This Week, August 13 - 17, 2012
Schaffert works on 1898 Trans-Mississippi Expo project
The 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition brought thousands of people to Omaha to experience a world fair built on the success of the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893. Such fairs produced a wealth of materials used today by scholars to study many aspects of the fair such as the construction, inventions, agriculture, performances, attractions, newspaper articles, photographs, and the participation of Native Americans, African Americans and Hawaiians in displays of American culture.
Timothy Schaffert, UNL assistant professor of English, is developing an online resource to gather those exposition materials into a comprehensive archive for scholars and researchers, but also accessible for non-scholars. Schaffert received a digital fellowship from the Plains Humanities Alliance, a program administered by the University of Nebraska's Center for Great Plains Studies, which he is using to develop the content and archival materials for the project in collaboration with the UNL Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. Read more about this project in Today@UNL.
Drought brings Nelson, Johanns to SNR for briefings
Worsening drought conditions drew both of Nebraska's United States senators to visit the National Drought Mitigation Center in UNL's School of Natural Resources last week.
Sen. Ben Nelson visited on Aug. 1, while Sen. Mike Johanns attended an hour-long briefing Aug. 2. Both met with university officials and experts to discuss the full scope of drought impacts on Nebraska.
Johanns said he went for a drive through Nebraska recently. At the time, soybean fields "didn't look too bad," and he hoped they might still recover, if only it would finally rain. But after the Aug. 2 briefing, Johanns said he is running low on optimism. This summer's record-breaking temperatures, "coupled with dry conditions just crippled everything," he said. Read more about these visits in Today@UNL.
'Brand Summit 2012' is Aug. 15
University Communications will review new communications campaigns during the "Brand Summit 2012," 1 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 15. The session, which is open to all staff and faculty who have a role in communications, is in the Centennial Ballroom of the Nebraska Union.
The update will feature recent communications campaigns designed to help UNL meet goals in the areas of recruitment, retention and alumni engagement.
Big Red Welcome events are Aug. 17-24
As many as 15,000 students will participate in UNL's Big Red Welcome events Aug. 17-24. The week of events is a celebration of the beginning of fall classes, a welcome convocation, with concerts, rallies, free food and other stuff, and the ultimate campus welcome event.
Beginning Aug. 17 with the New Student Convocation, followed by the traditional "Tunnel Walk" and Cornhusker Marching Band concert in Memorial Stadium, carrying through Aug. 18 with tours, and the pre-class highlight Aug. 19 at the huge Welcome Festival, students will meet others, get to know campus, eat and have fun. Read more about Big Red Welcome in Today@UNL.
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Associate VC for research candidate's presentation Aug. 16
Konstantin "Gus" Kousoulas, a candidate for associate vice chancellor for research, will make a public presentation at 3 p.m., Aug. 16 in the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, room 212 (Unity Room). The presentation is open to faculty, staff and students.
Kousoulas, a virologist and biotechnologist, has led Louisiana State University's Division of Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine since 2002. He also is director of the LSU-Tulane Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research, a National Institutes of Health Center for Biomedical Research Excellence. Kousoulas has a bachelor's degree in physics from Fairleigh Dickenson University; and a master's degree in biophysics and doctorate in molecular and cellular biology, both from Pennsylvania State University. Read more about Kousoulas in Today@UNL.
Academic Affairs restructures International Affairs
On July 1, Academic Affairs made some significant changes to International Affairs and its key services, UNL Senior International Officer Dave Wilson said.
The goal of the new structure is to further the internationalization of the UNL campus to ensure that students are globally competent, well-prepared for an increasingly complex and interdependent world, and to help UNL attract, enroll, orient, and graduate international students, Wilson said. Representatives from Undergraduate Admissions, Student Affairs, Graduate Studies, the deans' council, and International Affairs have spent the last few months discussing the best way to provide excellent service to faculty, staff, and students. Read more about this new structure in Today@UNL.
Francki presents Aug. 16 Agronomy and Horticulture Guest Lecture
Michael Francki will discuss commercial wheat breeding in a 2:30 p.m., Aug. 16 Agronomy and Horticulture Guest Lecture in 150 Keim Hall. Francki is an adjunct professor at UNL and a professor at Murdoch University in Western Australia.
The lecture, "The Wheat Pre-Breeding Innovation Pipeline at the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia: Delivering Research Products for Trait Improvement in Commercial Breeding," is free and open to the public. Read more about Francki and this lecture in Today@UNL.
Move-in traffic, shutdown lanes Aug. 16-19; classes start Aug. 20
Back-to-campus time will again see thousands of students moving in to their residence halls in the span of a few days prior to the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 20.
Most students will be moving in to their residence halls from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 16 and 17. Students residing in The Village (16th and X streets) and The Courtyards (17th and Vine streets) began move-in on Aug. 13. Read more about move-in in Today@UNL.
UNL launches Nebraska App
UNL has launched the Nebraska App, a suite of mobile applications that makes essential university resources available on mobile devices. Students can check grades, access course content and browse the course catalog. They can access the public directory and get in touch instantly, keep tabs on Husker sports, find places on the campus map, stay informed with the latest campus news, watch videos, and even listen to podcasts of popular lectures in iTunesU.
"UNL is moving services to the where the students are in terms of devices and network access"," said Mark Askren, Chief Information Officer. "Students now have a much more powerful connection to UNL via their mobile device." Read more about Nebraska App in Today@UNL.
