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SBU to host sixth Girls' Day workshop for middle school students

Robot simulation, digital scrapbooking and podcasting are just a few activities St. Bonaventure University has planned for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade girls.

The St. Bonaventure University community has invited girls from 29 area schools to campus on Saturday, Nov. 3, for the sixth annual Girls’ Day. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m. in the Butler Hall Gymnasium.

The event, sponsored by the University’s Computer Science Department, will introduce young girls to various applications of computer technology. A number of workshops presented by St. Bonaventure graduates and students in the computer science field will showcase different aspects of modern technology. St. Bonaventure students will also assist participants during interactive lab sessions and as they travel around campus between workshops.

Suzanne Watson, lecturer of computer science, began the event after reading that interest in the sciences among middle-school girls is plummeting. The interest may not rekindle in later years – a recent article in The Wall Street Journal reveals that the number of incoming freshmen women choosing to major in computer science in college dropped by 70% between 2000 and 2005. With the technical help of Dr. Dalton Hunkins, professor of computer science, Watson set out to change those numbers.

“If we can show them fun and interesting things, then perhaps we can keep this little flame that might be in there alive,” said Watson.

Watson believes that having students and alumni at the event will craft positive role models for the participants.

“These girls need to see women who have succeeded in a technical career,” said Watson. “They need to see women students who are confident, capable and comfortable in what they are doing.”

Through the workshops participants will learn how to maneuver robots through a grid obstacle, make and use social software, manipulate digital images and use Alice educational programming software. Barbara McNally, a 1993 St. Bonaventure University graduate and the technical manager of AOL’s Instant Messenger Group, will host a workshop explaining her role with AOL and highlighting some of the lesser known features in the instant messaging software.

The event will conclude at 3 p.m. following a panel discussion by workshop instructors and students. During the discussion, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about the computer science field.

“We always look forward to welcoming these enthusiastic young women to campus and giving them a taste of how exciting computer science can be,” Watson said. “Perhaps this positive experience will serve as a gentle nudge down the road when they are considering a course of study beyond high school.”

For more information, visit the Girls’ Day Web site at http://www.cs.sbu.edu/girlsday.

St. Bonaventure University has inducted six students into Chi Sigma Iota, an international honor society for counselors-in-training, counselor educators and professional counselors.

To be eligible for the SBU chapter, Phi Rho, students must be enrolled in graduate-level counseling programs with a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Membership in CSI provides students and professionals with a network of others who, like themselves, reach for high standards of scholarship and practice in the field of counseling.

Dr. Mary O. Adekson, associate professor of counselor education, is the faculty adviser for Phi Rho at St. Bonaventure University. The honor society president is Kasi Maleski; secretary is Shawn Wolfgram; David Pew is treasurer.

Dr. Craig Zuckerman, the Counselor Education Department program chair, distributed certificates and pins during the ceremony, which took place Oct. 15.

Chi Sigma Iota was established Jan. 1, 1985, at Ohio University to recognize outstanding academic achievement as well as outstanding service within the counseling profession.

The 2007 inductees were Alyssa Ashley Carlson of Gerry, N.Y.; Samuel Thomas Delpopolo of Jamestown; Jessica Giuricich of Wellsville; Jennifer Lynn Liberti of Penfield, N.Y.; Linda J. Manross of Olean; and Kaylin A. Tarbell, of Shinglehouse, Pa.

Tickets are still available for the seventh annual Mountain Auction, slated for Saturday, Nov. 3, in Doyle Hall at St. Bonaventure University. The Mountain Auction benefits Mt. Irenaeus, the Franciscan mountain retreat in West Clarksville that is affiliated with St. Bonaventure University.

Among the highlights of this year’s auction gifts are a sunset buffet with a cruise on Cuba Lake, a weekend getaway to Niagara-on-the Lake, a week in sunny Florida, theater performances, gourmet dinners, CUTCO Cutlery, artwork, gift baskets, gift certificates, handcrafted and religious items, jewelry, a Bose Wave Music System, bistro table and chairs, and an iPod.

The Mountain Auction will be held Saturday, Nov. 3, in the Robert R. Jones Board of Trustees Room, Doyle Hall. The evening begins with Mass at 5 p.m. in the University Chapel, followed by the auction at 6 p.m.

The Mountain Auction will include a generous buffet of hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and desserts.

Tickets are $40 per person. For reservations, please contact Michelle Marcellin at (716) 375-2096 or by e-mail at mmarc@sbu.edu.

