Faculty and staff can help feed the needs of local residents over the age of 55 by participating in this year’s Make a Difference Day.

Make a Difference Day, which takes place nationwide on Saturday, Oct. 25, gets underway on Oct. 24 with a food drive to benefit the Ulster County Office of the Aging’s Meals on Wheels program. The year marks the fourth time the college has participated in the national day of community service created by USA Weekend.

“This is really where the campus community can get the most involved,” said Michael Patterson, director of Student Activities and Union Services, “and it is where there is the most need.”

Non-perishable food items will be collected from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, in the Student Union Building Multi-Purpose Room. A shopping list of needed single-serving items can be found at www.newpaltz.edu/sub/MADD08item_list.pdf.

Mary Jo DeForest, deputy director of the Ulster County Office for the Aging, said the donated items will be used to provide emergency food packs for approximately 600 residents during winter storms and power outages.

“We are grateful to be able to provide additional emergency meals for homebound senior citizens,” she said.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, the official Make a Difference Day, volunteers will pack up the food donations from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and deliver them to the Ulster County Office of the Aging.

The day of giving back will continue into the evening when the college hosts a free music concert from 7 to 9 p.m. for senior residents and their caregivers. “An Evening of Music: Celebrating Community Members Over 55” will feature performances by such student groups as the Vince Tampio Jazz Quartet; Absolute A Cappella; and the Sexy Pitches; as well as Christine Sweeny ’09 (Music).

In addition to providing the evening’s entertainment, New Paltz students will serve as ushers for the event. Patterson said the concert will provide students with an opportunity to socialize and learn from senior citizens.

DeForest said the concert is a great way to bring together people from different generations, and the Ulster County Office of the Aging is pleased to be a sponsor of the event.

“It is wonderful to be involved with an academic institution that fosters caring relationships between students and staff with local agencies serving their communities,” said DeForest.

The evening will conclude with a free coffee and dessert buffet compliments of Campus Auxiliary Services and Sodexo.

For more information, contact the Office of Student Activities at x3025 or
www.newpaltz.edu/sub.

The Auxiliary Support staff will be housed in Student Union Building Room 100 during construction on the building’s addition, set to begin later this fall. Photo by Lee Conell

In preparation for construction of the Student Union Building addition, the Auxiliary Support offices have moved into a new space in room 100 of the Student Union Building.

The department’s previous location in the Haggerty Administration Building basement will be inaccessible to the public during the construction. The new office is set up in a divided portion of the room, leaving the common area free for dining and events.

Christine Waldo-Klinger, director of Auxiliary Support, said the new location made sense for the office, which manages ID cards, meal plans and other facets of conference services.

“Having our location near the eateries that students and faculty frequent heightens our visibility,” she said.

In addition to housing the Auxiliary support staff, the space now includes the office of the campus’s catering coordinator, Inez Elkins.

For more information about the office’s services, contact x3034 or visit www.newpaltz.edu/cas/id.html.                                                              – Lee Conell

Educational exchange

A delegation from the Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) visited the campus on Oct. 14 with representatives from the State University of New York (SUNY) central administration. The group (pictured here with New Paltz administrators, faculty and students in the YÖK program) toured the campus and discussed international educational exchange programs, such as the SUNY-YÖK dual-diploma program.The visit was part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. For more information about the dual-diploma program at New Paltz, visit www.newpaltz.edu/dualdiploma.

IDMH conference receives funding

The Institute for Disaster Mental Health recently received a $48,125 federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for its 2009 conference. “In the Wake of Disaster: Effective Mental Health Interventions” will be held on April 17 and will provide health and mental health professionals with the latest evidence-based research for caring for victims of natural and man-made disasters.

Academic copyright talk scheduled

The college will host a conference on intellectual property and copyright related to academics from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, October 24, in Lecture Center 100.

The keynote speakers Kenneth Crews, director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University in New York City, and Michael Carroll, a law professor at Villanova University in Villanova, Penn., will discuss issues related to intellectual property and copyright laws as they pertain to academia.

For more information about the conference, visit www.newpaltz.edu/copyrightconference.

Multicultural education event set

“Connecting to the Worlds of Students: The Blessings and Burdens of Popular Culture in Promoting Academic Achievement and Multicultural Learning” is the subject of the 14th Annual Multicultural Education Conference taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7, in the Student Union Building’s Multi-Purpose Room.

General registration is $40 and $12 for students. The registration deadline for the conference is Oct. 24.

To register, call the Office of Conference Services at x3033 or e-mail waldoklc@newpaltz.edu.

Speedier, greener delivery

Mail Services has installed new software and equipment that makes life easier and greener for the campus community. Upon delivery, packages are scanned into the Mail Services system and an e-mail notification is sent out letting students, faculty and staff know their packages are ready for pick up. Mail Services previously sent out paper notifications. Recipients can come to the Mail Services window in the Haggerty Administration basement and sign for their packages directly on the handheld signature device seen here being used by Jeremy Smiseth (Mail Services). For information on the campus’s other green initiatives, visit www.newpaltz.edu/green. Photo by Lee Conell

AWARDS, HONORS, APPOINTMENTS AND RECOGNITION

Kathleen Tobin Flusser Photo by Lee Conell

Kathleen Tobin Flusser ’92 (Sociology) was recently named assistant director of the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO). Flusser, an 18-year resident of New Paltz, will aid in CRREO’s goal to develop measures and track the change of economic, social and environmental factors in the Hudson Valley. Flusser said she is “excited to be part of an endeavor that’s by definition connecting the college with the community.”

