Meyers named
Writer-in-Residence at Black Hills State University -
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Kent Meyers, BHSU English
professor and accomplished author, was recently named a
Writer-in-Residence at the university by BHSU President Dr. Thomas
Flickema. A devoted writer for 25 years, Meyers has published many
articles and short stories, as well as four books that have earned him
national recognition.
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Kent Meyers, Black Hills State University English professor and
accomplished author, has been named a Writer-in-Residence at the
university, Dr. Thomas Flickema, president of BHSU, recently announced.
“This appointment recognizes the widespread acclaim bestowed upon
Professor Meyers for his extraordinary achievements in the field of
literature,” Flickema said. “The Black Hills State University community
takes pride in Kent Meyers’ achievements.”
Meyers, who has been a faculty member at BHSU since 1980, has
published many articles and short stories, as well as four books that
have earned him well-deserved national recognition. (See below for a
list of books as well as honors and awards.)
Humble about his achievements, Meyers is honored by the
Writer-In-Residence designation. The designation will reduce Meyers’
teaching load and provide him with additional writing opportunities as
well as more time to do research and present at writing conferences and
workshops in the state and nation.
Meyers, a dedicated writer who is working on several new writing
projects including another novel, says he is uncertain what the future
holds but is confident that this designation will create positive
opportunities in the future.
“This will open all sorts of doors for me. What are the
possibilities? I’m not sure. It’s unknown, highly significant and kind
of frightening. It’s a remarkable thing; and I know it will lead to
things I haven’t even imagined yet. It will make a big difference in how
much I can write and what I can write. It will give me the opportunity
to explore possibilities,” Meyers says.
He notes that once the position takes shape, it will offer increased
opportunities to write and be available to assist aspiring student
writers in their projects. He says that it may also offer an opportunity
to extend the writing program on campus as well as opportunities for
writing workshops in the region, state and nation.
On a practical level, the designation means a different day-to-day
schedule which will allow the research and writing time necessary to
complete additional projects. Meyers has mixed feelings about the fact
that the designation will decrease the amount of time he spends in the
classroom but is looking forward to committing more time to writing
projects. He is an excellent teacher as evidenced by the fact that he
has been chosen as distinguished faculty member by both the faculty
senate and the student senate.
“I like to teach. It’s always been my career. But once you start to
write and do it well, you find your energy from writing,” Meyers says.
Meyers will continue to teach several writing courses including an
advanced creative writing course, a literature of the American West
course, an environment and literature course and a composition course,
on a rotating schedule.
A devoted writer for the past 25 years, Meyers writes daily for three
hours before coming to campus. He disciplines himself to write at least
two pages every day whether he feels like writing or not. However,
finding time for research has been difficult and Meyers is looking
forward to a reduced class load that will allow him time to conduct
research needed for future writing projects. He noted that a recent
sabbatical leave allowed him time to conduct research, including reading
40-50 books and traveling to Germany, needed to write his latest novel,
The Work of Wolves.
Although writer-in-residence programs are fairly common at other
universities in the nation, Meyers’ designation as Writer-in-Residence
at BHSU is the first of its kind at the university and unique in many
ways. According to Dr. Dean Myers, vice president of academic affairs at
BHSU, it’s quite unusual for an author who has been teaching at a
university for many years to receive such a designation. Usually the
position is reserved for well-known writers who have achieved great
writing status in the literary field.
“That Kent Meyers was chosen as our Writer-in-Residence while
teaching is a testament to his great literary achievements. Kent is an
excellent author and educator. I know that Kent will make the most of
this position by representing Black Hills State University wherever he
goes and dedicating his time and energy to writing and encouraging other
writers,” the vice president for academic affairs says.
Meyers, who presents at many writing workshops and meetings
throughout the year, sees this change as an opportunity to increase the
time spent at these types of events. Just recently he was asked to make
a class presentation at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota –
Morris, and was also a keynote reader and presenter at the University of
South Dakota. He also has plans to attend and present at numerous
writing conferences throughout the country. In the last year he has made
many presentations throughout South Dakota because his latest novel was
chosen to receive the state’s One-Book designation. He was also a
featured speaker at the Bookfest in Deadwood this fall. Meyers was also
recently chosen as one of very few authors to serve as a faculty working
with master of fine arts students for Pacific Lutheran University.
