VOL. LII, No. 2 - Aug. 28, 1995

The deadline for contributions to the University Information Bulletin is Thursday at noon. The bulletin will be published each Monday and as needed during the week. Submissions should be hand-carried to 9528 Etiwanda, FAXed to x4937, e-mailed to pubinfo@exec.csun.edu, or sent through campus mail to mail code 8242. Please type all items double spaced, or supply a file on disk. Direct UIB inquiries to x2130.

Attention: Department Secretaries

Some UIB items are relevant to students. So that students have an opportunity to read them, please post each week's UIB in your department office. Thanks.

Bits vs. Atoms

Welcome to the beginning of the 40th year of Cal State Northridge. Just as the institution has evolved through a series of names and stages, so have the UIB and its predecessor publications. This year, we are thinking about a further evolution of the UIB. To reduce the sizable cost of producing and distributing it, we are considering transmitting it electronically rather than on paper.

This is in the nature of a trial balloon. We invite your comments, opinions, and observations before we make a final decision.

However, here are some arguments in favor of it.

1) Reproduction and delivery the old-fashioned way, by campus mail, takes two to three workdays and costs in the neighborhood of $19,000 a year for printing alone.

2) With complete electronic distribution, departments would have the option of printing out a master copy and then posting or routing the UIB to the extent they choose. We already post the UIB on the university's Web site (http://www.csun.edu). In fact, we post it electronically before it goes to the printer.

3) Virtually every department has access to the Web, so even employees without access to a PC could get a printed copy faster.

We would like to hear your arguments for and against this proposal and any suggestions you have to increase and improve communication on campus. Send your comments to us via bits to pubinfo@exec.csun.edu. Or via atoms to Mail Drop 8242.

UIB Submissions

The deadline for submissions is Thursday at noon for publication the next Monday. Please include: 1) the nature of the event and its date, time, and place and 2) the person or office to contact for more information and the phone extension. A contact will be listed for each item.

Campus Publications

The purpose of the UIB is communicate logistical information, often of a transient nature, such as the announcement of a meeting of general interest.

The purpose of NORTHRIDGE is to focus on the teaching, research, and public service activities of our faculty. If you have suggestions for content, including reports of faculty achievements, please send them in writing to John Kroll at Mail Drop 8242 or e-mail them to pubinfo@exec.csun.edu.

To reduce costs and find a more appropriate fit with our staff resources, we will reduce the number of issues of NORTHRIDGE this academic year from eight to six (September, October, November, February, March, April).

The September issue, out this week, features articles about community design projects carried out this summer by Ildiko Choy's art students and Roberta Mauksch's interior design students; an account of music therapy done by Ron Borczon after the Oklahoma City bombing; a look at major campus efforts for the year ahead; the start of a new series, "The Cutting Edge," focusing in this issue on current controversial topics in philosophy; a conversation with Tom Piernik, director of student development and international programs; a profile of Distinguished Teaching Award winner Behzad Bavarian of Engineering; lists of new faculty, recent grants, and faculty achievements; and a calendar of September events, including the "Phenomenal Women" celebration.

NORTHRIDGE ALUMNI is published three times a year and goes to alumni and friends of the university. The fall issue will focus on the university's impact on the community through public service activities. The theme of the winter issue is alumni in the entertainment industry.

Faculty and Staff Coffees

The Annual Faculty Coffee will take place Wednesday, August 30, from 9 to 11 am in the gazebo area of the University Club lawn. All new and returning faculty are invited to join President Wilson and the vice presidents in officially inaugurating the new academic year.

The Annual Staff Coffee will take place Wednesday, September 6, from 9 to 11 am at the same location. President Wilson and the vice presidents look forward to welcoming back all new and returning staff to the campus.

For more information, contact Dhari Balvin at x5445.

Campus Events on TimesLink

Campus offices or organizations that want to list their events on TimesLink, an information service provided by the Los Angeles Times and Prodigy (the on-line service) should submit information to the Office of News and Information at mail drop 8242 or at fax x4937. Please send the information at least two weeks prior to the event, and specify it is for the TimesLink listing. The event list will appear in the Cal State Northridge section of TimesLink.