Michael Patterson

Michael Patterson joined the campus community in October as director of Student Activities and Union Services. Patterson worked at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., as associate director of student activities and student center operations for six and a half years. He said he is “looking forward to making sure that students are aware of the opportunities available to them on campus.”

THE WINNERS CIRCLE: President Steven Poskanzer (far, right) with the winners of the the State of the College Address for Classified Staff photo contest. The staff members identified the Children’s Center entrance in the vent’s flyer and received a New Paltz sweatshirt. Pictured are (front, l-r) Shen Shields (Telecommunications), Ed Romero (Custodial), Laura Bohan (Secondary Education), (back, l-r) Steve Holohan (Custodial) and Freddy Destefano (Utility Shop). Not pictured are Anthony Adamo (Electric Shop), Ron Bottali (Carpentry Shop), Tim Roberts (Custodial), William Secor (Grounds) and Pete Winters (Facilities Operations).

NEWS FROM HUMAN RESOURCES

The Office of Human Resources has announced the following new hires, promotions and transfers for September.

New hires

Academic faculty:
(full list and photo featured in Aug. 25 issue of News Pulse)
Shelly Barish (Theatre Arts), lecturer
Kathleen Doody (Art), lecturer
Arthur Hash (Art), lecturer
Erin Newcomb (Economics), visiting assistant professor
Clifford Opurum (Nursing), assistant professor
Daniel Schackman (Communication and Media), lecturer

Professional faculty:
Valerie McAllister (Provost’s Office), staff assistant
Susan Mesches (Student Health Center), administrative assistant
Lisa Ostrouch (Institutional Research), research analyst.

Classified staff:
Susan Laracy (Student Health Services), staff nurse

Promotions and Transfers

Academic faculty:
Inge Anema (Communication Disorders), assistant professor
Yvonne Aspengren (Foreign Languages), lecturer
Gregory Bynum (Educational Studies), lecturer
Joel Evans (Music), assistant professor
Ricardo Febre (Art), lecturer
Katherine French (History), professor
Donald Furman (Business), assistant professor
Anne Galperin (Art), associate professor
Glenn Geher (Psychology), professor
Kathena Hasbrouck DeGrassi (English), lecturer
John Hedges (Music), lecturer
Suzanne Kelly (Women’s Studies), lecturer
John Langan (English), lecturer
Susan Lewis (History), associate professor
Allison Aleanna Luethi-Garrecht (Art), assistant professor
Kimberly Lukaszewski (Business), associate professor
Junghong Min (Business) assistant professor
William Olsen (Biology), lecturer
Louis Roper (History), professor
Thomas Sarrantonio (Art), assistant professor
Catherine Siska (ESL), lecturer
Hamilton Stapell (History), assistant professor
Susan Stern (Elementary Education), lecturer
Surinder Tikoo (Business), professor
Vicki Tromanhauser (English), assistant professor
Karla Vermeulen (Psychology), lecturer
Cheryl Wheat-Schmidt (Art), lecturer
Beth Wilson (Art History), lecturer
Reva Wolf (Art History), professor
Michelle Woods (English), assistant professor

Classified staff:
Patricia Stewart (Political Science, Economics), secretary

by Lee Conell ’09 (English)
Public Affairs intern

The Research Foundation staff streamlines the research award process by centering Research Foundation’s human resources and payroll activity within the Administrative Services department on campus. The Research Foundation staff is (l-r) Sharon Countryman, Colleen Dooley, Julie Majak and Kathie Baker. Photo by Lee Conell

The Research Foundation (RF), a nonprofit private educational corporation, allows New Paltz faculty and staff to focus on their work, not paperwork.

The department handles the administrative work for research grant recipients.

“The faculty are here to do their research and to teach,” said Julie Majak, director of Administrative Services. “We try to make it as easy as possible for them to concentrate on that.”

Majak said the Administrative Services staff, which takes care of all Research Foundation post-award matters, must be adaptable in learning the specifications unique to each grant.

“We always need to be ready to help the faculty achieve their mission,” said Majak. Her staff includes Kathie Baker, research foundation payroll and human resources associate; Sharon Countryman, research foundation accounts payable and purchasing clerk; and Colleen Dooley, manager of grant administration.

When faculty and staff receive research grants, Majak’s staff meets with them, gives them the necessary paperwork and learns what materials their research will require.

Majak said sometimes a first-time award winner will come into her office a little overwhelmed with the whole process. “We make it as user-friendly as possible,” she said.

The Research Foundation also helps faculty and staff find vendors with the best prices, if the faculty or staff member does not already have a vendor in mind.

However, sometimes what is needed for research is not equipment, but extra help. In that case, the Research Foundation processes payroll and stipends for grant-funded projects. About 50 percent of the hourly timesheets Baker processes are from students, many of whom work either in the Tutoring Center, which is partially funded by a U.S. Department of Education Student Support Services grant, or the Mid-Hudson Migrant Education Outreach Program, which receives one of the largest grants (more than $1 million) that the Research Foundation administrates.

Besides working one-on-one with research grant recipients, the Research Foundation works closely with the Office of Sponsored Programs, which helps faculty and staff obtain grants in the first place.

“We meet monthly to see what issues have come up,” said Majak. “We try to work collaboratively.”

Open communication between the two offices ensures that the post-award process goes forward without a glitch.

For more information on the Research Foundation, visit

www.newpaltz.edu/admin_services/rf.html or call x3270.