April 29, 2003 News Releases
Released 4/25/03 & 4/28/03
UTAH STATE
CHEMIST MAKES NEW DISCOVERY, FEATURED IN “SCIENCE”
LOGAN — Two years ago, a Utah State University researcher
discovered aromaticity, a property in chemistry that was initially
thought to occur only in organic material. Researcher Alexander
Boldyrev along with his colleague Lai-Sheng Wang, a professor
at Washington State University and a researcher at the Pacific
Northwest Lab, made a breakthrough by discovering aromaticity
in inorganic material such as metals. Today, Boldyrev and Wang
have made another breakthrough and discovered antiaromaticity,
a property that makes materials weak.
The study, “All-Metal Antiaromatic Molecule,” is
featured in the April 24 issue of “Science” magazine.
Boldyrev said his findings will explain, for instance, why certain
metals are stronger or weaker than others.
“Copper and aluminum, as they stand alone, are very soft
metals, and you wouldn’t want to make a car engine out
of them,” said Boldyrev. “But together, these metals
make a very strong alloy metal that is used in aerospace technology.
We believe the reason for that is aromaticity.”
Aromaticity allows a substance to be strong or less reactive
to foreign substances. Since the strong substance, such as an
aromatic metal alloy, won’t react easily, it is desirable
for many purposes in industry and in research.
Boldyrev’s new findings dealing with antiaromaticity will
help chemists understand why certain materials are weaker than
others and why they are very reactive to foreign substances.
“This expands our horizons of chemical bonding,”
said Boldyrev. “This will give chemists a better understanding
of chemistry.”
The research gives Boldyrev, an associate professor in the chemistry
and biochemistry department, a conceptual breakthrough in understanding
chemical bonding in metal clusters.
Boldyrev conducted the theoretical research with Utah State
graduate student Aleksy E. Kuznetsov, who assisted Boldyrev
with the research, and Kelly A. Birch, who built the computer
cluster to conduct the complicated calculations. Experimental
work was conducted at Wang’s lab in Washington.
April 28, 2003
Contact: Alex Boldyrev, (435) 797-1630
Writer: Maren Cartwright (435) 797-1355
HELLO
$3.27 MILLION, GOODBYE ILLITERACY
LOGAN — Utah State University is raising the standard
for education in Puerto Rico thanks to three dedicated professors,
an evaluation team from Spectrum Consulting and $3.27 million.
Professors Ray Reutzel, Parker Fawson and John Smith of Utah
State’s College of Education teamed up with Tom Scheuster
at Spectrum Consulting and authored Puerto Rico’s Early
Reading First grant proposal, a document that garnered a $3.27
million government grant that will be used to improve literacy
in preschools in Puerto Rico.
The Early Reading First program targets five economically disadvantaged
preschools of downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico. Two of the schools
are publicly funded and the others are privately funded. Reutzel
said the idea behind the program is to prepare kids for a successful
transition from preschool to kindergarten, with a central focus
on getting them ready to learn to read successfully in Spanish
and English.
“This project provides reading preparation support for
children who would otherwise miss out on opportunities for a
full and vibrant life provided by educational success,”
Fawson said. “This is a huge opportunity to make a difference
in the quality of life for these children.”
Requests for proposals came out last summer, and the team of
writers, working with Tom Scheuster of Spectrum Evaluation,
were contacted through the Puerto Rico Department of Education
to write the grant proposal. The team flew to Puerto Rico where
they attended four planning meetings. They reviewed Puerto Rico’s
unique needs and what the government expected from the project
and then developed a plan tying those two factors together for
the proposal.
“Our goal was to take poverty stricken schools, support
them and turn them into centers of excellence,” Smith
said. “We wanted the schools we helped to become extremely
effective.”
The team was excited to get the grant for its program, especially
since so many others had applied. More than 800 grant pre-proposals
were submitted nationally, and in the end only 30 were accepted.
“We called D.C. and found that we had ranked sixth out
of all the grants,” Reutzel said. “Not only were
we ecstatic about getting the money, but also because our grant
proposal was one of the top ten in the country.”
