The Reporter, January 2001

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.Reporter -BL c January 15, 2001 News for the Faculty a nd Staff of Western Carolina University LCE Pres ents Stage Classic Activities To Honor Civil Rights Leader A week-long commemoration of the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, will be held January 16-20. Scheduled activities include a prayer breakfast program, art display, candlelight vigil, campus parade, banner contest, and special presentations. Harold L. Martin Sr., chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, will deliver the keynote address for the celebra- _ „ Chancellor Martin tion at 7 p.m, Wednesday, January 17, in the Grandroom of the Univeristy Center. This address is sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor. A Winston-Salem native, Martin became chancellor of Winston-Salem State University in January 2000, following terms at North Carolina A&T State University as vice chancellor for academic affairs, dean of the College of Engineering, and chairman of the department of electrical engineering. A reception will be held after Martin's speech. For additional information, call Jane Adams-Dunford, director of multicultural affairs and assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs, at 227-7234. Check the calendar section for a listing of all campus activities during the week. AquilaTheatre Company Performs Cyrano Jan. 23 The critically acclaimed Aquila Theatre Company will bring its North American tour of the stage classic Cyrano de Bergerac to campus at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 23, in Hoey Auditorium as part of the 2000-01 LCE Series. Edmond Rostand's classic tale of unrequited love and swashbuckling adventure set in seventeenth-century France tells the story of an excellent swordsman who believes he can never win the heart of the beautiful and alluring Roxanne because of his famously huge nose. Keeping his love for Roxanne a personal and painful secret, Cyrano befriends the handsome Christian de Neuvillette, who helps Cyrano woo his beloved by composing elegant love letters and teaching him the arts of eloquence, courtship, and poetry. Cyrano lives his love vicariously through Christian while wishing that his own true feelings could be known. The passionate adventure takes the audience on a journey through the romantic streets of Paris, the dramatic battlefield of Arras, and the placid cloisters of the convent where this poignant tale reaches its emotional conclusion. First staged in 1897, the play became one of the most famous French plays of the late nineteenth century. Based on a true historical figure, the play still attracts audiences today, both on stage and in film. The Aquila Theatre Company has achieved praise from The New Yorker for "the classics made relevant with superb acting and clever staging." Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and WCU employees, $5 for children and non-WCU students, and free to WCU students with valid identification. For reservations and ticket information, call 227-7206. Bob Orr Named Web Manager Robert L. "Bob" Orr, computer consult­ant in the Coulter Faculty Center and former director of the Media Center, has been named to the position of WCU web manager. Orr will develop and manage Western's presence on the World Wide Web, serving as the project manager for organization, development, and implementa­tion of the university's web site. He will coordinate the work of writers, editors, designers, and technical support personnel to develop and enhance Western's web environment, Jim Rowell, director of public information at WCU, said in announcing Orr's appointment. A staff member at Western since 1983, Orr currently serves as chair of WCU's Staff Forum and vice chair of the University Advisory Council. Orr was the 1999 recipient of the Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Award for Administrative Staff. Orr holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Western and an associate's degree in electronic engineering from Southwestern Community College. Radio Show Explores Music It could be classical, jazz, rock and roll, folk, or country. Music can be very personal, and a new program on WWCU 90.5 will provide personal insights from faculty, staff, and student perspec­tives into these and other types of music. Each Sunday morning, from 9-11 a.m., the Catamount Community Radio program takes an in-depth look at a particular style of music. Knowledgeable volunteers host the show, playing and discussing the music. The program was started by Rob Ferguson, a history major and student volunteer at the station; Ted Coyle, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology; Scott Philyaw, assistant professor of history; and Mark Couture, assistant professor of modern foreign languages. The purpose of the show is to provide a dialogue about music among faculty, students, staff, and the general community. "People like so many types of music and they feel a deep connec­tion with their music. This is a great opportunity to share with others," said Coyle. Hosts play music and spend time explaining it—such as examining its origins, development of style, and its influence on other types of music. The group is still working on an organizational plan and on leadership. "It does take a good amount of time to find and