The 2011- 2012 Academic Affairs Committee is proud to announce the following winners and finalists for the 2012 Professional Excellence Awards. These finalists were selected from a pool of over thirty nominees. Finalists and their student nominators were honored at a dinner held at the Nathan Hale Inn on the evening of April 19th:

Educator of the Year:
Professor James Trimble, Director, Actuarial Science
Nominated by: Danielle Gilmour

Runner-Up: Ray DiCapua, Associate Head for Admissions; Associate Professor of Sculpture, Studio Art
Nominated by: Julianne Norton

Runner-Up: Dr. Adam Fry, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Nominated by: Danielle Gordon

Staff/Administrator of the Year
Jonathan Moore, Student Support Coordinator, HuskyTech
Nominated by: Danielle Filson

Runner-Up: Pamela Fischl, Retention and Outreach, Office of the Registrar
Nominated by: Nichole Brooks

Advisor of the Year
Dr. Reda Ammar, Department Head, CSE, School of Engineering
Nominated by: Aislinn Walters

Runner-Up: Marryann Morris, Allied Health Sciences, CANR
Nominated by: Brittany Christopher

2012 Gift Card Drawing Winner
Onyeka Obiocha

The committee would like to say THANK YOU to all of the students who took the time to nominate professionals! For feedback regarding this year's awards process, please contact Rebecca D'Angelo at rebecca.d'angelo@uconn.edu.
 

  Good Luck on Finals!

Themed Straight from the Source events are gaining popularity! Minutes are now available from the Health and Wellness Straight from the Source and the Sustainability one. 

The annual Spring Safety Walk is Wednesday, April 11th.  The event begins at 6:00 PM in the Student Union Ballroom and will go until around 8:00 PM.

In an effort to make UConn a safer, better place, USG members, UConn staff and police officers will canvas the entire campus and make note of safety concerns (i.e. potholes, dimly lit areas, unsanctioned paths, blue lights, etc) that will be presented in report form to administration and facilities for action to be taken.

The event is open to the public.  Feel free to come by and join us on our walk. If you have any safety concerns about your specific area, contact your senator. You can find out who your senator is by going to the USG homepage!

Dear Tier II CFOs,
 

Just a brief announcement regarding the upcoming Funding Session.
 

On Monday, April 16th, applications for the first portion of the fall semester will be due at noon. This session is to service the month of September and possibly early October (depending on remaining funds), as well as semester-long requests, such as coaches. I strongly encourage all organizations to apply during this session, for anything desired in the early portion of next semester.
 

Applications must be complete, or they will not be considered for funding. Packets must be submitted to the office (SU 219) by noon, on April 16th. Late applications will not be accepted.
There was recent discussion and speculation over the Funding Board Policies. No changes have been made to the Policies at this time. Major changes have been delayed and will take effect in 2013.  Additional information will be provided in the near future.
 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at fundingboard@usg.uconn.edu.
 

Best regards,
Syed H. Naqvi
Chairperson, Funding Board
Undergraduate Student Government
University of Connecticut

Straight From the Source: Sustainability will be held on Tuesday, April 3rd at 3:30 pm in the SU North Lobby.

Come ask questions of top administrators about what UConn is doing to lower UConn's carbon footprint (or ask any other question!).

Hello Everyone!
 
Vice President-elect Jigish Patel and I are continuing our search for the 2012-2013 Executive Board of USG, as well as our Executive Cabinet. As stated before, we are looking for bright, organized people with a passion for leadership and improving the lives of their fellow students.
 
We are now accepting letters of intent for the following positions on the Executive Committee:
 
(1)   Academic Affairs Chairperson – Responsible for advocating for student interests in the area of academics. This includes dealing with academic policies and interacting with department heads and administration.
(1)   Student Affairs Chairperson – Responsible for advocating all student interests on campus that aren’t academic in nature. For reference, last year Student Affairs was divided into Residential, Transportation/Commuter, Multicultural and Diversity, Sustainability, and Health and Wellness Subcommittees.
 
