Women's and Gender Studies Program Hosting No Limits! Annual Conference Today and Tomorrow

To provide a forum for the discussion of women’s and gender-related issues, the Women’s and Gender Studies Programs at UNK, UNL, and UNO have sponsored the No Limits Conference for undergraduate and graduate student research since 2002. This year’s conference, “No Limits 2011: Eco-Feminism & Artful Healing,” is taking place on campus today and tomorrow. The program includes the Keynote Address, “Speaking Intersections,” by by Haitian-American Artist/Poet Lenelle Moïse, tonight at 7:00 p.m. Lee Ann Roripaugh, UNK Literary Crane Fellow and National Poetry Series Awardee, and Allison Hedge Coke, Reynolds Chair and American Book Awardee, will give an Eco-Feminist Literary Reading Performance today (March 4) at 10:45 a.m., and fourteen panels of widely diverse student presentations will take place throughout the conference. For more information, including the conference schedule, visit the conference website at
http://www.unk.edu/acad/women/index.php?id=7597.

- written in collaboration with Linda Van Ingen, Director of the Women's & Gender Studies Program 

“Water and Survival: from the Platte to the Nile”
2011 James E. Smith Midwest Conference on World Affairs

 “Water and Survival: from the Platte to the Nile” is the topic of the March 7-8, 2011, James E. Smith Midwest Conference on World Affairs. Water issues have becoming increasingly critical throughout the world. This year’s conference will explore topics related to water concerns across the globe, as well as ideas for creative solutions to using and preserving the world’s water resources.

Conference festivities traditionally begin with the Scott D. Morris International Food & Cultural Festival, held this year from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on March 6, in the Arena of the Health and Sports Center. The first conference session will take place the next morning with a poetry reading at 9:00 a.m. in Ponderosa E of the Nebraskan Student Union. "Reflections: the Platte and the Nile” will feature the poetry of UNK’s Reynolds Chair of Poetry Emeritus, Don Welch, as well as Matthew Shenoda, who is a Coptic Egyptian Poet and Assistant Provost for Equity & Diversity and Professor in the School of Critical Studies at California Institute of the Arts.

Ms. Maude Barlow will present the keynote address, “The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water,” on March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Drake Theatre. Barlow is an international activist, a former UN advisor on water, and the author of several books, including the international bestseller Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

Local and regional speakers will be participating in the panel discussions on March 8, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Speakers include:

Additionally, diplomats and scholars from China, Italy, South Africa, Austria, Venezuela, Mexico, and Spain will participate in the conference activities. Students will have the opportunity to take a delegate to lunch at noon on Monday, March 7, and should contact Barbara Amundson at amundsonb@unk.edu to make arrangements.

For the complete conference brochure and schedule, go to: unk.edu/worldaffairs.

- written in collaboration with Bonnie Payne, International Outreach Coordinator 

Assessment Awards Luncheon Recognizes Assessment Efforts on Campus

The annual assessment luncheon was held on campus this Tuesday, March 1. The Office of Assessment sponsors the luncheon every year in order to award departments and programs for the assessment activity they have engaged in over the past year, especially thanking those who have excelled in some way.

Congratulations to the following award recipients: 

- written in collaboration with Jeanne Butler, Director of Assessment 

UNK Departments and Programs Host Several Conference Events This Spring

Library - In Brief Online  

Prepare online for GREs, LSATs, PRAXIS, and more tests with library e-resources 

Written by Jon Ritterbush, Electronic Resources Librarian
ritterbushjr@unk.edu 

UNK students preparing for graduation may also be contemplating some important exams outside the classroom.  Practice tests for several exams, including the GRE, LSAT, MCAT and MAT, PRAXIS I, and TOEFL are available through the library’s Testing and Education Reference Center (TERC).   TERC also includes a database of U.S. graduate school programs searchable by major, location, and other criteria, as well as databases of private scholarships available for undergraduate and graduate study.

Users accessing these practice tests will need to create a free, personal account in TERC.  TERC is available online 24/7 to UNK students on- and off-campus, and is listed under the “T”s, as well as “Careers and Test Prep,” “Directories,” and “Electronic Book Collections” from the library’s “Articles & E-Resources” webpage.

Additional test-prep and career resources are available online through the library catalog, including these e-book titles:

• Career Information Center (e-book series) 
• CliffsNotes PRAXIS I 
• McGraw-Hill’s GRE 
• McGraw-Hill’s LSAT 2011 
• 150 Best Jobs for a Better World 
• 200 Best Jobs for Introverts 
• O*NET OnLine (formerly the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) 
• Occupational Outlook Handbook 
• Top 300 Careers  : Your Complete Guidebook to Major Jobs in Every Field 
• …plus dozens more in this catalog listing of e-books available through TERC 

2010-2011 Department Chairs

- Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

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 the electronic approval system that allows department chairs to initiate course proposals (create, alter, inactivate, or discontinue). Worksheets for both the creation of new courses and the alteration of existing courses are available on the CAP web site for faculty members to use as they gather the information department chairs will need to submit requests. Department chairs initiate program proposals (create, alter, or discontinue) using a paper form, which is available on the Academic Affairs Committee page, along with instructions.
  
  The schedule of Academic Affairs deadlines for the 2010-2011 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 
  The online Faculty Handbook contains the most current policy information. 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) and the Guidelines for Evaluation, Promotion, and Tenure. 
   
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared governance, the 2010-2011 Faculty Senate Roster is posted on the Faculty Senate home page. The page also contains links to meeting agendas and packets, meeting minutes of both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate committees, and the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.
   
• General Studies 
  The General Studies web site contains a description of the new General Studies Program effective for students entering UNK in the Fall of 2010, as well as a list of the courses effective for the 2010-2011 academic year. 
   
• Graduate Council 
  The Graduate Council webpage contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2010 Graduate Program Committees.  
   
• 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.