announcements.  
  
  
• WI/CD Committee
  The WI/CD Committee has posted a schedule of deadlines for the spring semester on the WI/CD Committee page. The page also contains instructions for applying for WI or CD designation, as well as a committee roster, agendas, and minutes. These resources are provided for those wishing to offer courses as WI or CD.

Deadlines Approach for Various Opportunities

Calendar of Events within the Academic and Student Affairs Division

Edited by Kim Elliott, Coordinator of Academic Publications

A Publication of the
Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
905 West 25th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Phone: (308)865-8209

For questions or submissions,
contact the Coordinator of Academic Publications at 8935 or academicpublications@unk.edu.