News Briefs

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.

The SUNY Business and Education Cooperative of the Southern Tier (SUNY BEST) will host a presentation by John Liddy, director of Syracuse Student Sandbox, titled "Creating an Innovative Entrepreneurial Ecosystem" at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 6, in LN-1324C. This presentation is free and open to the public.

Pre-registration for this discussion is required through the SUNY BEST website at http://ceo.binghamton.edu/sunybest/. For more information, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

You’ve decided to buy a home, now what do you do? This program, from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, in UUW-324, is designed for first-time and step-up buyers. Buyer representation, real estate trends, inspections, mortgages and more will be covered by licensed associate real estate broker and relocation specialist Susan G. Stephens.

Join us for an informal discussion. Bring any real estate-related questions with you. To register, call the UCTD at 777-6362 or click on the "register for workshops" link at http://uctd.binghamton.edu.

There will be an electrical shutdown affecting the University Downtown Center only from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m. Monday, May 20, to install new electrical switch gear.

Contact project coordinator Robert Langhans with any questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 777-4321.

Student Records asks all faculty and academic departments to remind their students to confirm their enrollment for summer 2013 – a requirement for all undergraduate and graduate students. If students do not confirm enrollment via BU BRAIN by 8 a.m. Monday, May 20, they will be dropped from all their summer courses. Relaying this information to your students will help prevent additional changes to your student roster and reduce the number of students who visit the academic advising departments and deans’ offices to petition re-entry to a course.

The annual shutdown to perform preventive maintenance of the campus high temperature hot water system is scheduled for Monday, May 20 through Friday, May 25. The shutdown affects the following buildings and services:
• Academic Complex (A&B) - no heat
• Administration Building - no heat, no hot water, no air conditioning
• Anderson Center - no heat or hot water
• Campus Pre-School - no heat
• Computer Center - no heat
• Engineering Building - no heat, no hot water
• Events Center - no heat, no hot water
• Fine Arts - no heat, no hot water
• Library - no heat, no hot water
• Garage - no heat, no hot water
• Gyms (East and West) - no heat, no hot water, no pool heat, no West Gym drier heat
• Institute for Child Development - no heat
• Lecture Hall and Student Wing - no heat, no hot water
• Physical Facilities - no heat, no hot water
• Science 1 - no heat, no hot water
• Science 2 - no heat, no hot water
• Science 3 and Greenhouse - no heat, no hot water, no cage washer
• Science 4 - no heat, no hot water, no cage washer
• Science Library and classroom addition- no heat
• Science 5 -no hot water, no cage washer
• Bingham Hall - no heat, no hot water
• Broome Hall - no heat, no hot water
• Delaware Hall - no heat, no hot water
• Endicott Hall - no heat, no hot water
• Chenango Champlain Campus Collegiate Center - no heat, no hot water
• New East Campus O'Connor - no heat, no hot water
• New East Campus Johnson - no heat, no hot water
• New East Campus Rafuse - no heat, no hot water
• New East Campus Digman - no heat, no hot water

Contact Marty Curtis with any questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 777-2335.

ITS will switch to its off-site web servers between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Monday, May 20, as part of the regular testing of its off-site servers and to coincide with an outage due to network maintenance scheduled for earlier Tuesday morning. During this period, there may be a brief interruption in service, and updates via OmniUpdate should be avoided. We expect to switch back to the campus web servers on Wednesday morning, May 22.

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

During Binghamton's first Alumni Leaders Conference, some of the alumni stopped by to offer advice to college seniors about to graduate.

Is your desk or office piled high with paper? Are your file cabinets full? Are you confused about which records to keep and which to toss? Then come to this workshop from 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, May 22, in Bartle Library, Room 2523. Suzanne Etherington, New York State Archives Region 6 records advisory officer, will provide an overview of the new schedule and how to use it.

Yvonne Deligato, Binghamton University archivist, will discuss guidelines for depositing archival materials in the University Archives. To register, visit http://uctd.binghamton.edu or call the University Center for Training and Development at 777-6362.