Reutzel said the team will be spending time in Puerto Rico for
the next three years, and at least one member of the team will
be there practically every month overseeing the project. This
summer they will hold literacy institutes for two weeks at a
time and will work with the director in Puerto Rico to start
study groups and hire staff developers who must have master’s
degrees who speak English and Spanish.
According to Reutzel, there are currently no master’s
degree reading specialists in Puerto Rico and no universities
that offer a master’s program in this field, which limits
the progression of education on the island. That is why the
team of writers wrote another proposal for a $200 million grant
to implement a Reading First program in Puerto Rico. If they
get the grant, it will involve grades K-3, 900 schools, 7,200
teachers and hundreds of thousands of children across Puerto
Rico. Not only will it improve the education of children, it
will enable scholars from Utah State to help universities in
Puerto Rico develop a master’s program and increase their
capabilities.
“Our whole promotion is building capacity in literacy
for Puerto Rico,” Reutzel said. “We want to get
experts down there to help them develop a master’s degree
program that they can take over on their own and start offering
master’s degrees.”
To promote the grant and explain the benefits of Reading First,
the team spent five months researching and compiling information
about the grant and how it would benefit Puerto Rico. They then
returned to Puerto Rico and met with the secretary of education,
leaders from all the universities and various leaders from the
business district. They provided everyone at the meeting with
booklets describing the program and gave them an abstract of
the proposal. Everyone voted unanimously to support the grant.
“This is a huge project, and we’re really excited
about the many opportunities this grant could offer Utah State,”
Reutzel said. “If we get the Reading First grant, not
only will we be helping thousands of children, but we could
partner with the University of Puerto Rico to help them develop
graduate programs or even work out reciprocal student teaching
arrangements.”
Not only will the grant offer numerous educational benefits,
Reutzel said that of the $200 million they would receive for
the grant, at least $30 million of it would flow directly through
Cache Valley. And since the acceptance of the Early Reading
First grant, the team has been contacted to write grants for
Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska and 10 school districts in Utah,
which would bring even more opportunities to Utah State and
Cache Valley.
“We will have grants that will be a great boon to Utah
State,” Reutzel said. “We’ll hire students,
we’ll hire new people and we’ll bring money through
the valley.”
For more information on the grant proposals and programs, contact
Reutzel in the Emma Eccles Jones Center for Early Childhood
Education at 797-8631, or contact Fawson or Smith in the department
of elementary education at 797-0374.
April 28, 2003
Contacts: Ray Reutzel, (435) 797-8631
Parker Fawson, (435) 797-0392
John Smith, (435) 797-0388
Writer: Miaken Christensen, (435) 797-1350
MEDIA ADVISORY
— UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GROUNDBREAKING MAY 1
LOGAN — Members of the media are invited to the groundbreaking
ceremony for Utah State University’s library, a new structure
that replaces the aging Merrill Library.
Groundbreaking ceremonies take place Thursday, May 1, and
begin at 1:30 p.m. near the northeast corner of the Cazier Science
and Technology Library. (Parking is available at the Parking
Terrace.)
A short program includes remarks by Jackie Leavitt, representing
Gov. Mike Leavitt. Other speakers include Utah State President
Kermit Hall, Representative Loraine Pace, Vice Provost Linda
Wolcott and Provost Stan L. Albrecht.
The new library was funded by a $40 million bond approved
by the 2003 Utah Legislature. It will be connected to the existing
Cazier Science and Technology Library, and the combined space
covers 300,000 square feet. The new library is scheduled to
be completed by fall 2005.
In case of inclement weather, the groundbreaking program will
take place in the Eccles Conference Center Auditorium. A public
reception in the atrium of the Cazier Science and Technology
Library follows the groundbreaking. For information, contact
the library administration office at (435) 797-2631.
