Upcoming Events
The Department of Biological Sciences has planned NDSU's second annual Darwin Days for Feb. 11-12, which coincide with Charles Darwin's 201st birthday. Several events have been planned.
On Feb. 11, NDSU will join a national event to address the latest climate change research and policies. The National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions involves colleges, high schools, faith groups, civic organizations and businesses across the country. On the heels of the Copenhagen Accord, the National Teach-In supports an emerging, intergenerational movement of students and citizens demanding clean energy solutions to global warming.
Posted by: University Relations on January 29, 2010 at 10:51 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: higher education, ndsu
Fulbright faculty teaching around the world
Several NDSU faculty members were among the 1,250 educators and professionals who received Fulbright Scholar or Specialist awards to teach or conduct research abroad this academic year. Robert Hearne, associate professor of agribusiness and applied economics, has a nine-month stay in Thailand that began in August. Mark Meister, associate professor of communication, spent two weeks in September and October teaching in Tbilisi, Georgia. Thomas Bon, senior lecturer in agriculture and biosystems engineering, will spend about six months teaching courses in Uzbekistan.
Read more at
www.ndsu.edu/news/features/fulbrightfaculty/
Posted by: University Relations on January 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: fulbright, higher education, ndsu
Minard Hall Update Jan. 14
The City of Fargo has given NDSU approval to access the south and east portions of the 1st floor of the 1929 addition so that select psychology department lab and computer equipment can be removed. The details of this are being worked out this morning.
Posted by: University Relations on January 14, 2010 at 8:33 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: 1st floor, access, lab equipment, minard hall, psychology department
President Hanson gives Minard Hall update
President Richard A. Hanson says work continues to shore up the collapsed section of Minard Hall. During a Jan. 7 open forum for faculty, staff and students, he said, “We cannot and will not put people in danger.”
During the early morning hours of Dec. 27, a section of the northwest portion of Minard Hall collapsed. No one was in the structure at the time.
Hanson said structural steel has been brought in to stabilize the building’s roofline, and work is progressing to support the structure’s first floor. He expects workers will jack up the floors to a level position, beginning next week.
Also, a moving company is boxing up office items in areas that are considered safe. But Hanson noted teaching and research materials and equipment in offices in the northwest portion of the building have not been retrieved.
“The real issue isn’t the failure so much as it is the safety of people. We need to rebuild the credibility of the building so people feel safe going in,” Hanson told the nearly 100 people who attended the open forum.
“We are proceeding as appropriately as we can trying to commute a multiple set of needs,” he said. “There is concern about structural failure and who is responsible, but there are issues about all the materials and the servers in the building. People’s dissertations are on hard drives on computers in the building. These are extraordinarily issues as well.”
Faculty attending the forum urged students to be patient and understanding as spring semester begins, saying several instructors in the affected departments do not have access to their materials.
Bruce Frantz, director of Facilities Management, said a meeting with the City of Fargo inspectors is scheduled for later today, but he expects faculty and staff will soon be allowed back in the northeast portion building
“There are many challenges out there, and we don’t want to put anybody in an unsafe situation,” Frantz said. “We don’t want to put anyone at risk.”
In the meantime, counseling services are available to persons affected by the structural failure. Through the Employee Assistance Program, individual and group counseling is available through The Village Family Service Center.
“Each of you will have a different struggle based on what you may have lost. There are fears and emotional trauma involved here,” said Broc Lietz, associate vice president for finance and administration.
For more information on counseling services, contract Lietz at (701) 231-8958 or Colette Erickson, associate director of human resources, at (701) 231-8788.
Posted by: University Relations on January 07, 2010 at 2:27 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: counseling, danger, faculty, minard hall, staff, update
Update on Minard Hall
Please go to the link below for the latest information regarding Minard Hall.
www.ndsu.edu/news/features/portionofminardhallcollapses/
Posted by: University Relations on January 06, 2010 at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: higher education, minard collapse, minard hall, minard hall collapse, ndsu
Minard Hall Update
The section of Minard south of the 1929 addition is now open normal business hours. The 1929 section remains off limits to students, faculty and staff. (Please see graphic above).
