Returning Student News 2009
Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying your summer. Here's some news for the coming semester. I'll update this page as I get more information, so you may want to check back a couple of times before you return to AU. I'll put the newest updates at the top of the page. See you soon!
Click here for the most recent additions to the newsletter
Kathy Woughter, Vice President for Student Affairs
Welcome new faculty and staff!
College of Business
Dr. Theresa Gunn, Assistant Professor of Accountancy
Mr. Grzegorz Pac, Instructor of Economics
Mr. Michael Wesley, Visiting Instructor of Marketing
Business students, click here for a longer update from the COB. It includes information on International trips planned for Heidenheim Germany and Wuhan China, our new MBA Accounting major (one year, 30 credits), and some great updates from the Chinese Institute at Alfred University (CIAU).
School of Art and Design
Ms. Heather Mae Erickson, Visiting Turner Teaching Fellow
Mr. Nicholas Kuder, Visiting Professor of Graphic Design
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr. Geoffrey Bowers, Asst. Professor of Chemistry, Cole Chair in Chemistry
Mr. Scott Moerschbacher, Asst. Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Erin Redmond, Asst. Professor of Modern Languages. Dr. Redmond has a PhD in Hispanic Literatures and an MA in Spanish and Portuguese from U. Texas at Austin, and a BA in Women's Studies and History from the U. of Toronto.
Dr. David Terry, Asst. Professor of Education
Dr. Margaret Thomas, Visiting Asst. Professor of Psychology
Mrs. Sheri Voss, Visiting Instructor of Education
Ms. Heather Zimbler-DeLorenzo, Asst. Professor of Biology
Click here for a longer update from the Modern Languages division.
Inamori School of Engineering
Congratulations to your new Dean, Dr. Doreen Edwards!
Dr. Mark Towler, Inamori Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Towler comes to us from the University of Limerick, Ireland.
In other SOE news, the Alfred University Saxon Racing team sprung into action with an entry in this year’s off-road go-cart race sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (Baja SAE). Click here for a great update with photos.
Graduate School
Dr. Yung-Chi Chen, Asst. Professor of School Psychology
Student Affairs
Women's Soccer GA: Nicole Bondellio from Watkins Glen NY
Area Coordinator in Residence Life: Chris Wzsalek
Health and Counseling merging into Wellness Center
Students’ health needs will be met this year at the AU Wellness Center (formerly Crandall Health Center).Starting this fall semester , counseling, health, and wellness education services will all be provided at one site by both new and returning staff members. Health Service hours will be M – F, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., with a walk-in hour at 11:00 a.m. Referrals for specialists will continue to be met through local providers. Medical emergencies will continue to be addressed at St. James Hospital in Hornell and Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville.
All students must provide immunization records in order to register for Fall ’09 classes. If your records are not already submitted, call 607.871.2400 for help with this right away. For more information about our services or questions about how we can meet your needs, please contact us.
Center for Student Involvement
Block Party: On Saturday, August 22nd, returning students leaders are encouraged to create a table at the Block Party. This is a great way to recruit new members as the new students are eager to make connections with existing clubs. Contact Kevin Kostyk at to hold your table.
Entertainment Update: SAB is working over the summer to book exciting artists to perform at Alfred. One early highlight is comedian Bo Burnham performing on 9/19 for Homecoming. Bo was a You-Tube sensation with his “I’m Bo Yo” song and is appearing in Adam Sandler’s film "Funny People" this summer. This Holmes Auditorium show will sell out fast. Get your tickets at the 8/29 show for comedian Steve Hofstetter.
Game Room Update: AUTV has moved over to their new space, so the big room by the Powell Campus Center has begun a transformation into a game room. Street Fighter pinball has been amply “tested” by the summer staff while Area 54 and Air Hockey have recently been unwrapped too. Student Senate plans to bring over Ping Pong and Billiards soon, along with a couch and some new televisions. If you like this idea, help take care of the space and advocate for annual up-grades.
Friday Night is Interactive: While SAB schedules their visiting performers for Saturdays, CSI is looking at Friday as more of an interactive evening (with Nevins Films for those who like less interactive activity). Ideas include air hockey tournaments, roller rinks, karaoke, extreme bingo, and more. Consider getting involved in one of these “uniquely Alfred” programs.
Top Votes for Nevins Films: Thanks to the 310 students who voted for their Nevins movie preferences. Top five vote-getters were Up (222), Star Trek (221), Transformers (206), Harry Potter (199), and The Hangover (196). Star Trek will be playing during Orientation but we’ll have a special screening on the first Monday of classes so the 221 Star Trek fans don’t give us a Vulcan Nerve Pinch for not showing it during the semester.
Trips: We’ll have two early fall trips. Look for details for a Darien Lake outing ($20) in early fall and our annual Buffalo Bills trip ($50). This year we have tickets to Bills vs. Saints on 9/27. To get on the waiting list for tickets, fill out the “Bills Fan Survey” at my.alfred.edu.
Saxon Athletics - Women's soccer tryouts
Women's soccer coach Jen Enke would like to get the word out about soccer tryouts - Monday, August 17th. Contact Coach Enke at 607-871-2896 if you're interested. First game is September 1 at home - be there! Congrats to our captains Amanda Sullivan and Carly Schrader.
Fall events at the CDC
We've purchased something new this year, a web system called EmployOn. Through the CDC website, you can now search over 7 million jobs, which "scrape" thousands of online job posting systems. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Bring back your interview suits for the following events:
Law School Night - Monday, Sept. 21
Engineering Career Fair - Thursday, October 1
Graduate and Professional School Fair - Tues., October 20
Women's Leadership Center News
Check out the all-new series of workshops and speakers for the Fall semester on our website. Highlights include a field trip to the Matilda Gage House (Syracuse) and the Seneca Falls National Women's History Museum in September (call us for details 607-871-2971).
