The Reporter, March 2000

The Reporter is a publication produced by Western Carolina University featuring news, events, and campus community updates for faculty and staff. The publication began in August of 1970 and continues digitally today. Click on the link in the “Related Materials” field to access recent issues.March 6, 2000 News for the Faculty and Staff of Western Carolina University Chancellors Science Symposium Renowned Tropical Ecologist To Keyno~e March I 5 Biodiversity Symposium Daniel Janzen, an internationally renowned tropical ecologist who is trying to save the Costa Rican rainforest by purchasing it piece by piece, will be the keynote speaker as the Chancellor's Science Symposium focuses on the subject of ecological biodiversity beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 15, at the Ramsey Center. Janzen will join Frederick Turner, a poet, philosopher and leading theorist of restoration environmentalism, and Matthew Kane, an expert on microbial biodiversity from the National Science Foundation, in addressing "Biodiversity: New Perspectives on its Magnitude and Meaning." Janzen has been fighting for the preservation of tropical ecosystems for more than thirty-seven years, and has received many honors for his conservation efforts, including being named the first recipient of the Swedish Royal Academy's Crafoord Prize, often called the Nobel Prize in ecology and evolutionary biology. Over the years, Janzen has used his prize money to help establish the Guanacaste Conservation Area in northwestern Costa Rica, a multi-user preserve that includes two percent of the entire country. His efforts have created a model for conservation and rainforest recovery that is being copied around the world. Janzen, Turner and Kane will each deliver an address during the symposium. There also will be an afternoon question-and-answer session and panel discussion involving the three speakers and audience members. Town Meeting The Staff Forum will host a town meeting at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 7, in Hoey Auditorium. Richard Collings, vice chancellor of academic affairs, will discuss the role of academic affairs in the university and the goals for the future. This is an opportunity for faculty and staff to ask questions. Everyone is invited. Janzen's efforts to document and ave biodiversity in Costa Rica is especially relevant for Western North Carolina in light of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory now being under­taken in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, an effort in which scientists, including WCU biology faculty members, will attempt to register all the park' pedes over the next ten to fifteen year . The ympo ium has been developed to appeal to all egments of the community. contmued on page 2 Celebrating Women's History Month A variety of activities during March will focus on women, their role in modern society and issues facing them. Here are just some highlights for the next several weeks. • Leigh Hilger, 9 p.m., Illusions, UC. WNC singer/songwriter. Sponsored by LMP. $2 students, $4 all others. March 19 • Through A Woman's Voice, March 14 • Domestic Violence, 7-8:30 p.m., Blue Lobby, Scott Building. Panel presentation and discussion by individuals from WCU and the local community. • Are Women Different Around the World? , 7 p.m., Catamount Room, UC. Panel of international women discuss the status of gender relations in their home countries. March IS • Dreams of Martha Stewart, 7:30p.m., Hoey Auditorium. 3 p.m., Founder's Auditorium Auditorium, Mountain Heritage Center. Concert by Candace Corrigan based on the writings of early Appalachian women. March 20 One woman play by Pamela Parker. (For mature audiences). Sponsored by LCE. Free to WCU students, $5 non-WCU students, $8 seniors/staff, $10 others. • Stay-at-Home Dads and Moms , 7 p.m., Cardinal S March 16 Room, UC. Panel presentation • Non-Anglo Women in the United States, 11 a.m., 170 McKee. and discussion from actual stay-at-home dads and moms. Panel discussion of roles and experiences by women of color. • Recognizing Women Around the World, 6:30 p.m., Grandroom, UC. WCU students performing dramatic interpretations, vocal selections, music and dance routines. • Poetry by Colleen McElroy, 7:30p.m., Grandroom, UC. prize-winning African-American poet and novelist, McElroy Sponsored by LCE. Free to WCU students, $5 adults, and $3 children and non-WCU students. See the March 20 Reporter for activities during the rest of March. Women's History Month is sponsored by Western's Women's Studies Program. For more information, contact}o Ann Hickey, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, at 227-7268. Biodiversity, con!inued(rom poge I James Costa, a symposium organizer and WCU assistant professor of biology, said biologists use the term biodiversity to describe the spectacular variety of life on Earth. So far, only a small fraction of the Earth's species-about 1. 