April 28, 2003
Contact: Linda Wolcott, Vice Provost for Libraries and Instructional
Support, (435) 797-2631
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
HONORS JOURNALISM CLASS OF 2003, AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS
LOGAN — The Utah State University department of journalism
and communication honored 22 of its own April 25 at its annual
JCOM Awards Banquet and awarded scholarships to 15 students
for the coming academic year.
Salt Lake Tribune humor columnist Robert Kirby was the keynote
speaker, telling 85 students, faculty and guests at the David
Haight Alumni Center on the Utah State campus that while a career
in journalism is a license to do good for society, “don’t
forget to have fun, too.”
Graduating senior Justin B. Smart, the 2003 JCOM valedictorian,
offered a list of the top 10 reasons to be grateful to be a
JCOM graduate, including survival of professor Penny Byrne’s
media law class. Smart, who graduates with a perfect 4.0 grade
point average, is editor of the university’s “Utah
State Today” online publication.
The dinner honored the JCOM department’s best and brightest
on the last day of classes of the 2002-03 academic year at Utah
State and celebrated the department’s largest-ever graduating
class. Some 123 members of the JCOM Class of 2003 will graduate
at commencement ceremonies May 3.
The outstanding JCOM graduates of 2003 are: Karina K. Fain,
print journalism; Jeremy M. Seeley, broadcasting and electronic
media; and Smart, public relations & corporate communications.
The outstanding seniors and juniors in each of the JCOM concentrations
also were announced. Outstanding Seniors in Broadcasting &
Electronic Media: Michael B. Chidsey, Justin L. Creech and Daniel
R. Houtz. Outstanding Juniors in Broadcasting & Electronic
Media: Miaken A. Christensen, Mark R. LaRocco and Lindsey N.
Parrott. Outstanding Seniors in Print Journalism: Anna Marie
Brunson McEntire, Joseph A. Rowley and Heidi Thueson. Outstanding
Seniors in Print Journalism: Leon P. D’Souza, Toby G.
Hayes and Marie MacKay. Outstanding Seniors in Public Relations
& Corporate Communications: Tory A. Neiwert, Tracy M. Kell
and Danielle London. Outstanding Juniors in Public Relations
& Corporate Communications: Myrica G. Hawker, Shara L. Holt
and Callie M. Taggart. Outstanding JCOM graduate student: Christina
Domichel.
The department also announced its annual faculty awards. JCOM
Teacher of the Year: Nancy M. Williams; Researcher of the Year:
Michael S. Sweeney; Faculty Service Award: Dean Byrne.
Eleven students were named winners of 15 scholarships for the
2003-04 academic year, totaling more than $8,600. They are:
The Jay W. Glasmann Family Scholarships in print journalism,
funded by gifts from the former owners of the Ogden Standard-Examiner:
seniors Julie Ann Grosshans of Layton and Hilary Judd of Coalville,
and incoming freshmen Manette Newbold of Syracuse, Utah, and
Philip Nigohosian of Salt Lake City; The Glacus and Marie Merrill
Scholarships in broadcasting, funded by gifts honoring the Cache
Valley radio pioneer: Mark LaRocco of Providence and Philip
Nigohosian of Salt Lake City; The John Morris Scholarship, funded
in memory of the former USU journalism instructor: Jacob Moon
of Sandy, Utah, the incoming editor of “The Utah Statesman;”
The Edward C. Pease Scholarships, funded by the head of the
JCOM department: Shara Holt of Logan and Danielle London of
Morgan, Utah; The Wilford D. Porter Scholarship, funded by students
of one of the first journalism professors at USU: Alison Aikele
of Logan; The Michael S. Sweeney Scholarships, funded by contributions
by a JCOM professor: Shara Holt of Logan and Jacob Moon of Sandy;
The Josey Barnes Wayman Scholarship, funded by a USU alumnus
who was the first woman TV host in Utah: Heidi Broadwater of
Sandy, Utah, Danielle London of Morgan and Callie Taggart of
Farmington, Utah.
For more information, contact the Utah State journalism and
communication department at 435-797-3292.