For more information, contact Carmen Ramos Chandler at x2130.

SCAQMD Plan Approved

This announcement serves as official notification that the University's Transportation Plan, submitted to the South Coast Air Quality Management District last spring, has been approved.

For more information, contact Astrid Logan at x3946.

Phenomenal Women Awards

The campus community is invited to attend the "Phenomenal Women Awards" reception and auction on Saturday, September 23, from 5 to 7 pm at the University Club. If you did not receive an invitation through the campus mail and wish to be sent one, contact the Women's Studies Department at x3110.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Say at x3110.

RTVF Acting Chair Named

Donald Wood has been named acting chair of the Radio-Television-Film Department for the Fall 1995 semester.

Library Closed This Weekend

The Oviatt Library will be closed on Labor Day Weekend, September 2-4 (Saturday-Monday).

For more information, contact Ann Perkins at x2277.

Oviatt Library Tours

Tours will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after Labor Day Weekend, including orientation to the campus' computerized library resources and the other three University Library facilities. Returning students are especially invited. The 20-minute tours will be every hour and half-hour, beginning at 11am in the lobby. The last tour of the day begins at 1:30 pm. Self-guided tours are available at other times at the Information Desk in the Oviatt Library lobby.

Computer Index Demonstrations

The Library will offer users experience in searching computer indexes from Tuesday, September 5, through Friday, December 8. The demonstrations will take place weekdays at noon in Room 102D and Saturdays at 9:30 am at the Reference Desk. The sessions will introduce participants to the general principles of Boolean searching. The Library offers access to over 50 different indexes, abstracts and full text databases in all disciplines.

For more information, call Marcia Henry at x3012.

Piano for Youth

The Piano for Youth Program of the Music Department is offering private and group piano lessons for beginners ages 7 to 10. Lessons will begin Thursday, September 14, and continue for 18 weeks. Students will be accepted by interview only. Interviews will take place Tuesdays, August 29 and September 5.

For more information and to schedule interviews, contact Melinda Bateman at 818/762-7144 or Jeanine M. Jacobson at x3167.

Proposals Invited for Conference Here

"Academic Discourse" will be the topic of the Second Annual Interdisciplinary Conference that will be presented on campus by the Association of Graduate Students in English on November 11. Three-hundred-word proposals are invited on such topics as the roles of Freshman Composition in the academy, discursive boundary zones between disciplines, the application of social theories to academic discourse communities, and, especially, competing definitions of academic discourse.

Proposals are due by October 6. Send abstracts and inquiries to Scott Herring in the English Department at mail drop 8248.

Book Group Forming

Members of the campus community who would like to participate in a book discussion group that would meet on campus should call Virginia Elwood at x7336 so that a planning meeting can be set up.

Discover, Inquire & Grow

A new program, Discover, Inquire, & Grow in Los Angeles (DIG LA), will hold its first off-campus cultural event, a visit to Koreatown for the 22nd Annual Korean Multicultural Festival, on Saturday, September 23. The cost is $10 for students, $15 for non-students. Reservations and payments can be made at the Office of Student Development and International Programs (in the USU), which is sponsoring the program.

The event is the first of four in the fall semester. The program is seeking faculty and staff who would like to take part and serve as educators.

For more information, call Vicki or Marta at x2393.

Interview Techniques

An Interview Techniques Workshop will take place Tuesday, August 29, from 10 am to noon in The Career Center in the New East Wing of the USU (above the Fitness Center).

To reserve a space, call The Career Center at x2878.

Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Program

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has announced the 1996-97 fellowship program open to postdoctoral applicants who have demonstrated scholarly development beyond their dissertation. Fellowships are for the academic year, although shorter fellowships of at least four months are available.

Additionally, the Center has announced the availability of various programs tailored to diverse interests and needs. For a listing, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects.