“All of these types of activities are good for Black Hills State
University,” said the vice president of academic affairs. “There is a
real value in having Kent Meyers represent the university. He’s well
known in state, regional and national writing circles and will bring
high recognition for the university as well.”
Although Meyers is still wrestling with what the Writer-in-Residence
designation will ultimately mean, he is confident the position will
evolve in a positive way for the university, the students he works with,
and his writing career.
Meyers is currently working on a project that brings back one
character, the sheriff, from his most recent novel, The Work of
Wolves. The new novel is actually a series of short stories told
from the perspective of many different people in the community which
tells the life story of a young girl who is murdered. The setting of the
story remains in the fictional small rural community that was used in
his most recent novel.
“By the end of the story, I hope I’ve told her whole story from birth
to age 20,” Meyers says. “Artistically this project is a risk because
I’m trying to see how few words I can use and still have a novel.”
Meyers is currently on the second draft of this novel and expects to
be through a third draft by this fall.
“After that you just never know. It’s a real crap shoot. Even though
the publishers have been very supportive, before the book is published
it goes on to editors, marketing committees and others. There’s a chance
it won’t be accepted at all. It’s a different kind of book and won’t
have the narrative appeal of The Work of Wolves,” Meyers says.
“I’ve been writing for 25 years, and still you never really know what
will happen with the manuscript. That’s how fiction writing should be. I
don’t think I could ever write for hire under a contract. The unknown
aspect leaves me free to write what I want.”
It’s a safe assumption that what Meyers wants to write is what the
editors will want to continue to publish and what readers are eagerly
awaiting to read.
Kent Meyers' honors:
- Meyers has taught English composition, creative writing and
literature at BHSU for the last 25 years. He was named Distinguished
Faculty Member by the BHSU Faculty Senate in 2001. He was selected
by the BHSU Student Senate to be honored as Outstanding Faculty
Member in 1992.
- Meyers has served as an Artist-in-the-Schools for the South
Dakota Arts Council, was awarded the distinction of South Dakota
Writer of the Year by the South Dakota Council of Teachers of
English, received a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National
Endowment for the Arts, served on the South Dakota Arts Council’s
Arts in Education Committee, and has made numerous presentations and
readings to local, state, and regional groups.
- Meyers grew up on a small farm in southwest Minnesota, the third
of nine children, and attended the University of Minnesota, Morris,
and Washington State University. In addition to teaching and
writing, Meyers has worked as a farmer, school bus driver,
carpenter, canning factory worker and writing center director.
- Meyers’ latest novel, The Work of Wolves,
published by Harcourt, Inc., in 2004, received national and regional
awards including The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, an
American Library Association Alex Award, a New York Times
Library Association Award, the Christian Science Monitor’s
“25 Best Novels of 2004” list, a Minnesota Book Award in adult
fiction, and the “One Book South Dakota” designation from the South
Dakota Center For the Book.
- Meyers’ book of short stories, Light In the Crossing,
was published in 1999 by St. Martin’s Press. The New York Times
named it as a Notable Book of the Year.
- Also in 1999, Harcourt-Brace published a paperback edition of
The River Warren, which had been published originally in
hardcover by the Hungry Mind/Ruminator Press in 1998. The River
Warren was named a “Notable Paperback” by the New York Times
in 1999, and was a finalist in both the Barnes and Noble “Discover
Series” Awards and the Society of Midland Authors Literary Awards.
- In 1998, the University of Minnesota Press published Meyers’
The Witness of Combines, a collection of essays about
community and family life that earned The Friends of American
Writers designation as the Best Book of the Year, a finalist
position in the PEN-West Literary Awards, and a Minnesota Book Award
for Best Book in the memoir category.
- In addition to his book publications, Meyers has published
dozens of short stories and essays in prestigious literary journals,
including The Southern Review, The Georgia Review,
The South Dakota Review, and others. He has been awarded prizes
for his writing from The Southern Humanities Review, The
Minnesota Monthly, The Black Warrior Review, and the
National Association of University Magazines. He has had stories
nominated for O’Henry Awards, has been listed in the “100 Best
Stories Of the Year” Section of Best American Short Stories, and has
had stories anthologized in The Best Of the West series.
Cremean named to executive
council for the Western Literature Association -
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| Cremean |
Dr. David Cremean, assistant humanities professor at Black Hills
State University, was elected to a three-year term on the executive
council for the Western Literature Association (WLA) at the
association’s 40th annual meeting recently held in Los Angeles.
