UNK Celebrates “There's No Place Like Home”

Homecoming activities culminate tomorrow, Saturday, September 22, with Family Day, the Homecoming and Band Day Parade at 10:00 a.m., and the football game against Northwest Missouri State at 4:00 p.m. with royalty recognition at half-time. For details and a schedule of events, visit the Homecoming 2012 website.

Family Day is sponsored by the UNK Loper Programming and Activities Council each year in order to bring students’ families to campus. The schedule for the day includes receptions, presentations, sports, and food. LPAC has coordinated several opportunities for students, faculty, and administration to showcase the breadth of the experience enjoyed at UNK.  See the Family Day schedule for specific times and locations. 

UNK’s Band Day Parade and Competition is an important part of the Family Day activities. NOTE: The parade route has changed this year! The parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. in front of the Museum of Nebraska Art, following the parade route south on Central Avenue to Railroad Street and then west 3^rd Avenue, north to 21^st Street, west to 8^th Avenue, and ending at 9^th Avenue and 20^th Street. Click here to view the updated map!

- written in collaboration with Sharon Pelc, Director of the Nebraskan Student Union and
Heather Wolf, Assistant Director of Student Activities

American Democracy Project Observes Constitution Day and Voter Registration Day

On Monday, September 17, the American Democracy Project celebrated Constitution Day with activities through the elementary education program. Senior level elementary education majors "became" signers of the U.S. Constitution. They spent time circulating about the Market at 27^th Street during lunch and dinner hours. Elementary education majors also spent time teaching about the Constitution in nearby K-12 schools. The primary goals were to raise awareness of Constitution Day and to also remind/teach UNK students interesting Constitution-related facts!

On Tuesday, September 25, the ADP has planned three key events and activities for National Voter Registration Day:

1. A voter registration table will be set up in the atrium of the Nebraskan Student Union from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The goal is to register 100+ students;
2. Dr. Christie Maloyed will facilitate a Times Talk in the Sisler Room of the MSAB (12:15-1:15--Pizza and drink served). The title is "Electile Dysfunction: The Causes and Consequences of Young People Not Exercising Their Right to Vote";   
3. Graphic design students’ work will be displayed in the Nebraskan for a Voting Poster Contest. Students, faculty, and staff will vote to select the best of show efforts!

- written in collaboration with Dennis Potthoff, Coordinator of the American Democracy Project at UNK

Undergraduate Student Research Showcased at Annual Fall Symposium

The annual Fall Student Research Symposium will be Sunday, September 30, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Nebraskan Student Union. Students will present oral and poster presentations to describe the research they have conducted with their faculty mentors. Plan to attend the symposium to see the rich variety of research projects taking place among the undergraduates at UNK.

- written in collaboration with Susan Campbell, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

The Clothesline Project at UNK October 3

The  Women's Center is bringing The Clothesline Project to UNK. This national art project displays t-shirts on a clothesline as a memorial to the victims and survivors of domestic violence. Any student, staff person, faculty member, or community individual who has been affected by violence against women is invited to participate in the project by designing a shirt. Those who want to participate on Wednesday, October 3, can come to the Atrium of the Nebraskan Student Union from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or to the Women's Center from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The shirts will then be on display in the Nebraskan throughout the month of October in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The Clothesline Project began to form when a group of women considered that during the same time 58,000 soldiers died in Vietnam, almost the same number of women - 51,000 - were killed at the hands of an abuser. Since doing laundry was considered women's work, this group chose a clothesline to be the vehicle for raising awareness. Thus, shirts were used as a visceral way for women to tell their stories and, at the same time, end the silence.

The shirts are color coded to show the form of abuse and whether the victim survived the abuse they experienced:

• White represents women who died because of violence;
• Yellow or beige represents battered or assaulted women;
• Red, pink, and orange are for survivors of rape and sexual assault;
• Blue and green t-shirts represent survivors of incest and sexual abuse;
• Purple or lavender represents women attacked because of their sexual orientation;
• Black is for women attacked for political reasons.

- written in collaboration with Anna Hain, Graduate Assistant in the Women's Center

Academic and Career Services Holds Fall Career Fair

Academic and Career Services hosts fall and spring career fairs to provide opportunities for students seeking employment. The Fall Career Fair and associated events will take place on October 4 with a significant number of organizations participating (new participants are being added every day). Students will be able to connect with potential employers as well as graduate school representatives, and many will find internship opportunities and interview for jobs.

Two other events will take place in conjunction with the Fall Career Fair: a Job Search Boot Camp on September 27 from at 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Room 310 and Room 312 of the Nebraskan Student Union, with stations design to help students build skills needed for finding employment; as well as an Employer Showcase on October 3 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with pre-fair presentations and time for networking.

- written in collaboration with Joni Weed, Office of Academic and Career Services

Acclaimed Actor Returns to Kearney to Deliver Performance of The Screwtape Letters

Following excellent response to Mr. Tony Lawton's performance of The Great Divorce at UNK in February, he will return on Monday, October 8, to present a The Screwtape Letters, a novel by C.S. Lewis, along with Genevieve Perrier as Toadpipe. The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Merryman Performing Arts Center and is free and open to the public. (Note: This performance contains material fit for mature audiences only.)