April 28, 2003
Contact: Ted Pease, USU Journalism & Communication Department,
435-797-3292
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
ANNOUNCES DIVERSITY AWARD RECIPIENTS
LOGAN — Winners of the 10th Annual Utah State University
Diversity Awards have been announced. Honorees are recognized
for their commitment and achievements in promoting diversity
at Utah State University.
Stan Albrecht, Nicholas Eastmond, Janet Osborne, Tiffany Leo
and Barbara Shidler are the 2003 recipients of the honor, which
recognizes individuals on campus and in the Cache Valley community
who have made significant contributions to affirmative action,
equal opportunity and diversity.
Albrecht will be honored in the category of administrator. He
is the executive vice president and provost at Utah State. Albrecht
promoted two women as deans of colleges and also promoted women
to positions such as assistant provost. He also established
funding to increase diversity and assist in the hiring of minority
faculty.
“Provost Albrecht has been a proactive advocate of diversity
at the university,” said a nominator. “Albrecht
devotes tremendous time and energy to creating diversity strategies
that make an impact.”
Nicholas Eastmond, professor of instructional technology, will
be honored in the category of faculty. For 18 years, Eastmond
has hosted instructional technology’s International Night
to recognize students in the department. He has taught classes
dealing with race, communication and cultural issues. He received
the Utah State International Council’s Professor of the
Year award, raised money to build a school in South Africa and
serves as the faculty advisor to the African Students Association.
Janet Osborne, director of the Utah State Women’s and
Re-Entry Student Center, will receive the award in the staff
category. Osborne teaches sociology of gender classes and initiated
the Women’s Leadership Institute.
“People feel accepted by Janet for who they are as human
beings,” said a nominator. “She has mentored hundreds
of women from many walks of life during her 24 years at Utah
State. She is able to work productively with differences of
culture, race, gender and religion.”
Tiffany Leo, Associated Students of Utah State University diversity
vice president, is the award winner in the category of student.
Some of her efforts include sponsoring the Pride Alliance Film
Festival, advocating that STAB movies be shown closed captioned
and lobbying for funding for the Native American Pow-wow and
Polynesian Student Union Luau.
Barbara Shidler, City of Hyrum’s Strength and Diversity
committee chair, will receive the community member award. Shidler
arranges for interpreters for parents of Hispanic children to
attend parent teacher conferences. She developed the international
food festival and has been supportive of grants to provide computer
technology to assist the Hispanic population in learning English.
The winners will be recognized by Utah State president Kermit
L. Hall at a ceremony in the fall.
April 28, 2003
Contact: Sue Guenter-Schlesinger, (435) 797-1266
Writer: Whitney Wilkinson, (435) 797-1429
UTAH STATE NEWS RELEASES FOR 04-25-03
ART FOR THE HUMANITY
OF ANIMALS
LOGAN — The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at Utah
State University is currently showing a collection of artwork
by Adrian Van Suchtelen. A special feature of this exhibition
is a series of 12 multi-colored and vibrant watercolor paintings
that have been reproduced for sale to support a cause near to
the heart of the artist and his family, announced museum Director
and Curator Victoria Rowe.
Van Suchtelen, a veteran artist and professor in Utah State’s
art department, created a series of paintings that display detailed
designs in jewel-like color palettes depicting exotic animals
indigenous to Australia. Each work is available in color Xerox
reproductions, for sale to benefit the Cache Humane Society
Animal Shelter Project. The prints are available for a minimum
donation of $15 each or $100 for the set. The entire donation
will go to help with the finishing construction of the Cache
Humane Society’s first animal shelter, Rowe said.
The project is a natural — Adrian and Francis Van Suchtelen
have long been advocates for animals. “We need to take
care of the animals in our own backyard,” said Francis
Van Suchtelen.
A visit to their home would introduce you to three cats and
a dog — all strays or animals rescued from a cardboard
box giveaway in front of a local store. All are now a part of
the Van Suchtelen family and have become subjects in Van Suchtelen’s
artwork.
