News Briefs

All University employees are invited to participate in the 2013 YMCA Corporate Challenge on Thursday, June 13, at Broome Community College. The events consist of:
• A 5K road race (5:15 p.m.)
• Predicted mile (walk or run) (6 p.m.)
• Relay race (7:30 p.m.)
• Executive mile (8:15 p.m.)
• Awards ceremony (8:30 p.m.)
This friendly competition with other area employers offers a great social, team-building and healthy activity. Athletic ability is not a requirement, just a desire to have a good time! You can come for just one or two events or stay for all. Early registration ends Thursday, May 13. The cost is $12 per participant for the first event and $5 for each additional event.

After May 13, the cost rises to $14 and $7 respectively (by May 28) or $19 and $7 after May 28. Fee includes a YMCA Corporate Challenge t-shirt and the University will provide a shirt for you to wear that evening to show your spirit! Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, including registration form and other materials, go to http://www.bcymca.com/Event%20Page.htm. Sara DeClemente-Hammoud will collect all the registration information for campus participants. She can be reached at 777-4939 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Forward your registration information directly to her and she will submit all the forms, checks, etc. for the Binghamton University team.

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.

Peter Knuepfer, associate professor of geological sciences and director of the Environmental Studies Program, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the University Faculty Senate – a full-time commitment that also places him on the SUNY Board of Trustees as a non-voting member. His duties officially begin July 1. In his new role, Knuepfer will have to step aside from advocacy for Binghamton University and the University Centers and become an advocate for all 32 SUNY campuses. For more on his appointment, visit Inside.

Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose announces the appointment of Garrett Fitzgerald as associate director for Alcohol and Other Drug Programs and Services.

Fitzgerald, currently a counselor at Keystone College in Pennsylvania, where he is responsible for alcohol and other drug prevention and counseling, has also served as AOD counselor and prevention coordinator at Marywood University. In addition to screening efforts, counseling and risk-reduction initiatives, he has been responsible for implementing and co-writing state-funded prevention grants at both schools.

“In his role, Garrett will provide guidance to our community as we look for strategies to address the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol,” said Rose. “He will also work to develop effective interventions that support our students so they can reach their full potential.”

Fitzgerald holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Marywood and served as a co-advisor to Marywood’s BACCHUS affiliated peer education group. He has been actively involved in the Scranton area’s Take Back the Night program as both a student and a professional.

"I look forward to joining the Binghamton University community and the opportunity to work with its students and staff to further promote campus health and encourage personal risk reduction," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald will begin his duties July 8.

The Campus Pre-School & Early Childhood Center (CPS & ECC) at Binghamton University is now accepting applications for positions on its Board of Directors. CPS & ECC is a not-for-profit corporation providing educational experiences and developmentally appropriate, affordable, high quality care for young children in a safe, nurturing, and enriching environment while contributing to the well being of individuals and families associated with Binghamton University and the surrounding community.

For more information, go online or contact Shanise N. Kent at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 607-777-6594.

The campus is reminded to send details of campus events to the Information Booth so staff there can direct visitors easily and appropriately to your events.

Send information to Linda Birdsall at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

• Four honorary degrees will be award at the Doctoral Hooding. Ceremony on May 17. Story.
• Faculty Senate addresses tentative contract. Story.

The Watson School Office of Industrial Outreach will offer continuing education courses for professional engineers that comply with the requirements of the NYS Office of Professions for continuing education, including the requirement for immediate interaction with an instructor/presenter. Discounted fees are available for members of the New York State Society of Professional Engineers (NYSSPE). The next course − Risk Management − will be held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, at the ITC.

This course is approved for 6 PDHs and participants will be given a certificate of completion at its conclusion. For more information and to register, visit http://www.binghamton.edu/watson/professional-development/programs/professional-engineering/index.html.

The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB) training offered by the Systems Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE) Department at the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University is being offered via distance learning from May 20-June 17. This short course is designed for students or industry professionals that have some coursework background in probability and statistics and/or quality control* (*prerequisite statistics instruction also offered for those who do not have current knowledge/education.)

This course is open to all current Binghamton University students as well as alumni, non-Binghamton University students, and members of industry, non-profit and government agencies. Save money. Register by Wednesday, May 15 at http://www2.binghamton.edu/watson/professional-development/programs/leansixsigma/greenbelt.html.

As warm weather arrives, thoughts turn to campfires and grilling on campus. If you are interested in having a campfire, you must receive a permit through Environmental Health and Safety. Grilling and BBQs do not require a permit, but must comply with specific safety rules. Contact EH&S at 777-2211 to request the fact sheet for more information.

The Office of the University Ombudsman provides a unique and safe place on campus to voice concerns, evaluate a situation, organize your thoughts and identify options for resolution.

The office provides a confidential, impartial and informal resource for anyone with a University-related concern or problem. Reporting directly to the president of Binghamton University, the ombudsman is impartial, unaligned and independent of all administrative divisions and academic units. Interested in learning more about the Office of the University Ombudsman? Contact the Ombudsman at 607-777-2388 or find us online.

If you have lost or misplaced property, University Police may be able to help. Property is turned in to them on a regular basis, and is logged in and secured in the University Police station on the ground floor of the Couper Administration Building.

Call 777-2393 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with lost-property inquiries.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Nieman has named Laura Bronstein interim dean of the College of Community and Public Affairs. A professor of social work and chair of the Department of Social Work, Bronstein is also associate dean of CCPA and director of the Institute for Intergenerational Studies.

“Dr. Bronstein is an outstanding teacher and scholar and a collaborative academic leader,” Nieman said. “She will work well with faculty, staff, students and alumni to help the college build on the momentum it has achieved during the past six years.”

A founding member of Binghamton University’s Department of Social Work, Bronstein focuses her scholarship on interprofessional and interagency collaboration as well as social work practice with aging populations. A prolific author, Bronstein has published articles that are highly influential among her peers. Her 2003 article, “A Model for Interdisciplinary Collaboration,” published in the journal Social Work, is the eighth most cited work in professional social work literature in the past decade.

Bronstein has brought insights to a number of successful collaborations with community partners including by providing leadership for SHARE, a federally funded $3.2 million collaboration among BOCES, Broome County Schools and Binghamton University designed to develop safe school environments and improve mental health services in schools.

Bronstein replaces Founding Dean Patricia Ingraham who will retire on June 13. A national search for a new dean will begin in August 2013.

Are you the parent of a child between 7 and 11 years old? If so, we invite you and your child to participate in a research study looking at how parents and their children influence each others’ mood and levels of stress. You will receive $20 per hour for your participation and your child will receive a $10 gift card.
For more information, call 607-777-3304 and ask for the Binghamton I.D.E.A. Project. This study is being conducted by Brandon Gibb, associate professor in the Psychology Department.