7 5 million of them-have been docu­mented. No one knows how many species exist. "Recent years have bro)Jght revelations of lush epiphyte 'gardens' thriving in the very canopies of tropical rainforest trees, teeming marine ecosystems deep beneath Arctic icepack, and always and everywhere, more and more insects," Costa said. At the same time, microbial diversity has emerged as a new frontier. It is estimated that only one percent of the microbial species on Earth have been described, yet an average gram of soil contains one billion microbes, Costa said. Registration fees for the symposium, which include a boxed lunch, are $40 for non­students and $20 for college students, with special rates available for high school students. WCU students, faculty and staff may attend the symposium free of charge, but still need to register to attend and to reserve an optional $7 boxed lunch. A minimum of fifteen percent of symposium registration fees will go directly into Janzen's rainforest conser­vation campaign. The symposium also will provide a chance for schools and school groups, civic clubs and other organizations and individuals across the region to help raise money for Janzen's Rincon rainforest conservation campaign, aimed at adding the massive Rincon Volcano massif with its nine life zones to the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Each $500 will purchase a parcel of the volcano the size of a football field. Framed and signed Janzen photographs will be awarded to the top five schools, or school groups, that raise money for the campaign. For more information about the symposium, including the fund-raising effort, contact the Office of Advancement and External Affairs at telephone 227-3039, fax number 227-7424, or via e-mail (hlee@wcu.edu). March 6, 2000 • The Reporter WCU Flex Enrollment Up 38 Percent Faculty and staff participation in the NC FLEX program this year increased thirty-eight percent. Western tied with East Carolina University for first place among universities with 1,000 or more employees who have enrollment in the health care spending and dependent care spending accounts, vision care, voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and dental insurance. Currently sixty percent of eligible employees participate in one or more of the benefits in the NC FLEX Program. The next enrollment period is fall 2000. • w u u a en March 6-20, 2000 Look for regular updates on the university's web site at www.wcu.edu/cal.html Tuesday, March 7 Training Tuesdays-Computer Training. Limited seating; enrollment required: e-mail (lallison@wcu.edu) or phone to reserve space. 9-11 a.m.; Room 168, Hunter Library. (227-3137) Baseball-Catamounts vs. UNC Chapel Hill. 3 p.m., Chapel Hill. (227-7338) W ednesday, March 8 Baseball-Catamounts vs. UNC Chapel Hill, 3 p.m., Chapel Hill. (227-7338) Friday, March 10 Baseball-Catamounts vs. The Citadel, Southern Conference game, 3 p.m., HS/CF. (227- 7338) Saturday, March I I Baseball-Catamounts vs. The Citadel, Southern Confer­ence game, 1 p.m., HS/CF. (227-7338) Exhibitions: Sunday, March 12 Baseball-Catamounts vs. The Citadel, Southern Conference game, 1 p.m., HS/CF. (227-7338) T uesday, March 14 Training T uesdays-Perfor­mance Management Process, Catlinks Update. Limited seating; enrollment required: e-mail (lallison@wcu.edu) or phone to reserve space. 9-11 a.m., Room 143, UOC. (227-3137) Wednesday, March IS Chancellor's Science Sympo­sium-" Biodiversity: New Perspectives on its Magnitude and Meaning," 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., RRAC. Rerservations needed. $ for box lunch. (227 -3039) Baseball-Catamounts vs. UNC Asheville, 3 p.m., HS/CF. (227-7338) Theatre-Dreams of Martha Stewart. 7:30p.m., HA. $ (227-7206) Friday, March 17 Concert-WCU choral ensembles in performance for WCU Choral Clinic, 8 p.m., RH. (227-7242) Saturday, March 18 Baseball-Catamounts vs. Appalachian State, Southern Conference game, noon, Boone. (227-7338) Concert-WCU Clinic Chorus in performance for WCU Choral Clinic, 4 p.m., RH. (227-7242) Sunday, March 19 Baseball-Catamounts vs. Appalachian State, Southern Conference game, 1 p.m., Boone. (227-7338) *** Now Showing*** £xhibit- Cherokee Bosketry. Opening reception March 15 at 7:30 p.m. Exhibit through April 13. Chelsea Gallery, UC. (227 -7206) Daniel Jocz: Uncommon Sense. Metalsmith. Opening March 13. Exhibit through April 14. Opening reception March 16 at 7 p.m., Belk Gallery, BB. (227-3591) Pottery Traditions of the South. Through March 24. Depicts rich history of stonewar~ from three pottery-producing areas of the South. 8 a.m.-5p.m., weekdays, MHC. (227-7t29) Migration of the Scotch-Irish People (permanent exhibition). Slideshow spotlight programs available for viewing. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., weekdays, MHC. (227-7129) K e y: $ · Admission fee; HA . Hoey Auditorium; HFR. H.F. Robinson Administration Building; HS/CF • Hennon Stadium/Childress Field; MHC • Mountain Heritage Center; NSA • Natural Sciences Auditorium; RRAC • Ramsey Regional Activity Center; RH · Recital Hall, Coulter Building; BB. Belk Building; UC • AK. Hinds University Center; UOC • University Outreach Center; WS/BW • Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field Ma rc h 6 , 2000 • The Reporter Tax Filing Help With the tax deadline clo er, the campus chapter of the Institute of Manageme.nt Accountants is providing free income tax filing ass istance through April 6. The volunteers consist primarily of students majoring in accounting, finance and other business-related studies. They participated in training sessions and passed a certifica­tion examination. Although open to anyone, the VITA program is espe­cially designed to help lower­income residents who might not seek professional help. Income tax preparation sessions will be held from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays in Room 214 of Forsyth Building. No sessions will be held March 8-9, because of spring break. For more information, call Roger Lirely at 227-3491. Submissions: Send news items and calendar notices to WCU Calendar, /60/ Ramsey Center, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723 or e-mail to calendar@wpoff. wcu.ed. Submit items for the electronic bulletin board on campus and for the university's calendar on the Internet at least one week prior to the event. newsfile ... Lois Petrovich Mwaniki, associate professor of art, has been selected by the United States Society for Education through Art as a recipient of the Edwin Ziegfeld Interna­tional Award in Art Education. Each year, the Ziegfeld Awards Committee selects two art educators--one American and one non-American-to receive this prestigious award. The award is given to art educators who promote art internation­ally. Mwaniki will receive the award this spring in Los Angeles. ... Susan Kask, associate professor of economics, finance and international business, recently presented her paper "The Impact of Using Computer-Aided Presentations (CAP) on Student Perfor­mance in the Microeconomics Principles Course" at the American Economics Association meeting. ... Bob Dally, associate professor, lndustrical Technology Safety Program coordinator, had a prototype driftboat he built using a frameless construction system featured under the Launches section of Wooden Boat Magazine. The article presented a picture of the boat, description, specifications and reference information. Wooden Boat is an interna­tional publication for boat designers and builders. ... A. Michael Dougherty, dean of the College of Education and Allied Profes-sions and a professor of human services, recently had published the third edition of "Psychological Consultation and Collabo­ration in School and Community Settings" for undergraduate and graduate students in counseling, psychology, social work, human resource develop­ment and other helping­profession training pro­grams. The third edition of the textbook, which also includes a casebook in addition to the main textbook, includes new material on the service of collaboration, and how cultural diversity and new technology affect consultation and collaboration. Staff Spotlight Marc Gaylean works as a part­time computer technician in the WCU Programs in the Asheville office. "Faculty who teach in Asheville know Marc as an extremely dependable gentle­man who also works extra hours, including staffing the office and assisting in the computer lab on those Satur­days when there are classes. He has been known to jump start faculty cars; drive faculty back to Cullowhee when the state car was disabled; and make coffee for whoever may want it," explains Patsy Miller, director of the Asheville programs. This retired Air Force lieutenant colonel has earned three graduate degrees from Western (business administra­tion, industrial technology, and public affairs) and he is turning 81 years old. The Reporter is published by the Office of Public Information. Debie Connelly, editor. Mail faculty/staff notes, events, notices, and changes of address to The Reporter, 160 I Ramsey Center, or send them via e-mail to REPORTER@wpoFF.wcu.eou 1,800 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $329.15 or $0.18 per copy. Western Carolina University is an Equal Opportunity Institution. [ ~Iteporter I NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CULLOWHEE, N.C. Office of Public Information PERMIT N0.1 Publications Unit 160 I Ramsey Center Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723 _March 6 , 2000 • The Reporter Tammy Haskett Named Director of Alumni Affairs Tammy Greene Haskett has been named Western's director of alumni affairs. Haskett comes to the alumni affairs office after fifteen years on the staff of Western's Division of Continuing Education and Summer School, including thirteen years administering a variety of non-credit courses TammyHo.sk