Living in a rural area of Cache Valley for 36 years, the Van
Suchtelens have seen many animals dropped off by individuals
who didn’t want their animals.
“Much could be done with a very aggressive spay and neuter
program,” Francis said. “The Humane Society could
provide the much needed education to help us all take better
care of our animals.”
Lee Austin, president of the Cache Humane Society, is delighted
with the project that Adrian and Frances have created.
“There is a real need to provide a shelter for lost animals
and a place for community volunteerism and education, a facility
that will promote responsible pet ownership and work toward
the ultimate goal of no more homeless pets in Cache Valley,”
said Austin.
Construction has started on the new facility at 2350 West Valley
View Highway.
“Local governments are supportive and anticipate contracting
with us for animal sheltering services, but have not provided
any building funds,” Austin continued. “We have
raised enough money to enclose the building and will continue
to seek donations to furnish the shelter and complete the project,
hopefully before the end of this year. This print sale is a
great opportunity for the community to contribute to the shelter.”
The exhibition, including the print sale, continues through
July 31, 2003, at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art. Museum
hours are: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.; Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays, noon
to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays.
For further information contact Rowe at the museum, (435) 797-0164.
April 25, 2003
Contact: Victoria Rowe, 435-797-0164
JENNIFER
CUMMINGS RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP
LOGAN — Conducting research on the paleopathology, or
ancient diseases, of a skeletal collection from Jerusalem at
the University of Notre Dame, is the adventure Utah State anthropology
student Jennifer Cummings will embark on this summer.
After a rigorous application process, Cummings received a National
Science Foundation fellowship to study biocultural anthropology
for six weeks.
“I was extremely overwhelmed and excited when I found
out I was chosen for the fellowship,” said Cummings. “I
have never received anything like this in my life; I was a bit
shocked to say the least.”
The competition was extremely competitive this year according
to Susan Guise Sheridan from the department of anthropology
at the University of Notre Dame.
The focus of this summer's program will be paleopathology, the
study of ancient diseases. The guest scientist is Mary Lucas
Powell, professor from the University of Kentucky.
“I know that it will be an intense six weeks, but I’m
looking forward to it,” Cummings said.
Cummings is looking into a possible career in forensic or physical
anthropology.
“This fellowship will provide great experience and insight
for my future,” she continued.
Participants in the program will conduct original research,
share in a fieldtrip program visiting numerous museums and research
institutions, and will participate in a lecture program discussing
biological anthropology, history, archaeology, classics, theology
and Near Eastern studies.
For more information about National Science Foundation Summer
Fellowships in biocultural anthropology visit: http://www.nd.edu/~stephens/fieldschoolintro.html.
April 25, 2003
Writer: Heather Butikofer, 435-797-1350, hmbutikofer@cc.usu.edu
Contact: Jennifer Cummings, 435-713-6352 , JPCUMMINGS@cc.usu.edu
UTAH STATE
UNIVERSITY MOVES FORWARD WITH TRANSITION TO SCT BANNER, COLLEGIS
PICKED AS PARTNER
After a two-year process of review and preparation, Utah State
University is about to begin a multi-year transition to SCT
Banner, the university’s choice for the administrative
data management software platform.
In addition, this week Utah State chose Collegis as the third-party
implementer for the new software system. The decision was made
through a bidding and request for proposal (RFP) process.
“The selection of Collegis as an implementation partner
and our continued relationship with SCT as the product vendor
puts Utah State in the right position to move forward,”
said Rory Weaver, Enterprise Resource Planning project manager.
“It’s a winning combination.”
The actual license to install SCT Banner was authorized by the
Utah legislature and purchased by the state of Utah. The Board
of Trustees approved $6.5 million over the next five years to
be applied to the Banner migration. These costs are associated
with implementation, operation and training associated with
Banner.
The SCT Banner system will provide all-day, every-day access
to university administrative operations via the Web. The fully
integrated platform includes four main parts — administrative
finance, student system, financial aid system and human resource
system — that will place key university operations on
one common system. This provides greater efficiencies and less
redundancy and confusion among software products and networks,
allowing for better communication and consistently excellent
information services for students, faculty and staff at Utah
State.