schedule programs and to make sure there is a technical person available to help," said Coyle. Couture will be scheduling the Sunday programs this semester. The program began at the end of October and has included jazz and early "rock and roll. Other types of music Coyle foresees being featured are Appalachian folk music and different styles of Latin music. Individuals from the WCU campus or the community at large interested in sharing their music are invited to participate. Contact Mark Couture at 227-3758 or Ted Coyle at 227-3900. Paul A. Reid Service Nominations Sought Faculty and staff are encouraged to nominate a deserving individual or individuals for this year's Paul A. Reid Distin­guished Service Awards. Two awards, one for faculty and the other for administrative staff, are given each year. The faculty and staff recipients each receive $1,000 and a plaque. The awards are to be conferred at the Spring General Faculty Meeting and Awards Convocation. These awards are made possible through an endowment from Paul A. Reid, who served twice as president of this university. For nomination forms or more information regarding eligibil­ity, contact Mary Kay Bauer, music department, at 227-3275 . Deadline for nominations is Friday, February 16. Campaign Exceeds Goal Faculty and staff generously gave to help others during the recent State Employees Combined Campaign. The goal of $32,000 was met and surpassed, with contribu­tions totaling $36,408, making it the largest amount ever collected on campus and the largest percentage increase from a previous year, said Chancellor John Bardo. "Those involved with the State Employees Campaign would like to thank the university community for the unending support they exhibit to the campaign. This goal-breaking year is evidence of a caring community," said Fred Cantler, associate athletics director and chairperson of this year's campaign. "I would also like to thank the campus solicitors for their hard work in making this campaign so successful." Assisting with the project this year were Barbara Ashe, program assistant in the chancellor's office who also is chairper­son for the State District 15 Local Advisory Committee, State Employees Combined Campaign; and Carol Burton, director of special programs in Education and Allied Professions, who will The generosity of university personnel pushed the total contribu­tions over the campus goal. Thankful for the effort are, left to right, Fred Cantler, 2000 campaign chairperson; Carol Burton, 2001 chairperson; and Barbara Ashe, state district chairperson for the campaign. Bob Orr serve as the 2001 campaign chairperson. J a n u a r y 1 5 , 2 0 0 1 • T h e R e p o r t e r + Blood Drive Emergency need for all types Tuesday, Jan. 23- Thursday, Jan. 25 12:30-6 p.m. Third Floor, UC Calendar January 15-28,2001 Look for regular updates on the university's web site at www.wcu.edu/cal.html Tuesday, January 16- Saturday, January 20 "Ultimately a Great Nation Is a Compassionate Nation" is the theme for this year's annual campus-wide Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Celebration, with a variety of activities scheduled. See details in listings for each day. Wednesday, January 17 MLK event—candlelight vigil, 6 p.m., Alumni Tower. (227-7234) MLK presentation— Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr., Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, as keynote speaker, 7 p.m., Grandroom, UC. Reception will follow program. (227-7234) Friday, January 19 Gala Jazz Festival—WCU Jazz Ensemble participating, 8:30 p.m., Grand Ballroom, Grove Park Inn, Asheville. $ (800-438-5800) MLK event—Unity Party, 10 p.m., Illusions Dance Club, UC. (227-7234) Tuesday, January 16 MLK event—prayer breakfast/ program, 8 a.m. Dodson Cafeteria (west wing). Reservations required. $ (227-7234) Thursday, January 18 MLK event—parade/banner contest, 4 p.m., lawn, UC. (227-7234) Saturday, January 20 MLK event—Unity Dinner, 3 p.m. Presbyterian Center. $ (227-7234) MLK event— grand opening for art exhibition featuring work by students from Western and surrounding schools, 4 p.m., Chelsea Gallery, UC. Reception will follow. (227-7234) MLK special program—Students are encouraged to participate through dance, song, skits, and other activities; art and essay contest winners from area schools will be announced, 7 p.m., RH. (227-7234) MLK event—Showtime at Niggli, 7 p.m., Niggli Theatre. $ (227-7234) MLK event—After-Party, 10 p.m., Old Student Union Building. $ (227-7234) *** Now Showing Exhibitions: Martin Luther King, ]r. Celebration• Through January 26. Chelsea Gallery. (227-7206) Dainty, Opening January 16 through February 9. Artists Sherri Wood and Andrea Lekberg examine the nature of feminine identity. Opening reception, January 16, 5-7 p.m. Belk Gallery (227-3591) Gentleman's Cane. Through January 31. A collection of more than fifty folk art canes. MHC. (227-7129) Finely Crafted. Through December 2001. Woodworking hand tools and furniture. MHC. (227-7129) The Old Barn: By the Creek and In the Cove. A year-long display of Jackson County barns photogrphed by Lloyd Cowan; second group is on display through March 8. MHC (227-7129) Migration of the Scotch-Irish People (permanent exhibition). Information, illustrations, artifacts, and murals. MHC. (227-7129) Key: $ - 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 Activi ty Center; RH - Recita l Hall, Coulter Building; BB - Be lk Buil ding; UC - A.K. Hinds University C enter; UOC - University Outreach Center; WS/BW - Whitmire Stadium/Bob Waters Field and craft demonstrations, 2-4:30 p.m., MHC. (227-7129) Monday, January 22 Basketball—Catamounts vs. Georgia Southern. Southern Conference game, 7 p.m. RRAC. (227-7338) Tuesday, January 23 Theatre—The Aquila Theatre Company presents Cyrano de Bergerac. 