COLLEGE OPERATIONS

CIES open house

The Center for Intercultural Engagement and Student Success invites everyone to their open house, 2-5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in the CIES Office on the first floor of the Union. Stop by to learn about the CIES Office, meet the staff and enjoy some pie and cake!

AAUW community action grant presentation Sept. 22

The Luther College community is invited to join the American Association of University Women on Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in Shirley Baker Commons. The program will consist of presentations by Assistant Professor of Biology Molly McNichol and Annika Jensen ’21 regarding their AAUW community action grant  'Land Care! Connections through Stewardship' and from Bergen Gardner ’21 & Anna Ruble ’20 about attending the AAUW National Conference for College Women Student Leaders.

Staff Meeting dates and times for 2019-10

Staff, please plan to attend either a Wednesday or Thursday meeting each month.

• Oct. 22 - Staff Day (watch for announcement about time and place)
• 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, and 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14
• Dec. 11 - Holiday celebration at 9 a.m.
• 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, and 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9
• 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13
• 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, and 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 12
• 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, and 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 9

Money at Work 1: Foundations of Investing Workshop, hosted by TIAA

Smart investing starts with a solid grasp of the basics. The more you know, the better prepared you are to make informed investment decisions. TIAA's workshop leader will highlight different types of investment options available as you make choices for your financial needs. Join us 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, in the CFL Recital Hall. Save your spot today! RSVP by calling 800-732-8353, weekdays 7 a.m.-7 p.m.. Register now.

ITS Tip of the Month: Google Calendar "Working Hours"

Google Calendar recently turned on the “working hours” feature for everyone. Take a moment to review the working hours setting in your calendar and either disable it or manually set new hours. If you didn’t have specific working hours set in the past, Google tries to guess, and that guess might be wrong. Get directions online. Contact the Technology Help Desk if you have questions.

Tax Withholding Estimator

Luther employees are encouraged to use the Tax Withholding Estimator to review their withholding for 2019. This review is especially important for anyone who faced an unexpected tax bill or a penalty when filing a 2018 return or who experienced a major life change in 2019. Updated W-4 forms should be submitted to the payroll office. Contact <payroll> with questions.

Table Talks for faculty

"Table Talk" is the name given to a collection of Martin Luther's sayings recorded by his students around the dinner table. Table Talks at Luther College are an opportunity for faculty to gather to talk about teaching and learning, faculty life and higher education. Every Wednesday, faculty will receive a reading via the flist, typically an article or opinion piece from The Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Ed. On the following Tuesday faculty are invited to gather for an informal discussion about the article and the issues it raised, 4:15-5:15 p.m. in the Borlaug Room on the first floor of the Union. No registration is required. Just come and join the conversation.

Adobe CC Change

Starting this fall faculty, staff and students need to sign in to use Adobe Creative Cloud applications (e.g. Acrobat, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere) on lab/classroom/podium computers. Choose to "Sign in with an Enterprise ID," using your Luther email address. This will be implemented on faculty/staff computers by mid-November and is due to changes in the Adobe licensing model. For details, visit Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Zook and Logsdon speak at Luther College Woman's Club meeting Sept. 17

Learn how to tap into solar energy and reduce landfill waste. Joel Zook will present "Power from the Sun," and John Logsdon will speak on "Recycling Our Resources" Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 1:30 p.m. in Peace Dining Room. Shuttle service from the Decorah pool lot leaves at 1:10 p.m. 

BBQ Beef Brisket Dinner in the Caf Sept. 19

Thursday, Sept. 19, is the first Swipe Plus dinner of the season in the Caf from 5-7 p.m. Join us for a delicious menu of Granny Smith apple BBQ beef brisket, smoked gouda mac & cheese, green beans with caramelized onion and bacon, buttermilk poppyseed slaw, hush puppies and whipped honey butter. This fantastic meal is available for an additional $5, which can be paid through dining dollars, faculty/staff charge, cash or credit card.

Luther College Community Music School Registration

Youth choir (Soda Club): Community Choir for youth in grades K-8. Soda Club meets on Mondays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Decorah Lutheran from Sept. 23-Nov. 18. The group is led by Luther professors. Group classes meet on Wednesday mornings from 8:00-8:45 a.m. at Decorah Lutheran Church for youth in grades 1-6. (Bus transportation is available for 1st-2nd graders). Fall session runs October 9-December 11. The classes are led by Luther Music Education students. Register online. Claire Thompson, LCCMS coordinator, <lccms>.

Calling all world travelers!

