News Briefs

• In Inside: Thousands of students walk across the Commencement stage to become alumni.
• Video: Gathered from eight ceremonies and compressed into 60 seconds, here are some of the special moments.

About 400 students from 33 schools and 12 school districts will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 22, in the Osterhout Concert Theater for the 36th Annual Poetry and the Children Day. After the opening presentation, students will present their poems at 11 a.m. throughout the Fine Arts Building.

This year’s guest poet is professor Liz Rosenberg, author of more than 30 award-winning books, including novels, poetry, and more than 20 books for young readers. She is the editor of five prize-winning poetry anthologies and her work has been featured on Reading Rainbow, in The New York Times and in two documentaries about her life and work. She won an IRA-Children's choice award for her picture book, Monster Mama, which is currently under option to be made into a full-length feature movie.

The program, which brings students together for a day of poetry readings, was established as a memorial to Robert Pawlikowski. A published poet, creative writing instructor and campus administrative assistant, Pawlikowski drowned in 1975 while on vacation with his family. The event is a tribute to the efforts that Pawlikowski made during his lifetime in nurturing the expressive and intellectual powers of his students as well as those of his own children.

ITS will switch from running its main campus web service on off-site backup servers, to running on the normal production servers housed on campus between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 22. During this period, there may be a brief interruption in service, and updates via Omni Update should be avoided.

If you experience any problems with University web pages, alert the ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

There will be a shutdown of the Engineering Building’s second- and third-floor emergency lighting from 6 a.m.-noon Wednesday, May 22. There will be a shutdown of general lighting on the third floor from 6 a.m.-noon Thursday, May 23. The shutdowns are needed to advance renovations now underway in the building.

Contact project coordinator Jennifer Bourassa with any questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 777-5047.

There will be a shutdown of the University Union West sprinkler system from 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 22.

Contact project coordinator Mo Afify with any questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 777-2828.

To celebrate her 32 years of service, leadership and professional guidance, a retirement shindig will be held for Nancy Paul, director of the Career Development Center, from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, in the President’s Reception Room, Anderson Center. Parking is available in the adjacent covered parking garage.

Those who wish to make a donation in Nancy’s honor are encouraged to donate to the Student Affairs Internship Support Fund, established to provide financial support to enable more highly qualified Binghamton University students to participate in unpaid internships. To donate, go online and select Other, please specify from the account drop-down menu and then type Student Affairs Internship Support - Account #10472.

The 24th Annual Bearcats Golf Classic on Thursday, May 30, at the Links at Hiawatha Landing has a few morning and afternoon foursomes available, first-come, first-served. Call Bette Anne Gaube at 777-2093 for more information.

Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Jonathan Weiner will deliver the keynote presentation when the University Research Magazine Association’s annual conference comes to Binghamton University this month. His talk, scheduled for 4:20 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in UDC-220, is titled “Science and Storytelling.” Weiner will present seven lessons in the art and science of storytelling — stolen from masters old and new. His books include “The Beak of the Finch,” winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science; “Time, Love, Memory,” winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction; and “His Brother's Keeper,” finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Weiner has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic and many other publications. Since 2005, he has taught at Columbia University, where he is the Maxwell M. Geffen Professor of Medical and Scientific Journalism. His May 23 lecture, which is free and open to the campus community, will be followed by a book signing. For more information, contact Rachel Coker, director of research advancement, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Information Technology Services will upgrade its core network switches on Tuesday, May 21. This work will begin at 2 a.m. and should be completed by 8 a.m. During the maintenance period, most network connections and wireless connections on campus will be down. Users will not be able to connect to servers or applications during this period. Contact the ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420 with any questions.

University policy requires all grades be submitted no later than five (5) business days after the end of the final examination period, or Friday, May 24. Timely grade submission helps ease student anxiety and ensure timely processing of degree conferral, and allows accurate calculations of both academic progress and financial aid eligibility. Review the e-mail that was sent out Tuesday, May 7, for helpful information about grade submission.

There's still time to donate books to the annual Books for Africa drive! Donate college textbooks with a copyright in the last 10 years, as well as paperbacks and literature books used in courses. The Hinman College library in Rockefeller Center is the drop-off site. See Julie in the Hinman office, or give her a call at 777-4716, so that she can open the library for you. No books in bad physical shape (some underlining and highlighting are okay). No course packets. No magazines. No drug-store romances, pop fiction, pop self-help books, etc.

For more about acceptable books, see http://www.betterworldbooks.com/Info-Books-We-Accept-m-25.aspx. See also the BFA website at http://www.booksforafrica.org and the website of the partner for this drive, Better World Books at http://www.betterworldbooks.com/info.aspx?f=facts. Or call 607-777-6965 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Binghamton Community Lab will host a mixer and discussion titled, “Encouraging sustainable communities: Insights from public goods and common-pool resource economics” with guest speaker Robert Holahan, assistant professor of environmental studies at Binghamton University, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at the Lost Dog Café Violet Room, 222 Water St., Binghamton. This event is free and open to the public. Participants are welcome to purchase an optional self-pay dinner at 6 p.m.

The Binghamton Community Lab is a gathering place for citizen investigators to create and support improvements that will grow a healthier, wealthier and stronger Binghamton region. The series, held regularly on the third Tuesday of each month is facilitated by David Sloan Wilson, distinguished professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University and founder of the Binghamton Neighborhood Project, and David Currie, director of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition.

For more information, contact Hadassah Head at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The sidewalk to the south of the Dickinson Hall project will be closed and the east side doors of the University Union will be emergency exit only beginning Monday, May 20, and through September 2013. The ATM on the east side of the Union will still be available. The closures are needed to install new underground utilities sidewalks and landscaping for the Dickinson Hall project.

Contact Gary Bendert with any questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 777-3196.

Résumé. CV. Cover letter. Interviewing. Elevator speech. Workplace challenge. Retirement planning. You name it. Sign up now for a confidential job/career coaching conversation with John Wojcio.

Wojcio is a certified career coach who can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Binghamton University provides this service for all its employees.