Ryan Arroyo, coordinator for the Horowitz Service-Learning Experience will relocate his office to the WLC building. Service Learning students, drop in and say hello!
We offer a quiet place to relax, study and rest in our building while you're doing laundry or just if you need a new zone. Come on in! We're open M-F 8:30-4:00.
Saxon Bike Hub
The Saxon Bike Hub will be up and running in the fall, ready to lend bikes to students, faculty and staff. Click the link above or email for more information.
Building Projects for 2009-10
Construction on the Miller Theater is progressing nicely. At approximately 30,000 square feet, the 475 seat theater will be ready for occupancy in August, 2010. Ann’s House is nearly complete and will be open in August 2009. The 48 bed residence hall will be approximately 15,000 square feet with 4 lounges, a kitchen, laundry room, and off-street parking. The project will be registered with the U.S. Green Building Council and will qualify for LEED status. Finally, construction on the McGee Pavilion, a 17,000 square foot building which will expand the School of Art & Design, will commence in the Fall 2009. The space will include a main gallery, as well as multi-media and ceramics studios. The location will be in front of Harder Hall and the project will take approximately 18 months to complete.
Your Personal Emergency Response Plan
With the recent outbreak of the N1H1 virus and possible resurgence this fall, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the University might temporarily close at some point. We want to encourage you to develop a personal emergency response plan. You can prepare for an escalation of the pandemic flu (or any large scale emergency), by having a list of important items to pack and creating a plan with family members on how to arrange transportation home or find an alternate location if the University closes. We recommend the Red Cross's "Be Ready" website. Usually there is only limited advance warning of a closing and it is important to plan for potential emergencies now, rather than waiting until the last minute.
Children and Youth Learning Initiative needs you!
The Children and Youth Learning Initiative, Alfred’s outreach program to rural Middle school students, needs your help this year! Last year, over 30 AU students volunteered their time to help kids from Allegany and Stueben counties get a better idea of what college is like and had a great time doing it. Volunteers are eligible for tee shirts, prizes, food, parties and, of course, the warm, fuzzy feeling of doing great work for needy children. If you are interested, please contact or check out our website.
ITS update
Due to the success of our dual boot lab in Herrick (both Windows and Mac operating systems), ITS is now offering a dual boot lab in Olin 215. Come check it out when you get back to school!
New Cable TV Provider!
In order to find the best cable TV value, Alfred University will be switching from Time Warner Cable to Apogee, a DirecTV satellite provider, this fall. Apogee offers a similar channel line up to our current programming with a few additional requested channels. Some highlights of the new programming include: The CW (WB), An extensive sports programming line-up including: Big Ten Network, NFL Network, NHL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN University, and ESPN Classic; a large movie channel line-up including: Reelz Channel, Independent Film Channel (IFC), HBO, HBO2, HBO Family, HBO Signature.We'll offer Spanish language programming through Univision and Galavision.
Under an agreement with student senate, ITS will continue to provide the SWANK movie service in the channel lineup.
We are hopeful that this new cost effective business relationship with Apogee will meet the cable TV entertainment needs of the campus community.
Also, beginning this fall, AU will upgrade to the most recent version of Blackboard: Blackboard Learn Release 9. The new version contains many updates in appearance and available features. As in the previous version, students will have access to course materials, support documents, discussion boards, and quizzes. There are new customization tools, as well as Web 2.0 components. The login process will remain the same. Go to http://blackboard.alfred.edu and login with your username and password. For assistance, contact the ITS Helpdesk at(607)871-2222 or .
Health Insurance
Like most universities, AU requires students to provide proof of health insurance each academic year. All students are automatically billed for AU insurance (provided through Academic HealthPlans) but if you have other coverage you can get the $535 charge removed from your bill. Click here for the Insurance Waiver, which must be completed by August 14.
If you WANT the insurance and wish to sign up dependents or purchase optional catastrophic coverage, you should also visit the link above.
Shuttles to return to AU
Click here for a schedule of the transportation service provided by the University to/from the Rochester and
Buffalo airports for the 2009-10 year. There is a $30.00 one-way fee for trips to Rochester and $35.00 one-way for trips to Buffalo. To ensure a seat reservation, you must purchase a ticket in advance through the Center for Student Involvement no later than 24 hours prior to the shuttle run.
Returning to Campus - Saturday, August 22
The opening date for returning students is 8/22. Early arrivals are not allowed unless you are a member of an organization or sports team that is required to return early. Your coach, supervisor or program director will contact you with details about how to get your room key. If you want to return early but are not required to by an AU program/team, you must contact the Office of Residence Life (607-871-2186) for permission to return. If permission is granted, there will be a $50/night fee payable at the time you pick up your key. Should you return early without clearing it ahead of time, you will not be allowed in the halls. Please contact Residence Life at 607-871-2186 if you have questions.
Bookstore News
The bookstore encourages you to reserve your textbooks at www.whywaitfortextbooks.com. Save 25% on used textbooks! It is fast, easy, and convenient. Get first dibs on used textbooks and have your books boxed and ready for you to pick up!
When you are back on campus stop in the bookstore to see new merchandise to decorateyour room, more Going Green merchandise , and new styles of clothing!
Updates from Environmental Health & Safety
Smoking Policy update: Smoking is prohibited in all University buildings, fire escapes, outdoor sporting events and during on-campus outdoor activities/events. Smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of all building entrances, open windows and outdoor air ventilation intakes.