Virgil Wiebe

The discussion will include historical, legal, and current and pressing immigration issues – from recent debates over border issues in Texas and Arizona, to legislative efforts at the state and national levels, to Hmong and Somali immigration in Minnesota, to the hot topic of immigration policy in the presidential race.

This event is open to all staff; note that space is limited to the first 18 who register. R.S.V.P. to scexempt@stthomas.edu.

NESC is looking for energetic individuals from a variety of departments and service areas who are interested in advancing NESC’s mission to build a strong and healthy workplace by fostering communication with the university’s administration, advocating for common interests, focusing on cooperation, and building community within the university.

Because NESC serves and advocates for all hourly employees, it encourages people from all departments and campus locations to consider running for election. The nomination deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 14.

NESC members serve two-year terms and generally devote two to five hours per month to council duties, which include attending monthly meetings, serving on university committees, coordinating social events for nonexempt staff, working on council management projects, representing the council at UST events, and organizing the annual Nonexempt Staff Appreciation Breakfast

Because council members provide an important service to the university, NESC activities will be considered part of an employee’s duties, and supervisors will approve NESC-related absences. Those who serve also have the opportunity to learn more about UST while meeting colleagues from throughout the campus community.

Serving on the council does require a commitment of time and energy but the benefits are plentiful, notes council member Kathy Sauro, Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.

Election timeline

• Nomination deadline – Tuesday, Feb. 14
• Nominees contacted about willingness to run – Feb. 15-21
• Nominee bio deadline – Monday, Feb. 27
• Call for online voting – Wednesday, Feb. 29
• Voting deadline – Wednesday, March 14
• New NESC members announced at Nonexempt Staff Appreciation Breakfast – Wednesday, March 28

To nominate yourself or a nonexempt co-worker

• Online: Visit the Nonexempt Staff Council website. Click on the “Questions? Comments? Write us!” link and enter the nominee’s name and department in the comment section.
• Email: scnonexempt@stthomas.edu
• Mail: Send to NESC Election, Mail SCH435.

For more information call Kathy Sauro, (651) 962-4149, or Christine Igielski, NESC president, (651) 962-5727.

David Bank Studios will be on campus to take professional portraits of departments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, and Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Hearth Room of the Anderson Student Center.

Sessions take about 10 minutes. Schedule a time slot on the Campus Life website. Questions? Email the Aquinas at yearbook@stthomas.edu. To find out more about this year’s Aquinas, follow the yearbook on Twitter and “like” it on Facebook.

Research shows that a forming a habit of moderate exercise takes on average 66 days. This 12-week fitness contest begins Monday, Feb. 13, and continues through Friday, May 4. Faculty and staff are invited to form teams of five to 11 people. All team members must be employees of the University of St. Thomas.

Team members log their daily exercise minutes online, through text messaging or on their smart phones. The school that logs the most minutes among their teams wins the competition.

This year St. Thomas will team up with the Alliance for a Healthier Minnesota to track individual and team progress. Team’s also may track how they measure against other Minnesota teams competing in the challenge.

You don’t have to be competitive to participate. Just log your physical activity each week and you’re done.

Registration is now open, and signing up is easy. First, designate a team captain.

Captains, visit 2012 Health Challenge online, where you will be able to invite team members. Setting  up your team page is easy:

• Under “Affiliation”: Click on the “Colleges and Universities”
• Under “Choose your Division,” choose “Exercise Minutes”
• Under “Challenge Enrollment,” create your team and team name. You must enter “UST” before your team name in order to track St. Thomas’ points separately from Augsburg’s points. For example: “UST-Yarn Tamers” or “UST-Development Office,” etc.
• Click on the tab, “I want to keep my team limited to those that I invite”
• You will then be directed to a screen where you may add your teammates. They will be invited to accept and complete their individual profiles.

Questions? Want to participate but can’t find a team? Contact Lisa Keiser, (651) 962-5982.

Faculty are asked to announce to their classes, where they assign formal writing, that peer consultants are available by appointment to assist writers at any stage of the writing process. Students should make appointments to see a consultant through the Center for Writing website.

