Academic Affairs Shop Talk March 1, 2013

1 March 2013

LGCFA Global Leader in Residence to Speak March 4

Webster University and the Office of Corporate Partnerships welcome Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF), as an inaugural 2013 Global Leader in Residence on March 4, 6:00 p.m. (CST) in the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts.

A former theatre professional, frequent public speaker and arts activist, Ben supervises a $13.125 million grants program focusing on organizations and artists in theatre, contemporary dance, jazz and presenting. During his tenure, the organization has adopted many new initiatives designed to serve artists, including a new hybrid grants structure, in response to the financial downturn of 2008, and new opportunities for grantees to repurpose prior endowment grants for specific strategic uses.

The event will be streamed live at www.webster.edu/live.

St. Louis Commencement Participation

All students who have graduated during the past academic year are welcome and encouraged to attend 2012 St. Louis Commencement ceremony at the Muny in Forest Park

2012 St. Louis Commencement ceremony at the Muny in Forest Park

Commencement, which will be held this year on May 11.

If your students intend to participate, we need to know so they can be included in the commencement program. Please fill out the Commencement Participation form and email to Francine Case by March 1 (that's today!).

Visit the Webster Commencement website for more information about the ceremony and what students need to know about participation.

Employee Spotlight Award Nominations Due

The Employee Spotlight Award recognizes and rewards two staff members each month for their day-to-day contributions and outstanding service to Webster University.

Nominations are being accepted through the end of this week for the months of April, May and June 2013.

Please click here for the nomination form.

For more information on the Employee Spotlight Award, see the recent Webster Today article.

Webster University Website Update

As you may have read in Webster Today, Global Marketing and Communications (GMC) has been working hard to complete conversion of extended campus websites to our new content management system. Today's GMC blog post by Craig Carmichael, director of Digital Marketing & Communications, reports some of the amazing progress that has been made:

Over 2.5 Million individual files to review and consider for conversion
Over 420,000 folders and directories to analyse for relevancy and conversion
Collection and consolidation of massive amounts of duplicated and redundant data
Harnessing unmanaged content, multiple Content Management Systems connected via Admissions, Alumni, Webster Dining, "one off" blogs and individual websites.
Completion of more than 37,000 new pages for webster.edu

In his post, Craig mentions that GMC is working with Academic Affairs to get the academic catalogs moved to the new system. We anticipate that the 2012-2013 catalogs will be done by the end of next week. At that time, we will begin working on updates for the 2013-2014 catalog, which should be online by early May.

Thinking Gift Card? Think Again!

Thinking a gift card would be a great gift this time of year?

Perhaps not so good, since gift cards are considered the same as cash and therefore taxable income. Income from gift certificates will be reflected on a Form 1099. The positive impression of a gift is likely diminished once a graduate receives that 1099 and sees taxes must be paid on his/her "gift" card.

The central message: please do not purchase gift cards or gift certificates for any reason.

For more information:

The Webster Family Tree

Welcome to those extended staff members who recently joined the Webster family:

Susan Reina, Representative, Fort Bliss, TX

Farewell to those departing:

None to report at this time.

See the HR Job Opportunities Web page for current openings.

In This Issue

LGCFA Global Leader in Residence to Speak March 4

St. Louis Commencement Participation

Employee Spotlight Award Nominations Due

Webster University Website Update

Thinking Gift Card? Think Again!

Summer and Fall Registration Dates Announced

What Academic Affairs Can Do for Webster U

Dates to Remember

1 Mar--Nominations due for Alumni Award

4 Mar--Petitions to graduate due for Spring 2 graduates

5 Mar--Registration begins for Summer sessions (UG)

7 Mar--Registration begins for Summer term (GR)

30 Mar--San Antonio graduation

1-3 Apr--Registration begins for Fall classes (UG)

5 Apr--Deadline for nominations for Alumni Association Student Awards

8 Apr--Registration begins for Fall classes (GR)

Summer and Fall Registration Dates Announced

As reported in Webster Today, registration dates for Summer and Fall have been confirmed.

Summer registration will begin March 5 for undergraduates and March 7 for graduates.

Fall registration will begin April 1-3 for undergraduates and April 8 for graduates.

For more information, consult the 2013-14 Academic Calendar.

What Academic Affairs Can Do for Webster U

Earlier this month, the Office of Academic Affairs was featured in the ongoing WSA speaker series "What We Can Do for Webster U." Associate Provost Nancy Hellerud led the OAA team in providing an overview of the many and varied duties our office performs. The talk was followed by a robust question and answer session.

If you missed seeing it live, you can catch a recording of the event on the WSA Live website.

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14 March 2013