Inside Furman October, 2000

Around Campus

ACADEMIC RECORDS

Several changes are underway in Academic Records. We have put increased emphasis on our web site (http://serveradmin.furman.edu) as a resource for students and faculty for all kinds of information related to students and their courses.

Though some components are in transition at the moment as Computing and Information Services prepares to update Web Advisor (the Datatel web interface) to a new version. In general, students can use our site to look up their current or future class schedule, see an unofficial transcript of their academic work, submit a request for an official transcript to be sent off-campus. They may also use the site to submit their course requests during pre-registration, drop and add courses during the early drop/add period, and to see whether they have any outstanding financial obligations to the university that need to be cleared prior to the following term.

In addition, faculty can use our web site to view academic information about their advisees, to print copies of their class rosters, and to submit their final course grades. Projects in the planning stage include a "frequently asked questions" page and an improved academic information form for faculty advisors.

Fall has been a busy time for professional travel. Sarah Wells and Jo Ann Williams attended a "registrar's summit" sponsored by CACRAO at Wofford College on October 5. The pair and three other staff members -- Sandra Childress, Susan Templeton, and Amy McCarson -- are attending the annual Southeast Datatel Users' Group meeting in Myrtle Beach November 2-3. They look forward to sharing with other Datatel users the progress we have made in implementing Colleagues academic records functions this past year, as well as bringing home useful ideas from our neighboring schools.

During Thanksgiving week we will be moving out of our temporary home in Furman Hall's Haynsworth Common Room and returning to the first floor of the administration building. We look forward to getting settled into our new quarters prior to the busy month of December.

-- Susan D'Amato

FACILITIES SERVICES

The facility services staff has spent much of their time over the last several months working on a host of projects that are in varying stages of completion. Furman University continues to act progressively with building additions and renovations aimed at meeting the current and future needs of the students and surrounding community.

The lighting of the north intramural field was completed in early September. Four 85-foot concrete poles were used to illuminate the playing field. The lighting of the field helps alleviate some scheduling conflicts with other heavily used fields. The project was partly funded out of a gift from the class of 1995.

The following projects are part of the planned deferred maintenance budget for this fiscal year. Over the summer, a renewal of both Ramsay and Poteat residence hall were completed with a lot of effort from facilities personnel and outside contractors.

In early October, the main air handler serving McAlister Auditorium was replaced with a more efficient and reliable unit. The fire alarm systems at both McAlister Auditorium and the Physical Activities Center will also be replaced in the coming months with more reliable and effective systems.

As everyone has certainly noticed, work on the distribution piping is continuing. Approximately 21,800 feet of pipe has already been installed and another 16,000 of pipe remains to be installed. The piping installation should be complete early in 2001. The design of the plant is continuing with start-up of the system expected during the summer of 2001.

The new softball field located at the south end of the campus was recently completed just in time for a Lady Paladins softball tournament held in early October. New dugouts were added in addition to an elevated viewing area.

Many other projects such as the library addition/renovation and Hipp Hall are in the planning stages. It appears the campus will continue to change and evolve to keep up with the needs of the university well into the foreseeable future.

-- Betty Fowler

ALUMNI AFFAIRS

The Alumni Office enjoyed a very successful Homecoming Weekend November 3-5. Several thousand alumni and friends descended upon the campus to visit with old friends and professors.

Alumni flooded the mall Friday night to look for former classmates and watch students building floats until the wee hours. On Saturday, they enjoyed music from Heather Hudson '99, Furman's own Miss South Carolina, and the Furman Singers at the alumni breakfast. Through the morning, they visited with professors and marveled at so many new classroom facilities around campus. Lunch at Cherrydale, the football game, and the fourth annual Block Party finished out the day.

Ten classes also gathered for reunion dinners on Saturday night. Besides recovering from Homecoming activities, the Alumni Office is busy preparing for the first official Alumni College in June, 2001. Shannon Wilson and Lloyd Benson will co-chair the program.

This year's theme is a closer look at "The New South." Alumni and friends will return to campus for four days to re-live their college experience and delve into a topic relevant to all. Three educational tracks will be offered: politics, literature and history with side courses in economics, religion, and natural science. Call the Alumni Office to register for your classes!