Currently, the interim schedule is posted. By the end of the second week of classes, the center will be open:

John R. Roach Center for the Liberal Arts, Room 361

• Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Friday: 9 a.m.-noon

O’Shaughness-Frey Library

• Sunday: 6-9 p.m.

Other resources and links can be found  on the center’s website as well, including online consulting. Faculty will find information on integrating the Center for Writing into courses under “Services for Faculty.”

The Center for Writing is a teaching site. A campus writing center is a place where students can be mentored and where they can talk about what they are learning in class as they respond to writing assignments. The center also is a place where students find support as they read, analyze and write in a particular discipline.

For more information about the Center for Writing contact Dr. Susan J. Callaway, (651) 962-5602.

Dr. Marie Lopez del Puerto

The first event will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Luann Dummer Center for Women.

The discussion will be led by Dr. Marie Lopez del Puerto of the Physics Department. The topic will be on isolation. If interested in attending, register with Pat Alexander.

The Luann Dummer Center for Women is in Room 103, O’Shaughnessy Educational Center.

David Bank Studios will be on campus to take professional portraits of departments from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, and Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Hearth Room of the Anderson Student Center. Sessions take about 10 minutes.

Departments are encouraged to sign up beforehand to ensure that preferred times and dates are available.

Questions? E-mail the Aquinas at yearbook@stthomas.edu.

To find out more about this year’s edition of Aquinas, follow the yearbook on Twitter and like it on Facebook.

“The first week of operation has been virtually problem free,” said Mark Vangsgard, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer. “The food service and retail operations, student recreation venues and building support systems will continue to be fine-tuned during the spring semester.”

“This facility and the flow and energy that it will create for students will set a national benchmark,” commented Jane Canney, vice president for student affairs. “Student engagement and campus vitality will increase dramatically.”

In appreciation for tolerance of the construction process and in recognition of everyone involved in the design and operation of the facility, Vangsgard and Canney invite all current faculty and staff to a free lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in The View. Your St. Thomas ID card will get you in.

Todd Empanger, director of the food service, said he is “thrilled to show the entire campus community the Marche cooking stations where the food is prepared in front of you and the open hearth pizza oven. Even though people will not see all of the new equipment in the back of the house, they will experience the great taste of the food that results.”

A faculty and staff meal plan is available for $6.25 per meal in a 10-meal package. “This is the best deal on campus,” Empanger said. “The previous venue was called the student café, but those days are gone, and The View will be the new home of faculty, staff, student, community and visitor dining.”

Meal plan details

The meal plan is designed specifically for faculty and staff. This provides an economical way to dine in an all-you-care-to-eat environment at The View as well as an opportunity to engage with students, fellow faculty and staff, strengthening the university community.

Guests are welcome to dine with you using the plan, which is available in blocks of 10 meals for $62.50, which is $6.25 per meal, including tax. Stop by the Card Office in Room 259, Murray-Herrick Campus Center, to purchase a plan.

Spring semester is just around the corner, and putting course materials on reserve at the university’s libraries has never been easier. Faculty can now add library reserve materials using an online form. This form is intended for UST Libraries-owned materials; however, faculty also may fill out the form, print it and submit it with personal reserve items brought to the library.

Complete course reserves procedures and contact information for reserves coordinators can be found on the Libraries Course Reserves Web page.

• iPads
• Blackboard Grade Center and Rubrics*
• All Things Blackboard*
• “This seems familiar …” Discussing SafeAssign*
• Get Ready for Spring Semester:  Open Lab Time
• “Survey Says!” An introduction to Qualtrics Surveys at UST
• Blackboard Adaptive Release and Classroom Clickers*
• Integrating Library Resources Into Blackboard*

 (* Hands-on lab session)

Sessions will be held in O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center and Terrence Murphy Hall. View the full schedule with days, times, and descriptions here.

Registration is requested; register here.

