UB Buzz

Taking It Slow

Remember those student days of gobbing down dinner in the dining hall or grabbing a meal on the go?
An effort to savor meal time is growing across campuses with the embrace of the slow food movement. The topic refers to taking the time to enjoy what one eats and recognizing where it comes from.
A recent Boston Globe article reported on a series of slow food dinners for students at College of the Holy Cross (Mass.), featuring a five-course meal made from local ingredients. The dinner cost about $35, roughly three swipes of a student's meal card, but the meal was served on fine china and linen covered tables. No cellphones or Blackberries were allowed.
A required service learning course at Marquette University (Wisc.) initiated Slow Food MU, a student-run chapter, in mid-April (@SlowFoodMU on Twitter). For their senior capstone course, students majoring in advertising and PR were required to create public awareness campaigns for Slow Food Wisconsin Southeast and Growing Power, the groups chosen for this year's project.
While conducting research on slow food for their coursework, classmates became interested in having a chapter on campus, explained Katy Klinnert, a 2009 graduate and a founder. “It came together sort of as an accident,” she added.
A chapter meeting held at a private home had students constructing pizzas and having conversation about slow food. Members also organized a cooking class, with a local chef demonstrating how to make hors d’oeuvres and appetizers.
"Slow Food On Campus," a section on the Slow Food USA website, lists a network of institutions with slow food chapters. They include Carleton College (Minn.), Hampshire College (Mass.), and University of Wisconsin-Madison. A related blog can be seen here.

TGIF Has a New Meaning

At Delta College (Mich.), the term "TGIF" may take on a new meaning.
This Friday, May 22, the college will kick off "Green Fridays," a green campus initiative aimed at reducing their carbon footprint by shutting down most campus operations on Fridays through July 31. Works hours Monday through Thursday will be extended.
According to a media release, the initiative resulted from analysis that showed Fridays had the fewest visitors to campus.
Some locations will remain open on Fridays. They include the Fitness and Recreation Center, Corporate Services, and the Planetarium during May and June.
“I feel this initiative is beneficial to our whole campus community,” said President Jean Goodnow in the release. “It’s beneficial to current and future students by extending the hours on the days that they historically prefer to do business with the college.”
To learn more about Delta’s sustainability program, click here.
Last summer, a number of higher ed institutions chose to have four-day workweeks due to soaring gas prices.
Goodnow best summed up her college's effort as reducing "a day’s worth of facility and vehicle carbon emissions.”

Faculty Sacrifice for Student Aid Gain

Robert Morris University (Pa.) is no different from other institutions in feeling the economic crunch. Spending cuts have been implemented since the fall, with most departments seeing a 15 percent reduction. The university has imposed a staff hiring freeze as well. And in March President Gregory G. Dell'Omo announced a freeze on salaries for all non-faculty staff, in order to generate an additional $570,000 in financial aid. That's an important move in a school where 90 percent of students get some sort of aid. 

After the salary freeze announcement, a number of faculty members, including Faculty Federation President Seth Finn, stepped forward to ask how the faculty could help. Now that union, which represents 145 professors and other instructors, has agreed to give up more than half of the 2.75 percent annual raise due under their collective bargaining agreement so that university can boost financial aid coffers even more. This will allow the university to shift an extra $180,000 into scholarship funds for new and returning students. RMU’s total pool of financial aid will be about $16 million in 2009-10.

Despite the cost cutting, RMU continues to hire faculty, in order to maintain the quality of its academic programs. Its leadership continues to move forward with several strategic initiatives, including a new building complex for the School of Business; a nursing simulation lab; and continued renovations to academic buildings and residence halls. 

Although the faculty aren't sacrificing their entire raise, the union's move is a great example of how collective sacrifice for the good of students is key in today's economic climate.

Online Reading

Three "Online Only" articles accompany the May issue of University Business.

Higher ed administrators are recognizing social media as a business imperative for their institutions, as shown by the rise in collegiate Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. In "Engaging in the Social Web, Social Media, and the Facebook Phenomenon," Inigral CEO Michael Staton tells how some schools are taking bold steps in using this social media to promote their institutions. Their results are paying off.

Projectors on today's market sport likable features such as portability and a light weight. The downside is that they can be more susceptible to theft. In a fittingly titled piece, "Dude, Where's My Projector," Dan Zimmer offers steps that can be taken to make projectors not as easy to be taken away. Zimmer is director of sales and marketing for Hard Steal Security Corp.

In his piece, "Creative Competition," Thomas C. Celli says he finds from his visits to liberal arts institutions a need to develop a faculty capable of instilling creativity in its student body and bring meaningful, project-based learning to curriculum. He explains the answer may lie in more interdisciplinary cooperation. Celli is president of Celli-Flynn Brennan Architects and Planners in Pittsburgh, whose expertise includes strategic planning for college and universities.

When Prevention Fails

An unfortunate truth is that some students are going to consume alcohol no matter how many times they are warned about the dangers of drinking. And of those students who do drink, some a going to end up binge drinking and putting their lives in danger.
Stony Brook University (N.Y) has developed the Red Watch Band Movement to train students on appropriate steps to take when another student passes out from consuming too much alcohol.
"What makes this program really innovative and important, is it focuses on the real non-negotiable aspects, mainly that you stay alive," says Jenny Hwang, associate dean and director for prevention and outreach. While acknowledging that some people might argue all efforts should focus on preventing binge drinking, Hwang points out, "Unfortunately, this is the reality we're up against."
The four-hour training program, which can be found at www.redwatchband.org, focuses on debunking myths associate with binge drinking, such as it's ok if someone passes out from drinking too much alcohol (it's a medical emergency) and clarifying that students won't get suspended if they call for aid.
"Our hope is other schools will be able to take this information and run with it, but we’ll be available for consultation," Hwang says, pointing out leaders on each campus will have a better understanding of which groups to target on their own campus.
Stony Brook, also provides prevention education aimed at freshmen, the Greek system, and athletes.
Learn more at www.RedWatchBand.org.

Pausing the Tenure Clock

Trustees at Grand Valley State University (Mich.) have taken a positive step in approving a new family-friendly policy that will support faculty recruitment and retention efforts. On May 5, they approved
adding a “pause” in the tenure clock process—allowing faculty members to request an extension of their probationary period to address health issues, childbirth or adoption, care giving responsibilities, or other significant life disruptions. About 30 percent of universities similar to Grand Valley have a policy to pause the tenure clock, according to research conducted by the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan.

Prior to this, Grand Valley faculty hired for tenure-track positions had a six-year provisional period before their tenure decision must be made; the clock did not stop for illnesses or maternity leaves. The new policy will take effect this fall.

Kristine Mullendore, professor of criminal justice and chair of the University Academic Senate, supported the creation and adoption of the policy. “The theme for the senate has been to do things to improve faculty life on campus,” she said. “This also fits well with the university’s inclusion and equity plan.” Mullendore added that during tough economic times, a tenure clock pause is a tremendous benefit, and one that doesn’t cost money, to offer to faculty members.

The policy calls for pauses in the tenure process for significant health issues, birth or adoption of a child, substantial care giving responsibility, military service, immigration status, unpaid leave of absence, changes in appointment, or unforeseen disruption.

It's a good example of a policy that helps in the recruitment and retention of faculty members without costing the institution money.