TUESDAY 5/15/12

Published for faculty and staff by the Luther College Public Information office • Copy deadline: Friday, 3 p.m., 75-word limit • Phone: (563) 387-1865 • Email: <tuesday>

Note: All campus telephone numbers are in the 563 area code, all campus email addresses end in @luther.edu • ©2012

To submit an item for the Tuesday click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Staff celebration May 22

The 2012 staff celebration will be Tuesday, May 22 beginning with a staff luncheon in the cafeteria at noon. Following lunch, there will be a presentation in the CFL Main Hall by Andy Masters of Masters Performance Improvement, LLC titled "Time Management and Work/Life Balance," presentations by 2011 Staff Excellence Award winners, employee recognition and announcement of the 2012 Staff Excellence Award winners by President Torgerson. Invitations to follow.

Luther Aquatic Center exceeds $1 million challenge goal

President Torgerson announced the $1 million fund-raising challenge in support of the Aquatic Center has been met and exceeded. Thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents, friends and area businesses, the college is now within $900,000 of reaching the overall project goal of $5.9 million. In November 2011, David E.G. and Patricia Miller of Fort Myers, Fla., framed their $500,000 commitment to the aquatic center as a challenge to other donors, matching one dollar for every two dollars contributed by September 2012. The college met the challenge in less than six months.

Move out day parking restrictions

To help facilitate closing of the residence halls we will be restricting access on High Street from Koren to Center Street staring at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 16 until 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 17. The faculty/staff parking on this section will be closed during that time to allow better access to those moving out of Brandt.

In addition we are asking that faculty/staff not park in the small lot south of Ylvisaker and east of the CFL on Thursday, May 17 so those moving out of Ylvisaker may utilize this space.  

We greatly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

COLLEGE OPERATIONS

Summer training opportunity

Announcing a summer training opportunity for faculty and staff to create their personal webpage. LIS and Publications are collaborating to hold training sessions on June 19 and Aug. 9 from 9 a.m.-noon in Olin 301-Round Table Room. Faculty and staff may register for either session online at: http://lis.luther.edu/node/6839 for the June 19 session or http://lis.luther.edu/node/6841 for the Aug. 9 session. There is a limit of 15 people per session. Faculty/staff on contract for the summer may attend either session as regular work hours, those not on summer contracts will receive a $25 stipend for completing the training session. For an example of a current faculty/staff personal webpage, see  https://www2.luther.edu/faculty/larsenkj/.

Luther.edu/value site available
In the interest of transparency and sharing of basic information, Luther has made available the website https://www2.luther.edu/value/ to Luther parents, students, prospective students, friends and community members. The website contains information on why students choose Luther, survey findings, statistics, comparative data and other resources. The site was designed to help prospective students and parents make a more informed evaluation of Luther and other colleges in important areas.

Luther partners with travel management company

The Cabinet is pleased to announce that Luther has partnered with Travel and Transport, a full-service travel management company, to assist faculty and staff in making travel arrangements. After July 1 all college-related travel will be required to go through T&T. Employees with a prior history of travel have been notified that they will receive instructions for creating a user profile, and will be asked to attend a training seminar. Those who expect to travel in the near future and have not been notified can contact Chuck Riha, 387-1526 or Peggy Lensing, 387-1531 to be added to the list of potential users.

Steam shutdown May 22-26

As an annual reminder the steam shutdown is planned for the evening of May 22 through May 26. A limited number of buildings will have hot water and some HVAC systems will be cooler than usual.

Cafeteria closed May 21-June 5

The cafeteria will close after brunch on Sunday, May 20 and will reopen on Wednesday, June 6. Summer board plans for students begin Tuesday, May 29 and may be used in Oneota Market. Email <diningservices> with questions.

EVENTS

Chapel this week

Chapel will resume in the fall.

Events this week

May 18-20: Commencement Weekend

Friday, May 18: Luther Nordic Choir and Jazz Orchestra Concert, 8 p.m., Main Hall, Center for Faith and Life

Saturday, May 19: Nursing Pinning Ceremony, 9:30 a.m., Noble Recital Hall, Jenson Noble Hall of Music

Saturday, May 19: Social Work Program Celebration, 10 a.m.- noon, Farwell Hall Lounge

Saturday, May 19: Senior Athlete Recognition Ceremony, 10:30 a.m., Main Hall, Center for Faith and Life

Saturday, May 19: All-College Picnic, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Preus Library Lawn, $8 per person,

Saturday, May 19: Luther Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band Music Showcase, 1:30 p.m., Main Hall, Center for Faith and Life

Saturday, May 19: Baccalaureate, 8 p.m., Main Hall, Center for Faith and Life, guests to be seated by 7:45 p.m.

Sunday, May 20: Commencement, 10 a.m., Carlson Stadium, guest to be seated by 9:45 a.m.

Sunday, May 20: Commencement Brunch, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Dining Hall, Dahl Centennial Union, $8 per person

For the full schedule, including updates and more detailed information, visit: http://www2.luther.edu/commencement/.

Senior Sendoff reminder
Senior Sendoff will be held at the Hotel Winneshiek Thursday, May 17 from 7-10 p.m. Sponsored by Student Senate and the Alumni Office, Senior Sendoff has become an annual celebration, bringing together soon-to-be graduates with faculty/staff for an evening of conversation and dancing. Register for the event at: https://www2.luther.edu/alumni/events/senior_sendoff/.