In addition, we are now accepting letters of intent for the following positions in the Executive Cabinet:
 
(1)   Chief of Staff – Responsible for organizing and executing the initiatives of the President as well as acting as primary advisor on all policy related matters. Also responsible for acting as a liaison between the President and the Executive Committee.
(1)   Programs Coordinator – Responsible for acting as liaison between the Undergraduate Student Government and its associated programs (i.e. GUARD Dogs, New York Times Readership, UConn Cycles, Course Rank)
(1)   Event Planner – Responsible for planning and executing internal USG events as well as external events related to USG such as Student Appreciation Day.
(1)   Marketing Director – Responsible for working closely with the Communications Director to develop and market the message of USG and affiliated programs/initiatives.
(1)   Chief Information Officer – Responsible for providing advice and service in the areas of information technology.
 
These are demanding positions that require a lot of time, effort, and creativity. Applicants must also be flexible, reliable, and good at meeting deadlines.
 
Please submit your letter to me (at stephen.petkis@uconn.edu) by 5:00pm on Friday, April 6, 2012. Letters must be 1-3 pages in length. Please type your letter in a Word document (or PDF) and attach it, do not write it in an email, to make things easier for filing submissions. All are welcome to submit letters for multiple positions - if you do, please submit them in separate Word documents (feel free to copy and paste things that overlap, such as USG experience and such).
 
Things to consider mentioning in your letter (please do not feel restricted by these guidelines):

•    Name, semester standing, major, etc. Phone number would be helpful as well.
•    Experience in USG and in other UConn organizations (about 1/4 to 1 page)
•    What do you want the committee/position to accomplish?
•    How will you go about accomplishing these goals?
•    What will you do to reach out to the student body?
•    Anything else you feel is relevant.
 
Jigish and I will be reviewing letters of intent for a few days after the deadline, and will schedule interviews for the next week. We will appoint all positions by the time we assume office in late April.
 
Thanks!
 
Stephen Petkis
President-Elect

The Undergraduate Student Government is now accepting letters of intent to fill three (3) Justice positions for the 2012-13 School Year.

The Judiciary acts independently of the other branches and attends meetings of the Senate and standing committees.  The Judiciary consists of five appointed justices led by a Chief Justice. Justices are appointed by the Senate; the Chief Justice is chosen from within the group by the Justices. 

The Judiciary provides interpretation with regards to the Constitution, By Laws, Robert's Rules of Order, Student Code of Conduct and other policies that the Undergraduate Student Government are bound to follow. The Judiciary oversees the fall and spring elections, coordinating with Student Affairs and Student Activities.

In order to apply for a position:
1) Submit a letter of intent by April 23rd at 4:00pm to the Undergraduate Student Government office (Student Union, Room 219) or email it to nicole.douglin@uconn.edu.

a. This letter of intent should include, but is not limited to:  reasons why you want to be a Justice, your previous involvement on campus, and why you would be qualified to fill such a position.
b. Applicants may be requested to come before the nomination committee for interviews regarding any areas that the letter of intent does not touch upon or should the committee require additional clarification.

2) Applicants will be notified of their status by April 24th.

3) With your letter of intent, please sign up for a time between 5 and 7:00pm on Monday April 23rd for a brief interview. (Please don't be scared off by the idea of an interview.  It's an opportunity to ask additional questions that weren't addressed in the letter and will not exceed ten minutes)

3) Once nominated, applicants are required to attend the Senate sessions held on April 25th beginning at 6:30 PM in the Student Union Room 304B.  (Business casual dress is encouraged.)

IMPORTANT USG FUNDING NOTICE

Funding Session 4 has been rescheduled, and applications are now due on March 28, 2012.  Applications must be submitted to the USG Office (SU 219) by noon.

This session is only to serve requests from April 14th through May 6th!

Applications must be complete upon submittal.  Incomplete applications will result in automatic denial.

 

Hello All,

My name is Nicole Douglin and I am chair of the nominations committee of USG. We are now accepting letters of intent to fill positions for the committee. The Nomination Committee is tasked with the assignment of collecting information from parties interested in filling the positions of the Judiciary and nominating parties that meet the expected qualifications of said position to the Student Senate.The Nomination Committee shall be made up of no less than three and no greater than five members. The committee needs to consist of two currently sitting senators. Your letter of intent should include your position in USG as well as why you want to be part of the committee.

Please submit your application by Wednesday March 28, at 5 pm. Please send it to Nicole.douglin@uconn.edu, and don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any problems. You will be notified by that friday if you are selected.

Thank you
Nicole Douglin
USG Nominations Chair