Faculty, staff and graduate students who have offices in the green zone will have the opportunity to retrieve essential items Tuesday, Jan. 5. Deans Tom Riley and Kevin McCaul will provide specific information. This will be an escorted only process.
Please click below for full story:
www.ndsu.edu/news/features/portionofminardhallcollapses/
Posted by: University Relations on January 04, 2010 at 2:14 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: higher education, minard collapse, minard hall, ndsu
President Hanson holds Minard Hall media conference
The media conference held today at 10 a.m. in the Rose Room of the Memorial Union is available for viewing in its entirety by clicking on the link below. President Richard Hanson and Director of Facilities Management, Bruce Frantz spoke.
View Minard Hall Press Conference
Latest Information
1. NDSU officials hope that faculty, staff and graduate students will be able to retrieve materials from Minard Hall sometime this afternoon. Depending on where the office is located, personnel may be able to get items themselves or will need to provide a list to a contractor who will retrieve the items. Deans Kevin McCaul and Tom Riley will be in contact with those who work in Minard Hall regarding that opportunity. The building will be locked down for the long holiday weekend, with 24-hour security surveillance.
2. Those whose offices are in the damaged area (as seen in the red zone of the floor plans posted), will not have access to materials in their offices for at least two weeks. Items cannot be retrieved until the building is stabilized, because any movement could interrupt the equilibrium of the building causing further damage.
3. Director of Facilities Management, Bruce Frantz, said that Minard Hall, south of the 1929 addition, should be open for regular hours on Monday, Jan. 4 barring any other issues.
4. Updated information will be posted on this site as it becomes available.
Posted by: University Relations on December 31, 2009 at 1:49 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: collapse, minard hall, press conference, update
Webcam of Minard Hall Collapse
See webcam still shots as Minard Hall collapses.
www.ndsu.edu/news/features/portionofminardhallcollapses/
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Posted by: University Relations on December 29, 2009 at 10:41 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: higher education, minard collapse, minard hall, minard hall collapse, ndsu
Portion of NDSU's Minard Hall Collapses
Posted by: University Relations on December 27, 2009 at 2:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: higher education, minard collapse, minard hall, ndsu
President Hanson: ‘time for a pause’
NDSU President Richard A. Hanson is calling for the university to take a “pause” as it examines budget issues before filling open positions. He made that observation during a forum Dec. 18 in the Memorial Union Century Theater.
More than 300 faculty, staff and students crowded into the theater to hear Hanson’s comments on a temporary hiring freeze announced in a Dec. 16 e-mail to campus.
“There is no deficit right now, but there will be if we are not careful. We need to slow down – we need to calibrate and understand where things are,” Hanson said, noting he expects the hiring freeze to be lifted in February or March.
Hanson said NDSU temporarily will not fill about 75 percent of current open positions. He said he has asked university vice presidents to submit rankings of “mission critical” positions. In addition, the presidential professional development grant program for faculty and staff has been suspended.
Hanson said organizations that see substantial growth sometimes produce second order effects. “There are unanticipated outcomes that happen because we are growing fast. It is appropriate at certain points in that trajectory for us to pause, take a breath and examine,” he said.
Hanson said the administration’s communications regarding the budgetary matters need to be clear and open. He plans to hold additional forums in the months ahead to keep the campus community informed.
“With transparency comes responsibility. I want you to be very aware that everyone of you is responsible for being a good citizen of this learning community,” Hanson told the attendees. “We want to do things right over the next four to five months, so that we are able to provide a transition for this university to the next strategic element, which is the new president and new vision.”
Hanson, who took questions from the audience during the forum, said, “This is about moving the institution forward. We are in the midst of a transition, a very significant transition. My job is to help manage that transition. Part of that is to make sure that what we hand forward is accurate and workable. I want to slow things down for just a moment to take a look at these things.”
Posted by: University Relations on December 18, 2009 at 3:27 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: hanson, open forum, time for pause, transparency