-- Shannon Wilson

ADMISSIONS

The Office of Admissions is off to a successful and busy start after enrolling a record setting new class.

We were pleased to welcome three new additions to the admissions staff. Laura Johnson, Furman '00, began her admissions counselor duties in July along with Jane Dungan, the former guest coordinator. Amanda Youngblood joined the staff as our new guest coordinator after working locally with the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce. We also welcomed Izetta Simmons as our fall intern, responsible for covering college fairs across the state of South Carolina. She will be joining the Peace Corps in January after having been assigned to Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa.

The fall season involves the admissions counseling staff traveling the east coast and Midwest visiting high schools and meeting with students, parents, alumni and guidance counselors. They also host a number of receptions and conducting personal information sessions for prospective students. To date, the staff has traveled to Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, Maine, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Jamaica as well as to all the southeastern states.

The latest and most exciting news is that the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid have been relocated to the first floor of the newly renovated Administration Building. We are extremely pleased with our new location. The final touches are being added on the new Hartness Welcome Center, which should be complete by the end of the year. We will be announcing an official open house at a later date, probably the beginning of next year. In the meantime, applications are beginning to arrive both for early decision and regular decision and we will be busy processing and reviewing them.

-- Woody O'Cain

PERSONNEL

Thank you to the 230 faculty and staff members attending the Benefits and Health Fair held October 25. A special thank you to the many Furman faculty and staff members who helped set-up and provide testing and services for the fair. Your time and expertise is appreciated. The annual retiree reception was held Thursday, November 2 in the Hartness Pavilion. This event brings retirees back to campus each year to meet with friends, obtain benefits information and get up-to-date campus news. The featured speaker for the event was Harry Shucker, vice-president for student services.

The annual insurance enrollment period will begin November 6 and end December 1. During this period of time, you may make changes to your insurance coverages and sign-up for medical or dependent care reimbursement. All changes will be effective January 1, 2001. Please review your open enrollment packet for important changes to your medical insurance and for the new premiums for 2001.

Flu shots for faculty and staff will be held Wednesday, November 29 from 9:30 to 4:30 in the campus infirmary. The cost for faculty and staff are $5 without the discount and $2 with the discount. The cost for faculty and staff spouses are $10 without the discount and $5 with the discount.

-- Doris Foster

COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SERVICES

David Barksdale has joined Computing and Information Services as a technical services coordinator. He comes from Atlanta where he was technical support engineer for Compaq. David's wife, Lisa, is currently teaching voice for the Music Department. David and Lisa have a one-year-old son, Thomas. Cort Haldaman and Wade Shepherd attended the learning marketplace seminar in Atlanta, sponsored by the Center for Academic Transformation.

Among the advanced instructional technologies featured were Blackboard, WebCT, Convene.com, e-college.com and Eduprise. Both Haldaman and Shepherd attended the Annual Linux showcase in Atlanta. While Linux is not supported at Furman as a standard desktop for faculty or staff, its use is growing as a platform of choice for certain academic functions. Shepherd also completed the Red Hat Linux Network and Security Administration course at the Red Hat location in Raleigh. Jerome Jackson will attend the multimedia exposition in Atlanta in early November, where the new generation projection systems, and portable and fixed multimedia will be showcased by more than 80 vendors. The conference will provide ideas for outfitting new instructional spaces as well as some of the classrooms where the multimedia technologies are not adequately serving instructional needs, and for replacing aging equipment.

Susan Dunnavant is enrolled in an on-line demonstration/discussion of learning space sponsored by IBM and Lotus on Noember 2. Learning space is the Lotus version of integrated instructional technologies, including on-line course delivery systems, and Lotus Notes electronic mail/groupware.

The Help Desk completed network configurations for students, including freshmen installations and upperclassmen new computers and re-configurations, the week of October 16.

This year is the first time that all student requests have been fulfilled prior to Thanksgiving. Several factors contributed to the progress made this year in network configurations, including the return of a number of experienced Help Desk student staff.

-- Susan Dunnavant