Faculty and Staff Notes

Faculty and staff are invited to weigh in on the chancellor search during forums Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Chancellor Search Open Forums Set

The Chancellor Search Committee will hold open forums for faculty, staff and students on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to include members of the NC State community in discussions about the search for the university’s next chancellor. The committee welcomes ideas that will guide the selection of candidates. Faculty, staff and students are invited to join in discussions on the qualities the next chancellor should possess as well as the leadership attributes that will best serve the university and its goals.

The committee will hold three forums on Wednesday, Aug. 26, for faculty, staff and students in the Talley Student Center Stewart Theatre from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The following times have been designated:

• 12:30 p.m. – Staff
• 2 p.m. – Faculty
• 3:30 p.m. – Undergraduate, graduate and professional students

Another forum for alumni, local elected officials and local residents is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 in the Jane S. McKimmon Center.

These are approximate times for the various groups to participate and will help the search committee organize the comments and suggestions offered by speakers. Preference will be given during each designated time to representatives of the scheduled group, but others will have the opportunity to speak if there is unused time remaining at the end of a scheduled session. Please arrive ahead of time to sign up.

Both forums are open to anyone. If you cannot attend one of the forums, comments and questions can be sent to the committee by e-mail to chancellor_search@ncsu.edu.

Fall Convocation

The Convocation Festival will be held Monday, Aug. 17, at the RBC Center, featuring keynote speaker Greg Mortenson - bestselling author of “Three Cups of Tea,” NC State’s summer reading selection.

Mortenson, who builds schools for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will discuss how to promote peace through education, and collect change for the Central Asia Institute’s Pennies For Peace program. The event, which runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., will also include an organization fair, pep rally and welcomes from Chancellor Jim Woodward and other campus leaders. Buses to the event will begin loading at 5 p.m. from Bragaw Hall. Due to public interest in the event, all seats available to non-university affiliated individuals are full.

Those wishing to have Mortenson sign copies of the book can stop by Catalyst Bookshop from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday.

For a full listing of Wolfpack Welcome Week activities, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/welcomeweek/.

Free Courses Limited

The number of free courses full-time faculty and staff may enroll in per academic year has been reduced from three to two courses, effective July 1, 2009, under Senate Bill 202.

Tuition waiver request forms submitted for the fall semester requesting three courses will be restricted to two. The cashier's office will need to know which course(s) to remove. Employee-students must notify the cashier’s office, via e-mail to charlene_burrell@ncsu.edu,no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 17.

Employees who plan to keep course no longer covered by a waiver must pay no later than 5 p.m. on Aug.18. Otherwise, classes must be officially dropped via MyPACK Portal no later than Aug. 18.  Employees who do not pay for the classes or drop by this date, will be charged for the remaining course. For questions about the tuition waiver policy, please contact the benefits office at 515-2151.

Malecha on Most Admired Educators List

Marvin Malecha, dean of the College of Design, was named to the 2009 DesignIntelligence Most Admired Educators list. The list is based on input from design professionals, academic department heads and students.

Accounting Professor Appointed to Federal Board

D. Scott Showalter, teaching professor in the Department of Accounting and retired partner at KPMG LLP, was appointed to a five-year term on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).

Showalter is one of six board members who are not federal employees. He has followed the board’s most recent work as co-editor of “Government Accounting and Auditing Update” from 1996 to 2008, said Tom Allen, FASAB chairman. “Scott is a recognized leader in the field, having been with KPMG for more than 30 years, including service as the public sector industry leader for the firm.” Showalter also recently received the Outstanding Service Award from the American Accounting Association.

Arden Named NC Veterinarian of Year

The North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association honored Dr. Warwick Arden, interim provost and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, as its Veterinarian of the Year during the Appalachian Mountain Veterinary Conference Aug. 6-9.

Arden, a board-certified veterinary surgeon, is serving as 2009-10 president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. He joined NC State as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004 and was appointed interim provost in May.

Kurz Retiring

Mary Beth Kurz, vice chancellor and general counsel since 1996, will retire effective Oct. 1, Chancellor Jim Woodward announced.

Charles Leffler, vice chancellor for finance and business, will chair a nomination committee in the search  for Kurz’s successor, which could be completed before the next chancellor is selected, Woodward said. David Drooz, senior associate general counsel, has agreed to serve in an interim capacity until a permanent appointment can be made.

Media Requests Compensation and Leave Data

NC State has responded to two News & Observer requests for information regarding compensation for employees. The requests were made to General Administration and to all UNC universities; NC State provided its responses on July 15.

The first request was for all compensation, including retreat packages, for deans and vice chancellors and above. The second was for all salary and leave-related information on every active NC State employee, including accrued annual leave, sick leave, comp time and bonus leave. Overtime paid from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, also was included.

The state attorney general has ruled that the information is not personnel data that is protected by state or federal statute and must be released.

In Memoriam

Dr. Colleen Aalsburg Wiessner, assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Adult and Higher Education, died Aug. 5. She was 55.

A native of Michigan, Wiessner received a bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College. She earned a master’s in humanistic education from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a master’s and doctorate in organization and leadership with an emphasis in adult education from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

She participated in the ministry of her husband, Charles, pastor of the First Reformed Church of Cary. They previously served churches in Kerhonkson, N.Y.; Niles, Mich.; Harrington Park, N.J.; and Mahwah, N.J. She is survived by her husband of 33 years; sons Nathaniel of North Adams, Mich., and Benjamin of Raleigh; her parents, Joe T. and Margaret Aalsburg of Rockford, Mich., three siblings and many relatives, friends and students.

Services are planned at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, at First Reformed Church of Cary.