While attending the conference, Cremean also chaired a panel on film
and presented his essay “White Russians versus Sarsparillas: The Big
Lebowski as Drunken and Sober (New?) Western.”
In the essay, Cremean argued that one way to view the film The Big
Lebowski is as an end-of-the Western, a particular parodic type in
which its structure, character types, and plot elements emphasize its
link to traditional Western movies.
The international WLA, made up of academics, writers,
environmentalists, teachers, humorists and activists, is the preeminent
scholarly organization focusing on Western American literature. The 19
members of the association’s executive council develop and revise
organizational policy and select sites for the annual conferences. The
2006 conference is scheduled to be held in Boise, Idaho.
Cremean received his master’s degree in English from the University
of Dayton and his Ph.D. in English from Bowling Green State University.
He has been a member of the BHSU faculty since 2002.
Klarenbeek presents at two
national health education meetings -
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| Klarenbeek |
Sandy Klarenbeek, health instructor at Black Hills
State, recently presented at two national health education
gatherings in Burbank, Calif.
Klarenbeek teamed up with Nancy Hudson to present a
training session entitled “Dissecting the Prompt” at the Chief Council
of State School Officers/State Collaborative on Assessment and Student
Standards/Health Education Assessment Project meeting. Klarenbeek serves
as a steering committee member for the group.
“This is an activity I do in my methods class to
develop the skills to identify what will be assessed in student work,”
Klarenbeek said. “Students practice scoring actual student work with
rubrics and skill cue cards. It is a valuable learning experience for
pre-service teachers and practicing teachers.”
The four-day professional development meeting also
included a demonstration of the final version of a searchable assessment
item database which has been in the development process for the past six
years. According to Klarenbeek, the searchable database is aligned to
health education standards and will be a very valuable tool for
practicing health teachers. She said the next step is to make the
database available through the web and help teachers with on-line
assessment.
Another professional development component was the
distance learning initiative which will help deliver health education
standards and assessment in-service training. Klarenbeek noted that this
has vast potential for states like South Dakota, which have great
distances for people to travel for face-to-face training.
Klarenbeek also attended the American School Health
Association (ASHA) annual meeting in Burbank. The theme for this
conference was “Supersize Prevention: Obesity, Diabetes and Other
Critical Issues.”
Klarenbeek conducted a breakout session titled
“Diabetes Self-Management, Motivational Training,” which was an
interactive session with the participants directly involved in hands-on
activities that can be used in training and working with diverse
populations.
The closing activity Klarenbeek modeled was “making
rain.” Through this activity, the participants were encouraged to
associate the “power” of a rainstorm to the “power” individuals have in
making healthy decisions and working together.
Klarenbeek, who has a bachelor’s degree from Westmar
College and a master’s degree from South Dakota State University, has
worked as a consultant with the state school health offices for the past
15 years. She is a trainer for many of the programs and workshops
offered by the state. Klarenbeek previously taught in the Spearfish
School District and was the school safe and drug free coordinator. She
joined the BHSU faculty in 2001.
Ochse will sign copies of his
book The Civic Literature of Walt Whitman
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| Ochse |
A book signing by Dr. Roger Ochse, Black Hills State
University humanities professor, will be held Monday, Nov. 21 from 3 to
5 p.m. in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union Jacket Legacy
Room. He will be signing copies of his book The Civic Literature of
Walt Whitman.
Ochse’s book is seen as a breakthrough study updating
the often stereotyped views of America’s poet, Walt Whitman. Through a
discussion of Whitman's poetry and prose, Ochse identifies the poet as a
center of our American ideals and a primal source for civic action.
Examined works include: Song of Myself, a poem that explores the
relationship between the individual and society; the preface to
Leaves of Grass, Whitman’s civic manifesto; and Wound-Dresser,
a poem of national healing. Also included are A Guide for Teachers of
Middle and High School Students and A Whitman Anthology.
Ochse has written a variety of articles concerning
Shakespeare, writing instruction and critical thinking. His writings
have been featured in For All Time: Critical Issues Teaching
Shakespeare, The Journal of Teaching Writing, and
California English. He is also the author of Walt Whitman: A
Study in Democratic Thought.