7:30 p.m., HA. $ (227-7234) Concert—Faculty Showcase, 8 p.m., RH. (227-7242) Thursday, January 25 Workshop—throwing and altering porcelain forms, by Asheville artist Leah Leitson. 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Room 183, BB. (227-7210) Sunday, January 21 Open House—Winter open house Slide presentation—by Asheville artist Leah Leitson, 7 p.m., Room 104, BB. (227-7210) Saturday, January 27 Basketball—Lady Catamounts vs. UNC-Greensboro. Southern Conference game, 4 p.m., RRAC. (227-7338) Basketball—Catamounts vs. Virginia Military Institute, Southern Conference game, 7 p.m., RRAC. (227-7338) Submissions: Send news items and calendar notices to WCU Calendar, 1601 Ramsey Center, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723 or e-mail to calendar @wpoff.vucu.edu. Submit items for the university's calendar on the Internet at least one week prior to the event. J a n u a r y 1 5 , 2 0 0 1 • T h e R e p o r t e r • Robert Dalley, associate professor of industrial technology, appeared October 17 on the WLOS-TV news segment "Bob Caldwell Outdoors." Dalley discussed the design, materials, construc­tion system, and application of a drift boat he built for use on Western North Carolina's whitewater rivers. • Morgan Adams, progra m director, and Rebecca Caldwell, public informa­tion officer, Mountain Resource Center, recently attended the Duke Institute in Nonprofit Leadership sponsored by Duke University. The focus for the tenth annual institute was "Creativity: A Critical Leadership Resource." Adams, one of the institute planners, partici­pated on a panel titled "Understanding Creativity: A Conversation." Caldwell led a hands-on workshop on making a personal journal and a round table discussion on journal writing. • Donna Welch, student affairs, was the recipient of the Student Government Association's Award for Excellence for her outstanding service to SGA and other student organizations. The award was given at the association's holiday dinner on December 11. • Robert Holquist, professor of music and director of choral activities, recently received the prestigious Lara Hoggard Award from the North Carolina-American Choral Directors Association. Recipients must demon­strate the highest musical standards throughout their careers and be active in several areas of education. College of Business Receives Reaccreditation The College of Business at Western Carolina University has received notice of full reaccreditation by the Accreditation Council of AACSB - The International Association for Management Education, the nation's premier accrediting agency for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in business administra­tion and accounting. Of some 1,200 U.S. universities and colleges offering business education programs, only 398 are accredited by AACSB. Houghton Named Apple Distinguished Educator Robert S. Houghton, associate professor of elementary and middle grades education, has received national recognition for his expertise in educa­tional technology by Bob Houghton being named an "Apple Distinguished Educator" by Apple Computer Inc. Houghton joins a group of 240 educators in this country and abroad who have received the award from the com­puter giant in the six-year history of the ADE program. Recipients of ADE awards are "estab­lished in their respective fields as out­standing pioneers. As mentors, they teach, demonstrate, and share their expertise and enthusiasm with others," according to Apple*. Houghton was nominated for the award by company representatives in the region who knew of his work at WCU. The Reporter is p ublished by the Office of Public Information. Debie Connelly, editor. Mail faculty/staff notes, events, notices, and changes of address to The Reporter, 1601 Ramsey Center, or send them via e-mail to REPORTER@WPOFF.WCU.EDU 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 Eq ual Opportunity Institution. Office of Public Information Publications Unit 1601 Ramsey Center Cullowhee, North Carolina 28723 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CULLOWHEE, N.C. PERMIT NO. 1 J a n u a r y 1 5 , 2 0 0 1 • T h e R e p o r t e r • Reporter -BL th e c January 29, 2001 A New Outlook For Campus E-mail Western is taking a step forward in technology and communications as staff begin implementation of a new electronic messaging system. Conversion to Microsoft's Outlook e-mail system began Monday, January 22. The campus-wide implementation will be complete by the end of the semester, according to Scott Swartzentruber, network services manager in the Computer Center. Groupwise, the existing e-mail system, will run parallel with Outlook until June 30. The process of changing the messaging system began last spring as representatives from all campus areas—academic and administrative—began evaluating the Groupwise system. Initially, the group focused on the shortcomings of Groupwise. The group was to recommend an upgrade of the system or replacement