Trash into Treasure sale May 18, 21 and 22

Luther will host the annual Trash into Treasure sale in the red barn. T2T re-purposes items that Luther students leave behind during move out. Find a variety of great stuff like men and women's clothing, jackets, school supplies, furniture, small appliances and much, much more.

Sale dates:
Friday, May 18: 7-10 a.m., and 4-6 pm
Monday, May 21: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 22: 7-10 a.m.

For more information at www2.luther.edu/sustainability under "What's Currently Happening."

Freeman book signing May 19

Luther Book Shop will host a book signing session with Philip Freeman, Luther professor of classics, Saturday, May 19 from noon-1 p.m. in the Book Shop. The event is open to the public with no charge for admission. The event highlights Freeman's three most recent books, "How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians," "Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths" and "Heroes of Olympus."

COMMUNITY

New HR director named

Lora Steil, associate director of Human Resources at St. Olaf College, has been named director of Human Resources at Luther. Steil will begin her position July 9. Thanks to the search committee and to everyone who participated in the search process.

Thank you

ARTICLES, CREATIONS, HONORS, ETC.

Keith Lesmeister '01, recently had two short stories published. "Loony Bin" was published in Midwestern Gothic and "Doggy Heaven" is forthcoming this summer in The Waterhouse Review. 

Tory Hegrenes '01, a U.S. Navy lieutenant and flight officer, has been named the recipient of the Luther College Young Alumni Award for 2012. The award recognizes Luther alumni who have graduated in the past 15 years and who have rendered notable service to their profession and society in their vocation or avocation. The award will be presented to Hegrenes at Commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 20.

Jane Hawley was invited to present "Movement Fundamentals: Liberating Practices for the Dance Artist" through a residency with dance faculty and graduate students of Arizona State University, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, May 7-10. Luther students, Sophia Rog, Amanda Moran and Mike Moran attended the residency with Hawley and presented their research within the MF curriculum. The group also conducted a one-day residency with alum, Kate Blair at the Borton Magnet School in Tucson, Ariz. where Blair teaches dance, writing and creative process classes.

Ethan Schultz '12 and Ann Sponberg Peterson continue their efforts to help schools in Namibia, Africa through their philanthropic project Empowering Learners. Working with the Luther Book Shop and LIS, the project has acquired calculators and laptops that they will personally deliver this summer to Oshigambo Lutheran High School, a residential math and science high school near Ondangwa, Namibia. For more information about Empowering Learners, visit: http://www.empoweringlearnersnamibia.blogspot.com/.

Victoria Christman was invited to participate in conference titled "Early Modern Migrations: Exiles, Expulsion, and Religious Refugees," April 19-21 at the Center for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada. She presented her paper "Trade in Tolerance: The Portuguese New Christians of Antwerp, 1530-1550," as part of a panel on Networks in Exile, with scholars from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cambridge. 

Andy Hageman presented the talk "How Does a Cog See Itself from Inside the Machine?" at the Žižek Studies Conference—Neo-Liberal Perversions: Fantasy and Gaze in Contemporary Culture, April 28-29.

Richard Ylvisaker, professor emeritus of philosophy, has had his review of Jack Schwandt's "The Hong Kierkegaard Library" accepted for publication by The Cresset. It will appear in the June issue.

Research for the "What Works" project has been conducted by Char Kunkel in partnership with the Diversity Council, with support from the St. Paul Foundation. Kunkel conducted interviews with organizations across Minnesota in an attempt to compile a comprehensive overview of what is being done in community anti-bias work and what has been most effective. The goal is to provide a resource for other communities to draw on. The initial phase of research has been completed, and the "What Works" site officially launched on May 14. The "What Works" project can be accessed from the Diversity Council website at www.diversitycouncil.org.

MISCELLANEOUS

'Film and Sustainability' call for proposals

Announcing a "Film and Sustainability" screening-and-discussion series planned for the 2012-13 academic year.

You and/or your organization are invited to propose a film for which you will help coordinate a discussion.

Series planning will take place over the summer, but we ask those interested to email by May 19 to express prospective interest.

Andy Hageman and Anita Carrasco are the coordinating contacts for the series. Send proposal emails to both <hagean03> and <carran02>. Go to www2.luther.edu/sustainability and look under "What's Currently Happening" for more information.

Orville Running art sale

A limited number of color woodcut prints, black and white woodcut prints, etchings, drawings, and posters created by Orville Running are available for sale. All sale proceeds will be added to the Running Alumni Art Scholarship. Some of the items for sale are signed. To see what is available go to www2.luther.edu/giving/art-sale/. For more information on how to purchase these remaining pieces of art, contact Michelle or Nicole, 387-1862 or email <einckmic>.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Sustainability tip

Chemical Decoder: Read the label on your shampoo or skin cream bottle and you're very likely to find all sorts of mysterious chemicals lurking in the fine print. Is polyquater­nium-10 safe for you and everything that lives downstream from your shower drain? And why do toothpastes and toilet bowl cleaners share some ingredients? For answers about the thousands of chemicals that appear in household products and cosmetics, consult the Green Media Toolshed’s Scorecard (www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/), the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic safety database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) and the National Library of Medicine’s Toxicology Data Network (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov).

Borrowed from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=being-green-11-enviro-habits.

And finally…

May 14-18 is national Bike to Work Week.

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."

~H.G. Wells.