Ochse received his bachelor’s degree in English from
Dickinson College, his master’s degree in English and American
literature from the University of Rochester, and his Ph.D. in adult and
higher education from the University of South Dakota. He has been a
member of the BHSU faculty since 1993.
The book signing, sponsored by the BHSU Chiesman
Endowment for Promoting Democracy, is open to the public. Refreshments
will be provided. For more information or to request accommodations for
persons with disabilities, contact George Earley at 642-6270 at least 48
hours prior to the event.
“Mix It Up”
event will be held to promote global awareness -
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The Global Awareness Committee at Black Hills State
University will be sponsoring a “Mix It Up” event for the university
Tuesday, Nov. 15 in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union
foyer from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Food and culture from several different countries will
be shared. "Mix It Up" is a national event to celebrate human
differences. It is described as a proactive way to eliminate racism and
was founded by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
According to Micheline Hickenbotham, co-chair of the
Global Awareness Committee, the event is designed to promote knowledge
of international cultures and intercultural communication.
“As the call came in to invite schools around the
nation to ‘bring down the wall of racism,’ our committee discussed the
opportunity to merge the International Food Tasting Day and the ‘Mix It
Up Lunch Day’ into one event,” Hickenbotham explains. She said booths
will represent several different countries, including Australia,
Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Ghana, Ireland, Israel, Mexico and Russia.
Each country will be featured on a poster created by students in the
Secondary Social Studies class instructed by Lennis Larson. Faculty and
students will bring ethnic food samples, artifacts, music and videos.
Hickenbothom noted that, according to the research
conducted by Southern Poverty Law School, a majority of students
nationwide are quick to put people in categories. Approximately 40
percent said that they had rejected someone from another group, and
one-third said it’s hard to become friends with people in different
groups. Organizers hope this event will help students take a fresh look
at their school environment and make the campus a welcoming and safe
place where students succeed socially and academically.
For more information contact Micheline Hickenbotham at
642-6073.
BHSU will host annual Oxfam
Hunger Banquet - top
Black Hills State University will host the annual
Oxfam Hunger Banquet Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the David B. Miller
Yellow Jacket Student Union Jacket Legacy Room.
The Oxfam Hunger Banquet is a unique event in which
participants are served meals based on world income percentages – 15
percent high income, 25 percent middle income, and 60 percent low
income. Each participant is assigned a role in a high-, middle- or
low-income class. The upper 15 percent of the participants will enjoy a
gourmet meal; 25 percent will receive a simple meal of rice and beans,
and 60 percent will share rice and water.
Laura Campbell, lay minister from Our Savior’s
Lutheran Church, will serve as master of ceremonies (M.C.) for the
evening.
The banquet’s mission is to help people become more
aware of the existence of hunger and poverty in the world. It also
serves as a fundraiser, accepting “admission gifts” of food and money to
help in the fight against world hunger.
Oxfam America is an international development and
relief agency committed to finding lasting solutions to poverty, hunger
and social injustice. Oxfam collaborates with local organizations to
help people identify and address the root causes of poverty, and
challenges the national and international laws that reinforce them.
Currently Oxfam and its affiliates work in more than 120 countries
worldwide.
The Oxfam Banquet at BHSU is sponsored by United
Ministries, the BHSU Global Awareness committee, the University
Programming (UP) Team and OASIS. Admission is three food items for the
United Ministries food pantry or a monetary donation to Oxfam to help
fight world hunger.
Reservations are requested but not required. Those
wishing to attend the banquet may sign up in the David B. Miller Yellow
Jacket Student Union on the BHSU campus Monday, Nov. 14 through
Wednesday, Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information call the United Ministries Office
at 642-6556 or email
JeanneHiggins@bhsu.edu.
Superintendent of Custer State
Park will lecture in tourism management
class - top
Richard Miller, superintendent of Custer State Park, will present a
guest lecture in Dr. Dan Spencer’s Tourism Management (THM 410) class
Tuesday, Nov. 29 from 5 to 6:15 p.m. in Jonas Hall Room 301. He will
speak about management and policy issues facing Custer State Park. All
interested members of the BHSU community are invited to attend.
Linda Kay Williams
Scholarship will support non-traditional female college students
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Nancy Hendricks (center), a senior
Black Hills State University education major from Wilmot, is the first
recipient of the Linda Kay Williams Scholarship. The scholarship was
established by Linda’s family members including her sons, Tristen (left)
and Trevor (right); her husband, Gene. Linda was pursuing a business
degree from BHSU prior to being diagnosed with cancer. She passed away
in 2004; however, the scholarship established in her name will provide
financial assistance for other women pursuing a dream of a college
degree.
