News

• The Enrollment Management Division is offering a professional development opportunity for RMU faculty and staff members to learn more about college affordability. Vice President Wendy Beckemeyer will present the modules in the College Affordability Academy®.

  Topics including trends in student aid, loan entrance counseling, financing higher education, debt management, and majors and income will be covered in four two-hour sessions. The fifth session will be a capstone project presentation and luncheon for all who have completed the Academy. This video is one example of a capstone project developed by one of the CAA teams. 

  Ideally, it is best for the group if you are able to attend all of the module presentations, but we welcome your participation if you can attend fewer. The sessions are scheduled for the dates below, and will take place in Franklin 204.    

  Tuesday, January 8: 9 to 11 a.m.
  Tuesday, January 22: 2 to 4 p.m.
  Monday, January 28:  2 to 4 p.m. 
  Monday, February 11: 2 to 4 p.m.

  The capstone presentation and luncheon are scheduled for Tuesday, February 26 in Franklin 203 beginning at noon. Please e-mail Lori Wyberg at wyberg@rmu.edu if you are interested in attending or have additional questions. Thanks in advance for your consideration! 

• A team of four Organizational Leadership graduate students won first place and a $1,000 prize in a competition at the International Leadership Association’s annual conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., in October. Lynda Mayes, Rebecca Barnes, Samantha Wockley, and Sean Phelan produced a poster and short paper about leadership in promoting global literacy, then gave a 10-minute presentation for a panel of judges at the conference. The RMU team, advised by professors Elizabeth Stork and Lazarina Topuzova, bested competitors from Florida State and LSU Shreveport.

• Media Arts senior Katey Ladika has been selected for the 2019 North American Nature Photographers Association Summit College Photography Scholarship Program. The scholarship program, held before the biennial NANPA Nature Photography Summit and Trade Show in Las Vegas, was an opportunity to make personal contacts with the top pros in nature photography, editors, and other industry leaders.
• Robert Morris has been chosen by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) to be a University/Government Research Partner. Marcel Minutolo, associate professor of management, will be the primary contact and will coordinate with RMU's schools and affiliated departments on providing resources to the DHS on a needed basis. 
• RMU in the News is published and ready for reading! 

Personal Mention

• Luann Richardson, associate professor or nursing, received the Cameos of Caring Nurse Educator award last week, becoming the 13th professor from RMU to receive this designation since the program began two decades ago. Richardson was escorted by Nadine Englert, interim dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, and celebrated by her colleagues and friends. 
• Bob Arturo, director of hockey at the Island Sports Center, was featured in Rink magazine, highlighting RMU's in-house youth hockey programs. 
• Hyla Willis, professor of media arts, and Monica VanDieren, director of the University Honors Program and university professor of mathematics, gave a poster presentation about their experimental course on the mathematics and visual principles underlying computer animation at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference. They received recognition as the First Place winner in the category of Developing New Honors Course Materials, New Courses, or New Modes of Teaching. Only three awards were given out to faculty presentations.

Events

• A memorial service will be held today, Friday, December 7, at noon for Melvin Wax '59, who was among the 11 people killed in the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in October. The service will take place in the Rogal Chapel and all are welcome to attend. 
• On December 11 the Office of Residence Life will host their annual Almost Midnight Breakfast from 10 p.m. to midnight. Volunteers from departments across campus are needed to help serve food, monitor attendance, and mingle with our students. Res Life also asks that if your department has any giveaways cluttering your closets and you'd like to donate them to this event, please contact Jan Leopold at x5236 or leopold@rmu.edu.
• President Howard and Mrs. Barbara Noble Howard invite you to the annual Holiday Luncheon on Friday, December 21 at 11:30 a.m. in the PNC Colonial Café. Please RSVP by December 19 at rmu.edu/holiday. All full- and part-time employees are welcome. 

Weekend Sports

Friday Dec. 7

• Women's Basketball vs. Kent State - 7:00 p.m. at the Student Rec Center
• Men's Hockey vs. Holy Cross - 7:05 p.m. at the Island Sports Center
• Men's Division 1 Club Ice Hockey vs. Pittsburgh - 9:30 p.m. at the Island Sports Center

Saturday, Dec. 8

• Men's Basketball vs. Siena - 4:00 p.m. at the Student Rec Center
• Men's Hockey vs. Holy Cross - 4:05 p.m. at the Island Sports Center
• Men's Division 3 Club Ice Hockey vs. University of Michigan - 6:45 p.m. at the Island Sports Center    
• Men's Division 1 Club Ice Hockey vs. Slippery Rock University - 9:30 p.m. at the Island Sports Center