In a dark corner of Hell's bureaucracy sits mid-level demon Screwtape, scratching out letters to his nephew, Wormwood, filled with advice on how to corrupt a human soul. Gleefully, Screwtape catalogs the list of human frailties upon which Wormwood is to prey – war, lust, debauchery, decadence, and all sorts of wickedness. Anthony Lawton's rollicking adaptation turns C.S. Lewis' revered classic into a sumptuous multimedia event with music, dance, and infernal unpredictability.

Lawton's performance has gained the following critical attention: "Lawton's brutal insights into human frailty are much in evidence in his piercing, painfully funny portrayal of Screwtape." –Philadelphia Inquirer  "There's plenty to take away from this show and stew on in the days - or eternities - after you see it. Sure, you could just read Lewis' novel and get most of the moral questions and ambiguities the show raises. But Tony Lawton's production of The Screwtape Letters is simply more fun." –Uwishunu  "Theology has never been so wickedly fun." –Philadelphia City Paper

ANTHONY LAWTON has acted professionally since 1992. He has acted in Philadelphia for more than fifteen years. Favorite roles include Coleman in The Lonesome West, Austin in True West and Feste in Twelfth Night ; George in Of Mice and Men; and his one-man performances in The Devil and Billy Markham, The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters. He has also appeared in the films Unbreakable and Invincible, as well as on television in Hack and Cold Case. Lawton was a 1999 finalist for the F. Otto Haas Award. Philadelphia’s City Paper named him the city’s “Best One-Man Theatre.” His original play, The Foocy, first produced in 2005-06, received five Barrymore nominations, including one for Best New Play. In 1998, he started the Mirror Theatre Company, which performs solo and small-cast plays. The mission of the Mirror is: Spiritual Theatre for a Secular Audience. The company is committed to presenting drama about our spiritual life that will be of interest to all audiences, secular or religious. Lawton wants his plays to be part of an ongoing dialogue with the audience -- a dialogue in which we discuss and consider that which is (or isn't) Eternal in us.

CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS (1898-1963) was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After beginning studies at Oxford in 1917, he was called up to fight in World War I; he was wounded in France at the Battle of Arras, and returned to Oxford in 1919. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English at Magdalen College in Oxford until 1954, at which time he was named Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English (a chair created especially for him) at Cambridge. Late in his life (1956), he married Helen Joy Gresham (Davidman), who died three years later. Lewis died on November 22, 1963 (the same day President John F. Kennedy was shot). In his mid-twenties, Lewis, persuaded by several of his friends (including J.R.R. Tolkien), converted from a staunch atheism to Christianity. After his conversion, he wrote several books which still sell millions of copies every year all over the world. These works are varied, ranging from his works of Christian apologetics (e.g. Mere Christianity), to his satire and fiction (e.g. The Screwtape Letters, The Space Trilogy, Till We Have Faces) to his series of children’s books (The Chronicles of Narnia).

- David Rozema, Chair of the Philosophy Program

Library Updates

“Predatory” journals defrauding university scholars 

Written by Jon Ritterbush, E-Resources and Serials Librarian
ritterbushjr@unk.edu  

Open-access journals are expanding access to scholarly content across many disciplines, at a time when publishers of subscription-based journals are increasing prices an average of 5.6 percent in 2012.  While open-access journals are “free” to read, some publishers are adopting an “author-pays” model, where those contributing articles for peer review and publication are required to pay fees.    

Aside from potential conflicts of interest, the author-pays model has also enticed some lesser-known publishers to engage in “predatory” practices for the sake of profits rather than scholarship.   These publishers may charge exorbitant fees to authors or institutions, make false claims about their editorial board membership or impact factors, and disregard minimal standards for peer review or preservation.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has featured this issue of predatory journals in its March 9, 2012 issue and in a June 2012 blog posting.   Both of these Chronicle stories touched upon the efforts of Jeffrey Beall, a librarian at UC-Denver, who has published an online list of what he considers predatory open-access publishers.   Beall has also published a list of the criteria he uses to determine whether a publisher might be considered predatory.   Misspellings and grammatical errors on the publishers’ website are one potential giveaway.   Steep publishing fees or promises of rapid reviews and/or publication may also serve as warning signs.

UNK students or faculty who are considering submitting an article to an author-pays publisher, are encouraged to contact their department’s liaison librarian to assist in vetting that publisher.  A list of subject liaison librarians is posted at: http://guides.library.unk.edu/libraryliaisons. 

Recognition

2012-2013 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.
  
  **NOTE REGARDING CHANGES TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS**
  The form to alter a Catalog Course Description has been revised. Please note, in instances where a change in content is being requested through the CAP system, course description changes should be added to that request, and this form should not be completed.
  
  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 2012-2013 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 (2011-2013).
   
• Faculty Senate
  To keep faculty informed and in the spirit of shared governance, the Faculty Senate website contains links to the senate roster, 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. The site contains a list of the approved General Studies courses effective for the 2012-2013 academic year, a list of all of the approved Portal and Capstone topics, as well as lists of the Portals and Capstones offerings for the current semester.
   
• Graduate Council
  The Graduate Council webpage contains information regarding changes to graduate courses or programs, as well as a list of the 2012 Graduate Program Committees.
  
  **NOTE REGARDING CHANGES TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS**
  The form to alter a Catalog Course Description has been revised. Please note, in instances where a change in content is being requested through the CAP system, course description changes should be added to that request, and this form should not be completed.
   
• WI/CD Committee
  The WI/CD Committee has posted a schedule of deadlines for the fall 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.