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The recently established Linda Kay Williams
Scholarship will support non-traditional female students pursuing a
college degree at Black Hills State University.
The scholarship, established by the family of Linda
Kay (Hibbert) Williams, from Interior, will be awarded annually. An endowment has also
been established so this scholarship will continue in perpetuity.
Linda was working toward a degree in business through
the Rapid City campus of Black Hills State University prior to being
diagnosed with cancer in July of 2003. She passed away from
complications related to lymphoma in August of 2004. Her wish was that
memorial money given in her name be used to help other women attain
their goal of earning a college degree.
Family members who helped make this wish a reality
include her two sons, Tristen and Trevor; her husband, Gene; her mother,
Kathryn Hibbert; her brother, Dewayne Hibbert; and her sisters, Janet
Ryan and Nancy Hibbert.
Earlier this year, Linda's grandmother, Marie Stoneall,
passed away, and a portion of her memorial was also contributed to the
Linda Kay Williams fund.
According to Gene, Linda’s life was dedicated to
helping others in a variety of ways.
"The main thing Linda tried to do throughout her life
was to help others. Whether it was by working with pre-schoolers in a
story-hour class to promote interest in reading; working with elected
officials through Women Involved in Farm Economics to help them
understand the needs of people in agriculture; or helping adults learn
how to use their computers so they could e-mail their grandchildren and
keep up on the world around them, Linda tried to help however she
could,” says Gene. “Her family and friends all recognized this as a very
special gift that Linda shared with all of us. This scholarship is
intended to help other women who have that same interest in making the
world a better place. The scholarship award is a financial recognition
for their efforts."
The $500 scholarship will be awarded annually.
Recipients must be a female student age 25 or older. Preference is given
to students coming from farm or ranch families. No specific area of
study is required nor does a minimum grade point average need to be met;
however, the recipient must provide one letter of recommendation from an
employer, member of the clergy, or professional reference indicating
that the student is serious about obtaining a college degree.
BHSU students earn top
recognition at conference - top
A presentation by two Black Hills State University
students was recently chosen as one of the top 10 presentations at a
regional residence life conference.
Theresa Mutter, a senior political science and mass
communications major from Oehningen, Germany, who is the BHSU residence
hall association vice president, and Brandon Schumacher, a sophomore
mass communications major from Edgemont, who is serving as the BHSU
residence hall association president, gave a leadership presentation
called “Flaunting Your Feathers.” The presentation outlined how
classifying participants’ leadership styles into one of four categories
named for birds (dove, owl, peacock or eagle) can be useful to make the
most of leadership strengths in different people.
Based upon participants' evaluations, the BHSU
students’ presentation earned "Top-10" program honors from among the 82
presentations. With this honor, the BHSU students were asked to present
their program a second time at the conference, allowing more than 100
participants to experience their presentation.
The students, along with Jennifer Butler, program
assistant for residence life at BHSU, attended the Midwest Affiliate of
College and University Residence Halls (MACURH) meeting in Lincoln, Neb.
Other BHSU students who attended the conference included: Amber Faiman,
a junior psychology major from Rapid City; Bethany Peter, a freshman
education major from Elk Point; Danielle Birdsall, a sophomore business
major from Sully Buttes; Hilary Satrang, a junior mass communications
major from Rapid City; Diana Sletten, a junior wellness major from
Sturgis; Tiffanie Gebhart, a sophomore business major from Lemmon; Joe
Herzog, a sophomore mass communications major from Ismay, Mont.; Josh
Peters, as sophomore outdoor education major from Craig, Colo.; Ben
Cerwinske, a sophomore education major from Sioux Falls; Benjamin
Farber, a freshman business major from Glendive, Mont.; and Blake
Schumacher, a sophomore education major from Hot Springs. Butler serves
as the advisor to the Residence Hall Association on the BHSU campus.
“We are very proud of Theresa and Brandon. It is an
honor to be named Top 10 and for them to accomplish that task at their
first MACURH conference is amazing,” Butler said.
MACURH is comprised of residence hall associations
from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, South Dakota, and the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is one
of eight regions of national college and university residence hall
associations. According to Butler, the BHSU residence life program has
just begun participating in the regional and national events.
