Volume 31, No.26
March 31, 2000
Contact: Terry Day (570) 662-4844
tday@mnsfld.edu             

Contract Extension

     The Mansfield University Council of Trustees unanimously voted to recommend a one-year extension to the contract of President John R. Halstead during its meeting on Thursday, March 23.
     "I'm grateful for your confidence in me to lead this University and thankful for the resolution and recommendation to the Chancellor and the Board of Governors to extend my contract through June 30, 2003," Halstead said in addressing the Council. "I also appreciate the many members of the academic community who engaged in the presidential review process and am personally honored that it was the student representative that made the motion for the extension."
     The Council of Trustees made the recommendation for the contract extension to the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education after conducting a formal review of the presidency of Dr. Halstead.
     According to policy established by the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education, pursuant to this review the Council of Trustees is to submit a recommendation to the Board of Governors regarding a one-year extension.
     Dr. Halstead became the 25th president of Mansfield University on July 1, 1998. Under his tenure, the university has already shown growth with increased enrollment, new facilities, academic programs and a strategic action plan to guide future priorities.

Work, Time and Talk

     The MU Film & Lecture Series will present three speakers covering a wide range of topics over the next two weeks.
     Child labor and the struggles of young workers to survive in Pennsylvania coal country in late 19^th and early 20^th century will be the subject of "Passing On The Past", a presentation by author Susan Campbell Bartoletti on Wednesday, April 5, 4 p.m. at Manser North Hall.
     Bartoletti has written extensively about the two million children who worked in mines, mills and factories or as messengers, bootlacks, and peddlers in Pennsylvania’s coal region. She has authored several children’s books including two award-winning nonfiction photo-essays, Kids On Strike and Growing Up In Coal Country, and the novels No Man’s Land: A Young Soldiers Story and A Coal Miner’s Bride.
     During this slide-show presentation Bartoletti will share stories of the children who grew up, worked and played during a time when anthracite coal was king.
     On Wednesday, April 12, 4 p.m. in Allen Lecture Hall, Dr. Anthony Aveni will change the way we look at time with his presentation "Time And The Millennium."
     Aveni, the Russell B. Colgate Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology at Colgate University, is the author of several books including Empires Of Time, Conversing With The Planets and Stairways To The Stars.
     In his slide lecture Aveni will look at ways of marking midnight on our millennial clock and compare it with a sampling of how other cultures deal with the ends and rebeginning in time, especially where the sky is involved.
     On Thursday, April 13, 3:30 p.m. in Manser North Hall, the value of learning languages and its importance for career and life opportunities will be the topic of Uwe Freuck’s lecture, "Languages And Real Life: Not Just For Diplomats."
     Freuck is the cultural attache at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. He has served in a wide variety of capacities in embassies in Benin, Poland, and Thailand. Next summer he and his family will be moving on to a stint in the transformed capital of reunified Germany, Berlin.
     The Film & Lecture Series is sponsored by the Provost’s Office. All presentations are free and open to the public.

Faculty Exhibit

     MU’s art faculty will be exhibiting their work in the University Gallery, North Hall, April 3-May 6. The title of exhibit is "Soup-to-Nuts II."
     Faculty with artwork on display will be Harold Carter, colored pencil and markers, Bonnie Kutbay, acrylic paintings, and Thomas Loomis, jewelry and sculpture. Adjunct faculty exhibiting work will be Ruth Anne Miller, fibers and clay, Mindy Kahl, oils and watercolors, Martha Whitehouse, clay and computer art, and Steve Pazzaglia, oils and watercolors.
     A gallery reception will be held on Thursday, April 6, 6-7:30 p.m. in the University Gallery. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the general public and are funded by the Fine Arts Committee and Student Activity Fees.

Schueleraustausch

     MU has another international study opportunity available to students. President John Halstead and the Rektor of the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena, Germany, have signed an exchange agreement that will allow equal numbers of students from each institution to spend a semester at the other institution. In German this is a schueleraustausch, meaning exchange of students.
     Jena, very close to Weimar, is located in a historically rich area of eastern Germany and has been home to some of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization throughout its long history.
     Mansfield will begin the process by welcoming approximately five Jena students for the fall 2000 semester. Several MU students are already planning to make the trip to Germany in April, 2001 and will return at the end of July that year.
     In order to qualify for participation in the program MU students must have studied at
     least four semesters of German or the equivalent. For more information call Brad Holtman at x4596.

World-Wide Celebration

     The International Students Organization will host its annual International Festival on Saturday, April 8, 5:30 p.m. in Manser North Dining Hall.
     This year’s theme is "Moving To Higher Grounds Beyond Our Borders." The festival will feature various aspects of cultures around the world through food, entertainment and fashion.
     Everyone in the campus community is invited.Tickets are $7, $3 for students and children under the age of 10 are free. Tickets are available at Pinecrest room 108 or 114. Call x4443 or 4381 for information.

