The Public Affairs Conference is this week.  Please plan to attend at least one session and encourage your students to attend one!
I plan to attend a panel on Wednesday morning and the plenary address at noon on Wednesday!
http://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu/conference/schedule.aspx

The Public Affairs Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is Friday evening beginning at 5:00 PM.
http://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu/halloffame/induction.htm

 

CNAS Public Lecture – Please invite your students!
Tuesday evening, April 8, 2014 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM TEMPLE 002
Homelessness
Speaker: Paul Rollinson, Professor, Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning
The problem of homelessness in America today continues to inflict misery on those whom suffer from the problem and vex policy makers and service providers alike. I have spent a large part of my career looking at the problem as a concerned citizen, urban geographer and urban planner. In this presentation I shall attempt to share a broad understanding of the problem, what the research tells us about the problem; and where we might search for answers. I shall briefly discuss the history of homelessness in America, the dynamics of the problem, and who are the contemporary homeless. Secondly, I shall discuss the problems of counting and collecting data on this population. Third, I shall consider the geography of the homeless and some examples of the conflicts that arise between desiring to help the homeless and not impacting economic development for example, i.e. the planning issues. Lastly, I shall make some recommendations for future action

STUDENT RESEARCH DAYS – May 3 and 6-
Graduate Students – Abstracts are due April 7 for IDF – http://graduate.missouristate.edu/currentstudents/IDF.htm
IDF will be held on Saturday, May 3.

CNAS Undergraduate Students – Abstracts are due by noon on April 21 for CNAS Undergraduate Research Day.  The call for abstracts and instructions follow, http://www.cnas.missouristate.edu/assets/cnas/Flyer_-_Call_for_Abstracts_2014.pdf, http://www.cnas.missouristate.edu/assets/cnas/CNAS_Abstract_Poster_Instructions_for_2014.pdf

CNAS Undergraduate Research Day will be held on Tuesday, May 6 from 2 pm – 5 pm.  Poster Session – 2:00-3:45 PM, Guest Speaker – 4:00 PM, Awards Ceremony 4:30 PM.

CNAS Hiring Update –

Joining us in 2014 (pending BOG approval)

v  HRA – Albert Barreda (PhD expected later this spring from University of Central Florida, MS University of South Carolina, MS University of Massachusetts, BS San Augustin State University, Arequipa, Peru) – Hospitality and Restaurant Administration – Assistant Professor

v  GGP – Gary Michelfelder (PhD expected later this spring from Montana State University, MS New Mexico State University, BS Eastern Michigan University) – Geology – Assistant Professor

v  MTH – Patrick Sullivan (PhD Pennsylvania State University, MS University of Kansas, BS University of Kansas) – Mathematics Education – Assistant Professor

v  CHM – Gautam Bhattacharyya (PhD Purdue University, BS Brown University) – Chemistry Education – Assistant Professor

v  BIO – Ryan Udan (PhD Baylor College of Medicine, BS University of Maryland Baltimore County) – Developmental Biology – Assistant Professor

v  GGP – Tim Brock (PhD University of Kentucky, MS University of Kansas, BA Georgia Southern University) – Planning/Geography – Assistant Professor

v  HRA – Jokima Hiller (MBA Keller Graduate School of Management, BS Purdue University) – Hospitality and Restaurant Administration – Instructor

v  BIO – Sean Maher (PhD University of Kansas, MS University of Michigan, BS Villanova University) – Wildlife Ecology/Biology – Assistant Professor

v  MTH – Steve Senger (PhD, MA, BS – University of Missouri – Columbia) – Mathematics – Assistant Professor

We have declared one search failed and will try again next year (biology).  We have two other searches who continue to interview candidates (PAMS and CHM).  We also have searches in progress for materials science faculty in PAMS to begin in the fall of 2014.

Two more important dates for your calendar –
April 21   All-University Faculty Recognition Reception – 3:30 PM, PSU Ballroom
April 29  CNAS Faculty/Staff Awards reception 3:30 PM, Carrington 208

April is Earth Day “month” – A list of all local events can be found at – http://www.ozarksenvironment.com/pdfs/Earth%20Day%20Activities%202014%20Listing%20FINAL.pdf

Missouri State University is participating in Campus Conservation Nationals.

CCN Overview and Goals – website: http://competetoreduce.org/ccn.html

Campus Conservation Nationals is a 3-week energy saving competition across the Missouri State campus, April 4-25. Energy consumption per building is compared to a baseline and the building that reduces the most in each category energy wins! There are two building categories: Residence and Academic. MSU competes with 157 schools nationwide and directly competes with Mizzou.

“Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) is the largest electricity and water reduction competition program for colleges and universities in the world. In its fourth year, CCN gives a common voice and motivation to hundreds of thousands of students across North America, all working together to reduce consumption and mitigate the impacts of climate change. CCN is an opportunity to organize students and staff, host educational events, and challenge students and staff to participate in fun events that can have an immediate and lasting impact on your school’s carbon emissions and campus culture. CCN is jointly organized by the U.S. Green Building Council, Lucid, National Wildlife Federation, and Alliance to Save Energy.”

Dashboards – NEW!
CCN Competition Dashboard (separate from the MSU Energy Dashboard):http://buildingdashboard.net/missouristate/#/missouristate
MSU Energy Dashboard: http://www.bedashboard.com/kiosk/item/2763?autoPlay=true

Social Media:
–          Follow @MSUsustain on Twitter. Use #CCN2014 and #FlipTheSwitch.
–          Like the “Missouri State University Sustainability” and “Energy Management at Missouri State

You are encouraged to:
–          Turn off lights and use natural lighting instead
–          Use power strips and unplug when not in use
–          Unplug everything when not in use – lamps, printers, appliances, chargers, etc.
–          Take stairs instead of elevators
–          Adjust thermostat to conserve energy
–          Shut down computer each night

Tammy