Black Hills State
junior wins tuition in the Taco Bell Kick for Cash -
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Matt Oliver (center), a junior
physical education major at Black Hills State University, accepts a
check for next semester’s tuition from Shelly Thompson Fremo, general
manager of the Spearfish Taco Bell, and Steve Meeker, BHSU athletic
director and vice president of institutional advancement. Oliver
received the tuition check for successfully kicking a 35-yard field goal
during the Taco Bell Kick for Cash at a recent BHSU football game.
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Matt Oliver, a junior physical education major at
Black Hills State University, has next semester’s tuition covered thanks
to the Taco Bell Kick for Cash promotion held during Yellow Jacket
football games.
During halftime of the recent BHSU football game
against the University of Mary, Oliver, a Rapid City native, was
selected to attempt a 35-yard field goal for free tuition courtesy of
Taco Bell. Oliver’s successful field goal attempt marks the first win
since the contest was started in 2002.
The Taco Bell Kick for Cash is held during halftime of
all BHSU home football games. Contestants are randomly selected from
BHSU students at the game. Each contestant receives one chance to make a
35-yard field goal to win a check for one semester’s tuition, up to 12
credit hours.
For more information on the Kick for Cash program,
contact Steve Meeker, BHSU athletic director and vice president for
institutional advancement, at 642-6385.
District 31 lawmakers will host
Board of Regents in Spearfish - top
Representatives from the South Dakota Board of Regents, its staff, and public university
presidents will speak at a town meeting on public higher education,
hosted by District 31 legislators in Spearfish, Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7
p.m. in the Student Union Jacket Legacy Room.
Area residents, in addition to members of the BHSU community, are
invited to attend the meeting and visit with panel members.
Across South Dakota, demographic shifts are occurring
which mean fewer traditional college-age students in the future, along
with more non-traditional students and a significant increase in South
Dakota’s older populations. How the state’s public university system
responds to these changes, as well as the demands of a global economy,
will be critical.
Sen. Jerry Apa, Rep. Tom Hills, and Rep. Charles
Turbiville, who jointly extended the invitation to the regents to meet
with District 31 constituents in Spearfish, said the ideas exchanged at
this type of public forum meeting will help South Dakota’s public higher
education system better plan for the future.
Wheaton to visit area schools
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Tom Wheaton, assistant director of admissions at Black Hills State
University, will discuss college plans with students at 14 area high
schools next week.
Wheaton will visit the following schools Monday, Nov. 14: Bowman High
School, Bowman, N.D., from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Mountain Standard Time
(MST); Scranton High School, Scranton, N.D., from 11 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.
MST; Hettinger High School, Hettinger, N.D., from 12:35 p.m. to 1:15
p.m. MST; and Lemmon High School from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. MST.
Tuesday, Nov. 15, Wheaton will visit Mobridge High School from 9:30
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST); Ipswich High School from
12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. CST; and Selby High School from 2 p.m. to 2:30
p.m. CST.
Wednesday, Nov. 16, Wheaton will visit McLaughlin High School from 9
a.m. to 9:45 a.m. MST; McIntosh High School from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15
a.m. MST; and Faith High School from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. MST.
Wheaton will conclude his week Thursday, Nov. 17 at Dupree High
School from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. MST; Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School
from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. MST; Timber Lake High School from 11:35
a.m. to 12:10 p.m. MST; and Isabel High School from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
MST.
High school students needing information about college costs,
financial aid, housing, and academic information should plan to visit
with Wheaton. For more information contact the BHSU Enrollment Center at
1-800-ALL-BHSU or view the BHSU website at
www.bhsu.edu.
Grant opportunities announced
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Below are program materials received in the Grants
Office, Woodburn 309, through Wednesday, Nov. 9. For copies of the
information, contact the office at 642-6204 or email requests to
grants@bhsu.edu. Fellowship
information will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin board near
the information desk.