with a new system. Group members evaluated several messaging formats. "We found that the Outlook system had the best features for what we needed the system to do," said Swartzentruber. Throughout the semester groups of users, primarily departments, will have Out­look installed on their comput­ers. Computer Center staff will visit every computer to install or activate the program and will make a follow-up call after continued on page 2 Chuck Wooten News for the Faculty and Staff of Western Carolina University Board of Governors Approves Wooten Chief Finance Officer The University of North Carolina Board of Gover­nors gave its approval Friday, January 12, to the appointment of George C. "Chuck" Wooten as Western Carolina University's new vice chancellor for administration and finance. Wooten succeeds C. Joseph Carter as the university's chief finance officer. Carter retired in December after twenty-three years as vice chancel­lor of business affairs. The Division of Business Affairs was recently renamed the Division of Ad­ministration and Finance to more accurately reflect the focus of its offices. Wooten's appointment was approved by WCU's board of trustees in December. Western's Division of Administration and Finance is responsible for administering all the university's financial and business services functions, including the budget office, purchasing, dining services, housing facilities, human resources, physical plant, university police, and the Ramsey Re­gional Activity Center. The vice chancellor of administration and finance reports to the chancellor and is the principal adviser to him on all the division's units. A native of Iredell County, Wooten graduated from WCU in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and received a master's degree in political science at Appalachian State University in 1979. Wooten worked as a systems accountant in the state treasurer's office from 1973 to 1975, when he became finance officer for Iredell County. He was named Iredell County manager in 1979 and served in that capacity until his appointment as WCU controller in June 1980. Wooten was promoted to assistant vice chancellor for business affairs in 1987, and he became associate vice chancellor in 1996. Last October, Wooten was named the recipient of North Carolina state government's Barry K. Sanders Award, an honor presented annually to a state employee who demonstrates outstanding performance in the area of budget, plan­ning or agency management. Wooten was the recipient of WCU's Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Award, given annually to a member of the university's administrative staff, in 1995. Wooten was chosen for the vice chancellor position following a national search for candidates. The search committee was chaired by Richard Collings, WCU vice chancellor for academic affairs. Wooten lives in Sylva with his wife, Kathy, a kindergarten teacher at Fairview Elementary School. Their daughter Sally is a graduate student at the Duke Univer­sity Divinity School. WCU Web Site To Get a New Look The world soon will see Western Carolina University in a new way as its Web presence undergoes an extensive update. "Our Web site has grown tremendously over the past few years, and is now a major internal and external communication vehicle for Western," said Bob Orr, WCU's new Web manager. "The challenge now is to develop our Web presence and site structure to better serve our WCU family with special emphasis on prospective students and visitors. Initial efforts hopefully will yield positive results that will quickly impact the Web site and at the same time provide a framework for future development," On-said. The first step will be to produce an interim home page. While there will be a new look to the page, the content will remain the same. "People are comfortable in navigating the site, they know where to go," said Orr. Changes in content and site structure will come later. Another revision of the new home page will be to provide Western's various constituencies readily accessible links to the most appropriate pages. A second area of focus will be to develop a Web guidance structure, including committees to determine strategic directions and objectives, safeguard design consistency, address customer service, and develope quick and efficient Web communica­tions across campus. Once the guidance structure is in place, addressing content of main pages and site organization can begin. "Ours is a university-wide Web site and we have to ensure our Web guidance structure embraces everyone," said Orr. A third focus this semester is to complete CyberCat, the internal Web portal initially for faculty and students, with staff utilization to be added later. A password-protected area with individual accounts, the portal is designed to present internal information, news, events, calendars, and class materials in an organized fashion. The fourth area of emphasis this semester is development of the prospective student portal. This portal is for external access by students who are considering Western or who are in the enrollment process. The portal will include guidelines for admission, "next step" information, and a timeline for admis­sion. WCU is the development and test site for a UNC system-wide Web portal, through UNC's General Administra­tion. PricewaterhouseCoopers has served as design consultants on the