February 21, 2006 In this Issue: - UNL Spring Calendar - Honors Program 2005-2006 Calendar Deadlines: - Attention Seniors - Honors Overnight Thanks - Position Opening in Graduate Studies - Ethnic Studies 498 Class Fall 2006 - Omicron Delta Kappa Now Accepting Applications - Speaker on Turkish, Caspian and Central Asian issues - Textbook Scholarship - Summer Pre-Law Institute - New Classrooms - Letters of Recommendation - Summer Archaeology Program in Belgium (July 2006) - Computer Lab - Contracted Classes and Blackboard - Honors Clarification -- UNL Spring Calendar: Wed. Mar. 1: Arts and Sciences Scholarship Application deadline Fri. Mar. 3: Last day to change a class to P/N Mon. Mar. 6: Early registration for summer sessions begins Mar. 12-19: Spring break Mar. 27-Apr. 11: Priority registration for Fall 2006 Fri. Apr. 7: Last day to withdraw from a class Sun. Apr. 23: UNL Honors Convocation Apr. 24-29: Last week of classes May 1-5: Final exams Sat. May 6: Commencement -- Honors Program 2005-2006 Calendar/Deadlines: Fri. Mar. 3: Last day to file an Honors Contract for Spring Semester Fri. Mar. 31: Thesis completion forms for May graduation due Fri. Apr. 14: Statement of Academic Interest due (4th semester participants) Memorandum of Study due (6th semester participants) Fri. Apr. 21: Theses for May graduation due Sat. May 6: Commencement -- -- New Announcements: -- Attention Seniors: If you are graduating in May, please email Dr. Berger at pberger1@unl.edu to that effect. Include your thesis title and your thesis advisor’s name. We will print these as they appear in your e-mail in our program for your Senior Honors Reception, on April 27. -- Honors Overnight: Thanks to everyone who hosted students for this event. It was a great success. We appreciate your participation. -- Position opening: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Research and Graduate Studies is accepting applications for a grant proposal development specialist. Primary responsibilities are to help external grant applicants meet proposal preparation requirements and to improve proposal content, clarity, organization, and visual appeal. More information is provided in the job announcement attached to this note and online at http://employment.unl.edu . -- Ethnic Studies 498: Course Description: The 19-teens, twenties and thirties were a particularly dynamic period for African Americans. Millions of black migrants made the journey from the rural South to the urban North, transforming American race relations in the process. Two world wars opened up new opportunities to challenge white supremacy at home and abroad. A radical political impulse thrived in African American communities across the country. And a dynamic urban black culture produced a creative burst in music, poetry, photography, painting, fiction, journalism and drama. This class explores black experience during this era with a particular eye on the intersections of culture and politics. In addition to traditional historical texts, students will utilize an array of sources in the creative arts – fiction, poetry, painting, music, photography, film, drama, etc. – during their exploration of the “Jazz Age.” Arts and Sciences will substitute Ethnic Studies 498 Special Topics "African Americans in the Jazz Age" for Area H. The course will be offered in fall 2006. -- ODK: Omicron Delta Kappa Now Accepting Applications Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, is now taking applications for the spring semester. The application deadline for new membership is February 24 at 4pm. Contact us at odk@unl.edu or go to the website: http://www.unl.edu/ODK/Recruitment.htm -- Speaker: Gerald Robbins will be speaking in the Blue TV Room in Neihardt on Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:30 p.m.. Mr. Robbins is an expert on Turkish, Caspian and Central Asian issues. His expertise developed over twenty years ago when he was awarded a Fulbright Hayes fellowship to study at Istanbul’s Bosphorus University. In the years since, he has reported about Turkey for the Weekly Standard, the Washington Times, the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Journal of Commerce. His writings have also been featured in the Hudson Institute’s American Outlook Magazine. In 1995-1996, Mr. Robbins served as a Program Director for Freedom House in Baku, Azerbaijan, supervising programs that promoted political and economic development. Mr. Robbins became an Associate Scholar with the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 2003. The event is being put on by Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Fellows, Josh Roos and Sarah Demmel. -- -- Reminders: -- Textbook Scholarship: Reminder: You MUST purchase all textbooks with your N Card in the University Bookstore. If the instructor has ordered a packet or a text through a bookstore other than the UNL Bookstore, you must contact Dan Smith in the UNL Bookstore and ask him to order the material. Contact Dan Smith also concerning availability of texts which don’t appear on the shelves. Any texts to be ordered for contracts must be approved through Dr. Berger before you can ask the Bookstore to order them. -- Summer Pre-Law Institute: Applications for the UNL Law College’s Summer Pre-Law Institute are now available. Contact Denise Archer at 472-2161 or darcher4@unl.edu for more information. -- New classrooms: Classes scheduled in NRC 118H or NRC 118I are located behind the main Honors Office. Please do not use the office itself as a corridor--use the west corridor to access them. Classes scheduled in NRC 1105 are across from the Honors computer lab. This classroom will remain locked until the faculty member has the key, as it is a “smart” classroom. When carrying on conversations in that hallway before class, please remember those who are working in the computer lab. -- Letters of Recommendation: Please approach faculty members for letters of recommendation at least 2 weeks in advance--3 is better. Remember to include any forms, signed if necessary, a current resume and any personal statements or letters you must write. -- Summer Archaeology Program in Belgium (July 2006): Eastern Illinois University School of Continuing Education, in partnership with the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, invites applications for the seventh season of its Summer Archaeology Program. The dates are July 1-29, 2006, and the program centers on the excavation of medieval Walhain Castle. Honors students may receive Honors credit, awarded in either History or Earth Sciences. The course is open to all students in good standing; there are no prerequisites, and no previous background in archaeology is required. The cost of the program, which includes tuition and fees, board and lodging --but not overseas airfare-- is estimated at around $4000. For more information please contact Professor Bailey Young at cfbky@eiu.edu. or write c/o History Department, 2744 Coleman Hall, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL 61920. -- Computer lab: PLEASE: Avoid removing paper jams in the computer lab. A part of the printer has been damaged twice. If a paper jam occurs, please use the other printer and contact the main Honors office. If no one is there, please use extreme care in removing the paper. Problems in the computer lab? The more you have stored in your account, the longer the login time. Try transferring some of your documents to a flash or jump drive. Be sure to empty your trash can as well. -- Contracted classes and Blackboard: If you have contracted a class, you may be removed from the Blackboard listing for that class. Contact the main Honors office for information about being returned to that list. IT WILL TAKE 3-6 WEEKS FOR THE CONTRACTS TO SHOW UP ON YOUR WAM PAGE. -- Clarification: If your GPA has dropped below a 3.5 as of May, you are not automatically removed from the UHP, though you lose your scholarship. We encourage you to continue to take Honors classes, to complete all requirements including submitting forms, and to work on bringing that GPA up so you can graduate from the Honors Program.