“Collegis is looking forward to partnering with Utah State
University to implement the SCT Banner administrative system
in order to help achieve its goal of providing improved services
to the campus community,” said Collegis President and
CEO Tom Huber. “We are impressed with Utah State’s
vision for teaching and research, and are committed to helping
make this migration to Banner as smooth a transition as possible.”
Barbara White, Utah State’s vice president for Information
Technology and CIO said, “This is a university-wide initiative
particularly tied to the university’s goal of adopting
a new business model.”
She said that everyone involved across the campus would be represented
over the next few years of the transition in committees, teams
and focus groups.
SCT Banner’s functions will be accessible 24 hours a day,
seven days a week via the Web. Other features include a solution
to the current online registration system's restricted capacity,
a way to track recruitment and enrollment, and online forms
and signatures. Banner also has the ability to issue ID numbers
independent of social security numbers.
Fred Hunsaker, vice president for Administrative Services, said
Banner will mean more timely information, increased convenience
and consistent access all day every day.
“Most important, it means more accuracy,” Hunsaker
said. “These are all huge issues for everyone.”
All four systems of SCT Banner will be fully integrated, which
means data, such as a student name, need only be entered one
time and will be accessible by all modules.
“The whole university will be on the same system,”
said Judy LeCheminant, director of Financial Aid. “We
will be able to talk back and forth. It will give us a chance
to review how we do what we do.”
Three different vendors vied for the contract. “All three
were very professional and thorough in their readiness assessment
and response to the RFP,” said Weaver.
But Collegis, he said, was very specific and detailed in its
RFP. Collegis gave clear direction about how Utah State ought
to proceed and succeed.
“Having Collegis will be extremely helpful,” said
LeCheminant. “They have been through it before.”
The next significant step for the SCT Banner migration will
be a business process analysis (BPA) for each of the four modules,
beginning in June with the finance module.
“The business process analysis gives Utah State a chance
to clearly know which processes we need to hold on to and which
are out of date,” White said.
“Here’s a chance, before we implement the system,
to clearly know what we do well, what is not necessary and what
is unique to Utah State University. There will be changes in
the way we do business.
“This does mean change in the way we think, how we meet
the business functions, in the way we operate and in our expectations.
It will change the way we ask questions. It will provide a more
reliable and consistent management of data that we know we can
count on,” White said.
The rest of the timeline is structured so completion dates coincide
with critical university dates. For example, Banner Finance
will be implemented by the end of the university’s fiscal
year.
White said the BPA for Banner Student is a high priority and
is scheduled to start in July of this year. It will focus on
areas including registration, fee payment and social security
numbers.
“Students recognize the importance of a Web-enabled world
and being able to register and fill the required business processes
of the university,” White said. They have become key partners
in the Banner migration and committed over $1.4 million to help
implement Banner Student.
“They want the institution to be competitive,” she
said. “They want access.”
“All departments involved in the migration will be disrupted
to some degree,” Weaver said. He said there might be a
reallocation of staff time in some cases as people move to the
new system but still must use the old system until the migration
is complete.”
For more information about Utah State’s migration to SCT
Banner, visit www.usu.edu/cio/banner.htm.
About Collegis Inc.
Founded in 1986, Collegis Inc. provides comprehensive technology
services to higher education. Collegis helps colleges and universities
advance their technology by managing networks, supporting academic
and administrative applications and by redesigning curriculum
programs for today's learners. Collegis partners with institutions
to stabilize IT costs, increase revenues and better serve students
and faculty by offering unparalleled knowledge, expertise and
accountability with product-neutral technology services and
solutions exclusive to higher education. Visit the Collegis
Web site at www.collegis.com.
April 25, 2003
Contact: John DeVilbiss, (435) 797-1358, john.devilbiss@usu.edu
Writer: Danielle Hegsted, (435) 797-7196, danielle.hegsted@usu.edu
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