For the Record

University to switch office supplier to Office Depot

The state has awarded the contract for office supplies to Office Depot. The university has begun implementing the Office Depot catalog into the MDS electronic storefront, which should be in full production in November. There should be no need to set up new accounts. Users will be directed to the Office Depot catalog rather than Corporate Express. All MDS numbers, passwords, current account information and checkout processes will remain the same.

Once Office Depot is fully implemented, MDS will offer training sessions at various sites. For now, users may still order from Corporate Express as usual. The company will continue to provide customer service support until Office Depot is up and running. Before the move to Office Depot is complete, MDS will make paper catalogs available to campus through its online storefront (in the same manner as Corporate Express catalogs have been ordered).

For more information, contact MDS customer service staff at 245-2900 or mdscsr@bussvc.wisc.edu.

Academic Staff Excellence Award call for nominations

Eligible academic staff are invited to apply for the 2005-06 Academic Staff Excellence Awards given by the Professional Development and Recognition Committee of the Academic Staff Assembly. There are nine campus awards, including a new Martha Casey Award for Dedication to Excellence. Nomination information has been mailed to all faculty and academic staff and includes the nomination packet requirements for the System Alliant Energy Underkofler teaching award and the academic staff Regents Award for Excellence. Winners receive monetary awards and will be honored at events in the spring. Packets are due to Colleen McCabe, 270 Bascom Hall, by Friday, Jan. 27. For guidance in selecting the appropriate category, contact PDRC co-chairs Lisa Jansen, at eajansen@wisc.edu or 262-1126, or Donna Cole, at dmcole@wisc.edu or 265-8107. Information is also online at http://www.wisc.edu/acstaff/awards.html.

Call for teaching awards nominees

Faculty members, student organizations and university departments are invited to nominate faculty members to be recognized for exceptional teaching. The UW–Madison faculty distinguished teaching awards include six Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, the Class of 1955 Teaching Excellence Award, the William H. Kiekhofer Teaching Award, the Emil Steiger Teaching Award and the Van Hise Outreach Teaching Award.

Teachers can be nominated for a specific award, including a UW System award, or the awards in general, which should be indicated in the chair’s letter. The Teaching Awards Committee will notify the nominating department if a nominee is being considered for a UW System award and whether any additional information is needed.

All nominations for faculty teaching awards, including a UW System award, have a submission deadline of Monday, Jan. 23, and should be delivered to the Committee on Distinguished Teaching Awards, Office of the Secretary of the Faculty, 130 Bascom Hall. For more information, contact committee chair Susan Brantly at 262-9637, or committee coordinator Paula Gray at 262-3958. Visit http://www.secfac.wisc.edu/committees/teachingawards/index.htm. Ten outstanding teachers received awards in 2005.

Call for proposals for DoIT technology support

The Division of Information Technology is offering Engage “Adaptation” Awards. These awards will provide $800 and up to 10 hours of instructional technology support through DoIT Academic Technology to help instructors integrate podcasting into their teaching efforts. To apply, call 262-5667 or e-mail engage@doit.wisc.edu by Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Call for proposals for teaching, learning colloquium

Proposals are being accepted for the 2006 Colloquium on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which takes place in Madison on Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2. The theme of the seventh annual colloquium is “Evidence, Impact and Momentum.” Proposals for papers, panels, posters and roundtables are welcome and must be received electronically no later than Thursday, Dec. 1. The colloquium is sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the Office of Professional and Instructional Development of the UW System, and the UW System’s Leadership Site for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. For more information about the proposals and the colloquium, visit http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/CASTL/highered/colloquium.htm.

Teaching and learning symposium call for proposals

Proposals from faculty, staff and teaching assistants will be accepted for a teaching and learning symposium on campus on Wednesday and Thursday, May 17 and 18. The eighth annual Teaching and Learning Symposium brings together people who teach and support learning at UW–Madison to explore strategies for enhancing the quality of teaching and learning.

This year’s theme, “Reconsidering Learning Styles and Strategies,” highlights the importance of identifying and understanding variation in the way people learn. Scholars and practitioners have identified aspects of how people take in, process, integrate and make sense of information. The conference will explore how to help students develop new skills, enhance their creativity and to integrate learning across these experiences.

Proposals for presentations should explore how variations in learning styles affect strategies for teaching and learning in or out of the classroom. Examples of possible topics include current research, student assessment, links between cultural or social group differences and learning styles, barriers of addressing diverse learning styles, helping students evaluate and develop strategies for expanding their own learning, and addressing diverse learning styles through technology, designing classrooms and informal learning spaces. Sessions will be 60-90 minutes in length. To submit a proposal, complete the online form at http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/teachinglearning/teachinglearningprop.htm.

A resource room will be open during the symposium for sharing information about programs that support teaching and learning. To request a resource table or for more information, contact Laurie Mayberry at 262-5246 or mayberry@wisc.edu.

Seeking women for breast cancer prevention study

The University of Wisconsin is enrolling postmenopausal women at increased risk for breast cancer in a new clinical trial evaluating the role of an aromatase inhibitor in the prevention of the disease. Coordinated by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group with the support of Pfizer Inc. and in cooperation with women’s health and cancer centers in the United States, Canada and Spain, the ExCel research study will follow more than 4,500 women over a five-year period.

The ExCel research study will examine the potential benefit of exemestane in postmenopausal women, 35 years of age or older, who have an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Risk factors include age, family history, age at first menstrual period and age at time of first child’s birth.

For more information about the ExCel research study, contact Lori Wollet at 287-2856 or visit http://www.excelstudy.com.

Employers can apply for student employee technical training

Campus employers who currently employ students in an information technology can send qualified students to Division of Information Technology’s Student Technical Training in January. STT provides two weeks of intensive technical training in Web design, Jan. 5-13, or core IT support skills, Jan. 3-13. Students must be able to participate each day from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.

The application deadline is Monday, Nov. 21. To apply, students must submit their resume to Don Fleischman at don.fleischman@doit.wisc. edu. Selected candidates will be interviewed.

Additional training sessions are scheduled throughout the year. For more information, go to http://stt.doit.wisc.edu.