Scholarship for Service Program (NSF)
The Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS)
program seeks to increase the number of qualified students entering the
fields of information assurance and computer security and to increase
the capacity of the United States higher education enterprise to
continue to produce professionals in these fields to meet the needs of
our increasingly technological society. The SFS program is composed of
two tracks: The Scholarship Track provides funding to colleges and
universities to award scholarships to students in the information
assurance and computer security fields. Scholarship recipients shall
pursue academic programs in information assurance for the final two
years of undergraduate study, or for two years of master's-level study,
or for the final two years of Ph.D.-level study. These students will
participate as a cohort during their two years of study and activities,
including a summer internship at a Federal Agency, Independent Agency,
Government Corporation, Commission, or Quasi-Official Agency, or at a
National Laboratory that signs a memorandum of understanding setting
forth the parameters for participation. The recipients of the
scholarships will become part of the Federal Cyber Service of
Information Technology Specialists whose responsibility is to ensure the
protection of the United States Government's information infrastructure.
Upon graduation, after their two-year scholarships, recipients will be
required to work for two years at a Federal Agency, Independent Agency,
Government Corporation, Commission, or Quasi-Official Agency, or at a
National Laboratory that signs a memorandum of understanding setting
forth the parameters for participation.
The Capacity Building Track provides funds to colleges
and universities to improve the quality and increase the production of
information assurance and computer security professionals. Professional
development of information assurance faculty and development of academic
programs can be funded under this track.
Deadline: Feb. 6, 2006. A link to the
full announcement is available at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/NSF/OIRM/HQ/06-507/Grant.html.
Computer Science Study Panel Members Sought (DOD)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),
in conjunction with the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), is
soliciting applications from U.S. institutions of higher learning
nominating junior university faculty to participate in the “Computer
Science Study Panel.” The study panel will focus on computer science
technology and its application to information analysis problems of
interest to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Program objectives/description: The
“Computer Science Study Panel” will meet at least four times throughout
2006, totaling approximately twenty days. Two of the meetings will occur
during the academic year, and will take place in the Washington, D.C.
metropolitan area. Two extended meetings, lasting approximately a week
each, will take place during the summer, and will involve travel
throughout the United States. For successful applicants, host
universities will receive grants for up to $100,000 to support the
applicant’s participation in the Computer Science Study Panel. As a
condition of the award, the participant must become an unpaid consultant
to the Institute for Defense Analysis, which will have management
responsibility for the panel. All participants in the panel must apply
for and receive U.S. Department of Defense Secret security clearances
through IDA. Funding to the host institution will support participant
salary, to include time spent while on the panel as well as some
additional time (e.g., summer research support) while at the host
institution, and travel expenses for participation on the panel.
Before the end of the first year, each participant
will be eligible to submit a proposal for a Computer Science Research
Project (CSRP) for which they would become the principal investigator.
Details of the requirements for the research proposal will be provided
as part of the Study Panel. Each selected Computer Science Research
Project will be funded in an amount not to exceed $500,000, commencing
in the spring of 2007. Research activities will take place at the
university, and will generally be confined to unclassified, basic
research, that supports the objectives of the program. The principal
investigators will continue their participation on the Study Panel for a
second year, funded from the research contract or grant.
Starting in late 2007, principal investigators will be
eligible to submit proposals for matching funds for the continuation of
their university research project, in an amount not to exceed $250,000.
The designated funds to be matched (up to an additional $250,000) may
come from any government or industrial source, but must support the
ongoing research project in a manner consistent with the development and
transition of information analysis technology as developed in the
research project. Normally, the first phase should be expended, and the
continuation should begin, before the end of fiscal year 2008. Even
though no classified research will be conducted at the university, each
participant on the Computer Science Study Panel will apply for a U.S.
DOD Secret security clearance with the Institute for Defense Analysis.
Technologies of interest: The goal of
the Computer Science Research Projects will be to identify and develop
innovative ideas with high payoff in pattern recognition, computer
vision, probabilistic reasoning, biological inspired exploitation,
abnormal behavior analysis, cognitive psychology, machine learning, and
other advanced disciplines in computer science. Research will focus on
ideas that can lead to revolutionary technology to permit significant
advances in information analysis capabilities. Technologies should be
derived from the broad area of computer science, although respondents do
not necessarily need to be members of traditional computer science
departments.
Other important information: The
government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of
the applications in response to this announcement. Only U.S.
institutions of higher learning are eligible for awards under this RA,
and participants must be junior faculty members of those institutions
who are able to receive a U.S. DOD SECRET security clearance. All
responsible sources may submit a proposal that shall be considered by
DARPA.
Deadline: Dec. 7, 2005. See
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/DOD/DARPA/CMO/RA06-05/Grant.html for
details and submission requirements.
