USF Reduces Energy Costs
In response to California’s high energy costs, the University of San Francisco has cut power consumption by 15 percent since fall 2000.
“Although we’re not studying costs like we did at the peak of the energy crises, we’re still looking to lower our consumption,” said Glenn Loomis, assistant vice president for facilities management.
To cut consumption, the University replaced hundreds of incandescent light bulbs at individual desks with screw-in fluorescent bulbs.
The facilities office is also studying the possibilities of using fuel cells, a new technology that turns natural gas into heat and electricity with virtually no pollution and no noise. Each cell can produce 200 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power a typical campus building. They also create hot water which could cut heating costs. Half the hot water needed in residence halls is currently supplied by three different systems of solar panels that the University installed in 1982.
“It’s not just power that the University is trying to conserve,” Loomis said. “USF is also taking steps to conserve water and increase the amount of paper we recycle. We’ve installed hundreds of low-flow toilets in buildings across campus, and we’re installing collection containers in central locations to encourage even more recycling.”
Kiriyama Book Prize Awarded
The sixth annual Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, sponsored by the Center for the Pacific Rim and the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Institute, was announced Oct. 20.
Maori writer Patricia Grace won in the fiction category for her novel Dogside Story and American journalist Peter Hessler won in the non-fiction category for his memoir River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. The two winners share the $30,000 award.
Set in rural New Zealand, Dogside Story describes the long-term, divisive effects of colonial land division and cultural oppression on the Maori as well as the strength of their traditional ties. In River Town, Hessler narrates his adjustment to life in a small community in central China where he taught literature in the Peace Corps.
The Kiriyama Book Prize was established in 1996. Last year’s winners were Michael Ondaatje for Anil’s Ghost and Michael David Kwan for Things That Must Not Be Forgotten.
Soviet Jewish History Scholar to Lecture at USF in December
Zvi Gitelman, political science and Judaic studies professor at the University of Michigan, will lecture at USF on “Reconstructing Jewish Identity in the Former Soviet Union” at 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Lone Mountain campus. His lecture is sponsored by USF’s Swig Judaic Studies program.
An author and editor of nine books and more than 90 scholarly articles, Gitelman is presently collecting and editing oral histories from Soviet Jewish veterans of WWII and is engaged in a large-scale empirical study of Jewish identities in post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine. Contact Mary Silver at (415) 422-6302 or email her at silver@usfca.edu for more information or to make reservations.
Call for Faculty and Staff Art
“Cultures and Community: The USF Faculty-Staff Exhibition,” an exhibit featuring art by faculty and staff, will be held Jan. 22 through Feb. 24. Sponsored by USF’s human resources department and the Thacher Gallery, all full-time and part-time faculty and staff are invited to submit works of art related to the theme of culture and community, including explorations of religion, neighborhoods, families, lifestyles, and cultures. Initial submissions will be limited to photos, slides, digital images, and/or color copies of up to three original pieces. Submission forms are due Nov. 26 by 5 p.m. in Campion Hall, C-7. A screening committee, composed of two fine arts professors, a representative from human resources, and a previous exhibitor, will select the best works based on quality and mounting considerations. For submission guidelines and application forms, go to the human resources Web site at www.usfca.edu/hr/pdf/FSAE_form.pdf. For more information, contact Glori Simmons, arts facilities manager, at (415) 422-2311 or by email at simmons@usfca.edu or Maye-Lynn Gon-Soneda at (415) 422-6707, email gonsonedam@usfca.edu.
SOBAM Professor to Sponsor Winter Leadership Retreat
Kathleen Kane, a professor in the School of Business and Management’s executive education program, is sponsoring a series of leadership retreats for students, alumni, and other members of the USF community. The next retreat is scheduled for Jan. 4 to 6. It will begin at the Lone Mountain campus, and continue at the Mayacamas Retreat Center and Resort in Calistoga.
The retreat, Kane said, is a way for people to begin the year in a powerful way, especially in light of pressing current events. Kane is working with Lance Giroux of Allied Ronin Leadership Training and Consulting to present the retreats.
More information about the leadership retreat is available online at www.usfca.edu/sobam/execprog/ldrshp.htm.
Loyola Village Models Will Open for Touring in November
Furnished models of select units in Loyola Village, USF’s new on-campus faculty and staff housing community, will be available for viewing later this month. Tours will be offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays starting at 3 p.m. Contact the faculty and staff housing office to arrange a tour. Prospective residents can make reservations for purchase and rental.
Lease prices have also decreased given the current Bay Area real estate market. The rental price of a junior one bedroom, formerly $1,200-1,400 per month, is now $1,150-$1,250. The lease price of a one bedroom dropped from $1,500-$1,700 per month to $1,350-$1,425. A two bedroom unit dropped from $2,000-$2,200 to $1,750-$1,850 per month. A three bedroom, formerly $2,500-$2,600, is now $2,150-$2,300. Visit the housing office Web site at www.usfca.edu/loyolavillage or call the faculty and staff housing office at (415) 422-5136 for more information.
Nursing to Remain Autonomous
After reviewing the possibility of merging the College of Professional Studies, the School of Nursing, and the School of Education, USF administrators have decided to keep the School of Nursing an independent entity.
“Having considered programmatic and curricular needs, financial implications, marketing and enrollment issues, accrediting constraints, and the view of the many stakeholders, it is clear to me that it is not advisable to include the School of Nursing as a possible component in a newly formed administrative structure,” wrote Jim Wiser, the school’s provost. The review was initiated in February on the recommendation of the University’s Planning Action Task Force.
The possibility, however, of integrating CPS and the School of Education will continue to be discussed, Wiser said.
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