Join students from the International Studies program for our Open House, 9:45-10:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Williams Lounge of the Union. Students will share stories from their recent study abroad adventures, and answer questions about Luther's International Studies program, a major or minor that allows students to explore their interests in any corner of the world.

Bishop emeritus of Jordan and Holy Land to spend week at Luther College

Bishop Munib Younan, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, will be on campus for a weeklong residency with Luther College and the Decorah community, Sept. 26–Oct. 1. Younan will give a lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the CFL Recital Hall, open to the public with no charge for admission. More info about additional opportunities to meet Bishop Younan available on the College Ministries website.

Bleed Blue Fridays

Start twinning with the turf, matching the mats and blending with the banners. Make every Friday a #BleedBlueFriday by joining fellow staff, faculty, students and alumni in wearing blue to show off your Luther pride!

Aquatic Center hours through Sept. 22

Monday: 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Wednesday: 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Thursday: 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Friday: 6-9 a.m.*, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

*There will be limited lane space on Friday mornings from 6-7 a.m.

Wind Turbine Site

Students, faculty and staff are reminded that Luther's wind turbine is located on private property that also hosts an active quarry; please do not hike into the property for safety reasons. Hiking around the turbine without permission is considered trespassing. The Center for Sustainable Communities would be happy to arrange tours of the wind turbine. Contact <sustainability>.

Open Education Resources and Textbook Affordability at Luther

Are you concerned about textbook affordability for your classes? Do you want to explore ways to expand student access to course materials? Open Education Resources (OERs) are teaching and learning materials that are distributed under an open license that permits free use and repurposing by others. Come for light refreshments and a chance to learn more about OERs with Freeda Brook and Holly White, 9:40 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in Hovde Lounge.

CEPE Book Groups

Prepare for Rebecca Traister's visit in October by reading her "best book of 2018 selection," "Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger." Find many other titles, including two more with authors coming to campus. Faculty, staff, students and community members can learn more and sign up online for discussions to start soon! Books provided. Offered by the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement.

Brown Bag Lunch book discussion on Childfree Movement author Dr. Amy Blackstone Sept. 27

Dr. Blackstone, professor of sociology at the University of Maine, will participate in a lunch hour book discussion facilitated by Nora Myint, WGST student, noon-1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 in Mott/Borlaug. The author will focus on publicly engaged gender scholarship and her new book "Childfree by Choice," where she delves into the childfree movement from its conception to today, exploring gender, race, sexual orientation, politics, environmentalism, and feminism, as she strips away the misconceptions surrounding non-parents and reveals the still radical notion that support of the childfree can lead to better lives and societies for all. The Center for Ethics and Public Engagement and WGST programs are sponsoring this event. Register online to receive a copy of the book, or drop in for conversation only if unable to read the book.

Davis Projects for Peace

Luther has been invited to participate in the summer 2020 Davis Projects for Peace. Since 2007, Luther students have carried out summer peace projects in seventeen different countries around the world. Please spread the word that Luther students (working alone or in groups) interested in designing and implementing their own grassroots projects for peace are encouraged to submit proposals of three pages or less by Jan. 13, 2020. Each project selected receives funding of $10,000. For additional details and to receive application information, students can contact Jon Lund, <lundjon>.

Document Center, new wide-format color printer

The Document Center would like to announce the arrival of a new wide-format color printer. The printer change has moved us up from a dye-based four-ink system to a pigment-based 12-ink system, which has greatly increased the quality of the prints and our paper choice options. We currently carry a thicker matte paper, a gloss paper, and a polyester-cotton blend canvas; we are open to discuss options for other media types. Please contact the Document Center with any questions about costs or how to place an order for a large print or poster.

Reading and discussion group for Luther staff, "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi

"Homegoing," a historical fiction novel that follows descendants of an Asante woman named Maame, features a captivating story line that has the reader reflect on how a person's opportunities are affected by where, when and who they are born. Tricia Crary, administrative assistant for College Ministries, will facilitate the discussion on two dates, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19 during shadow block (9:40-10:50 a.m.) in Hovde Lounge. You may sign up on the CEPE website. All group members will receive a free copy of the book that is theirs to keep. Come enjoy refreshments and conversation with your Luther staff colleagues.

Women's Basketball Junior Norse Clinic

The Luther College Women's Basketball team will be offering four weeks of Junior Norse clinics for girls in 1st-5th grades. The clinics will be held on Thursdays, 6:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m., in the Regents Center North Gym. Dates are Sept. 19, 26 and Oct. 3, 10. Register online.

Book Shop News

Give a round of applause to Todd Green! Todd's second edition of "The Fear of Islam" has been released and is now for sale in the Book Shop.