Regional Priorities Grant Program (EPA)
This is a request for proposals (RFP) for the U.S. EPA
Region 8 office’s fiscal year 2006 Regional Priorities Grant Program.
The purpose of this RFP is to announce the availability of funding from
seven Region 8 grant programs. Region 8 is competitively seeking project
proposals that will achieve measurable environmental and public health
results within the following priority areas:
- Energy
- Agriculture
- Enhancing Capacity to Provide Public Health and
Environmental Protection in Region 8 States and on Tribal Lands
Within these priority areas, funding will be provided
as follows:
- Surveys, Studies, Demonstrations and Special
Purpose Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act
- Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations
and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements Section 1442 of the
Clean Water Act
- Wetland Program Grants
- Surveys Studies, Investigations Demonstrations
and Special Purpose Activities Relating to the Clean Air Act
- Source Reduction Assistance
- Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Training
Demonstrations and Educational Outreach
Deadline: Dec. 20, 2005. The link to the
full announcement can be found at
http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/EPA/OGD/GAD/EPA-R8-2006-001/Grant.html.
University contracts must
have authorized signature -
top
Any contract with Black Hills State University must be
signed by a person who is authorized to enter into contracts on behalf
of the university. This includes any type of performance contract,
consulting contract, service agreement, or facility contract that
involves a BHSU account, or is otherwise connected to the university.
Thomas Flickema, BHSU president, and Kathy Johnson,
vice president of finance and administration, have signature authority
for BHSU and may delegate signature authority where appropriate. If you
are entering into a contract and are unsure about whether or not it
should be routed through the university, contact the Grants Office at
642-6204 and someone will review it with you.
If signatures are not properly secured, the agreements
may not be honored and payment to the provider may not be allowable.
Instructional improvement grants
available - top
The Instructional Improvement Committee (IIC) encourages, through
monetary grants, the application of existing knowledge to specific
teaching situations to improve the quality of instruction at BHSU.
Any full-time faculty member, full-time adjunct faculty, or other
full-time staff member engaged in student instruction may apply for
grant funds administered by the committee. Grant funding will normally
be available up to a maximum of $1,000 per project. Priority will be
given to projects that will have a broad-based, visible, continuing
impact of instruction across faculty members and/or disciplines. Funds
are available for development of materials and methods to improve
teaching and learning, equipment to enhance teaching and learning,
travel to conferences or workshops which enhance teaching and learning,
and bringing consulting lecturers and teaching specialists to campus to
offer presentations to and/or with faculty and teaching-support staff at
BHSU.
Faculty members who apply for grants to support travel to a
conference or workshop are limited to receiving no more than one grant
every three years. In the other categories, priority will be given to
those who have not received an IIC grant in the last academic year.
Requests for grant funding are reviewed by the IIC on a monthly
basis. Proposals will be accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 30 for
review at the December meeting.
Proposals are now being accepted electronically. To submit a proposal
electronically, attach it to an email and send it to
PeggyGubbrud@bhsu.edu;
however, a signed original must also be submitted to the Grants Office,
Unit 9504, or delivered to Woodburn Hall 212. Submissions must consist of the proposal and budget outlines
following the specified format available on the grants and special
projects web
page.
New process announced by
Faculty Research Committee - top
The Faculty Research Committee has funds available for the current
fiscal year. Proposal forms are available on the Grants Office
website.
It is anticipated that successful applicants will request support for
research equipment, travel to research sites, support for the production
of creative work, or release time for research or creative work.
Preference is given to new applicants, particularly in the areas of
education, business, social sciences and humanities.
The committee reviews proposals on an ongoing basis. Applicants are
encouraged to review submission requirements, and to contact the
committee members for advice prior to completing their proposals.
Committee members are Steve Andersen, Dan Bergey, Dorothy Fuller,
Vincent King, Tim Molseed, Rob Schurrer, David Siemens, Sheng Yang, and
Kathleen Parrow, chair.
Applications to be considered at the next meeting need to be
submitted to the Grants Office by Wednesday, Nov. 30. Proposals will be
accepted on an ongoing basis with an additional deadline of Thursday,
Jan. 26, 2006.
Proposals are now being accepted electronically. To submit a proposal
electronically, attach it to an email and send it to
PeggyGubbrud@bhsu.edu;
however, a signed original must also be submitted to the Grants Office,
Unit 9504, or delivered to Woodburn Hall 212.
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