According to Pam Peterson, business office director, employees are required to satisfy their financial obligations to the university in a timely fashion. Typical employee charges include, but are not limited to, parking citations, library fines, tuition and lab fees, and health service charges.

Peterson wishes to also remind employees that employee billing statements are produced exclusively in an electronic format – paper billing statements are not mailed. Employees are able to access, view and print their billing statements through Murphy Online. Once logged into Murphy, employees will find the “eBill & ePay System” link on the page that includes Personal Information, Employee Services and Parking Services links.

Employees have the option of paying their billing statement electronically as well; however, if employees prefer, payments still can be mailed in or dropped off at the Business Office on either the St. Paul or Minneapolis campus. Employees with billing charges will receive an automatic e-mail notification at the end of each month when the student billings statements also are produced.

For the complete policy and further details go to the Business Office website or call the Business Office, (651) 962-6609.

All classes are free, and there is no deadline to register; however, registering early is recommended as classes fill quickly and some sessions are waitlisted. Course descriptions in their entirety can be found on the Leadership Academy’s website. Sign in with your UST username and password to register.

The courses offered are:

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 12
Infant and Child CPR
Designed for those who care for children, either full time or occasionally, this course teaches participants how to recognize and care for breathing and cardiac emergencies in infants.

Noon-1 p.m. Jan. 25
Overcoming Barriers to Living a Physically Active Lifestyle
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two out of three Americans are not active at recommended levels. What prevents us from making physical activity a lifelong commitment? We will cover the 10 most common reasons why adults don’t adopt a more physically active lifestyle, as well as strategies that will help you overcome those barriers. This is a two-part brown-bag session.

10 a.m.-noon Jan. 30
Jump Start Your Metabolism
Is it harder for you to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight than it once was? Have you tried several diets but had trouble keeping the weight off? Do cravings sabotage your good intentions? Learn a healthier, saner approach to lifelong weight control. This interactive class explains how your food choices, blood-sugar levels and essential fatty acids affect your energy and your ability to lose or maintain weight.

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 7  
Adult CPR/AED
American Red Cross Adult CPR training complements a variety of learning styles with hands-on practice and real-life scenarios. Our take-away materials are designed for use both in the course and outside the classroom as reference tools.

Noon-2 p.m. Feb. 20
Dealing with Conflict and Communication as a Manager
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a conflict as a manager and not known how to handle it? This course will provide you with useful steps to help manage conflict within the workplace. Learn about the different types of conflict and what may be the cause/causes behind the conflict. We also will role play to understand how proper conflict management conflict looks.

9-11 a.m.  Feb. 29
The Sophisticated Budget Manager: An Advanced Guide to Financial Accounting and Reporting
Are you an experienced budget manager or delegate? Do you want to expand your knowledge of UST accounting practices and reports? This course will provide you with an in-depth review of the tools and procedures for the day to day management of budgets, revenue and expenditures.

Online courses also are available for MS Office Suite and Business Professional training. To access these courses or for more information, contact the Leadership Academy, (651) 962-6900.

All faculty and staff AARC members, and faculty and staff guests must present a valid UST ID in order to be admitted into the AARC facilities. Current members are welcome to bring as many faculty or staff guests as they’d like on Jan. 10. All guests must be accompanied by a current AARC member at all times while visiting the facility on the day of the promotion.

The one earned bonus visit will count toward the total number of visits for January. Members will be limited to receiving a maximum of one bonus visit swipe. This promotion is valid only on Jan. 10.

For more information about the faculty and staff Wellness Rebate Program visit the AARC website.

All faculty and staff AARC members, and faculty and staff guests, must present a valid UST ID in order to be admitted into the AARC facilities. Current members are welcome to bring as many faculty or staff guests as they’d like on Jan. 10. All guests must be accompanied by a current AARC member at all times while visiting the facility on the day of the promotion.

The one earned bonus visit will count toward the total number of visits for January. Members will be limited to receiving a maximum of one bonus visit swipe. This promotion is valid only on Jan. 10.