SCHOLAR’S SPOTLIGHT

Monica Lambert, Education and Special Education, presented at the 21st International Conference on Learning Disabilities in Minneapolis, MN, in October, 1999. The title of her presentation was "Cognitive Strategies and Study Skills: Designing Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities. Lambert serves on the Executive committee for CLD as Northeast Regional Representative.
Of the 5,855 sites related to the topic of Czech literature, the Lycos search engine ranks John Ulrich’s, Languages and Literature, ENG 305: Czech Literature page as the most popular Czech literature web site based on "user selection traffic." Originally created for the use of his Czech literature students in the spring 1999 semester, Ulrich continues to enhance and update the page periodically. The Hotbot search engine also rates the page as its top site for Czech literature, and ranks his Beat Generation page tenth among sites devoted to that topic. The address is http://www.mnsfld.edu/~julrich/czech.html.

STUDENT SCENE

Nine MU Biology majors presented 14 papers, half the total given, and won seven awards, half the total awarded, at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists meeting at Clarion on March 25. Samantha Cunningham captured first place in the Botany/Ecology oral and the Ecology/Zoology poster competitions. Kristine Playfoot took first in the Cell/Molecular Biology poster competition and second in the oral competition. Amy Wanner scored a second place finish in the Ecology/Zoology poster competition. Rebecca Dunlap took third in the Botany/Ecology oral competition and Karin Russell captured third in the Ecology/Zoology poster competition. Jennifer Reschke, Andrew Peterson, Jason Howe and Tammy Ellis also took part in the competition. Peterson was recognized as Mansfield’s outstanding Biology student.
The MU Badminton Club hosted its annual open tournament on March 25. Paul Kile, Greg Longwell, Rich Lupinsky, Lucas Jones, David Darby and Shaker Ramasamy participated in the tournament. Kile captured first place in the D division singles and Greg Longwell placed second. In B doubles, Shaker Ramasamy, club advisor, and Jinlin Peng, Corning Inc., placed second. Darby and Longwell took second in C doubles. The club competes in the Penn State Open next Saturday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Spring Commencement participation forms are due Saturday, April 1. Only those students who have completed the form and returned it to Mary Lou Stroud, 512 North Hall, will receive further communication and tickets. If you expect to graduate but have not received any written communication contact Cathy Martin at x4201 or Mary Lou Stroud at x4355.
• The Center for Lifelong Learning will offer "The Video Classroom" on Thursday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in Retan Hall G-2. Presented by Bell Atlantic and sponsored by the Center for Distance Learning, the one-day workshop is an introduction to the nuts and bolts of successful distance education instruction. Lunch will be provided. Participation is limited to 10 people and the registration deadline is April 13. Call x4244 for information.
• The Community Service-Learning Office will host a national teleconference, "Linking Citizenship and Scholarship Through Service Learning: A National Imperative," on Thursday, April 6, 1-4 p.m. in the North Hall 6^th Floor Community Room. Several national speakers will discuss the importance of service learning, campus-community relations and a variety of other topics. Everyone in the campus community is invited to attend.
• Applications for the position of Director of the Center For Effective Teaching are now being accepted. The position is for 2000-2002 at a minimum and there is ¼ re-assigned time associated with the position. Applicants are asked to submit their vita and a detailed letter outlining the goals one would have for the Center, the applicant's qualifications which would contribute to the success of those goals, and activities which might be sponsored by the Center for Effective Teaching. Applicants also must submit three letters of recommendation from faculty colleagues. The deadline for applications is April 5, 1 p.m. Send application materials to Sandra Linck, Associate Provost, 509 North Hall.
• The campus bookstore is holding a moving sale. All clothing and supplies are 20 percent off. Over 2,000 books- paperbacks, reference and old textbooks-are on sale for $1. The sale will continue until the bookstore moves to its new location in Alumni Hall.

SPORTS UPDATE

     The baseball team has won four straight games and is 13-7 on the season after sweeping Lock Haven and St. John Fisher in doubleheaders last week.
     The softball team (8-4) had its only doubleheader of the week postponed with SUNY-Binghamton.
     Lamar Crawford won the long jump at the Susquehanna University Outdoor Track & Field Invitational Saturday, while Kile Kintner set the school pole vault record and won the event. For the women's team, Kelly Maines broke MU's long jump record.

LIBRARY LISTINGS

The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley
The Brethren by John Grisham

THE BOTTOM LINE

"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
--Vince Lombardi