New parking deck and student housing at SPSU
SPSU will fill the first of 863 spaces at its brand new parking deck in a grand opening ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. In addition, a groundbreaking ceremony will also be held for the new Hornet Residential Village.

The five-level parking deck will alleviate stress from the parking shortage at the University due to increasing student enrollment and massive construction projects.

Last year, the Student Government Association approved a $75 increase to the student transportation fee to help cover the cost of construction. Because the fee is mandatory, students will not incur additional costs to park; however, staff and faculty who wish to park there will be required to pay.

The Hornet Residential Village will include 600 beds in suite-style units, 10 special-interest housing units containing 12 beds each, and a 284-seat dining hall. For more information on the event, contact the Office of Advancement at ext. 7351.

Professor selected as Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Thomas Rotnem, professor in the department of Social and International Studies, was recently selected for the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Dr. Rotnem plans to teach advanced courses in international relations and comparative politics at the University of Latvia during the spring 2010 semester. While in Latvia, he will also conduct research on the political economy of Latvia's proposed eurozone participation, given the current economic situation in the troubled post-communist country.

The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. Grantees lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). It is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” With almost 300,000 participants, the Fulbright Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.

Email Migration
Beginning Oct. 16, SPSU will have a new email system: Yahoo! Zimbra. Zimbra is a web-based software that replaces the current Mirapoint system and provides more storage and functionality, including calendars, contact and task lists, file exchange and web pages.

The Division of Information Technology will conduct the email migration from Oct. 16-18, during which time email will be unavailable. No emails will be lost during the conversion and any emails received during that time period will be delivered when the system is online.

The Zimbra system will not be compatible with email clients, such as Eudora or Outlook. Users will need to visit http://zimbra.spsu.edu/ to check email or access the system’s features. For more information, contact IT at ext. 4357.

SPSU professor exhibits art
Dr. Betty Oliver, professor in the department of English, Technical Communication and Media Arts, will exhibit several of her watercolor paintings across the state.

"Boats at Rest," accepted in the Southern Appalachian Artist Guild's 2nd National Juried Show, Oct. 17-Nov. 13, 2009, at the Richard Low Evans Gallery, Blue Ridge, Ga.

"Savannah Fair," accepted in the Atlanta Artists Center's 6th Annual National Show Exhibition, Aug. 29-Sept. 29, 2009 at the Atlanta Artists Center in Buckhead.

"Bookstore," accepted in the Georgia Watercolor Society 2009 Members' Exhibition, Sept. 1-Oct. 3, 2009 at Arts Clayton in Jonesboro, Ga.

Sustainability in curriculum
What is sustainability? This question will be answered in two workshops held this semester by Dr. Julie Newell, chair of the department of Social and International Studies. These workshops will discuss and encourage sustainability in the curriculum. The first workshop, held on Wed., Sept. 23 at 2 p.m., will address what sustainability is and how SPSU is defining it as a campus. The second workshop, held on Wed., Oct. 7 at 2 p.m., will focus on incorporating sustainability in courses. Both workshops will be held in the Center for Teaching Excellence, Room H202.

For more information, contact Julie Newell at ext. 7481 or email jnewell@spsu.edu.

First Annual SPSU International Film Series
The department of Social and International Studies opened its First Annual SPSU International Film Series last week with a showing of The Dinner Game presented by French Professor Thomas Buresi. More than 40 viewers, including faculty and administrators, turned out for the event. 

Several times per semester, the department will show international films presented by a faculty specialist in the Student Center Theater.

Dr. Tom Rotnem will present the Russian film, Burnt by the Sun on Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. and Dr. Iraj Omidvar of the department of English, Technical Communication and Media Arts will present the Iranian film, Ten on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

SPSU Professor to speak at energy conference in China
Dr. Omar Zia, professor in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, has been invited as a keynote speaker to deliver a speech at the first World Non-Grid Wind Power and Energy Conference on Sept. 24-26 in Nanjing, China.

Dr. Zia is also scheduled to speak to the graduating students of Nanjing University, where he will be inviting them to consider SPSU for their graduate studies. For more information, visit http://www.wnwec.com.

Georgia BEST Robotics
Georgia Boosting Engineering, Science, & Technology (BEST) Robotics competition will be kicking off  Sept. 19 at the SPSU gymnasium. This is the 6th annual Georgia BEST competition at SPSU, the state’s hub for the national competition.

BEST was created in 1993 to increase interest in engineering, science and technology careers, increase understanding of technical concepts and scientific principles, and provide real-world engineering challenges.

Professor Glenn Allen, program coordinator for Mechatronics Engineering, established Georgia BEST Robotics in 2003 and has since served as its director.

More information on the competition as well as the organization can be found at www.georgiabest.org.

SPSU blood donations
SPSU was recognized by the American Red Cross for being the top producer of pints of blood in all of Metro Atlanta for colleges of similar size. Sigma Pi fraternity helped organize the blood drive and will be recognized for their efforts at a Red Cross luncheon and awards ceremony on Sept. 23. Since 2008, the SPSU chapter of Sigma Pi helped the Red Cross raise 353 pints, with 91 pints received in the April blood drive.

Tau Kappa Epsilon competes at Red Bull's Soap Box Race
Members of fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon competed in Red Bull's Soap Box Race on August 31. The TKEs won third place and a chance to race NASCAR-style at a raceway driving school.

The race, which was free to the public, began at 1 p.m. on 10th Street, where 39 teams and their crafts glided down an obstacle course of twists, turns, hay bales and one fun jump for the chance to win the crowd’s votes and the judges’ scores.

Teams were judged not only for speed, but their creativity, showmanship, and even costumes which ranged from comic book characters to South Park to gladiator themes. The TKEs impressed the judges with their "gangsta’ getups" and low-rider soapbox car.

Sing a song with the SPSU chorus
The SPSU Polyphonics, the staff and faculty chorus, is looking for members who love to sing a cappella. The chorus meets once a week for rehearsals and sings at SPSU community events.

If you are interested in joining, contact Pierrette Maillet by email at pmaillet@spsu.edu or at ext. 7702.

Volume 2, Issue 18
September 16, 2009