For more information about the faculty and staff Wellness Rebate Program visit the AARC website.

The celebration, in a mix-and-mingle atmosphere, will be held in the James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center. A recognition ceremony will highlight the event.

Years of Service Celebration

• 3:30-4 p.m. – Reception
• 4-4:30 p.m. – Recognition ceremony
• 4:30-5 p.m. – Reception

A formal invitation will be mailed in early January.

Memberships for the next term, which includes J-Term and spring semester, Jan. 1-May 31, will be available at the following rates:

• UST graduate and professional students, $75
• UST faculty and staff, $150
• UST alumni, $275
• Community members, $325

AARC memberships can be renewed, and new memberships can be purchased online starting Monday, Dec. 26. (AARC members who currently rent a locker can renew their memberships starting Monday, Dec. 19.)

UST faculty and staff:

Contact Human Resources for medical eligibility qualifications for the AARC Wellness Rebate Program. Eligible staff members will be reimbursed fully for their AARC membership fees if they meet the minimum visit requirements every month. Click here for more information about the Wellness Rebate Program.

Participants in the fall 2011 Wellness Rebate Program can expect their rebates to be applied to their second paycheck in January 2012.

The credit union will not have access to mail between Dec. 22 and Jan. 2, 2012. Loan payments must be received by Dec. 22 to be processed as 2011 business; the credit union will accept post-dated checks at that time, and will hold them until their check dates to deposit.

Santa Special Loans

The credit union also reminds its members that the Santa Special Loans are available until Thursday, Dec. 22. These loans are available to any credit union member with a Beacon (Equifax credit score) of 600 or more, with no exceptions being considered.

The loan can be written for a maximum amount of $1,000 at a rate of 10 percent for a one-year term. This loan can be had in addition to a regular signature loan, as long as cumulative loans, including the new loan, do not exceed the $40,000 per member limit.

Visit the credit union website for more information.

Dr. Stephen Brookfield

Helping students to think critically is at the heart of the mission of St. Thomas. In a new series of three workshops – “Essentials of Teaching for Critical Thinking” – Distinguished University Professor Stephen Brookfield will draw on his new book, Teaching for Critical Thinking, to explore what critical thinking comprises and how it can be developed.

The workshops:

Thursday, Feb. 9

The first “Essentials of Teaching for Critical Thinking” workshop will review the different intellectual traditions informing how critical thinking is understood and will introduce teaching approaches to foster critical thinking.

Thursday, March 8

Brookfield will review how critical thinking can be integrated into both discussion-based and lecture-based classrooms, and he will introduce specific dialogic activities to help students broaden their perspectives.

Thursday, April 12

The final workshop will focus on writing critically and will address how students can be taught to understand what it means to do a critical analysis of literature. The session also will cover how course reading can be integrated into classroom processes.

Each workshop can be taken as a stand-alone session, or the three can be taken as an integrated sequence. Faculty attending at least two of the sessions will receive a copy of Teaching for Critical Thinking. All three sessions will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 155, Murray-Herrick Campus Center.

To register for any of the workshops visit qualtrics.com. Registration for the Feb. 9 workshop closes on Feb. 1. For more information about the workshops email the Center for Faculty Development.

Questions? Call Edie Dull in Accounts Payable, (651) 962-6382.

Other minutes for meetings, brown bags and survey results as well as recorded sessions can be viewed here.

In the past, the Exempt Staff Council (ESC) has conducted staff surveys in order to gauge what our priorities for the upcoming year should be. Examples of issues that the council previously discussed include 360 evaluations, vacation days and funding for professional development.

Watch your email inbox in the next week for an updated survey for your input; responses will remain anonymous.

The discussion will note 2009 statistics that list an estimated 43.5 million people in the United States who provide unpaid care for others age 50 and older. Based on these statistics, participants in this discussion possibly are now or will be responsible for the care of an aging parent.

Topics included in the session are:

• Communicating with loved ones
• Being proactive
• Navigating family dynamics
• Finding helpful resources
• Learning what to look for when evaluating options for care

Participants’ questions are welcome and will become part of this open discussion.

