June 24, 2010
Etc.: Campus news & notes
CHAMPION CUBICLES: Two UW staffers are among those whose office cubicles have been featured in a recent series in the Seattle Times. Diana Siembor, graduate program coordinator in Health Services, has chosen a jungle decor. “I call my cubicle ‘Primeval Dinosaur Jungle,’ she wrote. “It’s an escape to nature — circa 260 million years ago! Dinosaur figures traipse across my desk, and visitors can look at fossils of trees from the Washington area, as well as identify the species of ferns that grow in our local woods. I enjoy working in the jungle every day.”
Christine Sismaet, conference coordinator in Conference Services, also has a tropical, though more contemporary, look for her cubicle. “… I’m most productive in a happy, welcoming environment,” she wrote. “Nothing is more inspiring than home and family, and hula has been a passion of mine since I was young. My officemates tell me that my decor creates a cheerful energy in the workplace. Bright colors and flowered plants stimulate the brain. I use decor that appeals to the five senses. I want to inspire people to decorate. My decorations bring me lots of visitors, so I take this opportunity as a new employee to make new work friends. All of my visitors get candy.”
A few of Christine’s favorite things in her cubicle: Wisteria tree with fairy lights; fishbowl candy jar; hula doll and pineapple; air freshener illusion candle with tropical scents; Husky-colored lei; UW kukui nut lei; magnets from childhood; robotic owl (office pet perched on her computer); lighted artificial window with beach view; and photo collage of family, friends and pet bunny.
IN THE CIRCLE: UW staffers have snagged three awards from the national Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s Circle of Excellence Awards. In the Excellence in Design category, UW Marketing and Creative Communication won a gold for the Recognition Gala Invitation Package. In the Excellence in News Writing category, Vince Stricherz, Hannah Hickey and Joel Schwarz won a silver award in Research, News and Research News Writing. In the Special Events category, UW Marketing, Media Relations and Communication, Student Life and UW Advancement won silver for an individual event, the Medal of Honor Memorial dedication.
SAFETY STARS: The UW Capital Projects Office was presented with the Owners’ Injury Free Environment Award by Skanska Construction. The award is given to an owner who has a very high standard for safety, who works with its contractors in a collaborative manner to constantly improve the environment on site and emphasizes a culture of safety within the organization.
JAPAN GIANT: Robert Pekkanen, chair of the Japan Studies Program and associate professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, is among the scholars to join a weeklong meeting of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future in Washington, D.C., this month. Pekkanen is one of 15 emerging Japan specialists selected for the network, a new program launched by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation in collaboration with the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership to build and enhance a network of new generation Japan specialists that can bring diverse expertise and perspectives to the U.S.-Japan policymaking process. During the meeting Pekkanen and the other U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Fellows had an opportunity to meet with senior policymakers, participate in briefings about current issues affecting U.S.-Japan relations, and enhance their communications skills. A list of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Fellows and more information about the program is available on the Mansfield Foundation’s website.
ROLE MODEL REGISTRAR: UW Registrar Todd Mildon must feel like a success, because he was not only interviewed for a newsletter called The Successful Registrar, but his interview was featured in the “Leaders and Innovators” column, which features prominent registrars from universities across the nation. In his interview, Mildon focused on a subject near to his heart: data. He spoke on the need for rigorously-defined data and for making that data available throughout the campus community.
STUDYING DISABILITY: The UW Disability Studies Program has announced the winners of the Dennis Lang Student Award in Disability Studies. Megan Morris, a fourth year doctoral student in Rehabilitation Medicine, plans to use the award to fund a pilot project to evaluate a curriculum she and her colleagues designed. The curriculum is to train medical students in successful strategies for improving patient-provider communication, particularly for patients with communication disabilities. Monica Olsson, a senior undergraduate student double majoring in Women Studies and Cinema Studies with a minor in Disability Studies, plans to help implement a disability studies curriculum within the Seattle Reel Grrls media program. She will use the award funds to attend the Allied Media Conference this summer.
PREMIERE PAPERS: Monica P. Burns and Kenny Karyadi, are co-winners of the 2010 Guthrie Prize in the Department of Psychology. Burns’ paper, “Priming a Memory of a Past Deed Affects Helping Behavior,” sponsored by Associate Professor Jessica Sommerville, was chosen as the best review/conceptual paper. Karyadi’s paper, “The Moderating Role of Negative Emotions on Urgency and Alcohol Engagement” sponsored by Assistant Professor Kevin King, was chosen as best empirical paper. The prize was established to encourage excellent writing about psychology that is broad in scope and accessible to the non-specialist.
SUMMER LEARNING: Sharon Hsu, a third-year clinical student in psychology, has been selected as one of the 22 fellows for the 2010 Psychology Summer Institute, hosted by American Psychological Association. She will participate in a one-week training program in Washington, D.C.
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