The application deadline is October 1.

For more information, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects at x2901.

Young Investigator Program

The Office of Naval Research has announced the 1996 Young Investigator Program, open to Ph.D.'s who received their degrees after December 1, 1990. Applicants should address their proposals to areas within the Navy's scope of interests, as defined in the booklet "Guide to Programs," available at the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects.

The application deadline is September 29.

For more information, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects at x2901.

National Humanities Center Fellowships

The National Humanities Center has announced its 1996-97 fellowship program supporting advanced studies in the humanities, including history, languages, literature, and philosophy, by both advanced and new Ph.D.'s. Most fellowships run during the academic year, and fellows will have access to the Center's extensive facilities in North Carolina.

The application deadline is October 15.

For more information, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects at x2901.

Policy Items from the Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate and the President have approved policies related to the calendar for personnel actions, maintenance of the University's Worldwide Web page, the use of university computing resources, and a revision of the policy governing medical withdrawal from classes.

Complete text of these policies can be found attached to the electronic version of the UIB on the university's Web page at http://www.csun.edu under the headings of Campus Services and University Relations.

Printed copies are also available on request from Arlene Noar at the Faculty Senate Offices in the Faculty Office Building, x3263.

Any office, department, or employee needing software or assistance to access the Web should contact the Networking and Technology Group of the Computer Center, x2787, by fax at x4770, or via e-mail at bpalmberg@csun.edu.

How Hot Is It?

Cal State Northridge is now an official Weather Observation Station, thanks in large part to the persistent efforts of Tim Boyle, weather observer in the Geography Department. You can see the data collection gear atop the Visitors Booth on Prairie Street. For up-to-the-minute weather reports, call 717-5628. If there's a problem dial # to restart, and remember to dial * to hang up. And listen for "Cal State Northridge" on your local weather report.

For Event Information, call 700-6000

The Alumni Association is promoting awareness of university events on its new telephone information hotline. Call 818/700-6000 for up-to-date event information.

Alums can also report changes of address and learn about membership benefits, such as library privileges. Alumni Director Gray Mounger said the hotline increases the customer service capability of the association's two-member staff.

University Holiday Schedule

President Wilson has announced the university holiday schedule for the 1995-96 academic year as indicated below. In accordance with the schedule, the university will be closed from Monday, December 25, through Monday, January 1, reopening Tuesday, January 2, 1996.

1995 Holidays:

1996 Holidays:

Monthly rate employees are entitled to these paid holidays on the day they are observed on campus unless they are in a non-pay status on the holiday, or they are required to work to perform necessary services. Hourly employees are eligible for prorated holiday pay pursuant to the table provided to all departments by memo dated December 15, 1994. This memo, entitled "Holiday Compensation Issues," is retained in Section I - Attendance and Leave Procedures of your Standard Operating Procedures manual. Employees who are required to work on a holiday will receive holiday compensation or compensatory time off. The holidays listed are in additon to the personal holiday which every employee receives each January 1 and which must be used before December 31 of that year. Part-time employees and hourly employees are entitled to a personal holiday on a prorated basis. The university will be closed on the holidays listed. Essential services such as campus security will be maintained on all holidays.

For more information, call the Office of Human Resource Services at x2118.

Memorial Tree Planted

A lily-of-the-valley tree was planted in memory of the late Michael B. Newcomb on August 18, the first anniversary of his death. The tree is located north of Sierra Tower. A graduate of Cal State Northridge, he had worked in Academic Affairs for many years.

For more information, contact Noreen Wolfe at x2175.

Our Deepest Sympathy

The campus community expresses its sympathy to the family of the late Rita Bennett, a long-time employee of the University Library, who died this summer. She is survived by her son, a brother, and two sisters.

The community also expresses its sympathy to the family of the late Hae Won Park, who taught in the Asian American Studies, Women's Studies, and Speech Communication Departments and who died July 23.

Sympathy also is expressed to Mel Carter, Deaf Studies Department, on the death of his mother.