December 1999
Employee
profile
Scott Murr
Furman
Forum
What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?
Simplifying
the Christmas Season
A column by David E. Shi.
Around
campus
News from university departments
Milestones
New employees, promotions, anniversaries
InsideFurman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
Around Campus
HEALTH SERVICES
Fall Term in the infirmary has been focused on preventive care. The flu vaccination program has already doubled compared to last year’s response. In addition, the meningitis vaccine is now available in the infirmary with increasing response based on both press coverage of this dreaded disease as well as the recommendation by Communicable Disease Center that the vaccine be made available.
On Thursday, November 18, Health Services and Peer Educators sponsored "The Great American Smoke Out" with 24 students signing up for support group involvement. A January CLP will be offered with follow-up by Kristina Hansen.
The Health Services staff continues to enjoy the benefits of the Greenville Hospital medical resident rotation specializing in Adolescent/Young Adult and Internal Medicine, thus offering additional physician hours for the students.
-- Jane Cartee
PUBLIC SAFETY
This is normally a busy time for our department. We have two new officers attending the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, Greg Poole and Keith Malloy. Karen Mathis and Josh Taylor have also joined our staff. Karen serves as the communications coordinator. Josh, who is a Furman student, serves as a community services staff on the 11 p.m. to
7 a.m. shift.
The final installation stages are underway for the new card access system. Lakeside Housing and the University Center are online. Other areas that will be operational in the near future will include: football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, Psychology, Political Science and the laundry rooms at North Village.
Y2K compliance has required us to upgrade our traffic management system, security alarm system and records system. The records system will enable us to have computer-aided dispatch. This will increase the efficiency and services for our communications operations.
A bicycle and jogging path has been established for the mall. This path is interconnected with paths leading to North Village, lakeside housing, south housing and other points on campus.
We want to encourage alternative forms of transportation on campus. The shuttle bus now follows a route in an effort to be more efficient as the number of riders continues to increase each year. A flyer on this route is available from the Public Safety Office.
Speed control devices -- speed humps -- are also being expanded throughout
campus. The new directional signage project is also being implemented.
-- Bob Miller
COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SERVICES
Jerome Jackson has joined Computing and Information Services as a technician for the user services group. He will be working with multimedia services and the help desk. Jackson has both help desk and multimedia experience. He comes to Furman from Clemson University.
Information systems specialist Dexter Caldwell was recently awarded the title of Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) for Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise. This designation requires demonstration of expertise via a battery of tests. The MCP is a standard for excellence in technical support of Microsoft products. Caldwell plans to continue his professional development by pursuing the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer + Internet after a brief respite.
Academic computing specialist DuBose Egleston represented Computing and Information Services at the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) Information Literacy Symposium in November. Egleston brought back valuable information as to current trends, common problems and leading edge opportunities in the support of academic computing.
A recent upgrade of Furman’s Meridian Mail software has added or enhanced a number of voice mailbox features. Users may now set a temporary greeting which will not overwrite the standard internal or external greetings. Also, the pace of voice message playback may be individually adjusted.
As a result of Wade Shepherd’s Furman suggestion program idea, a 10-minute parking space is now available to drop off and pick up computers from the help desk. The space is located at the north end of Plyler Hall, and is expected to be heavily used by the several hundred faculty, staff and student computer owners who bring their systems in for configuration or troubleshooting each year.
-- Susan Dunnavant
ENGAGED LEARNING
Numerous activities have occupied the Engaged Learning staff this fall.
Charles Brock, Dean for Undergraduate Research and Internships, and Regina Fletcher, have spent many hours advising students on summer research opportunities and internship placements. They have seen many requests for students who wish to attend professional meetings to present the results of their summer research projects, and they also are coordinating the submission of abstracts for the 2000 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) meeting in Missoula, Montana.
Along with the Career Services staff, Regina coordinated a Job/Internship Expo in October. She also is leading workshops on resume preparation and looking for internships during the holidays. Led by Center for Collaborative Learning and Communication (CCLC) Director, James Inman, the Engaged Learning staff is designing an engaged learning web site that will highlight the accomplishments of our engaged learning program and also disseminate important information for students seeking research and internship opportunities.
Glen Halva-Neubauer has been busy coordinating the Biosphere2 program in Oracle, Arizona, working diligently with Lynne Shackelford, English, James Inman, and the CCLC Steering Committee in making preparations for the CCLC’s opening during the 00-01 school year. Halva-Neubauer also has been very involved with the mock trial program. Furman teams placed at all three tournaments in which they competed this fall, and numerous students received individual honors.
-- Glenn Halva-Neubauer
UNIVERSITY HOUSING
As we approach the end of the Fall term, we look back and recognize that university housing has made it through several adjustments. We successfully moved into our new "trailer" behind Chiles Residence Hall a few weeks ago and are fully operational. Fortunately, our new location has not slowed our student "traffic" by any means.
Our new director, Boyd Yarbrough, joined us December 6. Yarbrough is a Furman graduate who received his Masters degree from Appalachian State University and his Doctorate in Higher Education from Florida State University. He came to Furman from Frostburg State University in Maryland where he served as Assistant to the Vice President for Student and Educational Services. We are excited to have him join us at Furman, and we would like to thank Melanie Branham, assistant director, for doing an awesome job as the interim director.
The Residence Hall Council (RHC) has had a productive term. They sponsored My-Tie (a dance) which was extremely well attended. RHC Week was a huge success and the students thoroughly enjoyed the dating game that Dr. Shi hosted. RHC sent five student delegates to Orlando for the SAACURH Conference, tackled the shortage of bike racks on campus and is currently investigating the smoking policy. They also provided 57 students with rides to and from the Greenville-Spartanburg International Jetport during Thanksgiving Break. It was so successful that they have decided to provide the same service for the Christmas Break.
University Housing is currently preparing for the return and departure of students on foreign study. Our residence halls close on December 16 at 10 a.m. and will reopen on January 2 at 2 p.m.
-- Jason Cassidy
TIMMONS ARENA
The Timmons Arena staff has been going full speed since the fall term began. In September, we had events scheduled for 23 of the next 30 weekends. October proved to be the busiest month in the history of the arena. The Cathedrals opened the month by performing at the university during their "Farewell Tour", as America’s foremost gospel singing group retires from live performing. The sell-out crowd enjoyed the final South Carolina performance of this legendary group.
The 29th annual Hill Skills Arts & Craft Fair moved in the following weekend. More than 6,000 folks enjoyed the award-winning show’s unique craftsmanship and their wares. Don’t miss the spring extravaganza as Hill Skills returns March 23-25.
The most unique event hosted by the arena to date was the North American Retail Business meeting of BMW. It took five days of preparation to set-up for this meeting as BMW debuted their new sport-activity vehicle for all the dealerships in North America. More than $2 million worth of lights and a special appearance by Olympic Gold medal winner Mia Hamm highlighted this event.
When you combine all this activity with home volleyball matches and men’s and women’s basketball practice there were only two days in which there was not some planned activity.
November brought us a special performance by Peter, Paul and Mary. More than 3,000 people participated in a campus sing-a-long as the group performed such classics as Puff the Magic Dragon, This Land is Your Land and Leaving on a Jet Plane.
Steven Curtis Chapman brought in a record-breaking crowd. It was the most well attended concert in the short history of the arena. Five thousand thrilled to a magical night of entertainment as the "Speechless" tour made a stop at Timmons.
In the coming months, look for The Wedding Festival in January, the State High School Wrestling Championships in February, our first golf trade show in March as well as concerts and athletic events to be announced in the near future. The best is yet to come at Timmons Arena in 2000!
-- Mike Arnold