Proceeds will add to the Mt. Irenaeus endowment and support the general operating fund. The Franciscan friars and their friends in this ministry of peace and prayer welcome people of any tradition who seek to experience the abiding presence of God in their daily lives.

SBU offers text message alerts to your cell phone

St. Bonaventure University has recently adopted a new notification system that enables the school to send urgent news to your cell phone. Once you sign up for the service, the University can text your cell phone with timely information about emergencies and weather/facilities notices.

Depending on your personal cell phone plan, there may be a nominal fee from your carrier to receive text messages, but there is no charge from the school to use the service. The service is available to all current students, faculty and staff of St. Bonaventure University.

To learn more or to sign up, logon to my.sbu.edu and click on the E2Campus Notification link.

The new system, powered by e2Campus, enables school officials to send instant alerts directly to registered subscribers' accounts and mobile phones via SMS text messages. You can also receive the alerts via RSS, wireless PDA, and your “My Yahoo,” “My AOL,” or personalized iGoogle home page.

“Once students, faculty, and staff members sign up, the alerts go right to their cell phones the minute the alert is sent,” explains Dr. Emily Sinsabaugh, vice president for marketing and communications.

Sinsabaugh adds that users have the option of entering a second cell phone number so parents or another family member or friend can receive the alert at the same time. She recommends that advance permission is secured from the cell phone owner before entering a second phone number on the system because they will also be subject to the text messaging fee from their cell phone provider for each message sent.

The notification system will be used to communicate important information during any potential emergency that requires immediate campus-wide notification, such as a homeland security advisory, gas leak, fire, crime watch, power failure, or other event. There is also an option to receive such notices that relate specifically to our Buffalo Center for the graduate students, faculty and staff who take classes or work there. And, we have added a weather/facilities alert option for people who wish to receive notices about weather-related delays or cancellations, or facilities issues.

Friday Forum

All SBU faculty, staff and administrators are welcome to all the Friday Forums.

Date: Friday, Oct. 26, 2007
Speaker: Dr. Chris Hill
Time: 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
Place: University Club
Topic: “The Value of Quantitative Literacy” or “Why California is More Dangerous than Iraq”
Abstract: “Quantitative literacy” refers to the mathematical skills that all college graduates need to be effective citizens in a world suffused with numerical information. What are we doing to develop and reinforce quantitative literacy in our students? Whatever we are doing, how effective is it? How could we do it better? Is the Clare College quantitative reasoning requirement helping? What, for Pete's sake, is happening in California?
The joint work of the speaker, Dr. Jeff Peterson, and Dr. Denny Wilkins has been funded by 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Martine Grants.
Cost: $3

On Oct. 13, 2007, Fr. Michael Calabria, O.F.M., lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, gave an all-day program at the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Aston, Pa., titled “The Heart of Islam.”

Mike Hoffman, executive director of Technology Services, and Bill Hurburt, vice president of Interactive Services with Paskill, Stapleton & Lord, will be the instructors for the Web conference “Selecting the Right Content Management System for Your Institution.” The Dec. 10, 2007, online conference is sponsored by Academic Impressions.

Darwin L. King, professor of accounting, and Dr. Carl J. Case, professor of management science, had a paper titled “E-Cheating: Are Students Misusing Information Technology (IT)” published in the journal Issues in Information Systems. The paper was also presented at International Association for Computer Information Systems 2007 Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Oct. 5, 2007.

Dr. Margaret F. Mazón, associate professor of modern languages, presented a paper at the Fifth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities in July 2007. The topic was “Getting Along: A Construction Company Goes Bi-Lingual.” The conference was held at the American University of Paris, France.

Dr. Rodney Paul, associate professor of economics in the Department of Finance, had two articles accepted for publication. “Does Sportsbook.com Set Pointspreads to Maximize Profits? Tests of the Levitt Model of Sportsbook Behavior” was accepted for publication in The Journal of Prediction Markets. In addition, “The Importance of Information in Wagering Markets” was accepted for publication in The Journal of Gambling Business and Economics. Both papers were presented in May 2007 at the Growth of Gambling and Prediction Markets Conference in Palm Springs, Calif.

For the Feast of St. Francis, Dr. Paula J. Scraba, associate professor of physical education, presented two separate workshops Oct. 5, 2007, in Indiana. One was for the faculty and staff at Oldenburg Academy (a Franciscan preparatory high school) and another workshop to the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg, Ind. The title of the Workshop was “Francis, Clare and the Franciscan Family.” This presentation was part of the Build With Living Stones Series from the Franciscan Institute with a new feature in which Francis reappears to tell his story and that of his companions.