Faculty and Staff Notes

Wolfram Honored for Linguistics Outreach

Dr. Walt Wolfram, director of the North Carolina Language and Life Project, received the Linguistics, Language and the Public Award from the Linguistic Society of America (LSA). This award honors a body of work that effectively increases public awareness and understanding of linguistics and language, including books, documentary films and articles in periodicals. Wolfram will accept the award in January during the annual meeting in Baltimore.

Wolfram, the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English Linguistics, has pioneered research on social and ethnic dialects since the 1960s, authoring or co-authoring 20 books and more than 250 articles on social and ethnic dialects of American English. He has focused on applying sociolinguistic information to social and educational problems and on disseminating knowledge about dialects to the public. He has been involved in producing television documentaries on dialect diversity, constructing museum exhibits and developing dialect awareness curricula for the schools and general public. He is a former president of both LSA and the American Dialect Society.

CSLEPS director Mike Giancola was named "Tar Heel of the Week."

Celebrate Million Meals with ‘Tar Heel of the Week’

Mike Giancola, director of the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service,  was named the Tar Heel of the Week by the News & Observer for his work with projects such as the University Million Meal Event.

This fall, university students and volunteers raised $16,000 and packaged 1,031,766 nutritious dehydrated meals that will reach lunch and food programs around the world.

Celebrate with Giancola and CSLEPS at the men’s basketball game on Thursday, Nov. 12. The University Million Meals group will be recognized at halftime. Please RSVP with CSLEPS at 515-9248 by Monday, Oct. 19 to reserve a ticket.

Combined Campaign Update

After five weeks, NC State contributions to the State Employees Combined Campaign have reached $375,007. Total participation by the University’s 7,735 employees is at 23 percent thus far. NC State, a leader among the universities for the last several years, has set a goal of $525,000. To help reach it, turn in your completed pledge form. Your contribution can help meet many community needs. And if you pledge, you’ll have a chance to win a free parking permit for one year. If you lost your pledge form, talk to your unit coordinator or go to http://www.ncsu.edu/secc to print a pledge form. Additional information is on the Web site, including a list of prize winners and totals by colleges and units.

Confrey Appointed to Standards Committee

Dr. Jere Confrey, the Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor in Mathematics Education, will join 24 other experts on a national school standards committee. The Common Core Standards Initiative Validation Committee,  announced by the National Governor’s Association and Council of Chief State School Officers, will review college and career readiness standards and make recommendations that will be used in K-12 development. The goal is to ensure that school standards are based on research and evidence, aligned with college and workforce training program expectations, reflective of rigorous content and skills, and internationally benchmarked.

Confrey, a senior research fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, said 51 states and territories have signed on to the initiative, which is essential to remain competitive in a global economy based on innovation in science and technology.

Annual Enrollment for Benefits

Need to make changes to your insurance? Through Friday, Oct. 30, you can add, change or cancel the following benefits:

• Dental
• Vision
• Cancer
• Critical Illness
• NCFlex Group Term Life
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• NCSU-MetLife Group Term Life
• Liberty Mutual Long Term Disability
• Legal Services

Any changes you make will take effect on Jan. 1, 2010. For more information about changes and benefit changes and additions in 2010, visit the Human Resources benefits page.

Who's Interesting Among Graduating Students?

Each semester, Registration and Records produces a list of interesting graduates to be recognized during commencement. To nominate undergraduate students who are good candidates for recognition from the chancellor, e-mail their names to emily_brooks@ncsu.edu. The students must not only be interesting but also in good academic standing. The deadline for suggestions is Wednesday, Oct. 14.