The annual President’s Christmas Celebration will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Student Dining Room, second floor, Murray-Herrick Campus Center. The traditional St. Thomas holiday menu will be served in a mix-and-mingle atmosphere.

Those planning to attend are asked to return their reply cards via interoffice mail, or contact Michele Goodson, (651) 962-6428, by this Friday, Dec. 2.

ASC contracts will operate like the McNeely and R1 contracts. Cost for the contracts will be on a sliding scale (based on salary) of $350/$550/$750, and the contracts will continue from one year to the next.

To apply for the ASC contract lottery, email your name and UST ID to parking@stthomas.edu no later than Friday, Dec. 2. Results will be posted on the Parking and Transportation Services website by Wednesday, Dec. 7.

The opening date for Anderson Student Center parking has not been determined. Information regarding opening of the parking garage will be communicated to those who are awarded ASC contracts.

Visitor parking (pay-by-the-hour) will be available in the Anderson Student Center garage after 4 p.m. and on weekends. There also may be a limited number of times throughout the year, due to events, that the ASC garage will be closed. Bulletin notices will be used to alert the UST community to these events.

Holiday Timeout was created by RHA as an opportunity for faculty and staff to have a day to prepare for the holiday season; in addition, it’s a chance for their children to have fun engaging in planned holiday activities.

This year’s Holiday Timeout is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, in the Koch Commons Fireside Room. Members of RHA will offer crafts, games, snacks, holiday movies, music and many other fun activities.

To participate, register by Google form or by hard copy no later than Tuesday, Dec. 6; for a hard copy form email Katie Nordyke.

Reading Group on Issues for Faculty of Color

The Faculty Development Center and the Office of Institutional Diversity are co-sponsoring a reading-and-discussion group on the St. Paul campus. The first meeting, which will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, will examine issues of relevance for faculty of color.

The first reading will be a chapter by Anthony D. Ross, “Learning to Play the Game,” from the edited volume Faculty of Color: Teaching in Predominantly White Colleges and Universities.

The sponsors encourage all interested faculty members to attend. The group will meet in the Faculty Development Center, Room 403, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center. Lunch will be served.

Register here for the Dec. 2 session. Participants will receive an electronic copy of the reading.

The reading group also will meet:

• Noon Friday, Jan. 20. This session will focus on student evaluations with a reading to be announced.
• Noon Friday, Feb. 17. The third reading is from the book The Black Academic’s Guide to Winning Tenure – Without Losing Your Soul.

Faculty who work primarily on the Minneapolis campus and would like to participate in a similar reading-and-discussion group that would meet there, email Dr. Ann Johnson, director of faculty development.

Fabulous Friday, reality TV and ethics? Really? Yes.

In their forthcoming book, The Ethics of Reality TV, Dr. Wendy Wyatt and Dr. Kris Bunton argue that reality television programs matter in ways that influence our ethical lives. Reality TV – like all communication – helps shape the way individuals view and interact with the world, helps make the world meaningful and even helps construct that world. The book, therefore, takes reality TV seriously and explores the ethical questions it raises.

Dr. Kris Bunton

Dr. Wendy Wyatt

What do Bunton and Wyatt, with the help of nine other contributors, discover in their exploration? The genre is complicated and sometimes surprising. Whether viewers recognize as reality TV contest shows such as “Project Runway,” “The Amazing Race” and “American Idol,” or family-oriented narratives such as “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” “19 Kids and Counting” and “Little People, Big World,” or the shows about offbeat occupations such as “Pawn Stars,” “Ice Road Truckers” and “Cake Boss,” reality TV offers a way to examine ethical issues that range from exploitation, invasion of privacy, excessive commercialization and stereotyping, to issues such as flourishing, democratization and community building.

This Fabulous Friday event will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, in Room 102, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center, and simulcast to Room 419, Opus Hall, in Minneapolis. Wine and refreshments, including nonalcoholic beverages, will be served. Registration is requested; register here.